More arte bella behind Arte Bella

The front of Arte Bella, on 4th Avenue, is covered with traditional murals. The back side, along the alley named Hoff Avenue, has walls on three sides with murals in a different style. Here's a look around on September 20th, from the left (south) wall around to the right (north) wall:

View into tent at right side above is in photo below

Close-up of top center above is in photo below

The Location listed below, 344 North Hoff Avenue, is the building on the opposite side of Hoff. If you go there, the murals will be across the alley.

Thunder Bacon Burger Company

Thunder Bacon Burger Co. is on North 4th Avenue. Next to the restaurant covered with lightning bolts (the corporate logo) is a mural by Chris Mitchell:

I got there early to photograph the building with its roll-up shutters down. But, as you can see above, that wasn't a great time to take a photo of the mural. Luckily, I found the artist, Chris Mitchell, on the Instagram account @opctucson (Old Pueblo Collective, which sells "Wildly unique art created by Chris Mitchell"). He'd posted a photo of himself next to his mural:

Thanks to OPC for sending that high-resolution version of the photo. (They, along with Chris, will be popping up on the patio at Thunder Bacon Burger during the Winter Street Fair on December 10th and 11th.)

Chris also has a personal Instagram account, @chris_mitchell_art, with much more of his work.

Hippie Gypsy reborn

Sometime this year, Hippie Gypsy — the long-time mural masterpiece (or mess, if you prefer) — was almost completely repainted. We've never showed every part of these murals in detail… unfortunately, we can't snap photos of many of the old murals, so let's do the new murals right! I snapped this near sunrise (while the painted shutters were closed) on August 23rd:

Jumping back to 2008, this photo by Warren V. in Tucson Murals Project's 50th Posting!:

Most of the faces of famous musicians on the right side (the north wall), above, are still there. But the rest — especially the east wall — has changed a lot. Here's the whole north wall on September 20, 2022:

Next, left to right, zigzagging between top and bottom:

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Over to the left (east) side. I stopped by on a cloudy morning, September 20, so you could see the wall without strong shadows from the tree. First, the whole wall:

Next, the left edge, followed by an overall shot of the three shutters, then a closeup of each shutter and the wall underneath it, and finally an overall view from the right (north) side:

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Finally, angled between the two sides is the entrance:

Let's wait to see what the owners do 14 years from now!

McKenzie's gunslinging mermaid & more

I haven't figured out why a furniture company located in an alley would have a mermaid with a smoking revolver who's facing a critter that's also armed but still standing. (Hmmm… then again, why not? 😉)

I took that photo just as sunrise light started to reflect onto the mural. It's the center of a long mural that's wider than I could catch in this narrow alley:

Here are the left and right ends:

I took the photos on August 23rd.

Smiling Pride mural on IBT’S Bar

In a June 29, 2022 story on KOLD News 13, Pride mural on Fourth Avenue celebrates love, LGBTQ+ community, muralist Nolan Patterson says the mural “celebrates love and the acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community in Tucson”. Also: The mural shows a rainbow over the southern Arizona mountains. Patterson says the rainbow’s colors and clouds are smiling at one another.

Although he signed the mural with @basik_art on Instagram, at the end of September he only had one post. You can see a lot more of his work on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/nolan.patterson.98.

I took the first photo just at sunrise on August 23 and the second a bit later.

Hotline 4 Auto extreme makeover

On March 10, 2017, I posted a beach mural on the south wall of Hotline 4 Auto. This year, as I've driven by the building, I've seen a new mural that seems half-finished. As of mid-August, it still wasn't finished. So I decided to schedule this post. If I notice that the mural has changed, I'll update this.

Is the empty rectangular spot at the top left corner for a business sign?

Murals being made, part 71: At the hockey rink

From what I've read, having a hockey rink in the middle of a city is unusual. Tucson does, though: the William J. Dawson Memorial DEK Rink at Doolen Middle School, just east of the Boys & Girls Club of Tucson - Frank & Edith Morton Clubhouse. On a storage container in front of the rink are two murals. BG Boyd Photography sent these aerial photos:

He took those from his drone on July 10, 2022. In the second photo, Grant Road is the street behind.

KGUN9 TV interviewed the muralist on June 20th: New Roadrunners mural by Alejandra Trujillo coming soon.

On June 22, 2022, I caught Alejandra working on the murals. Here she's painting the north side, the one closer to the rink:

Here's the finished mural on August 21st:

Let's jump back to the south side (near Grant Road) on June 22nd:

And the finished mural on August 21st:

(As always, you can click on a photo for a slideshow of larger views.)

Children added some blue animal spectators along the edge of the rink:

Stop by to see some hockey and check out the murals!

Family Bargain Thrift Shop

The east wall of Family Bargain Thrift Shop has the mural above at the left (south) side and the mural below toward the right (north):

(The doors to the donation center are in the middle of the mural. As always, you can click for a slideshow of larger views.)

I took the photos June 22, 2022.

Arts Foundation seeking Public Art Coordinator

Here's an announcement posted to Facebook Tuesday, October 18:

The Arts Foundation seeks a full time Public Art Coordinator to effectively implement various aspects of the Arts Foundation’s Public Art Program in accordance with the Percent for Art Ordinances for the City of Tucson and Pima County.

The Coordinator will work closely with the Public Art Manager to administer all public art program functions and activities, including new and active percent for art projects, relocations, deaccessions, donations and private sector projects.

To learn more click the link below.

https://artsfoundtucson.org/new-full-time-job-opening-at-the-arts-foundation/

6th Avenue Asphalt Art Block-Painting Party 10/22

The Tucson Department of Transportation & Mobility and Living Streets Alliance are hosting a block-painting party on 6th Avenue, by Armory Park and Children's Museum Tucson. The project will include painting a large, colorful mural on the asphalt. The community is invited to beautify 6th Ave & enjoy music, refreshments, activities and more! It's this Saturday, October 22, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Details:

https://www.tucsonaz.gov/tdot/news/sixth-avenue-asphalt-art-block-painting-party

In 12 years, this garden mural has grown

The last time I visited the beautiful little street Calle de Jardin (Garden) was 2010. This June (2022) I was checking out a nearby mural for sale (including the house behind it). I walked a block west to see one of my favorite murals. I saw that it had changed:

Here's the center in 2010:

The prickly pear cactus are gone… and the quail must have eaten a lot of food in the past 12 years. :)

Next, closeups from left (north) to right (south), ending with the cute mailbox:

There are closeups of the mailbox in today's post Flashback to this garden box: 103 South Calle de Jardin on the Tucson Mailbox Art blog. Manny Garcia painted the original mural. I'm not sure if he made the updated version.