Mural facing railroad tracks in downtown San Marcos, Texas

Mural in downtown San Marcos, Texas.
Mural in downtown San Marcos, Texas.
A block-long building that houses a couple of San Marcos businesses including a fried chicken restaurant and a pizza place is also the home of a very long mural.

The mural is the work of Andrey Kravtsov. It includes images that relate to the city, the state and to nearby Texas State University.

The building is on East Martin Luther King Drive between South LBJ Drive and S Guadalupe Street. The mural is on the back side.

The San Marcos city website had more here:
New Mural Welcomes Downtown San Marcos Visitors

Mural in downtown San Marcos, Texas.
Mural in downtown San Marcos, Texas.

Pubic art on Austin’s east side

Mural at historic Blackshear Elementary School on 11th Street on the east side of Austin, Texas.
Mural at historic Blackshear Elementary School on 11th Street on the east side of Austin, Texas.
I spent part of a recent morning looking for some of the murals and other public art on the east side of Austin, Texas.

All of the art work here is on or south of 11th street and east of Interstate 35.

Public art on the east side of Austin, Texas.
Public art on the east side of Austin, Texas, celebrates the city’s musical heritage.

We Rise mural on Austin’s east side

We Rise mural on Austin's east side.
We Rise mural on Austin’s east side.
Austin has plenty of public art – especially on the east side.

The “We Rise” mural on the corner of 12th Street and Chicon is one of the best known.

Images within the mural include Selena, Jimi Hendrix, Biggie Smalls, James Brown, Tupac Shakur, Prince and many others.

– story about We Rise mural on e4youth.org

We Rise mural on Austin's east side.
We Rise mural on Austin’s east side.

Brother Dave and the Barrio Blasters at Sanchos in San Antonio

Brother Dave and the Barrio Blasters at Sancho's Cantina in San Antonio on Saturday, June 14, 2025. - photo by Joe Alexander
Brother Dave and the Barrio Blasters at Sancho’s Cantina in San Antonio on Saturday, June 14, 2025. – photo by Joe Alexander
Brother Dave and the Barrio Blasters brought their combination of rock, blues and Texas funk to Sancho’s Cantina near downtown San Antonio on Saturday.

Jimmy Spacek, Ruben V at Texas Pride Barbecue

Jimmy Spacek, Ruben V on Saturday night at Texas Pride Barbecue in Adkins, Texas. - photo by Joe Alexander
Ruben V and Jimmy Spacek on Saturday night at Texas Pride Barbecue in Adkins, Texas. – photo by Joe Alexander
San Antonio guitar legends Jimmy Spacek and Ruben V got together with some old friends on Saturday.

They played an evening show at Texas Pride Barbecue in Adkins, Texas. Shortly after they started, the setting sun beamed onto the stage for a few minutes.

Two Tons of Steel at Devil’s Backbone Tavern

Lead singer Kevin Geil of Two Tons of Steel at Devil's Backbone Tavern near Fischer, Texas, on Sunday, May 4, 2025. - photo by Joe Alexander
Lead singer Kevin Geil of Two Tons of Steel at Devil’s Backbone Tavern near Fischer, Texas, on Sunday, May 4, 2025. – photo by Joe Alexander
Legendary Texas roadhouse band Two Tons of Steel played at Devil’s Backbone Tavern near Fischer, in the Texas Hill Country, on Sunday afternoon.

Jason Kane & The Jive at Fredstock

Jason Kane & The Jive at Fredstock '25 at San Antonio College on Thursday, May 1, 2025. - photo by Joe Alexander
Jason Kane & The Jive at Fredstock ’25 at San Antonio College on Thursday, May 1, 2025. – photo by Joe Alexander
Jason Kane & The Jive brought their boogie rock n roll to San Antonio College on Thursday night as part of Fredstock ’25, the annual music festival and block party.

The San Antonio band has an upcoming tour of Europe beginning on May 22.

Official site: www.jasonkanethejive.com

Paint Jam 7 at Essex Modern City

A new mural by @soupLAWS in back of a building shaped like the Alamo at Essex Modern City with a train and the Tower of the Americas in the background. That's a very San Antonio kind of scene.
A new mural by @soupLAWS in back of a building shaped like the Alamo at Essex Modern City with a train and the Tower of the Americas in the background. That’s a very San Antonio kind of scene.
Paul Garson and Essex Modern City once again brought in some of the most talented mural artists from South Texas this weekend.

The result is a fresh collection of art on these outdoor walls on the East Side of San Antonio.

Essex Modern City is located by the intersection of South Cherry Street and Essex Street, just east of IH-37 and about a mile south of the Alamodome.

@itschristiekaye at work on BE KIND TO YOUR MIND on Sunday at ESX ART Paint Jam 7 at Essex Modern City.
@itschristiekaye at work on BE KIND TO YOUR MIND on Sunday at ESX ART Paint Jam 7 at Essex Modern City.

Thanks to Paul at Essex Modern City for setting me straight on the IDs.

And, of course, all the artists are more than welcome to pull photos of their work from this page:

Instagram for Essex Modern City: esxart210
Top image: @SoupLaw
Bottom image: @itschristiekaye
3591 @deletedtx
3593 @INX1
3594 @the.dream.monster
3595 @deadbeathero
3596 @VAPOR @VAPOR_POET_RSA
3598 @OHNOHEDENT
3599 @optek_art
3600 @nc.shaw
3601 @SilvyArtStudio
3602 @mikeyasanchez3
3603 @l.rhae
3604 @mfjonb
3605 @jlopez627_
3606 @ost3nart
3607 @ibelieveinasone
3609 @deathfox
3610 @KILLAHCASKONE
3612 @ABSTRACT_AVILA
3613 @EASESIDER
3614 @traviscii
3615 @krewline
3617 @SoupLaw
3618 @gapsmack87
3619 @ga.elizalde
3620 @_kingremer

South Florida beach life at Miami and Fort Lauderdale

The beach just north of Las Olas Boulevard at Fort Lauderdale Beach, Florida, in April 2025. - photo by Joe Alexander
The beach just north of Las Olas Boulevard at Fort Lauderdale Beach, Florida, in April 2025. – photo by Joe Alexander
You can’t make a trip to South Florida without hitting at least one of the beaches.

Two of the most popular places for salt and sand are Miami Beach at Lummus Park and Fort Lauderdale Beach between Las Olas Boulevard and Sunrise Boulevard.

A Texas night, a Ford pickup and Led Zeppelin

I was a Texas teenager driving my dad’s Ford F-100 pickup. It had an AM radio with one speaker that probably sounded awful compared to even the cheapest modern car stereo. And no AC.

I was driving along one night with my friend Steve Garza riding shotgun. It’s lost on me now where we were going to or coming from. Probably on some highway in or around San Antonio that’s a lot more congested now than it was then.

We had the windows rolled down and that cheap radio cranked up. Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven” came on.

I know that scene is cliche as hell. I probably kind of knew it then. But for 8 minutes and 2 seconds, Robert Plant and Jimmy Page made us feel like we were cool and the world was right.