downtown Clearwater

Posted on March 27, 2024 by Mary C

The previous blog post was about a large mural in Clearwater that was on the Pinellas (bike and walking) Trail as it passed the downtown area, “See yah later Alligator”. Slightly to the north of that alligator, but still on the trail, is this mural….

mural by illsol, large, blue background, bicycles, oranges, locomotive, about history, orange belt railway, now on the pinellas trail in clearwater

It was painted by Illsol, a husband and wife team of Michelle Sawyer and Tony Krol and is titled, “One hundred years before J. Cole”. In 1885 the Orange Belt Railway, a narrow-gauge railway, was opened. This was also the year that the bicycle (with the same design as modern bikes) went into production. Today, the Pinellas Trail runs along the route of the Orange Belt Railway. The reference to J. Cole is because of a song of his called ‘1985’ about change and history.

part of a large blue mural, painted by illsol, steam locomotive from the orange belt railway, some oranges, and some bikes

bike, in a mural by illsol, clearwater, palm tree trunk in front of it, muralsofclearwater,

below: “Ikebana”, a flower arrangement. The word ikebana is Japanese and it refers to a style of flower arranging. It was painted by DAAS.

mural with many colorful flowers in ikebana, japanese flower arrangement, painted by D A A S

large white flower in a mural by d a a s

below: “Elysian Days” by Cecilia Lueza, rainforest inspired colours and shapes.

swirls of colours, a mural by lueza, shades of greens that look like leaves, some pinks and oranges too

below: History at the corner of Garden and Cleveland.

right hand side of a mural showing part of clearwater in the past, old truck with sign on side that says Jewelers Baskets Salon,

part of mural showing history of clearwater, Garden Avenue, old cars, brick streets, some pedestrians, a row of stores, inclusing a restaurant

below: “Communidad” by Theic Camilo Nunez and Florencia Duran.

mural, larger than life size people, title is communidad, people are reaching out and touching their neighbours

below: “Avenue du Jardin” is quite faded (I’ve played with the colours and enhanced them a bit). The plaque on the wall says, “This mural is dedicated to the citizens of Clearwater in celebration of our history and our future.” It was originally painted in 2002 and then restored not too long ago by Ana Livingston.

below: United We Stand, signed by four artists: Maria Chang, Jennifer Vallieres, Miriam Vallieres, and Laurie Anopach,

patriotic mural, american flag, words united we stand, kids, firemen, police, medical people, community

below: A bit of colour on the sidewalk brought to you by the Clearwater Arts Alliance.

below: With drips and bubbles and great shades of blue, a tree by Candy Schultheis

Wabash street and vicinity, Chicago

Posted on September 12, 2019 by Mary C

The Wabash Arts Corridor, founded in 2013, is a portion of Wabash Street in downtown Chicago. It is now the home of many large murals in a wide variety of styles. I know that I didn’t find them all, but here is a large selection of them. I’ve also included some smaller pieces that aren’t necessarily part of this project.

two murals on a wall on Wabash street in Chicago, on the wall Columbia college, beside a parking lot with a little bright orange car as well as other cars

below: A peacock painted in black and white by thedailydrizz aka Andrea Dunn

mural of a peacock done in black and white paint and made to look like it was done on 4 pieces of paper, on an old brick wall, by Andrea Dunn, a k a the daily drizz

below: Slime Mountain by Heidi Unkefer

mural in pastels tones, a reddish triangle, point down, and a light blue triangle, point up, meet in the middle, face on blue one, hands and little creatures too,

below: by Jordan Nickel, aka POSE

a bright collage-like mural

below: Many faces on the walls at this corner. On one side are colourful abstract faces by Kashink,

two level parking structure on a street corner in Chicago, the short walls are painted with street art faces. On one side are colourful abstract faces by Kashink and on the other side are black and white faces from the project called Stop Telling Women to Smile.

below: “Stop Telling Women to Smile” is the title of the series on the other walls of the parking structure, a series of women’s faces in grey tones by Tatyana Fazlalizadeh

on the walls of a parking structure, a line of realistic faces in grey tones, a man sits on a bench beside it

on the walls of a parking structure, a line of realistic faces in grey tones, two rows high

below: A mural by Darryll Schiff, “Descending into Heaven”

mural on a wall, black people in silhouette walking towards numbers in LED lights that look digital

below: By Lady Lucx and Sarah Stewart, an untitled piece on a parking structure wall.

walls of an elevated parking structure painted in an octopus mural

close up of the eye of an orange octopus in a mural by a parking structure

2 murals on Balbao street in Chicago, a blue one by a parking lot and one by asup on the side of a restaurant,

below: Mural called “Make Your Own Luck” a group of cyclists by asvp on the side of the South Loop Club Bar & Grill
mural by asup on the side of a bar and grill on Balboa street in Chicago, in red, white and pale blue

below: “High Tide” by Amuse126

a large watery blue mural

below: Sticker, Lucky Gnome proclaiming happy changes in his life.
a sticker made with a USA postal sticker, picture of a gnome with words,

below: A paste up on a post, Andy Warhol
paste up of Andy Warhol on a post

below: “X Marks the Milky Way” by Renee Robbins, 2016

X Marks the Milky Way, a mural in a Chicago alley by Renee Robbins, abstract colours and shapes on a teal background

below: “Gift to the Class of 2016” by Don’t Fret

mural on wall above mollys Cupcakes in Chicago, a man with hands by mouth

below: On “The El” where orange & green line trains pass by

large murals on walls surrounding a parking lot that has an elevated train passing over it

below: Just the “Y” at the end of the word “Harmony” in a mural by Ben Eine beside a silver and grey mural by Marquis Lewis aka Retna

part of two murals, the letter Y and one in silver and grey

below: “Moose Bubblegum Bubble” by Jacob Watts

large mural of a moose blowing a big pink bubble with bubble gum

below: “We Own the Future” by Shepard Fairey in the same style as his “Obey” series

mural by obey in red, black, and gold, on upper storey of a brick building in Chicago

below: Watching over black horses on grey, a mural by Ricky Lee Gordon called “I am You, You are Me”.

horizontal mural of a woman's head in profile and horses, in black on grey

below: by Hera, “Imagine if we could Tolerate Each Other’s Differences”

on the upper storeys of a brick building in Chicago, a mural by Hera of a woman holding some birds in her hand, a small white figure stands beside her

below: A redheaded woodpecker. This is only a part of a larger mural that has been covered over by a large ad. It was “From Boom to Doom” by Collin van der Slujis. Seems like doom has won.

part of a mural, a large red head woodpecker, but rest of mural has been covered over by a large ad

below: “Impossible Meeting” by Marina Zumi
a mural by Marina Zumt of a doe and a buck, two deers, meeting nose to nose, painted in blues and purples

below: On the far right, by antckone aka Anthony Lewellen

four vertical panels close together, the two on the left are portraits, then an elephant and then a cartoon character by antckone

below: Butterflies on the corner. There are many butterflies in this mural by Hector Duarte. It is a representation of Mexican immigration.

a butterfly painted on the corner of a building

below: Within the confines of a small dog run, Melanie Vazquez‘s “Contra Todo Siendo Resistendo”

a mural behind a fence, pink, with yellow sun and green cactii

below: A large mural in a small space. “Standing Wave” by Justus Roe

large abstract mural beside a parking lot, small area, also in a fenced in space

below: Part of “Listen to Learn” by Hello Kirsten aka Kirsten McCrea. Using an old telephone receiver to shed light on life. The fence was a barrier.

car parked beside a mural, large hand holding an old fashioned telephone receiver but using is as a flashlight

below: The other side of the fence and the other side of the mural

mural by Hello Kirsten on the side of a brick building with a blue exterior metal staircase

below: A second rate photo I’m afraid. It’s taken through the window of a moving train… and I forgot to go back and find the mural after I got off the train. It is 8100-square-foot mural painted by Italian street artist Never 2501 in 2015.

seen through the window of a train, a large mural in Chicago

below: Ruben Aguirre, “Drowning City”

orange shapes on black, mural

below: Sun bum is winning. J.C. Rivera’s “The Bear Champ vs Sonny” two cartoon-like characters wrestling of boxing, one has shirt on that says sun bum

mural in bright oranges and reds, sharp edges, linear, and across the street are portraits of musicians done in tile shaped pieces

on the corner of a building, on both sides, a mural in bright oranges and reds, sharp edges, linear, with a realistic hand as well,

mural in bright oranges and reds, sharp edges, linear, with a realistic hand as well, people walking past it, one man with hand out pointing at something

carol taking a picture of a row of murals of black musicians done in little squares on a brick wall in Chicago

mural of a black man singer made in tiles in blacks and white with shades of blue

photo (or photo like picture on a wall of a man looking at a tornado made of objects

historic scenes, Midland

Posted on August 20, 2019 by Mary C

Midland ontario symbol in bronze with blue water, bronze pine trees and yellow sun

Scattered around downtown Midland Ontario are quite a few murals with scenes of bygone days. Many of these were originally painted by Fred Lenz in 1996 & 1997 and then repainted ten or eleven years later by Terri Milley and Ruth Hurdle.

below: Midland train station and railway yard.

downtown midland ontario, street with reddish brick building, 2 storeys, with a large mural painted on the side

In 1871 the area was the village of Mundy’s Bay. That year, the Midland Railway chose Mundy’s Bay to be the terminus of a new railway line – the railway already ran between Port Hope and Beaverton and they wanted to extend it to Georgian Bay. The small community of Mundy’s Bay was renamed Midland City. By 1879 the railway was completed.

railway mural in Midland Ontario, five panels, train station, two large engines, people,

scene in a mural from Midland train station many years ago, women in long dresses and men in suits

vintage scene, men at railway yard, boy watching

below: Midland is on the shore of Georgian Bay which is part of Lake Huron. Lumber and grain passed through this harbour and the town prospered.

mural of an historic scene in Midland Ontario, people in fashion of the time, standing on dock looking at a boat in the water and a grain elevator

below: Sewing in the window, with a view of the woolen mill across the street. small mural behind a tree on the upper storey above a store, a woman in a long blue dress is sewing at on old fashioned sewing machine

below: European explorers and their First Nations guides canoeing on the lake.

mural in bad shape (peeling paint) of a European explorer standing beside a lake scene, First Nations people and Europeans in canoes

below: A red and white lighthouse with a brilliant blue sky

along the whole side of a building, painted bright sky blue with some puffy white clouds. A large painting of a red and white lighthouse

below: Maybe when the first car came to town?

mural depicting a farm scene from a porch, with old fashioned car driving through. Barn with horse and child, also horse drawn wagon

below: Above an Italian restaurant is this small picture of horses bringing logs to the saw mill to be cut into lumber.

small mural above an Italian restaurant, horses bring a load of logs to the saw mill to be cut

below: HMS Bee, a schooner

a man with a beard stands with his arms crossed looking at a picture of a schooner with 3 sails, the HMS Bee

below: A portrait of James Playfair. A the bottom of the pillar on the left: “A successful Midland lumberman turned to shipping in 1896. In 1901 he formed the Midland Navigation Co. In 1910 he established the Midland Dry Dock Co. renaming it in 1915 the Midland Shipbuilding Co to build ocean ships”. At the bottom of the pillar on the right: “James Playfair’s Company completed in 1917 a large new shipyard on the Midland Waterfront to build Government contracted ocean cargo steamers. The first one launched was the ‘War Fiend’ (1918-1920).”

a portrait of James Playfair in a mural, long with images of some of the boats that his shipyard built

below: Playfair Mills

a car is parked in front of a mural of a man balancing on logs in the water, playfair mills, midland history series murals.

below: Midland’s first post office opened in 1872

picture of man with grey hair, beard & mustache standing outside the post office,

below: A tribute to Canadian Girl Guides

vintage Girl Guides in blue hats tending to a wounded dog, with a sore paw, tent in the background.

below: The cleaners, delivering clean clothes.

car parked in front of a mural showing the interior of an old cleaners with a man working inside hanging up a dress

The murals were funded by Midland BIA & The Ontario Trillium Foundation

new murals on South Wood Street, Chicago

Posted on August 20, 2019 by Mary C

A couple of stretches of concrete wall in Pilsen have recently been opened up to street artists in Chicago. One of these is on South Wood Street immediately north of the railway tracks (by West 15th Street). This past week, August 2019, a group of artists painted the wall. This is a selection of the murals that now adorn that wall.

below: Some of the new murals

a person walks past a wall covered with many murals beside a street, South Wood Street

below: As you emerge from under the bridge, this is the first mural that you see on the west side of Wood Street.

a mural that is partially under a railway bridge, metal supports for the bridge in the picture,

a mural on South Wood Street, a person with a wide brimmed hat carrying a ghetto blaster on her shoulder

below: Peace mural by @sob_e (aka Eliza Riley Delgado)

two murals on a wall beside a street, one has the word peace

below: Warrior City Tribe by Mero

warrior city tribe mural on a wall on Wood street in Pilsen

two murals on a wall, both with birds

below: Breaking down walls and letting the rats and vermin out.

two murals on a wall, painted like hole in the wall with rats, cat, and skunk

below: Two alligators (Crocodiles?), one break dancing and one stepping out in a hoodie and bling.

mural on a concrete wall in Pilsen, two alligators or crocodiles, one in a hoodie and one standing on one front leg and smiling

two murals on a wall, one is mostly red and has a wizard cap with a star on it and the other is mostly yellow

below: Sponge Bob Square Pants tries his hand at singing while Bart Simpson spins.

mural on South Wood street in pilsen illinois, a dance scene with an angry sponge bob square pants singing while Bart Simpson is the D J with two turn tables, a man is trying to dance

a small tree in front of two murals on a wall

below: On the left is a mural by Yo Loco

two murals on a wall

below: by @All_CITY_COWBOY, helicopter, music, and mayhem in the city.

a mural by @all_city_cowboy, helicopter, shadow silhouette figures

below: With the green lizard character standing by

two murals on a wall, one with green lizard character

Alien Gardens, East London

Posted on November 7, 2016 by Mary C

blue sign for Allen Gardens that has been altered to say Alien Gardens, city of London , TOwer Hamlets,

looking across a park, grass in the foreground. A man is sitting on a bench in front of fence covered with graffiti and street art, including a painting of a big blue eye

below: An MCLN pasteup featuring his Plague Doctor character walking old streets. A lost world of memories? Or Memories of a lost world?

paper paste up by mcln of memory, characters in black top hats and black coats walking streets of the past

below: The London Overground passes the north side of the park.

train track bridge, brown girders, over a park with a graffiti and street art covered fence below the bridge

below: An unreadable sign.

triangular street sign with red border, unreadable because covered with stickers and spray paint

below: The northeast exit from the park is a walkway that leads to Brick Lane.

a narrow lane, with bollards to prevent cars from driving down it, low buildings on either side, with street art on the right hand side.

below: The northeast corner of the park.

looking across a park, grass in the foreground. A fence covered with graffiti separates the park from buildings, a new glass skyscraper in the distance along with some construction cranes and other new construction.

around Jewell station

Posted on January 14, 2016 by Mary C

Jewell train station is on the Upfield line in Brunswick. The Upfield Bikeway path runs alongside the tracks at this point. Most of the walls along the bike path have street art on them. This is a selection of the graffiti that I saw around Jewell station and south from there to Park street.

streetart paper wheatpaste black and white life sized photo of person standing on their hands with a cane beside them. Wearing fuzzy slippers and plaid pants and a hoodie that is covering their face (because it's upside down)

On the side of a small brown house is a large painting of a woman's head and neck. Short black hair, pink cheeks and her eyes are closed. The lower part of the picture is behind a fence. The picture takes up the whole side of the house.

a red bicycle is parked outside a bike shop that has a painting of a person on bicycle by the door. It is beside a bike path and the train tracks.

street art painting of two fat men's faces, white line drawing on black background, on a wall beside a sign that says Bike Shop

long abstract looking headless man lying horizontal, street art painting across the bottom of a building with wood siding. Written above in large black letters is Eve Novs

three small pink and white monkey wheatpastes under a large geometric (square) lettering tags. The monkeys are right by the ground. One is wearing sunglasses, one is wearing headphones and one is wearing a respirator. An interpretation of see no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil

row of old brick buildings with diagonal rooflines covered with graffiti beside a bike path near Jewell train station

row of old brick buildings with diagonal rooflines covered with graffiti beside a bike path near Jewell train station - large text graffiti that says Eve MVH and the words "sit and wait" written underneath. Jamsr Klustr written in large letters above it.

geometric tag in white letters with black and orange accents on a red brick wall. Small letters of the words fwo, feeby and idem

tag graffiti, two pieces, on a wall beside a side walk

two trees in front a low small building with the side covered with one street art painting

an interesting piece of street art, horizontal across a building, letters, but some animals incorporated into it. K E and S and H for sure but not sure what the other letters are.

Outdoor graffiti on a corner wall by train tracks and a parking lot at Jewell train station

graffiti tag where the top half of the letters are yellow and the bottom half is orange. On green capital T is in the middle

looking across the train tracks to a side of a building that has been covered with street art

a row of terrace houses in Brunswick Melbourne with a parking lot at the left side. The side of the house closest to the car park has a mural painted on it.

a street art painting of the Hulk (green man) smashing through a wall with just his hands.

tag in pinks and blues with the letter a i c (or eric) in the corner

looking across the train tracks to a side of a building that has been covered with street art

mural with symbols of industry, gears, power line, smoke stacks,

Horizontal blue tag, letters, graffiti across the bottom of a building. Across the upper two floors is a large peeling paper wheatpaste of a person flying with two children holding onto the legs.

Melbourne PT train on train tracks as it passes by a wall of graffiti and some buildings behind the wall

colourful stylized abstract graffiti on a wall, an eyeball included

streetart paper wheatpaste black and white life sized photo of person standing on their hands on an orange brick wall

a street art painting of an orange fish (not realistic looking) sitting in a glass bowl, with a surprised expression on its face

around Brunswick station

Posted on January 1, 2016 by Mary C

Brunswick station is on the Metro rail line, about a twenty minute ride north of Melbourne station. This post represents some of the street art that I saw when I walked around the vicinity of the station. The Upfield bike path runs parallel to the train tracks in this area.

On a brown brick building, a wheatpaste of a mother holding a child's hand and she is holding a red and white parasol in the other.

On a brown brick building, a wheatpaste of a mother holding a child's hand and she is holding a red and white parasol in the other. Close up of the upper part of the people

Mural of a train on a wall, along the side of the Railway Hotel

Along the wall of the Railway Hotel.

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Street art painting by rashe, the letters of his name.

black and white wheatpaste high on a yellowish brick wall

tag-like street art, letters with a capital A in the beginning, the letters are in a peach or salmon colour.

The corner of a one story white building that has a lot of graffiti on the lower half of the building.

mural in turquoise and grey featuring a toucan

Upfield letter loops says the toucan.

Two little grey crocheted sun hat shapes attached to a pole that is covered in beige crochet.

baby guerilla

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mujlti coloured mural that includes an orange and purple guitar. A bike is parked in front of the mural

Jesus in profile on the side of the Later Rain Chapel.

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Graffiti on a corrugated metal fence. The Railway Hotel is in the background.

Graffiti on the lower level of M & M Meats pty ltd. C M E in large black letters on a blue background.

Two wheatpastes. Both are on a page of an old book. Each is drawn in black. On the left is the head and torso of a man, on the other is a man's head in profile.