Star Trolley’s Shine mural tours got rolling over the weekend. St. Pete native and Shine 7 muralist Laura Spencer, aka Miss Crit, kicked things off in St. Pete’s Warehouse district, introducing riders to St. Pete’s art scene through its Shine murals. But more than just pointing out each mural and announcing who painted it, Spencer shared insider info as only a local artist can.
Riders learned how many sketches Canadian muralist Emmanuel Jarus provided Walker Whitney Plaza Condominiums before they accepted his Shine 10 mural design. They also heard about St. Pete’s new affordable housing experiment, Innovare Apartments, while Seattle’s Stevie Shao painted a dragon flying up the building.
Fintan Magee’s doodle grid at Reflection St. Pete was also there, with details to be filled in this week. Leon “Tes One” Bedore—founder of Shine Mural Festival (stylized “SHINE”)—was also actively painting Modera St. Petersburg apartments.
Spencer also said that France’s Abys painted his Modera mural—a six-story-tall gator riding a skateboard—in just four days. He also had enough time and paint left over to paint a bonus mural on the back of Anchor Skate. Kris Markovich and Johnny Vitale painted the other three walls of Anchor Skate, which is now covered in murals.
Spencer is one of five local artists leading a brand-new, limited-time mural tour to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Shine Mural Festival in St. Pete this week. Joining her are Dan Wood, Dan “R5” Barojas, Merritt Capurro and James Hartzell. The 90-minute guided trolley tours continue through Shine’s official end date, Sunday, Nov. 17,
Tickets to St. Petersburg’s Star Trolley’s Shine Mural tour are still available for $45.
