St. Petersburg Arts Alliance Archives

SHINE Mural Festival 2022- Ashley Cantero

Art, Artists, Florida Street Art, Painting / Painters, Public Art, St. Petersburg Street Art, Street Art

May 142026

Ashley Cantero created this mural of stylized aliens for the 2022 edition of SHINE Mural Festival in St. Pete, Florida.

From the St. Petersburg Arts Alliance about the artist-

Ashley Cantero is a Tampa, FL native and artist who actively engages in the local art scene. Best known for her precise line work and bold female characters, her work embodies a profound energy that she defines as the “intense and complex emotional responses we have to the world around us.” With themes inspired by ‘60s psychedelia, Atomic Age design and Sci-Fi, Ashley’s work is ever evolving through various mediums and artistic forms of expression.

You can also find her work on Instagram.

SHINE Mural Festival 2023- Bryan Beyung and James Lee Chiahan

Art, Artists, Florida Street Art, Public Art, St. Petersburg Street Art, Street Art

Jun 242025

When the Sun is Up, the Moon is Absent! was created by Bryan Beyung and James Lee Chiahan for the 2023 edition of SHINE Mural Festival in St. Pete, Florida.

From the artists about the mural-

In 1987, the Kien family stood on a red dirt road in a refugee camp called Site 2 somewhere along the border of Cambodia and Thailand. With their loved ones scattered, their home displaced, and their country suffused in violence, they place their hopes on a vague future. Absurd events become strangely, sadly common. Fate, or luck, or kindness brings them safe passage across the sea to Boston, MA; Montréal, QC; and finally, Bradenton, FL, a few minutes away from where this wall stands.

The youngest of the four depicted is our friend Anhdi. Today, he lives in Bradenton with his wife and three kids, who we invited to help paint and add to their family’s story directly. It’s a story with many secret turns and memories that shape their specific experience, but it’s also one that’s universal to so many who have had to flee their homes amidst conflict in the search of a new beginning. It’s a story of survival and the human spirit, and we feel so lucky to have been able to try and express it.

Florida Murals- Zulu Painter in St. Pete

Art, Artists, Florida Street Art, Painting / Painters, Public Art, St. Petersburg Street Art, Street Art

Feb 072025

This mural, Southern Expansion, was created by Zulu Painter and is located in St. Pete, Florida.

Located in the old phone booth on the corner is a plaque that reads-

In the late 1800’s, Black Men were hired to continue the railroad in to the territory that is now known as St. Petersburg, FL. These men settled in this area and were largely responsible for building our city and streets and creating this Gulf Coast community.

This mural honors the history and legacy of the African American people at the foundation of our great city.

You also find Zulu Painter’s work on Instagram.

SHINE Mural Festival 2018- DAAS

Art, Artists, Florida Street Art, Public Art, St. Petersburg Street Art, Street Art

Jan 232023

We Are Going to Be Friends was created by DAAS for the 2018 SHINE Mural Festival.

From the St. Petersburg Arts Alliance website about the work-

DAAS: “I’ve kind of been doing these murals of this young girl. I kind of like following the story of her life, her youth and just her experiences interacting with nature, animals and things like that.

“Everything is like a playful scene or moments where she’s contemplating, you know, future things. This is a long story I’ve been developing. This one is just part of the story.

“All the colors that are here are supposed to vibrate. They’re supposed to represent positive emotions, they’re supposed to elevate.”

Which part of the story is this mural? Where is this in her storyline?

DAAS: “Well, I’m still developing it. I’m kind of following it as it goes. I just started doing it about three murals ago, so I’m still kind of in this process of figuring it out. What is this story after this one? I’m starting to focus on that. I need to really lay out the whole idea.

“But I want to keep her the same age, you know? So my next mural will feature her, and until the foreseeable future, I’ll keep using these experiences. I guess it’s kind of a way for me to kind of go back in time, just reflect on less hectic, closer to nature kinds of feelings that I don’t really get much in such a big city all the time. I don’t really get to experience that, so I’m kind of following it.”

Where are the other three murals that you’ve painted with this girl?

DAAS: “There’s one in Italy and there’s two in China.”

Born in Jacksonville, Florida, DAAS lives in Japan. His bold designs blend cubism and abstract techniques. He does canvas work in his studio and paints murals around the world.

DAAS uses an intricate taping process to scale his rendering on a wall before he starts to paint. This mural was completed in 7 days with only spray paint, and became one of the artist’s favorite designs in his career.

Today is the beginning of the Lunar New Year and it is the Year of the Rabbit, so it seemed like a good time to post this mural. Hopefully this year will be a good one and new friends will be welcomed into our lives.

SHINE Mural Festival 2016- Jade Rivera

Artists, Florida Street Art, Painting / Painters, St. Petersburg Street Art, Street Art

Dec 212022

El Templo- Find the Light by Jade Rivera is part of the 2016 SHINE Mural Festival in St. Pete, Florida.

From the St. Pete Arts Alliance website about the work-

Perched on the boy’s neck is a huge monarch butterfly almost as big as the ibis, its gold, black and orange wings spread wide, flitting against the boy’s cheek. The boy looks serenely up and away, as if unaware of the bird and the butterfly. The ibis and butterfly reflect the Florida reality surrounding the boy – the ibis is an iconic Florida bird found along the coastline or wandering through the streets. The candle represents light from the soul.

It’s a startling image for passing drivers and pedestrians – peaceful, but unsettling, with the oversized butterfly touching the boy’s face and the bird’s beak digging in his chest.

For more work by Jade Rivera, also check out his Instagram.

SHINE Mural Festival 2016- St.Pete- Zulu Painter

Art, Artists, Florida Street Art, Public Art, St. Petersburg Street Art, Street Art

Dec 072022

Moon Beam Dream 2 by Carlos Culbertson, aka Zulu Painter, part of the 2016 SHINE Mural Festival.

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

SHINE Mural Festival 2017-St.Pete- Cryptik

Artists, Florida Street Art, Public Art, St. Petersburg Street Art, Street Art

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.

SHINE Mural Festival 2021- St. Pete- Jason Harvin

Artists, Florida Street Art, Painting / Painters, St. Petersburg Street Art, Street Art

Dec 012022

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

SHINE Mural Festival 2016- St. Pete- Alex Pardee

Artists, Florida Street Art, Painting / Painters, St. Petersburg Street Art, Street Art

Nov 222022

Brightmares was created by Alex Pardee (@alexpardee) for the 2016 SHINE Mural Festival in St. Pete, Florida.

From the St. Pete Arts Alliance website about the work-

The mural is called Brightmare, 46 feet wide and 19 feet tall. An emaciated, purple, naked figure is bowed down under a huge, sagging rainbow-colored ball where her head should be. She’s bony and hunched over, with purple skin and long grey skeletal hands, pendulous breasts and a swollen belly. The figure is on tiptoe, knees bent, one hand on the muddy floor for balance.

The sagging striped ball covers her head and neck and droops toward her belly – a red dot like a bullseye in the center of the ball, is ringed with pink, blue, green, yellow and orange. It’s like a rainbow balloon that’s leaking air, and jammed onto the figure’s head. Colors drip from the ball, and purple splashes from her body, as if the entire mural is melting in the heat.

The figure is stooped in front of a gaping black hole painted on the wall, like the opening of a cave. At her feet, bulbous blobs of white, tan and brown are spurting mud and water into the air.

On the lower left corner, the muddy blobs touch a green metal door in the side of the building. The outline of the cave crosses vertical pipes and electrical connections bolted to the wall. Two dark metal exhaust ducts frame the figure’s heavy rainbow head.

The background of the mural is the same stark industrial tan of the rest of the building, a massive structure that takes up almost an entire block.

Alex Pardee is a multi-media designer and illustrator who’s brought his unique aesthetic to music, film, animation, clothing and comics. When he painted this for the 2016 SHINE Festival, it was the largest mural he’d ever attempted. Ricky Watts, another artist on our tour, flew in from San Francisco to help with the mural’s completion. The mural is painted in aerosol, but the gaping black hole is brush painted.

To your right, in the alley facing this mural, a small window with heavy metal bars reflects the mural’s rainbow colors.