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Daddy Otis’s “Free Hugs!” I hope you said that in your best monster voice, because I always do. (Credit: @knowatx)
Austin mural artists continue to inspire us with their creativity and massive pieces of art. At the recent ReCreate event, the final spray-out day at HOPE Outdoor Gallery, 50 artists painted every inch of wall space there. Hundreds of people came out to watch, admire, photograph, and say goodbye to HOPE’s famous location. [Read more…]
Niz incorporates images from nature into her art, like this piece with owl wings and fox head and tail
Austin’s mural art covers the city’s walls, inside and outside bars, restaurants, schools, and museums. If you’ve spent any time in Austin, then you’ve seen the colorful creations of the following three artists. [Read more…]
‘Til Death Do Us Part by Federico Archuleta, located at East 7th Street and Waller Street
It feels like nearly every block of Austin has some giant expression of creativity blasted against its walls for the world to see.
Most murals appear suddenly, in places you wouldn’t expect: on a downtown high-rise, against the back side of a coffee shop, in an abandoned alleyway behind a dumpster.
It’s part of Austin’s murals’ mystique and glory. No descriptions, no special lighting, no rules against touching. Which makes me wonder… [Read more…]
Mila Sketch’s Austin Music mural speaks to the heart of our city (Credit: Mila Sketch)
Austin’s artists impress us with their creativity and love for our city. Week after week, month after month, they’re out there, combining designs and colors that make us do a double-take.
Whether to express their own creative vision or fulfill a commission, Austin artists take to the streets to paint something that speaks to someone. To connect, perhaps. To inspire, surely, even if unintentionally. Or because they are unable not to paint, sketch, put their ideas out into the world. [Read more…]
Artist Mez Data painted this scene from the iconic “Dazed and Confused” film with Austin’s sweetheart, Matthew McConaughey, aka Wooderson
Austin’s colorful, painted walls, with their murals, signatures, and sayings, can’t be missed during any exploration of our city. You can see these large pieces downtown, on the east side and south side, and even at The Domain. Whether with beautiful murals, cheerful street art, or classic graffiti, Austin treats the casual spectator to the urban art of their dreams. [Read more…]
Austin street art (Credit: 1138Studios.com)
Guest article by Gino Barasa
It’s five in the morning and I’m somewhere off 51st Street with Austin’s most dangerous street artists.
Well, not exactly. It is really early and I am watching some of Austin’s finest street artists do their thing, but they aren’t actually very dangerous. In fact, they’re really a bunch of easy going guys who happen to be amazingly talented artists. [Read more…]
Your author and her man at “Olive You” by SprATX artist Sweet
Art is represented in many ways within a city, from traditional art museums and historical buildings to theater and music. Graffiti, however, hasn’t always been accepted as a viable art form and has often been stigmatized.
But here in Austin where murals are a plenty, graffiti has transformed into street art, and a mural is a must if you are looking to be Austin. And thank goodness for that because art lives in the soul of every city.
Austin’s weird and eccentric vibe is what draws people in, but it’s also most at risk of changing as people continue to move here. At the forefront of keeping this creative energy alive in Austin through street art is a small group of people known as SprATX.
SprATX is unique in that it’s both a collective of artists and a business. The lines are often blurred, but the end results are the same – SprATX makes art [Read more…]
A graffiti artist at work on Castle Hill
Editor’s Note: The HOPE Outdoor Gallery closed on Jan. 2, 2019. A new location will open later in the year.
There are a few mainstays in Austin I like to take visitors to when they visit. My list includes the impressive Capitol Building, which is taller than the U.S. Capitol Building in D.C., Whole Foods headquarters, where you can get a $5 smoothie, Zilker Park to fly a kite, and anything on South Congress. But there’s one place that embodies the true spirit and weirdness of our city, and every resident and visitor must experience it: the graffiti wall at Castle Hill.
Tucked away on Baylor and 11th near Whole Foods, this is one of my favorite places in Austin because it has a great energy and amazing art. When I say graffiti wall, I don’t mean just one wall like the “i love you so much” graffiti at Jo’s Coffee Shop or the Austin Postcard at Roadhouse Relics. I’m talking about a three-story playground for artists. [Read more…]
Photo via @ruffhousearts
This guest blog article is by Kendra Wright.
Fridays in Austin are becoming more than a doorway to the weekend. Thanks to local artists and social media, a weekly treasure hunt is lighting up the streets with free art and the local Austinites who are chasing it down. If you’re eager to score some pro bono goodies, lace up your tennis shoes and fire up your Instagram. Free art is on the line every Friday.
Free Art Friday, as its dubbed, is no new phenomenon. But with Austin’s love affair for all things local and a surplus of creative talent in our city, the Austin branch has caught fire. [Read more…]