some days

Some days it seems that everyone is walking the lake.  Ever since the city renovated Lake Merritt's landscaping and and traffic flow, it has become even more popular to the citizenry.  Where people, boats, and birds come together. 

along the estuary inner harbor

Near the Jack London Aquatic Park on the Inner Harbor.  The Alameda marina can be spied across the estuary.  Alameda is an island city in the middle of the estuary.

Monday Mural: Oakland's very own

This mural is hot off the presses, so to speak, and was made by Hector "Hex" Rios, a street artist with roots in LA.  It's gone up in the last week or so, which means a lot of the work was done during successive days of rain.  The composition highlights famous people associated with Oakland.  Perfect for a business called Oakland's Very Own.  Can you identify them all?

Welcome to Monday Mural: if you like murals or have a mural you'd like to post, this meme's for you.  Just follow the Linky steps below.  You decide what constitutes a mural.  Once you start looking, you find them everywhere.  Be sure to link back to this blog and visit your fellow posters. Looking forward your mural finds posted this week.  Google+ users, please configure your post so we all can leave a comment.

"Be kind; everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.”  Rev. John Watson

Christmas lights

Some people go all out with their holiday displays.  Here is one example on Picardy Dr. where all the houses on the street light up.   I'm told it's part of a neighborhood covenant that requires participation.  The display brings lines of visitors from all over the area who love to show their children the festive scene.

Monday Mural: when the sun was shining in Oakland

It's pouring rain right now and we hope this is only the beginning of significant rainfall this winter.  After four years of drought, we're ready for snow in the Sierra and rain filling our reservoirs.  And yet here I am digging into the archives to resurrect a sunny day and two colorful murals in the Laurel District that celebrate the diversity of our city.  These framed pieces decorate a wall of a local store on a stretch of MacArthur Blvd. in East Oakland.

Welcome to Monday Mural: if you like murals or have a mural you'd like to post, this meme's for you.  Just follow the Linky steps below.  You decide what constitutes a mural.  Once you start looking, you find them everywhere.  Be sure to link back to this blog and visit your fellow posters. Looking forward your mural finds posted this week.  Google+ users, please configure your post so we all can leave a comment.

"Be kind; everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.”  Rev. John Watson

Chinatown restaurant

This very distinctive building is a restaurant in Chinatown.  It appears to have new owners who have spruced it up.  It used to have excess furniture stored on the balcony and had a run down feel to it. Now it shines and I hope they are doing well.

busking on the street

Buskers are a common sight this time of year.  Brian looks like he's a one man band.  I should have stayed around to hear him play the dobro.

Monday Mural: collaborative effort

This is a small space that has a continuously changing mural.  I see five signatures and three different crews represented in this.  I think it should be called Owl's Nightmare given the wild colors and bizarre images that seem to be sitting on owl's head.  How do you suppose so many artists develop the theme and then divide up the space?

Welcome to Monday Mural: if you like murals or have a mural you'd like to post, this meme's for you.  Just follow the Linky steps below.  You decide what constitutes a mural.  Once you start looking, you find them everywhere.  Be sure to link back to this blog and visit your fellow posters. Looking forward your mural finds posted this week.  Google+ users, please configure your post so we all can leave a comment.

"Be kind; everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.”  Rev. John Watson

Monday Mural: Roots Run Deep

This mural by David 'MEGGS' Hooke went up in June near Jack London Square.  Here's a link to a short video about its creation.  It's a huge mural, hence the two photos.  (I have no idea how to stitch photos together).  It seems to me that the two parts don't really hang together as a narrative but the fierce emotion of the piece cannot be denied.  Makes me wonder if he also illustrates graphic novels.

Welcome to Monday Mural: if you like murals or have a mural you'd like to post, this meme's for you.  Just follow the Linky steps below.  You decide what constitutes a mural.  Once you start looking, you find them everywhere.  Be sure to link back to this blog and visit your fellow posters. Looking forward your mural finds posted this week.  Google+ users, please configure your post so we all can leave a comment.

"Be kind; everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.”  Rev. John Watson

Monday Mural: and how are the children?

Information on this mural says that this question is a Masai greeting.  It was done by Amend of the TDK crew and can be found on Telegraph Avenue in the Uptown area.  It's across the street from the Stork Club mural I posted last week.  Did you notice that some of the blocks show TDK and spell out Amend's name?  Too bad about the ugly billboard that intrudes into the scene.  The commentary partially obscured by the plants reads, "A community can only thrive when its youth do.  May we never forget that the children are the heart of our community and may we never give up on them!"

Welcome to Monday Mural: if you like murals or have a mural you'd like to post, this meme's for you.  Just follow the Linky steps below.  You decide what constitutes a mural.  Once you start looking, you find them everywhere.  Be sure to link back to this blog and visit your fellow posters. Looking forward your mural finds posted this week.  Google+ users, please configure your post so we all can leave a comment.

"Be kind; everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.”  Rev. John Watson

cranes aloft

Sometimes it surprises me how close you can get to those container cranes.  Tell me these don't look like something out of Star Wars.  Taken just north of Jack London Square.

Monday Mural: Stork Club

The Stork Club is a popular music venue in Uptown.  Sometime recently, when I wasn't looking, a new mural went up on its facade.  If you look at the components, the whole mural is pretty funny. Stealth humor.   Once again, I don't know who did it.  My bad.

Welcome to Monday Mural: if you like murals or have a mural you'd like to post, this meme's for you.  Just follow the Linky steps below.  You decide what constitutes a mural.  Once you start looking, you find them everywhere.  Be sure to link back to this blog and visit your fellow posters. Looking forward your mural finds posted this week.  Google+ users, please configure your post so we all can leave a comment.

"Be kind; everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.”  Rev. John Watson

Warriors' practice makes perfect

The Warriors practice in a facility in the Oakland Convention Center, which is is the Old Oakland neighborhood downtown.  Can't complain about how the practice is impacting their performance this season.  12-0 is looking pretty darn good.  Warrrrr-yers!

Monday Mural: future embrace past

Found on Telegraph Avenue.  It replaces this mural I showed you quite a while back.  I saw it out of the corner of my eye and had to drive around the block to shoot it.  Didn't see a name, don't know what it means, but it's an arresting image.

Welcome to Monday Mural: if you like murals or have a mural you'd like to post, this meme's for you.  Just follow the Linky steps below.  You decide what constitutes a mural.  Once you start looking, you find them everywhere.  Be sure to link back to this blog and visit your fellow posters. Looking forward your mural finds posted this week.  Google+ users, please configure your post so we all can leave a comment.

"Be kind; everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.”  Rev. John Watson

Monday Mural: mosaic advertising

Jingletown is full of artist studios along with newly constructed condos.  The mosaic studio has done a lot of projects to spruce up what was once a neglected area of town.  I liked it when I saw this business sign using the mosaic technique.  An interesting, if not unexpected, junction between art and an industrial business.

Welcome to Monday Mural: if you like murals or have a mural you'd like to post, this meme's for you.  Just follow the Linky steps below.  You decide what constitutes a mural.  Once you start looking, you find them everywhere.  Be sure to link back to this blog and visit your fellow posters. Looking forward your mural finds posted this week.  Google+ users, please configure your post so we all can leave a comment.

"Be kind; everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.”  Rev. John Watson

Monday Mural: Queen of the Nile

More from Solano Way.  Full of Egyptian-ish symbols and eyes everywhere.  Then there's the sharks, extra terrestrials, and all those eyes.  I get the feeling the artist was so full of ideas and images, that they all spilled out without the constraint that the image should be an integrated whole.

Welcome to Monday Mural: if you like murals or have a mural you'd like to post, this meme's for you.  Just follow the Linky steps below.  You decide what constitutes a mural.  Once you start looking, you find them everywhere. Be sure to link back to this blog and visit your fellow posters. Looking forward your mural finds posted this week.  Google+ users, please configure your post so we all can leave a comment.  Will be heading out again for another couple of weeks, so will not be able to leave comments.  The Linky should go up every Sunday.  Hasta luego.

"Be kind; everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.”  Rev. John Watson

Theme Day: ephemeral

A little known law of physics is that time speeds up the older you get.  This month's City Daily Photo theme has me reflecting on the shortness of life and the imperative to live it the best you can.  In the end, all things are ephemeral, even the universe itself.  It all depends on your metric.  Linked to City Daily Photo.  This photo was taken a year ago, before the cemetery, in a bow to the drought, turned off the sprinklers.  If you visited this spot today, you'd find the lawn is brown. Brown is the new green.

halloween approaches

The time of ghosts, goblins, and goodies approaches.  Hope yours is fun and safe.  Taken at Piedmont Avenue's annual Halloween parade.

Monday Mural: two profiles

Here's another mural found in the amazing Solano Way alley in East Oakland.  Lots going on here including the alligator on the left and a second profile above the nose of the predominant profile.  Didn't see that until I was preparing this post.  Typical for me, I couldn't read the signature on this one.

Welcome to Monday Mural: if you like murals or have a mural you'd like to post, this meme's for you. Just follow the Linky steps below. You decide what constitutes a mural. Once you start looking, you find them everywhere. Be sure to link back to this blog and visit your fellow posters. Looking forward your mural finds posted this week. Google+ users, please configure your post so we all can leave a comment. Will be heading out again for another couple of weeks, so will not be able to leave comments.  The Linky should go up every Sunday.  Hasta luego.

"Be kind; everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.”  Rev. John Watson

Monday Mural: create

I think this is less an exhortation and more a gentle reminder that we can nurture creativity from early on.   It's a sweet image without the edge that so much of street art has.  Sorry, but didn't see a signature.  Found on Telegraph Avenue in the Temescal neighborhood.

Welcome to Monday Mural: if you like murals or have a mural you'd like to post, this meme's for you. Just follow the Linky steps below. You decide what constitutes a mural. Once you start looking, you find them everywhere. Be sure to link back to this blog and visit your fellow posters. Looking forward to sharing the murals posted this week. Google+ users, please configure your post so we all can leave a comment. Thanks.

"Be kind; everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.”  Rev. John Watson

Monday Mural: tie me kangaroo down, mate

Love this psychedelic kangaroo.  The artist, Dan Isaac Bortz, has works around the world and works in multiple media.  As we see in this piece, his art includes mystical symbols, mythology, and spiritual themes.  Found on San Pablo Avenue among many small murals done by other artists.

Welcome to Monday Mural: if you like murals or have a mural you'd like to post, this meme's for you. Just follow the Linky steps below. You decide what constitutes a mural. Once you start looking, you find them everywhere. Be sure to link back to this blog and visit your fellow posters. Looking forward your mural finds posted this week. Google+ users, please configure your post so we all can leave a comment. Thanks.   I'll be gone for a few weeks, so will not be able to leave comments.  The Linky will go up on schedule.  I hope. 

"Be kind; everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.”  Rev. John Watson

Monday Mural: paste-up portrait

This paste-up is just around the corner from this one.  Clearly both are done by the same artist.  It's amazing to me that artists will create a piece that they know will degrade and disappear over a relatively short period of time.  Wow.  Even though this is full of industrial imagery, I keep thinking the man is a musician.  Again, I didn't see a signature.

Welcome to Monday Mural: if you like murals or have a mural you'd like to post, this meme's for you. Just follow the Linky steps below. YOU decide what constitutes a mural. Once you start looking, you find them everywhere. Be sure to link back to this blog and visit your fellow posters. Looking forward to your mural finds posted this week. Google+ users, please configure your post so we all can leave a comment. Thanks.   I'll be gone for a few weeks, so will not be able to leave comments.  The Linky will go up on schedule.  I hope. 

"Be kind; everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.”  Rev. John Watson

Monday Mural: beleagured

This poor woman looks like she's unhappily burdened by something.  Guilt? Defensiveness?  Possession?  What do you think?  Found on San Pablo Avenue near this one.  Sorry, but I don't know the artist, although the style is very familiar.  Someone help me out.

Welcome to Monday Mural: if you like murals or have a mural you'd like to post, this meme's for you. Just follow the Linky steps below. YOU decide what constitutes a mural. Once you start looking, you find them everywhere. Be sure to link back to this blog and visit your fellow posters. Looking forward your mural finds posted this week. Google+ users, please configure your post so we all can leave a comment. Thanks.   I'll be gone for a few weeks, so will not be able to leave comments.  The Linky will go up on schedule.  I hope. 

"Be kind; everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.”  Rev. John Watson

Monday Mural: tip of the hat

Irot always makes interesting images, frequently in disparate styles.  See what I mean by clicking here.  Since I don't follow baseball, I'm unsure whether or not this image was cheering on the As during a past season.

Welcome to Monday Mural: if you like murals or have a mural you'd like to post, this meme's for you. Just follow the Linky steps below. You decide what constitutes a mural. Once you start looking, you find them everywhere. Be sure to link back to this blog and visit your fellow posters. Looking forward your mural finds posted this week. Google+ users, please configure your post so we all can leave a comment. Thanks.   I'll be gone for a few weeks, so will not be able to leave comments.  The Linky will go up on schedule.  I hope. 

"Be kind; everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.”  Rev. John Watson

beating the heat

Italian ice is getting popular around here.  Perfect for hot weather and outdoor concerts.  There's supposed to be rain in our immediate future, but the sun continues to shine.

Monday Mural: more of the new arts mural

Here's more of the mural I showed you last week.  The parked car gives you an idea of the scale of the mural.  The lead artists on this project were Desi and Peskador, who have participated in making many of Oakland's murals.

Welcome to Monday Mural: if you like murals or have a mural you'd like to post, this meme's for you. Just follow the Linky steps below. You decide what constitutes a mural. Once you start looking, you find them everywhere. Be sure to link back to this blog and visit your fellow posters. Looking forward your mural finds posted this week. Google+ users, please configure your post so we all can leave a comment. Thanks.

"Be kind; everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.”  Rev. John Watson

deco and neon

This very deco clock was placed on Broadway decades ago by a jewelry store that used to be on the block.  It still works.

Dutch Boy Paints

The hardware store is long gone, but not its sign.  The storefront is now occupied by Pizzaiolo, a very popular and inventive pizza joint.  Good on them for keeping the sign in place.  I've never seen it lit at night but have seen photos of this event.  I think it actually looks better in the daylight.

Monday Mural: Love Music Arts

This massive mural celebrates the arts community of Oakland and especially the Malonga Casquelourd Center for the Arts, which can be seen in the background.  The Center offers a diverse selection of arts and martial arts classes and is named after an honored Congolese dancer, drummer , and teacher who died in a tragic car accident in 2003. I'm showing you only one section of the mural; the rest will be shown next week.  The mural is a collaboration of many Oakland artists and was funded through foundations and city programs.

Welcome to Monday Mural: if you like murals or have a mural you'd like to post, this meme's for you. Just follow the Linky steps below. You decide what constitutes a mural. Once you start looking, you find them everywhere. Be sure to link back to this blog and visit your fellow posters. Looking forward your mural finds posted this week. Google+ users, please configure your post so we all can leave a comment. Thanks.

"Be kind; everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.”  Rev. John Watson

body art

No matter where you look, young adults are completely covered in tattoos.  Not my thing, but they are fascinating.  This is a grab shot taken while walking in the Uptown area.

home alone?

This little guy looks kind of lonely.

Theme Day: Cusolito sculpture

Karen Cusolito is a local sculptor whose mammoth works can be found at her West Oakland studio at American Steel.  She is well known for sculptures made of scrap industrial pieces which often grace the Burning Man festival.  In fact, Burning Man is this week out on the desert "playa" near Reno.  This particular piece is called Passage and is 30 feet tall.  Apparently fire or light is part of the spectacle of the piece when it's at Burning Man.  Others of her work have been previously posted here, here, and here.  This post is linked to the monthly meme sponsored by City Daily Photo---this month's theme being Curiosity, as in something unusual in your city.

Monday Mural: United Nations anniversary

This is a new mural on the back of the Cathedral Building in downtown Oakland.  It was done by Zio Ziegler to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the United Nations Charter.  The convention working groups met in both San Francisco and Oakland prior to the Charter's signing in SF.

Welcome to Monday Mural: if you like murals or have a mural you'd like to post, this meme's for you. Just follow the Linky steps below. You decide what constitutes a mural. Once you start looking, you find them everywhere. Be sure to link back to this blog and visit your fellow posters. Looking forward your mural finds posted this week. Google+ users, please configure your post so we all can leave a comment. Thanks.

"Be kind; everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.”  Rev. John Watson

the lake at dusk

It's always a pleasure to walk Lake Merritt.  Linked to Weekend Reflections.

Intactivists

This is the Bay Area.  You can pretty much find an activist group for any cause important to you. These folks are against male circumcision.  Spotted at a recent street fair.

Monday Mural: squirrel, no moose

There are several new murals on San Pablo Avenue.  The squirrel and the little bird on the top right are by Cannon Dill, one of my favorite street artists.  Note the eye on the squirrel's elbow.  The twin angels by Ras Terms remind me of faces on Russian icons.  This collaboration brightens up an unused corner.

Welcome to Monday Mural: if you like murals or have a mural you'd like to post, this meme's for you. Just follow the Linky steps below. You decide what constitutes a mural. Once you start looking, you find them everywhere. Be sure to link back to this blog and visit your fellow posters. Looking forward your mural finds posted this week. Google+ users, please configure your post so we all can leave a comment. Thanks.

"Be kind; everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.” Plato

Uh, maybe a different shade

Please tell me they didn't choose these colors.  Guess I'll have to go back and check.

F is for fashion

These bridal fashions can be found at Chic, a clothing store on College Avenue.  I think this is called mermaid style.  Am I the only one who's still a little surprised at the popularity of strapless wedding gowns?  Linked to ABC Wednesday.

Monday Mural: fuming guerilla collaboration

This large mural decorates a building on San Pablo Avenue right around the corner from the paste-up I showed you last week.  It's a collaboration of several street artists including Nite Owl and the CBS crew.  I think I see a small bird by Doty under the second L.  Fuming Guerilla is an organization that matches up street artists with folks who want a mural.  Kind of a middle man, if you will.  I think of this mural as a sampler of different styles rather than a coherent composition.

Welcome to Monday Mural: if you like murals or have a mural you'd like to post, this meme's for you. Just follow the Linky steps below. You decide what constitutes a mural. Once you start looking, you find them everywhere. Be sure to link back to this blog and visit your fellow posters. Looking forward your mural finds posted this week. Google+ users, please configure your post so we all can leave a comment. Thanks.

"Be kind; everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.” Plato

connection to the airport

It's now possible to take BART all the way to the airport.  Here's the driverless three-car train that runs on an elevated track between the regular BART station and the airport.  Previously the trip was made by bus.  The system broke down several times in the first month but now seems to be running smoothly.  It's a quick and easy ride that drops you off in front of Terminal 1.  Pretty cool and it only cost a smidge more than a half billion dollars to build.  Yep, that's with a B.

E is for electric slide

Ever try line dancing?  It's very democratic because anyone can join in since you don't need a partner.  Part of dancing in the street at the recent Temescal Street Fair included the Electric Slide.  Don't know this dance?  Check out this YouTube instruction video on the dance.  Simple yet so much fun.  The ladies got lots more people to join in when they started this dance.  Linked to ABC Wednesday.

Monday Mural: liliputian paste-up

Around the corner from this piece is a large wall mural that I'll show at a later date.  What fascinated me more was this small, highly detailed paste-up, only about two feet tall, that covered the bottom corner of the building.  I don't recognize the scene as anything local but love the industrial vibe and the homage to physical labor.  Didn't see a signature.

Welcome to Monday Mural: if you like murals or have a mural you'd like to post, this meme's for you. Just follow the Linky steps below. You decide what constitutes a mural. Once you start looking, you find them everywhere. Be sure to link back to this blog and visit your fellow posters. Looking forward your mural finds posted this week. Google+ users, please configure your post so we all can leave a comment. Thanks.

"Be kind; everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.” Plato

low and slow

Classic car shot at a vintage car show on Telegraph Avenue.

D is for dancing (in the streets)

The Juan Escovido band was playing up a storm at the Temescal Street Fair.  The lady in the hat was totally into the music and danced with abandon.  She encouraged other women to get up and dance and before you knew it, there was uninhibited dancing in the streets.  Linked to ABC Wednesday.

Monday Mural: Minion Mona Lisa

This cracked me up when I saw it.  It's printed on vinyl and was pasted onto an apartment building wall.  No one took credit for this comical piece.

Welcome to Monday Mural:  if you like murals or have a mural you'd like to post, this meme's for you.  Just follow the Linky steps below; you decide what constitutes a mural.  Once you start looking, you find them everywhere.  Be sure to link back to this blog and visit your fellow posters.  Looking forward your mural finds posted this week.  Google+ users, please configure your post so we all can leave a comment.  Thanks. 

“ Be kind; everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.”  Plato

Theme Day: bicycle

The first of each month is City Daily Photo's Theme Day.  Today's is "bicycle."  Here we see the opening of a new parklet and bike parking in front of Manifesto Bicycle shop.  Go to CDP for more takes from around the world on the theme.

another summer fair

This summer has been warmer than most.  Seems to be a trend around the country.  This season of outdoor events has been extra fun due to the absence of chilly weather at the end of the day.  This is a crafts market that occurred this month at Jack London Square.

Monday Mural: narrow fit

Found this by accident on San Pablo Avenue in the Golden Gate district.  This gal fits into a narrow jut out and is by Boko.  She's a little disconcerting with those botoxed lips and blank eyes.  The pose reminds me of the art nouveau work of Alphonse Mucha.  Sort of.

Welcome to Monday Mural:  if you like murals or have a mural you'd like to post, this meme's for you.  Just follow the Linky steps below; you decide what constitutes a mural.  Once you start looking, you find them everywhere.  Be sure to link back to this blog and visit your fellow posters.  Looking forward your mural finds posted this week.  Google+ users, please configure your post so we all can leave a comment.  Thanks.  I'll be out of town for a number of days and will not be able to leave comments on murals posted this week.  My apologies.

“ Be kind; everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.”  Plato