For Gabriel Rene Cruz

I found this memorial mural ("In Loving Memory... Gabriel Rene Cruz") on the south wall of the Grand Central barber shop last December 12. It's signed Gorman 2009.
Update (May 15, 2017): The mural was removed sometime prior to April of 2015.
Update (October 12, 2021): There are two new murals here.

Around the corner at Glenn & York

Earlier this month, Howard Rains rode by the mural posted here two years ago — Keeling neighborhood shines along Glenn — and he noticed that we missed half a block or so! The rest of the mural is around the corner...

Here's the missing part — too long to include in one photo, so it's split in two. Thanks, Howard.

(Howard's blog is Sky Island Riders Tucson Scooter Club.)

...Glad to see another Tineo work of art

After reading yesterday's post, Goodbye to one Tineo mural..., you had a hint of what would be coming in the evening. Our August 15 post on this blog showed a photo of the new mural, the list of sponsors, and some details. Back on July 9th, we even showed the empty mural frame. Still, would 110 degrees and thunderstorms threaten mural-lovers and community enthusiasts at the Mountain View Church of Christ? Ha! Tucsonans go all out for a new mural by revered local artist David Tineo. (Maybe I should also mention the free food inside the church multi-purpose room. :)

Around 5:15, the parking lot was mostly empty... as were the seats outside the mural, which was still covered with a blue tarp:

Not long after 5:30, the multi-purpose room inside was mostly full. The group headed outside, and people who contributed to the mural (with support, ideas, and the actual brushstrokes) yanked off the tarp that'd been covering the mural against rain (as well as sneak peeks):

... then posed for photos as everyone else applauded:

You've seen the mural in the announcement from August 15, so here's a close-up of the "heart":

The mural has eight panels, each painted by a different group but designed to fit together (and bolted in place, for sure). You can see that above, along with some participants' signatures.

Below is the celebration inside the church. That's David Tineo on the right, holding a framed print of the work that he helped to coordinate:

It was a real community-building project. Around the edges of the indoor festivities was a table full of people — kids and above — painting another set of works to be made into a collage. People in recovery through CODAC worked side-by-side with residents of the Hedrick Acres Neighborhood — and anyone else who wanted to join in. I had a long talk with an artist named John who said that art has let him express himself, helping him recover in a way that words alone can't. (Some of his work hangs at Café 54 downtown.)

As David pointed out in his remarks after the unveiling, projects like this help to build bridges — even (and especially) in communities like Tucson with the two tragedies of the January 8th shooting and the terrible economy that could also tear us apart. He and others are working to do just the opposite through mural projects like Changing Hearts & Minds.

(The Tucson Sentinel story Mural's brushstrokes meant to encircle community has more about the evening, and another story Mural paints picture of hope has background information. There's more on the Hedrick Acres Neighborhood Association site: "Changing Hearts and Minds" Mural Project. And here's the CODAC web page Changing Hearts & Minds Mural.)

Goodbye to one Tineo mural...

If you've lived in Tucson for at least a year (or seen this blog), you knew the mural that Tucsonan David Tineo painted (with others) along the main patio at the Tucson Museum of Art. It wasn't supposed to be there for years and years, but people loved it and it stayed... until last December, when it was falling apart from years of weather. The museum held a despedida to say "goodbye mural, hello again concrete wall." The story was Adios para siempre... posted here last December 1.

Since he painted it, eyesight problems made David announce that he wouldn't paint more... but he's back again! His newest neighborhood mural will be dedicated tonight, at Mountain & Hedrick... see Celebrate the new mural on August 27!.

I was the Museum's event photographer back then, so I caught lots of photos of David and the crowd that came to talk with him (families, especially kids, are important to him) — before the mural was cut into sections and sold to benefit the Museum School.

Desert critters on South 10th

This street-side mural is along South 10th Avenue, at the southwest corner with 29th Street, in South Tucson. (Here's a map.)

More South Tucson streetside art

If you've been reading this blog for a while, you've seen some of the murals on sidewalks and next to main streets all through the city of South Tucson. I snapped this mural on December 12. It's along South 10th Avenue, in front of the lot at 2222 South 10th.

Update (August 31, 2015): Mark Fleming sent closeup photos of the mural:

La Jaliciense

Just north of the murals from yesterday's post is this one. It's on the north wall of 395 W. 33rd Street in South Tucson — La Jaliciense Candy Factory & meat market. (If you're looking for it, note that the sign on the west wall says "The Gizmo Factory, S&G Embroidery"). The artist was Ruben Moreno, and the credits panel at the bottom shows the other muralists:

Tigger is (was?) here

These murals are on walls south of The Gizmo Factory and S&G Embroidery, 395 W. 33rd Street in the art-filled city of South Tucson. I took these photos from the corner of S. 10th at W. 33rd on December 12th, 2010.

This close-up of the middle mural shows a date of Jan 2 2010, and what might be the artist's signature: TIGGER.

Toltecalli Academy sign

You'll see this bright mural at Toltecalli Academy, 251 W. Irvington.

More than tires

Even if you aren't looking for tires, you can't help seeing this mural on the front of Martin's Tire Shop at 4701 S. 12th. I spotted this (couldn't miss it!) on my mural-overload bike ride around southern Tucson last December 12.

Yosi's flowers...

...are inside and outside the store at 4833 S. 12th. Here's their west wall last December 12th:

Update (February 16, 2021): Here are a closeup and the parking lot side: Yosi's nine years later

Just a well...

...but, like several other Tucson Water wells I've seen, the walls around it are covered with murals. Here are two of the walls at 4775 South 12th Avenue on December 12th:

Justa Dream

Here's Justa Dream (says the sign at the left)... or is it Jus Ta Dream? Whatever, this is the southwest corner of their building at 4609 S. 12th, on December 12th:

Maybe a mural, part 19

Now this wall is different! Hanging artworks on a wall is probably the least like a mural of any of these 19 "maybe" posts (except number six). I won't do it again. :)

This is a bit east of Tucson Boulevard at 2528 E. 4th Street. I've ridden by several times since I took this photo last November 25, and the scene keeps changing.

Maybe a mural, part 18

Here's another wall. It's different than the previous "maybe a mural" posts, part 16 and part 17, because the wall is better covered with decoration. But then, what about that uncovered patch at the left side?

The wall is at 2601 N Tucson, the west side of the street, at the corner with Copper. (I rode by on November 25, 2010.)

Celebrate the new mural on August 27!

A Tucson artist I know, K. Loren Dawn, has been keeping me up to date on the new Mountain Avenue mural project. Part of what's exciting is that David Tineo has been working with a group of artists on the project. We showed the empty mural frame on July 9th.

There's a celebration for the new mural on Saturday, August 27, at Mountain Avenue Church of Christ, 2848 Mountain (at Adelaide), from 5:30 to 7:30 PM. There'll be refreshments and entertainment. The party hosts are the Hedrick Acres Neighborhood Association and CODAC Behavioral Health Services. Call Tippy Atkins at 327-4505 x8535 to RSVP or for more info.

Other key sponsors included Tucson Pima Arts Council/Kresge Arts in Tucson, Community Partnership of Southern Arizona, The Haven, Pima Prevention Partnership Sarnoff Artist Materials, Creatista and Kevin Anderson Productions.

(I didn't take the photo. I cropped it from an official announcement that I got by email.)

Update (August 28, 2011): here are photos from the mural unveiling.

Unique scene along Saint Marys

This wall is on the west side of the building at 1016 W. St Marys. It's along the narrow driveway, so it's easy to miss — the first time!

At the bottom right of the mural is Ernie & Dora Basurta, 1947. I spoke with a man nearby, and he said that the building is still in the Basurta family, but he didn't have more details. I'm hoping to re-check murals around town and see if I can find more information... so I'll post an update here if I learn more about this one. (As always, if you know the story, please add it in a comment below or send me an email message.)

More murals!

My backlog of mural photos that aren't on the blog is up to nearly 300, and I'm still posting ones from last year. So I'll try a couple of new things:

First, as you may have noticed in the past week, I'm posting to this blog every day. (I actually write a batch of posts and have them scheduled to appear one per day.) I'll need to make the posts simpler to save time. But you should have a(n almost-) fresh Tucson mural to enjoy here every day.

Second, all of the murals I haven't posted here yet (and a few I have) are now on TucsonArt.info in a new "unpublished murals" area. The photos haven't been edited. They're partly for mural-hunters who're wondering if there's a photo of a particular mural yet. But they're also for mural lovers to browse through. I'd be glad to get your feedback (though please read the instructions first if a problem you've noticed might be covered there). Add a comment below or send me some e-mail. All of that said, here's a link to the unpublished murals:

tucsonart.info/murals/unpublished

Great mural close-ups from Philip Snyder

Thanks, Phil Snyder, for your email message this week. Philip has lived in Tucson for two years, and he's posted close-up photos of murals on his website philipsnyderphotography.smugmug.com. He wrote:

I am particularly interested in murals that have a real "artistic value", if you will, similar to the the two I have already visited. I very much enjoy completing portions of the murals to appear as paintings. If any you know of come to mind, please let me know.

In Memory of Crystal

This beautiful mural is on the corner of Rosy's Beauty Salon, 4453 S. 6th. The signs near the bottom (which you can see below) say "In Memory of Crystal Salazar 3-26-98 to 8-17-99" and the mural is marked © Mary Miranda. (Her first name was a bit hard to read. I hope I have it right.)


I took the photos December 12, 2010.

Update: Here's a photo of the mural as it looked in the year 2000.

Update (October 16, 2014): The left half of the mural has been painted over, and the right half has faded more. Today's entry has the 15-year story.

Delicious on South 12th

This is the front of Rincon Tarasco a la Michoacana — 4505 S. 12th (just south of Michigan Drive) — last December 12.

Mural-covered porch

These gorgeous murals are on the front porch of the home at 4476 S. 3rd Avenue (at Michigan).

Korean War Memorial

The Korean War Memorial is part of the Pima County Kino Veterans Memorial Sportspark & Centers, Ajo Way & Forgeus Avenue. It's well worth a visit! I discovered the memorial in December of last year.




(That's a flower at the bottom right of the last photo.)

You can read more about the memorial in the June 23, 2000 Tucson Citizen article Korea’s dead get their due.

Update (January 13, 2014): There's a photo of flags at the memorial in the Tucson's Pocket Parks blog on the page Korean War Memorial (click there to see it).

Around the corner...

...from the mural you've probably seen on the west side of the shop at Grande & Congress is this one on the back (south) side:

I took the photo on December 3, 2010.

Maybe a mural, part 17

If the wall in the previous post looks like a mural to you, here's another "maybe" with fewer tiles and more wall. (I didn't count the tiles. This one just seems more sparse to me.)

This act of devotion in front of 505 S. Columbus was finished just a month or two ago. Here's a close-up from the north end:

Update (May 2, 2013): There's a close-up of the mailbox in the distance (at the near end of that far wall) in today's post on the Tucson Mailbox Art blog.

Maybe a mural, part 16

A tile or two in spots around a stucco wall can look nice, but I wouldn't say they make a “mural.” If there's a variety of tiles around everything, I think a wall might slide over into the ‘maybe’ category. What do you think about this one?

It was at Another Man's Treasure, 2601 E. Grant, last November 25.

Art breakout!

This is part of a longgg mural along the south wall by the parking lot at 2509 N. Country Club: The Art Center Design College.

Since I took the photo on November 25, 2010, I think I've seen some tagging :( along other parts of the mural. I hope it's been cleaned up by the time you get there.

From camels to sailing ships...

You can make that (virtual) journey yourself outside 2817 N. Country Club (just north of Glenn). At the time I shot these — November 25, 2010 — they were on two empty-looking walls next to Caravan Import Foods. These tile murals are signed “Abdulla” - Hand Made - Ja(?)sim, AZ.Tucson"

Who needs a garden?

The ultimate xeriscaping may be: hire a muralist to paint plants on your walls!

Well, I'm not sure that's what the folks at Casa de Ladrillo (the house on north side) - 3131 E. Glenn (e. of Country Club) were thinking, but the thought crossed my mind. (I took this photo back on November 25, 2010.)

Update (September 12, 2013): The shot above was taken from the southeast corner of the home. Later, I found a mural near the southwest corner and posted a photo today.

Bright desert mural

This little tile mural is almost small enough to be in the "maybe a mural" category. But I decided it was big enough. :). It's on the white house at 2808 N. Dodge (just north of Glenn, on the right side). I snapped the photo on November 25, 2010.

Cortaro Farms, now and then

These photos are from Howard Rains, who wrote on Thursday that he loves tracking down murals as he rides inside and outside of Tucson. Above is his photo from near the corner of Cortaro Farms and I-10, on Cortaro just east of the railroad tracks. Below, I've cropped to just the mural and stretched the photo a bit (with the GIMP editor):

Thanks as always, Howard!

Update (September 23, 2016): The steam locomotive depicted (Southern Pacific No. 1673) is on display at the train depot on Toole Avenue in Tucson. Thanks to David Aber for the tip.

Mixed murals

El Rancho Sereno, at 3800 E 4th Street (just west of Alvernon), has a variety of murals that you can see from the street side of their property: