Archive for the ‘locations’ Category

elicser people under the train tracks

Posted: February 25, 2017 in graffiti and street art, locations, public art
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a long mural by elicser that leads from Monarch Park, through the railway underpass and to the community garden on the other side, pictures of people

If you walk south through Monarch Park this is the view that greets you as you approach the railway underpass.  Elicser has painted a large mural that extends from the park through to the Woodfield Community Rail Garden that is on the other side.  As you walk through the underpass this is what you see:

a green and white GO train passes over a tunnel that provides access between two neighbourhoods. The tunnel has been completely covered by a mural by elicser that shows people going about their everyday outdoor activities

part of a larger mural by elicser in Monarch Park - a cyclist is going fast as he goes downhill

part of a larger mural by elicser in Monarch Park - a large woman's head and many buildings

mural by elicser in the tunnel that is a railway underpass - people walking outside

mural by elicser in the tunnel that is a railway underpass - a girl is painting a large picture of a monarch butterfly on a wall

mural by elicser in the tunnel that is a railway underpass - a couple sits on a bench, a cabin is behind them

mural by elicser in the tunnel that is a railway underpass - a mother and father lead a group of noisy kids on a walk

mural by elicser in the tunnel that is a railway underpass - young people walking, one with earbuds on and one making hand signs

mural by elicser in the tunnel that is a railway underpass - an older man on a motorized scooter, he looks sad, frowning.

a mural by elicser on a railway underpass by the woodfield community rail garden, pictures of people gardening

a mural by elicser on a railway underpass by the woodfield community rail garden that covers all the concrete of the opening. a VIA train passes overhead as a father and daughter stop to watch

It’s February so the community garden is still resting for the winter.  A shed with all four sides painted by Monica on the Moon provides some colour in the meantime.

a small wood shed sits in a community garden. Two sides can be seen, both painted with a mural by MOnica on the Moon. One side is a bright yellow and orange turtle in blue water and the other is a gold and brown bird with its wings open (owl? hawk?) on a bright blue sky background

The path continues…. a slight curve and you’re on Woodfield Road and on your way again.

path through a community garden continues past a large house and then towards a street

standing room only

Posted: February 19, 2017 in locations
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Take one ordinary semi-detached house on an ordinary street in Leslieville…
and add a decoration or two…

the front yard of a semi detached house is full of toys and stuffed animals, signs and flags, and Christmas decorations,

The above photo was taken back in November whereas the one below was taken a couple days ago.  Many, many items are the same.  The biggest change is that there a few more Christmas decorations now large candy canes, another Santa Claus, a couple of angels and an elf or two.

a massive collection of dolls, toys, stuffed animals and decorations fill a front yard of a house

Call it cute. Call it creepy. Call it fun.  Call it fascinating. Call it a mess.

below: Some of the dolls and toys are attached to wooden stakes that stand upright in the yard.

a small smiling doll with her arms up is attached to a wooden stake in the front yard of a house

below: The fence is packed full with toys and dolls and the like, including this creepy clown and ghoulish green faced doll.   The pink Powerpuff girl (Blossom?) looks happy and even Elmo doesn’t seem to mind being behind bars.

peering between the metal bars of a fence is a creepy clown doll and a green faced zombie doll, a string of Christmas lights is across the bottom of the fence

a mickey mouse plastic figure is sitting on a wire fence, his chin is his hand and he's looking upwards, other toys out of focus behind him - circles with happy faces and a couple of frisbees

below: A red candle fence lines the entrance.

frontyard of a house is full of toys and decorations, the front walk is lined by large plastic red candles, the front door is in shadows.

below: The retaining wall is also covered.  Welcome to our Garden, Boston Bruins, more Mickey Mouse, Dora the Explorer, Season Greetings and a frisbee or two or three.

under a metal fence, a retaining wall that is covered with frisbees, plaques with words on them and other plastic bits

I wonder how it all started?  And where is it going?

Shrek is between two snowmen, all plastic toys and decorations, behind the metal bars of a fence, a lot of toys and dolls and stuffed animals behind them.

I wonder what the neighbours think.

a white plastic gnome and a Disney princess are among a large collection of toys in a front yard

a red plastic toy in the foreground, a doll in a purple dress in the background

a plastic Santa Claus, a plastic angel and a pokemon

a stuffed plushie creature is attached to a pole with black electrical tape around his face such that it covers his eyes

a toy flower with a green stem, petals made of pink fabric with white polka dots, red lips and large white and blue sunglasses.

a faded blond doll with blank eyes looks down, she is attached to a wooden stake with black electrical tape

sweet sweat bee

Posted: January 20, 2017 in graffiti and street art, locations
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A few months ago I blogged about a large mural that Nick Sweetman painted on Queen Street East (Riverside Pollinator mural), a mural that featured a large bee.  That mural was actually Sweetman’s second gigantic bee in Toronto.  The first was at Bloor and Howland and it was painted in honour of National Pollinator Week back in June 2016.

large mural of a honey bee on a big pink flower hibiscus, with other yellow flowers growing, also a black skyline of Toronto, a large tee grows in front of the building and a van and a truck are parked close by. Photo taken from across the street.

The buzz of a green sweat bee (Agapostemon), covered in pollen as it fits itself into the center of a bright pink flower.

part of a mural, a large colourful bee covered with pollen, sits or flies in the middle of a big pink flower with pollen covered stamens

below: If you look closely, part of the globe is in its eye.  North America and the top part of South America with the blue of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

close up of a bee's eye in aa mural. A picture of part of the globe is in its eye - north america and the top part of south america.

below: The city of Toronto silhouetted against a  star filled sunset sky.

skyline of Toronto with the CN tower painted as a silhouette on a sunset sky, with some yellow flowers in the foreground of the mural.

part of a larger mural, yellow daisy like flowers growing on a black background with a large yellow, orange and red circle in the background.

ode to a squirrel

Posted: January 12, 2017 in graffiti and street art, locations, nature
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But not just any squirrel.  Toronto has many, many squirrels.  Most of them are black and a few are grey or even a reddish colour.  The rarest squirrels in the city are the albino squirrels.  I’m not sure how many there are but they can most often be seen around Trinity Bellwoods Park.

It is fitting then that this mural is next to the park, in a little lane just north of Queen West that ends at Gore Vale Avenue.  It’s a very large albino squirrel; it looks like it fits comfortably into a lovebot heart.

a large mural on white wall of a red lovebot heart and on the heart is a large albino squirrel (white squirrel) with pinkish eyes and ears.

a nippy morning in Kensington

Posted: January 7, 2017 in graffiti and street art, locations, old buildings, stores
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Hello! “What’s up?”  has become “sup?”  I see.

a small collection of little things on a wall including the word sup? made with white strips of wood. Also the word hello is painted on the wall. Collage includes a large spring, a light bulb and blobs of something orange.

Well, let me show you some of what’s up in Kensington these days.

two hysro poles, one with a lot of signs on it and the other with three horizontal wood sections at the top of it. Signs are a street sign for Kensington Ave in both English and Chinese, a yellow no dumping sign that has been covered in stickers, and a no parking sign. Signs for Chinese businesses are in the background.

  It’s a much quieter place on a nippy winter morning.

below:  Does anyone have an extra jacket they could lend her?  Frostbite isn’t fun.

graffiti on a wood fence, a painting of a bare breasted woman's torso.

below:  It’s Canadian patio weather so it can’t be that cold. Right?

view into a backyard from an alley, some snow on the ground, a Canadian flag is hung on a wall over two brown plastic Muskoka chairs and a small patio table. A string of Christmas lights is above the flag.

below: Loose bricks become loose teeth.  Some guy is trying to hide under the stairs.

street art painting of a face on the side of a building beside a construction site, building is an old house that is empty. face is painted under the marks on the wall where the stairs were, and teeth are loose bricks hanging vertically. a red and purple throw up text graffiti is in front of the painting.

below: Fathom graffiti on the foundations of an old house that has been torn down.
Hot and cold perhaps?

graffiti by Fathom on a brick wall at a construction site, line drawings in black of a man's face, a steaming cup of something hot, and a popsicle. Like hot and cold.

below: Filet of sole

The globe sculpture at Kensington that sits high on a pole. Two of the fish that swim around the globe, one of the fish has a pair of black and red nike shoes with their laces tied together, over the front of the fish.

below: Cool camel with his headless (mindless!?) glittery arm candy.

a mannequin with a camel mask on, wearing sunglasses, with a large ring through it's nose, wearing a robe with a busy pattern in shades of brown, another mannequin that is headless is beside the camel. The second mannequin is wearing a dress covered in shiny sparkly gold sequins.

below: Persian stews and a pink octopus…. what’s in a Persian stew?  If beef stew is beef and rabbit stew is rabbit….   well, I’ll assume that Persian stew isn’t Persians just like Irish stew isn’t Irishes.
I also liked the way that the street art on the open gate merged with the painting on the wall behind.

blog_persian_stew_octopus_graffiti

below: Still meditating with blinking – not distracted by the Christmas balls in front of her face.

mannequin in a window sitting in a yoga position, and covered in painted patterns, multicoloured, gold Christmas balls are hanging from the ceiling around her.

below: I thought that this was a window ornament, like the kid you see as a door knocker.  But when I zoomed in more closely, I found that is was an old curling trophy!

an old weathered curling trophy sits on a window ledge, where it has been tied on. Window behind, reflection of the trophy in the window.

below: A little sparrow doing some people watching, its feathers all puffed up to keep warm.

a little sparrow (bird) sits on a railing outside that is decorated with cedar boughs and red Christmas lights.

below: A woman and a rose in black and white, by bubz

a black and white mural by bubz, grey tones actually, of a woman with long hair and a white rose

below: Outdoor office.  I told you we Canadians were a hardy bunch.

an old office chair with black padded back and seat sits up on a small trash bin made of concrete blocks. A light dusting of snow covers all surfaces

below: Druid and a Christmas tree.

top part of a brick building, two windows, a Christmas tree in one of the windows, the word druid written in yellow spray pain above the windw, a new condo being built in the background
below: Lovebot, grominator, and a poser bunny all together by the rooftops.

blog_lovebot_grominator_poser_bunny

below:  A number of these little paste-ups (the guy in the yellow frame) by t-bonez have sprung up around downtown.   This one is on Augusta.

people walking in Kensington, walking past a wall with a pasteup on it of a man in uniform saluting he's drawn from the waist up and is in a yellow frame.

part of a mural in a Kensington lane of a woman with long dark hair and a white and blue dress, she is standing. In front of her is parked a bike.

below: Taking a snowy walk in the neighbourhood that is protected by Rocky, Colt, and Tum Tum from the 3 Ninjas movies.

looking down a street in Kensington, looking towards Spadina, older brick housses on the street, a group of people walking down the sidewalk, snow on the ground, winter trees, a neighbourhood watch sign that has been altered with a picture of the three boys from the movie 3 Ninjas.

below: Everyone likes Christmas!  Even a stormtrooper….

a mannequin outside a store is dressed in a Star Wars white storm trooper costume with a Santa hat and a T-shirt with the face of a stormtrooper also with a Santa hat. The store is painted yellow and has a bright red door that is open

two t-shirts on display outside a store, both are white and both have heads of famous people wearing Santa hats. One is David Bowie and the other is E.T.

below: More rooftop graffiti.  This time, with new condo development behind.  The old brick buildings with glass monsters popping up behind them – a very familiar site these days.

graffiti on the top of a red brick building, trees in front, a large new condo being built behind.

below: In keeping with the sort of PG rating of this blog, I’ll show this poster as the background!

a woman in pink gloves is taking a picture of a graffiti paste up in a street, taking the photo with her phone

below: The end, no exit. I’ll go no further, except…..

the end of a dead end alley, with graffiti on one of the walls, and a sign that says no exit painted on the wall in white.

to say have a happy New Year and I hope that 2017 is filled with lots of opportunities to walk and explore!

part of a larger mural, black line drawings on white of two smiling faces

Have a blast!

wooden decorations on the upper part of a store, cutouts painted to look like two women sitting on top of rockets as they blast into space

Honest Ed’s waves goodbye

Posted: December 15, 2016 in landmarks, locations
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Someone has redone the signs in Bathurst subway station….
now they look like they belong at Honest Eds store!

sign maker from Honest Eds store has redone some of the signs in Bathurst subway station plus, he has added some Honest Ed type promo signs around the station - the direction sign to subway and to exits.

… and when I came up to street level I discovered that the station has been decorated with Honest Eds type ‘adverts’ complete with awful puns

sign maker from Honest Eds store has redone some of the signs in Bathurst subway station plus, he has added some Honest Ed type promo signs around the station - on the window of the station, Our prices aren't always good but they're fare

…. including word play based on subway station names such as “Turnstiles, now museum, soon you won’t”.  Groan.  Smile.

sign maker from Honest Eds store has redone some of the signs in Bathurst subway station plus, he has added some Honest Ed type promo signs around the station - on the window of the station are two signs, one says Presto no more change-o and the other says Turnstiles now museum soon you won't

below: The main entrance to the station now looks like an Honest Eds window.

sign maker from Honest Eds store has redone some of the signs in Bathurst subway station plus, he has added some Honest Ed type promo signs around the station - on the window of the station, The window beside the main entrance has been covered with fake ads.

below: They aren’t too easy to read in this picture, but the two signs on the left are, first, “Bacon & Eglinton $3.25” and second, “There aren’t any snakes on our tracks, St. Patrick banished them”.   Were you expecting better?  [laughing]

sign maker from Honest Eds store has redone some of the signs in Bathurst subway station plus, he has added some Honest Ed type promo signs around the station - on the window of the station, exterior of station by streetcar and bus loop has four signs in the windows that are puns based on the names of TTC stations.

Nearby is the real Honest Ed’s store, a landmark for many years.  Eighteen months ago, I posted some pictures of the store and at the end of that post I mentioned that the store was scheduled to close at the end of 2016.  Well, the end of 2016 is drawing nigh and Honest Ed’s is slowly winding down.  The decorating of Bathurst Station is part of the good-bye process.

At the moment, the interior of the store is a shadow of its former self.  It is still in business but the goods are getting scarce.  There are definitely still bargains to be had.  I have a new hat that I bought there today, red polar fleece, that set me back 50 cents… plus tax.

interior of Honest Eds store as it gets ready to close down. a bin of lipstick and other makeup. Someone has written the word Riley in pink lipstick on the side of the bin

interior of Honest Eds store as it gets ready to close down. A bin of men's underwear for $4.99

interior of Honest Eds store as it gets ready to close down. The bedding section is being torn apart and dismantled

below: Ed Mirvish and a crowd of shoppers back in the day.
The picture still hangs in one of the many corners of the store.

interior of Honest Eds store as it gets ready to close down. An old picture of Ed Mirvish surrounded by a crowd of people hangs on a wall above a Bell payphone.

interior of Honest Eds store as it gets ready to close down. a few shower curtains on display as well as some checkered tea towels. The rest of the shelves and wall space are empty

interior of Honest Eds store as it gets ready to close down. ladies underwear in a bin for sale, surrounded by empty bins and wall space, lots of mirrors. Yellow caution tape marks off a section of the store that is now closed.

interior of Honest Eds store as it gets ready to close down. a black and white photo of a young woman on a wall beside a convex mirror showing the stairwell. also an ad printed right on the mirror for bradasol lozenges

below: Photo taken from the walkway between the two buildings that make up Honest Ed’s store.  Looking south.

looking down at an icy alley where four people are walking between buildings, sign on building says Honest Eds Annex,

below: From the same vantage point, but looking north.  From here I spotted a new mural.

looking down on an alley, there is a mural along the side of one of the buildings.

below: The mural is a large scale photo montage of people passing by the Bloor Street windows of Honest Ed’s. It catches the reflections of both the window contents and the life on the street.  It is “The Theatre” and it is the creation of Matthew Monteith.

part of a mural in Honest Eds Alley by Matthew Monteith showing people walking past the windows of Honest Ed's store, large scale photo
part of a mural in Honest Eds Alley by Matthew Monteith showing people walking past the windows of Honest Ed's store, large scale photo

part of a mural in Honest Eds Alley by Matthew Monteith showing people walking past the windows of Honest Ed's store, large scale photo

interior of Honest Eds store as it gets ready to close down. an old man with a cane sits on the steps between two sections of the store

Craven Road, north of Gerrard

Posted: December 13, 2016 in locations, public art
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A few weeks ago I posted some pictures of the fence along Craven Road that has been decorated with artwork and old artifacts.  I was south of Gerrard Street when I took the photos.   I didn’t realize at the time that I missed another outdoor gallery on the other side of  Gerrard.  Today I took some pictures of those on display on the north side.   Here they are in no particular order:

below: Looking north up Craven Road along the fence.
That tropical sunset on the left looks very inviting!

small amateur paintings displayed on a wood fence, with trees and houses in the background, snowy day, looking down the length of most of the gallery, small pile of snow against the fence, painting in the foreground is warm Caribbean sun on beach with palm tree, Craven Road

small amateur paintings displayed on a wood fence, with trees and houses in the background, snowy day, an evergreen bough hangs over the top of the fence, above a painting of trees in a forest in winter, low sun, and long blue shadows.

small amateur paintings displayed on a wood fence, with trees and houses in the background, snowy day, Craven Road in Toronto, two paintings of black trees (no leaves) on red, and one grey tree on orange background,

small amateur paintings displayed on a wood fence, with trees and houses in the background, snowy day, a black tree on a blue background. Snow has been blown against the wood fence and some of it has stuck to the fence, Craven Road

below: Some of the paintings are small words in another language and another alphabet.  Can anyone translate for me?

small amateur paintings displayed on a wood fence, with trees and houses in the background, snowy day, four paintings. One black tree on light brown paper, and three small paintings with words in a different language with a different alphabet, Bengali perhaps

small amateur paintings displayed on a wood fence, with trees and houses in the background, snowy day, Craven Road, trees on blue and green background
small amateur paintings displayed on a wood fence, with trees and houses in the background, snowy day, three paintings, one is a fish

By now I’m very curious about this street and this fence.  I found a long, detailed, and interesting history written by local historian Joanne Doucette that you can read here.

 

back to Wilson station

Posted: December 7, 2016 in graffiti and street art, locations
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Back in mid October I blogged about the new murals on the south side Wilson Ave as it passes under the Allen Expressway (where Wilson subway station is).

below: Looking across Wilson Avenue to part of the mural on the south side.

looking across Wilson Avenue, under the Allen Expressway towards a mural that has been painted on the pillars and supports on the other side. A face is painted there.

When I was there last,  the murals on the north side were not completed.   The other day I remembered that I hadn’t seen the finished work, so I took the subway back to Wilson station to see what the pillars on the north side look like.   There is more light on the north side as there are entrances to the subway along the sidewalk here.   There is also more pedestrian traffic.

pillars and supports under an overpass that have been painted in bright colours by smoky and shalak

This side was also painted by shalak and smoky (as was the south side).

pillars and supports under an overpass that have been painted in bright colours by smoky and shalak - swirls of purples and yellows

below: In the center by one of the well-lit subway entrances.

pillars and supports under an overpass that have been painted in bright colours by smoky and shalak - red pillars with blue geometric patterns in a band around it near the bottom

pillars and supports under an overpass that have been painted in bright colours by smoky and shalak

pillars and supports under an overpass that have been painted in bright colours by smoky and shalak - a face showing eyes and top of nose

below: Looking east along Wilson Avenue.

pillars and supports under an overpass that have been painted in bright colours by smoky and shalak - a large face in the center pillar, with hands gripping the outer pillars on each side of the face

below: A little street artist with his can of spray paint has been left in a corner.
He’s not easily spotted.

a grey tones painting of a man with a spray can in his hand, from the waist up

 

 

Peperonata Lane

Posted: December 6, 2016 in graffiti and street art, locations
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Peperonata Lane runs north from Harbord Street.    Most of the garage doors in the alley have been painted.  Some were painted as part of a Wallnoize project in 2013.

a lane running parallel to a park with garages on the other side, a line of large trees by the garages. Most of the garage doors are covered with street art

below: Take a seat… and see what kind of street art there is here.

a wooden chair is tied to a tree, autumn leaves on the ground, a row of garages in the background, a number of large trees,

below: A woman feeds the chickens.

mural on a garage door of a woman feeding some chickens in a yard with colourful laundry hanging out to dry, houses in the background, mural on a garage door.

below: This mural, done in 2009, is one of the older ones in the lane.

blog_mural_simple_houses_garage

below: A deer and a hawk

mural on a garage door, a deer and a hawk

below: Elicser people and a text painting by poise.

street art on a garage and fence by elicser and poise in a lane,

below: Split face on a fence, by fiya

blog_face_gate_halves_split

below: A poser bunny

a poser bunny and tag on a garage door in an alley

below: Multicoloured grumpy cat by shalak and clandestinos.

shalak and clandestinos painting of a colourful cat face and paw with claws, on a garage door and fence in a lane

below: Wrinkled man with fish in hand, by smoky

painting by street artist smoky of a wrinkled old man holding an ugly fish in his hand.

below: A garage door painted by miles.

street artist miles tag and colourful street art on a garage door

garage doors in a lane alleyway that have been painted with street art

 

 

From City of Toronto documentation on the naming of Peperonata Lane, November 2012:

“The residents whose properties border on the lane have provided the following background information on the proposed name:”
” …throughout each year, the Galle family, who’ve lived at 441Montrose (the east side) since 1972, includes many Montrose residents in their annual celebration of making the “sugo” or tomato sauce, the roasted peppers and peperonata party, and the spirited soppressata contest, which they bring from their home country of Italy. Everyone learns the old world techniques and celebrates their new life in our Canadian context.
To commemorate how our lives have been enriched by the Galles welcoming and generous spirits, and in keeping with the traditions they’ve taught us and that we’ve now made our own, we propose the lane be named “Peperonata Lane” as a way of celebrating their unsung contribution to our neighbourhood”.

painted Beatrice in the parking lot

Posted: December 5, 2016 in graffiti and street art, locations
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On Beatrice Street just south of College there is a small parking lot.  The walls of the buildings on the north and east sides have been painted with a large mural called ‘A Stroll by Garrison Creek’ .

below: On the east side of the parking lot is a painting that represents Emily Bickford and her two daughters, Beatrice and Grace.  The street that the parking lot is on was named for Beatrice Bickford.  The next street parallel to Beatrice is Grace, named for Grace Bickford.   You might recognize the name Bickford if you are familiar with the area – Bickford Park is just south of Christie Pits.  Emily Bickford was responsible for donating some of her family’s land to the city to be used for parkland.

mural on the side of a brick building. Large. Three woman walking through long grass and chasing butterflies. A Stroll along Garrison Creek. Representing Emily Bickford and her daughters Beatrice and Grace.

below: You may have spotted the words Spud Bomb in the picture below.  Also, you might recognize the shapes in the dress that she wears as being similar to shapes seen in a lot of street art in Toronto.  They are the work of Pascal Paquette.  Both Paquette and Spud1 collaborated on this mural along with artist Artchild.

part of a larger mural, a young woman with her back to the viewer, walking through long grass

below: A large chickadee dominates the mural on the north side of the parking lot.

large mural of a chickadee, flowers, and butterflies

This mural was a StreetARToronto (StART) project, with help from VIBE Arts and the Toronto Parking Authority.   It was completed a couple of months ago, September 2016.

 

a monarch butterfly in a mural along with many pink and purple flowers

part of a larger mural, geometric and abstract shapes in many colours.

 

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