Tag Archives: murals

covering a yellow door

Posted on by
1

In Melbourne’s Baptist Place there is/was a collection of stickers and paste-ups by a very international group of artists.

below: This is the door as seen in February 2025. It may look different now!

A double door, painted pale yellow, inset into a wall that is yellow, exterior door, covered with stickers and paste ups, graffiti by many different artists

A closer look at some of the stickers and paste-ups……

below: Mama yellow rubber ducky and her four little ones with lots of balloons – and one little ducky is wearing black swim goggles. These yellow adventurers can be found in lots of places, especially in France which is the home of their creator, Canards Vagabonds aka Sylvie Gennerat.

canards, yellow duckies, mama duck with four little ones, one has a black pair of swim goggles on, 4 bunches of balloons too

below: A Wonder Woman figure by Little Meh as well as a DJ Gumba dude holding 2 black balloons. One of the balloons says “pretty cool”. On the right, is that man really carrying a very large carrot?

stickers and slaps on a door, one is DJ Gumba with two black balloons, one is a wonder woman figure by little meh, and one is a man in a plaid shirt carrying a very large carrot also a sticker with just text that reads helping animals doesn't need to be that hard

below: A grey possum with a little pink nose and a curvy tail under “Back rolls not gender roles”.

graffiti paste up of a grey possum with a pink nose and a long curved tail

below: A collection of slaps by a variety of artists. There are two Breaking Bad yellow Lego men. The skateboarder with the black and white flowery hair is the work of Drecks. At the very bottom, a Tweet cat face with blue David Bowie style lightning bolts and a droopy eyed guy by American artist The Dtore (aka Dave)

many stickers and paste ups on a door, there is no planet B, a drecks woman on a skateboard, two breaking bad lego figures in yellow, a spatula turned into a puppet head with big red lips,

below: One very pink eyed cat and a couple of red capped mushroom people. The latter is the work of My Cute Creatures (Creaturi Dragute) – Mama Mushroom and her little mushroom tyke.

two pieces of graffiti, a cat head, black and white cat with pink eyes and pink lips, another by cute creatues, mushrooms with red caps turned into human forms, mother and child,

below: Now ET can call home whenever he wants. In the bottom right corner is a tiny sticker by Vootsak aka Camille. The green eye with the tears but under a rainbow was created by Apparan. Leave no one behind.

slaps on a yellow door, ET in a hoodie holding a smart phone, a black bomb cherry bomber, a green eye with tears under a rainbow,

below: A grey cat has found a handy perch atop the head of a ginger man with beard and mustache (by Stoeyes)

a man's head, ginger beard and mustache, with blue headphones, a mask, and a grey cat sitting on his head, other stickers too, one with the word work,

below: A white bird takes flight.

slaps on a door, a white bird in flight, a pink bunny with word box with a question mark, and ET's head and phone

below: Some Australian animals – a white ibis (by Tweet) and a kangaroo with a white rabbit in its pouch. The latter is a collaboration between Maens_hh, a German artist who draws characters like the white rabbit, and Eppendorfs_finest, an artist who often draws/paints/showcases a dog called Lounis.

slaps on a door, a white bird with long legs and long curved beak, also black head, another graffiti piece that is a kangaroo with a white rabbit in its pouch

below: Another collection of slaps, stickers and paste ups including T-bonez of the urban ninja squadron, a common sight around Toronto. TRP613 Sailor Dude is wearing an Australia T-shirt but now has the Tweet cat face.

stickers and paste ups including tweet cat, urban ninja squadron, sailor dude with an australian shirt on, and others

below: Monstrous! Now Trp613 (a Canadian from Ottawa) Sailor Dude seems to have turned green but that’s okay by MIC (Maid in Cologne). Sailor Dude may be green but that woman beside him is very red! (by Zelda Bomba from France)

Sailor Dude as a greenmonster, graffiti, Zelda bomba bright red woman's head with blue hair

below: A monster party! … With bunches of sunflowers and plenty of balloons, by Tweet

monster party graffiti by tweet, frankenstein, all with balloons

slaps, stickers, and paste ups on a laneway door, wonder woman, trp 613, monster party, breaking bad, lego, green monster, drecks,

below: “Body size is morally neutral”, “Protect queer kids”, “My cat thinks you should vote yes to the voice”. “Read books and dismantle [illegible] oppression.”

stickers on a door, all with text, body size is morally neitral, protect queer kids, my cat thinks you should vote no to the voice, and a priority mail sticker with a little white cat and the words, read books and dismantle the [illegible] of oppression

below: “Think!”, “Open your mind” and “Mutual aid is an evolutionary advantage.” Cupid’s got you in his line of sight – so beware of the balloons!

cupid with a bow and arrow, yellow rubber duckies, a woman with a rainbow scarf, open your mind, mutual aid is an evolutionary advantage, all graffiti on a door,

below: “Read boos. Be kind. Stay weird.” as well as a sleeping good vibes cat and a seahorse with a bouquet of tulips and balloons. Like many of the animal graffiti created by Industrie Tarte, this seahorse, or lippocampe, comes comes ready to divide into sections – filet, plat de cotes, bavette, flanchet – which are all cuts of meat. . The exact same pasteup was seen in Paris in 2023 (trust, live, love, all on a Paris wall).

sleeping cat says good vibes, graffiti, seahorse with balloons,

below: Hey cool, it’s a balloon burger with bones…. but that dog doesn’t look too impressed by it all.

paste ups, an orange and black dog sitting, a burger with balloons in the center and sticker that says cool

below: Almost life-sized Tweet cat with a fistful of balloons.

graffiti on a door in an alley in melbourne

below: What big eyes you’ve got!

graffiti on a door in an alley in melbourne including a grey bug with big head and eye, holding a net in its hands

below: A bright rd crab with big claws beside a prickly echidna playing with balloons. And dancing figures, le petite peuple de l’ombre, with even more balloons (by Wall-Lilo)

big red crab, graffiti paste ups, balloons, floating people, and an echidna

below: Masked smoker with Batman ears?

Photos taken February 2025

under the railway in Lynn

Posted on by
Reply

Lynn is a town in Massachusetts just outside of Boston. It is also one of the towns that participate in Beyond Walls, a non-profit organization that believes that art can build better cities. There is a lot of street art here! This isn’t the first post about Lynn – it is a look at some of the painting along the railway line near the station in central Lynn.

below: As the railway passes through Lynn, it is above grade. The sections underneath along the parking lot on Mt Vernon Street have been decorated with street art murals. The large building in the background is on the other side of the tracks and is featured in another blog post, Behind a building on Union Street

street art murals in Lynn Mass USA, under the railway that runs above grade here, as seen from beyond Mount Vernon Street

below: Part shiny chrome and part matte gray, a little whale by Bikismo (aka the chrome master!).

street art mural in Lynn Mass USA, by Bikismo, on bright yellow background, a whale that is partially shiny chrome and partially matte gray

below: Spray painting with great gusto with Okaje.

street art mural in Lynn Mass USA, by artist Okaje, a man in spray painting a pink blob

below: Tentacles of a purple octopus slither up the post.

street art mural in Lynn Mass USA,, on a pillar supporting a railway bridge, a purple octopus on white background

below: Three men and a wolf.

street art mural in Lynn Mass USA, at the top is a wolf head, below are three male figures mostly in red tones, water at the bottom

below: A marvelous steamy picture of Engine 481 on the Boston and Maine railway painted by Ben Keller.

street art mural in Lynn Mass USA,

below: From Lynn with love.

street art mural in Lynn Mass USA,

below: Spread your magic on cassette (how long ago did we do that!?).

street art mural in Lynn Mass USA,

below: History by Life Art from 2021. There is more text at the bottom of the panel but only “Humanity in colors” can be read.

street art mural in Lynn Mass USA, portraits of people with words about humanity and color

below: Wraps Mummy and its red balloon, by Grimly Toys

street art mural in Lynn Mass USA, grimly toys, red balloon, character wrapped up in cloth like a mummy

below: A row of people across the top, by Annadidathing aka Anna Dugan

street art mural in Lynn Mass USA,

below: A very purple face, painted by Bycazo (aka Jessica)

street art mural in Lynn Mass USA,

below: Autism, Lola, and Nanay…..

street art mural in Lynn Mass USA,

below: At one end of the parking lot is a large mural that is a collaboration between Yu-Baba and Key Detail.

street art mural in Lynn Mass USA,
close up of part of mural by yu-baba and key detail in ynn massachusett,

below: On the other side of the tracks there is more art.

a row of street art murals under a railway line

below: A canine-like critter (dog? wolf?) with a black shiny nose and sharp white teeth by Ghost Beard

large canine looking creature with a big black nose, long snout, and big white teeth, text says ghost beard

below: Nead2‘s rendition of Bart Simpson as a graffiti artist.

street art featuring Bart Simpson, by nead 2

below: It seems to rise like a plume of smoke – a painting on one of the pillars supporting the railway bridge, painted by Yuknow K Lou

concrete pilar supporting railway bridge, painted pink, with street art creature in white<

below: Also by the tracks…

street art mural in Lynn Mass USA,

below: Ruben Ubiera painted this mural on Silsbee Street close to the railway tracks and station. There are words on the black band on the gorilla’s shoulder that say “Entering Lynn”.

street art mural in Lynn Mass USA by Ruben Ubiera, large gorilla,
street art mural in Lynn Mass USA, by Ruben Ubiera
the words leaving memories always written in black capital letters on a wall with other street art colours

below: Lastly, just across from the tracks Kevin Ledo has painted “Do you realize” on the side of one of the small apartment buildings.

street art mural in Lynn Mass USA, large mural on side of apartment building of a young woman, with text, do you realize, painted by kevin Ledo

Stornara murals – Stramurales

Posted on by
Reply

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

Posted on by
Reply

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

Posted on by
Reply

 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

Posted on by
Reply

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

Posted on by
Reply

… 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

Posted on by
Reply

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.

blog_angel_brewery_building

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

blog_angel_brewery_heart

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

Posted on by
Reply

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

Posted on by
Reply

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.