Just up Stone, something completely different

Last time, we showed a fantasy Tucson scene in the 2700 block of North Stone. Now let's head three blocks north, to the 3000 block. Both sides of Head Hunters Smoke Shop have fantastic murals.

Here are two shots of the north-side mural. The first one shows the part closer to the street. I shot the right-hand part with my cell phone's digital zoom, so the quality isn't as good:

The south-side mural is, again, different. First, the west side and some of the south side:

All of the south side:

And details of the south side:

The north-side photos are from July 14. I took the south-side photos July 29th.

"A" Mountain, Paul Bunyan, a flying VW bus, ...

This mural must have a story behind it... but the high fence topped by three strands of barbed wire, and the guard dogs behind it, made me decide not to try to find out. The building doesn't seem to have a number, though Google Maps told me 2735 North Stone when I clicked on the building. It's the next building south of Tommy's Food and Drink, which is at 2747... I pulled into their parking lot on April 12th to take this photo:

The mural is full of Tucson icons, as well as (mostly) old Volkswagen cars and "buses" (the classic VW camper wagons). (Click on the photo for a larger view and have a look for yourself.)

All of the VWs in the mural reminded me that the business across the street, and just north — at the southeast corner of Glenn & Stone — used to be called Uncle Bob's VW Repair. (Then it was Uncle Bob's Used Cars.) Is there a connection? Hmmm. (Our photos of the murals on that corner are on August 18, 2008... March 11, 2010... and May 3, 2012.) I'll aim to stop by the office at Uncle Bob's and ask.

Murals wrapped around books (in Oracle)

Although we usually cover murals in Tucson, I spotted an extraordinary wrap-around mural — actually, two murals — when I was in Oracle April 12th for their annual Artist Studio Tour. The bigger mural wraps around much of the parking lot, and the smaller one stretches around part of the front of the building.

By the way, the town's website has a library page explaining that the library is staffed completely by volunteers! If you know more about this, or know how the murals were funded, please leave a comment at the end of this post.

Here's the main mural, from left to right:

And the mural on the front side of the building, left to right:

Not-so-floral mural

It was June 28th when I got email from Mark Fleming with photos of a flower shop on South 12th, a couple of long blocks north of Drexel Road. I edited them a bit for posting on the blog, then — it seems — I forgot to post them? I don't see them here, so here they are!

First, the mural. Next, close-ups:

Thanks, Mark. More of your photos soon.

AZ Daily Star: Chris Pratt's mural (in WA state)

Yesterday, Google Alerts sent me email about a story in the Arizona Daily Star with the word “mural” in it. I jumped on it, of course. :) The story was about how a mural in a small Washington town's restaurant had helped bring business in — especially when the story hit social media. Here’s the article:

Cuddle parties; Quidditch in the park; Chris Pratt's mural

When Randy Garsee started this blog almost ten years ago, he had a policy of only showing murals that anyone could see, for free. That especially means: no murals in people's homes and back yards. It also includes restaurants… although people can go into a restaurant without paying, maybe Randy thought sending people in to see a mural wasn't kind to owners or people dining there?

After reading the article, though, I wonder if it wouldn’t be a good idea to promote business owners’ support of muralists — and blog readers’ enjoyment — by showing murals in restaurants (and other businesses, too?). I'd only do that with the business owner’s OK, of course.

If you have any thoughts about that, please leave a comment below. (You can remain anonymous if you’d like to.) Thanks.

More changes on Toole in April or May

We've posted quite a few photos of the two five-mural panels along the northeast side of Toole Avenue — between the street and the parking lot — so many that I have trouble keeping up with them! On April 5th, I rolled by the southern panel — across the street from 174 East Toole — and saw a couple of new panels, as well as one under construction:

The second panel has two rows of difficult scenes, surrounded by flags of nations (if you'd like to see them more closely, click to zoom in):

Here's the third panel:

I just checked Google's Street View and found a similar image in May, 2015. The fourth panel was still part-done (or part-undone?):

Temporary (like a lot of the art) on Toole

These murals were on the south side of 174 East Toole when I rode by April 5th:

April at 197 East Toole

April 5th, at the northeast end of this ever-changing building, were a (former) charcoal grill…

and a (still used) dumpster:

At the southern end of the east side I saw Rock Martinez’ partly-finished mural.

What's next?? (It’s been four months, more than long enough for an update on this amazing building. Stay tuned.)

A bit farther east...

Almost five years ago — December 13, 2009 — we showed the First mural in "kindness corridor" near the UA's Main Gate. Ben's Bells has been adding murals around town since then.

A bit farther east — a few steps from the right side of that mural we showed five years ago — are more murals. They're on the southeast corner of the building just south of University, along Park:

At the left edge of that photo, underneath the stairs, is this mural with two or three faces and “Be kind to each other” written twice, once from left to right and the other from right to left, backwards:

And here's a closeup of the face at the left side of the stairwell:

I took the photos on March 13, 2015.

Embracing graffiti?

In case you missed it, an article that the Arizona Daily Star said was “one of this week’s most talked-about stories” is here:

Embracing graffiti could help contain it, save Tucson money

From the story: “Options like graffiti walls or mural projects could provide a productive outlet for taggers, said Michael B. Schwartz, director of the Tucson Arts Brigade.”

Here's a summary of reader comments:

Facebook comments from our readers

The discussion continues!

Walkway treat: Treat Walkway

The Tucson Arts Brigade collaborated with the Broadmoor-Broadway Village Neighborhood Association to add tile murals along the walkway that stretches the distance where the car-width Treat Avenue would otherwise be: between (at the north end) Manchester Street and Stratford Drive, and (at the south end) between Stratford Drive and (farther south) 22nd. It's a wonderful stroll… In the the middle, the walkway crosses Arroyo Chico on a footbridge:

Here's what you'll see on the south and north sides of the bridge:

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

The neighborhood website www.broadmoorbroadwayvillage.com says:

From the 1940’s until 2011, the Treat Walkway was an unpaved easement with uncut curbs. When Broadmoor-Broadway Village became an official neighborhood under the leadership of neighborhood President Connie Anzalone and many others in the 1980’s, improving the Treat Walkway was made part of the neighborhood’s strategic plan.

The Treat Walkway remains one of the major features of the Broadmoor-Broadway Village Neighborhood. Residents often walk with their children and their dogs along the walkway, meeting and talking to their neighbors as they go. Palo Verde and Mesquite trees provide shade to the walkway and make it more inviting and pleasant. As the Treat Walkway has become more inviting to neighbors to visit, crime has been reduced and neighborhood interaction has increased. The trees and other plants on the Treat Walkway continue to grow and shade continues to increase.

Joyful murals at Our Mother of Sorrows

Here are more excellent photos by David Aber. He wrote that he found the group of murals “at Our Mother of Sorrows Catholic Parish and School at 1800 S. Kolb Rd. Evidently it is a custom at the school for each graduating class to paint or tile a mural. Five of the eight photos are class projects for the years 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, and 2013. I must have missed 2011 and 2014.”

No worries, Dave. Thanks for all of these!

Class of 2008

Class of 2009

Mural dedicated September 12, 2009

Class of 2010

Class of 2012

Class of 2013

Undated?

Build your collection with Google's "My Galleries"

Before I introduce this bit of (typically) groundbreaking news from Google — and mention that this entry isn't specifically about Tucson art — I'd like to suggest that seeing art on a computer screen or phone just isn't the same as experiencing it in person. How can you feel the depth, time, and movement of — say — a Jackson Pollock work by viewing an image on your screen? Don't stop traveling (in person, not electronically), folks...

Still, Michael Schwartz told me about a new Google service that lets you build your own collection of online art. If you don't have lots of money (or frequent-flier miles), you can get a rough idea of what it's like to be in a museum of your favorites by visiting www.google.com/culturalinstitute/my-galleries.

Be your own curator at The Centre Pompidou? Pourquoi pas?

This way to the beach (¿la playa?)

On December 12, 2010, we posted photos of the murals on Mariscos Chihuahua locations around Tucson — restaurants with great Mexican seafood. On June 1, 2015, I noticed that the 22nd Street location had a sign at the left edge of its mural:

In Spanish, “the beach” is “la playa.” Whatever: Thanks for the extra fun, Mariscos Chihuahua.

Murals being made, part 29d: Done!

We've been following a new mural by Johanna Martinez on the east wall of the Buffet Bar. When I stopped by on June 2nd, the details seemed to be filled in... and she'd signed the mural (at the lower right). I've been out of town, so I haven't talked with her... I think it's done!

Here's an overview, then some closer shots:

Don't miss the great detail in the locomotive's smoke. The first two photos show it best.