Train Engineer and Onlooker

I've taken two photos of this mural almost 5 years apart. The original artist was Joe Pagac who told Jerry Peek that "It was tagged and then a very talented young artist who goes by Rose Kaiotii did the updated repaint." You can find it at the SW intersection of E. Alameda St., N. 6th Ave. and E. Toole Ave.

Photographed 09/21/2014

Painted by Joe Pagac

 Photographed 05/29/2019

Updated repaint by Rose Kaiotii

The face and clothing of the onlooker have changed dramatically.  Here are the before and after photos:

Although not a self-portrait, the clothing and tattoos on the right appear to be the same as those worn by the artist.

Click on any photo for larger and sharper images.

Update (May 9, 2026) by Jerry Peek: The mural comes from "The Creation of Adam" by Michaelangelo, which is on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel:

When the railroad came to Tucson in the 1800s, it changed Tucson into a bustling town with goods brought by train. So I'd say this mural (now gone) showed a train engineer and a Tucsonan.

"A" Mountain and a giant fork

I've heard that each Trader Joe's store has an artist on staff. When I look around the store — at the shelf tags, for instance — I think it might be true. That's a mural above the shopping carts outside. Next, a couple of closeups:

I snapped the photos on June 23rd.

Tortilleria Don Juan

The artist, Jilmar Alaniz, happened to be in the restaurant at the time I took this photo on May 27, 2019.  He came out and we talked for a while.  And that's how I found out the mural is a portrait of the owner's parents.

The father (Juan) and mother (Che)

Click on the photo for a larger and sharper image.

Update by Jerry (May 6, 2022): There's a mural next to the store entrance: Panaderia at a tortilleria

Update by Jerry (May 1, 2024): A second location on Prince Road was open for about two years. There's a photo in today's post Adios, Carniceria Don Juan II.

Update by Jerry (January 14, 2026): Kevin Blow, visiting from the United Kingdom, took the photo below. The space above the mural had been replaced with standard manufactured letters, so that isn't shown. His photo also shows all of the man at left… I'm guessing this is Don Juan.

Hem & Her

Back on July 13, 2016, the Tucson Mailbox Art blog showed a giant pair of scissors underneath a mailbox. Since then, the obviously fun-loving owners of Hem & Her Bridal have painted a mural on the wall at the north side of their parking lot:

I zipped by (and stopped) on May 16, 2019.

Murals being made, part 53: Mural lovers

Back on October 5, 2016, I posted (Not) Mural Lovers, part 3. I had seen a business sign that was apparently put on top of a Ben's Bells mural: the third one in their “kindness corridor.” I was outraged, so I wrote that entry.

Soon I heard that the new business owner had simply replaced the former business sign and left the mural as it was. But I just ran across a folder on my computer (I'm going through old folders to find murals I haven't posted) with photos of the mosaic mural being installed. I'm not sure whether I got them from Ben's Bells or from the former store owner, but I'm basically 100% sure that I wouldn't have saved them if I didn't have permission to post them to this blog. So here they are:

First Thursday Art Walk, Jeanette Maré & Maggie Gedbeou

Ben's Bells Studio Manager, Colleen Corlin, applying mirror to the Kindness Tree mural design

Ben's Bells Executive Director Jeannette Maré

Ben's Bells Executive Director Jeannette Maré, CTP Student Joe Cox & KOLD News 13 Reporter Lauren Burgoyn

The photos were on a flyer saying, in part, “The mural installation was open to the public and several passers-byers had the opportunity to put mosaic pieces on the wall.” A hidden comment in the first photo's data said "Photo from Amy Collinsworth of Ben's Bells". Thanks, Amy! The captions above are from the flyer.

I don't have a date, but it must be before the photo I posted in October 2016.

Und1sputed urban art

The vacant lot on the south side of the Un1sputed Fitness gym on Stone has been ringed by urban art murals for years. (To see some of them, click on “Search this blog” in the right column and enter Und1sputed — with a digit 1 instead of the letter i.) I stopped by on May 16, 2019 to see the latest.

First, here's the south wall of the building overall, from west to east, with two closeups:

Next, the other (south) side of the lot — including one closeup of the cartoon character Speedy Gonzales:

College Kids

Mural by Danny Martin.  I found it at the Broadway Village Apartments.  Photographed on April 27, 2019.

Click on the photo for a larger and sharper image.

Two years ago at TMA

If you suspect that I'm not the world's most-organized person, you would be right. :) But at least I remember murals! I was at the Tucson Museum of Art earlier this summer… I saw the slab outside the Education Building, thought back on two murals that used to be there, remembered that I'd taken photos but never posted them here. This morning, I found those photos — from August 8, 2017. The museum regularly repaints this slab, so I'm glad I got the photos when I did:

It's never too late for good art. :)

79th Floor

"The 79th Floor is a smoke shop and lounge that specializes in heady glass and CBD products."  Heady glass is a moniker used to distinguish high-quality blown glass pieces such as dab rigs, dabbers, hand pipes, and bongs used for cannabis consumption.  CBD (Cannabidiol) is an oil derived from the cannabis plant.

Photographed on April 22, 2019

Viewed from E. Pima St.

Painted by Ivan and viewed from the store's parking lot on N. Alvernon Way

Click on either photo for larger and sharper images.

Update (June 26, 2020): As you can see in today's entry, the mural on the north wall (the first photo above) has changed and there's a mural on the east wall.

Seeds of Change

I found this mural on May 10, 2019 at the Steve Daru Boys and Girls Club next to Joaquin Murrieta Park.

Painted by Jonny Balesteros, aka Jonny Bubonik

Click on the photo for a larger and sharper image.

Outside Davis Bilingual Elementary

Davis Bilingual Elementary School has lots of art inside and out. The outside art is concentrated on the south side of the building near the main entrance; most of these have been repainted in the past couple of years. Others are spread around the grounds.

I've been coming here for years. I found two murals on May 12, 2018, near the northeast corner of the building, that I hadn't seen before:

On my last visit, May 15, 2019, I photographed the repainted murals outside. The first six are snapshots of Tucson through the centuries.

Before the late 1600s

Late 1600s - Mid 1700s

Late 1700s to Early 1800s

Late 1800s (At left is
the door painted by Luis Mena.)

Early 1900s

Late 1900s

(If you want a lot of flexibility and control over photos with your cell phone camera, try the OpenCamera app. I think it only works on Android. Look through its Settings menu and the “...” menu on the desktop to see all the choices you have.)

Inside Davis Bilingual Elementary

This blog has lots of photos of the art at Davis Bilingual Elementary School. (To see more, click on the “Search this blog” link in the right column, then type Davis Elementary.) A lot of the murals were painted by students. Others are by Luis Gustavo Mena, a Tucson muralist who does a lot to help the school. I stopped by on May 15th to see his mural in the cafeteria. The helpful people in the school office pointed out other murals inside.

Cafeteria

The mural and three closeups:

Hallways

Alongside some of the murals — which, I think, students painted — is some of what looks like their classroom artwork.