Downtown St. Petersburg is now a mural mecca, and the national media have taken notice. In addition to the virtual stpetemuraltour.com, established to familiarize locals with the artists, the Mural Walking Tour gets art lovers to hoof it weekly on Saturday mornings.
Here, we wish to provide ink and recognition to some of the hard-working artists who contributed to St. Pete’s urban museum over the past year.
“Careful, They have an unpredictable nature” is a striking image that’s a departure from muralist Sebastian Coolidge’s more cartoon-like early works, and can be found above Enigma at Central Avenue and 11th Street. Probably the area’s most prolific muralist, Coolidge says he’s created 70 this year — locally, at the Wynwood District in Miami during Art Basel, and elsewhere.
Chad Mize’s “Twiggy” is the retro-fabulous mural of the year. The co-owner of BlueLucy Gallery on the 600 Block blessed the back of his gallery with this glammy tribute to a 1960s fashion icon. His pastel palette and psychedelic touches reflect both the rebellion of the time period and doe-eyed, androgynous beauty of a supermodel who redefined our sense of style.
“A Moment to Reflect” by Derek Donnelly and Sebastian Coolidge at Florida CraftArt on Fifth Street and Central Avenue captures the artists' wild imagination and attention to detail. "I painted the entire man and Derek did the jellyfish and it took two weeks," says Coolidge. It’s been fascinating to see both Coolidge and Donnelly’s work evolve.
“Grow With Your City,” by Jeffrey Sincich and Josh Stover of J&S Signs, at First Central Tower Plaza, 310 Central Avenue, St. Petersburg, was commissioned by Osprey Management to be part of a sustainable community garden. “We chose [the title] to highlight the sense of communtiy here in St. Petersburg and reflect the pride that residents have in their city,” their website says. “The garden is made up of plants that are native to this area.” J&S’s mural reflects the can-do and communal spirit of the St. Pete arts community.
Sarah Sheppard’s mural at Sixth Avenue South and 27th Street adds distinction to the Warehouse Arts District. Says Sheppard: "Josh from Zen Glass Studio [on property where the mural is located] gave me free reign over the design. He does beautiful glassblowing incorporating sea life and mermaids, so I used the octopus and mermaid. The octopus tentacle inside the circle that the mermaid is in makes a yin and yang to help incorporate the 'zen' aspect. The compass is about what direction will you take with the siren, will you follow your temptation or not."
Bask, who recently co-headlined a show in San Francisco with Tes One and proposed to his fiançee via a banner draped over a high-rise, completed his signature mural at the end of the 600 Block around the beginning of the year.
Jennifer Kosharek’s “The Many Adventures of Gretchen” was created in spring 2013. The artist known for her distinctive Russian doll-like characters had to take a break in 2014 to have a baby — “couldn’t be around all those paint-can fumes” — but says she’ll be back at it soon.
This article appears in Dec 25-31, 2014.