A new long mural along Prince (Murals being made, part 68)

For years, a long mural east of Amphi Middle School has been fading in the strong southern sun. Joe Pagac started painting a new mural in late 2021 and finished it in 2022:

The mural used to look like this (the photo is from our December 21, 2009 post, A long mural along Prince, which also has closer shots):

I found out that the mural was being repainted in Joe's Facebook post on November 9, 2021:



I stopped by on December 18, 2021, hoping to catch the mural in progress. I did:

I snapped close-up photos of the mural from left (west) to right (east). Those pictures are below, the first of each pair of photos. I came back on February 21, 2022 to snap pictures of the completed mural. Those are the second of each pair below:

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(In case you haven't figured it out by now, the school's mascot is a pirate.)

Surrealistic mural at Amphi Middle School

I'm a fan of all kinds of visual art — not just murals. Among the 1,000+ murals I've seen in Tucson over the years, I've never seen a mural like this. It reminds me of the style called surrealism:

It's on a sports court east of the school, just east of the new long Joe Pagac mural. (I think this mural has been here for years, since the time that the previous mural to its west was replaced by Joe Pagac's.)

I snapped this photo on December 18, 2021, when I was here to photograph Joe Pagac's mural in progress.

Cyfi splashes color on Goodwill Industries HQ

Rock “Cyfi” Martinez has turned a standard warehouse, the headquarters of Goodwill Industries of Southern Arizona, into a giant desert canvas:

This looks to me like a new style of his — in Tucson, at least: objects surrounded by a white background. (He paints murals in other cities too.) I'll post another of his soon from Ultralights on S. Plumer Avenue.

Here are three closeups, from left to right:

Notice the desert sunset, with other saguaro, inside the big saguaro?

I was at the main post office nearby on Silverbell Stravenue January 11th when I spotted this big mural down the street.

Update (June 18, 2022): Here's another excellent aerial photo from BG Boyd Photography:

Jessica Gonzales was back at Arizona Picture & Frame

Around the start of 2021, Jessica repainted the south and west sides of the store. Like most of us, the store owners probably couldn't get enough of her great murals, so they hired her again to paint the southeast corner — to the right of the mural she painted before:

She wrote on Instagram that the mural is meant to be seen from the corner, like this:

As you see if you compare the photos of the south wall carefully to the ones from last year, the store has replaced their sign near the ground and added one along the top of her previous mural.

Let's finish with details from near the corner. First, I'm always interested in how muralists work around fixtures and other things that stick out the sides of buildings… like this gas meter:

Jessica worked with Dakin Martin:

I was there on January 8, 2022.

Raspados Marymar revisited (again)

On June 28, 2019 and May 8, 2010, we showed photos of this shaved-ice fruit heaven. (¡They sell piñatas too!) When I rolled by on January 8 of this year, I saw that the mural on the south wall had changed and that we hadn't photographed the east wall. So here's the south wall:

The east wall has a mural that's partly covered by a door when the store is open:

I'm hoping to stop by when the store is closed and take a photo of the whole mural. If I do, I'll update this post. In the meantime: The weather is heating up, so head out for some raspados!

Who you gonna call when your vehicle has dents?

If you've seen or heard Ghostbusters (“Who you gonna call?”), you'll recognize the sign for…

…Dent Busters. (The 2002 is their address on North Stone Avenue.)

I'll bet the muralists had fun painting these murals! On June 4, 2019, we posted the mural on their north wall by Clint Tzu of OldPuebloSigns.com, painted in 2018. Here it is again, photographed on December 11, 2021:

The fence at the back of their parking lot is even more fun. Monty SES Esposito (Instagram @theseswon38 and Facebook Monty Ses Esposito) painted it. Here are photos from left (the north end) to right (the south):

I've brightened the right side (in shadow) of the last photo. As always, you can click on a photo for a larger view.

Although “I ain't afraid of no ghost,” I didn't stay any longer than I needed to on December 11, 2021.

Murals being made, part 67: Tucson Dental Studio

During a part of 2021, when I drove by Tucson Dental Studio on Swan, the mural on the north side seemed finished. On August 11, for instance, it looked like this:

Later the white space at the top was filled in. An employee told me that the muralist still hadn't quite finished… he does a lot of work around Tucson, she said, so I guessed that he was busy. (Later I found out that he's Jonny Bubonik.) On November 22, I came back and stared at the mural for a while. I spotted the flowers at the top left that seemed unfinished:

David Aber took the next photo on February 12th:

The flowers had been finished. (If you'd like to see a larger view, click on the photo.)

Murals being made, part 66: La Mujer Empoderada

At sunrise on November 11th last year, I was mural-hunting downtown when I saw this mural in progress at the corner of 5th Avenue and Congress, the east side of the One North Fifth Avenue building:

On February 18, Ignacio Garcia described the mural on his @ignacio_garcia_art Instagram account. (If you don't have an account, you can probably click on that link and scroll through… but don't click/tap on any photo because you'll be asked to log in.) He wrote:

A small treasure for downtown tucson at 1st N. 5th St, from LoveBlock Partners, who also have businesses such as the HUB Restaurant, Little Love Burger, and the AC Hotel, wanted a piece that represented female empowerment and the increase in female leaders throughout Tucson. The mural represents strength, leadership, and the beauty of boldness.

Titled “La Mujer Empoderada” The Empowered Woman.

BG Boyd Photography sent this photo of Ignacio at work taken (according to data in the photo) February 9th…

… and posted this video on YouTube:



Here's a link to that video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wX7jrI8k5Hg.

David Aber sent this photo of the finished mural on February 21:

Update (April 7, 2024): On a walk through downtown today, I noticed that Ignacio also painted part of the building's south wall, along Congress Street:

OWL

This mural was found at 502 N. Igo Way on the SE wall seen from N. Gollob Rd.

By Wagon Burner Arts

Click for a larger image.

Motorsport Warehouse

Artist Not Known

Click for a larger view.

Update (June 22, 2022) from Jerry Peek: I was curious about the ghostly car at the left side, so I pulled over today while I was driving up 1st Avenue. Did the artist plan to come back and finish it? It looked the same. There was a sign saying that the business is for sale; maybe they wouldn't pay the muralist to finish it? Here's a closeup:

Update (October 6, 2022): Their website motorsportwarehouse.com says that they've moved to a new location. So this mural, with their name on it, may be history soon.

Ben's Bells Box

I'm guessing that someone from the Barrio Centro neighborhood brightened it up by painting this utility box with a Ben's Bell and more cheery art:

I rolled by on November 23, 2021.

Mural tours by Presidio San Agustin del Tucson Museum

This February 14 story from KGUN 9 TV news describes two mural tours and shows photos of the big mural at Presidio San Agustin del Tucson Museum:

New downtown tour reveals Tucson's iconic murals and hidden masterpieces

Rest at Robison

The main entrance of Robison Elementary school, at the corner of Treat and 18th, has a Ben's Bells mural, two artsy benches and a mosaic panel:

I almost stopped for a snooze during winter vacation: December 26, 2021.

(PS: I just noticed that today is 2/22/22. Here's a look back at our 1/11/11 mural, El Mezon del Cobre.)

News about Ben's Bells murals, 20th anniversary

Remember that “I am Tucson” mural? We showed it in the September 12, 2012 post I am Tucson (Kindness, part 4). That was ten years ago. In the meantime, the mural was removed during downtown construction. (Pssst: They're planning to re-create it at the Tucson Convention Center.)

Now Ben's Bells is celebrating their 20th anniversary. They have 200 murals in Tucson and aren't done yet, as this February 17 story from KGUN 9 TV explains:

New project in the works for Ben's Bells as nonprofit enters 20th year in Old Pueblo / Welcomes locals to take part in newest project