See the first mural at the Central Ave entrance
Title: EastSide Pride
Location: 3124 Eastway Drive
Artist: Rosalia Torres-Weiner
Date: 2019
Media: Acrylic paint
Artist Info: @redcalacastudio
Story: Local artist Rosalia Torres-Weiner is an “artivist,” which means she combines her art with her activism. In one of the first projects tied to redevelopment of the Eastway Crossing Shopping Center, the artist celebrates EastSide Pride. Her mural both reflects and contributes to the spirit of the community. See the Western boot in the mural on the far right? Check out El Potrero Western Wear in the shopping center! The smiling sun on the far left? A reference to Eastland Mall.
Key Formal Elements:
- Polychromatic color scheme
- Strong use of outline
Make the Connection:
Love the EastSide? If so, you have a lot of company. EastSide Charlotte is enjoying population growth, redevelopment, and a surging interest in established, close-in neighborhoods. Check out www.charlotteeast.com, a non-profit advocacy board dedicated to “supporting the people and places that make East Charlotte great.” Follow their Instagram @charlotteeast for an insightful look into the area’s past and future. In Torres-Weiner’s mural, the sun, flowers, and leaves, suggest the natural beauty of the landscape. The mural’s many colors reflect East Charlotte’s diverse population.
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Around the corner
Title: EastSide Pride
Location: 3124 Eastway Drive
Artist: Sharon Dowell
Date: 2019
Media: Acrylic paint
Artist Info: @sharon_dowell
Story: Only a few months after Torres-Weiner completed her colorful, nature-filled mural, Sharon Dowell and assistant Irisol Gonzalez completed a companion EastSide Pride mural. The message is similar, but the sleek modern lettering of a Helvetica-like type, suggests a more abstract vibe.
Key Formal Elements:
- Cool shades of blue dominate the background behind the lettering
- Irregular flat shapes of color flow across the wall
Make the Connection:
Dowell is often inspired by objects in nature or real life, but as an abstract artist she breaks down those elements into multi-faceted images. This mural is inspired by bridges, which symbolize connectivity. Beneath the lettering flows the strong structural elements of bridge building. The Eastway Drive and Central Avenue intersection is a busy one, and functions as a crossroads through, and a bridge that connects the surrounding communities.
Midway through the stores
Location: 3046-A Eastway Drive
Artist: Sharon Dowell
Date: 2020
Media: Acrylic paint
Artist Info: @sharon_dowell
Story: EastSide resident Sharon Dowell painted another mural in the interior of the Eastway Shopping Center. In addition to muraling across the city, Dowell maintains a fine art studio practice. Murals by Dowell are included on our South End ArtWalks and uptown Mad About Murals ArtWalk.
Key Formal Elements:
- Asymmetrical balance
- Abstract
Make the Connection:
With the strong focal point of the crown and “QC,” Dowell draws your attention to the active, energetic, movements of our city. Abstracted beams, trusses and facets of light bring the signature Dowell style of layering to brighten the wall outside of Bart's Bottle Shop.
Look for Utility Box in Parking Lot
Title: Painted Utility Box
Location: 3124 Eastway Drive
Artist: S. Broder
Date: 2021
Media: Acrylic paint
Story: Eastway Crossing Shopping Center continues to become your destination for art, um, shopping. Project Manager Denice Abbott is adding to the art collection at the shopping center with wonderful community-based art. Working with the Northwest School of the Arts (NWSA), students were invited to submit concepts for painting a utility box. A panel of tenants and community members gathered as a jury and chose three finalists. From those three finalists, a vote was taken, and S. Broder was chosen. Broder completed this while as a 7th grader at NWSA.
Key Formal Elements:
- Contrast of the cool blue colors and the warm yellows and peaches
- Outlines of the petals of the flowers
Make the Connection:
Color and shape take center stage in this artist’s design of flower power peonies against a blue background of stars and the moon. Like artists before her including Georgia O’Keefe, Broder investigates a strong connection to nature with her close-up views of peonies. Broder told project manager Abbott that the imagery of peonies comes from the ones in her back yard and bring her a sense of calm. Nature in the middle of a parking lot. Art does it all!
A short walk to 3646 Central Ave
Title: “Love, Always Hopes”
Location: 3646 Central Avenue
Artist: Kent Youngstrom
Date: 2020
Media: Acrylic paint
Artist Info: @kentyoungstrom
Story: “Kindness is cool” artist Kent Youngstrom painted these two walls united at the corner. Artist, graphic designer, and illustrator, Youngstrom brings attention to the mission of Project 658 with his mural. Project 658 is a non-profit, Christ-centered ministry serving at risk families particularly within Charlotte’s international and refugee communities. The name Project 658 comes from the Bible verse John 6:58, “This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this will live forever.” (New International Version)
Key Formal Elements:
- Positive shape of the letters on each side
- Variety of colors and small writings
Make the Connection
Many contemporary artists are offering up “happiness psychology” in art. “Happiness psychology” supports well-being, wholeness, positivity, and the “good life.” It is derived from the Greek work eudaimonia – which in Aristotelian ethics translates into human flourishing, or the highest human good, which is human good that is desirable for its own sake, not as a means toward another end. Here Project 658 works to restore hope to residents in need, through wellness, job training, sports, and community programs.
Head East on Central Avenue, on your left
Title: The Butterfly Project at Manolo’s Bakery
Location: 4405 Central Avenue
Artist: Rosalia Torres-Weiner
Date: 2012 with refresh in 2020
Media: Mixed media
Artist Info: @redcalacastudio
Story: Artist and Activist or “artivist” as the artist calls herself, Rosalia Torres-Weiner often tells the stories of Latinx people through her art. As a Mexican immigrant herself, she uses her art to document stories of displacement and immigration and to bring about positive change in the community. Note the 2012 date for this mural. This work is among the earliest murals painted in Charlotte. The artist had just left her corporate career as an illustrator and this was her first outdoor mural. Recently, the artist refreshed the colors and the kites to make them stand out even more along Central Avenue. The kites are made of awning material, and the metal frames for the kites were fabricated by sculptor Theron Ross.
Key Formal Elements:
- Actual texture of the kites
- Repetition of the six figures
Make the Connection:
Part of the artist’s Papolote Project (Butterfly Project), this mural is dedicated to the children in Charlotte who have been affected by deportations. Each kite incorporates fabric to symbolize clothing left behind by a relative who was deported. The mural is intended to acknowledge the pain of deportation, and to honor suffering of the children who are left behind.
At the front door of Manolo's Bakery
Title: “Count on Me CLT”
Location: 4405 Central Avenue
Artist: Irisol Gonzalez
Date: 2020
Media: Acrylic paint
Artist Info:@irisolgonzalezart
Story: Count on Me CLT is a public service campaign created to help slow the spread of COVID-19. Working with Charlotte is Creative, the campaign has commissioned various artists to paint windows around the city with messages of social distancing, mask wearing, and reminders to wash your hands.
Key Formal Elements:
- Warm colors of red and yellow dominate
- Cool blue colored mask is a focal point
Make the Connection
Gonzalez goes back to her childhood memories of a Spanish television character who always saves the day. In this case, the superhero character saves the day by wearing a mask. We can all be superheroes in the fight against the spread of COVID-19.
A little further out Central Avenue
Title: Our Lady of Guadalupe
Location: 4715 Central Avenue
Artist: Rosalia Torres-Weiner
Date: 2016
Media: Acrylic paint
Artist Info: @redcalacastudio
Story: “Artivist” Rosalia Torres-Weiner painted the side of local business Tacos El Nevado with the iconic image of Our Lady of Guadalupe to honor Mexican and Mexican-American heritage. Our Lady of Guadalupe is a national symbol of Mexican identity and is celebrated each December with a mass and a feast in the Catholic tradition. Locally, the artist and the business host an annual celebration at the mural to commemorate the feast.
Key Formal Elements:
- Focal point of the Virgin
- Positive shapes of the skyline
Make the Connection:
According to 2019 Census data, approximately 14% of the City of Charlotte population, or 150,000 people, are of Hispanic origin. Since 2010, the Hispanic population in North Carolina has grown by 25%. Central Avenue, which is home to restaurants of many cultures, is now an international artery that runs through the middle of Charlotte.
Check out www.historysouth.org and some of historian Tom Hanchett’s writings on the food culture of Central Avenue. Then take yourself out to lunch!
Make your way to Monroe Road
Title: Grateful Dead mural at Cosmic Tattoo
Location: 3927 Monroe Road
Artists: Dustin Spagnola, Lord.melto.ftk
Date: 2020
Media: Aerosol paint
Artists Info: @dustinspagnola, www.dustinspagnola.com @lord.melto.ftk
Story: The owners of this building realized that their exterior wall needed repair work. That meant that the existing Grateful Dead mural would need to be removed. Fortunately, the owners were able to make the repairs and commission new artists to create another Grateful Dead mural on the side of the building. Ashe
Key Formal Elements:
- Symmetrical balance
- Strong use of outline in each rose
** Image credit Cosmic Tattoos
Make the Connection:
American rock band Grateful Dead was founded in the 1960s during the hippies, counter culture era. The mural depicts lead guitarist Jerry Garcia and band member Brent Mydland in front of a colorful tie-dye background. Asheville-based artist, painter, and muralist Dustin Spagnola did the portraits and @lord.melto.ftk did the background. Are you a Grateful Dead uber fan or “got to google that now” person?
One block away, on same side of Monroe
Title: Elvis at Blood, Sweat and Tears Tattoo
Location: 3811 Monroe Road
Artist: Kathryn Crawford
Date: 2020
Media: Spray paint
Artist Info: @kathryncrawfordart
Story: Asheville-based artist Kathryn Crawford completed this mural shortly after she completed her mural for the 2020 Talking Walls festival. Blood, Sweat, and Tears Tattoo owner Dave Scearce searched for years to find the perfect artist for his small project. With no artist committing to the project, he was ready to google “how to paint a mural” and paint it himself. Then Scearce saw a social media post of a cat by Crawford and knew immediately he’d found the perfect artist.
Key Formal Elements:
- Visual texture of the dog’s fur
- Strong use of warm colors in the poppies
Make the Connection:
It’s Elvis the dog. Here the business owner’s dog shines brightly among the red and orange poppies. Scearce commissioned the portrait of his dog and requested bright colors but Crawford creatively designed the rest of the composition. If you could commission a muralist to paint your pet, where would it be, and what flowers would you choose?
Head to 3434 Monroe
Title: “Everywhen”
Location: 3434 Monroe Road
Artist: Sharon Dowell and Christopher Holston
Date: 2021
Media: Acrylic paint
Artist Info: @sharon_dowell, @christopher.hoston.art
Story: Find the colorful corner of this building where artists Sharon Dowell and Christopher Holston fill the space with layers of shapes and colors. Dowell is one of the OG mural artists in Charlotte with murals in Camp North End, Uptown, South End and the East Side. Partnering in life and art with Christopher Holston, there is a unique combination of their two styles in this mural. More structural pieces connect a little more to Dowell’s art while the more fluid elements here come from Holston.
Key Formal Elements:
- Polychromatic color scheme
- Organic and geometric shapes
Make the Connection:
Have you ever had a unit in a self-storage center? About 10% of the population does and often the need for storage comes from a change or transition in life. Like a move, a marriage, or transfer, and as the artists needed a storage unit when they combined households, they met the owner of this facility while they were carrying in paintings. He asked if they did murals… And next thing you know, the artists were doing a mural.
In this mural, there are connections to the past, present, and future, which are all considerations of transitions and the need for a storage unit. The building was originally Atlantic Envelope so look for the envelope in the mural. Catch the house on the corner wrapping both sides as a reminder that sometimes our structures have to be flexible.
Head back out to 3800 Monroe Rd
Title: "Holding Space"
Location: 3800 Monroe Road
Artist: Bree Stallings
Date: 2021
Media: Acrylic paint
Artist Info: @breequixote
Story: Bree Stallings is a super-star artist. While she has amazing murals outside of Charlotte in Gastonia, and some at Camp North End, this Monroe Road mural is her first mural included on ArtWalks. Funded with an Arts & Science Council Cultural Vision Grant and a grant from Charlotte is Creative, Stallings worked with the clients at Time Out Youth in three separate workshops to develop imagery for this mural. The mural was painted to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the founding of Time Out Youth, an LGBTQIA resource center.
Key Formal Elements:
- Notice the highlights on the face of the far-left figure
- Bilateral symmetry with the portraits at each end
Make the Connection:
So much to take in and consider with each intentional choice by the artist. Note the spread of the rainbow colors of the birds which represents the fluidity of the LGBTQIA community. Each bird has a symbolic meaning in the mural. For example, the yellow chickadee is a symbol of good luck and closely associated with ideas around happiness, positivity, and good fortune. Flowing across the mural in a helix form, the Japanese patterns suggest the inter-connectedness of humanity. As always, the imagery in the murals by Stallings is complex and deep but easy to appreciate just for the beauty of it.
At Social Pet next to AutoBell
Title: Social Pet Mural
Location: 3814 Monroe Road
Artists: Arko and Owl
Date: 2020
Media: Acrylic paint
Artists Info: @arko.clt, @owl.clt
Story: Prominent local artists Arko and Owl projects embrace the balance of two different artistic styles. Owl’s “blob language” is based in mark making and her undulating lines flow across the wall. Meanwhile the magical, fantasy landscapes and figures produced by Arko tell a story of his make-believe worlds. Together they are richly layered and delight the eye.
Key Formal Elements:
- Outline around the dogs
- Cool colors of purples, blues, and green dominate
Make the Connection:
During the COVID-19 pandemic, we are wearing masks for public health reasons. When they paint, Arko and Owl wear handmade, intricately detailed masks that relate to their personalities. Each believes that working while masked allows them the freedom to create and prevents gender or ethnicity from affecting their work. Here the artists pay homage to the Echo Hills neighborhood and many of the surrounding businesses. Arko grew up in this part of town and his fantasy dog figures each denote an area business. The AutoBell next door, holding a rag and sponge with suds, and one of the several veterinary offices are both represented. See the dog with a stethoscope? Try to guess all the businesses embodied in the mural, and click on the learn more button for hints!
Head to 4201 Monroe Rd
Location: 4201 Monroe Road on the side of Paper Puddle
Title: “Joy”
Artist: Sebastian Coolidge
Date: 2018
Media: Acrylic paint
Artist Info: @sebastiancoolidge
Story: The side wall of Paper Puddle is painted by artist Sebastian Coolidge with fun, colorful, letters and shapes. Coolidge is a Florida-based fashion designer, muralist, and illustrator. He painted a mural for the Talking Walls mural festival uptown in 2018 and completed this additional mural during his trip to Charlotte.
Key Formal Elements:
- Polychromatic color scheme
- Unity provided by the green stem of the flower which starts on one side and flows to the other
Make the Connection:
Coolidge is known for his fun and lively compositions both in murals and clothing. His signature artistic element is the surrealist flower blossom with a face and long petals which you see depicted on the right of the composition. Make sure that you can pick out the letters that spell JOY and engage with this light, expressive, bouncy mural!
Also check out the augmented reality with this mural. Search Instagram stories for the artist's name and try the Dazey filter designed by @cheeks.clt and @suarezart. With your phone in selfie mode see the mural element come to life with you. Definitely Insta-worthy!
Coming Soon! Three locations on Monroe Road
Title: Patchwork Sidewalk Murals
Locations: Coming to the crosswalks at Chippendale, Conference Drive and Galleria Boulevard and Monroe Road
Artists: MyLoan Dinh, Michelle “Bunny” Gregory
Date: 2021
Media: Acrylic paint
Artist Info: @myloandinh, @ugbattleofthehearts
Story: Patchwork Crosswalk murals are coming soon! Patchwork Crosswalks are a series of commissioned artworks to be completed in Fall 2021. These three crosswalks will share stories of area residents and reflect the unique identities of MoRA’s communities. They are inspired by patchwork quilting where individuals gather to share stories and create art together.
Funded through an Arts & Science Council grant and with support from the City of Charlotte Neighborhood Matching Grants program, artists MyLoan Dinh and Michelle “Bunny” Gregory worked with members of the community in workshops and with online community submissions to design the imagery of these murals. Watch for news in September!
Make the Connection:
Coming soon!
A little further out Monroe Road
Title: “Embrace”
Location: 6697 Monroe Road
Artist: Leslie Scott with Lee Baumgarten
Date: 2017
Media: Stainless steel, ceramic tiles
Story: As East Charlotte began attracting redevelopment, Monroe Road Advocates (MoRA) @moraclt organized and began to see a vision for their changing community and it included art. This highly visible site across from East Mecklenburg High School and the Independence Regional Library became a civic location once Goode Properties set aside the piece of property for community use. With a Cultural Vision Grant from the Arts & Science Council and private donations, art became its anchor. Leslie Scott brainstormed in community workshops; at her unexpected passing, artist Lee Baumgarten stepped in to complete this large-scale sculpture.
Key Formal Elements:
- Free-standing sculpture
- Texture of each individual tile
** Photo credit: Leigh Black
Make the Connection:
This stunning sculpture interacts with and engages the community. From walking under and through and finding your reflection in the piece to reading the special messages in each individual tile, this piece wants you to be involved and invites you to be a part of the space. The stainless-steel components harken to the famous “Bean” on Chicago’s waterfront, but the ceramics add warmth and community. What’s your favorite tile?
On side street behind library
Title: Street Mural
Location: 6900 Wallace Lane
Artist: Carla Garrison-Mattos
Date: 2020
Media: Acrylic paint
Artist Info: @paintingsandthings
Story: The City of Charlotte loves murals. Its Urban Design Center and the Office of Sustainability supported local artists and filled Charlotte’s streets with murals during the summer of COVID. Artists from the city’s Placemaking Artist Pool installed street murals that captured the impact of COVID and the resiliency and sustainability of our city.
Key Formal Elements:
- Outline and contour lines on the figures
- Roll of toilet paper provides unity
** Photo credit: Carla Garrison-Mattos
Make the Connection:
Local artist Carla Garrison-Mattos gives us the superheroes of the pandemic during 2020. Against the back drop of the unfurling roll of toilet paper (I can’t believe I just wrote that about art), two larger than life healthcare workers and Queen Charlotte herself take on and fight the green-spiked virus on the right. Garrison-Mattos was inspired by a friend of hers who is a nurse. She dedicated this mural to all of the essential workers fighting for us during COVID-19. Who’s your COVID hero?