Scout for Street Art

My best friend's parents were in town from Charleston SC and we had an amazing time going on Russell's street tour (btw Russell is a South Carolinian too--a wonderful bonding point for our group!) We covered an incredible amount of ground (physically and metaphorically) in 3 hours and Russell is an encyclopedia of knowledge on the changing street art scene in this city. Off-the-beaten path is thrown around a lot, and my first instinct is to say, don't believe it, especially if it's used to refer to the Mission. Well, I stand corrected. Russell took us off-the-beaten path in the most trodden, buzzed, blogged about, instagrammed neighborhood of SF. This is an amazing experience for a visitor or native San Franciscan--Russell will open your eyes to a whole new world within our 7x7 mile town. Be prepared to have your mind blown.

We just returned from San Francisco where one of the highlights was the street art tour we did with Russell - despite the drizzle that day. Communication with Russell via Vayable was easy and he was very flexible about date and time and number of participants. We met him with his bike in front of a cafe and after a brief introduction to San Francisco's history he took us through the streets of the Mission district and showed us a vast selection of different types of murals and graffiti, which we would not have found on our own and definitely not within the limited time we had available. Our favorites were the Edificio de Mujeres and the large black and white Santana mural ... AMAZING ! Russell was super friendly and easy going. Thank you, Russell !

What is so special about Russell's tour is that, afterwards, you are so much more aware of what is around you on the streets of San Francisco - you just see more! His stories about the artists and the 'scene' are fascinating and involve you in a world that is new and hip and compelling. I can't wait to do the tour again - he has so much knowledge to share. Thanks, Russell!

Linda V (guest Nancy F) I can't tell you how much I enjoyed yesterday and how enlightening the walk was.... I was a fish out of water when it came to street graffiti, stickers and stencils. I have a new appreciation, eye and lingo. I don't think I would ever have done that tour if it weren't for you and since public art it is overtaking the Mission, I have come to realize it has a place in our culture. It is truly a growing art form and I thank you for introducing it to us.

INCREDIBLE TOUR, AWESOME GUIDE! But first, a little background: As an old skool raver (think flyer art), and for other reasons, I have always loved graffiti & murals, with a large collection of photos I have taken all over the world. I knew next to nothing about the artists, history, inside meanings, etc. and only recognized one of the artist names rattled off by Russell throughout the tour (guess who... it starts with a B) ... However, I had my mind blown by the beauty and humor of most of the pieces we saw! San Francisco is probably home to the coolest, most mindbending street art in the world, and I have lived here for 2.5 years, but I was still gasping with awe every 15 minutes or so at a hidden gem, or one I just never walked by. And our guide was PERFECT. A true veteran of the scene and artist himself, he was clear and detailed, incredibly knowledgeable (yet never making shit up the 2 occasions he didn't know something), warm and humorous, and sharing the same contagious passion about street art as me. We could have talked for 3 more hours after the 3 hour tour but unfortunately he had another one lined up at 4pm. He left us with lots of great resources (of all different kinds of media) to continue our own research and urban art-hunting... Opened up a really sweet Pandora's box of brain candy that I look forward to exploring. Worth every dollar. 5 stars out of 5 : )