Tag Archives: murals

Stornara murals – Stramurales

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Stramurales curated by the Stornara Life association. Since I visited the city in February 2024, many more murals have been painted on Stornara’s walls. Even though this is my eighth blog post showing Stornara murals, there are many that you will have to go to see for yourself! …. or of course you could check out the Stornara Life website.

below: Graffmatt painted this child with a leaf among the bags of trash, all in blues. It’s title in “Desperate World”

street art mural by Graffmatt of a child holding a large blue leaf that hides most of the face, many bags of garbage surround the child

below: “No Looking Back” by Zabou. In case you can’t see it, the title of the book is, “Unione Europea, Repubblica Italiana”

street art mural in Stornara by Zabou, of a young man with baseball cap on backwards, a backpack on his back, a book in hand, and a white bird on his shoulder. man has slight mustache and beard, painted on a building with 6 windows, some with shutters that are closed.

below: Liberami da tutto il male (= Deliver me from all evil) by Brazilian artist Alex Senna; his murals are almost always in shades of gray.

in shades of grey, a mural by Alex Senna of a young boy kneeling by a large heart shape on the ground made of lit candles

below: “Love overcomes death”, by JDL (aka Judith de Leeuw). The same woman in three different, but similar, positions.

residential street with street art murals in Stornara, side of houses, the nearest one is by JDL, also known as Judith de Leeuw, which shows a woman in three similar poses combined into one person, middle one is holding a red flower

below: Only the flower has color.

street art mural by JDL, also known as Judith de Leeuw, which shows a woman in three similar poses combined into one person, middle one is holding a red flower

below: Caratoes painted this portrait, titled “La Ragazza Meccanica”. This translates to The Mechanical Girl. A machine, or robot, with a mask to make her look human.

street art mural on side of residential building in Stornara, by Caratoes, robot women lying on back, neck and head only

below: Both of these pieces are by No Chance (or No Chance Crew), Mona Lisa with her Anonymous mask, and the elderly couple in “Eternal Love”

2 pieces of street art, one is Mona Lisa holding up an anonymous mask and the other is an elderly couple hugging.

below: Someone has left a drink for Ghost

in a niche in a cement wall, wood frame, someone has left behind a white paper up, also the word ghost has been written there along with a little drawing of a skull with a white hat

below: Zip is the artist who created this little piece – a barefoot girl and a teddy bear.

below; A plain brick wall has been transformed – this mural by Vesod looks so real! The 3-D effect is so well done!

mural, three dimensional effect, mathematical instrument with rotating circles seems to come out of a brick wall , street art mural by Vesod

below: A field of red poppies and a blue head scarf in another Zabou mural, “Girl Lying Among the Poppies”

mural by Zabou of a young woman with long black hair and a blue head scarf, lying in a field of red poppies

below: “Positive Light” by Alaniz – a mural with bats and a white dove that seems to glow.

a mural by Alaniz of a woman holding out her hand to a white dove that seems to glow with light

below: Your dream, dreaming as you drive, by Antonio Giuliani – but the needed context is that this was painted in August 2020 so she is dreaming of freedom after the COVID lockdowns of 2020.

mural with text, your dream, woman driving a car, moon and planets and swirly clouds outside the window, wraps around the corner of a house

mural with text, your dream, woman driving a car, moon and planets and swirly clouds outside the window

below: A bit creepy, this skeleton is trying to kiss the girl (or it could be the other way around?). It was a collaboration between Diamond and Solo (Flavio) and is titled “Sommernacht” which is German for Summer Night.

murals on the side of a residential building in Stornara, as well as on the concrete fences beside the sidewalk, cars parked on the street, mural is of a skeleton trying to kiss a woman with long orange hair

below: “It’s Too Late for Revolution” by Lucione Samoa

mural by Lucione Samoa on a concrete wall, fence, beside sidewalk with parked cars

below: “One of my Friend” (with a pug looking on), by Artez

murals on fence beside street as well as on the wall of the building,

below: This mural is a collaboration between Zabou and Bifido.

street art mural on side of residential building in Stornara, zabou and bifido collaboration, girl in orange top

street art mural on side of residential building in Stornara,

below: Another piece by No Chance; this one is called “Giovanna Darkness”.

two women standing on a street corner talking to each other, one of the buildings beside them has a street art portrait

below: The first of at least two Dale Grimshaw paintings in Stornara is this one in blue.

Dale Grimshaw mural, portrait in blue, young man in hoodie, naked people on his forehead and under his chin
naked people in a Dale Grimshaw mural

below: The second Dale Grimshaw portrait is also a male, but this time it is a Papuasian holy man.

two small cars parked on street in stornara, with one building covered with street art murals including one by dale grimshaw

below: “Two Ancient Faces”, one male and one female combined, in a mural by Aero.

in a residential area of stornara, side of apartment building covered by mural by aero, large mural in shades of reds and orange, a face made of two elderly halves, on side male and the other side female, with 5 birds flying around
large mural in shades of reds and orange, a face made of two elderly halves, on side male and the other side female, with 5 birds flying around

below: A little mouse with a magic wand stands beside a bright pink pair of running shoes, or sneakers, with matching pink laces. This was painted by Aurora Agrestini.

pair of pink running shoes with laces, mural painted by Aurora Agrestini, on a wall, with two windows

below: The monkey, or ape, is a mural by Smok with a great title, “OMG Humans”.

two murals on two walls of the same building, an ape on one side, a pair of pink running shoes on the other

below: “The White Tiger” by Martina Pesce.

a white tiger with black stripes, mura on the side of a building in stornara, laundry hanging from balcony in other building,

below: Pooh Bear but oh! This is not the Winnie the Pooh you thought you knew. This Winnie, painted by Kris Rizek, seems to be getting ready to be up to no good! A gas mask? cans of spray paint? and what’s in that green bottle?

street art mural of Winnie the Pooh

graffiti on a stone wall, drawn in black marker, the words super, meh, pop, and wow, as well as a cat's head

below: Celebrating an event from 16 April 1519.

on the side of a two storey residential building, with balcones and laundry, street art mural in Stornara of two men dressed in old fashioned clothes, text written on the grass in the middle of the mural
street art mural in Stornara of two men dressed in old fashioned clothes, text written on the grass in the middle of the mural
“Noi Giovanna e Carlo … da parte del magnifico Signore Paolo Antonio Puderico nobile napoletana fedele nostro diletto… nel presente ha, tiene e possiede … il feudo della Stornara inabitato … per se suoi eredi e successori .. per legittima successione in perpetuo con tutti i suoi diretti entrate e ragioni ….confermiamo, accettiamo, omdoghiamo, lodiamo e ratifichiamo… Anno sedicesimo Navarra quinto Aragonese delle due Sicile e Gerusalemme… Dato nella citta di Barcellona il 16 aprile anna dalla nativita di nostro Signore 1519. “
translation: We, Giovanna and Carlo… on behalf of the magnificent Lord Paolo Antonio Puderico, a Neapolitan nobleman, our faithful beloved… currently has, holds and possesses… the uninhabited fiefdom of Stornara… for himself, his heirs and successors… by legitimate succession in perpetuity with all its direct income and rights…we confirm, accept, commend, praise and ratify… Sixteenth year Navarre, fifth Aragonese of the two Sicilies and Jerusalem… Given in the city of Barcelona on the 16th of April after the birth of our Lord 1519

below: Stornara Life. As I walked around the town, a local woman who spoke no English (and I can’t speak much Italian) made sure that I understood that it was the people at Stornara Life who brought the artists and their work to Stornara.

door of building for stornara life organization, with some small pieces of street art on it, a boy in a blue hoodie, part of a man's face in black and white, a girl with feathers and a bow and arrow

below: The last mural for this post is “The Crowd of Fools” painted by Gods in Love. It covers two sides of a building. I don’t have a photo of the whole mural – instead I will leave you with a few bits and pieces.

part of a mural in stornara italy by artists gods in love, title of crowd of fools, misshapen characters sometimes with multiple pairs of eyes, pointy fingers, strange shaped heads, etc
part of a mural in stornara italy by artists gods in love, title of crowd of fools, misshapen characters sometimes with multiple pairs of eyes, pointy fingers, strange shaped heads, etc

part of a mural in stornara italy by artists gods in love, title of crowd of fools, misshapen characters sometimes with multiple pairs of eyes, pointy fingers, strange shaped heads, etc

Photos taken February 2024

Stornara posts on this blog

  1. A Stornara wall, one of many
  2. Another Stornara selection
  3. Blues over Stornara
  4. one corner, two women
  5. riding turtles and reading cats
  6. Stornara murals – Stramurales [this post – see above]
  7. the world is changing
  8. utopia and smiling faces

Pohukaina Street

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A previous post showed a number of murals that have been painted near the corner of Cooke and Pohukaina Streets in the Kaka’ako district of Honolulu. If you were to stay on Pohukaina Street instead of turning on Cooke, you would walk past another wall of murals. This is that wall. It takes up the whole block.

below: At the corner with Cooke Street

street art mural in Honolulu

below: Dinosaur head? Pterodactyl?

car parked in front of a street art mural in Honolulu

below: Green theme… as in ecologically green, with clean water and sustainable crops.

street art mural in Honolulu

below: Morning glories and pears

street art mural in Honolulu

below: In the water with green eyed creatures

street art mural in Honolulu

below: Asian style dragons and creatures

street art mural in Honolulu

below: … with yellow eyes and fangs

street art mural in Honolulu

below: Superheros to the rescue! 123Krew

street art mural in Honolulu plus reflections in a car window of

below: Humanoid … robotic? transformer?

street art mural in Honolulu Photos taken July 2025

The Container Yard

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 800 East 4th Street, Los Angeles

below: A portrait of Andy Warhol beside Desire, Obtain, and Cherish

A large building with 3 large garage doors. Each door has a word painted on it, desire, obtain, cherish. A large street art painting surrounds the words - swirls and stars. Part of the side of the building also has street art - a large black and white painting of Andy Warhol.

below: I love LA!

colourful tags, or parts of tags, with two coffee mug shapes with faces, one white and one orange. The orange one is sticking out its tongue at a grey mug shape that has "I love LA" on it, along with a red heart

below: Runny, droopy, eyes in a colourful mural by Vyal Reyes.

blog_desire_obtain_cherish_multicolor_eyes

blog_desire_obtain_cherish_pointy_nosebelow: Two birds in flight, birds with feathery wings in blues, purples, and black.

blog_desire_obtain_cherish_purple_birds

blog_desire_obtain_cherish_queen_hearts

blog_desire_obtain_cherish_balloons

blog_desire_obtain_cherish_deerbelow: “Woke up sleeping, woke up still dreaming”, a mural by Christina Angelina, EaseOne, and SEK

blog_desire_obtain_cherish_dreaming

blog_desire_obtain_cherish_ladderbelow: The letters spell Craola and Self and of course, the artist is Craola aka Greg Simkins.

Large street art painting of the tag 'Boogie' with a mouse like head in the middle

below: A very square and very still robot. Cookie.

tall graffiti robot with a square head. Signed 'Cookie'. He's in a corner and not that well seen unfortunately below: It’s probably unfinished?  Each image is a letter of the alphabet?  Maybe it ends with R O E?   An image search with google was not helpful so I only have questions….

unfinished street art on a wall. Someone has painted the words 'rained out' below it

angles and triangles predominate in this street art painting.

blog_desire_obtain_cherish_little_guy

With thanks to Landon who let me walk around with my camera.
Photos taken in 2015

The Container Yard story

at Colyton and East 4th

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Murals and graffiti seen at Colyton and East 4th St. in Los Angeles

On the corner of East 4th street and Colyton is this mural by Tristan Eaton:

street art in the Arts District of LA (Los Angeles) - many women's faces with other creatures like a snake and a white dove, and things like guns and flowers,as well

Close up of a woman's face, part of a mural on East 4th Street in Los Angeles. There is also a purple snake in the picture. Larger than life size.

Close up of a woman's face, part of a mural on East 4th Street in Los Angeles. Large than life size.
Close up of a woman's face, part of a mural on East 4th Street in Los Angeles. Large than life size.

On the telephone pole at the corner:

Two small bits of street art on telephone pole, a turquoise wood cut out that has a vaguely human shape as well as a piece, also in blues, with an X in the middle, and letters written in each quadrant of the X, NC on the top, LA on the right, RS70 on the bottom and NY on the left.

Around the corner on Colyton there are a couple of other murals. First, a blue woman by James Haunt and Love Crew

street art in the Arts District of LA (Los Angeles) - part of a mural of a woman's head, very large and very blue, lying down eys and mouth open
street art in the Arts District of LA (Los Angeles) - part of a mural of a woman's head, very large and very blue, lying down eys and mouth open

street art in the Arts District of LA (Los Angeles) - part of a mural of a woman's head, very large and very blue, lying down eyes and mouth open Love, Love, Love

blog_colyton_windowsHer eyes like emotion sensors…. and an old truck too.

An old pale yellow pick up truck is parked in front a mural that includes the words "Her eyes like emotion sensors"

Large black and white picture, very realistic, of a man's head.

Photos were taken in 2015

923 East Third Street

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… downtown Los Angeles

There is an alley that runs along the east side of this building between 3rd and 2nd streets.

No trespassing sign at 923 East Third Street in LA, it has 5 or 6 stickers on it as well as some scribbles in black

A chain link fence also runs along the east side of the building, separating passersby and the street art covered walls.
It makes picture taking a bit more challenging, but it also reduces unwanted tagging.

Old brick building painted white then covered with a mural in pale blues and greens. metal barred window with Keep Out sign on it, a mural of running animals drawn as outline figures, with the top of a chain link fence in the very foreground of the picture.

I was using my little camera so the lens fits through the spaces of a chain link fence.   The presence of a second fence stymied me though…. so the fence becomes part of the composition of the picture.    This mural was painted by Else Oner and Jeanette Paredes on a building that once was a flour mill but that is now part of an art gallery.

Mural behind a chain link fence with a coil of barbed wire above it. Mural is of two women's faces, two red roses, a greenish tag and the words "downtown LA"

mural on an old brick wall. center part of the mural is a woman wearing just panties and sneakers as she squats, viewed from behind. She looks like she is squatting behind a brick wall. Tags and other shapes also in the mural. The word 'Janet' is written beside her.

Banana! .. and lemons and strawberries.

Mural on the back of a building, including over a door with metal grille and bars. A very big banana, some strawberries and some lemons are in the picture.

street art on a wall in a LA alley. Pink background, blue tag, greenish tag, with a man's head in profile in between the tags. Weeds growing up from the crack between the pavement and the wall.

The ‘One Fallen Angel’ mural is at the north end of the alley, at East 2nd street.  She wears a blue rose in her hair.  Her wings resemble the stars and stripes of the American flag.

fallen angel mural in black and white on blue background - left hand side of the mural, old car, angel, and the word Los
fallen angel mural in black and white on blue background, the right side of the mural with the word Angeles and a skull.

fallen angel mural in black and white on blue background - close up of the angel with an ugly face over a doorway. Elaborate wings and a blue rose in her hair.

Photos were taken in 2015

around the Angel Brewery

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The Angel Brewery is where the Arts District of Los Angeles meets Little Tokyo.  It has been located in the Roebling’s Sons building the corner of Alameda St. and Traction Ave. since 2010.  The building is now also home to a number of small pieces of street art.

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street art on the exterior walls of an old red brick building

wheatpaste street art on the exterior walls of an old red brick building - one is a full moon, another is a tree drawn with squiggly lines that make the texture of the bark
below: …. now with a lovebot heart…. I forgot to take a lovebot robot sticker with me, I only had a heart one.

wheatpaste street art on the exterior walls of an old red brick building - astronaut head in greens and blues, also one small lovebot heart sticker
wheatpaste street art on the exterior walls of an old red brick building

wheatpaste street art on the exterior walls of an old red brick building (intircate black and white drawings of people, as well as a painted pink and black sad face below: Esoteric

wheatpaste street art on the exterior walls of an old red brick building - an owl face along with the word 'esoteric'

wheatpaste street art on the exterior walls of an old red brick building - an owl face along with the word 'esoteric'

wheatpaste street art on the exterior walls of an old red brick building - a skull with a multicoloured head band, and a goldish brown monkeybelow: More Fossil Fools

wheatpaste street art on the exterior walls of an old red brick building - two small posters with the line 'fossil fuels' and picture of an older man, the astronaut pic, and two smaller black and white pics at the bottombelow: 1dirlust Fox has a posse.

wheatpaste street art on the exterior walls of an old red brick building - a fox's head with the text "dirlust fox has a posse"

wheatpaste street art on the exterior walls of an old red brick building - two young men

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wheatpaste street art on the exterior walls of a yellow fire hydrant - a man's head, wearing a gas mask and a hat below: Ronald Regan has Legislative influence for sale, large mural by Shepard Fairey (aka Obey)

street art piece of Ronald Regan holding a sign that says 'Legislative Influence for sale'

The back part of an old brick building. The sign John A. Roebling's Sons Co. is still there from the original owners of the building. A very large black and white set of eyes covers a large part of the upper storeys of the buildings. It is done in black and white and looks very realistic.

blog_angel_brewery_manybelow: Marilyn Munroe in wheatpaste

A wheatpaste Marilyn Munroe with very yellow hair, blue rimmed dark sunglasses and red lipstick that is running. Three large black dots are on one of her cheeks.

wheatpaste street art on the exterior walls of an old red brick building - an owl in a circle

below: 100% Clueless, like lambs to the slaughter. … but that’s okay because I think that there is a Rat that loves you.

wheatpaste street art on the exterior walls of an old red brick building - a rat with I 'heart' rat you and beside it is a smaller piece with a cow's head coming out of a circle and around the cirle are the words "100% clueless"

graffiti dark blue heart with the 'words los angeles' written in white cursive lettering. White paint runs down from the sides of the heart.

street art piece of a head, the lower part is skull, the middle is realistic in black and white (nose and eyes) and the top has become a wispy white creature

Photos taken in 2015

This post appeared in my other blog but I am finally consolidating all my street art posts into one place.

La Jolla murals

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I hadn’t planned to spend much time in La Jolla.  I had just spent a couple hours walking the beach at Torrey Pines and all I wanted was something to drink.  If you’ve ever been to La Jolla you’ll know that parking can be a challenge (especially free street parking)!   After taking an unplanned driving tour of the city I found a spot beside one of the murals.   A pleasant surprise.  A quick stop at Starbucks, and their wifi, to find an online map of the mural locations and I took to the streets (on foot, my tired legs!).  With a little additional help of a woman at the Visitor Info Center, I managed to find most of them.   They are predominantly printed on what looks and feels like plasticized canvas and then mounted on walls.   Many were in shadow but I may never get back so I did what I could.  Here are the photos:

below: ‘Opening’ by William Wegman, 2014

yellow mural on yellow wall. In the middle of the mural it looks like a dog has poked a large hole in the canvas and he's sticking his head out and giving a forlorn look at the viewer, painting by William Wegman.

Close up of the dog from yellow mural on yellow wall. In the middle of the mural it looks like a dog has poked a large hole in the canvas and he's sticking his head out and giving a forlorn look at the viewer.

below:  ‘Applied’ by Richard Allen Morris, 2012

A mural on a wall - blobs of colour (ice cream? paint?) on a light blue background.

below: ‘One Pointed Attention’ by Kelsey Brookes, 2014

a large mural of concentric circles of wavy lines, almost psychedelic in nature.

a large mural of concentric circles of wavy lines, almost psychedelic in nature on the side of a building that is partially obscured by a tree.

Close up of a large mural of concentric circles of wavy lines, almost psychedelic in nature. A blue and white handicap parking spot sign is in front of it.

below: ’53 women’ by Ryan McGinness, 2011

A few cars parked in a parking lot that has a very long mural titled 53 women because there are 53 women in the mural... black background and abstract silhouettes of women in bright colours. All naked, all women are one colour each - green, yellow, orange, blue, pink, purple

detail of Very long mural titled 53 women because there are 53 women in the mural... black background and abstract silhouettes of women in bright colours. All naked, all women are one colour each - green, yellow, orange, blue, pink, purple. The women are doing different activites, yoga, running, sitting, etc

below: ‘At Sea’  by Ann Hamilton, 2012

A very large mural in shades of greenish blacks and greys of a sailing ship at sea.

below:  Ooops, my apologies to the artist.

A large mural on the side of a white building. Many fish in many colours are swimming around on a white background. A small tree partially blocks the left side of the mural.

below: ‘Sexy Cash’ by Mark Bradford, 2015

A long horizontal mural on the side of a building. Messy looking but there are a few large numbers and letters visible.

below: ‘The Shores’ by Catherine Opie, 2013

A large mural of a beach scene in washed out colours, soft focus, on the side of a building beside the parking lot in front of Quality Cleaners in La Jolla.

below: ‘Expecting to Fly (for the Zeros)’ by Fred Tomaselli, 2013.  From his Instagram page: “This mural honors the late, great Chicano Punk band, The Zeros, who emerged from Chula Vista and left an enduring impact on the punk scene. The title, 𝙀𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙁𝙡𝙮, references the 1960s Neil Young song performed by Buffalo Springfield, connecting different eras of music and counterculture.”

A large mural on the side of a building in La Jolla, a man is falling towards a lot of uplifted hands. The man is painted with a number of jumbled up body parts.

below: ‘Tear Stains Be Gone’ by Jean Lowe, 2015

Large mural on a wall in La Jolla that looks like an ad for a product called 'Tear Stain Remover' with the slogan "Being human is hard but it doesn't have to look that way And it only costs $14.99

below: ‘Girl from Ipaneme’ by Kim MacConnel, 2010 (painted on the wall)

Tall vertical mural of wavy stripes of colour on white background. Red, blue, yellow, green and black stripes. More than 2 storeys tall.

below: ‘Favorite Color’ by Roy McMakin, 2010 (colored tiles)

Wall of a building that has been covered with multicoloured square tiles

Wall of a building that has been covered with multicoloured square tiles

Link for more information about the Murals of La Jolla, including a lot of newer paintings!

Photos taken 2015.
They originally appeared on a different website, but I am in the process of consolidating all my street art blog posts.

murals in 29 Palms

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Twentynine Palms California is a desert town with a population of about 26,000.   It lies directly east of Los Angeles and slightly northeast of Palm Springs.  It is the site of the Oasis of Mara, the site of the 29 palm trees planted by the Serrano Indians.  The Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center is just outside of town.

Robert Plant sings a song called ’29 Palms’ although it’s not about the town.

Frank Sinatra recorded ‘The Lady from Twentynine Palms’ in 1939 and it was later covered by the Andrews Sisters as well as Doris Day.   Again, it’s not a song about the town!

I drove through it the other day because it is one of the towns at the northern edge of Joshua Tree National Monument.   As I entered the town, I noticed a sign that claimed that 29 Palms was the city of murals.  As it turns out, there are quite a few murals in town.

As I was taking pictures, I realized that it must be rare for people to walk around this town with a camera.  Then a few minutes later I decided that was wrong.  It is rare for people to walk around this town. Period.

What follows is most of the murals.  I am missing one of desert wildflowers and one of a giant lizard.  So be it. Most of the murals have an historical theme and most come with a story.  So, here is a brief account of some of the characters and events in the history of Twentynine Palms.

below: The story of cattle days in Hidden Valley.  Hidden Valley is a rock formation in what is now Joshua Tree.  Entrance to the ‘valley’ is through small openings in the rock formations.  It was once home to castle rustlers.

mural of a man lying on his back on scaffolding. He is painting a mural that is unfinished. The sky is blue. Other parts are drawn and labelled as to which color they should be painted. A very realistic cow stands beside the scaffolding.

Mural painted by John Pugh with help from Mark Molchan, Jeff Bryant, Alexis Ingle and Michelle Smith.

part of a mural - text with the story of cattle at Hidden Valley

below: The 29 Palms Stage and Express, a 1929 Chevrolet truck modified by John Hastie and used in 1938 when he started providing public transportation in the area.  John Hastie continued to drive until he retired in 1973.  It would be interesting to know how long this truck was in service!

a mural that illustrates the story of the 29 Palms stage and express. An old truck is full of people and there are trunks and bags tied to its roof.

The text that appears on the mural about the stage and express in 29 Palms.

below: Keys’ Desert Queen Ranch.  Bill Keys arrived in 29 Palms in 1910 as the caretaker of the Desert Queen mine.  When the mine went bankrupt, Bill Keys claimed the mine site. He and his wife Frances raised their five children here and Bill remained until his death in 1969.  The wikipedia entry for Bill Keys (William F. Keys) mentions that they had seven children, four of whom survived.  It also depicts Bill Keys as more of a ‘character’ including the fact that he spent time in San Quentin prison for murder.   The ranch buildings still exist (they are within Joshua Tree National Monument) and tours of the site are available.

A mural titled 'Keys' desert queen ranch' with a painting of the ranch building as well as the Keys family.

part of a mural showing a portrait of Bill Keys (as an old photograph) and his wife. In the middle of the painting is text that tells the story of their ranch in 29 palms.

below:  Orville Jackson Cones, aka Cactus Jack, or Jack Cones, the flying constable.  He became Constable of the area in 1932 and he held that job for 28 years.  He helped patrol the area by flying his Piper J-3 Cub.

mural depicting the story of Jack Cones, a policeman who flew airplanes.

The text that appears on the mural of Jack Cones

 below:  The above mural is signed,  O’Connor ’96.
Apparently the two guys who look like they want to help are Fergie and Floyd.

the signature on a mural, O'connor '96 and then there are two little workmen beside the signature that are drawn in black, both are wearing funny hats, both are older men. One has a can of paint and the other has a ladder

below: Another O’Connor mural, this one painted in 2002, depicts the story of Smiths Ranch.

A mural about the story of Smiths Dairy and their Saturday night dances

The text is smaller and more difficult to read in these photos but apparently Bill Smith and brother Harry came to 29 Palms in 1923.  They drilled a well that supplied the early settlers with water.  It also supplied a small swimming pool (see right side of mural).

part of a mural - pictures of Smith and text telling a story
Thelma Head (Mead?) arrived in 29 Palms a few years later and in 1930 she and Bill Smith were married.  Together they raised their family here.  They also developed Smiths Ranch with ice house, dairy, ice cream parlor,  outdoor theater, recreational hall, and trailer park.

mural, a young girl is eating a slice of watermelon while a man in blue overalls is sitting beside her. Other children are in the background.

below:  O’Connor Graphics has a store in town.  Unfortunately it was closed the day that I was there. But he does have a website!

Two small stores that share a common wall. O'Connor Graphics on the left. A very tall palm tree is near the center of the two buildings.

below: Prior to a flood control channel built in 1969, flash floods used to occur in 29 Palms.  During thunderstorms water would race from the mountains above the town, flood the highway, and then flood the main streets of town.

Whole mural showing scenes of a flash flood that passed through the town of Twentynine Palms.

The right side of a mural showing scenes of a flash flood that passed through the town of Twentynine Palms.

mural showing scenes of a flash flood that passed through the town of Twentynine Palms. Left side of the mural.

Photos taken in 2017.
This post originally appeared on another website but I am consolidating all my street art and mural blog posts into one collection.

at Cooke & Pohukaina

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…. more Kaka’ako murals

below: At the corner of Cooke and Pohukaina Streets where two sides of an older industrial building are covered with murals.

below: It looks a lot like the work of krack1 but I haven’t been able to find any proof online (and I forgot to look for a ‘signature’ for this piece when I was taking photos).

Along the Cooke Street side of the building, there is a row of murals. This is some of them:

below: A blue and white striped tiger by Kim Sielbeck stalks through tall plants.

below: Bright red and pink flowers by tattoo artists Cory Ferguson and Luckyolelo

mural, bright red and pink flowers, by cody ferguson and lucky olelo

below: Michelle Hoogveld‘s graphic heart

mural by michelle hoogveld

below: Lauren Hana Chai painted this woman sitting under a lotus flower and wrapped by a white and pale blue tiger.

mural in Honolulu by Lauren Hana Chai, realistic woman's face

below: In a mural by Drea, aka Andrea James, blowing air at butterflies – will this tiny change in the butterfliies’ behavior have a ripple effect on other events? – The Butterfly Effect

mural by Andrea James, a woman is blowing air towards a small group of blue butterflies

below: By Jana Lam, and Fam, more flowers – droopy pink ones and bright blue ones splashed across a textured sky.

below: The view back up the street from the south end of the block.

a white car is parked on a street where a building is covered in murals, at the near end is one on bright light green background, a pony's head,

There is a building across the street with some silhouette type images of people.

large, low rise, industrial building with blue metal doors, some grey images painted on walls that look like silhouettes of people

Photos taken July 2025

Zaspa murals – 20 years in the making

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There is a housing development in the Zaspa area of Gdansk, built on what was once an airfield. There are many lowrise and midrise apartment blocks surrounded by green space. Starting back in the 1990’s, the large end walls of some of these apartment buildings have become canvases for street artists. Each year a few more were added.

path across a vacant lot towards a church and some apartment buildings. Two of the apartments have large murals on the sides of the building

below: Clemens Behr 2012

large mural, abstract shapes in shades of brown by Clemens Behr

below: “The Last Judgment Alive in Pixels” by Piotr Szwabe, 2017. This mural is inspired by the altar of the Last Judgment by Hans Memling from 1472.

landscape scene with people, large mural, but painting as if it were a pixelated picture

below: From 2014, Eternia by Gaulicho.  It shows “shows a world within a world, a micro and a macrocosm, the eternal cycle of day and night, birth and death, rise and fall.”

large mural on the side of an apartment block

below: Chopin w Blokowisku (or, Chopin at Housing Estate), inspired by an unfinished portrait of Frederick Chopin and George Sands. Mural by Piotr Szwabe.

piano theme mural, with a couple sitting by a piano, river of white and black keys coming from piano

below: Painting by Pawel Paulus Mazur – balancing act, trying to make ends meet.  2014

exterior mural of a man balancing on one foot on a coin on edge

below: Magenta horse with clownish rider in a painting by Lucas Parbo, 2012. Another mural with money in it – “An apathetic rider with a standard displaying indifference and protected by a dubious shield with the figure of a modern-day European currency.”

mural of a blue knight with armor and shield on a red horse. Horse is standing on two hind legs. Shield has a euro symbol on it

below: New Idol is Coming, by Tomasz Bielak, 2010

mural of a baby bundled up in the middle of a red starburst explosion. New idol

below: The words are a line from the poem “Under One Small Star” by Wislawa Szymborska “Truth, please don’t pay me much attention./ Dignity, please be magnanimous.”, Painted by Opiemme in 2014

mural by opiemme on the end of an apartment block in Gdansk

below: Ancient ruins in a modernist space; a mural by Pawel Karczewski with help from painters “Bąkowski and Roman”. 1997

with some large trees nearby, a large mural of the ruins of the Roman coliseum in Rome, or any other roman coliseum for that matter

below: Rafat Roskowinski’s portrait of Pope John Paul II (Jan Pawel II) and Lech Walesa, 1999.

below: Also by Rafat Roskowinski (1997) snakes, snails, and some toucans for a big splash of colour.

below: Ozmo, 2009, RnR refers to Rock ‘n Roll as this mural was painted on the 50th anniversary of the first Rock ‘n Roll concert in Poland, held at the club Rudy Kot (Ginger Cat) in Gdansk.

below: A mural by Swedish artist Ekta showing Narcissus cutting off a piece of his own flesh so that he can taste himself. 2011

large vertical mural, large black stylized hand picking something red

There are many more murals that I haven’t yet added to this blog. Soon, I hope to catch up soon.

More information can be found at Murale Gdansk Zaspa, Kolekcja Malarstwa Monumentalnego

Photos taken in 2022