Skrappys and friends, May-July 2012

Skrappys (a.k.a. the Tucson Youth Cooperative), and other artists and designers, occupy the inside of the building at 191-197 E. Toole. If you've driven by, or read this blog for a while, you'll know that they cover the outside with a lot of art. And it keeps changing; I have a hard time keeping up with the latest, but it's fun to try!

East wall, May 21st

These views are from the southeast corner, at 6th & Toole:

Southwest wall, June 6th

I'll start at the south end and work north to the front of Skrappys:

A few details of Skrappys’ front (this has to be one of the most fun murals in Tucson):

Northwest wall, July 19th

One of my favorite Tucson murals used to look like this:

That was May 17, 2009. Fast-forward to this summer:

Though the mural has some fun additions — like the sheriff pointing at what I think might be the El Tiradito shrine — overall, there's too much for me. But maybe you love the new version! (As always, you can click on a photo for a larger view.) Murals are always changing...

Little mural on the porch

The people living at 1701 E. 10th see this little mural each time they go in or out their front door. I took the photo (from the street, with a zoom lens) on March 30th.

While in traffic on Toole...

Through the summer, as you've detoured along Toole Avenue to bypass the streetcar construction on Congress Street, you may have passed this five-paneled mural north of 6th Avenue. It's been on the right side, just north of Skrappys:

BLX

I found this mural on May 28, 2012 at the north corner of 7th & Toole, on the side of BLX. I roll by that corner pretty often, so I think the mural was painted not long before. (The dark bar near the left edge is an early-morning shadow.)

Update (December 30, 2012): The mural on this corner has changed (at least) twice since May 28. You can see the new murals in today's post.

Camacho Chiropractic

The front of the building, at 426 W. President (a bit southeast of 12th & Ajo), is covered with plants (painted and real) and a bird:

Sunset Villa Neighborhood revisited

Back on December 1, 2011, I posted a photo of a triptych (three-panel) mural just south of Pueblo High School along 12th Avenue. It was one of a series of five triptych murals by Gail T. Roberts Studio around this southern Tucson neighborhood. On April 29 of this year, I hunted for the others.

Fiesta

This mural, titled “Fiesta,” is at the southwest corner of 10th Avenue and 41st Street. The close-up shows the right (west) end.
The end panels are similar on all four triptychs, so I won't show close-ups of the others.

Familia

The “Family” mural is at the northeast corner of 12th Avenue & 44th Street.

Mercado

The last of the four, “Market,” is at the northeast corner of
16th Avenue & Ajo Way.

Murals being unmade: Chicago Store

The Chicago music store, downtown at 130 E. Congress, has been surrounded by murals for years. The outside walls are being renovated, though, and the murals are gone — for now, at least.

The south wall used to look like this and this. On Friday the 28th, it looked like this and this:

Murals being made, part 9: TAB on Tucson Blvd.

The Tucson Arts Brigade is painting another overpass. Unlike the one at 29th & Columbus, though, the mural is under the overpass.

I took these photos yesterday. You can see the "paint-by-number" design, with a number (1, 2, etc.) for each color. This is how TAB makes it easy for people to join in the painting.

The location is north of the airport on Tucson Boulevard, south of Irvington, just south of Bantam Road.

Update (December 18, 2012): The school just west of the overpass has a number of murals. The December 16 post shows the north part of the campus, and today's entry shows the spectacular David Tineo mural on the south end.

More Creative Ventures

Back on October 26, 2010, we posted a photo of the front of Creative Ventures at 522 N. 4th. Here are two more photos from the south end.

Glossy entrance on Fourth Avenue

Early-morning sun was shining from this doorway on March 27th. It's between 429 and 431 N. 4th:

(Don't miss the little mural at the bottom right.)

Kenneth by the coast

The letters stretching into the distance spell “Kenneth.” I found the mural March 27th on the door at the east end of Common Grounds Espresso Co, 331 E. 7th Street.

More "unpublished" murals

I never seem to catch up with all of the murals in Tucson. I've started posting photos every day instead of every other day, but there are still more than 200 murals waiting.

If you'd like to see what's coming, look at the unpublished murals pages. I've just updated them. The pages are built automatically, and the photos haven't been edited, but I think you'll get a good idea of what's coming up in the next few months. Here's a link to click:

tucsonart.info/murals/unpublished/

The murals are listed several different ways. It's a bit complicated at first. But if you look around and read the instructions at the start and end of a page, I think it'll make sense.

Happy hunting...
Jerry

Hippie Gypsy's windows

Back in 2008, we showed the north wall of Hippie Gypsy, the Fourth Avenue institution. Like a number of Tucson businesses, this one has murals painted on the roll-up shutters that cover the windows while it’s closed. Here are closeups of the northeast corner and the east side:

I took the photos on March 27th.

Murals on TAB's Facebook page

Over the past couple of years, the Tucson Arts Brigade has posted mural photos on their Facebook page. Some of the photos are identified; a few give the location and date the photo was taken, but many don't.

Here are links to the photos I spotted that aren't already here on the Tucson Murals Project. Enjoy! And if you recognize the mural, please help everyone out by leaving a comment below, after the list, with the mural number and what you know about it. (We're trying to build a history of murals in Tucson — especially the ones that are gone.) Or, if you'd prefer, send me email. Thanks.

When you click on a link below, it should open in a new window or tab. After you close that window or tab, this one should still be here.

1. The 4 B's Mural (posted June 1, 2010)
2. Our Yaqui Culture: ©1998 Tucson Arts Brigade (posted September 28, 2011)
3. Oasis Community Mural: destroyed: ©2002 Tucson Arts Brigade (posted September 28, 2011)
4. Hope Beyond Conflict, ©2001 Tucson Arts Brigade (posted September 28, 2011)
5. Drexel ES, 2007 (posted September 28, 2011)
6. We Give Birth to a Choice Each Day (lots of details on the Facebook page) (posted November 29, 2011)
7. Martin Luther King Jr. (posted January 13, 2012)
8. Happy International Women's Day! (posted March 9, 2012)
9. Happy Memorial Day from Tucson Arts Brigade! (posted May 28, 2012)
10. Untitled (posted August 8, 2012)
11. From our 2001 "Community WORKS" Busbench series (posted September 15, 2012)
12. 1998 - "Seeds for Life" Sunflower Mural (posted September 15, 2012)

And there's the Blast from the Past TAB Spring 1999 Newsletter that was posted Friday, April 20, 2012. (No need to post info about this.)

Murals at The Historic Y

As soon as you walk into the northwest entrance door to The Historic Y, you'll see two murals. One is at the top of the stairwell leading down to the Paulo Freire Freedom School, and the other is at the first turn down:

At the end of one of the several staircases to the second floor is Carly Quinn's tile mural outside the Sky Island Alliance office.

A thorny corner

	You and your car won’t be alone at 2nd & 9th. There are five tough guys saguaro hanging around this slightly down-and-out corner. (On the south side of the parking lot is a multicolored brick wall.) I made these portraits on March 30th.

Update (July 6, 2015): The north end of this mural has been replaced with an Iron Horse Neighborhood mural.

Mural map and mural tours are online!

Almost two years ago (and with some help from me), Melodi King made the first Tucson Murals map. Since then we've added several hundred more murals to the blog, but the map hasn't kept up. Melo has plans for a much better map system next year. In the meantime, I've used Google's "My Maps" feature to build an up-to-date map:

You can use the map from your desktop, laptop, tablet, or phone. Its address is: map.tucsonmurals.org. I'd suggest reading the tips and/or watching the video first (especially because there are actually three separate maps; you may want to see them all!). The tips and video are at maptips.tucsonmurals.org.

I've also made three mural tours:

• Tour #1: Downtown Tucson
• Tour #2: Around 4th Avenue
• Tour #3: Around South Tucson

The murals are listed in order in the left column.

If you have comments or suggestions, please send them from the TucsonArt.info murals page. Or write them here by leaving a comment below; then other people can see them too.

Maybe a mural, part 37: decorated home

You might not think of the painted decorations on this house, at 1817 E. 10th Street, as a “mural.” Or maybe you do. Either way, though, they help make the front of the home more artistic than plain stucco.

I took the photo on March 24th.

TAB grand opening, overpass update

The Tucson Arts Brigade has brought a lot of art to Tucson. Three of their recent projects were the Barrio Centro mural, repainting Winsett Park, and the 29th Street overpass.

This coming Friday, September 21, is the grand opening of their new offices in the Historic Y. Here are the details. It's a beautiful building full of arts- and community-related people and groups. Stop by and meet the mural makers!

Speaking of TAB murals: Last week I rode by the overpass at 29th & Columbus. Several murals had been finished or tweaked since I was last there on March 14th. Here's an update.

Here's the last mural above as it looked on December 18, 2011:

The west end of the bridge has its mural now — and, ironically, some tiny tags. One of TAB's goals is to turn destructive taggers into mural painters, but I guess not every one was on this project.