Where’s Waldo?

That’s a question a lot of Boulder residents are asking after paintings of the iconic children’s book character has popped up in recent weeks along trails, roads and on the walls of local businesses.

But what many people described as good clean fun may be short lived, as the city plans to take action to have all the Waldos removed.

British illustrator Martin Handford created the popular children’s book series, “Where’s Waldo?” in the late 1980s. The books feature hundreds of characters drawn together in brightly-colored illustrations that hide a single Waldo among them for readers to find.

So far, at least seven Waldo paintings have been spotted around Boulder, including:

On the Diagonal Plaza shopping center at 2850 Iris Ave.;

Above the Brewing Market coffee shop at 2525 Arapahoe Ave.;

On a brick wall along the Boulder Creek Trail;

On the wall next to a culvert along the Boulder Creek Trail near Potts Field;

On a fence along Foothills Parkway;

On the back wall of the Goodwill store at 2486 Baseline Road;

And on the top floor of the ARHAUS furniture store at 1755 29th St.

The images, which appear to be spray painted using a template, all feature Waldo carrying a walking cane and wearing his classic round-rimmed glasses and red and white stripped shirt.

Many business owners and passers-by have come to appreciate the work of the mystery artist.

“I think it’s cool,” said Paul Gonzales, owner of Environmental Cleaners at the Diagonal Plaza.

Gonzales said he noticed the large Waldo figure next to the sign on the shopping center’s main entrance several weeks ago. Since then, customers have talked about it, but no one has complained.

“It’s friendly and it’s done in good taste,” Gonzales said.

Larry Burnett, who owns the mini-mall at the Diagonal Plaza, said he’s content to leave the character alone.

“I’m enjoying it,” he said. “I normally deal with graffiti immediately, but I don’t mind that.”

The Waldo on top of the Brewing Market, on the south wall of the second story of McGuckin Hardware, has also become something of a tourist destination, said McGuckin president Barry Hight.

“People stop and take pictures of it,” Hight said. “Kids like it.”

In addition to staying true to the original Waldo image, the artist also appears to be keeping with the spirit of hiding Waldo in tough-to-spot locations.

The Waldo painted on top of the Brewing Market, for example, can only be seen from far back in the parking lot. The one on ARHAUS furniture was painted on the top level of the building where it could only be spotted from across the street.

Tyler Kane, who was serving up coffees at the Brewing Market on Monday, said he likes the apparent game — and the lengths that the artist is going to.

“I just love it,” he said. “I’m so glad it’s there.”

Paulajane Moffitt, the property manager for The Village Shopping Center, said she’s content to call the painting above the coffee shop art rather than graffiti.

“I kind of like it,” she said. “It’s well done.”

But, apparently, not everyone agrees.

Jody Jacobson, a city spokeswoman, said that a city maintenance crew on Monday morning spotted a fresh Waldo on Foothills Parkway. It was painted over almost immediately.

She said the city now plans to send letters to the businesses that still have the paintings, asking them to remove the Waldos within three days. If the businesses don’t comply, the owners could be ticketed.

Jacobson said the city has not received any complaints about the paintings and officials were not aware of the extent of the paintings until Monday. But, she said, the city has a responsibility to remove unsanctioned images.

“If it’s illegal graffiti, we have to abide with the laws that are in place,” she said.

However, Jacobson said, the city would be willing to “have a conversation” with any business that is interested in keeping the paintings.

“We recognize there may be some whimsical artwork nature to all of this,” she said.

One person called Boulder police in April to report the Waldo on the ARHAUS furniture store shortly before it was painted over.

That’s the only formal complaint about the Waldos so far, said police spokeswoman Kim Kobel.

Kobel said authorities are not actively investigating the rogue Waldo artist because police have no suspect information to go off of.

“Unless we get a good tip … it’s really hard to find these people,” she said.

But if the artist were to be caught in the act, she added, he or she could face charges of trespassing and criminal mischief.

Contact Camera Staff Writer Heath Urie at 303-473-1328 or urieh@dailycamera.com.