Snap! Artists at Work

Last Thursday, I posted some photos from a recent trip to tour the murals in San Francisco's Mission District. For today's Snap!, I'm posting four photos that form a photo essay about the artists working on the murals. We noticed some artists at work in one of the alleys, and my friend Lane suggested we go talk to them. I asked one of them if I could take his picture. He said sure. Then turned around and said, "Professor Ontiveros, is that you?" It turns out he's one of my former students! Lane snapped this photo of us:

Needless to say, I was totally surprised! It took me a while to recognize him because he was out of place, know what I mean? Anyway, it was interesting to talk with him about his art. He's been painting street murals since he was a kid and on this beautiful sunny day, he just decided that he couldn't stay in the library anymore and decided to head to the alleys to paint. He met the alley owner several years ago when they did a mural painting benefit fundraiser to fight cancer. The alley owner invited him to return anytime he wanted.  My favorite photo in my collage is the paint kit (which includes, uh, liquid refreshment!). My friend Lane who toured the murals with me is also quite a photographer. He took this great portrait of another one of the artists:

Lane had the advantage of carrying his big camera, while I was shooting with my iphone. But I am still happy with my Snap! (a group of four photos that tell a story). For other Snap! groupings, check out Helena's blog.