Field of (Mural) Dreams, part 2 of 3

In part 1 of this series — Monday, April 1 — I posted photos of murals along fences northwest of Taqueria Pico de Gallo. Today, photos of an area along 36th Street, just west of 6th Avenue, that's repainted often. We've shown photos twice before. One was November 2, 2021, in Graffiti mural gallery in South Tucson. The other was April 29, 2022, in Mural gallery repainted during BBQ. Here's what I found on December 16, 2023.

As in the part 1 post, I don't have enough time to do my usual careful editing. (I'm saving time to fix the spectacular “alphabet murals” photos you'll see next time in part 3.) Apologies for the tilted lines and other distracting stuff!

These photos start at the east end of the murals, not far from 6th Avenue. The last photo is at the west end, where 36th Avenue ends; it's just north of the last photo in part 1. There's a map at the end of this post showing where murals in each of the three parts of this series are located.

The map below shows where the murals in each of the three posts (parts 1 through 3) are located. Today's group is along the V-shaped line near the middle of the map. You can click on this (or any other image) for a slideshow of bigger views.

By the way, if you're in a car, 36th Street ends for a short distance not far west of 6th Avenue. You might want to park on this short stretch of 36th and walk — instead of trying to drive all the way around to the next stretch of 36th by the part 3 murals.

Next time: Part 3 of 3, the “alphabet murals.”

Field of (Mural) Dreams, part 1 of 3

South Tucson is one of the best places to see murals… including murals in places you wouldn't expect. For instance, if you feel like exploring alleys (a mountain bike — bicycle — is great for this), you'll spot murals that few other mural-lovers have seen. That happened when I visited Taqueria Pico de Gallo on December 16, 2023. (Those photos are in Tacos and more (and more) and Murals being made, part 78: Raspados y Mas (y mas).) I decided to drive west and discovered some murals. I got out of my car to walk around and… wow!

I'll divide the photos into three posts. Today: a long row of fences. Wednesday: an area (a former business?) that's repainted often. Friday: A series of 26 “alphabet murals” — from A to Z. A map at the end of each post should help you find that group of murals. Of course, murals change — especially here. So a mural you see here might not be there if you hunt in-person… but then, you'll probably find some others you like.

Unfortunately, I can't spend the time to do my usual careful editing. So, for instance, lines that are actually straight may look tilted. Sorry about that… so many murals, so little time…

Here's a long series of fences that start just southwest of Taqueria Pico de Gallo. First, an overview. Then, I'll take you west along the fences with photos of each mural — and, once, a closeup of an artists' signature.

That last mural is just south of the west end of 36th Street.

The map below shows where the murals in each of the three posts (parts 1 through 3) are located. Today's group starts at the lower right corner, just south and a bit west of Taqueria Pico de Gallo. You can click on this (or any other image) for a slideshow of bigger views.

Next time: Part 2 of 3.

More Xtreme

On November 14, 2023, we posted two photos of murals at XTREME Off Road & Performance. Here are more murals.

First, a view from the store's southwest corner along 37th Street:

The west side at the southwest corner:

The south side at the southwest corner:

At the northeast corner, near 6th Avenue:

On the west end of the service bays along the north side:

I took these photos on December 16, 2023.

Solar Gain

"Solar Gain specializes in developing, designing and building commercial rooftop, canopy and ground mount solar solutions across Arizona and California."

                                        Front Entrance

By Ignacio Garcia

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

                                Front Entrance Continued

By Ignacio Garcia

 

 

 

 

 

                                        

                                            East Wall

By Ignacio Garcia

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Click on any photo for a slideshow of larger images.

Arizona Poppy

 Sells a large variety of handcrafted items.

By Hannah Eddy

Click for a larger image.

The east wall of this location is painted.  However, it is not a mural and therefore is not eligible for posting to the Blog.

Update by Jerry Peek: Our previous post of this building, Poppies not yoga, has a photo from 2022 and links to earlier murals there.

Hidden at Danny's

Danny's Baboquivari Lounge has been on Fort Lowell Road for a long time. As I drove by on December 17, 2023, I noticed the little mural on front:

I usually check the sides of a building for other murals. In a crack between Danny's west wall and the taller building west of Danny's was an old mural:

If you click or tap on that photo, you may be able to stretch it out and see what looks like a dusty desert scene; above it is a kind-of arrow-shaped sign pointing to the right, like > BABOQUIVARI >.

Could I find the whole mural by searching Google Maps Street View for a photo before the bigger building blocked Danny's mural? The oldest image I could find was this blurry one from February 2008:



Some day I'll stop by Danny's and ask if they have an old photo. If they do, I'll update this post.

Salvador Duran and El Tour de Tucson

At the end of October, 2023, Joe Pagac was replacing a well-known mural which had been in that spot for about six years. Below is a story of the new mural, photos of the old mural, and something surprising Joe did after he finished the new mural.

The original mural

First, the mural painted in 2017 by Diego Roa. It shows Tucson artist Salvador Duran:

Thanks to BG Boyd Photography and his mural database TucsonAZMurals.com for that photo (taken from https://tucsonazmurals.com/murals/salvador_duran.) It looks like someone may have painted something between Salvador's hands since the mural was created… an older closeup below doesn't have the blob.

You can see the mural in 2017, a photo of Salvador and a bit of his story, and more info, in the original post on this blog: Parking lot morphs into cracked earth.

The new mural is coming…

On October 31, 2023, Joe posted a photo to Facebook with his car in front of part of the new mural:



(If you can't see that, here's a link to the Facebook post.)

The new mural

I took these photos near sunrise on December 16, 2023:

Murals are usually replaced after some period of time. This one had been here six years. Still, I was a bit sad that the portrait of Salvador Duran was gone. So I was surprised and happy when I read on the Facebook group Tucson Murals and Street Art that Joe had painted the same portrait on the Toole Avenue side of Hotel Congress:

In case you'd like to see the original and Joe's re-creation side by side, here they are. As always, you can click on the (single) image below to see it and others much larger:

(The exposure on Joe's version — to the right — might not be correct. The bottom looks pretty dark to me.)

Neighborhood art on Vine Avenue (some hidden)

On November 12, 2023, I got mail from a homeowner in the Jefferson Park neighborhood, Micheal Hailey. There was a new mural, plus a small piece of art, painted by Ignacio Garcia. Micheal wrote:

The mural is on an exterior wall [of my home] and is visible to the public. Ignacio and I felt that anyone should be able to see it. My neighbors are supportive and you are welcome to come by any time to see it.

The mural is on the west side of Vine Avenue, north of the corner of Waverly Street. A rough street address for your GPS is 2001 N. Vine Ave. I stopped by on February 4th:

Just north of the mural is a small work of art that Ignacio installed toward the end of 2023:

Micheal wrote more about it later:

The scorpion was done by Ignacio. He placed that there a few months ago and has created many others that look just like that but with varying colors. It glows in the dark. It is his intention to hide them all over town.

I found a video on Ignacio's Facebook page showing him with a lot of his different scorpions: