child of the East Village

Posted on December 12, 2023 by Mary C

A mural by Joel Artista, aka Joel Bergner in the East Village neighbourhood of New York City. Painted in 2019. Joel is a co-founder of Artolution, a non-profit organization supporting local artists and arts programs with vulnerable children around the world.

close up of child's eyes in a large mural, painted by Joel Artista in 2019, in oranges and purples

part of a larger mural, child with curly black hair holding a crayon and pointing to a bird

full Joel Artista and Artolution mural in East village of Manhattan, New York City, child ith short curly black hair and four arms to represent 4 activities, hand held open, holding crayon, pointing at a bird, with pedestrians walking in front of it

For this mural, Artolution partnered with KIND (Kids in Need of Defense), We Are Royale, Key Food Supermarket, and Education Alliance.

Photos taken August 2023

More Manhattan murals were featured previously in this blog – Kobra on 10th Ave (from 2022)

the workmen and the black birds

Posted on December 6, 2023 by Mary C

below: Miners hard at work under the mining museum in Heerlen.

small stencils of 4 workmen, miners, digging in the sidewalk, on the very bottom of the wall, pick axe,

below: More miners, but this time they are having a bit of fun riding in the mine carts as they roll downhill.

street art picture of men riding on and holding on to mine carts going downhill inside a mine

below: The Heerlen workmen aren’t just in the mines. You can see them in a number of places around the city.

graffiti stencil by jaune of a workman in orange and yellow vest swinging on a rope

below: In some cases you can spot them dealing with the blackbirds, the gold crown topped ravens.

below: The stenciled workmen were created by Jaune. On his Instagram page there is a great line, “The world belongs to those who build it”.

below: A white crow joins the fun.

below: A larger mural full of black birds. Like all the other birds in this post, this is the work of Daze Two, a local Heerlen artist.

below: Closer view of the ravens in the mural above.

close up of daze two mural of a group of blackbirds, feather, wings,

below: Is there a story here? What kind of interaction is there between the realistic looking black birds and the flat red bird? X marks the spot, but why?

graffiti painting of 3 blackbirds and a red bird

below: A last look at the birds, a small Daze Two work, part of a larger piece, on a brick wall.

Photos taken October 2023

More Heerlen murals can be seen in the next blog post – link to “more Heerlen birds“.

along rue Oberkampf

Posted on November 7, 2023 by Mary C

Rue Oberkampf is in the 11th arrondissement in Paris.

below: Tall pink mural by Francis Essoua, (aka Enfant Précoce)

below: A mix of little scenes, thunder and lightning, twins in red, pictures in a gallery,

below: Horse, by BONOM aka Vincent Glowinski

below: There were two little quick sketch portraits in red and yellow, possibly by LUIS?

below: A squashed spray paint can, a NEXT (nextmosaic) pedestrian crossing mosaic, and an orange and purple skull.

below: More little things, mostly paper this time – white dove of peace on the mailbox and two larger pieces beside, both by Corine Forest

below: These stencils were on a building at the corner of rue Oberkampf and rue Camille Crespin du Gast in the 11th.

below: A Kraken (aka Lou Daho) octopus, swims past as an orange cat or tiger jumps down.

below: “Telemaqueland” by Hervé Télémaque, was painted in 2000 along with eleven other large murals in Paris as part of a project “the walls of the year 2000” (les murs de l’an 2000).

below: Like many Paris streets, there is an Invader mosaic high up on a wall.

Photos taken March 2023

A stranger in town

Posted on October 21, 2023 by Mary C

“L’Etranger” by Os Gemeos is a very large and rather strange man with skinny legs and long skinny arms. His feet are bare.

mural by Os Gemeos on a wall in Heerlen, a very tall man with big round head, brown pants, and striped shirt

He’s holding a tiny house with a crooked chimney into which a woman barely fits. Her feet stick out the open door and one arm is out the window but she seems quite content. She’s hardly bigger than the knee patch on his brown pants.

part of a mural by os gemeos, a woman is squeezed into a little box like house, she's sitting with her feet sticking out of the door, crooked chimney on the house,

On the other hand there is a balancing act going on. She’s holding a megaphone while standing on stilts AND while carrying another creature on her back. Yes, this is definitely Strange!

This guy has a little white bird one one finger. His arm is outstretched as he either disappears back into the wall, or as he comes out of the wall. He’s wearing a bright green shirt buttoned up tight to his neck that doesn’t quite match the hexagon patterned pants. One little fancy curl graces the top of his head.

Be careful where you walk!

bottom of mural, man has very large feet, pale blue toe nails, bare feet, a black motorcycle is parked beside the mural

Photos taken October 2023

the colourful ox

Posted on October 20, 2023 by Mary C

….or at least a blue and white ox standing on its own box. De Bonte Os is Dutch for The Colourful Ox. Appropriately, this is Bonte Ossteeg, or in English, Colourful Ox Alley in Delft.

The mural was painted by Hugo Klaagman in 2013. It incorporates many of the images associated with the area such as Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring from the painting of the same name. There are also windmills, cyclists, flowers, and a few famous people. There are also blue and white motifs found in the ceramic tiles made here in Delft.

people walking towards Bonte Ossteeg in Delft

some of the images in bonte ossteeg mural by Hugo Kaagman

part of mural with number 22 beside door

street sign for bonte ossteeg with mural, word delft in the mural, blue and white

couple walking past parked bikes to small alley with a blue and white mural, bonte ossteeg

In the alley after dark

Posted on October 14, 2023 by Mary C

A walk down Graffiti Alley on a rainy night.

below: Unfortunately, one of Uber5000’s large Toronto/Canada themed murals has been defaced (the one on the north side of the alley).

below: Doug Ford running away with the money, stencil graffiti by D. Terra. Our Premier seems rather happy with his haul. Accurate?

below: A dope piece that bears some resemblance to Homer Simpson.

below: A yellow one-eyed daisy standing tall.

below: This portrait has hair!

below: For some reason, a section of one of the side lanes (McDougall Lane? or Rush Lane?) was lit by a red light. Here there was a collection of pasteups and stickers including one with an abundance of flowers in her hair, a skater figure by drecks. She is joined by a bare breasted woman with even more flowers on her head as well as a Snoopy look alike and a cat on the telly.

below: On the same wall as the above – Tweetie bird, from Australia, along with some friends. Because of the red light, this photo is very low contrast and difficult to see. Best to see this wall in the daytime! Second best, would be to check out the instagram page of tweet_streetart

below: Another selection of slaps, mostly birds this time.

below: A little raccoon

below: Mortus figure – his hands are almost big enough to hold all those skulls.

below: On the pavement

below: FP Monkey (aka Julia H), Skamoney, Monster Fan Club, and PP Spray

below: Poser bunny

below: Making a rap music video

below: The east end of Graffiti Alley, the part closest to Spadina, was very dark.

below: As it turns out, the buildings at this end (north side) are now behind a metal construction fence. Darkness equals empty I suspect.

below: Yes they matter but was there no where else to paint this? There’s so much junk in the alley that no one would miss.

below: I am going to end this post with a bit of a rant. Yes, to some extent the art in this alley has come somewhat commercialized especially with the newer buildings on Richmond that back onto the alley. Uber5000 has benefited from some of this as he has painted a few large (and very good) murals here. Also, I understand that street art by its nature is prone to “disappearing” behind the work of others but I reject the notion that one person’s tag is as good as another person’s mural. Anyone can destroy. Anyone can paint their “name” but if you are proud of writing it over someone else’s more talented work then you haven’t progressed beyond the preschooler phase of life.

Photos taken October 2023

This post also appears in mcfcrandall.blog

Williamsburg murals

Posted on October 3, 2023 by Mary C

Most of these murals can be seen on, or close to, Bedford Avenue.

below: A large snail by Australian artist Mike Makatron, but not just an ordinary snail – this one has stairs leading up to a fire hydrant on top of its spiral shell.

close up of snail mural, fire hydrant on top of shell

below: “Song to the Siren” by Naveen Shakil Khan, 2021

mual in black and white of 5 women's faces, long hair, composite of 3 portraits, by Naveen Shariz

Where Bedford Avenue meets Broadway and South 6th Street is a large mural of a young woman with her hands under her chin. The title of the painting is “Lost Time” but it has become known as the Williamsburg Mona Lisa. The mural (by Colossal Media) is from a photograph by Steven Paul (of his friend Nina Attal). Paul was a high school senior from Brooklyn in 2014 when he submitted the photo to a contest sponsored by Scholastic … and won.

large mural in greyish blue tones of a young woman in a striped long sleeved shirt, short hairr, resting with hands on chin,

below: Eduardo Kobra boxers but not really boxers, Andy Warhol is on the left and Jean-Michel Basquiat is beside him.

kobra multicoloured mural of andy warhol and jean michel basquiat in boxing shorts and boxing gloves, with arms crossed in front of themselves, mural at bedford and ninth in williamsburg new york city

Jean-Michel Basquiat and # Fight for street art

below: This anti-war Elvis Presely mural was also painted by Kobra. Unfortunately it has been defaced, almost literally as it is mostly Presley’s face that has been painted over.

below: The Moxy Hotel Williamsburg recently opened on Bedford Avenue. On the upper level, south side, of the hotel is a mural by DFace. It can be seen from the Williamsburg bridge, and is near the pedestrian entrance to the bridge. DFace’s style is reminiscent of paintings by Roy Lichtenstein.

mural by d face on upper storey of moxy hotel in williamsburg, a woman passenger in a car, man driving, woman is thinking, just get me to the moxy

On a black wall, a Chris Tuorto hand with clenched fist beside a very simple donut

mural of a clenched fist in pastel colours, with black outline, on a black wall

Williamsburg street sccene, mid rise buildings, traffic, water tower on roof,

street art on upper levels of building exterior

Photos taken August 2023

crossing the Williamsburg Bridge

Posted on September 17, 2023 by Mary C

between Manhattan and Williamsburg, over the East River

crossing the Williamsburg bridge, with pinkish red metal railings and girders, pedestrian walkway is beside and slightly above road and subway lines.

A little yellow dinosaur trying to look fierce as he growls at your feet.

I’m happy you’re here, keep going!

I crave you

Shy white cat says meow

Homesick and Lucky Star writ large on a grey wall. The American flag image below them is made using painted car doors.

view from williamsburg bridge, buildings, one with graffiti street art on it

It’s just love in a rainbow of colours.

… and love is gold

Pacman wears a gold crown, king of the streets

Looking down at Williamsburg streets including a mural with two faces and two flowers.

Blackface pink walker

Reaching out in peace and love

Stencil by go4tart aka GOAT, rat on a scooter; a rat loves NYC

Seek Discomfort

Sold out art show yellow face with three pairs of eyes.

I wonder what Jane’s reaction was?

….. Maybe this is Jane ?!

on the railing – mask? and master?

Kiss me

More words on love

… but in the end, the virus gets you.

Photos taken August 2023

Casa Blanca, California style

Posted on September 13, 2023 by Mary C

The historic Casa Blanca Citrus Fruit Crate Label is the center focus of this mural recently painted by Juan Navarro in Riverside California. It is located on Madison Street by the small “Welcome to Casa Blanca” sign that marks the start of this neighborhood (see bottom right in photo).

Images of three old Casa Blanca landmarks were provided by the local historical group – the original adobe Saint Anthony’s Church (1923-1975), the old elementary school, and the railway depot. The depot was built in 1897 and serviced the Santa Fe railway that ran between San Bernardino and Los Angeles; the building was demolished in the late 1960s.

The soldier in the mural represents Medal of Honor (WWII) recipient Ysmael Villegas who was from the neighborhood. There is also a park named in his honor.

Photo credit: Esther Valdez, September 2023

from ceramics to a wall

Posted on September 12, 2023 by Mary C

When St. Michaels church in Riverside California built new apartments for low income and homeless people, they decided to include a mural on one of the facades in the complex. This mural was painted in the fall of 2022 by Rowan Harrison of Two Tribes Pottery.

20 by 30 foot mural on the ide of a 2 storey building, with small trees in front, semi circles in blue, swirls in red, and black dots make up most of the design, incorporates two windows of the building

Support for the mural was provided by Art From the Ashes, a non-profit group based in southern California

More information about the mural, as well as pictures taken during the painting process, can be found on the Two Tribes Pottery website

Photo taken by Esther Valdez, September 2023

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: mural

child of the East Village

the workmen and the black birds

along rue Oberkampf

A stranger in town

the colourful ox

In the alley after dark

Williamsburg murals

crossing the Williamsburg Bridge

Casa Blanca, California style

from ceramics to a wall