Start at "Confetti Hearts Wall"
Title: “Confetti Hearts Wall”
Location: 1920 Camden Rd down the alley
Artist: Evelyn Henson
Date: 2018
Media: Acrylic paint
Artist Info: @evelyn_henson
Story: Commissioned by real estate development firm Asana Partners, artist Evelyn Henson captures our hearts with her “painting happy art to brighten your day.” In her first public art project, Henson makes a bold transition from her brightly colored more intimate scaled studio art to enter the realm of large 40-square-foot, Instagram-able public murals.
Key Formal Elements:
- Repetition of hearts
- Polychromatic color scheme
Love Connection:
Does this make you think of the tiny little hearts we share on Valentine’s Day? Conversation hearts, the heart-shaped candies called Sweethearts, were first produced in 1901. They were made by NECCO (New England Confectionary Company) and started out as medical lozenges, then added sayings, and eventually were produced in a heart shape. Annually the company produces 8 billion hearts!
Head to 227 East Blvd
Title: “There is no disruption without change and love”
Location: 227 East Blvd at Revolution Clothiers
Artists: Kent Youngstrom with Chad Cartwright
Date: 2020
Media: Acrylic paint
Artists Info: @kentyoungstrom, @chdwckart
Story: Kent Youngstrom worked with artists @chwckart and @theworthitapproach to create several episodes of love scattered around Revolution Clothiers, a men’s and women’s fashion boutique. Little surprises of love appear on the front column and side entrance, with the main mural on the back wall of the building. Simple text-based art with a message offers small, intimate places of expression with an outpouring of love in the large mural.
Key Formal Elements:
- Limited color palette of black and white
- Repetition
Love Connection:
Here are some famous love quotes from movies:
"I wish I knew how to quit you." from Brokeback Mountain
"You had me at hello." from Jerry McGuire
"As you wish" from Princess Bride
Do you have your own favorite?
Head to 2116 Hawkins Street
Location: 2116 Hawkins Street back of the building
Artist: Gina Elizabeth Franco
Date: 2020
Media: Acrylic paint
Artist Info: @ginaelizabethfranco
Story: This Krispy Kreme corporate office houses test kitchen space and their global product and innovation center. The adaptive reuse of a building built by D.A. Tompkins, an industrial leader of early Dilworth growth, is an important part of retaining neighborhood character and maintaining history. Asana Partners commissioned this mural.
Key Formal Elements:
- Repetition
- Symmetrical balance
Make the Connection
Hot Doughnuts Now! 72 individual and personalized doughnuts are painted by Greensboro-based Gina Elizabeth Franco.
Find the donut with the heart sprinkles!
Head to 340 W. Tremont
Title: “Amour”
Location: 340 W. Tremont at Spenga
Artist: Kyle Mosher
Date: 2020
Media: Acrylic paint
Artist Info: @thekylemosher
Story: Fine artist, gallery artist and street artist, Kyle Mosher’s work is all around Charlotte. But especially South End, where he completed an artist-in-residence program at the Three 30 Five Apartments. As part of his residency, Mosher created over a dozen exterior and interior murals throughout the complex. Turn around and look at the corner of the building right behind you to see “Hand of Light.”
Mosher’s aesthetic is rooted in his study of illustration, Cubism, his collage and cut paper style with some classical figures thrown in as well. Here, bold dynamic shapes create movement and lines create volume in his figures. Look carefully for the word “love” in different languages at the far left in the background.
Key Formal Elements:
- Positive shapes of the figures
- Hatching lines in the arm area
Love Connection:
Love and Cupid. Cupid? The Greek god of love was named Eros, and it was believed that he had the power to make people fall in love. Romans adopted the figure of Eros but renamed him Cupid and made him a cute little boy with a bow and arrow. And kept the ability to make people fall in love!
Head to 1440 S. Tryon
Title: “From Charlotte with Love”
Location: 1440 S. Tryon but entrance is along Summit
Artist: Garrison Gist and Trash Genius
Date: 2021
Media: Acrylic paint
Artist Info: @2gzandcountin, @trashgenius
Story: This mural is a collaboration between two creatives, Garrison Gist and Trash Genius. Charlotte is Creative, a non-profit organization dedicated to highlighting Charlotte artists,
contacted each of them separately to commission them to join forces and add this mural to Wooden Robot Brewery. Gist, a former football player at the University of South Carolina, graduated with a degree in art history now works as an artist, graphic designer, and muralist. Trash Genius is a local tech worker and Charlotte native who created the brand “From Charlotte with Love.”
Key Formal Elements:
- Positive shape of the letters
- Variety with the word Charlotte
Make the Connection:
Text in art is not a new thing. You can go back to the early twentieth century to see text in art by Picasso, in Dada and Surrealist art, and even more contemporary examples like Jenny Holzer and Barbara Kruger. So, yea, it’s a thing.
Make sure you check out the designs inside the letters of Charlotte and remember Charlotte loves its sports!
Head to Plaza Midwood
Make your way over to the Plaza Midwood neighborhood.
From South End you can take the light rail and transfer to the Gold Line service all the way to Central and Hawthorne.
See this "Stay Sexy " mural at the corner of Pecan and Central near the Wall Poem.
At corner of Pecan and Central, behind building
Location: 1500 Central Avenue side wall and back wall on the electrical boxes
Artists: Wall Poems of Charlotte, Graham Carew, The Mural Shop
Date: 2016
Media: Acrylic paint
Artist Info: @wallpoems, @themuralshop, @grahamcarew
Story: Wall Poems of Charlotte is an effort to integrate poetry into urban areas of the city. The organization has completed over a dozen installations featuring the poetry of North Carolina artists. “Love Comes Quietly” is a poem by Robert Creeley, an influential American poet associated with the Black Mountain Poets who was known for the emotions in his poetry.
Key Formal Elements:
- Notice the asymmetrical balance of the text and the mural
Love Connection:
Love conquers all.
All you need is love.
Love is love.
Love me tender.
What’s your favorite love saying?
Plaza-Midwood at 913 Central Ave
Title: “Do the Things that Light you up”
Location: 913 Central Avenue
Artist: Duarte Designs
Date: 2019
Media: Acrylic paint
Artist Info: @duarte_designs
Story: This is the first mural for mother and daughter artist team Duarte Designs. Daughter Sydney dreamed of leaving the corporate world to make art. As she talked with the owner of Two Scoops, she described an idea for bringing her artistic vision to their wall, and a project began. With this mural, the artists hope many can relate to their message to both be love and reflect love with the heart-shaped glasses.
Key Formal Elements:
- Limited palette of colors
- Grey-scale figure
Love Connection:
Nothing spreads love like getting engaged. Nearly 6 million couples get engaged on Valentine’s Day each year! Engagement rings are often worn on the 4th finger of the left hand because the ancient Greeks maintained that the finger contains the vena amoris, or the “vein of love,” that runs straight to the heart. Ice cream is also said to connect to the heart.
Head to Optimist Hall
Title: XO
Location: 1009 N. Caldwell Street at corner of Belmont
Artist: Kyle Mosher
Date: 2020
Media: Acrylic paint
Artist Info: @thekylemosher
Story: Fine artist, gallery artist and street artist, Kyle Mosher’s work is all around Charlotte. Maybe you saw his "Amour" mural on the South End Lovers Art Trail. Mosher’s aesthetic is rooted in his study of illustration, Cubism, his collage and cut paper style with some classical figures thrown in as well sometimes. But here it is all letters and graphics!
Key Formal Elements:
- Positive shapes of the letters
- Limited palette
Love Connection:
XO. Do you know what that means? You have to go way back to possibly the Middle Ages to see some of the first origins of the symbol X which may have represented a KISS. O is a bit more complicated but it is commonly used to represent a HUG.
So. Kisses and Hugs.
Head to NoDa
Make your starting point at Summit Coffee and check out the art on their walls.
On wall next to Summit Coffee
Title: “Confetti Stripes”
Location: 424 E. 36th Street next to Jeni's
Artist: Evelyn Henson
Date: 2019
Media: Acrylic paint
Artist Info: @evelyn_henson
Story: Charlotte artist Evelyn Henson captured our hearts with her “painting happy art to brighten your day” South End mural. Now we are seeing stripes in NoDa! This mural marks her second public art project, and since both are super close to a Jeni’s Ice Cream shop perhaps art and ice cream make a great combination.
Key Formal Elements:
- Repetition
- Polychromatic color scheme
Love Connection:
One way to make someone feel loved is to give them chocolate. Works for a lot of us! The first heart-shaped box of chocolates was introduced in 1861 by the son of the founder of Cadbury. More than 36 million heart-shaped boxes of candy are sold each year for Valentine’s Day.
NoDa at 36th Street light rail station
Title: “Self-Love”
Location: 416 E. 36th Street
Artist: Abel Jackson with assistance from Big Trouble Studios
Date: 2020
Media: Acrylic paint
Artist Info: @artbyabel, @bigtroublestudios
Story: Local arts organization ArtPop Street Gallery worked with Salesforce to commission artist Abel Jackson in his largest scale mural yet (24 feet by 80 feet). He writes: “In 2017 I was inspired to work on self-love.” His advice includes listening to good music, meditation and imagining those he loves, then redirecting love to oneself. His realistic portraits of loved ones dominate the composition, and the positive messaging brings hope, kindness, and love to our world.
Key Formal Elements:
- Symmetrical balance
- Highlights on each of the faces
Love Connection:
Love can be complicated. For sure. Even the ancient Greek philosophers identified six different forms of love –
- Familial love·
- Friendly love·
- Romantic love·
- Self-love·
- Guest love·
- Divine love
On Side Wall of former Blind Pig
Title: Dolly Parton mural
Location: At the corner of N. Davidson and 36th
Artist: Dustin Moates
Date: 2021
Media: Acrylic paint
Artist Info: @dstnmts
Story: Long story. On the side of the former Blind Pig here in NoDa, one of Charlotte’s earliest murals told a bit of NoDa history. The original mural by Rosalie Torres-Weiner was removed in early 2020 for a mural announcing the coming of the Carolina Equity Festival. Then COVID. So, in 2021, the festival organizers decided to move forward with their mural even though now the festival is rescheduled. Painted by Dustin Moates and the Southern Tiger Collective, the mural was also sponsored by Hearts Beat as One Foundation.
Key Formal Elements:
- Asymmetrical balance
- Cool colors of blues
Make the Connection:
It’s our first Dolly Parton mural. Dolly is a big deal in case you didn’t know. And that doesn’t mean just musically. Of course, singing at the Grand Old Opry at age 13 and multiple Grammy awards in her long career make her a musical superstar. But she is also a philanthropist. Parton has long supported literacy efforts, veterans, food insecurity, and in 2020 gave $1 million to fund the Moderna COVID vaccine. Paired with the “Love is Love” quote against the backdrop of her beloved Blue Ridge Mountains, Dolly reigns on this corner.
Across the tracks to Can Jam
Location: 3224 Benard Avenue
Artist: Poet
Date: 2020
Media: Acrylic paint
Artist Info: @poetwastaken
Story: Los Angeles based poet and street artist Poet came to NoDa in fall of 2020 and created a series of love language artworks. Most of them have disappeared. Here at CanJam he painted a mural. Enjoy the explosion of murals at CanJam, a community-based street art festival curated by artist Osiris Rain that draws together street artists from all over to paint the building occasionally.
Key Formal Elements:
- Positive shape of the letters
- Repetition of hearts
Love Connection:
Where did Valentine’s Day come from anyway? Around the 5th century a Roman Pope declared St. Valentine’s Day to be February 14. It was during the Middle Ages that the holiday became a love and romance holiday. Now, well, it’s evolved to a major retail event with Americans spending over $20 billion on gifts for the holiday. But hey, this lover’s art trail is free!
At Can Jam
Location: 3224 Benard Avenue
Artist: 1.4.4.0
Date: 2021
Media: Acrylic paint
Artist Info: @1.4.4.0
Story: Los Angeles based muralist and multidisciplinary artist 1.4.4.0 paints at mural festivals and locations all over the country. Luckily he has family connections nearby and shows up occasionally to paint murals in and around the Charlotte area. He has another mural on Central Avenue in Plaza Midwood. His mural is created within the style of another street artist Alessandro Paglia but 1.4.4.0 added his own twist.
Key Formal Elements:
- Limited color palette of black and white and greys
- Slick realism
Love Connection:
Je t'aime
Ti amo
Te amo
Ich liebe dich
Another way to say I LOVE YOU is to use American Sign Language as demonstrated in the mural. Sign this to someone you LOVE!
Intersection of Monroe Road and Conference Drive
Title: "LovN On Each Other"
Location: Intersection of Monroe Road and Conference Drive
Artists: MyLoan Dinh, Michelle “Bunny” Gregory
Date: 2021
Media: Acrylic paint
Artist Info: @myloandinh, @ug_battleofthehearts, @mural_ninjas
Story: Patchwork Crosswalks are a series of commissioned artworks completed in Fall 2021. These three crosswalks 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 Cultural Vision Grant and support from the City of Charlotte Neighborhood Matching Grants program, the Patchwork Crosswalks is a partnership between ArtWalks CLT and MoRA and neighborhood sponsors. Artists MyLoan Dinh and Michelle “Bunny” Gregory worked with members of the community in workshops and online community submissions to design the imagery of these murals. Community members helped to paint the murals.
Key Formal Elements:
- Use of grey scale on the portraits
- Implied motion
Make the Connection:
In one swirling flow of hearts and squares, artists MyLoan Dinh and Bunny Gregory create a warm and loving embrace on the sidewalk.
The heart symbol was used first to denote love during the Middle Ages around 1250 in a French manuscript. A forlorn prince in prison sent a love manuscript to his beloved with a shape resembling the iconic heart symbol. Before that, the heart represented different foliage and plants with a similar leaf shape.
At 3646 Central Avenue
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.
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