Archive for the ‘locations’ Category

stuck on behind Bathurst

Posted: June 9, 2014 in graffiti and street art, locations
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There is an alley that runs behind Bathurst, on the west side.  Most of these photos were taken in that alley.  All of the photos are of sticker, or paper, graffiti that I saw when I walked that alley a week or so ago.

 

A window space in a brick wall that was covered over a long time ago. Now there are tags and stickers covering the space as well as graffiti on the walls around the space.

It used to be a window, now it is an ever changing canvas.

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black and white line drawing that looks like something you'd create with spirograph

spirograph on the metal pole.

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four stickers on a wall. One is a mask that looks either African or BC First Nations. One is a hairy dog like creature with a long tongue that is licking a red strawberry with legs. One has the word 'decolonize' on it along with a picture of a group of men. The last sticker is just the word 'phi-nite' with a symbol.

strawberry man gets licked by dog, a mask looks at you, decolonize and phi-nite, all in a small space

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two stickers on a tag & scribble covered space. One sticker is a silhouette of a man on a skateboard. He has large wings coming out of his back. Ths other sticker is a greenish colour geometric design within a greyish white circle.

have wings, will skateboard

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a purple and white sticker that has been defaced by the tag 'calzone'. Beside it is a sticker that says 'decolonize history' with a mug shot of a man.

calzone tag unfortunately scribbled on top.

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five stickers on the back of a metal sign.

Billy and friends

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black ink on brown paper graffiti of a woman's head & shoulders

brown girl on the wall

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two stickers on a wall. One is the head of a blue cat. The other is a lacey looking circular design.

blue cat with lace

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Someone has placed a red & white circular sticker over the iris of an eye that is part of a black and white eye graffiti picture

red eye

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over Cedarvale

Posted: June 8, 2014 in graffiti and street art, locations
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I am beginning to wonder how many bridges there are in Toronto!  Yesterday I walked under three that I hadn’t been under before.  These are the photos from one of those bridges – Bathurst Street over Cedarvale Park, just north of St. Clair Ave.

 

three large colourful tags and one grey scale picture of a man squatting and smoking a cigarette,Bathurst St. over Cedarvale Park, graffiti under the bridge

chillin’ & smokin’

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shades of pink close up of part of a tag,Bathurst St. over Cedarvale Park, graffiti under the bridge

pink!

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flower face in black, grey and white, on the side of a support pillar, Bathurst St. over Cedarvale Park,graffiti under the bridge

a happy flower growing on the concrete

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tags around a down spout, Bathurst St. over Cedarvale Park, graffiti under the bridge

tags around the down spout

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bright blue words 'Look Mom' on pink and black, Bathurst St. over Cedarvale Parkgraffiti under the bridge

Look Mom!

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tags and a few small pictures on a large concrete support at one end of theBathurst St. over Cedarvale Park,graffiti under the bridge

an assortment of tags at the end of the bridge

 

In case you are curious, here is a list of bridges in Toronto:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_bridges_in_Toronto

 

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down on the shadowy concrete

Posted: June 6, 2014 in locations, people
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From a vantage point over Nathan Phillips Square, we looked down on the people as they passed by.   It was late in the afternoon so the shadows were long.    Although we were looking for interesting characters, we were also creating compositions with people, concrete lines,  and shadows as elements.

 

Three photographs are shooting from behind a low concrete wall. One has his camera aimed downwards towards the people walking below. The others have their cameras aimed farther out.

hunting shadows

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A group of people walking across Nathan Phillips square. They are walking on crete and the afternoon shadows are long.

caught some!

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A group of three people walking across Nathan Phillips square. They are walking on crete and the afternoon shadows are long.

on the diagonal

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Most of the picture is of shadows on the concrete below. There are partial shadows of the arches over the fountain at nathan phillips square. There are also 4 people (or parts of the people) and the long shadows that they cast.

walking over the shadow arches

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A group of young people walking across Nathan Phillips square. They are walking on concrete. Five guys and two girls. Both girls are in short black dresses with black sandals.

with matching little black dresses

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A man is sitting at a table outside, on Nathan Phillips Square, late afternoon, with long shadows making patterns on the concrete

Some shadows kept still so they were easier to capture.

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photo of the railing that is made of many vertical white bars. The railing is not straight. There are many shadows in the picture, and many patterns, linear and diagonal, made by the white bars and the shadows.

a multitude of lines and their linear shadows

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Not all involved shadows.  Sometimes, just people in the shadow.

A group of people are either sitting on a bench, or standing beside it, in Nathan Phillips Square, beside the fountain pool

Resting by the fountain.

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Two women are walking on the concrete squares

walking between the lines

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a little alley

Posted: May 22, 2014 in graffiti and street art, locations
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A little dead end alley in Kensington and the graffiti I found there.

Looking through a chain link fence towards a short laneway. There is graffiti on the walls of the buildings that back onto the alley

A chain link fence at the end of the alley.

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Street art piece of a semi clad woman and a male nude, reaching for each other. They are larger than life, and higher up on a wall.

I love the way that the faces are incomplete compared to rest of the anatomy.

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A graffiti piece of a black hooded figure. Someone has tagged over part of it in large white letters. The next person has put an orange line through the white tags and then added the words Fuck You learn some respect

The seemingly endless battle between graffiti artists and those who wantonly tag over their work.

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A collection of small tiles that have been painted over by a larger piece of street art

squares pieced together

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Multicoloured graffiti that covers a door as well as the wall.

hidden doorway

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black outline picture of a tea cup and saucer, with steam rising from it, on top of green and purple graffiti

steaming

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Doorway covered with stickers and scribbles

chaos with stickers and scribbles

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Graffiti of a pinkish face with bared teeth. CHainlink fence on the left of the photo.

grimacing skull by the fence

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Sonya’s Park

Posted: May 21, 2014 in graffiti and street art, locations
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Sonya’s Park, a small green space on Oxford Street.

On the east side of the park there is a brick wall that had a number of scenes painted on it.   The pictures depicted a trip to Kensington market, circa 1885.  Some of the murals remain intact while others have been defaced.

A play structure with slide is on the left of the picture, a woman is sitting on a bench on the right side. Row houses on the opposite side of the street can also be seen. There are some large trees too.

Oxford St., from the park.

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Spring plants are growing in front of the wall on which there is a mural on a brick wall depicting a scene from a visit to Kensington Market circa 1885. A small girl is standing beside a cart.

Trip to Kensington market, circa 1885.  The first of the murals on the brick wall on the east side of the park.

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Large white tags obscure part of a mural depicting Kensington market in the past

Once upon a time there was a mural there. Sadly, taggers have made their presence known.

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mural on a brick wall depicting a scene from a visit to Kensington Market , people buying fruit and vegetables from a street vendor. Spring plants are growing in front of the wall.

buying fruit and vegetables, circa 1885

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a large tag over another mural. Someone has then written large red letters that say Stop not taggin art

stop not taggin art & watch yourself

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A brick wall that runs across the back of the park. It is covered with graffiti. There is a metal gate in the center and you can see that there is more graffiti on the walls of the alley behind.

at the back of the park

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A chain link fence in front of a piece of graffiti in oranges, yellows and purple

diamonds of colour

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A city of Toronto sign that has had four stickers attached to it.

Plea no the, Elder abuse, and Don’t worry CAMH is only a block away, all on one sign

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508

Posted: May 21, 2014 in graffiti and street art, locations
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One house in the city.

The number 508 is above the doorway. An eye, part of two different murals, is on either side of the door.

508 in the middle

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View of the front of a two storey building taken from the street in front of it. The exterior of the house is covered with paintings. Two faces cover what once the front windows.

eyes on the street

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large painting of a red and blue bird on the side of a house. Hydro wires are also in the photo

bird contemplating a wire

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A white toilet sits on a sidewalk outside of a house. On the side of the house, just behind the toilet, is a painting of a an old house.

outdoor plumbing

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A large mural on the side of a brick house.

characters on the north wall

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laid up and cradled

Posted: December 18, 2013 in locations
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Tarps, ropes and metal cradles. 

Lovingly and carefully stored boats, asleep for the winter awaiting spring and the start of a new sailing season.  Canada, where the sailing season is short.

National yacht club, sailboats in their cradles, snow on the ground. In the center of the picture is a blue and red boat with the name Gecko written on the side. There are a number of other boats, most of which are white.

Red and blue Gecko in hibernation.

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National yacht club, sailboats in their cradles, snow on the ground. In the center of the picture is a yellow and blue sailboat. On the right is a dark blue hull in which there are reflections of the boats around.

A chilly trio in white, blue and yellow.

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The bows of two white boats, one on top of the other. The sun is trying to break through the clouds in the background of the picture, making for interesting lighting conditions.

Whiteness on a winter afternoon when the sun is trying to shine through the clouds.

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close up of a red, dark green and off-white striped hull of a sailboat. A knotted white rope is in the photo too.

All tied up and radiating griminess.

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In the background the sun tries to shine through the clouds. There is enough light that rays of sunshine bounce off the yellow hull of a boat that is in the foreground.

Rays of sun try to brighten the day.

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Perched on shore and looking out over the lake, but stuck behind barbed wire.

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Although snow and ice are an integral part of a Canadian winter, it is always interesting to find them in different settings. For example, icicles forming along the seams in the hull of a boat that is up for the winter.

small icicles hanging from the side of a boat. A braided beige and green rope runs along the side of the boat where boat meets ice.

Braided Ice.

icicles hanging off the side of a blue and white boat. Close up shot.

More Icicles

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Looking southward from under a blanket of snow.

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Serenity carefully tucked in and tied down to wait out the cold.

With many thanks to Stephen for giving me access to the yacht club for a few minutes this afternoon!

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Brookfield Place

Posted: December 17, 2013 in locations
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Playing with lights, colours, and reflections at Brookfield Place.

Bay St., south of Wellington

The long passageway through Brookfield Place with it's very high ceiling and lit glass panels on the floor.

From the bottom up, Allen Lambert Galleria, the 6 storey atrium of Brookfield Place, designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava.

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circles of Christmas lights and ornaments

Looking upwards, Christmas Ring Tree, Brookfield Place.

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A wall and its reflection in the very polished and shiney floor. The wall looks like a grid of brown wood surrounding pale blue glass squares. .

Lights from Christmas decorations are reflected in the window of a men's wear store but all you see in this photo is the mannequin's hand and part of the red and white striped shirt that its wearing.

Playing with reflected light from Christmas decorations.

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abstract looking picture of horizontal shapes in oranges, greens and purples. The photo is of part of a wall, a metal support beam, and a glass wall.

Horizontal abstraction of light and colour.

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Walking on thin ice?

Walking on thin ice?

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Large, high ceilinged atrium space in a building. It is lit with purple spot lights. Some people are walking through the space.

And now the lights are purple…. The lights change colours after a few minutes – purples, reds, greens, and blues.

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A group of photographers. Some of them are reflected in the shiney black surface of the wall.

Photography under the purple lights.

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abstract picture made by a photo of a metal grid that is lit from behind.

I didn’t see the electrical outlet when I took this photo. I was just attracted to the tiny squares of light by my feet.

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it’s starting to look a lot like Christmas

Posted: December 9, 2013 in general Toronto, locations
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at least along Queen Street West……

On display in a shop window are a stuffed toy cat and dog are dressed for Christmas. THe dog is wearing a Santa hat. Reflected in the window are people passing by carrying shopping bags.

Christmas is going to the dogs, and cats.

A window display in a T-shirt shop. THere is a T-shirt with a picture of ROb FOrd with the word yolo printed on it. There is a black toddler onsie with the words Bad Seed written in red. There is a green T-shirt with the words Merry Christmas Ya Filthy Animal written on it.

He knows when you’ve been naughty……

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A drawing on a chalk board of Santa trying to get a hold of a cat that is hiding under his sleigh. The words on the board say Why Santa has reindeer instead of cats.

Rudolph the red nose cat doesn’t have quite the same ring to it.

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Two christmas tree balls. Both are white on the bottom half and both are pantone colours on the top - one is red and the other is light blue, pantone universe color 15-5519

A very merry pantone Christmas in 15-5519 aka turquoise, their colour of the year in 2010.

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The window of the store 'Come as You Are' has been covered with a layer of fake snow. THere are clear circles in the snow with vibrators hanging in them. There are also some snowflake shaped clear spots.

Both hot and cold on display for a very, very, merry Christmas!

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suitman north and south

Posted: December 6, 2013 in graffiti and street art, locations
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The suitman mural is on a railway underpass on Dupont St., just west of Lansdowne Ave.  It covers the walls on both sides of the street.

It was first painted  and funded with  $2000  received from the City of Toronto’s Clean and Beautiful program.  But after Rob Ford was elected mayor and began his “clean up” campaign, it was painted over with dull grey paint.   Rather silly considering that Joel Richardson was paid by the city to paint it in the first place.   Late in October 2011 it was replaced with a similar mural.  It took six weeks to repaint, 25 gallons of paint and 100 large cans of spray paint.

Most of the  photos taken were taken on 30 November 2013.  Some photos are from a two years previous and they are marked as such.

South Side of Dupont St.

The picture on the south side depicts business men lined up to form mathematical equation.

men in suits forming part of a mathematical equation. A multiplication sign and part of a long division sign.

The eastern part of the equation. That’s not a check mark on the right of the photo, it’s part of a long division sign.

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a line of men in suits as part of a mural

divide then multiply

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Close up

Well suited for a close up.  (Photo taken Nov 2011)

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part of the mural showing many men in suits, a yellow star and a red star.

To the east of the bridge.

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X and + towards the bridge

X and + towards the bridge.  (Photo taken November 2011)

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center part of the mural showing a man wearing a suit who is sitting in the lotus position

This photo was taken from across the street – looking through the concrete pillars that support the railway bridge.

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A large white percent sign, a grey star and many men in suits with yellow halos around their heads.

Immediately west of the underpass.

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part of the suitman mural taken a couple of years ago. The letter X, the number 6, a man wearing a gas masks plus 6 men wearing black suits and ties. They have yellow halos around their heads.

This is one of the photos that was taken two years ago. I have included it for comparison purposes as the man wearing the gas mask is no longer part of the mural. Instead, three sitting women have been added at the bottom of the letter X. The next picture shows this part of the mural as it looks now.

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part of the suitman mural - many men in suits standing in a line. Three sitting women are in the middle.

To the west of the train tracks. Note the absence of the man with the gas mask and the addition of the three women.

North Side of Dupont St.

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Photo taken November 2011.

“And do thy duty even if it be humble, rather than another’s even if it be great. To die in one’s duty is LIFE: to live in another’s is death.”  [quote from the Bhagavad Gita, a 700 verse scripture that part of the Hindi epic ‘Mahabharata’]

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a sidewalk runs along the right side of the picture. Agains the sidewalk is a concrete wall that has been painted with a mural. A white arrow is part of the picture. There are also words written in black but they hard to read because of the angle of the photo

Looking back under the bridge, following the arrow.

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blog_suit_circle

Photo taken November 2011

“This at least would be the case in a society where things were left to follow their natural course, where there was perfect liberty, and where there was perfect FREE both to choose what occupation we thought proper and to change it as we thought PROPER. THE whole of the advantages and disadvantages of different employments of labour stock, must in the same neighbourhood, be either perfectly equal or continually tending to equality”  [quote from “Wealth of Nations” by Adam Smith]

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More information on this mural: http://joelrichardson.com/2011/10/

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