Street-art fest makes Eastern Market even more colorful

“Have you ever seen paint like this?” Ryan C. Doyle asked, shaking a spray can. He neatly misted a line of sheer gray paint on a back-alley wall in Eastern Market. “It’s transparent, but there’s a little bit of darkness.”

Doyle, a Minnesota native now residing in Detroit who has exhibited around the world, is one of more than 45 local and national artists commissioned for Murals in the Market, a nine-day authorized street art festival put together by Eastern Market Corp., 1xRUN and Inner State Gallery.

The event officially kicked off Thursday, and on Friday many artists started working in earnest. On Saturday — typically the busiest day at Eastern Market — the public will really start interacting with the works in progress. The festival is putting an exclamation point on the city's status as a beehive of activity for street art, including notable commissioned pieces popping up throughout the downtown, recent criminal charges against high-profile artist Shepard Fairey, and ongoing debates over the value of the art form.

Doyle's work is illustrative of the sort of energy at play in the festival. The left side has a car with two half-painted creatures inside; the middle is a mesh of traffic-related items including a stop sign, a one-way sign and a traffic light. On the right is an outline of a giant dog.

“There’s a black panther and a white tiger hanging out in a concept car,” he said, unrolling a printed version of the final project. “NOTHING STOPS DETROIT” is the theme, and it’s a whirlwind of color, pop art and psychedelic animals.

Doyle pointed to the car on the left side of his mural, where the panther and tiger are just barely finished. “Detroit has so much energy that it’s shooting them out and they’re going for a spin in traffic,” he said. “They’re just a couple of cats being cool, but there are construction and traffic restrictions.”

It’s realism with a twist, but some murals are more fantasized. Right around the corner near Orleans and Adelaide is a collaborative piece from Patch Whisky and Ghost Beard (a Detroit native), two last-minute additions to the festival. Their mural — a highly conceptualized neon wall with two monsters — was almost complete on Friday afternoon.

“This is my signature character,” Whisky said, slightly out of breath. He had been dashing back and forth putting away spray cans. The left monster is his, and it’s shooting a plethora of polychromatic water out of its finger at Ghost Beard’s monster, which appears to be on the run.

Whisky stopped cleaning for a moment to admire his work. “It’s a Monster Awareness Program,” the South Carolina-based artist described with candor. “It’s for people who don’t believe in monsters.”

Across from Shed 2 on Russell Street, Inner State Gallery’s Jonny Alexander was working on a cutaway perspective. “My friends call it ‘psychedelic landscapes,’ ” he said, rolling a seafoam green color on the wall.

On Friday afternoon, he had only two sections done, but Alexander was already covered in paint. “Whenever I make murals, I try to include where I am,” he explained. For this particular piece, he’s paying homage to Eastern Market by depicting items sold in the sheds. He said his style is really colorful, and he’ll be using a combination of earth tones and bright color to make the mural pop.

Most artists like Alexander have received freshly painted black or white walls, most of it on private property that is being used with permission. Some artists are painting directly over existing pieces; Eastern Market has long been a magnet area for Detroit's thriving street-art culture, with painting done in both authorized and unauthorized fashion.

Near Gratiot Central Market, Jeff Soto and Maxx242 were replacing faded artwork with what will soon be pop surreal roses surrounding two skulls and a spray can — adding more spirit to one of Detroit’s liveliest attractions.

When general crowds roll in for Saturday shopping, Murals in the Market organizers are expecting public interaction to pick up for the festival, which kicked off Thursday with an opening artist reception at Detroit City Distillery. The remainder of the event's programming will include workshops, exhibitions and nightlife, including one after-party curated by event producer Paxahau.

“Today is the first day of painting, and we’ve already seen a tremendous amount of support,” said Jesse Cory, CEO of 1xRUN. “Word is getting out about the festival, and people will explore Eastern Market in ways that they might not have in the past.”

Murals in the Market

Through Sept. 26

Event schedule, artists, map and more at www.muralsinthemarket.com

Most elements are free