Aloha e komo mai

Posted on July 29, 2025 by Mary C

below: Seen at the corner of Cooke and Auahi streets in the Kaka’ako neighborhood of Honolulu – One building with at least three sides covered with street art murals.

below: On the east side is a large painting by Matt Eaton. Not shown in this photo is the tribute written in one corner that says, “In memory of our beloved uncle, Rabindra”

below: “Aloha, e komo mai” or Hello! Welcome, come in… a friendly Hawaiian greeting.

large mural on the side of a building in honolulu

below: Creativity is my freedom. The freedom to express not impress. To impress is to become a slave to others opinions.

below: Among the leaves and flowers you can see the words, “Don’t let anyone steal your joy”.

below: Finding peace under the old gnarly tree.

below: Sitting together at the table while the dog waits underneath.

below: Trumpet players and dragons with horns and spiky tails.

part of a street art mural, a young man with eyes closed, an older man playing the trumpet, a dragon with open mouth, horns on head, and a long spiky tail.

below: Circles and triangles form patterns on the wall around the entrance to Aupuni Space, an artist-run art gallery.

mural, with door in middle, circles made of triangles in black, on orange background

below: A giant turtle swimming in the clear blue waters of Hawaii in a mural by Artworkbykai aka Kaiili Kaulukukui

below: A painting by Tatunga aka Tatiana Suarez – yellow worm-like animals eating a piece of juicy guava.

below: The last mural shown here springs from the imagination of Alex Pardee

small part ofmural by Alex Pardee, on bright yellow background, many weird and ugly monsters, close up of one with out stretched green skinny arm

Photos taken July 2025

Coral Street concrete

Posted on July 28, 2025 by Mary C

Kaka’ako, Honolulu

below: Along a fence made of concrete blocks there is a series of street art murals… with a big fish at the south end.

below: They are out “fishing” but trying to hook a slice of pizza. Riding along in that fish – is it a real fish? Or a boat called Cheez?. The passenger – more like a shrimp or lobster or something else altogether? Mural by CKaweekS (aka Jahjahjitsu).

below: One fellow doesn’t look that happy to be onboard for this adventure!

lobster with human facial features, big claw hands, riding in back of fish boat, looking unhappyin a mural, by jahjahjitsu,

below: Predominantly in black and white and shades of gray, the next stretch of wall suggests straight lines and graphic designs.

street art paintings on a concrete wall, part is a 3 dimensional looking maze

below: “In loving memory” This part of the wall was painted by DropDead.Grace

below: A portrait and calligraphy. It would be interesting to know if it is supposed to say something. Can it be read? Is this section of the mural in his memory?

below: Bunnies! Lots of rabbits.

part of an urban art mural, a group of rabbits, black line drawing on white concrete block wall

below: IN/LM = In loving memory

murals on a wall including one with IN/LM meaning in loving memory

Photos taken July 2025

Maiden Lane – Windsor

Posted on July 19, 2025 by Mary C

Windsor Ontario that is.

green vehicle parked in front of street art murals, with other murals reflected in its windows

Artist Alley and Maiden Lane, between Ouellete and Pellisier Streets, has provided a canvas for many street artists. Free 4 All Walls is an organization that has helped turn the alley into the art gallery that it has become. This blog post is a look at some of the murals that have been painted here.

Back side of a building in an alley, covered with graffiti that is mostly words in different fonts and colors, such as will be, everything, no more yes, fun, no fun,

below: A man in shorts, all in red, by Jarus.

below: A PURE Maple Syrup can makes an appearance in this mural. If you see any painting, or other form of graffiti featuring this can, you can assume that it is the work of Canadian artist ‘WhatisAdam’ aka WIA

mural of a man in cowboy hat, leading a horse past pine trees and blue sky, horse is wearing a can of pure maple syrup

horse is wearing a can of pure maple syrup, in a mural in windsor ontario

below: Spy vs Spy, cartoon sharacters wearing wide brimmed hats. Black Spy vs White Spy, both with long pointy noses. These characters originally appeared in Mad magazine as early as 1961.

below: Nychos painted this strange cowboy. Weirdly realistic but very anatomical. I’m not sure how his hands stay in place.

below: Peace sign with bones

below: Now adding a green peace symbol beside the peace sign with bones

large green peace symbol beside a hand made of just bones making the peace symbol

below: Another peace symbol

street art painting of a realistic hand, very large, making peace sign with background of protest signs in black and white, as well as a large red spray paint peace symbol

below: No guns, No war zone, Keep the mayor happy at all costs. More protest signs.

graffiti wall with words Love Street, and No War Zone, image of pistol with red slash through it,

below: More Peace and Love

below: According to an Instagram post by the artist, Jason Garcia, this image was inspired by an aerial view of the Windsor/Detroit area. The cities in pink with the river between them.

part of mural by jason garia around a window with metal grille over it, geometric shapes to the right of the window, lots of red, green, and blue hearts to theleft

below: The pink pyramid guy is by Chris Haven.

graffiti on a wall, red character with round face and bat wings, pyramidal shaped character in pink giving peace sign.

below: Oh my!

orangish yellow character with body like a basketball, long skinny arms and legs, looking angry and wielding a wood bat, on a building in an alley with a door

below: It’s not Spiderman in that red costume… and that skull is rather creepy. The artist for this mural was Matt Gondek.

mural by Matt Gondek in a Wndosr Ontario Alley, large red costume, ripped to show grey skull below,

close up of head of character in mural by Matt Gondek in a Wndosr Ontario Alley, large red costume, ripped to show grey skull below,

below: “.. And then things got better” in a mural by Denial.

below: “Denial loves you”.

below: Luigi! But he’s behind bars…..

below: Piccachu makes an appearance too (that’s a lot of cameras on his body!). This image bothers me a bit – the look on her face is not nice. Mind you, with a chipmunk stuffed in there she’s got to be uncomfortable. Ick. There is text on the mural (not in the photo) that says Graffiti Zombie

Caledonia Lane – San Fran

Posted on July 5, 2025 by Mary C

….another Mission District lane with street art.

below: A black and white smiling cat with very big paws hangs out on a crazy colored garage door in the lane. Painting by Michael Kershnar.

abstract black and white cat in a mural with other geometric shapes and colours

below: A mural by Elle covers the entire side of a building.

door covered with graffiti street art mural

below: Be Cool … Look after each other, but also beware of the dog!

below: Someone loves Shannon

below: Did you know that Donald Trump is a rapist?

below: That’s a lot of words….

below: … and even more words

part of street art mural with bright coloured houses but lots of dead and bleeding bodies

below: King Topa 4ever

urban art in Caledonia Lane, San Francisco, with text that says King Topa 4 ever

street sign for Caledonia Lane, in San Francisco

Photos taken February 2025

Whitehart Lane

Posted on July 3, 2025 by Mary C

… a small lane in central Melbourne with lots of street art.

below: A very round face, a mysterious face. Is he sticking out his tongue? Where is his other eye? What happened to his neck? And then you could ask why his hand is drawn that way.

below: A very realistic drawing of a person with black hair, seated, with hands together wrapped around a glass jar. This wheatpaste piece of art has probably been strategically placed behind window bars. Unfortunately, the signature for this piece is also behind the bars.

coloured paper wheatpaste of a youg person seated, wearing sweater with geometric patterns, pasted on old window, behind bars

below: Balloon and frying pan behind bars, by Tweet

graffiti and street art on boarded up window, behind metal bars, white sciblles, a small sticker, and a paper poster wheatpaste of a yellow balloon and a frying pan, drawn on reused paper with chinese characters on it

old brick buildings in whitehart lane in melbourne, with street art on them

below: Spread Love, not the Virus, a message brought to you by Mickey Mouse in a black Covid mask.

below: Raccoon by MyCuteCreatures on the top and a little guy with skull head and little black bat wings on his back.

below: The top one is probably a head.

below: Hairy purple creatures lurk in the lane.

below: White birds in flight behind the garbage bins.

below: Looking down Whitehart Lane

below: Paintings by Aki Yaguchi (female), floating girls and stars

mural in Whitehart Lane, young girls faces, stars

below: More graffiti (or maybe one is an advert)

urban art and other posters in Whitehart Lane

Photos taken March 2025

CK, Can Jam murals

Posted on July 3, 2025 by Mary C

Last summer, Chatham Ontario held its first mural festival event, Can Jam, and these are some of the murals that are now on some downtown walls.

below: Meghan Kehoe (aka MCK Studio) and Sarah Steele painted this very large woman behind the Capitol Theatre in downtown Chatham. Most of her hair is a bird’s nest with three shiny pink eggs. A small black and yellow bird stands on the nest.

street art mural in Chatham Ontario, on the side of the Capitol theatre

below: A version of the Tooth Fairy, by Fel3000ft. Winged teeth and butterflies.

below: Rather plump, and very bright – blue, red, and purple birds sitting together on a red branch, by Crz Prz (aka Caesar Perez)

below: Sarah Steele also painted this musician duo.

below: Sunflowers, daisies, and a bee on a purple background in a mural by local artist, Sarah M. Robbins

Photos taken June 2025

Instagram page for CK Can Jam

Chatham history

Posted on June 26, 2025 by Mary C

There are 2 older murals in Chatham Ontario that depict some scenes from yesteryear. The first is at least 25 years old and shows a line of stores and businesses. Even the upper windows are part of the artwork. Just this week (mid June 2025) it was announced that a new mural would be painted here this summer. I have just discovered that there is a video on Facebook of this old mural being dismantled and removed. I must have been in Chatham the day before it was removed!

So…. for a limited time only, here it is (in two images)

below: People enjoying meal at the Savoy cafe while others are tempted by the desserts on display in the window.

history of Chatham mural, older, peeling and faded a bit, a line of businesses, including the Savoy Cafe

below: Also in the row of businesses is Heintzman & Co Pianos, Lyons Tailoring, and Thomas Stone & Son (clothing?). People mingle on the street and a car drives past.

history of Chatham mural, older, peeling and faded a bit, a line of businesses, including Heintzman Pianos and Lyons Tailoring.

below: Ladies checking out what’s on display at the tailors, window shopping.

history of Chatham mural, older, peeling and faded a bit, a line of businesses, two women looking in the window of Lyons tailoring where a woman is adjusting a dress on a headless mannequin. A man about to get on a bike is also in the picture

below: A girl plays a tune on a Heintzman piano while a family out for a drive, passes by.

The Historic Downtown Chatham Business Improvement Area (BIA) have chosen a design for a new mural that was created by local artist Ruth Ann Pearce. Apparently history will still be part of the theme but beyond that, a surprise awaits!

The second mural is newer but was painted by the same artist as the one above, C. Penelope Duchesne. Help was provided by Nancy Foulis, Bonnie Cernenac, Shannon Lindsay, Amy Maynard, Terry Nelmes, and John Reimer.

The mural is in three parts – on both the right and left side is a market scene.

part of a mural by Penelope Duchesne of a market scene from early in the 1900s

part of a mural by Penelope Duchesne of a market scene from early in the 1900s, a white chicken in a cage, a bunch of sunflowers

“The old town hall at north end of the market, 1905” The central panel of the mural features the old Town Hall which was built in the 1850s. The market stretched out behind it. The city sold it in the 1950s; it was demolished some thirty years later.

painting of the old Chatham Town Hall, a large brick building, in a mural

Hess Village, Hamilton

Posted on June 12, 2025 by Mary C

In a small section of Hamilton……

below: “Woman with Flowers” by Megan Oldhues from the 2022 Concrete Canvas Festival

mural of a woman with flowers by Megan Oldhues

below: Mediah‘s angular shapes and colour contrasts on a bright purple background.

mural of graphics, lines, angles and shapes on a bright purple background, by Mediah

below: Reaching for a butterfly, “Helping Hand” by Alex Bacon from the 2019 Concrete Canvas Festival

large mural of a brown hand reaching for a butterfly, by Alex Bacon

below: Raven and turtle, a collaboration between Mique Michelle & Kalkidan Assefa (aka Drippin’ Soul), 2019

man walking past a mural, mural of a raven with a red berry in its beak, also a turtle in the mural, it was painted by Mique Michelle and Kalkidan Assefa

mural of a raven with a red berry in its beak, also a turtle in the mural

below: Some curvy-limbed and very flexible people, part of a mural by Burnt Toast

part of a black and white mural on a fence, of people with curvy arms and legs, by burnt toast creative

below: A tribute to Sophia

another Hertel Alley building

Posted on May 27, 2025 by Mary C

with walls covered with street art murals

below: Bugs and balls – Ladybugs and spiders, billiard balls and eye balls, all on a bright green background, mural by Markenzy Cesar

below: A sweet mural with donuts and cupcakes, by Sakygrinu, aka Teouria Morris

below: The next three go together, a long mural by Jordan Weaver (aka Coconut Curry) with red dots, faces, a dragon, and many pink flowers

part of a large mural by coconut curry, pink flowers on grey background

below: Jumping for joy and leaping towards the sun on a bright blue sky day, in a mural by Courtney Haeick

below: These walls are bananas!

below: Keshanta Cleveland painted these colourful fish with the wonderful fins and tails.

mural in an alley, on brick building, two fish with fluffy long flowing fins and tail, a bit like angel fish, one is peach coloured and the othr is pink and maroon

Photos taken April 2025

Link to prior Hertel Alley post – the answer is love

For more information on all things Hertel Walls, check out their website!

famous people on Hertel

Posted on May 25, 2025 by Mary C

This is the second post about the murals found in the Hertel Ave area of Buffalo NY; it is a follow up to the previous post, “the answer is love“.

There are two large murals on Hertel Ave that feature well known people. The first is the Buffalo NY based rock band Goo Goo Dolls and the other shows author Mark Twain in conversation with John T. Lewis.

The Goo Goo Dolls were painted by Philip Burke whose illustrations have appeared in many magazines such as Vogue, Vanity Fair, and Rolling Stone. John Rzeznik the band’s is the lead vocalist and guitar player while Robby Takac is the bassist as well as another vocalist (there have been other rotating members as well). Goo Goo Dolls appeared on the rock scene in the mid 1980s.

goo goo dolls, the rock band, mural by Philip Burke on Hertel Ave in Buffalo, on side of 2 storey brick building, large faces

Mark Twain (aka Samuel Clemens) and John T. Lewis were painted by Brazilian artist Eduardo Kobra in his now well-known coloured shapes such as stripes or diamonds. Both Twain and Lewis were born in 1835, Lewis as a free Black in Maryland, Twain in Missouri. Lewis eventually settled in Elmira NY which is where Twain’s wife was from and where the lives of the two men first crossed.

mural by Kobra, Mark Twain and John T. Lewis