Roses & More is no more

Years ago, Tucson had three Roses & More stores, each with a mural by Chris Andrews. The first two closed years ago, but the location at the northeast corner of Speedway & Craycroft stayed open for years more. The Speedway side looked like this:

Chris texted me yesterday (March 3rd) to say that the building had been reduced to rubble. I drove right over, hoping to catch some photos before the rubble was gone.

The only part of the murals I could see was the end of a wall:

The store is re-opening soon in a shopping center at 6170 East Speedway. I'm guessing that there's no room for murals.

Update: BG Boyd Photo kindly sent aerial photos of the building before it was destroyed:

The mural also appears at 2:42 into BG's aerial mural video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3aQmAt-FuzU&t=162s

Finding murals

Here are a few tips for finding murals.

At the right edge of every blog page are two links. One is Mural map, which has several ways to see a map of hundreds of Tucson murals.

Another link at the right side is Search this blog. It lets you type in words — for instance, the name of a street or a business.

At the bottom of every blog entry is a “Location” that gives the street address. Click on the address to see the location on a map.

Also at the bottom of every entry is “Labels,” which has links to click to see other murals by that artist. Some labels also have other ways to search.

See this "Tucson" mural while you can

A new mural by Ashley White, Modern Aquarian, was sponsored by the Downtown Tucson Partnership. The mural is temporary, so head over there soon to see it:

I visited on February 28th — near sunset, so the trees along the curb didn't cast shadows on the mural. (I took the last photo during the day, when I discovered the shadows.)

Murals being made (but not finished), part 59: One Offroad

On May 10, 2020, I spotted a partly finished mural on One Offroad. I took these photos:

I've stopped by several times since, the last time on February 9 of this month. The murals look the same to me. If I notice any changes, I'll update this blog entry or make a new one.

Yerberia San Miguel moves

On November 9th, 2020, I rolled by a business on South 12th Avenue that seemed familiar. I checked the blog and found that David Aber had visited on February 6, 2019 (see Yerberia San Miguel). Since then, the business has moved 12 blocks up 12th. It has a new mural, too:

Here's the artist's signature from the left edge:

Holaway Elementary

I found these two untitled murals at the F. O. Holaway Elementary School on Feb. 6, 2021.

By Camila Ibarra

By Camila Ibarra

Click on either photo for larger and sharper images.

Yosi's nine years later

The mural-covered front of Yosi's Flower Shop hasn't changed since we showed it in our August 20, 2011 post. (That's surprising because it faces west… and west-facing murals are blasted by the hot sun, which can fade them.) But a couple of things have changed: they've removed most shrubs in front, and there's a mural-covered trash container by the street (click there to see photos). Here are the store front, a closeup, and the wall by the parking lot, from November 9, 2020:

Good and bad mural news on Alvernon Way

There's good news and bad news at DennisDwyer.com Tattoo & Supplies, formerly Ancient Art Tattoo. First the bad news. This mural in 2014 (from the March 19, 2014 entry Amazing art at Ancient Art)…

…looked like this on November 9, 2020:

If you look closely, you'll see that more has been added to the mural — especially a cross. Too bad we can't see them for the fence and garden! (At least the people living there have an amazing view out their windows.)

The mural above is on the north-side wall. The good news is on the south-side wall:

Update (July 16, 2024): Just by chance, I found a photo on Google Maps Street View showing the south-side mural being painted. This is in June 2017. You can click the + to zoom in:

House of Neighborly Service: extreme makeover :)

It was almost ten years ago, in 2012, that I visited the House of Neighborly Service. The blog entry House of Neighborly Service, front gate shows a mural near the street and has links to other murals.

I went back 0n November 8, 2020. The place was locked up — for the pandemic, I guess. So I took a few photos, then returned the next day with a zoom lens that let me get closeups from outside the perimeter. Here are the November 8th photos:

On the east wall, outside of the patio:

On the south wall of the patio:

The west wall of the patio:

Two murals, next to each other, on the west wall next to the street:

Next, November 9 — starting with a mural near an entrance and the artists' signatures. There's only a faint outline of the “Martinez” after “Isaac”; I don't know what that's about:

A mural along the west wall of the patio, starting from the entrance above:

Last, the murals on the south wall of the patio:

Ignacio Garcia nominated for 2021 Governor's Arts Awards

You've seen Ignacio's murals (and chalk art) around Tucson and here on the blog. If you'd like to see all of the blog entries, here's a search. Now his announcement on Facebook (I hope this works!):



If that doesn't work, or you'd like to see it full page, here's his announcement.

Here's info from Arizona Citizens for the Arts: Governor’s Arts Awards.

Congratulations, Ignacio!

Tribute To Elizabeth Taylor

Found at the Old Town Apartments on 12/28/2020.

By Sean John Cannon

Click on the photo for a larger and sharper image.

Update (December 17, 2021): The muralist wrote on his Instagram @seanjohncannon (you can click there to see the post; you currently don't need an account):

My art mentor is Andy Warhol and his process involved silk screening multiple layers. My application is a lot different as I do everything by hand to create the illusion of silk screening. paint, markers, and a wet sponge is all I need but it is incredibly painstaking! I’ve always been fascinated with repetition and if done correctly, the viewers eye will always be drawn in towards it. I see Pop Art as being timeless as it never becomes “outdated” as aestheticism and whimsical coloring defines its genre. I love how it never takes itself too seriously and so far it has always perfectly reflected the zeitgeist of our times.

La Capilla Neighborhood Garden

This mosaic mural is an easy trip if you're in the city of South Tucson:

It's in a parklet with a couple of benches. Here's the entry in the Tucson's Pocket Parks blog: La Capilla Neighborhood Garden.

Vaquero

East Wall (facing N. Campbell Ave.) of a Mexican restaurant called MOMO's.

By Danny Martin

Photographed on Dec. 27, 2020.  Click for a larger and sharper image.

Creative Machines

Tucson has more and more large murals. Which one is biggest? Someday I could get one of the gadgets that lets you measure lengths from a distance. In the meantime, here are two of the largest — at Creative Machines on Irvington. It's probably closed today, New Year's Day, but you should be able to look at the murals from outside the fence. Or stop by during business hours — when you can be right next to them.

There are two murals. The one at the left (farther north) is by Jessica Gonzales and friends; the other is by Nadia Hagen and friends:

The west side and then the south side of Jessica's mural, followed by the signature at the bottom right corner:

Nadia's mural — which is quite a bit wider than Jessica's, so next are a few close-ups:

I took the first photo on November 8, 2020, from outside the fence and the rest from inside the fence on November 9.