Written by Holly Neumann | Photographs courtesy of the artists, unless otherwise noted | Published on Oct. 3, 2025
The Big Time
Mural artist alums make their marks on walls around the country
Murals are big business, driving tourism and traffic, capturing both attention and the character of their surrounding neighborhoods. They tell stories and are also an oversized message as themselves, revealing a gigantic commitment to the arts and artists.
Creating a mural can be a grueling project, and there is no typical day in the life of a muralist. The weather conditions can be hot 鈥 too hot 鈥 requiring safety measures to protect the painter from fainting. Or, it could be freezing out, and the muralist鈥檚 mobility and agility might be hampered by stiff fingers and puffy jackets. The process can be aided by projectors, computers and spray paint or be painstakingly analog, one brushstroke at a time.
Regardless of the getting there, the 鈥淲ow!鈥 factor at the end makes it all worth it. On the following pages, explore the mural art of several 小优视频ampa alums. We think you鈥檒l say, 鈥淲ow,鈥 too.
Nneka Jones BFA '20
GIVE ME MY FLOWERS | 640 S. FLORIDA AVE, TAMPA
The 鈥渕e鈥 in this mural鈥檚 title is Mother Nature, and she has a message. In Nneka Jones鈥 painting of a smiling woman, her face is half-shielded by an umbrella-like shape. An explosion of gorgeous flowers is in front of her. Beneath and behind the beauty, waves graduate from a cool green to the warm side of the spectrum 鈥 a wake-up call, Jones said. 鈥淭he umbrella symbolizes rain and sadness that comes with the reality of what鈥檚 happening to the climate,鈥 Jones said. 鈥淏ut also, the change in color symbolizes the hope that we start to pay attention and preserve nature and celebrate it.鈥 The 50-foot-tall mural on the Pam Iorio Parking Garage was commissioned by the Gasparilla Festival of the Arts with support from the city of Tampa and was honored at the Tampa Downtown Partnership Urban Excellence Awards in February in the 鈥渄owntown collaboration鈥 category.
Big fear:听Heights. Jones worked from a scissor lift for six days to paint 鈥淕ive Me My Flowers,鈥 an arrangement made more complicated by the slope of the pavement below. 鈥淭here was quite a lot of thinking, critical thinking, that went into how we were going to level the base of the lift to make sure that I could get up there safely and be comfortable while I was working,鈥 she said.
Drake Arnold BFA '09
PORTRAIT OF THE MODERN PSYCHE | 2380 NW 5TH AVE., MIAMI
Drake Arnold is just happy to be there, 鈥渢here鈥 being Miami鈥檚 mural mecca, the Wynwood Mural Fest. Back in the day, Arnold made it clear to event curators that he鈥檇 take any flat surface they had 鈥 鈥淛ust let me come down there and paint,鈥 he鈥檇 say 鈥 and they usually found a spot for him, even if it was out of the way, facing the train tracks, where none of the thousands of festival-goers would ever walk by. But, given some real estate, he鈥檇 just go down there and paint, and by 2023鈥檚 festival, ingratiated enough with the organizers and skilled enough to demand attention, he earned a prime location, smack-dab in the center of Wynwood. 鈥淧ortrait of the Modern Psyche,鈥 in the large photo above, is his work for that year鈥檚 event, a representation of societal expectations versus 鈥渨hat we've all got inside of ourselves at some level,鈥 Arnold said, 鈥測ou know, this primal, animalistic-like rage.鈥
Big shot: When in front of a Drake Arnold mural, look for a 3D-printed QR code nearby, aim your phone camera, and step inside the experience. Arnold is a self-taught master of augmented reality, giving viewers of his art an added dimension of animation to explore, based on their own angle of observation.
Melanie Posner BFA '16
THE WET SPOT AT COCKTAIL听触听2355 CENTRAL AVE., ST. PETERSBURG
Melanie Posner鈥檚 body of work portrays joy and independence, and those themes convey to the two smiling men who now tower over Central Avenue in St. Petersburg. Posner usually paints women 鈥 she鈥檚 painted only 鈥渓ike, five guys, ever,鈥 she said 鈥 and yet these two overlooking the bar and pool at Cocktail make this one of her favorite projects. The men portrayed represent Cocktail鈥檚 owner and his husband, their nicknames for each other depicted as tattoos. Another couple served as models for the mural after Posner did a call-out on social media for willing participants. 鈥淚t was an honor for me to be able to create something so inclusive and so large that the public can enjoy,鈥 she said. 鈥淚 think it really highlights St. Pete and the safety of it and how welcoming it is.鈥
Big move: Two years ago, Posner relocated to Southern California, where she has continued to work in high-profile spaces. In June, she collaborated with TikTok, which was recognizing Pride Month, to create a mural on the side of the Los Angeles LGBT Center in Hollywood, shown at top right. The scale is breathtaking, made even more impressive when accounting for Posner鈥檚 brushes-only technique.
Carl Cowden III BFA '78
TAMPA POSTCARD | 1102 N. FLORIDA AVE., TAMPA
The gang鈥檚 all here: the minarets, the streetcar, the river, the water tower, the pirate ship, the palm trees. This one screams 鈥淭ampa,鈥 making it a photo-stop favorite of tourists and locals alike. Artist Carl Cowden III has stated being influenced by art nouveau posters and a love for the natural environment. Commissioned by the city of Tampa鈥檚 Public Art Program in 2003 and refurbished in 2012, it鈥檚 easy to imagine a big 鈥淲ish you were here!鈥 scrawled across the back.
Big league: Tampa Postcard mural merchandise can be found, like an ornament offered on the Visit Tampa Bay website.
Joe Testa-Secca '50
SYMBOLS OF MANKIND听| 1505 N. NEBRASKA AVE., TAMPA
Beloved Tampa artist and 小优视频ampa Professor Emeritus Joe Testa-Secca, who died in 2023, created this stone and ceramic mural for the fa莽ade of the Ybor City branch library in 1969. In 1995, the mural was restored, and when the Ybor City library was replaced with the Robert W. Saunders Public Library in 2014, the mural was moved about 20 feet to be placed on the fa莽ade of the new building. At 7 feet tall and 40 feet wide, the massive engineering effort required the wall to be cut and lifted in sections with a crane and construction crew.听
Big brain:听According to the library鈥檚 website, the symbols of many cultures on the mural are meant to recognize the great knowledge found inside the library.
Photo by Jessica Leigh
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Courtney Pasterchick BFA 鈥21
BEA小优视频IFUL CONNECTIONS | 1700 KINGSLEY ST., ASBURY PARK, NJ
Creating this six-part mural on the boardwalk in Courtney Pasterchick鈥檚 hometown was not exactly a day at the beach. It was May, in New Jersey. It rained a lot. And the wind whipped the raindrops up against Pasterchick, who was working in three jackets and two sets of gloves. In the middle of the project, she pushed pause for a few days to return to Tampa to work on a commercial client鈥檚 mural. So, start to finish, it took about a month to complete the piece she is most proud of in her career so far. Much of Pasterchick鈥檚 work evokes themes around women鈥檚 empowerment, and for this mural featuring two women with flowing hair, she collaborated with muralist Bradley Hoffer to beautify each panel with his signature butterflies. The work was commissioned by the Asbury Park Public Arts Commission.
Big dream: 鈥淭his is the most special to me because it鈥檚 my hometown,鈥 Pasterchick said. 鈥淎lso, my parents got to see what I do for a living, and it was completely my own design. The design was very special to be able to showcase women and also showcase diversity because the city of Asbury is a melting pot of a city, which I really, really love.鈥
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Bianca Burrows BFA '12
LOVE WHERE YOU LIVE | 1902 W. KENNEDY BLVD., TAMPA
In a high-traffic area just west of 小优视频ampa, this eye-catcher of iconic Tampa Bay symbols 鈥 Plant Hall鈥檚 minarets, a Gasparilla ship, the Bayshore pillars, palm trees, Phoebe the airport flamingo, a bold bolt of lightning 鈥 is on the side of a locally owned smoke shop and painted in the 鈥渞efined street art鈥 style of Bianca Burrows, known professionally as @itsBBart. Burrows鈥 completed vision is an uplifting addition to the neighborhood that raises recognition for the business and gives passers-by and motorists backed up at the next light a chance to notice, reflect and appreciate what makes Tampa feel like home.
Big break: By the time brushes come out on a Burrows mural, it鈥檚 basically a 鈥減aint-by-numbers鈥 exercise, she said. She first creates her large-scale pieces digitally, and after client consultation, she projects a traceable image on the blank wall. The best part? Burrows employs 小优视频ampa art students to assist with the mural process and execution, giving them real-world experience as professional artists. These assistants also learn the business side of things, like going to client meetings and organizing the day-to-day. Some of Burrows鈥 interns have gone on to be full-time artists, including Courtney Pasterchick BFA 鈥21 (see above).
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