Graffiti Cover Up paint is specifically formulated for blocking out graffiti on exterior surfaces. Sherwin Williams sells the water-based flat paint in five gallon buckets. There must be many companies making the product because the colors, all in the reduced palette family of grey, never quite match each other or the brutalist concrete structures they are applied on.
The paintings are obviously done with a roller and the strokes are applied confidently. I find the shapes expressive and suggestive of forms.
They are often animated and in dialog with one another like these two in downtown Rochester.
The work above, under Highway 101 in Sausalito, is sensational although it has probably changed since we were there in 2025.
The colors on this wall, in the white cube gallery of Olmstead’s Seneca Park, are particularly striking. The paintings in all of these photos, created by anonymous public works employees looks more interesting this painting we saw in Chelsea.
The perfect graffiti for these is for you to go around and sign each one with a big marker.
Just yesterday, I was driving on 490 through the city. I noticed similar graffiti cover-up paint jobs on neighborhood sound barrier walls. They all had a beige-on-beige look. None were as interesting as your photos, although I was driving 55-ish mph.