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Tampa Bay artist Eric Hornsby completes new mural at Gasparilla Music Foundation headquarters

Hornsby’s GMF mural features a red-winged blackbird perched on the neck of a guitar and more.

By Ray Roa on Wed, Oct 25, 2023 at 1:23 pm

Photo via hornsbygator/Facebook

Eric Hornsby’s GMF mural features a red-winged blackbird perched on the neck of a guitar, a Florida panther on keys, a tree frog latched onto a microphone, an owl on sax, a fox on drums, and an alligator working the turntables.

Graffiti artist and Tampa Bay Fresh Fest co-founder Eric “Esh” Hornsby wrapped on a new mural on the side of Gasparilla Music Foundation (GMF) headquarters in Tampa last summer, just as Creative Loafing Tampa Bay shipped a list of Tampa Bay's must-see murals slideshow.

GMF Executive Director David Cox commissioned Hornsby to complete the mural after seeing Hornsby’s alligator on the side of Muay Thai in Tampa Heights. “He got my number somehow and just gave me a call,” Hornsby told CL.

In terms of creative direction, Hornsby says it was “all pretty fast and loose.” They kicked around a few ideas—a hurricane, an alligator, musical instruments. From these suggestions, Hornsby proposed a Florida swamp full of Florida critters doing Florida things, but with musical instruments. From there, Hornsby had 15 days to complete the project, painting from the top down over corrugated metal and around windows.

“It was a challenging wall,” Hornsby told CL. “And it was 100 million degrees out. So I would get up super early. I’d drive over there and paint until it got unbearably hot, usually around 11:30 a.m. or 1 p.m. Then I’d go back home. And when I’d go home, I would draw the studies of each animal. I would design at home and come back for a night shift around five or six and work ‘til dark.”

Hornsby’s GMF mural features a red-winged blackbird perched on the neck of a guitar, a Florida panther on keys, a tree frog latched onto a microphone, an owl on sax, a fox on drums, and an alligator working the turntables. Hornsby’s Florida swamp band plays under a Tampa skyline at sunset.

This isn’t the first music-themed mural Hornsby’s created in Tampa. He cites work at Showbar in Ybor City, the Straz Center, and a music studio in Lakeland. For artists like Hornsby, graffiti and music are linked through hip-hop culture. “The four elements of hip-hop are the rapper, the DJ, the break dance or B-boying, and graffiti,” Hornsby told CL.

It all originated in New York City’s Black and Latino neighborhoods in the late 1960s. Through his Florida swamp band, Hornsby brings that history to life locally at GMF headquarters, which is at 1723 W Cypress St in, Tampa.

Slideshow

Tampa Bay's must-see murals, and the stories behind them

MJ Lindo and Joshua Lawyer’s “After a While” sends a gator walking down Clearwater’s Franklin Street710 Franklin St., ClearwaterMJ Lindo and Joshua Lawyer’s “After a While” is fun to look at when it’s not moving. But view it in augmented reality via ARTours Clearwater app, and suddenly that gator walks and talks.Screenshot of Artours app by Jennifer Ring

DAAS’ “Ikebana” honors Clearwater’s sister city710 Franklin St., ClearwaterDaas’ “Ikebana” is a colorful nod to Clearwater’s sister city—Nagano, Japan. Ikebana is the Japanese art of arranging flowers. And Daas (stylized “DAAS”) did a gorgeous job arranging flowers on the flip side of the building at 710 Franklin St. in downtown Clearwater. View them in augmented reality via ARTours Clearwater app, and the lilies bloom before your eyes.Screenshot of Artours app by Jennifer Ring

Shark Toof provides one of St. Pete’s best selfie opportunities687 Central Ave. N, St. PetersburgLos Angeles-based graffiti artist Shark Toof created one of St. Petersburg’s most iconic and photographed murals in 2015’s inaugural Shine festival (stylized “SHINE”). Have you really been to St. Pete if you haven’t visited the bright red wall on the side of the old State Theatre (now Floridian Social), stood inside the shark’s mouth, and snapped a selfie?Photo via cityofstpete/Flickr

Local artists remember Bill ‘Woo’ Correia on Central Avenue’s 600 block2180 4th St., St. PetersburgTampa Bay artist and gallery owner Bill “Woo” Correira died at 43 after a five-year battle with brain cancer. But he lives on in the alley behind Central Avenue’s 600 Block, where local artists painted a “Woomorial” to honor their late friend.“The night that he passed away is when myself and Christian Thomas and other awesome local artists went out and started painting his portrait on the side,” Donnelly told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay. “The whole idea was to honor him like Biggie Smalls in Brooklyn.”Woo was known for his paintings of fish.“We had other artists come out and paint fish and aquatic life around him to try and commemorate his life’s work…” Donnelly told CL. “Last I checked, it was 40-45 different artists who contributed to that wall by painting some sort of fish on there to commemorate Bill in some way.”The mural was a game-changer for Donnelly, who went from painting children’s nurseries, pop art, and pet portraits in 2010-2012 to getting enough mural commissions to become a full-time muralist.“The Woo mural really propelled everything,” Donnelly told CL. “It got a lot of attention, and then I was able to actually have something to take to local businesses and say, ‘Hey look, we can do something like this on your wall.’”Photo via Things That Make You Go Woo/Facebook

For the Love of This City is a love letter to Tampa’s OG neighborhoods1001 N Florida Ave., TampaIf Seminole Heights had an official mural, it would be Illsol and Michelle Sawyer’s “For the Love of This City” on the side of The Portico in downtown Tampa. All of Tampa’s original neighborhoods are represented in this, now iconic, mural. There’s a rooster for Ybor City, a two-headed alligator for Seminole Heights, and a star and halo for West Tampa around the rooster’s head.Photo by Illsol/Michelle Sawyer

Café Hey mural remembers Tampa Heights’ history1540 N Franklin St., TampaTony Krol fondly remembers the Tampa Heights mural as the first large-scale mural he completed with Michelle Sawyer in 2015. The mural reflects Tampa Heights' history in the hands of its workers, in its old streetcars, and in the words of Tampa Heights newspaperman William Benton HendersonPhoto via Illsol/Michelle Sawyer

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About The Author

Ray Roa

Read his 2016 intro letter and disclosures from 2022 and 2021. Ray Roa started freelancing for Creative Loafing Tampa in January 2011 and was hired as music editor in August 2016. He became Editor-In-Chief in August 2019. Past work can be seen at Suburban Apologist, Tampa Bay Times, Consequence of Sound and The...

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