Jul 242023
 

This mural by Shark Toof was created for the 2015 edition of the SHINE Mural Festival in St. Pete, Florida.

About the mural from the St. Petersburg Arts Alliance website

The artist hails from Los Angeles and is known around the world for his iconic shark illustrations. Although the shark’s reputation is fearsome, Shark Toof uses the image of a shark to give strength, optimism and possibility to the viewer. He sees the shark as a voice of rebellion, and a conduit for the unheard.

At the artist’s request, the wall was painted red before he got to St. Pete. Even so, the mural took four days and almost one hundred cans of aerosol paint – and it was a challenge because of wires and the architectural details of the wall.

When the painting was done, the artist stepped into the doorway on the bottom right, closed the iron grate and said, “See? Now I’m in a shark cage!”

For more of Shark Toof’s work also check out his Instagram.

Jan 072023
 

Notice Us was created for SHINE Mural Festival 2018 by Michelle Sawyer and Tony Krol. Together the husband and wife artist team create murals under the moniker illsol.  The mural depicts the endangered Florida panther.

For more of their work,  you can also find them on Instagram.

 

Dec 072022
 

The Great Utterance – A Prayer to the Sun, by Cryptik, created for the 2017 SHINE Mural Festival in St. Pete, Florida.

For the latest work by Cryptik, you can also check out his Instagram. For more on the SHINE Mural Festival, including other artist participants, head here.

 

Dec 012022
 

This mural was created by Jason Harvin (@waywardwalls) for the 2021 SHINE Mural Festival in St. Pete, Florida.

Sep 012022
 

Rise Above by Alex Yanes was created for the 2020 iteration of SHINE Mural Festival in St. Pete, Florida.

Information on this mural from the St. Pete Arts Alliance website-

Set between two large windows, the mural is 19 feet wide and 15 feet high. Sort of. Because the mural isn’t the usual rectangle – it’s shaped like an abstracted fish that’s swimming to the left, with angular fins jutting out, curling waves that break around it and a curling tail that’s fanned up like a whale.

Rise Above is a vibrant splash of shades of blues, pinks and orange, made up of 18 connected panels. The fish’s orange head points to the left, with sharply angled fins and a wide open mouth, both in shades of light and darker pink. The fish has aqua lips, an aqua throat, and a big dark eye outlined in aqua, painted as if light is glinting off it.

In the upper left, above the fish’s mouth, a blue and white wave rolls to the left.

The fish’s body stretches toward the right, starting with a square that bears a striking cartoon face and wide blue eyes staring straight out, masked by blue waves. Above the eyes is a black triangle with the word “RISE” in blue curved capital letters, shadowed in pink. The R, I and E are rising up and to the right, and the S falls below, to take up the rest of the triangle.

Balanced on the rising edge of that triangle are two dorsal fins along the fish’s back, shaped like pyramids in shades of red and orange and angled up and to the right.

Beside the word “RISE” and the orange pyramids, a big blue wave rolls to the right. Just below is more of the fish’s body – a long panel with the word “ABOVE” in wavy orange letters, like it’s underwater. Partly covering the “A” in “ABOVE,” a peachy cartoon hand faces out, gesturing “stop.” The hand stands out, in the center, as if the fish is balanced on it. The bottom of the hand’s palm is scalloped, like waves.

Below and to the right of the hand, triangular fins in shades of blue angle point and to the right. They echo the shapes of the pink fins below the fish’s mouth and the orange fins along its back.

The wave continues to the right, swooping up with an overlay of black and white patterns like scales, up to the jaunty two-pronged tail, in shades of orange. An active and hungry fish, rolling waves, a human, and the words “rise above” all appear together like a fragmented mirror, in roughly the shape of a fish.

The artist explains: “Intended to highlight how climate change is accelerating sea level rise, I was inspired to create a multi-level installation consisting of 18, precisely hand cut, panel pieces which create the image of a displaced fish when combined.

“The hand-painted panels are meant to mimic an intricate jigsaw puzzle, representing the complicated interconnection of factors which comprise the cause and effects of sea level rise.

“By collectively doing our part to cut out fossil fuels and limit carbon emissions, we can ‘Rise Above’ and reduce the impact of this inevitable threat.”

For more work by Alex Yanes- also check out his Instagram.

 

Aug 052022
 

Jared Wright’s Harmony for Shine Mural Festival 2021 in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Oct 012021
 

Dangerous Visions, a mural by London based artist SHOK-1, was created for the 2019 iteration of the SHINE Mural Festival in St. Petersburg, Florida.

For more of SHOK-1’s work check out his website and Instagram.

Jun 212021
 

Eye of the Storm, a mural by artist Ricky Watts, was created for 2015’s (and the first) SHINE Mural Festival. For more work by Ricky Watts check out his website and Instagram.

Jun 182021
 

Where the Bloom Begins, created by artist Jabari Reed-Diop, aka iBOMS, for the 2020 SHINE Mural Festival in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Tonight (6/18/21), iBOMS’ first solo exhibition, Be Kind To Yourself, Young Man, opens at D Gallerie in St. Pete. You can also check out his work on Instagram.

Jun 012021
 

 

 

2019 Mural Pride and Love, created for SHINE St. Petersburg Mural Festival and Metro Inclusive Health by Jay Hoff (@jayhoffworksinlego) and Chad Mize (@chadmize).