Tower Automotive building

Posted: November 17, 2014 in graffiti and street art, locations
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The Tower Automotive building is on Sterling Ave. in the Junction.  This ten storey building was built in the 1920s.  Tower Automotive went bankrupt in 2005 and the building has been empty ever since.  A number of years ago there was talk of turning it into studio space but for a temporary art installation or two, nothing has been done with this heritage building.

 

Chainlink fence in front of the building.

A chainlink fence surrounds the north part of the site.

….. but part of the fence was down and nobody was working on the site, so in we went.

Some of the graffiti on the west side of the building: 

graffiti on the back of the Tower Automotive building, a tall brick building - looking along the side of the building, the head of the reclining woman is in the foreground. Construction equipment is also in the picture.

graffiti on the back of the Tower Automotive building, a tall brick building - the backside of a naked woman who is lying on the ground. Much larger than lifesize, painted by Jarus.

graffiti on the back of the Tower Automotive building, a tall brick building - a large light blue face with tags on either side of it.

graffiti on the back of the Tower Automotive building, a tall brick building - the words cant hold me back are written in black on top of yellow and turquoise.
graffiti on the back of the Tower Automotive building, a tall brick building - a woman with purple hair wearing a brown and red hat. She is holding a blue watering can. She has an anchor tattoo on her upper arm.

moving around the building

On a concrete telephone pole, a black and white drawing of a man's head. The word Others is coming out of his mouth.

on the east side of the building

wall of a building with a wheatpaste lovebot and a standard city of Toronto development proposal sign. Some tags are also on the building.

The sign says “Draft of Subdivision Proposal, 158 Sterling Rd. – Castlepoint Studio Partners Limited has made an application to subdivide the property at 158 Sterling Road into 7 blocks in order to create a mixed use development that will have building heights ranging between 2 – 17 storeys.

a large gameboy lovebot on the side of a concrete wall.
lovebot and an anser black, white and grey face on a conrete wall.
a tag over old graffiti
blue construction fence is in focus in the foreground with a construction site behind it. A tall brick building stands in the construction site.

heritage murals – Kingston Road

Posted: November 14, 2014 in history, locations
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The Heritage Trail murals are a series of murals depicting the history of Scarborough.  The project began in 1990 and consists of 12 murals at different locations along Kingston Road (old hwy 2).

Just west of Midland Ave are two of the murals.

Half Way House painted in 1990 by John Hood at 2052 Kingston Road, the NW corner of Midland & Kingston Rd.  It is a picture of the Half Way House inn (and stage coach stop) that stood at this corner.   It’s name comes from the fact that it was halfway between the village of Dunbarton (now a part of Pickering) and the St. Lawrence Market in Toronto.   In 1965 the building was moved to Black Creek Pioneer village.

A mural that takes up the side of a building. It is a picture of an old two storey inn. It is a street scene as well, with people wearing clothes from the late 1800s.

Just farther to the west is another mural.  ‘The Bluffs as Viewed by Elizabeth Simcoe c. 1793’ was painted by Risto Turunen in 1992.  It is on the side of the building located at 2384 Kingston Rd, now Wong’s Martial Arts.  Elizabeth Simcoe was the wife of wife of Lieutenant-Governor John Graves Simcoe, the first Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada.
mural on the side of building depicting an early scene from Canadian history - a small rowboat with a couple of people in it is passing by the cliffs that are now known as the Scarborough bluffs.

The property beside this mural is now vacant and is enclosed by the type of blue temporary fencing that you see around many construction sites all around Toronto.  If there was a building there, it has been demolished, otherwise there is no work being done there at the moment.

mural on the side of building depicting an early scene from Canadian history - a small rowboat with a couple of people in it is passing by the cliffs that are now known as the Scarborough bluffs.

Wongs Martial Arts building, a nondescript two storey brick building.

under Adelaide and Richmond

Posted: November 13, 2014 in graffiti and street art, locations
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Both Adelaide St. East and Richmond St. East pass over King Street as they converge into Eastern Avenue.  Recently the concrete supports that help hold up these overpasses have been painted in bright, bold pictures.  The murals are entitled ‘Frozen Memories’ and they were designed and painted by street artist Shalak Attack with help from Bruno Smoky and Fiya Bruxa.

 All four pillars of the overpasses are in view.

Each pillar has a large face on the side that faces King Street and a picture that depicts something representative of Corktown on the other sides. 

Paintings on the large T shaped concrete supports of the overpass, in the foreground is the face of a man with the eyes on the upper horizontal portion of the support and his mouth on the lower part.

These murals are a part of the StreetARToronto Underpass Program or “StART UP.” 

Paintings on the large T shaped concrete supports of the overpass, a man passes by on the sidewalk while in the foreground is a support painted with street scenes. Houses and streetcar tracks.

Enoch Turner established Toronto’s first free school in the Corktown area in 1848. 

Paintings on the large T shaped concrete supports of the overpass, a young girl in a pink top sitting at a table and writing in a notebook. The word love is written on one of the pages.

painting of the Enoch Turner school on one of the pillars supporting Adelaide St. East in Toronto. Other Corktown houses are also painted here on the lower part of the pillar.

  Two of the main industries in Corktown were bricks and beer.   One pillar pays homage to the people who worked in these industries, including this bricklayer.

Paintings on the large T shaped concrete supports of the overpass, a man portrayed in blue tones, wearing an old fashioned hard hat and holding a trowel.

Mural on concrete pillar of a blue brick layer surrounded by symbols of industry such as factories, gears, beer bottles, bricks. There is a parking lot surrounding the concrete support so there are cars parked in front of the pillar.

This mural is a another tribute to the early days of Corktown.   Sailing ships, maps and compasses are for the immigrants that came here.   The first church built in Corktown was Little Trinity in 1843.   It’s stained glass window is shown here.

Paintings on the large T shaped concrete supports of the overpass, three supports are in the picture. The one in the foreground has marine scenes - two sailing ships, a large turtle, and waves. The two supports in the background are those with faces, one man and one woman.

other views

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Paintings on the large T shaped concrete supports of the overpass, a large multicoloured woman's face is on the concrete support that is across the street. A chain link ffence and yellow fire hydrant are in the foreground.

back to Graffiti Alley

Posted: November 12, 2014 in graffiti and street art
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Just a few pictures of some of the street art near Queen St. West and Augusta.

Street art in Graffiti Alley, a poser mural with 3 olive green bunnies. The words, The World is Dying for Bold Ideas are written around the bunnies. One bunny has a paint roller and another has a can of spray paint.
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Street art in Graffiti Alley, detail of a red and black piece on which someone has placed a sticker that says "May this day be yours. "
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Street art in Graffiti Alley, detail showing what looks like an eye between two sets of teeth. In the background, and to the right, are two bikes parked against the building that is covered with uber 5000's marine scene
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Street art in Graffiti Alley, Six Six Demigods black and white face of an old man with a flowing beard
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Street art in Graffiti Alley, a guy who has earphones on that are plugged into a phone or something similar. The wrods "Turn off your phone" are included in the graffiti
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Street art in Graffiti Alley, an orange stickman (stickman?) on a hydro pole.
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Street art in Graffiti Alley, picture of a man's face. He seems to be leering with his tongue (which is green) hanging out of his mouth. He is above another picture of a pair of anser eyes.

blue October skies

Posted: November 2, 2014 in general Toronto
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Since most of the city woke up to snow flurries this morning, I thought I would take a quick look back over the past month.  October was a beautiful month with many clear sunny days.  The leaves on the trees turned wonderful colours this autumn and the colours lingered for a few weeks.

Blue skies, autumn colours

A man is suspended from the roof of a tall building by a rope. He has a bucket and he is washing windows. The CN Tower is close by and seems to loom in the background.

Washing windows in the shadow of the CN Tower.

Two tall condo buildings. Sun is reflecting off the balconies of the condo in background. In the foreground is a balcony with a large plant. Sun is shining directly on the plant so it looks like it is in a spotlight.

Afternoon on the balcony. Condos on Blue Jays Way.

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older row houses in the background along with a tree covered in yellow and gold leaves. A large tree that has already lost its leaves is in the foreground.

Clarence Square

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Tall light grey brick apartment building with cirved bluish balconies. On one wall is the large shadow of another building with balconies.

Shadows of building on building, Roehampton Ave.

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When skeletons come out of the closet

Posted: October 30, 2014 in general Toronto
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It must be late October, the time of year when skeletons start appearing around town!

Skeletons hanging from branches of a tree in a frontyard.

Just hanging around.

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A skeleton is sitting on a front porch along with a number of pumpkins

Keeping the kids off the front lawn!

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Skull & hand bones attached to some wispy black fabric makes a wonderful scary flying phantom when hung in a tree on a breezy day

He flies through the air

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A skull, some black cloth and some billowing white gauze, all hanging from a tree,

Left where he was hung

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A skeleton at the base of a tree. The legs of the skeleton are bent backwards. It looks like it has just fallen.

Hey there!  Could you help a guy up?

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A skull, two boney hands and some black cloth and some billowing white gauze, all hanging from a tree,

Looking for a hug?

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The upper part of a skeleton with its arms reaching out.

Please sir, I want more.

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return of the zombies

Posted: October 26, 2014 in events
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….. they keep coming back!
  Zombie Walk 2014, Nathan Phillips Square

 zombie woman with scratch marks on face and blood dripping down her chin. Close up of just her head and shoulders. Long red hair.

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pale zombie with curly lught auburn hair, bloody chin and white dress. She is glaring at the camera with her hand poised to reach for it. .

screaming woman zombie lunging for the camera but she is restrained by chains.

drooling zombie face

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zombie boy who is staring straight ahead

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zombie from Toronto zombie walk - white face and pearl neck lace
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zombie from Toronto zombie walk - auburn wig and very bloody face, man
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zombie from Toronto zombie walk - a woman with very bloody face, vacant stare, and long dark hair

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zombie man sneering. there is a small hand behind his ear that is dangling from a fake zombie baby he is carrying on his shoulders (but that you can't see much of in this photo)

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A hite haired, grey faced zombie holding a pink stuffed animal, and wearing a gold crown is posing for pictures for a guy with a large camera. Another man is holding a light source beside the zombie.

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zombie from Toronto zombie walk - white hair, white face, vacant stare and holding her hand up in front of her chest
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zombie from Toronto zombie walk - close up of zombie clown with yellow curly wig and a big red nose .

zombie with a zippered face
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zombie from Toronto zombie walk, woman with large bloody gash on her cheek, blood running down her chin and eyes of different colours
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Three clown zombies are posed over a man who is lying on his back on the ground and holding a camera. There is a small crowd around them, many with cameras.

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close up of a male zombie with reddish sunglasses. He is screaming with his mouth wide open.

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zombie from Toronto zombie walk
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close up of zombie nose, eyes and forehead. Eight safety pins are keeping her forehead together.

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zombie from Toronto zombie walk, woman with pink sunglasses and skull earrings.

a girl is taking a selfie of herself after she has had a handprint of fake blood put on her neck
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zombie from Toronto zombie walk, four guys with very bloody misshapen faces. One has an eyeball that is popping out
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a zombie with a large gash in her face is having fake blood applied to her face by a zombie enabler.

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zombie from Toronto zombie walk, woman giggling as she poses beside a young man with his face made up to look like a zombie
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dog, zombie from Toronto zombie walk with a cone around it's head.
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walls in the abstract

Posted: October 25, 2014 in abstract, general Toronto
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Just a collection of walls that caught my interest as I walked in the past few weeks.

 

reflections in the window of the OPG (Ontario Power Generation) building, a curved glass structure.

diamond blues

 

grey concrete wall

patches, cracks, and drips under a  bridge

 

close up of a maroon coloured drain pipe down the side of a house that is red and orange.

vibrant orange with drain pipe

 

Four storey brick building with large windowes with rounded arched shaped tops. Yellow brick details around the tops of the windows.

Pattern of arches at George and Adelaide

 

close up of a concrete wall that has black paint (or something like black paint) spilled on the lower part of it.

black and white under grey

 

Close up showing part of a wood pallet that is leaning against a grey brick wall.

wood on brick, browns and greys

 

gallery hanging

Posted: October 20, 2014 in galleries
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Preparing for the Toronto Photowalks Exhibit

20 October – 2 November

Art Square Cafe & Gallery, 334 Dundas St. West (across from the AGO)

 

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Toronto Photowalks Group Exhibition

Art Square Cafe & Gallery

under Mt. Pleasant Road

Posted: October 17, 2014 in general Toronto
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Between Lawrence and Eglinton, Mt. Pleasant Road passes over Burke Brook and Blythwood Ravine Park.
This is the graffiti that I saw under that bridge.

graffiti under a bridge - black and white picture of a man in jacket and tie and a hat with a brim. The top part of his face is in shadow from the hat brim. He iis shown only from the shoulders up

eyes in shadow

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graffiti under a bridge - line drawing of a man's head with dotted lines dividing it into sections that are numbered

the numbers of a man

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graffiti under a bridge - black and white line drawings of leaves and other biological looking creatures or things. The words 'yellow ochre' and 'lylith lyl' also appear'

flora and fauna, lylith lyl

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graffiti under a bridge - yellowish gold frame with large line drawing of a smiling person.

crooked smile in frame

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graffiti under a bridge - Kat Will you Marry Me? was the original words on the wall. It is partially obscured by a tag.

Did Kat marry him?

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graffiti under a bridge - Crisis? Cress? In large red letters with green and black drawings above (under the beams that are supporting the bridge)

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