At the corner of 24th Street and Potrero Avenue is a Walgreens distinct from any other of the chain’s drugstores in San Francisco. The difference? A bright multi-colored 15-foot-tall mural that wraps around the exterior of the building. It features bright blue houses with dark shadows, thin trees in soft autumn colors and clear bright colorful skies — a Neil G. Ballard original.
Ballard began his project, titled “Evening Trees,” on Sept. 3. He was inspired by the tall, skinny eucalyptus trees on the median strip of Potrero Avenue and the houses of the Mission District.
“I want people to get a sense of joy and happiness from the colors on the wall,” Ballard said, referring to the juxtaposition of bright and dark colors. “I want it to invoke a certain kind of emotion beyond that, a mix of optimism and happiness with a touch of melancholy. The right balance of wistfulness and hopefulness.”
-
“Evening Trees,” a mural by Neil G. Ballard. Photo by Emmanuel Fonseca. -
Neil G. Ballard poses for a picture while painting his “Evening Trees” mural. Courtesy photo from Neil G. Ballard. -
Neil G. Ballard working on his “Evening Trees” mural on Sept. 23, 2024. Photo by Emmanuel Fonseca. -
Neil G. Ballrad and Nathaniel J. Bice pose for a picture in front of Neil’s “Evening Trees” mural. Photo by Emmanuel Fonseca.
Ballard is one of Mission Local’s illustrators and has been busy capturing the likenesses of mayoral and supervisorial candidates. The 34 year-old, who was born in Santa Cruz and grew up in Oregon and Ireland, has lived in San Francisco for 15 years and has been painting murals on its buildings for four years.
And he’s kept busy: His recent work, “Ocean Avenue Landmarks,” located at a Walgreens on Ocean and Faxon Avenues and completed in March, features likenesses of several notable sites in the Ingleside neighborhood. The mural follows a similar theme to his “Evening Trees” design with bright bold colors to depict the Ingleside cityscape. Various architectural landmarks are featured such as the historic former El Rey Theatre, the Ingleside Sundial, St. Emydius Catholic Church, Beep’s Burgers and more.
The choice of warmer, brighter colors allow for the landmarks in the mural to emerge from behind the darker color wave in the background. Ballard has been an active resident of the Ingleside area since 2013, and worked on two murals in the neighborhood.
His first big mural on a commercial building was in 2021 and sits across the street from his “Ocean Avenue Landmarks” mural at an auto shop, Faxon Garage. The finished product: A large detailed landscape of dark green trees and bright blue mountains that he calls, “The Natural World.” It covers the entirety of the garage doors.
“I wanted to do something different from what the business was day to day.” Ballard said. “The message I wanted to communicate with this mural is a willingness to consider the things that are maybe not so obvious. Something to remind us of the nature we are a part of. It’s nice to contrast something urban and everyday with nature.”
In August, Ballard renovated another neighborhood landmark giving a fresh coat of paint to the iconic Beep’s Burgers neon sign on Ocean Avenue. “The artistic challenge was to keep the design the same and replicate it.” Ballard said. “It has always been a dream of mine to repaint the sign.”
In addition to fully doing the project himself he also managed it. He reached out to a welder who fixed the rust on the sign and replaced it with a new piece of metal. Ballard also coordinated with a neon specialist who repaired the old neon tubing.
Ballard’s fondness for neighborhood structures goes back years. He has always had a keen interest in housing, architecture, and trees, he said. These are all elements that appear in a lot of his work. He credits many of his artistic choices to the places in which he grew up.
“Comparing Santa Cruz and Northern California to Oregon, it’s a totally different color palette. That really affected me early on and sort of stuck with me throughout life,” Ballard said. “In California the green of trees has a much more yellow cast to it and in Oregon there’s more of a blue to the green of trees. Painting these evokes those memories for me on a more personal level.”
Ballard started his freelance art career in 2020, but has been drawing since his early 20s. Before 2020 he worked for the Ocean Avenue Association for several years, a nonprofit located in Ingleside that focuses on cleaning, maintenance, and streetscape improvements.
Early on, Ballard published cover and advertisement illustrations in The Ingleside Light. A regular series of comics called “Illustrated Ingleside,” ran from 2015-2019 and featured stories looking at the history of housing in Ingleside and current housing issues.
Fans of the comics told Ballard that they would clip and put it on their fridge. I was “very pleased to hear that,” he said.
He also produced a comic strip for the Ocean Ale House that was sent out in the businesses’ newsletter.
Nearing the completion of his most recent project on Potrero and 24th in the Mission Ballard’s mural was vandalized with white graffiti markings.
-
Graffiti marks on Ballard’s “Evening Trees” mural just days before its completion on Sept. 26, 2024. Courtesy photo from Neil G. Ballard. -
Graffiti marks on Ballard’s “Evening Trees” mural just days before its completion on Sept. 26, 2024. Courtesy photo from Neil G. Ballard. -
Neil G. Ballard’s “Evening Trees” mural retouched after being vandalized on Sept. 26, 2024. Courtesy photo from Neil G. Ballard.
It was a downer for the artist to see this happen so soon; he was, literally, getting ready to sign his name to the completed project. But murals being defaced is hardly uncommon, and he was prepared. Ballard cleaned the graffiti within a couple of hours. He has since applied an anti-graffiti coating on the mural to prevent further harm.
His next project will be later this month. He can’t reveal too much about it but said, “I am excited for it, it’s going to be a fun one.”
About the author
Neil Ballard brightens 24th and Potrero with another mural
Sign up below to get Mission Local’s free newsletter, a daily digest of news you won’t find elsewhere. At the corner of 24th Street and Potrero Avenue is a Walgreens distinct from any other of the chain’s drugstores in San Francisco. The difference? A bright multi-colored 15-foot-tall mural that wraps around the exterior of the building. It features bright blue houses with dark shadows, thin trees in soft autumn colors and clear bright colorful skies — a Neil G. Ballard original. Ballard began his project, titled “Evening Trees,” on Sept. 3. He was inspired by the tall, skinny eucalyptus trees on the median strip of Potrero Avenue and the houses of the Mission District. “I want people to get a sense of joy and happiness from the colors on the wall,” Ballard said, referring to the juxtaposition of bright and dark colors. […]
Why is this Idaho high-mountain lake drying up? Sadly, it’s likely a familiar culprit
My friends and I optimistically but naively brought our fly fishing gear on a backpacking trip into the White Clouds at the end of September.We’ve been looking for more out-of-the-way places that might be a little farther from Boise, with maybe a little harder hike to get away from the madding crowds.Ocalkens Lakes seemed to fit the bill: The trailhead is about 27 miles east of Stanley, and the hike was about 4.5 miles, with a 2,000-foot elevation gain up to Ocalkens Lake #2 at 9,200 feet.Just what we were looking for.Until we got there.We were shocked and disappointed to find Ocalkens Lake #2 was nearly dry.Some water still sat a couple of inches deep, but we were able to walk across the muddy lake bed to the other side.Certainly no fishing there.We were able to find Ocalkens Lake #1 […]
The Top 20 Probiotic Foods To Help Your Gut
If you want to improve your health and well-being, one of the best things you can do is to eat more probiotic foods and drinks. Probiotic foods and drinks contain live, beneficial microorganisms, including bacteria and yeast, that can help balance your gut flora and support your digestive system. Below you’ll find the top 20 probiotic foods that you can easily incorporate into your diet. Did you know probiotics can also boost your immune system, improve your mood, and may decrease to a lower risk of certain diseases? (1) But how do probiotics work? What are the benefits of probiotics for your brain and body? And what are the best probiotic foods and drinks to try? Keep reading to find out! What Are Probiotics and How Do They Help Your Gut? Your gut is home to trillions of microorganisms, […]
Call for Farrell to be criminally investigated precedes Farrell presser
Some 45 minutes prior to mayoral candidate Mark Farrell’s press conference announcing his preferred ranked-choice voting strategy, a consortium including three former San Francisco mayors made public a letter calling for Farrell to be criminally investigated. The letter was sent to Attorney General Rob Bonta and DA Brooke Jenkins and signed by former mayors Art Agnos, Willie Brown and Frank Jordan. It was also signed by former City Attorney Louise Renne; former state senator Mark Leno; former supervisor and retired judge Quentin Kopp; former supervisor Angela Alioto; former assistant district attorney and current criminal defense attorney Randy Knox; and veteran Bay Area attorney John Keker. The letter follows reporting by the San Francisco Chronicle and Mission Local regarding the commingling of funds between Farrell’s mayoral campaign committee and a ballot measure committee supporting Proposition D. The arrangement has enabled Farrell to effectively […]
Cramer Congratulates NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA) On Its GPU’s 25-Year Anniversary
We recently published an article titled, 11 Stocks on Jim Cramer’s Radar Right Now. In this article, we are going to take a look at where NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) stands against other stocks on Jim Cramer’s radar right now.In his recent episode of Mad Money, host Jim Cramer focused on the upcoming market events, emphasizing the importance of new consumer price index data alongside a series of reports as the earnings season kicks off.Cramer pointed out that the Labor Department’s nonfarm payroll report revealed significant job growth in September, surpassing expectations. He highlighted the significant rally in stocks on Friday, a response to better-than-expected job creation figures. The U.S. economy added 254,000 jobs in September, significantly exceeding Wall Street’s estimate of 150,000. Additionally, there were upward revisions for the previous two months, with 72,000 more jobs reported for July and […]
Thousands march in Mission on eve of Israel-Gaza anniversary
Thousands of pro-Palestine protesters gathered at 16th and Valencia streets on Sunday to march through the neighborhood commemorating one-year since the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks and Israel’s bombardment and invasion of Gaza that followed. The protest, titled “One year of genocide, one year of resistance,” began at 1 p.m. and snaked through the Mission with demonstrators chanting “Free, free Palestine!” and “Long live the intifada” before ending up at Dolores Park. Pro-Palestinian protesters marching through the Mission on Oct. 6, 2024. Video by Erin Sheridan. At Dolores Park, several speakers took the mic and in a particularly poignant moment, a young woman gave an account from her cousin, who survived an Israeli airstrike. “Without any warning or expectation, I woke up to find myself under the rubble,” said Rawan Eldadah, reading testimony from her cousin Abd AlRahman Rafat Lubbad. Eldadah’s cousin, […]
Related
Call for Farrell to be criminally investigated precedes Farrell presser
Some 45 minutes prior to mayoral candidate Mark Farrell’s press conference announcing his preferred ranked-choice voting strategy, a consortium including three former San Francisco mayors made public a letter calling for Farrell to be criminally investigated. The letter was sent to Attorney General Rob Bonta and DA Brooke Jenkins and signed by former mayors Art Agnos, Willie Brown and Frank Jordan. It was also signed by former City Attorney Louise Renne; former state senator Mark Leno; former supervisor and retired judge Quentin Kopp; former supervisor Angela Alioto; former assistant district attorney and current criminal defense attorney Randy Knox; and veteran Bay Area attorney John Keker. The letter follows reporting by the San Francisco Chronicle and Mission Local regarding the commingling of funds between Farrell’s mayoral campaign committee and a ballot measure committee supporting Proposition D. The arrangement has enabled Farrell to effectively […]
Thousands march in Mission on eve of Israel-Gaza anniversary
Thousands of pro-Palestine protesters gathered at 16th and Valencia streets on Sunday to march through the neighborhood commemorating one-year since the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks and Israel’s bombardment and invasion of Gaza that followed. The protest, titled “One year of genocide, one year of resistance,” began at 1 p.m. and snaked through the Mission with demonstrators chanting “Free, free Palestine!” and “Long live the intifada” before ending up at Dolores Park. Pro-Palestinian protesters marching through the Mission on Oct. 6, 2024. Video by Erin Sheridan. At Dolores Park, several speakers took the mic and in a particularly poignant moment, a young woman gave an account from her cousin, who survived an Israeli airstrike. “Without any warning or expectation, I woke up to find myself under the rubble,” said Rawan Eldadah, reading testimony from her cousin Abd AlRahman Rafat Lubbad. Eldadah’s cousin, […]
Art studio
Art studio Source: missionlocal.org
BART halts San Francisco services on College GameDay at Cal
At around 11 a.m., BART resumed regular services from an earlier “major medical emergency” at the Embarcadero station, which had caused delays systemwide and shut down the Embarcadero station.BART spokesperson Jim Alison confirmed that a person was killed after walking onto a track at the Embarcadero station. Just before 8:30 a.m., a train at the Embarcadero station was stopped and unable to move due to a mechanical issue, starting the disruption. “Within 10 minutes, an individual entered the other track at Embarcadero of their own volition with a train in the vicinity,” a statement from BART read. “A collision may have occurred. This was the major medical emergency.”Alison said that BART then decided to close the Embarcadero station. San Francisco Fire Department workers pushed the disabled train out of the way while emergency workers attended to the individual. Once they declared […]
Mission Street celebrates National Taco Day with a taco tour
Many took a stroll through the Mission on Friday on a taco tour to celebrate National Taco Day. Pollo, carne asada, al pastor, shrimp and other less well-known options such as crispy potato and cochinita pibil were part of a menu that featured 10 local restaurants, each offering their own signature creation.Participants had the option of buying a $17 ticket that included five tacos from any of the participating establishments. For an extra $40 they could also secure a spot in a tour of five restaurants led by Mission Loteria’s creator Luis Quiroz. The 10 participating restaurants: El Rey Taquiza, Al Carajo, Café de Olla, La Corneta, Taqueria Vallarta, Chava’s Restaurant, El Catrachito, Donaji, Frisco Flavor and Casa de la Condesa. Friday’s 2 p.m. lunch tour started with a shrimp taco at La Corneta, a crispy Potato at Casa de la Condesa, a […]
District 1 candidates, almost all parents, discuss school closures
Welcome back to our weekly “Meet the Candidates” series, in which District 1 supervisorial candidates who have filed to run respond to a question in 100 words or fewer. Answers are published each week, but we are also archiving each answer on this page for District 1, to make it easier for voters to browse. San Francisco Unified School District is planning to close and merge selected schools, part of its plan called the Resource Alignment Initiative. But the district has delayed announcing which schools are slated for closure, first until this month and now until after the election. In response to that, Mayor London Breed announced that the city will intervene by sending a team of experts to support the school district and deploying $8.4 million in financial support. We ask candidates this week: What are your thoughts on SFUSD’s Resource […]
Be the first to leave a comment