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 West on Central Avenue to 3001
Title: "What a Long Strange Trip it’s Been"
Location: 3001 Central Avenue
Artist: Melissa Wineman
Date: 2021
Media: Acrylic paint
Artist Info: @owlymo
Story: Local artist Melissa “Mo” Wineman loves to create animals, flowers, fairy lands, anything magical, and her signature “creature wildflowers.” She exhibits widely in the Charlotte area and is known for her positive personality. Local restaurant Good Wurst opened in 2020 and commissioned this mural a year later.
Key Formal Elements:
- Outline around each shape
- Positive shape of the bears, brats, and cookies
Make the Connection:
Brats and Bears! The owners of the Good Wurst are fans of the Grateful Dead and these are the iconic Grateful Dead Bears. The Dancing Bears were designed by artist Bob Thomas for the back of the album cover for The History of the Grateful Dead, Volume 1 (Bear’s Choice). Named after their long-time sound engineer, the Dancing Bears have become an iconic symbol of the band and the culture of that time period. In case you are counting or know, this is the second Grateful Dead inspired mural in Charlotte. The other one is on Monroe Road at Cosmic Tattoo.
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!