Helen Bur | Eyes on the Streets

This post highlights three murals in Lynn Massachusetts that feature a portrait of a woman. They certainly aren’t the only women portrayed in Lynn, they just happen to be located close to each other.

below: Layers of women. Two portraits on different buildings but from the same viewpoint. In front, “The Protector” by David Zays; In back, a mural by Marka27.

below: From a better angle, the woman in blue with a yellow flower in her hand in the mural by Marka27, aka Victor Quinonez.

below: Yellow petals flying away, blowing in the breeze.

below: “The Protector”, a mural by David Zayas. Like many of his murals, there is a lot of symbolism. The aloe plant is known for its healing properties and hence is a symbol of protection. The rooster on her shoulder represents the resilience and fighting spirit that we need when life get tough.

below: Looking closer at the intricate detail in the rose pattern in her blouse and the detail in the rooster’s colourful feathers.

below: The orange colour in the bird has faded a bit so it’s more difficult to tell that it is a robin.

below: “Grandma Eve” by Helen Bur is on the same building as the Davd Zayas mural, but on the other side. Bur’s grandmother is shown holding a playbill designed by her husband during WW2 when he was a prisoner of war in the Pacific. The prisoners put on a play, ‘Murder at Sea’, and the artist’s grandfather designed the playbill for the show.

Photos taken July 2024

… The Beverly in Massachusetts that is

below: Large back and white mural by Alex Senna with feet overhanging a parking lot.

large black, white, and grey mural by Alex Senna, a male, reclining, feet in sandals

below: The large feet also sit above a line of circus themed images. These vignettes, so to speak, are also seen on the other side of the building (a theater). Some of them are shown here.

feet from mural by Alex Senna, on red brick wall, with a line of circus images below, an elephant,

below: Two clowns.

below: Magic rings

below: Another magician with his props

below: “Welcome to the Golden Theater Beautiful” on one side and “Le Grand David and his Own Spectacular Magic Company” on the other.

below: Appropriately, it was painted on a bicycle store wall. Sadly, the bike shop closed in 2018 after being in business for 70 years. The frog on its bike endures.

on upper part of red brick building, a green frog on the seat of an old fashioned bicycle with a very large front wheel

below: Mural by Helen Bur and Sam Worthington, “Uprising”

below: This mural is dedicated to Howard Lomen (1959-2004). There are words written on the mural including: “Charles Olson and Vincent Ferrini fire their poetry pistols in a dual at niles beach.” It was painted by his son Erik Lomen. Both Olson and Ferrini (in the black hat) were poets from the Gloucester MA area (just up the coast from Beverly).