The Woman With the Green Face is gone – she’s been painted over.

The Head/Heart is gone. The wall it was on came down during construction near the Popular Center in Hato Rey. 

The dinosaur-like Monster Holding Infant/Meal? is gone as well. He once occupied an important wall, visible to anyone on Avenida Ponce de Leon and especially to drivers turning left (south) as they left the city. This is what that prime location looked like then, and now.

The warplane no longer protects the Sagrado Corazon neighborhood. The wall it was on was painted over.

I don’t understand much about the mechanics of Street Art.  I guess I understand that walls in abandoned buildings are considered fair game, and some of the efforts there rise above the level of graffiti. But who pays for the large scale efforts, like the Monster above? That filled a whole wall. The artist must have needed formal access and permission, planning and agreement, scaffolding and materials and time to create the final work. Who paid the artist? Where did the money come from? The owner of the building? If so, why? A city arts grant?  There is much I still have to learn.

Street art is clearly dynamic. If some works disappear, others appear. Here are some recent sightings. They may be new (most likely) or works I hadn’t noticed before.

This mural, on a wall in a small plaza at the end of Calle Tanca, replaces Big Bird. The plaza is a neighborhood meeting place – bars around the plaza sometimes host live music.

The Four Readers are on a shutter along Avenida Ponce de Leon, in Santurce. I suspect the information in the lower right is the artist’s Instagram address but I haven’t checked it out yet.

This couple is on a door near Plazita de Mercado, in Santurce. When I first glanced at it, I thought they were dancing. Now I’m not so sure. Combat boots? It does seem like they are sharing an intimate moment. What do you think?

Finally, a garage door visible from a side street in Old San Juan.

Notes: These are all my images. They have been processed (colors enhanced, etc.) in Adobe Lightroom and/or Photoshop.