Vancouver Mural Fest, 2016 edition

Posted on April 8, 2025 by Mary C

2016 was the first year that the Vancouver Mural Festival was held. This event that ran nine years but apparently will not be held this year, 2025. In the first year there were about 40 murals painted in 20 different locations. A concentration of them can still be seen near Main and Industrial.

below: Wall of murals on Industrial Street in Vancouver

pale blue wall, 4 murals painted on it, cars parked on street by them,

below: “Van City Scape” by Ola Volo

part of a mural by Ola Volo called Van City Scape, stylized elements of a city, some with faces

below: A frog and a flying insect beside a pond or lake, a mural by Cody Lecoy,

street art mural in vancouver by cody lecoy, pond scene, frog, flying insect, water, rocks on shore,

below: This mural is a representation of Buddhist figures Yama and Mara, where the 3 heads rep Mara’s daughters, Craving, Aversion, and Desire. It was painted by Paige Bowman

Large street art mural by Paige Bowman, Chinese style, representing Buddhist figures

3 daughters of Mara, Craving, Aversion, and Desire, all from Buddhism

corner of a building with street art murals on two sides, Vancouver city street sign in front for Southern Street

below: Everything Matters; Nothing’s Important, by Katie Maasik

below: This dragon is a collaboration between Katie So and Ben Knight, “Knot Yourself”. The title comes from the fact that the mural spells out those words; the portion shown here is the O and T at the end of KNOT and the Y at the beginning of YOURSELF.

below: Nevercrew painted this large red mural – it’s a polar bear stuck inside a plastic bottle and it has the title, “Exhausting Machine”

There was also a wall of murals painted along Southern Street. Most of them are now at least partially obscured by changes in the building, or by items stored in front of the walls.

below: Mural by Julia Iredale,

close up of part of a mural by Julia Iredale

below: Shannon Elliott’s mural of large birds with little naked men in their beaks.

mural from 2016 Vancouver Mural Festival, birds, a nest, some flowers and some small scale naked men

below: Conductor with baton and lightning bolts?, the blare of a trumpet and a determined cello player. by Tim Mack

below: Only a very small portion of the mural was visible the day that I passed by, kids and little pink fingers or worms, by Peter Ricq,

below: Words – the whole mural originally said, “We’re looking for people who like to look for people”. by Bobo

Photos taken April 2025

downtown Vancouver murals

Posted on April 6, 2025 by Mary C

Large murals seen around downtown Vancouver.

below: Flowers growing beside the entrance to an office building in a painting by Anais Lera

below: “Dreamweaver”, 2020, by Lauren Brevner and James Nexw’Kalus-Xwalacktun Harry (aka James Harry) in part as a response to the death of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter movement. Commissioned by the Vancouver Mural Festival and Hudson Pacific Properties.

below: On the side of a parking structure at Seymour and West Pender, Carolyn Wong has painted a large mural featuring aquatic life in a pond. Ducks and fish swim among the water lilies.

below: In the fading light of late afternoon, “Earth Justice” by Shepard Fairey takes on a yellowish glow. Financial help for this mural was provided from the Burrard Arts Foundation and their ‘Surface Series’

below: Another Lauren Brevner and James Harry mural; this one, also from 2020, is the story of how salmon came to the Squamish people.

below: Ola Volo’s “Wall for Women” at Burrard station.

below: A collage of musical elements adorns a wall behind the Lennox Pub in a lane off of Granville Street. It was painted by Nada Hayek.

below: “Street art”

Photos taken April 2025

Familia Santana

Posted on March 22, 2025 by Mary C

In the 1960s, Josefina and Jose Santana migrated from Jalisco Mexico to the San Francisco Bay area. Both of their sons, Carlos and Jorge, became famous musicians. Carlos Santana is world famous for his guitar playing; Jorge played with a Latin-rock bank, Malo.

Large 60 foot mural in Mission District celebrating the Santana family,

Large 60 foot mural in Mission District celebrating the Santana family, including parents Josefina and Jose Santana

On Osage Street by the 24th and Mission Street BART Plaza there is now a 60 foot mural celebrating the family’s contribution to the music scene. The mural also shows Carlos’ son Salvador on the keyboard.

Large 60 foot mural in Mission District celebrating the Santana family, a guitar playing Carlos Santana

Large 60 foot mural in Mission District celebrating the Santana family,

“La Familia Santana” was painted in 2021 by San Francisco artists Crayone and Mark Bode. It incorporated sketch designs provided by Randolph Bowes and Jorge Santana.

small part of Large 60 foot mural in Mission District celebrating the Santana family, Carlos Santana's hand playing a guitar

Photos taken February 2025

Mission District – Osage Lane

Posted on March 21, 2025 by Mary C

There are many pop culture references to be found in this lane!

below: Animal from the Muppets

below: A row of cartoon characters on a bright red fence – Bart Simpson, Hello Kitty, Speedy Gonzales, Pokemon, and what looks like a giant green pickle.

below: Rapheal from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

below: South American influences

below: mmm

below: Mama Imelda from the movie “Coco”

below: Sonic

below: California Love

below: “All thru California …

below: … Mission be Kracking, a recent painting by H2DAK about surviving fires and earthquakes!below: Money flies at 2982

below: Bird sticker. Bird, May 1984 – July 2021

below: More stickers – Cheers!

Beaney Lane

Posted on March 19, 2025 by Mary C

Beaney Lane is a small lane in downtown Melbourne. Once it was nondescript, now it has colour. Along one wall there is a large street art painting with a portrait of a blue lady at one end. The words “Inner Dream” are written beside her head. Her hair is covered with a net-like cap; a waterdrop shaped jewel rests between her eyes. She was painted by Mongolian born artist, Heesco.

Australian artist Matt Adnate was also involved in the making of this mural. A pair of green eyes peers out from behind a head covering.

Presumably his name is Unger

Mission District – Lilac Street

Posted on March 18, 2025 by Mary C

The Mission District in San Francisco is full of street art of all types from messy graffiti to fabulous murals. Back in February I had the opportunity to walk around the area with my camera. This is the first of many posts that should result from my walks.

houses on either side of entrance to Lilac Street, Mission District, San Francisco, two storey clapboard houses, with mural on the side of one of them

The first sign that Lilac Street might be an interesting street to wander down is this San Francisco mural on the side of a house.

mural featuring golden gate bridge, text says San Francisco

below: Mother with a child looking over her shoulder

black and white shades of grey mural of mother and child, mother's back is shown, child looking over her shoulder

below: Norm on a black garage

four large letters painted on a black garage door, N O R and M. Spells norm

below: A portrait in blue.

mural on a garage door, woman's portrait in blue

below: A tribute to Sharon Jacobs (1982-2019).

woman's portrait on a garage door

below: Anti Skateboarding Hero.

torn sticker, or paste up, on a utility pole, text says anti skateboarding hero, pole is painted black and red with graffiti

below: Higher up, a purple rhino and a yellow bird by chilovia – a pair of South Americans, Pancho Pescador and Pablo (aka Raiz)

below: Contrasts – the empty, graffiti covered old building beside the newer redevelopment. A common urban theme found in most cities as they age and re-new.

abandoned building with vacant lot in front, behind a fence, building is covered with graffiti

below: A wish for peace in Palestine.

palestine protest street art mural of woman with two fingers raised in peace symbol

below: This street certainly has its scruffy and neglected looking sections. In small doses, streets like this have their charm, especially from a photogenic perspective.

chainlink fence

below: Walking past number 133, frowning and grumpy.

man, street art, many colours, at number 133

below: There is a strong resemblance here to Olaf from “Frozen” – but this guy looks a little more deranged….

crazy Olaf from Frozen

below: Praying

street art mural of a woman praying, wearing green shawl that also covers her head, garbage bins in front of the mural

below: Dancers, front of the house.

bent nail in wood utility pole, spray painted pole in blues and green, graffiti gate painted with bright colours, with metal grille in front of it

Photos taken February 2025

Louden Place

Posted on March 3, 2025 by Mary C

…

below: On one side of the alley is this long mural that comes in two sections – a sleeping woman with an outstretched hand is a collaboration between Vexta and Lisa King.

… and a little bird stands on her forehead.

below: The wall of the other alley is covered by a black and white painting of kangaroos, birds, and other animals… along with some plants. A few red feathers brighten the image. It was painted by Minna Leunig, an Australian artist from Darwin.

below: It’s easy to miss because of its location, but if you go to the end of the lane and look way up, you’ll catch a glimpse of this mural by Cam Scale.

portraits on Little Bourke

Posted on March 2, 2025 by Mary C

Near the west end of Little Bourke Street are 4 large murals that feature people.

below: First there is this couple whose bed is high above the street – painted by Fintan Magee

below: The old man, pictured above as well as here, was painted by Smug, aka Sam Bates.

below: Next to the old man are two women in blue painted by Rone.

below: Last, is this portrait of a young man looking skyward, by Adnate (whose portrait of a mother and child is featured in a mural seen in Albany Alley that was shown here in a previous post).

below: Photos taken March 2025

three women of Lynn

Posted on February 9, 2025 by Mary C

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Photos taken July 2024

First 2025 visit to Graffiti Alley, Toronto

Posted on January 27, 2025 by Mary C

My previous post, skateboard portraits was from a walk down Graffiti Alley in Toronto the other day. This post contains more photos that I took that snowy afternoon… so, let’s take a look!

below: Uber 5000’s yellow bird is still walking his dog and singing a song on this side of this red brick building. It’s at least 10 years old? The black and grey portrait on the right is much newer.

below: Profile portrait by TheHalfDecent

below: “Let them drink beer”, a stencil from D. Terra featuring Ontario Premier Doug Ford whose biggest “win” in the province is bringing alcohol sales to convenience stores and gas stations…. at a massive cost.

below: A 33wallflower33 pasteup in the foreground, with a corner of one of Nick Sweetman’s bird murals in the background.

below: A collaboration between Nick Sweetman and Shanehuss produced this drippy, melting jaw portrait.

below: The top portion of ” RIP King Reign & Son of Soul” remains. This tribute mural was painted by Elicser Elliott and Omen514. I am not sure who is responsible for the newer painting on the bottom, the one in yellows and blues. That’s probably a ‘signature’ in the bottom left but I don’t recognize it.

below: Graffiti Alley in the snow.

below: Sun of Aquarius (aka Andre Mandela Lopez) painted this naked figure with brown wings and bird mask

below: A pole covered with knit squares while T-bonez is shushing you.

below: A pointy nosed, long snouted dog by Mr. Myl, aka Luis Casas, who was originally from Havana Cuba.

below: Another Mr. Myl dog, this one with its blue eyes popping out. I don’t think that it’s because of the woman next to him. “Para mi Tita” is Spanish for “For my aunt”.

below: Blue haired woman by April Showers

below: And another blue haired woman…..

below: … and a third. I think that I see a trend. Methinks April Showers likes blue hair.

below: An anti-camera, anti-photographer image, “Gimmy a break, clik, clik, clik” featuring uber 5000’s yellow bird and blue cat, with the Pink Panther is a supporting role. Love the red specs!

below: Poser bunny in red

below: He (she?) seems puzzled by the snow?!

below: Is it a man or is it a chicken? A red headed cigarette smoking, spray painting character by Tuffytats

below: This one looks more like a chicken should look, so fowl.

below: An environmental message – “Got mercury?” from a non-profit group trying to raise awareness of the impact of mercury poisoning on indigenous communities.