Coming soon...

The I-10 widening project has added a lot of art along the freeway -- and around it, too. Here's the scene from the west end of Williams Street, for instance.


The far right side of this mural (behind the "Road Closed" sign) shows the front of the Anita St. Market, which has two murals of its own! (Too bad you can't see those murals in this mural...)

Murals in (on) store

These two murals are on the side of the Anita St. Market, on Lord St. at the corner with Anita St. Though it's just a block away from I-10, there's a real neighborhood feeling here.

While you're here, check out other murals in the neighborhood, too; there are a lot!

I took the photo on May 14th.

Update (July 23, 2019): Today's blog entry shows the left-side mural repainted.

Land (and a mural) for sale

Want a scenic view every time you pull into your parking lot? Just make a deal with the Arizona Department of Transportation for this lot at the southwest corner of 6th St. & Main. It comes complete with a piece of what looks to me like Monument Valley, with lush plants in front and an eagle above... even a window in the middle where you can peer into the building.

This is the former Art's BBQ that Randy wrote about just six months ago. I didn't realize until I started making the new table of mural locations. It might help you, too, if you want to go mural hunting.

A fun (but not smart) place to skip class

Who, me? I'd never suggest truancy to you students at Tucson Magnet High School. (Besides, this long series of portraits and other tile works is on the wall just south of the school -- along 8th Street, just west of Euclid -- where you'd be easy to spot.) So, come with your classmates when school's out!

The rest of us can visit anytime -- maybe on a walk with the dog, or a stroll with your friends -- to enjoy all the variety that stretches along a lot of the block.

On my honor, I will try...

A ribbon with that pledge stretches the whole length of this Girl Scout mural on their building near the southeast corner of Broadway & Columbus. If you were, or are, a Girl Scout, the symbols that line the bottom of the mural will probably mean a lot more to you than they do to me! But I recognized people in the news, and names of events, that run along the top of the wall. There are lots of happy Scouts, too. Just try to come early in the morning before the sun bakes this west-facing wall -- and before cars fill the parking spaces that line the mural's bottom edge.



Update (April 12, 2012): Cindy Guare painted this amazing mural.

Wall-busting mural

Norhing bashful about this guy! He's smashing through the front wall of Bashful Bandit, on the southwest corner of Speedway and Dodge.

Update (November, 2021): The bar has been sold; it will become a BBQ restaurant. The mural is broken and, I guess, won't be repaired.

Update (April 11, 2023): Remodeling is continuing. It looks like this mural will stay. There's a new bashful mural next to it. Today's post Bye-Bye, Bashful Bandit? has photos, info, as well as an Arizona Daily Star article with lots of history and photos.

No Murals in Iraq

New Mission Won't Affect Murals Project

Your Photos Still Needed

Hello Everyone,

     I'm currently working as a civilian journalist with the United States Marine Corps in Iraq. This doesn't affect the Tucson Murals Project, but may slow it down a bit. That's where you come in. You can always e-mail me pictures of your favorite Tucson Murals at randygarsee@gmail.com.

    Meanwhile, history is unfolding in Iraq. If you would like to keep up with those events, visit my personal blog which now has a new mission.

    Thanks for your continued support!

     Sincerely yours,

     Randy Garsee

Rides in the Sun

Just Mural Cruisin'

Tucson Murals contributer Warren V. says this mural is "on the south side of a garage at 433 N. Santa Rita, just a little south of 6th Street by the U of A campus."

Mural Montage: A Tucson Favorite

While Truckin' Around.....

If you ever drive around the area of the University of Arizona, 

you'll eventually come across this mural.  

It's located at the southeast corner of

4th Avenue & Sixth Street.

Photos Courtesy of Davis Dominguez Gallery

Update (May 14, 2012): Today's Arizona Daily Star article by Carol Ann Alaimo, Tucson Oddity: Mural recalls 4th Ave.'s quirky denizens, covers this 17-by-70-foot mural. Painted in 1996 by Eleanor Kohloss, it's titled “The Thinkers.” All characters have a thought bubble over their heads. (The dog, who's thinking of a steak dinner, is named Beano.) Some of the characters are Tucsonans, and others are fictional.

These Murals Tank!

What Was Oro Valley Thinking?

I have often admired Oro Valley's public art efforts.  I even produced a video of public art in Oro Valley, which you can find on my YouTube Channel. This latest attempt, however, tanks.

Oro Valley has a beautiful new shopping area called the Oro Valley Marketplace.  Smack dab in the middle of this strip mall in the desert are two water tanks.  Someone decided, "Hey, water tanks are unsightly.  Let's paint a mural on them.  Better yet, make them look like massive Giant Saguaros."

As I discovered, the great idea of painting the tanks was mutilated by someone else's idea to surround the tanks with an 8-foot-tall stucco fence.  Drivers can only see the tops of the tanks!  Why not some type of fence so visitors can see the art work from top to bottom?  What a waste to spend all of that tax money for well-painted tanks and then hide most of the work.  

I got the best shots I could get and cropped the cactus flower for better effect.  I even stood on the concrete pillar of a light pole to get shots of the tanks without the wall in front of them.   But if you drive through the Oro Valley Marketplace, I'm sure you'll have the same thought I did:  

"Paint a mural and hide it?  No 'tank' you!  Randy Garsee

Here's a satellite map.

Update (August 7, 2020): There's another painted tank in today's entry Tanked.

Faded Pussy Cats

Faded Mural

In the Ash & Toole Street area

Contributed by Davis Dominguez Gallery

Rialto Theatre backstage door

Outside the Rialto Theatre

Contributed by Davis Dominguez Gallery

The mural is at the southeast corner of the building, 318 E. Congress.

Update (August 2, 2012): Here's a closeup of the sign to the right of the mural. I photographed it on April 4, 2012; the edges are curled and the bottom-right corner is missing. I edited the photo to make the words easier to read. You can click on the sign for a larger view — or, here's an even larger view. It's from muralist Salvador Duran.

Update (June 26, 2024): Today's post Rialto Theatre new & old, part 2 of 2 has detailed photos of this mural — and two others nearby, also by Salvador Duran.

That's Chicago... Again.

Warren V writes,

"The mural has changed on the back of the Chicago Music Store downtown [Tucson] since the May 9th [2008] photo posting. Here is a shot of the new one."

Update (September 30, 2012): The mural has been removed during construction.

Update (November 23, 2012): That's McKenzie Haggerty-Harrison in the mural. Here's more of the story.

Arizona's Artist: Maynard Dixon

A short documentary on the late artist 

Maynard Dixon

hosted by Dr. Mark Sublette, owner of Medicine Man Gallery

in Tucson, AZ and Santa Fe, NM.

To see this video produced by 

Randy Garsee, 

hit play below:

For the Veterans on Veterans' Day

This patriotic mural is on the wall at 

Miller's Surplus in Tucson at 406 N. 6th Ave.

Remember to honor your military veterans today.

Photo Courtesy of Davis Dominguez Gallery in Tucson.

Update: Five and a half years before this blog entry went online, the mural had been trashed. I found the story from March 28, 2003 in the Tucson Citizen archives: ‘Cowards’ deface military icons on store.

Putting the Art in Art's BBQ

If you've ever doubted good barbecue is an artform,

then this mural should put your artistic tastebuds to rest.

Bon Appetit!

You can find it here on our highlighted map link.

Photo Courtesy of Davis Dominguez Gallery in Tucson

Update (September 2, 2012): The mural is gone, and this building is now the new home of Dinnerware Artspace.

New Mural Friends

Hello, Fellow Tucson Mural Enthusiasts,

          Just wanted to let you know that Mike Dominguez of the Davis Dominguez Gallery in Tucson (and with the help of Tom Rossi) recently profiled some of the murals from the Tucson Murals Project at a presentation Mike gave at Tohono Chul Park.

In exchange, Mike Dominguez sent me a CD of wonderful Tucson murals to add to the Project.

So, for the next few days and weeks, 

I'll post Mike's contributions.  

I hope you enjoy them.  

I know I will.

Do U Know Who Do Tattoo?

Tattoo

This mural was tattooed on a tattoo business, 

but I simply don't remember where.

If you discover the location,

will you please share?

e-mail me: randygarsee@gmail.com

In the Shadows of Downtown

This mural, at the corner of N. 6th Avenue & Pennington Street, was painted by Gerald Dawavendewa.

Update (October 5, 2013): The mural has been badly tagged:

Update (July 4, 2016): A new mural by Luis Mena has replaced this one.

Meow Mural with Mutt Motif

Nice doggy.  Nice kitty.  Nice mural.

Transformation Pet Center

3158 E. Grant Road

Photo by Warren V.

Update (May 29, 2023): The new mural, posted on August 18, 2017 has no kitty, just three dogs. Today Jerry Peek has updated that 2017 post with photos from 2023 showing a slightly later version of the mural above: the background has been painted in. There's more of the story of the mural too.