POSTED!
Assisted by Amy Sass
2025 Street Wise Mural Festival
Location: West facing wall of Nick-N-Willy's Pizza, 801 Pearl St Boulder, CO 80302
Photos by Jeff Goldberg and Amy Sass
Inspired by childhood road trips across the American South, Graham Carraway reveals his tongue-in-cheek sensibility in his mural for #2025SWMF.
The artist spent much of his childhood in south Mississippi helping his grandfather staple “No Trespassing" signs. “I vividly remember the ‘POSTED!’ lettering at the top,” he recalls.
Previously, a window filled the central portion of this wall, since removed by the owner. Graham incorporated the silhouette of the window, transforming it into his own version of a posted sign. However, the artist turns the normally threatening signage into a tongue-in-cheek statement commanding the viewer to “Have a Nice Day" rather than the typical “No Trespassing!” The artist employs a vintage Western typeface in blue and black, contrasting with the menacing red “Posted!” Graham turns a normally aggressive warning into something joyful, causing the viewer to slow down to take in his mural.
Surrounding his sign, Graham paints a stylized group of poppies growing tall around the central sign. The flowers grow from long thin stems and boast delicate paper-thin petals that create cup-shaped blooms, prominently displaying their seed pods. Poppy blooms are often found in rich colors; here, the artist renders the flower in a vibrant teal blue.
Poppies symbolize joy, creativity, and dreams as well as remembrance, often serving as inspiration for artists. Ancient Sumerians referred to the flower as the “joy plant” (due to its mind-altering effects). Poppies became a symbol of remembrance and honor when red poppies spontaneously bloomed across the battlefields of Belgium after World War I. These perennials thrive in disturbed soil, growing in surprising places like roadsides or cracks in the sidewalk.
The enthusiastic self-seeders may appear in the least likely of places, just like Graham’s joyful “POSTED!”
About the Artist:
Graham Carraway is a Denver-based multimedia artist working across murals, printmaking, and sculpture fabrication. With a background in sign painting and typography, his work often weaves together elements of history, nature, and community into bold, site-specific designs. Through J. Graham Studios, he creates public artworks that celebrate place, spark connection, and bring creativity into shared spaces.