Giant lightbulbs, acorns falling from the sky, mushroom clouds and a spiderweb surrounding a crescent moon are just a few details I saw on murals on my recent walk though Reno’s Midtown. I am a UNR journalism student, originally from Placerville, California. I moved to Carson City, Nevada, about six years ago. Before taking my journalism classes I did not have much of a reason to explore Midtown Reno. I appreciated the opportunity to walk around and take photos on a sunny Tuesday afternoon and see for myself what people talk about when they mention Midtown’s murals.
Street art is something I have always found interesting, to me it is one of the best ways to display your artistic talent. It is also a way to express your thoughts and feelings about certain topics and to potentially help promote local businesses. Some paintings are made for clients and some are made just for the artist themselves, both types of paintings hold a story and the background story is a very important part of the painting. During my afternoon walking around, it was the first time I had seen that much street art at one time. There is not nearly as much street art in Carson City and street art is not allowed in the part of California I lived in. Personally, I find looking at street art inspiring, I love standing and thinking about what the artists thought process was while they created their art.
These two paintings were created by Erik Burke. Burke has created art in many different areas including Reno, Carson City, Las Vegas and Mexico. The painting above is called “Ponderous” and was created in 2016. John Muir is on the left. The intention of this painting is to show the relationship between man and nature.
“Expression of the Soul” was created in 2018 as a tribute to the legacy of certain winemakers who have a lasting impact on the craft of winemaking. Each of the four images on the wall represent a part of the winemakers influence during their time.
This painting created by Joe Rock was my favorite during my tour through Midtown. The bright colors that reflected in the sun and amazing details grabbed my attention. Also the hidden layers of words, colors and shapes is very interesting to look at.
I found this painting on a small garage door in an alleyway. This painting was created by Jamie Darragh in Spring of 2017. Darragh painted this mountain and starry night piece for Blackhole body piercing which is just next door. My favorite part about this painting is the moon and all the details around it.
This is the last painting I saw on my walk in Midtown. This painting was completed by Jason Liggett in September of 2020, making it much newer than the others I saw. This painting stuck out to me because of the bright colors and the way it sums up Nevada is such a wonderful way.