Rialto Theatre new & old, part 2 of 2

Last time, in Rialto Theatre new & old, part 1 of 2, we looked at the new(ish) mural on the south wall at the southeast corner of the Rialto Theatre. Jessica Gonzales and Dakin Martin made that mural, which was also the cover art for a new album. And we mentioned old murals; they're on the east wall at the southeast corner. This photo, which I took on February 6, 2024, shows the new mural and one of the three old murals:

The other two murals are behind the stairs at the right edge of that photo.

First mural

All three of these murals are by long-time Tucson artist Salvador Duran. The closest mural has faded some since we showed it last — December 25, 2008 — in our post Rialto Theatre backstage door:

If you'd like to see a closeup of the explanatory sign to the right of the mural, click on the link above the photo to open the December 2008 post.

The mural looked like this in February, 2024:

As always, you can click on a photo to get a slideshow of larger views. Below are some closeups:

Second mural

A bit farther north, directly underneath the stairs to the second floor, is a smaller mural:

Third mural

Just to the right (north) of the second mural is the third mural:

Walk a bit farther north. There's:

1. a mural by Jessica Gonzales for Love Block Partners. Keep walking to see:
2. a memorial mural to the singer Prince; Joe Pagac painted it in April, 2016: Prince tributes from Tucson artists (and stencil-ists).
3. at the northeast corner (at Congress St.), are Jessica Gonzales’ always-changing show murals. There's info in our previous post Rialto Theatre new & old, part 1 of 2.

Halfway around the building from there, far up on the southwest corner, is La Guitarrista. Our February 9, 2024 post Guitarist tops the Rialto shows it, but I think it's best to see in person. (To look at the intricate detail, bring binoculars.)

Rialto Theatre new & old, part 1 of 2

Jessica Gonzales does a lot of painting outside the Rialto Theatre downtown. On the northeast corner, she — assisted by Dakin Martin — paints murals for upcoming shows there. Here's one example from her Instagram: the May 17 and May 21, 2024 murals. (She wrote “I love that these show murals allow me to experiment and learn new things in the process.”)

Her March 24, 2024 Instagram post shows her book of Show Murals from 2019-2023. To see her latest show murals, go to her Instagram front page @jessicagonzalesart and scroll down.

From here, walk south along the alley (formerly Herbert Avenue). You'll pass murals that we'll see in part 2 of this series. At the south end, turn around to see this mural on the south wall:

Their signature is at bottom right:

This sign, painted to the right of the mural, says the mural is Album cover art for Gabriella Pietrangelo’s “Back to the Heart” and first single “Tucson”.

The music video, on YouTube, shows Gabriella singing in front of the mural as Jessica and Dakin paint it. This clip starts at 1 minute, 3 seconds:



Here's a link directly to the YouTube video, starting from the beginning: Gabrielle Pietrangelo – Tucson (Official Music Video). There's more in the Arizona Daily Star story on December 12, 2023, Veteran singer-songwriter finds inspiration in Tucson hometown.

In the photo above, of the east wall along the alley, you can see one of the old Salvador Duran murals that we'll show in detail next time.

Tucson's smallest mural?

I accidentally re-posted this same mural on July 29, 2024. Please see that post: Tucson's smallest mural?.

Oops!

Spray paint villains :)

A bit west from 1st Avenue, not far north of Grant, is the fun mural I found on February 6, 2024. It is (or was) along the back side of the building that has (or had) High Level Smoke Shop. At the far end of the first photo is the Santa mural from our previous post, High Level murals. I'm not sure if either mural is still there.

At the bottom right of the last two photos, you can see the artist's signature: stenz.co.uk. (Click there to visit the website in the United Kingdom.)

Flag Day (every day!) on Randolph Parkway

An Arizona flag mural and a US flag make this home (a garage or storage shed, I think) perfect for Flag Day:

Just south of this is the home with its own TUCSON mural:

I took these photos from S. Randolph Parkway, not far south of Reid Park Zoo, at the corner of E. 26th Street, on April 24th, 2024.

High Level murals

I took photos of these murals at High Level Smoke Shop, 1st just north of Grant, on February 6, 2024. When I wrote this post on May 15, I couldn't much online about it. Have they closed? I did find a location far south, 4990 South Campbell.

Have the folks on 1st spaced out? I don't know, but I do have these photos. These weedy people are/were on the north side…

…and Stoner Santa is/was on the south:

Farther west (farther from 1st Avenue), on the same building, is a long mural we'll see in Spray paint villains :).

Update (June 19, 2024): The murals are still all here. Although I didn't stop in, the business seemed to be open.

A helping hand at Parent Aid (Murals being made, part 79)

Last time, we saw a mural downtown by Germaine A Pesqueria, New at English Salon & Spa. He started another mural in January 2024 at Parent Aid — on 22nd Street just east of Tucson Boulevard. I stopped by on January 28th to see the mural in progress:

He posted this nighttime photo to his Facebook that evening:

(He hadn't finished the left hand yet.)

A few months later — May 9, 2024 — I stopped by near sunset to see the finished mural:

The right edge of the mural, around and beyond the fence, is darkness (and also in the late afternoon shade here). Germaine wrote me that the mural is “a visual narrative of transformation and hope, depicting a young soul leaving behind the shadows of sadness to step into a radiant future filled with possibilities.”

Two closeups:

He's painted shadows of plants on the mural; there are also real shadows.

His signature:

New at English Salon & Spa

On November 19, 2021 we showed a mural by on the roll-up shutter of English Salon & Spa, downtown. On April 7, 2024, I noticed this new mural:

It's Audrey Hepburn.

Here's the signature from the lower right corner:

The artist, Germaine A Pesquiera, has painted murals in Tucson for decades. He sent the photos below. (Thanks!)

(I enlarged those photos 2x using Upscale from https://www.stickermule.com/upscale/. It's currently free to use a limited amount each day.)

Next time, we'll see another new mural of Germaine's at Parent Aid.

Tired tagged murals :(

Fifteen years ago — May 29, 2009 — we published two colorful walls of murals at the Armory Park Senior Citizens' Recreation Center. That post is Giant plants (or tiny buildings).

Now, the murals have faded and been tagged too. Here are the walls today, on the northwest corner of 13th Street & 5th Avenue:

(As always, you can click for a larger view.)

Update (October 11, 2024): Today's post Brighter versions of tired tagged murals has closeup photos.

Ant Dogg (not Snoop Dogg)

According to the Ant-Dogg Facebook page intro: “Ant-Dogg is an Independent Recording Artist/Songwriter in genres - Hip-Hop, RnB, Rock and soul.” Here's a mural in (I think!) Ant-Dogg's honor:

As always, you can click on the photo for a larger view.

The mural is on the east side of the wall around 826 W. Calle Ventura. It's a one-minute walk west of N. Calle Central through a vacant lot; the GPS coordinates of the spot on the wall are 32.247520, -110.984947. Here's a Google Maps link: https://maps.app.goo.gl/j1MRDuUM947pwJH9A.

Mural columns at Pascua Neighborhood Center

Drive a block south of Grant on Calle Central to see these:

I was there on January 27, 2024. (A sign just to the left of these warns that anyone photographing on or around the grounds will have their camera confiscated. This seems to be about ceremonies in the park behind. The park was empty.)

Mmmm food and mmmurals

On August 11, 2021, a new eegee's location opened way out Valencia Road, near Cardinal Avenue — far enough that the area is called Drexel Heights, not Tucson. (It's just west of the car wash in our previous post, Wash and watch.) Jessica Gonzales painted the column supports along the outdoor dining room (which was a first for eegee's, KOLD News 13 wrote). The front of the store is along the south (left) and east (right) walls:

Next, both sides of the column supports — and a couple of close-ups:

(The first closeup shows a customer dipping a spoon into the landscape, next to some saguaros. Yum.)

When I was there on February 6, 2024, the column supports along the drive-thru hadn't been painted: