little men on paper

Posted on October 9, 2023 by Mary C

In a few places around New York City there are stickers and paste-ups featuring stikman in his various forms.

stickers and graffiti on a red metal box on a sidewalk, including a multi coloured stickman in oinkm bklue, green, and brown and a round sticker with blue square on black and a reddish stikman like shape, also a small square sticker with a face on it, also a sticker in red and white with word yerrrrr

This little piece has a combination of the more traditional flat stikman in blue and yellow, along with a more three dimensional version.

sticker with a 3 D stikman walking on a yellow and blue sphere with stikman shapes on it

A three mannequin salute using photos of posed little wood mannequins

photo of group of three little wood mannequins posed in a salute, looking down from above

And last, a little mannequin down on one knee and with feathery white angel wings.

graffiti featuring little wood mannequin on one knee, with white feathered angel wings

Catchoo and friends

Posted on September 24, 2023 by Mary C

A group of stickers seen on a pole on Queen Street East recently

has an image from Catchoo combined with a perplexed Sailor dude from Ty Pro in the top place – what a cute balloon! At the bottom are three heads that you might recognize from previous posts. In pink is T-bonez from urban ninja squadron and the chosen few; on the right is a luchadore mask from bruho.

Here catchoo collaborates with c_priority (a k a Christopher Piccinich ) Even within the blacks of his suit there are little catchoo symbols and characters. I was hoping that there were secret messages written on the pieces of paper on the desk but there are just squiggly lines.

Last, feelings boi joins the fun. Is it a sword? or an umbrella? Whatever it is, there are smiles all round.

Photos taken Sept 2023

This blog post also appears in As I Walk Toronto

bits of paper in Graffiti Alley

Posted on July 19, 2023 by Mary C

Another visit to Graffiti Alley to see what’s changed…..

below: Collage on the back of a sign with contributions by many.

below: An orange dragon graces a utility pole.

below: Sentient Cookie with “The words you’ve said to me a decade ago still echo in my brain”.

below: Another section of wall covered with the remains of stickers and slaps.

below: Truth, It’s that simple. Consume daily. “Free through an earnest volition. Side effects include decreased stress and increased mental clarity…. ” Dorian’s House.

below: Who do you love? Apparently someone loves his/her girlfriend while someone else loves, and misses, Stephanie Ann.

below: More ink additions, this time on a bird. Someone has written, “no phone no wife” – either he thinks that without a phone he can’t find/attract a wife (no tindr?) or he has neither a phone nor a wife (lucky man?). Interpret as you want. Also, there is Kone x Roc on his wing as well as Sari D. declaring her love forever.

below: Someone left their shoe behind… and that’s quite the reaction from Tips

below: 33wallflower33 wheatpaste – My body my choice

below: … and another

below: Urban Ninja Squadron running away with an angry bird…. and Adopt by Praxis in bright pink

below: An angry white cloud seems to hover hover a drawing by catchoo

below: More catchoo

below: What’s this chef serving up?

below: L S and Z

below: A skull and Noah forever.

Photos taken June 2023

near Alexander & Clinton, Rochester

Posted on June 7, 2023 by Mary C

below: The courtyard behind Boulder Coffee Co. at the corner of Alexander and South Clinton is decorated with street art murals.

large brick building with a courtyard patio in the back, tables for coffee shop, walls of building with a couple of murals on them

below: A closer look at the masked horse and its rider.

below: “Andy and the Big Dead Waltz” by Caitlin Yarsky, 2014

below: A cow of many colours,

below: This black and white mural was painted by Ian Kuali’i, a Hawaiian artist, as part of Wall Therapy 2022 (Wall Therapy is the Rochester Mural Festival). It is on the same building as the cow in the above photo.

below: The next three images feature the campground on the wall of the Rochester Beer Park. RV’s, trailers, and campers of all vintages.

a van is parked in front of Rochester Beer Park with its's campground mural on the wall, WInnebago, vintage campers and trailers are parked there, motorcycles, old station wagon, camp chairs set up by a table

two chairs and a table outside a vintage camper with its door open to show yellow interior

old yellow station wagon with wood grain side trim is parked in front of a grey RV and an old Volkswagen camper with the top popped up

below: This large mural with a very large spider was painted by Nani Chacon and is titled “Visions”. It is painted on the wall of Strangebird Brewery.

Large mural on the side of Strangebird Brewery of a woman with red lipstick and long dark hair, wearing a blue drop ear ring, holding her hand out for a large blue spider

Close up of blue spider on woman's hand, very long fingernails. Spider is blue with striped legs and small red and white dots on its back

below: Change taught me graffiti along with the Black Tabby party “The revolution will not be televised”

below: A small portrait in faded blacks

white sticker with black and grey young man portrait

below: A red, white, and blue butterfly on a pole. A single tear shape falls from the eye on her central wing. A red heart and red lips add colour to her other wings.

below: This rather grotesque character seems to have a life ring around his middle but he’s disintegrating just the same. Food supplied by Snack Shack.

below: Stickers on a yellow sign. Careful! That chicken’s got its eye on you.

below: He or she is a floating, encased in an uncomfortable metal scuba outfit. Humpty Dumpty got tired of sitting on his wall and went for a swim? Tweedledee sank and Tweedledum is looking for him? Or, going back in time, one of those chubby round little people from Fisher Price escaped from the playroom many years ago and has been bobbing around in the ocean ever since. Or?

below: A certain arrangement of paint and stickers

below: No room for Fascism. The Nazi-headed snake has been caught.

below: Approaching Gold, along with a horned animal and an advert for the Abilene bar and lounge.

Photos taken in May 2023.

South Avenue scenes

Posted on May 19, 2023 by Mary C

Murals and graffiti seen along South Ave in Rochester.

South Avenue in Rochester New York, older brick buildings

below: Conor Harrington Untitled (Fight Club Series)

black and white mural by Conor Harrington of two men fighting, a bit of red blood

below: Floating in a pink sky over a sea of imaginary snakes and fish

mural of a person reclining in a cloud in a pink sky hovering over a sea of snakes and fishes

below: “You’re a Shining Star no matter who you are”. A jar full of shiny positivity by local artist Shawn Dunwoody.

street art mural, on yellow brick wall, a large mason jar with words shining star on it, text on mural says you're a shining star no matter who you are

below: A group of flowers with faces as their centers.

mural on wall, flowers with many petals and each flower has a face in the center

below: Maladjusted Mike is stuck on a pole. Apparently he’s from Seriously Disgusting Comics.

below: No room for Fascism

below: A pink Neptune-like sea creature ruling over his underwater worlds, by Bile, 2013

below: Part of Nova’s shapes and colours.

below: “LIFE in abundance comes only through great LOVE”

below: Whirls and swirls of colour in an abstract painting by Mike Ming, 2013

below: A fox and bunny by Mr. PVRT aka Justin Suarez

below: Adam Francey’s fantastic detailed mural with birds and faces and a couple of words – seek, understand.

below: “Big brother is watching you and he’s bored”.

below: Avocado face, by Stefan Fella

below: Walking white teddy bear

below: The old and the new – root beer and birds.

below: A large egret? (or shorebird of one kind or another) and frog. Do egrets eat frogs?

on the side of a store, a large mural of a stork and a green frog

sculptures on te sidewalk on south ave in rochester

Photos taken May 2023

three chimneys in Barcelona

Posted on April 1, 2023 by Mary C

Three Chimneys is an urban park that is built on the site of an old power plant. In Catalan it’s Jardins de les Tres Xemeneies while in Spanish it is known as Jardines de las Tres Chimeneas. It is one of a few legal places for street art in Barcelona.

urban park in Barcelona, tall buildings in the background along with leafless trees (early spring), concrete space with large murals on one side, people sitting on benches in front of murals

below: A portrait painted by Pincel aka Felipe Pincel Echeverria

mural of a brown woman's portrait with long flowing black hair and black eyes, orange marks on face

below: Faces by Dake25 in bluish greys. They don’t look very happy, do they? Mirror images or two halves of the same face?

below: Iridescent oranges, blues, and purples make this snail glow.

below: Scandalist by Super Cool Syzman

below: Long horizontal mural by a group of artists, Noble, Turkesa, KTHR, and Wios painted as part of a Mural Jam in October 2022.

below: Monkey see, monkey do. “Buy bitcoin” says the Banksy monkey, pasted over the topless green woman whose portrait was signed in pink by Santiago [illegible surname].

below: purple duck

below: True love is pierced, tattooed, and stitched up.

below: “Relax, you’re on a floating rock”

below: Braiding green hair with snaps, crackles, and pops. Signed, dextre polo

mural of a woman with long green hair that someone is in the process of braiding

below: Three chimneys refers to the three brick towers, or smokestacks, from an old coal burning power plant, the first one built in Spain. The first chimney was built in 1881 (or 1896 depending on the info source) by the Barcelona Traction Power and Light Company; the other two followed in 1908 and 1912. It became known as La Canadenca (in Catalan) because in 1911 one of its major shareholders became the Canadian Bank of Commerce. Each tower is 236 feet tall (72m) and up to 13 feet (4m) in diameter. Most of the facility was demolished in 1987.

below: Slaps on a metal pole.

below: poster high on a wall, #universalhumanity series of wheatpaste and collage

Some of the large pieces of equipment from the power plant were left scattered around the park to look like sculptures, adding interest and historical perspective to the public space.

below: Equitat is written across her chest in a painting by Vale Wilson and Popi. This is a very recent creation and was one of the murals painted for Womart Jam, and event that featured 10 female artists. It was held on International Womens Day.

mural at three chimneys garden of a woman with long hair and the word equitat written on her clothing across her chest.

a large box shaped structure in a park with murals on both of the sides that can be seen in the picture. One is a young black woman with two small pigtails and the other is an older woman with long grey hair who is looking downward

below: Gablo, butts and ashes on the table? by 45000ft (aka Ander)

two people walking through an urban park, on a concrete path, walls of street art around them, residential buildings of Barcelona in the background

Photos taken early March 2023

street art mural of creature with white face and purple and red hair, with text that says the last one

a visit to Freeman Alley

Posted on January 14, 2023 by Mary C

Freeman Alleyis a private lane that runs parallel to the Bowery close to Sara Roosevelt Park and Bowery subway station. It has become a destination for graffiti both for those who make it and for those who want to look at it. Stencils, wheatpaste, and stickers are the most common and there is lots of it! There is probably more than one blog post’s worth so this is just the start.

below: No loitering in the alley. About to munched on – this one-eyed pink and purple banana by eye.sticker is i danger of losing part of its peel.

below: “Do you see this?” Eyes and hearts but with a tear or two.

below: Mickey Mouse crucified, and a feline love more, #nohatefamily. Something about hello mushroom in there as well.

below: “Black Lives Matter is a movement, not a moment, by Individual Activist,

below: Many faces here including a lightning struck David Bowie. In the center is an anti-war poster by Brad Heckman (aka hecksign) that features a portrait of Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky.

protest poster, anti-war, support Ukraine in its war

below: Another Individual Activist anti-war poster. Ukraine is not Putin’s blank canvas. On the left is a big colourful beetle by modomatic.

below: Another modomatic, this time a multicoloured mask. Sticking out on the right is a yellow arm with a pink donut and half smoked joint while a Half Brooklyn Crooklyn’s figure is running away (the last is by TheOhioGirl).

below: Another modomatic creation – insect like? Botanical?

below: “So much love” on newspaper by jkosart along with a back and white intricate drawing of a creature of some kind (signed moose)

below: A picture of a painter painting a picture, by font147

a poster by font147 of a yellow headed person painting on a large canvas and easel in front of a door and window

below: Two women – one on the Sony screen along with one as a BLM tribute by Voxx Romana

below: Mother and Child on blue

stencil graffiti, black on blue, of iconic mother and child

below: A yellow duck below an old faded poem. Once there was a bouquet of red roses but it looks like someone showed their displeasure with pink paint.

below: At the very top, a multiple-eyed face by sold out art show. The woman with the black and white flower hair has her own post on this blog – see Unleashing Flowers.

below: A period piece, black and white in sepia, from 33wallflower33,

below: Oversalted broccoli and a boxer

In case you are interested in such things, there is a gallery/shop in the alley that features the work of many of these artists.

Photos taken June 2022

Coney Island

Posted on December 5, 2022 by Mary C

Greetings from Coney Island! A postcard type mural by Megan Watters.

postcard style mural, greetings from Coney Island, with images in the letters

Here street art has been incorporated into the amusement park. Each year since 2015 , Coney Art Walls has added to their collection of murals and now has more than 60. Go when the park is open!

large painting of a woman's face on the side of the cyclone, a roller coaster ride at Luna, the amusement park at Coney Island

below: More of the Art Walls. The largest one in the photo is by Nina Chanel Abney. The one closest to the camera is ‘Handsome Brother and the Mermaid’ by Aiko which is based on an old Japanese tale called “Taro Urashima and Dragon Palace”.

mural of two people, woman with green face

mural in black and white and grey tones, portrait of 3 black men

below: Behind a chainlink fence, another Coney Island mural.

an old RV parked in front of a coney island mural, sign above the mural advertising cotton candy and other products for sale

below: And yet another Coney Island mural, this one with old black and white photographs of New York City views inside the letters. The Statue of Liberty makes a great exclamation mark.

mural for coney island, letters spelling coney with old black and white photos in the letters

below: Although it is disappearing behind the ivy, this is yet another Coney Island mural.

blue mural with coney island in cursive, an ince cream cone and a hot dog, but ivy is growing from above and starting to cover up the mural

below: Clown face and more faces. Live and let live – street artists against hate in the bottom right. And that blue guy? Have you seen how many teeth he has?!

stickers and slaps on a wall, a clown face in red white and blue, a light blue drawing of a man with one eye open the other eye closed, big smile with too many teeth, also a black and white sticker live and let live street artists against hate

below: Smell the flowers before they die and by the looks of it you don’t have long….

graffiti sticker on metal pole, vase of flowers some dying and some still healthy with text that says stop and smell the flowers while you can

three slaps on a wall

below: A jumble of strings and wires and a few found objects all wound up and made into a slightly human-like shape. Man is a mess?

a wheatpaste graffiti on a red pole, a photo of a mass of string, ribbon, and other items in a vaguely humanoid shape

below: The 5th, and last one here, Coney Island mural is the newest and the biggest. This is “Coney Is For Everyone” on Stilwell Avenue, painted by Danielle Mastrion. It was an Alliance for Coney Island project.

part of a large welcome to coney island mural

part of a mural, a large sea turtle swimming past an octopus as a young boy looks on, aquarium

a woman breathing fire in a mural

coney island mural, the word coney in a beach scene with 2 beachchairs and a child's silhouette

far right end of welcome to coney island mural, beside a pizza restaurant

below: A blue Subway Doodle monster sleeps in front of Nathans on the boardwalk.

Nathans hot dog restaurant on the boardwalk at Coney Island, closed, painting of a blue monster lying on its side, asleep on the metal shutters covering the windows

below: Another result of the Alliance for Coney Island efforts is this multicolour mural on the shutters that was painted by Ledania.

blog_multicolor_amusement_park

sticker on a metal pole outdoors, I (red heart) my hood

below: Lock him up! Donald Trump behind bars. Doesn’t he look cute in black and white stripes?

graffiti sticker on a metal pole. Head shot of former American president Donald Trump (aka the former guy) in jailhouse black and white and behind blue bars

subway is above ground, and above the stores along a coney island street, near Steamania Seafood restaurant and its shrimp mural along the sidewalk

unleashing flowers

Posted on December 2, 2022 by Mary C

in New York City

Her hair is always a tidy profusion of black and white flowers and there is often a tiny little red heart tucked into her curls.

drecks drawing of a female character with hair as big black and white flowers, slaps in new york city, green outfit, big brown boots with laces, and a word bubble that says burp happens

These characters are the creation of drecks.

drecks drawing of a female character with hair as big black and white flowers, slaps in new york city, wearing very small but very red shoes

drecks drawing of a female character with hair as big black and white flowers, slaps in new york city, drawings of city buildings on the bottom of her pants

drecks drawing of a female character with hair as big black and white flowers, slaps in new york city on yellow background, with grid of daisy like flowers below

at the roundabout

Posted on April 22, 2022 by Mary C

below: In the middle of the roundabout is a sculpture called “The Sun on the EDGE” by Ilan Averbuch. The title is a play on the word edge as the roundabout is located in the EDGE District of downtown St. Petersburg.

in the foreground, words in chalk on the sidewalk about love, then a roundabout with a circle of grass in the middle. there is a large sculpture in the roundabout. a large circle of sun rays, by Ilan Averbuch