Category painting

Mystic River Mural Project is an Impressive Ongoing Story

For many years I had cast admiring glances at stretches of the Mystic River Mural while driving past the intriguing composite scenes. Always on the way to somewhere else, I never stopped or searched enough till recently to learn that the mural has been growing for more than twenty years!

Murals that Convey History: Local Examples

Walking to my nearby Porter Square and a bit beyond in Cambridge,  I visited murals that show elements of history in ways that suit this artform. You can learn and sense a lot about earlier centuries in Porter Square by walking the block that contains three related murals.  You can take in the impact and origins of a significant statesman’s life by standing in the presence of the Tip O’Neill mural in North Cambridge.

A Radiant Painting Generates Sixth Mural for Greenway Wall

“Carving Out Fresh Options,” Diptych Painting by Shara Hughes Leads Up to a Monumental Mural on the Rose Kennedy Greenway
 
 
The mural was scaled up about twelve times from the original painting, but also cropped and shaped to fit the curving, choppy features of the Greenway Wall (one side of the air intake structure building).

The diptych (two-part) oil painting will be on view at deCordova in the museum through May 2019, while the mural is up on the Greenway Wall in Dewey Square Park, Boston.

Short Walk with Long View of Art on Walls in Central Square

My plan to focus on murals for the summer led me to revisit three familiar ones in nearby Central Square, Cambridge: David Fichter’s “Potluck” and Daniel Galvez’s “Crossroads” and “Crosswinds.” Just in the short walk among those three, I became aware of five more wall-based art sites I’d want to share on Art Outdoors.

Sol LeWitt’s Wall Drawing #1128 First Drawn by Denise Kupferschmidt and Five Other Artists

I had wavered about including Denise Kupferschmidt on my list of women artists represented on Public Art Walk Boston after I read that “a group of assistants executed this piece, guided by precise written instructions and diagrams from LeWitt.” Yet I came to understand that each artist on the team to carry out a wall drawing could contribute uniquely within LeWitt’s guidelines. More important, as I began to learn about Denise Kupferschmidt’s art, I truly wanted to share what she has shown!

Make Eye Contact Many Times with “We the People II,” New Greenway Mural by Mia Cross in Boston near Chinatown

In October I had read about the Greenway mural in progress on the Lincoln Street Triangle. Fortunately, I got there while the artist Mia Carollo Cross and her father were about to finish up the month-long project in the last hour of good daylight!  I spoke with Mia briefly about my interest in the process of creating murals and then began to photograph her, the materials, tools, and art.

Two Murals and Their Makers: “See Her” by Ann Lewis and “Patterned Behavior” by Silvia López Chavez

As new murals emerged in Boston this summer,  I tried to track two through different stages of development. Both reminded me that mural artists must envision on a grand scale while also dealing with daily details and constant complexities. Many minds, hands, and hearts helped both murals come into being. One source common to both was the force of the non-profit organization Now and There headed by Kate Gilbert featuring the Year of the Woman in public art. I have referenced and quoted from their wonderful website at several points in this post. 

Seven Moon Junction Mural Shines with Wisdom from the Greenway Wall in Dewey Square Park

This post shares seven short stories from the short life of an immense mural and invites everyone to add their own stories of Seven Moon Junction before it vanishes from Dewey Square Park.