Happy New Year!

Posted on January 22, 2023 by Mary C

January 23rd is Lunar New Year as we enter the Year of the Rabbit (except in Vietnam where apparently it’s the Year of the Cat).

below: Although this mural has nothing to do with rabbits (or cats), it is found in Toronto’s Chinatown. Three dragons cavorting on the wall on Oxford Street, painted by sightone in 2016.

below: Blue dragon guarding the door at number 5.

Nearby there is an alley where the Chinatown BIA has sponsored some murals with Asian themes.

below: A large koi, or carp, swimming towards a pink lotus flower.

below: “Flowers of the four seasons – Autumn Chrysanthemum” by rowdyradrat.

below: Another rowdyradrat painting – this one is “Flowers of the Four Seasons – Winter, Plum Blossoms” and it features Chinese plum blossoms.

Petty Harbour

Posted on September 13, 2022 by Mary C

This is one of at least two murals in the village of Petty Harbour (on the east coast of Newfoundland). Like many of the historic murals in Newfoundland, it shows locals hard at work in the fishing industry – out in boats catching fish, on shore cleaning fish, maintaining nets, etc.

mural on a garage door of the Harbour Authority Office, Canadian flag flying above building, mural is a fishing village scene with fisherman cleaning fish, catching fish in nets, on boats, and on shore

Spirit Stories under Old Mill

Posted on July 16, 2022 by Mary C

In Toronto, subway tracks cross above the Humber River at Old Mill station. The concrete pillars that support the subway bridge have been covered with many watery blue First Nations themed murals.

Philip Cote Anishinaabe mural of water and spirits on concrete pillar

below: The artist, Philip Cote, described the story behind this image on the ArtworxTO website (see link); like all cultures, the Anishinaabe have an origin story. In the beginning there was just Spirit. “And that spirit decided to send signals out into the universe and waited for a response. And when no response happened that spirit called the signals back and said, “As you come back to me, create light in the universe”. And at that moment they had light and dark in the universe. And that is the beginning of the Anishinaabe cosmology. Everything for Anishinaabe is made of light and dark. Everything we look at has a spirit, everything, the ground, the rocks, the sand, the trees, the birds, the plants, everything is… and even our sun and our Mother Earth and the moon, they all have a spirit.”

The blues of the water, the Humber River, were painted by Kwest. Water is the Underworld in Ahishinaabe cosmology and the Guardians of this Underworld are the fish. Another artist, Jarus aka (Emmanuel Jarus), painted the fish.

Philip Cote Anishinaabe mural of water and spirits on concrete pillar, large grouper fish in the water surrounding the central medallion

Most of the paintings have a well defined circle. This is the boundary between water and earth, between the spirit world and the physical world. But there are connections between the two worlds – all living things are connected and we are all connected to the Spirit World.

Philip Cote Anishinaabe mural of water and spirits on concrete pillar, a mountain of ice in the background

Philip Cote Anishinaabe mural of water and spirits on concrete pillar, a male and a female figure

Philip Cote Anishinaabe mural of water and spirits on concrete pillar, an otter swimming in the water, looking below the surface

Philip Cote Anishinaabe mural of water and spirits on concrete pillar, a turtle shaped animal with a bear head with open mouth trying to catch fish

Durazzo 2014

Posted on June 6, 2022 by Mary C

green vine grows in front of a blue painting, outside, of boats on the water, grape vines or ivy

All of the paintings in this blog post were seen in a lane in Durres Albania, in the “old town” part of the city near the Roman amphitheatre.

paintings in a laneway, on the left is a painting of a partially open wood doorway with a girl stepping out and smiling at the two boys on the front step. A black and white cat is also there. Some words are written in the corner, then on the right is a pale pastel coloured painting of flowers and leaves

Faleminderit Shqiperi = Thank you Albania!

They were all painted in 2014 (8 years ago) so most of them are looking a little weathered.

painting of kids, 2 boys and a girl, playing in a doorway

Written beside the painting below: “Ass. Cult. Ecletica 1st Bienale di Durazzo 2014”.

painting on exterior concrete wall, a green shape with a face seems to be in water, beside a tree

paiting on outdoors wall, in black silhouette, a couple kiss under an open umbrella

a painting on a wall on a narrow street in Durres, a fisherman holding his net watches a woman dive into the water

a man walks past a mural on a concrete wall of a pair of pink lovebirds on a grey tree with grey and pink leaves

painting of a door on an exterior wall with a semi circular window above the door

mural on a wall in a lane, a woman looking out of a window, children playing on the beach

mural on a wall in an alley, seaside, old urn or jug, a helmet, other treasures washed up on the shore or hidden away

street art painting of a mans tie with colours and shapes on it as well as a black Albanian crest symbol

painting of fish swimming away from fish hooks, outdoor mural street art

abstract mural around a window with a musical theme - a guitar, some music notes, treble clef

With thanks to the Mulliri Vjeter coffee shop on Rruga Myslym Shyri in Tirana where I hung out trying to stay cool while editing photos for this post. June 2022

behind Central Ave

Posted on April 25, 2022 by Mary C

St. Petersburg is home to a growing number of murals. There are maps online that help you find the murals but if you walk along Central Avenue and explore the streets and alleys close by, you will encounter most of them.

below: There’s a short alley behind the north side of Central Ave that is home to quite a few street art pieces. This is the view westward from 6th St. North (toward 7th St N)

street art and murals painted on walls and buildings in an alley

below: This is the mural at the east end of the alley. This portrait among the fishes and mermaids was painted by Derek Donnelly

mural of a man with black rimmed glasses painting on the wall, marine scene

part of a mural, a mermaid with long pink hair and a pink fin

part of a mural with fish

below: Colourful mural by kosharekart

a mural by kosharekart

below: Some paper pasteups that have seen better days
paper pasteups, partially peeling

paper paste ups on a wall in a lane

below: Circle patterns in a mural by Megan Kelly

below: Frida Kahlo

a small mural on the side of a garage, portrait of Frida Kahlo car parked in front of a mural

below: Another painting by kosharekart

female figures with very decorated clothing, painted in a mural

close up of a mural showing a woman in a sail boat, with a large bird and its beak beside

below: Another Derek Donnelly fish. The lower portions were once a brighter orange but it`s faded over time (painted in 2014).

a car is parked in front of a mural of a very large fish painted by Derek Donnelly

mural in an alley by kosharekart

below: Boat on the water

mural in a lane, a woman stands beside a boat on very wavy water

below: Hearts, a bird, and a snail

mural in an alley of a female figure dressed in a red heart covered dress. There is a large snail on her lap

below: Someone seems to disapprove of Mr. Cactus.

a small sticker of a cactus with a face, stuck on a mural beside a face

below: `Twiggy`by Brad Mize is at the rear of 648 Central Ave.

very large face on white background, mural in an alley

pale purple background, cursive writing of the words life is magical
“Life is Magical When You Look” with a black cat sitting on the moon nose to nose with a dragonfly in a mural by Christy Faris

mural of a black cat sitting on the curve of a new moon, also a dragonfly by the cat

below: Brad Mizes ‘Mr. Sunshine’ is now partially behind a fence. The sun is a copy of a 1940s design used to promote the city of St. Petersburg.

bright yellow sun on sky blue background, mural, sunshine mural

below: Fish in a birdcage

small sticker on a post, white background, black drawing of a fish in a birdcage

mural around a door that makes it look like it's in India, some white lotus flowers painted beside the door

black mural with hands and the word adios in cursive

Patio de Dom Fradique, Lisbon

Posted on March 31, 2022 by Mary C

entrance to Patio de Dom Fradique, sign on gate post, people walking up the path, street art on walls in the distance

below: Maybe it’s a hand wrapped in ribbons? Painted by osch aka Otto Schade

mural by Otto Schade in Lisbon of a hand with finger pointing made of ribbons wrapped around and around

below: A man with his musical dog by omik, aka Mickael Guedes.

murals on an old wall in Lisbon, in front is a man holding a whistling dog by omik

below: Another person by omik, this time a long haired woman in a pink dress and bare feet.

street art painting of a young woman with large head, white eyes, long reddish hair, pink dress and bare feet, by omik a k a Mikael Guedes
an old twisted tree in a courtyard beside a path, with street art on the walls around it, Lisbon

below: A guitar playing, cowboy hat wearing, man who has seen better days, by Toys Daniel.

older painting on a wall, some paint peeling, a bear-like man with yellow skin, blue cowboy hat, playing a guitar
street art painting of a young woman on a door, she's looking upward, beside a small square window with a metal grille

below: A fish on an old wall, a fish out of water, by Vibes aka Will Vibes

a mural of a large fish parts are realistic and parts are collages of other images including a mans face

small painted multicoloured flowers on a wall

Roman faces and clown fish

Posted on January 29, 2020 by Mary C

“The Fall of the Gods” can seen on Via Ostiense. It is a 40 metre mural painted in 2015 by Carlos Atoche and Mexican artist Luis Alberto Alvarez. In it, images of ancient Roman statues have fallen and are now underwater.

faces and fish on blue background, painted mural on wall with barbed wire above it, another mural on the wall beyond as well

bearded man face, lying on his back, with a flying fish passing beside him

old mural of clown fish and faces on a wall

clown fish in mural

in a mural, a clown fish swims beside a swordfish

corner of wall, painted face, mural on both sides of the corner, rental bike, jump, parked in front

a man seated, with one foot on the other knee, bending over with hand on foot that's resting on knee

face of grey bearded man with curly hair, eyes closed, painted in a mural

wall with old mural, pieces of wall, breaking off, tree beside woth motorcyle

bike parked against a post in front of mural with a whale

below: This was above the mural

an old Barbie doll caught in a barbed wire fence above a mural

Pictures of the mural back when it was freshly painted can be seen on Carlos Atoches’ website.

Hunting Pollution

Posted on January 26, 2020 by Mary C

In the Ostiense district in Rome there is a large mural of a heron titled “Hunting Pollution”. It covers seven storeys of a residential building and took 21 days to paint in 2018.

Lower part of a large mural called Hunting Pollution by Federico Massa also known as Iena Cruz, of a heron, over seven storeys of a building in Rome, background in marine blues and greens

The artist, Federico Massa (aka Iena Cruz) has used Airlite paint. This paint has been engineered to clean the air around it by neutralizing some pollutants.

Upper part of a large mural called Hunting Pollution by Federico Massa also known as Iena Cruz, of a heron with a fish in its beak

The mural was commissioned by Yourban2030, a female non-profit group that strives to bring awareness to environmental issues.

Lower part of a large mural called Hunting Pollution by Federico Massa also known as Iena Cruz, of a heron

pink seaweed or trees in a mural with a heron

Perry Street, Phibs

Posted on December 8, 2018 by Mary C

In Collingwood (Melbourne), on Perry Street, there is large mural painted by Phibs in 2015. A portion of the bottom of it has been tagged over. I only have two photos of it (taken December 2018), each is roughly half of the mural.

On the right side:

upper part is part of a mural by phibs in blues and greys of fish, drawn with lines and circles, the bottom part is a large blue tag.

and on the left side.

a street art liion in blues, stylized, also a fish, on a wall under a window and beside a door, by phibs in 2015, on a street in Melbourne Australia

This is a screenshot from google street view (filmed August 2017) which shows the right hand side of the mural as it once was.

screen shot of google street view of the phobs mural on perry street in melbourne

Link to Phibs’s website

in a Madrid park

Posted on September 21, 2018 by Mary C

The following photos were taken in a walled park (or community garden) in Madrid in March 2018.

below: Face and fishes by Lazaro Totem

large realistic painting of a man's face on white brick wall, with some fish swimming above his head, signed as

below: El Indio

El Indio street art painting of a yellow man, skinny arms and legs, arms raised above his head and spear in his hands, red mask over eyes, loin cloth of red, yellow and green

below: Por Favor is a street artist whose work can be seen around Madrid.

poster by Por Favor of a woman's face in pink and purple

below: Ianah

painting on a wall of a girl's head and shoulders, in water, with fish covering her head, and fish swimming in the water,

below: The front of a large ROA animal

front part of a large mural of an animal by ROA

below: And the back part of the animal, and the left part of the mural

back part of a large mural by ROA, pigs,

below: Another El Indio. He’s wanted for something!

El Indio street art painting on brick wall, large Wanted sign on the top, picture of a yellow man with red mask and blue skimpy underpants

below: A long drawn mural with lots of detail.

wall separating park from high rise apartment building with balconies, on wall is a mural

below: A close up of part of the mural above

close up detail of mural on white brick, trees and plants in front

below: The Madrid coat of arms is the blue shield shape with a bear and a tree in the middle, similar to what is painted here. The man chopping down the tree is definitely not on the coat of arms!

mural of someone working on the Madrid coat of arms

below: Vegan bunnies

vegan bunnies street art

Eyes on the Streets

and feets on the ground. Graffiti, street art and murals seen while wandering the streets and alleys of our colourful world.

Tag Archives: fish