Friday, February 22, 2019

Hotel McCoy in progress: 9/12/18

I stopped by the hotel on September 12, 2018, as the murals were in progress. For months before then, I'd heard from artists that the murals would be happening. I stopped by to take photos and then, for months, I tried to sort out which of my photos David Aber had captured when he was there. An unfortunate glitch (the memory card fell out of my cell phone!) meant that I had to rely on Google's reduced-quality “cloud” backups instead of the much better photos on that card. So, about a week ago (mid-February 2019), I decided to just post what I had without my usual careful editing. David has posted a number of these — and with much better quality. So please be sure not to miss his blog posts from the past few months. But I hope this blur of photos — basically, first to last as I walked through, with editing just to remove empty space — to get a feel for what was happening on this amazing place almost six months ago.

Some of these are just outlines of murals to come. (I've changed the outlines to monochrome format from color to help bring out detail. The outlines were drawn on walls.) Those murals may have been more finished by the time that Dave got there.

These are from first to last as I wandered through. If I'd tried to coordinate my notes about each photo with the shots themselves, and with which ones Dave posted in ten separate entries, I'll never get these online! So, without the notes, here goes:

(We say anything that's “flat art on a wall” may be a mural. That's actually a door mat standing upside down against a wall — probably draining after being washed. Whatever. :)

Friday, February 15, 2019

Hotel McCoy X - Odds and Ends

Remaining mural photos taken on various dates.

First sight as you come thru the main entrance.
Welcome Sign by Clint Tzu
 "Day of the Dead" on a utility structure.
"Día de los Muertos" by Jessica Contreras
Last sight as you exit thru the main entrance.
Moon Phase Mural by Daniel Martin Diaz
Not a mural but I couldn't resist
Vintage (1966?) T-Bird in front of the hotel
 Click on any photo for a slideshow of larger and sharper images.

It's likely there will be more installments as murals were still being painted when I last left the Hotel McCoy.

Update (February 18, 2019): Today's Cactus Catz blog entry has a few more photos and info: Monday Murals: Hotel McCoy, Tucson, Arizona

Wednesday, February 13, 2019

2008 Arizona Daily Star article about this blog

I ran across this article from May 1, 2008:

Former anchor’s site documents city murals

Friday, February 08, 2019

Hotel McCoy IX

More portraits by Jessica Gonzales from Oct. 15, 2018.

Portrait of Quiahuitl Villegas
Quiahuitl is an Aztec word meaning rain
Tarantula
 Portrait of Kari Beth
Palo Verde Beetle
 Portrait of Randy
Praying Mantis
 Portrait of Jewell Finder
Caterpillar
Click on any photo for a slideshow of larger and sharper images.

Friday, February 01, 2019

Hotel McCoy VIII

More portraits by Jessica Gonzales from Oct. 15, 2018.

Portrait of Dakin Martin
Centipede
 Portrait of Denise Bermudez
Grasshopper
 Portrait of Dante Celeiro
Sphinx Moth
 Portrait of Monet Simone
Butterfly
Click on any photo for a slideshow of larger and sharper images.

Friday, January 25, 2019

Hotel McCoy VII

A series of portraits by Jessica Gonzales.  Each portrait contains an insect paired with a person based on that person's affinity for a specific insect or one that fits his or her personality.  Photos from Oct. 15, 2018.

Portrait in Progress
Finished portrait of Kendra Maria Olivas Sudano and daughter Ofelia.
The Dragonfly also represents Jessica's own mother.
Dragonfly
 Portrait of Lauren Zampier-Enwright
Scorpion
 Portrait of Lydian Osman Ali
Bee
Click on any photo for a slideshow of larger and sharper images.