Sixteen artists transformed the streets of downtown St. Petersburg into a gallery, using city buildings as canvases.
In an effort to amplify the city’s artful image, the festival revitalized barren exteriors with vivid and eye-catching paintings around various parts of the downtown area and along the Central Avenue Arts District.
Each day for the past two weeks local and internationally renowned artists have woken up early in the morning and left the paint scene late at night to adorn the city walls with a variety of colors and imagery that support the spirit of St. Petersburg.
The Tampa Bay area art community organized the not-for-profit public art project to revive the area, awaken dialogue and connect the community.
Well-known local artist Johnny Vitale calls it a “roaming city gallery.”
“It’s inspiring for us,” Johnny said about artists who traveled to participate in the festival. “It’s opening our eyes to taking this show on the road and not just doing it locally.”
Vitale Bros
Evil Don Tattoos – 2063 Central Ave.
Known as the Vitale Brothers, Paul (left) and Johnny Vitale (right) have painted murals and signs in the community for 22 years. Before getting started on their own wall, the brothers served as the local mural crew for guest artists –providing projectors, generators and lights when needed.
As full-time dads, the Vitale Brothers were inspired by the ones they love most, creating a design based off their children.
See more of their work at vitalebrothers.com
Morning Breath
Kevin Brady Studio – 2042 Central Ave.
Artists Doug Cunningham and Jason Noto started working together in San Francisco designing skateboard/snowboard graphics. Now the two are based in Brooklyn, NY, and collaborated to create Morning Breath, Inc., which has expanded their business to music packaging, apparel and advertising. They say their art is “breathing life into discarded visual ephemera from popular culture.”
See more of their work at morningbreathinc.com
Hoxxoh
Grand Central II – 2130 Central Ave.
The Miami-based artist Douglas Hoekzema, aka Hoxxoh, paints his vibrant pieces freehand. He “attempts to show us a different way of viewing time through a means of exploring its natural fabric.”
See more of his work at elhoxxoh.com
Erik Jones
Grand Central District – 2260 1st Ave. S.
St. Petersburg native Erik Jones, who attended Sarasota’s Ringling College of Art and Design, now resides in Brooklyn, NY, and paints primarily for galleries. His pieces are described as “vibrant and colorful, expressing a heightened sense of realism in his female subjects, juxtaposed with sporadic mark making and non-representational forms.”
See more of his work at erikjonesart.com
Michael Vasquez and Hoxxoh
Grand Central District – 2260 1st Ave. S.
Best known for his urban and street culture focus, St. Petersburg native Michael Vasquez collaborated with Hoxxoh on “Let’s Go Back (Fishing with Father),” a piece on the iconic inverted triangle pier that is now undergoing demolition.
See more of his work at michaelvasquez.info
Artists who have also made their mark:
Bask # Edge District # 1120 1st Ave. N
Ya’ Laford # The Ray’s Tunnel # 1399 Central Ave.
123Klan # Techno-solis # 301 20th St S
Evoca1 # Furnish me vintage # 1246 Central Ave.
Pep Rally Inc. # Ricky P’s Orleans Bistro # 1113 Central Ave
Hitnes # U-Haul # 975 2nd Ave S
Greg Mike # Goldman Wetzel # 915 1st Ave N
Shark Toof # The State Theatre # 687 Central Ave
Ricky Watts # The Sage # 600 1st Ave N
In an effort to amplify the city’s artful image, the festival revitalized barren exteriors with vivid and eye-catching paintings around various parts of the downtown area and along the Central Avenue Arts District.
