Tuesday, January 14, 2020

Tucson High murals revisited, part 2

Last time, we saw murals along 8th Street, just west of Euclid. The photo below shows the edge of those murals at the left, and a new mural along Euclid on the right:

Here's the lonngggg new mural:

Now closer, from left (south) to right (north):

Even closer to some fun parts:

And the credits at the right end:

I wandered back and forth on November 24, 2019.

Update (June 18, 2022): BG Boyd Photography contributes many of their aerial mural photos to this blog. (Much appreciated, BG.) Here's one I got today:

Friday, January 10, 2020

Tucson High murals revisited, part 1

May 20, 2009, we posted a couple of photos of a mural along 8th Street, just west of Euclid. Back then, the blog didn't always show all of a mural or set of murals… instead, we'd show a couple and hope that you'd visit in person. With hindsight, I've realized that it's good to show everything — if only because the mural might be gone some day.

When I saw a new mural on Euclid just north of 8th, I thought back to the entry ten years ago and wondered if we'd covered everything. Not even close! Before I took those photos, there were four sections of murals being made along that stretch of 8th. Here's a Google Street View from January, 2008, looking west from Euclid along 8th:



So I went back on November 29, 2019, to photograph whatever was there now. There's a lot! Let's start with a view from the west end, along 8th, looking toward Euclid:

The first mural, at the left (west) end:

The second mural, then a closeup of its top left corner:

The third mural and its left side:

And the fourth mural (at the right end) and its left center:

Next time, we'll go around the corner to a new mural along Euclid.

Tuesday, January 07, 2020

UGo2RiNo!


Denver's River North Arts District, which everyone calls RiNo (pronounced like “Rhino”) is a big area — many city blocks — full of murals. Even the graffiti is (mostly) artistic! It's become a giant tourist attraction, full of stores, restaurants, bars… as well as trendy housing. Could Tucson do something a bit like this some day — though on a smaller scale, with a more southwestern theme? Should Tucson?

Here are a bunch of photos in no particular order (except the last). I took them on November 16th, 2019:

That last mural shows a non-glitzy resident facing a huge rhino labeled “ART” with people who may have different plans for RiNo. The caption at left reads:
Your “street-art” is wallpaper for gentrification…
You cannot colorize that which refuses to surrender…
You cannot kill that which refuses to die…

Friday, January 03, 2020

El Molinito

On November 4, 2019 I took photos of two murals inside El Molinito, a Mexican restaurant on N. Pantano Rd.  There are other interesting murals inside the restaurant but I couldn't capture them without disturbing diners enjoying their meals.  Maybe another time.

Click on either photo for a slideshow of larger and sharper images.

Tuesday, December 31, 2019

Why I Love Where I Live (on 6th St.)

You'll find Why I Love Where I Live, a clothing and retail store, in the Mercado San Agustin annex. But you'll also find three murals by Danny Martin along 6th Street. I photographed them on November 12th:

(If you'd like to read the titles of those books, or whatever, click on a photo for a much larger view.)

Update (August 10, 2021): Here's the front of the building — Reproductions, Inc. — today:

Friday, December 27, 2019

Revisiting a hidden/trashed mural

Back on October 29, 2013, we showed an almost-hidden side of the mural-covered building at 191-197 East Toole Avenue. On November 12th of this year (2019), I stopped across the tracks for another look:

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

Surprisingly, the right half of this graffiti-covered mess is almost identical to six years ago. But taggers have trashed the former mural on the left half. Plants have grown in front, too.

If this side of the building were as visible as the others are, I'm sure it would be repainted as often as they are. Maybe in 2020?

Wednesday, December 25, 2019

Christmas Mural

Brawley's Restaurant (my favorite for breakfast or lunch) likes to decorate their kitchen window for each holiday.
Photographed on Dec. 21, 2019
Painted by Gorman
Click for a larger and sharper image.

Tuesday, December 24, 2019

A painted post

This phone pole, covered with paint and stencils (and decals?), is just south of the garage door at 222B Arizona Avenue, across a narrow driveway. In the second photo below, you can see the unfinished mural at Crooked Tooth Brewing Company:

Friday, December 20, 2019

Benson Highway

The mural is a look at the old Benson Highway.  Before I-10 was built, the Benson Highway was the main road from Tucson to Benson.  The mural was painted by Alejandra Trujillo at the El Pais Motel & Campgrounds located on the Benson Highway.

Photographed on Nov. 6, 2019
Click on the photo for a larger and sharper image.

Note - The Spanish "El Pais" translates to "The Country" in English.

Update (September 3, 2021): Today's post El Pais Motel has photos of the rest of the motel, where artists are painting lots of murals.

Tuesday, December 17, 2019

Red Garter Saloon

Photographed on Nov. 18, 2019.  The artist is not known.
Click on the photo for a larger and sharper image.

Friday, December 13, 2019

Palo Verde Pool

Four students from Palo Verde High School were selected to paint a mural at the Palo Verde Pool under the guidance of local artist Isaac Caruso assisted by Alex Gomez. The students chosen for the project were Alexis Hirth, Filomena Obono, Jenna Linneman and Sarina Tuskey. The mural focuses on the history and culture of the neighborhood.

Photographed on Nov. 6, 2019
Click on the photo for a larger and sharper image.

Update (June 21, 2022): Today we posted photos of a mural nearby in Palo Verde Park. While I (Jerry Peek) was taking those photos on April 26th, I took close-up photos of the pool mural:

Tuesday, December 10, 2019

Crossfit 520

Mural by Danny Martin at the Crossfit 520 gym on Chapel Ave.

  Photographed on Oct. 23, 2019.
Click on the photo for a larger and sharper image.

Friday, December 06, 2019

Six years ago at TMA

Between the main gallery building and the Education building at the Tucson Museum of Art is a slab that's often painted with a mural. I found a photo of it from December 7, 2013, that I never posted here:

Tuesday, December 03, 2019

Finally, bigger photos (when you click)!

Until recently, Blogger would charge me money if I put photos on this blog that were longer or wider than 800 pixels. That used to be pretty big, years ago... but now it's small. They've raised the limit to 2,048 pixels. (For some reason, photos that David Aber posts haven't had that limit.)

Starting this week, if you click on a photo, you'll see a much larger version. (The template that holds the photos and text is still the same width. I'll try to fix that some day. For now, you'll need to click.)

Friday, November 29, 2019

Razorz Edge



This mural is in on a thin wall in front of Razorz Edge, a clothing store on 4th Avenue just south of 6th Street.

I walked by on November 12th.

Tuesday, November 26, 2019

Generation Cool

You can only see the mural on the roll-down shutter over the front of this business when it's closed:

At the bottom right corner is the artist's signature:

I spotted it before opening time on November 12tn.