I was out of town during the Waterford Walls festival this August, and only recently took some photographs, probably covering only a half of the walls. Here is a link to the previous Waterford Walls blog posts if you need it for a reference. Please visit the artists websites. All the links in this blog open on separate pages and your reading won’t be interrupted.
Yasja’s Northern lights-inspired work wasn’t included in the festival map, but I knew it was a recent work. I would have noticed if it has been there before. Yasja is a brilliant artist from Amsterdam and I choose her work for my opening picture.
I walk wall to wall, and it takes me about two hours to see all these wonderful murals.
Niamh Curry grew up in Clonmel, Ireland. She is a self-taught artist, and her works are recognizable for their bright colors and painting technique. Niamh got to paint in Georges Court, right next to the Waterford Walls headquarters. I love her foxes.
Kevin Bohan, a professional artist and illustrator from Dublin, is a regular guest of the festival. I am a huge fan of his work. Kevin takes part in community projects and generously shares his talent. Here is his Instagram link.
Next to Kevin’s wall there is a Curtis Hylton’s work Ned The Dog. As their website states, Ned is the head of security for Waterford Walls.
I walk uphill to the place where the Birdo’s wall used to be. I am surprised to see Joe Castlin’s work repainted, but I love the fishies by Michael Beerens, an artist from France.
On the other side of the hill I admire a mural by Taquen, a young artist from Madrid.
To learn what the work by Garreth Joyce is about, click on this link .
I walk uphill again (Waterford is not a flat city), to take a picture of another two foxes, this time by Nina Valkhoff, an illustrator and muralist from the Netherlands. Here is a link to Nina’s website.
I guess it was not easy to paint between all these doors and windows. I think about foxes whose habitats have been taken away by humans…
I walk to the social housing area. The streets and the buildings look dull and monotonous, but I have a map in my hand and know a secret: Waterford Walls festival has reached this colourless place and made a difference. This work by Shane Sutton, an artist in residence with the European Space Agency, might be monochrome, but it added so much color to the street! The artist also incorporated a transformer box into his work. It is transmitting old Disney classic now.
Dan Leo has gifted another beautiful animal to the city.
This is Curtis Hylton’s wall from 2018, but I never used the picture before. Please have a closer look at the fish. It is not a fish at all. What a heartbreaking image.
I wonder what this sad woman represents. The wall by Russ, France.
Another French artist, Kogaone. Here is another link.
A very impressive wall by Sper, an artist from Belgium.
A young artist, graphic designer and illustrator KREEMOS from Russia created this industrially looking puzzle. You will find that it says “Lost in a dream”. Two things caught my eye – a lapwing, one of my favorite birds, and a creative use of the colour palette masking the garbage bins.
Three female artists shared their works in Stephens street. Caoilfhionn Hanton is a self taught local artist who has been with Waterford Walls since the inception. I love the positive energy of her paintings.
Another female artist – FRIZ from the Northern Ireland.
Novice, a street artist from Dublin. She is not a novice in the street art anymore. The meaning of the name is – never stop learning.
Rounding up my walk I found a puffin.
This is a work by Mehsos, an artist from Belgium.
Patrick street in the puffin’s eye – I know that he is watching me as I walk down the street.
The real life sparrows are watching me too.
Thank you for visiting Waterford. Here is a link to the excellent website by Resa McConaghy, a costume designer and author from Toronto who knows and shares street art – https://graffitiluxandmurals.com/ Please visit and follow.
Have a wonderful week!
Making memories 
The quality and power of street art is something else ~ I do not know when it took off (or when I noticed), but street art has captured my imagination ~ it has a voice, a high quality voice so it is exciting when I see what you have created here with the Waterford Walls tribute 🙂 Great shots, and I too think the bird impaling the fish is a powerful commentary.
I don’t know if I commented on this before, but I just can’t get over how beautiful the artwork is. I especially love the one with Ned the dog. I’ve been having problems lately being able (once again) to comment on blogs, and you might have seen where WordPress says I am now following you. I’ve been following you for a super long time, but the other day it showed that I wasn’t. So, I clicked on the follow button. This seems to happen off and on.
Michele, I am sure the ‘following’ problems come and go. It is just a glitch. Recently, 25 comments went to my Spam, and 2 to trash, without me knowing. When I restored them I was not able to track them back, so most of them were left unanswered. It is WordPress…
These glitches are crazy aren’t they. So happy that for now my problem is gone.
All so beautiful, Inese!! Especially love the colourful foxes, the VanGogh portrait and the little sparrows at the end. 😉 xxxxxx
Thank you for stopping by, Sarah. The sparrows are my favorites too 😉 xxxxxx
Truly amazing!
Yes. Old cement walls become art 🙂
i find this
memorable, inese 🙂
Thank you! Many ugly walls became beautiful in a couple of hours 🙂
They’re all fantastic Inese, but I love the foxes in the underpass – gorgeous.
I love them too, Andrea. I am surprised with the artist’s choice of wall. It is covered with windows and doors.
The archway is a cool place. It has always been painted in bright colors, even before the murals. It was so natural to fill it with art. This is one of the places usually repainted every year.
Engaging and mesmerizing public art.
I checked out their Instagram accounts – they are so prolific traveling around the world, bringing joy.
Wonderful art! I was here earlier today and couldn’t decide which one I like best… Then came back now and still can’t decide! Although I AM loving the many ones of women xx
Thank you for stopping by! There are many women muralists, and they often paint women. I love it 🙂 Also there is a guy ( he didn’t come this year) who only paints women in his compositions xx
I wonder how they get so many international artists to come to do paintings. I can’t imagine they’re all getting paid the big bucks. You guys must be doing something right.
Dave I don’t know about ‘paid’, but sure there is a sponsorship to cover the materials and provide the machinery. All of this must be awful expensive, especially for a large works. Here is their website. The sponsors should be listed there.
https://waterfordwalls.ie/
I know that the Ambassador of France is a sponsor of the French artists. I have also seen the names of some private sponsors painted under the artwork.
The Murals are breathtaking. 🙂
They make the town look good 🙂
Yes! We have some new murals around our place… Must remember to take pictures. 🙂
Do. Sometimes they got vandalized or painted over. The most short-living kind of art.
Inese – the building art blogs are some of my very favorites blogs you have done. Love the images – wish I could get there to seem them first-hand!
I adore them too, especially the biggest ones 🙂
Amazing work, many thanks for sharing
You based in Waterford?
They are all stunning! Thanks for sharing – we didn’t have to walk for two hours to see them. it was sad to see that the bird was not after fish but plastic!
Yes, that mural is the saddest. I only noticed the plastic when I came closer.