Posts Tagged ‘Adrian Hayles’

Miriam Garfinkle

Posted: October 29, 2026 in alleys, graffiti and street art
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… is an all that is north of Bloor, between Christie and Bathurst. Recently a group of artists painted quite a few of the garage doors here. “Flight of the Winged Ones” was the theme of this Laneway Mural Jam and it was dedicated to the memory of Miriam Garfinkle. The following photos are the murals that can now be seen in this lane – in no particular order.

two women painting a street art mural on a garage door in Miriam Garfinkle Lane

below: This is Adrian Hayles‘ contribution to the project. Miriam Garfinkle (1954–2018) lived on Barton Avenue, in a house which backs onto this laneway, from 2000 to 2018. She lived and worked in this community for most of her life.

street art mural on garage door in Miriam Garfinkle Lane

below: Sebas Perez Vicentini painted this colourful mural with two long necked birds.

street art mural on garage door in Miriam Garfinkle Lane by Sebas Perez Vincenti

below: A photographer takes pictures of birds and owls in a mural by April Grace and [sorry but I couldn’t read the name].

street art mural on garage door in Miriam Garfinkle Lane by April Grace

below: “Flight of the Winged Ones” title mural.

street art mural on garage door in Miriam Garfinkle Lane, purple owl in flight

below: Birch trees by the water by Joe Rich

street art mural on garage door in Miriam Garfinkle Lane, by Joe rich, landscape with birch trees and water

below: Julia Harper’s thunderbird of the heavens

street art mural on garage door in Miriam Garfinkle Lane, by Julia Harper, stars in night sky, thunderbird in the heavens

below: An archer concentrating hard on her red bow and arrow, by Hyunsun Park

street art mural on garage door in Miriam Garfinkle Lane, by Hyunsun Park, female archer with red bow and arrow, taking a shot, concentrating

below: Chickadees by Nick Sweetman [This is actually an artwork from a few years ago].

street art mural on garage door in Miriam Garfinkle Lane, by Nick Sweetman, chickadees

below: Gimun Ryu – A woman and her birds.

street art mural on garage door in Miriam Garfinkle Lane, by Gimun Ryu, a woman with open hand and pink birds flying towards her

below: A very stylized graphic-like rendition of birds at a cluster of bird feeders by Gust of Wind Studio (aka Mateusz Napieralski)

street art mural on garage door in Miriam Garfinkle Lane, Gust of Wind Studioak a Mateusz Napieralski

below: Garages between Clinton and Manning Streets,

street art murals on many garage doors in Miriam Garfinkle Lane,

below: EGR‘s angel with a butterfly

street art mural on garage door in Miriam Garfinkle Lane, by EGR, an angel and a butterfly

below: ‘Kaktukopunjej’ by Veronica Orozco, in memory of Layton Stevens.

mural by Veronica Orozco, woman sitting against tree trunk while looking out over a lake, swallow flying past, against a setting sun, or it could be the moon, red handprint on woman's cheek, bird nest in tree, stars in sky

below: BJR, aka Bradley Reinhardt with a lively collection of birds in a tree – blue jay, robin, owl, cardinal, and more. A smiling grey bear and a fox are under the tree and Canada Geese are flying by. A green snake lurks under the tree.

street art mural on garage door in Miriam Garfinkle Lane, a lively collection of birds in a tree - blue jay, robin, owl, cardinal, and more. A smiling grey bear and a fox are under the tree and Canada Geese are flying by. A green snake lurks under the tree.

below: A blue Owl and a cardinal (with its foot in the door handle).

street art mural on garage door in Miriam Garfinkle Lane, by Bradley Reinhardt, a blue owl and a red northern cardinal

below: Ohlordyitsjulia aka Julia Louise Pereira chose a nighttime scene of blue birds flying over rooftops in the city.

street art mural on garage door in Miriam Garfinkle Lane, by Julia Pereira, night scene in city, with birds flying around

below: The large orange bird (Phoenix?) was painted by Esky.

street art mural on garage door in Miriam Garfinkle Lane,

below: Scofy Wallz, nature in the city.

street art mural on garage door in Miriam Garfinkle Lane, by Scofy Wallz, woman's portrait, Toronto skyline with lake and CN tower, birds, butterfly, milkweed

below: Faces among the hummingbirds and bright flowers, by Cocreation Art (aka Danielle Hyde).

street art mural on garage door in Miriam Garfinkle Lane, by Danielle Hyde, faces, hummingbirds and flowers

below: More birds! Painting by Shoreland Arts, (aka Thelia Shelton).

street art mural on garage door in Miriam Garfinkle Lane, by Thelia Shelton

below: A closer look at the birds perched on blue branches.

street art mural on garage door in Miriam Garfinkle Lane, pink and yellow birds on blue branches, Shoreland Arts

below: A fawn prances through the night sky, a nighttime apparition among the stars.

street art mural on garage door in Miriam Garfinkle Lane, night sky, stars, fawn

below: A whimsical look at a fat striped caterpillar who in turn is looking at the butterflies as they flit among the milkweed and goldenrod…. by Anderkaya (aka Sarah Whang).

street art mural on garage door in Miriam Garfinkle Lane, by Sarah Whang
woman taking pictures of street art murals on garage doors in Miriam Garfinkle Lane,

below: A slightly creepy winged insect that resembles a tiger face… with many eyes! As you can see, the artist was Shalak (aka Shalak Attack)

street art mural on garage door in Miriam Garfinkle Lane, by Shalak Attack

below: The chickadees are breaking free! … by Murals by Marg,

street art mural on garage door in Miriam Garfinkle Lane, by Murals by Marg, chickadees

below: Talie Shalmon painted a red wing blackbird and her nest of 3 blue eggs.

street art mural on garage door in Miriam Garfinkle Lane, by Talie Shalmon, s large red wing blackbird flying towards a nest withthree blue eggs in it

below: A pair of indigenous art style birds.

street art mural on garage door in Miriam Garfinkle Lane, indigenous art, birds

below: A big bee checks out a few flowers

below: Cedar Eve, strawberries, blueberries and a couple of strange faces.

street art mural on garage door in Miriam Garfinkle Lane, by Cedar Eve

below: A very large bat flying over the garden, by Trina Moyan

street art mural on garage door in Miriam Garfinkle Lane, by Trina Moyan, a large bat flies over a garden

below: The purple painting on the right was the contribution of nshtsh (aka Nishina)

a few street art murals on garage doors in Miriam Garfinkle Lane, including a purple one by Nishina

below: A cedar waxwing and a butterfly, by Miguel Albino.

Miguel Albino, street art mural, cedar waxwing bird and a butterfly, on a wood fence in Miraim Garfinkle lane
street art mural, birch trees, with orange circle in the middle, faces in the circle, feathers too
two women paintingstreet art mural on garage door in Miriam Garfinkle Lane,

below: mmm

street art mural on garage door in Miriam Garfinkle Lane, by DJNU, a bird with a crested head
two men working on garages and back fence, surrounded by street art mural on garage door in Miriam Garfinkle Lane,

With apologies to the artists whose names I didn’t know.

Dundas East garages

Posted: July 6, 2026 in graffiti and street art
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All of the pictures in this post were taken on Dundas East, just west of Jones Avenue.  Along this stretch of Dundas, garages and backyard fences line the street.  Most of them have been painted with bright and cheerful images of flowers, birds, animals, and other living things.

below: There is only one person who would paint a mural with these cute but mischievous raccoons, Emily May Rose

mural by Emily May Rose of raccoons playing with red flowers, and sitting on brown boxes

below: Sadly, unsigned and unknown. Two snakes slithering through pink flowers and green grass.

street art mural on wood fence, a green and a red snake slithering through green grass and pink flowers

garages on Dundas East, with street art murals, two are dogs by Blackburn, and two are large apples with faces

below: La Pupila  (aka Valentina) has painted rosy red apples with faces, and even a bite taken out of one of them.

mural on garage door, large pink and red apple, with green leaves, black feminine face, a large bite taken ot the top corner

below: Two dog portraits by Jeff Blackburn

two adjacent garage doors with paintings by jeff blackburn, both are portraits of dogs

below: Red hearts and laughter in a mural by Phillip Saunders

street art mural by philip saunders, of two people's faces, looking at each other, face to face, laughing, red heart in between the two

below: A young child with bond curly hair holds a very large pink flower in a painting by Wade Benedict.

street art mural by wade benedict

backyards, garages, with street art murals, Dundas St east

below: Picking oranges and watering flowers, working together in the garden in a mural by Golden Butter Murals

golden butter murals painting on garage on dundas east, mother and child working in the garden

below:  Making hearts.  Long necked ducks or geese beak to beak.

street art mural on a wood fence, two long necked geese, beak to beak, in bright colours

below: White flowers by timmifuk

street art mural on a garage door, white flowers and green leaves, by timmifuk,

below: More garage door flowers – this time pink peonies in a vase.

street art mural, pink peonies in a brown vase

below: Orange lilies by hotsnackz (aka Chrissy Kuiack)

street art mural painting of orange lilies in bloom

 

below: Black on colour.

urban art on a wood fence, in four sections, one yellow, one purple, a green, and a blue, black silhouette paintings on each section of a different floral plant

below: Ryan Dineen painted this little bird

painting on a garage by Ryan Dineen of a small bird perched on a branch. bird has reddish orange nape of neck and lighter tummy

below: A young looking loon swims as the sun sets in a mural by Julia Prajka

street art mural of a loon by julia prajza

painted garages (murals) behind houses on Dundas street east, red cardinals in flight, loon, and a red trillium

below: Two red cardinals in flight by Adrian Hayles.

garage door murals, red cardinals in flight, by Adrian Hayles

below:  A ruby throated hummingbird flies among the fireflies, by Blazeworks.

ruby throated hummingbird in flight, a street art mural on a garage door by blaze works

below: Close up of an abstract mural by Bareket (bkez)

close up of abstract painting, street art mural on a garage door, by bareket

below: Que Rock, butterfly

mural by que rock, flowers and native symbols
street art murals by que rock and jarus on dundas street east

below: “I’ll be here until you arrive”, a portrait of an older man with a beard, in shades of red, by Jarus

portrait of an older man, in shades of red, by jarus, on a garage door

below: Nick Sweetman – a pelican and a flamingo splashing in the water

nick sweetman mural on a garage door in pinks and blue, pelican on the pink side, flamingo on the blue, water bubbles splashing in the middle

below: On the right, covering two garage doors, is an aquatic scene by Jarus.

four garage doors in a row, all with street art murals, a spider, a butterfly and two with fish

below: This spider painting is signed “Vudu”  (Christine Mazzulla?)

street art painting of a spider by vudu, on a garage door

2 street art murals

below:  Another bird flying over a garden full of flowers on a fence painted by Julia Louise Pereira (aka ohlordyitsjulia)

colouful mural on a wood fence by oh lordy its julia, also known as Julia Louise Pereira, flowers

below: A very Toronto sight, by Skamoney

back of two single family homes a white garage with a mural of the front of a TTC streetcar (older style) on it, with blue background

 

This was a StreetARToronto project

Photos taken June 2026

 

small part of jarus mural, all in shades of red, vase with two flowers, hat, bird

College to Elm

Posted: December 9, 2024 in construction, graffiti and street art, locations, public art, stores, windows and walls
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…. A short distance but with a lot happening.

An early morning walk with a weak winter sun low in the sky.  Tall buildings that cast shadows, or reflect light.  Patterns of light and shadow.

below: Crossing Yonge from Carlton to College

people crossing intersection of college and yonge, walking westward, towards TTC streetcar that is heading east, in front of College Park, with old red brick building on the north side of college street

below: North on Yonge.  The facade above Shoppers remains.  “….has design value and technological merit as a representative of the 1950s Toronto School of ‘Picturesque Modernism’ in its expressive use of concrete seen in the cantilevered canopy and decorative piercings of the concrete screen for the above-ground parking, in the ‘egg-crate’ elevations designed to reduce solar gain, and in the predominant white aesthetic of glazed white brick and concrete surfaces.” (form City of Toronto report on heritage inclusion)

below: Rising above Yonge and College

tall new condo tower above older red brick building on northwest corner of Yonge and college

below: Looking north, up the canyon that Yonge has become.  The very tall building that is obviously under construction in the distance is at Yonge and Bloor.

looking north on Yonge, from College, towards two very tall condo developments at Yonge and Bloor, shadows because of buildings, blue sky, not much traffic

below:  Empty, boarded up and waiting its turn. Southeast corner of College & Yonge.  I have vague memories of a candy store on this corner although I think that there were a number of businesses that passed through here.

brick building with rounded edge at front, now empty, southeast corner of Yonge and College, construction at street level in front of building

below: The east half of Yonge street in front of College Park is now a construction zone.  An additional entrance on the east side of Yonge along with more elevator service between street and track levels, is being built for College subway station.  Are there any streets in the downtown area that don’t have partial closures for construction?

small construction site on yonge street, taking up space on the street, in front of College Park shops

below: Sunspots, reflected light on the side of College Park

construction equipment

below: More emptiness, more waiting.

metal grille gate covering window of a store or restaurant that is now closed, old doordash sign in the window

below: Granby and McGill are two streets that run parallel to College but don’t actually meet Yonge Street, pedestrians only here

person walking through pedestrian zone between yonge street and sheard street at the end of mcgill

below: Looking back at Yonge Street from the same spot.  When the area was pedestrianized back in the 1980s, the city purchased added the arch.  The arch came from St. Andrews United Church at Bloor and Park Road (not on this site, moved here).  The mural on the wall, right hand side …

old stone arch remains, on yonge street near Sheard and McGill streets

… is The ‘History of Music on Yonge’ mural that covers two large walls on the same building.  This is the south side of that building.   It was painted by Adrian Hayles and features music legends who played in Toronto in the 1950s and 1960s.

History of Music on Yonge mural, south side,

Brown Derby tavern and Steeles tavern part of mural

part of History of Music mural by Adrian Hayles, group of male singers in black shirts, white ties, and black stripe on white suits

On the north side of building, the mural shows Ronnie Hawkins, Glenn Gould, Dianne Brooks, Jackie Shane, Muddy Waters, Shirley Matthews, B.B. King, Gordon Lightfoot, and Oscar Peterson.

history of music on yonge mural by Adrian Hayles, north side, Massey Hall, Gordon Lightfoot, B.B. King, piano player, tall, vertical mural

part of a mural by Adrian Hayles, piano player with multicoloured keyboard

below: Behind Yonge street, between Granby and McGill (Joseph Sheard parkette)

Joseph Sheard park in Toronto, old brick house, with many tall trees, some new condos

new condo towers downtown

below: Looking north up Yonge from Granby

looking north on yonge from granby, just south of college

below: Aura

looking south on yonge by ikea store and fusettes restaurant

below: People on a corner… To the woman in the brown coat – A penny for your thoughts (Does anyone use that expression anymore?)

two women holding bright green coffee cups, talking to each other, man in background crossing the street,

below: The southeast corner of Yonge and Gerrard is still a construction site….

redevelopment of building on southeast corner of yonge and gerrard, old facade being saved

below: …. but now it is on its way up!

redevelopment of building on southeast corner of yonge and gerrard, old facade being saved

below:  On the northeast corner, also Yonge and Gerrard is an older building that is still standing… for now.  An almost obscene 76 storeys with 828 residences.  No car parking; parking for 828 bikes only.   May I recommend the elevator repair business as a career prospect for those who are looking for ideas?  Also, we could have quite the discussion about bikes and bike lanes……

blue and white city of toronto development notice sign

 

man talking on his phone, walks under covered scaffolding, beside hoardings with painted diagonal stripes in yellow and blue

people walking on sidewalk, approaching covered scaffolding at construction site

looking through scaffolding, to west side of yonge, older 1800s buildings with mansour roofs, H and R block, cotti coffee,

yonge street, motorbike parked outside cotti coffee

below: Looking south on Yonge from Elm

street scene, looking south on yonge from elm, towards yonge dundas square, now called sankofa square

upper levels of buildings on west side of yonge, just north of dundas, includingmcdonalds,

below: The Zanzibar Tavern glows in the morning light

view from Elm street, looking north at Yonge, zanzibar strip club glows in the morning sun, condo redevelopment on the northwest corner of yonge and elm

below: Hoardings around the construction site on the northwest corner of Yonge and Elm

artwork titled Homecomings on the hoardings at construction site, northeast corner of elm and yonge,

below: Orange! Even more construction on Yonge, this time the southwest corner of Yonge and Elm

elm street, south side, looking east, at yonge

below: No more pizzas here.

damaged exterior wall on now abandoned pizza pizza restaurant, orange and yellow ties on point, some missing

below: Looking west on Elm

person walking on sidewalk on elm street, walking west from yonge

below:  A quick stop at the Cong Caphe.  That’s an iced coconut coffee!!

bouquet of flowers on a coffee shop table along with a cinnamon bun and an iced coffee drink

 

Sherlock Holmes hangs out behind the library

Posted: December 22, 2023 in graffiti and street art, public art
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Behind the Toronto Reference Library that is…..

The passage between Asquith and Church streets has been renamed Sherlock Holmes Walk and it now  features a large mural honoring the fictional detective first brought to life by British author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

hoardings, decrated with panels with sherlock holmes theme, painted by various artists. title sections,

“I am a brain Watson. The rest of me is a mere appendix”, section by Bernice Lum

The mural was developed in partnership with the TTC,  the City of Toronto’s StreetARToronto (StART) program, the Toronto Public Library (TPL) and the Friends of the Arthur Conan Doyle Collection.  It differs from most street art in that the panels were produced elsewhere.   They also have a shiny finish on them so there are many reflections.

 

pathway behind library, with hoardings on right side, painted with images with sherlock holmes theme

The hoardings surround a construction site for the TTC’s Bloor-Yonge Capacity Improvements Project. The site will be home to a future fan building to enhance air circulation at the newly renovated station.

below: The Palace of Westminster (England’s parliament buildings) as Sherlock’s “Mind Palace”, an image created by EGR.  Other London scenes can be found in the background.

EGR image for Sherlock Holmes mural, Holmes with Westminster Palace in London as the top part of his head

below: A younger Sherlock Holmes playing with toy soldiers and toy dinosaurs, Jeff Blackburn

boy in blue pith helmet lying onthe grass playing with toy dinosaurs, painting in a mural by jeff blackburn

below: A collection of images from Heidi Berton,

mural by Heidi Berton, Sherlock Holmes related images

part of a long wall of hoardings around TTC property, at left is mural by Heidi Berton, Sherlock Holmes related images

part of a larger mural, fountain pen lying on white piece of paper, words written, ink blots on paper and table

below: Niiwin Binesi (Four Birds) – Brent Hardisty

part of a mural about sherlock homes, a section by indigenous artist,


A group of StART artists provided artwork for the mural – I haven’t been able to match all the artists to the sections (and I missed a panel or two?) As well as the artists named above, the following were also involved in this project:  Artists: Adrian Hayles, Annwin Arts, Fatspatrol, Brian Jiang,  Jasmin Pannu, Keitha Keeshig Tobias, Megan Oldhues, Melika Saeeda, Poser.

below: An image that makes me think of  “The Hound of the Baskervilles” novel.

 

Oakwood village

Posted: July 17, 2021 in graffiti and street art, locations, public art, stores
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crocheted concentric circles in a window with reflections of the houses across the street

Oakwood Village BIA is centered on Oakwood Avenue, south of Eglinton West.

Toronto street signs, Jesmond Ave with Oakwood village top,

below: “Celebrating Queer Black Lives (2021) by Curtia Wright.  This is also part of a STEPS project, I HeART Main Street, which features 26 murals on “Main Streets” in Ontario this year.

mural on the side of The Beer Store, in bright colours, two women with dreadlocks, eyes closed and about to kiss

below: We are all Canadians, and with a big heart too

hand written sign in window that says We live in Canada We are all Canadians, Toronto Ontario, Below sign is a heart made of crocheted circles in different colours

below: Sidewalk games
paintings on sidewalk, game with numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, blue water a truck, and a hot air balloon

below: Sidewalk vowels
drawings and paintings on the sidewalk featuring vowels, A E I O and U

below: Shiny palm tree about 5 metres tall – an art installation from 2010 on the traffic island where Oakwood meets Vaughan Road.  It serves as homage to the neighbourhood’s Caribbean community.

Shiny metal sculpture of a palm tree

a house with a glassed in front porch and a Canadian flag flying outside the door, other stores and houses in the background

two small houses pus a couple of slightly larger houses on Oakwood, two have front porches with chairs on them, and well tended front lawns

a grey concrete flower pot that is supposed to look like Roman urn, with bright red flowers growing in it plus a blue and white polka dot child's plastic windmill

below: Rusty the Snowman!

an old rusted metal decoration on a chainlink gate. laughing snowman, front steps and flowers in planters in the background

below: La Cubana, Supermercado Latina.

La Cubana supermercado Latino, grocery store, first storey painted in blue and white stripes like the Cuban flag, Cuban flag hanging in the window

The side of La Cubana supermercado grocery store with pictures of food, also stored items under blue tarps, and a bell box painted with a yellow measuring tape and articles of clothing, a bonnet, a tie, a cap, and three pairs of shoes

A purple picture in the window of a door with a cardboard sign in middle that says Please do not put garbage in front of the store, reflections of stores across the street in the window as well

Awning cover on Edmundo Snack bar, with round Carlsberg beer advert above it, exterior

three storey white brick building with reddish mansard roof, lower floor is Asmareeno Grocery and Alert Pest Control

items for sale in displayed in store window that is still decorated for Christmas even though it is summer. Bowls, tea pots, dishes

reflections in the window of Alfredos hair styling, closed, with a small Canadian flag in the window

below: Recently sold, Open Bible Baptist Church, just south of Eglinton.

old red brick church at 587 Oakwood, windows boarded up and cross removed from over front door

The New Jerusalem Spanish Church with a green hedge in front of it

below: Old gate in front of new (or being renovated) house

below: Where WTF = Wear The Facemask!

4 broken front door bell buzzers on a white peeling paint wall showing yellow paint below. sticker on yellow with man from monopoly game saying covid? wtf*? *wear the mask

below: Reggae Lane, just south of Eglinton. The mural in the background was painted by Adrian Hayles in 2015.  Better pictures of it are on a previous blog post about Reggae Lane

murals on reggae lane

graffiti, black spray paint on a light grey concrete wall, outline of a person holding up a sign above head that says Afroism, 2020

below: Waiting…..

below: Never Give Up!

door with a window at 506 Oakwood, with a picture of a bird with a frog in its beak and the words Never give up

a woman dresses in black t shirt and shorts and holding her bike is getting sir from an air pump at an ultramar service center

below: Looking north up Oakwood to Eglinton West. The construction of Oakwood station still has a long way to go! The previous blog post (‘Eglinton and Oakwood’) looked at this intersection/construction.

looking north on Oakwood to where it ends at Eglinton West, crane, construction of new oakwood subway station

Ashbridges wallnoize wall

Posted: October 31, 2020 in graffiti and street art, locations
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There is a large construction project underway adjacent to the Ashbridges Bay water treatment facility between Lakeshore Blvd and Eastern Ave. The whole site is surrounded by plywood hoardings.  In mid-September, Wallnoize 2020 took over the area and painted water themed murals on a large portion of the hoardings.   More than ninety artists participated in this project, all coordinated by Cruz1.

signs at the entrance to the construction site for the new ashbirdge's bay water treatment facility on Eastern Avenue.

Let’s take a walk around the site, starting by walking east on Eastern Avenue towards Coxwell, south across the park, and then back along Lakeshore.  I suggest that you’re sitting down since I tried to cover all the murals and it might take a while!

below: Painted by Danielle Hyde

mural of large brown hands holding water

below: Trina Moyan‘s horse has a mane like many brightly coloured feathers.  “‘Water Spirit Horse’ – Nehiyaw Mistatim (Plains Cree horse).“

a brown horse with mane that lookslike coloured feathers, face painted in primary colours, mural

below: Portrait of a street artist in pink and white by Keitha Keeshig Tobias

mural in pink and white, a face wearing a gas mask, breathing apparatus for spray painting

below: by Siezswift

a tree in front of a text throw up mural in blues

autumn trees in front of hoardings covered with murals, wallnoize, leaves on the ground,

below: ‘Nibi Manitous’ by Cedareve. The water spirits are are shapeshifting between human and animal.

mural by cedar eve on blue hoardings, fish like creature with human heads

mural with two fish making a circle with a deer in betwee, some trees on both sides, multi coloured background

autumn trees in front of hoardings covered with murals, wallnoize, leaves on the ground,

below: “You are Loved” in a heart dripping with water in the center of a mural that is the product of the combined efforts of Shawna Howe and Monique Aura.   Rainbows and dancing stars.

mural on the hoardings around the ashbridge bay water treatment facility expansion construction site. the words you are loved are in a heart shaped space in the middle, brown hands holding a shallow brown bowl fromwhich a rainbow is pouring out into the smaller cupped hands of another person

below:  A head in the water by Shina

mural on hoardings near Ashbridge Bay water treatment facility, brown profile in water near yellow and orange shore

below: Bird and flowers by Jennifer, her first solo piece

mural on hoardings near Ashbridge Bay water treatment facility, wallnoize project, indigenous art style bird facing upwards with flowers on both sides

below: This picture of a bald man snorkeling was painted by still_hungry

mural on hoardings near Ashbridge Bay water treatment facility, wallnoize project, head of bald man with diving mask and snorkel, in the water,

below:  He looks like he’s made of water and he looks like he’s on a skateboard.  Painted by 3tr_t

mural on hoardings near Ashbridge Bay water treatment facility, blues wildstyle with man that looks like he's made of water, on a skateboard

below: Floating away, floating with the fish in a pink bathing suit.  Painted by Ghazaleh

hoardings around a construction site, beside vehicle entrance, a mural of a woman in a pink bathing suit floating on her back in a pool

below: by Francis Pratt, the poolboy cares apparently

the letters s o r b ae, with different fonts and different backgrounds

below: Branislav Dordevic‘s mural suggests keeping an eye on the water and ice, warm and cold.

mural, a large eye at top center, ice bergs, lake, ice and snow by onesketchyguy

below: Water being poured into three tall clear glasses because we’re all thirsty for clean water, a mural by Julia Antohi

three tall glasses of water, each with a different amount, with the words thirsty for clean water, in a turquoise box, a mural

below: A green god with his trident – either Neptune the Roman god of the sea or Poseidon his Greek counterpart, by tongbokes

a small tree in front of murals on hoardings near Ashbridge Bay water treatment facility, wallnoize project,

below: After the green god, is a more somber toned mural with the words, 1752, Mi’kmaq Nation, Take care of the water.

looking uphill at murals on hoardings near Ashbridge Bay water treatment facility, wallnoize project,

below: A mermaid in a jar by Yasaman Mehrsa. Has she been captured?  Is she in a protective bubble?  Do mermaids live in glass houses?

mermaid in a jar in the water, a mural

mural on hoardings near Ashvridge Bay water treatment facility, wallnoize project,

mural on hoardings near Ashvridge Bay water treatment facility, wallnoize project,

below: Surfer dude by broguymanz and a green throw-up on purple by Lukas Byra

mural on hoardings near Ashvridge Bay water treatment facility, wallnoize project,

truck and vehicle entrance to construction site, orange cones, wire fence, hoardings,

below: “Be Like Water” by Adrian Hayles and  what could be blue sea serpent, or a blue Chinese dragon, by Avril Wu

wallnoize street art murals on blue hoardings around new water treatment plant, by an entrance to the site, a mural of a man

below: A mermaid of another sort, with skulls and burning candles, brought to life by Oriah Scott.

mural, long haired woman with nose ring, topless, upper body covered with tattoos, with scarves over her arms, halo on head, skulls beside her and a burning candle in each hand

below: Bomi (aka bomitosangrantes) painted the lines and white dots that cover this corner

wallnoize street art murals on blue hoardings around new water treatment plant, cranes behind the fence, murals at the corner

below: It’s not that easy to see, but the grey letters that look like stones in water along a rocky shore were painted by Getso.  In the foreground is what looks like a mountain of flowing water (by bareket)

long line of murals on blue hoardings zround water treatment facitily upgrades construction site, with yellow water pipe running along beside, green grass,
below: This pink striped octopus with stars in its eyes is the work of Jieun June Kim.  Did you know that October 8th was World Octopus Day?

a mural of a pink striped octopus sitting in the water with head above water and some tentacles sticking up above the water, by Jeun June Kim

below: Like the words say, Kizmet the original Toronto raccoon, Radcliff is his name.  I don’t think he’s going after the cranes even though that’s what it looks like.  Swimming away from Radcliff is a Sedna, a curving woman by Angela Aulia.

wallnoize street art murals on blue hoardings around new water treatment plant, a kizmet raccoon and a person swimming

below: A KERZ throw-up to the left of the BUBZ wildstyle  with the tam-wearing duck with a bottle of water on top

 

a duck character looks over the top of two text based graffiti murals one says kerz and the other is by bubzart

below: A “Clew” throw-up by Clewin77

throw-up style graffiti on mural in light blue and olive green

below: Three colourful fish swimming in the waves by Poonam Sharma

mural of stylized fish swimming in the water with the sun shining down from above

below: Blackbird flying along with the moon in different phases is the work of Natalie Very B.   On the right, the wildstyle text-based mural was painted by spud1

2 murals on hoardings, a stylized blackbird flying with the moon in different phases around it. on the right is a wildstyle

below: A watery wildstyle by Trevor Goodwin (aka Horus)

wildstyle mural on blue hoardings, pine tree beside

black and white wildstyle mural on blue hoardings, pine tree beside

below: The white eyes are a bit disconcerting – awake? asleep?-  but otherwise she’s colourful.  Kizmet32 again.

water treatment facility construction hoardings, mural, by kizmet 32, a woman's face in green, blue and red, on top of a textual

pine tree beside hoardings around a construction site that have been painted by wallnoize, a group of street artists who have each painted a mural on a section of the wall

below: Burner on the left and Poser on the right

two text murals on hoardings, on the right is poser, and on the left is one with two eel heads poking up on top

below: The happy grinning lobster with a fish on each arm is Gentle Giant aka big_doz261.   The other mural is by onerzeus

a cartoonlike character red lobster grinning with a female fish on either of two arms, one at each side

below: A little fish nears the blue head at the end of the CRUZ tag in this Cruz1 mural.

mural by Cruz 1 on hoardings around a construction site near Ashbridges, a blue face and lots of colours around word that says Cruz, plus a tiny fish in top right

blue text

below: by Rusty (aka gutter_crew_guru),  If anyone would like to attempt an interpretation, I’d love to hear from you.  There’s a lot of detail in the mural that is fascinating yet creepy. Happy Halloween!

bright orange background like fire

below: A collaborative effort between Rowell Soller and @tenneshaskyers

portrait of a black man in the middle surrounded by calligraphy in black and white

on blue hoardings, a row of text graffiti

below: A very realistic looking creature in the water painted by Cesar Ar.

very realistic painting of a water dragon or monster in the water

below: Mural by Julie Amlin

Julie Amlin mural on Ashbridge water treatment construction hoardings, curves and curvy shapes in different colours

Jipik'am mural of a snake with tongue out, first nations symbols, words that say land back

hoardings around a construction site that have been painted by wallnoize, a group of street artists who have each painted a mural on a section of the wall with city of Toronto water tower behind

below: The work of invader.zima

green text, with a machine

below: Horizontal stripes of fish and water in a basket, or woven onto fabric, by Dakota Brant beside a Octo-Godess-Sea-Witch Lady by Katrina Canendo

two murals

below: A vintage scuba diver among the weeds, by silestyle161

below: Two whales swimming in the ocean, an orca on the left by Ren Lonechild of Red Urban Nation. The whale on the right was painted by Camila Wong and she describes it on instagram as “Inspired from the Great Hokusai artwork, expressive waves with colourful brushstrokes and whale represent overcoming challenges in your life“.

2 murals, one is a whale and the other is a dolphin, swimming in the water

below: Three Nick Sweetman green moray eels looking at SADAR‘s (aka blazeworks) mechanical octopus.

two murals. one is 3 large eel heads in yellos by Nick Sweetman, the other is a mechanical looking octopus

below: Two murals made with text.  FATHOM on the left and the creative efforts of RUN (Red Urban Nation) Artist Collective

two textual paintings on a wall, one with hashtag red urban nation and the other says fathom

below: Ashbridges water treatment facility with the wall.

round Ashbridges water treatment tower with lots of green grass in front, a blue hoardings wall around the construction of new parts of water treatment plant, with lots of street art murals painted on the hoardings

below: Looking in the other direction.

city of toronto concrete water tower behind blue hoardings with street art murals on them

below: Calligraphy by Kreecha (right) and a painting by Art Child (left)

two murals on hoardsing with crane behind.

below: Two figures nose to nose with their reflections in the moonlight, by Julii McMillan. The nail polish matches the blues of the water.

mural by Julii McMillan of two identical heads nose to nose in the water up to their noses, reflections of the two. hands beside heads so they reflect too. water, dark, moonlight

below: Victoria Day painted the very pink woman with grey hair who is surrounded by lily pads and little green dinosaurs? eels?   To the right is Clean Water text by SKAM

two murals on hoardings around new water treatment plant by Ashbridges, on the left a very pink faced lady with grey curly hair in the water with little green dragons and lily pads. on the right, text painting that says clean water H 2 O

below: A lovely orange octopus by Spyone beside a man partially submerged in the water, Rise Up by James (aka mistersoy)

two murals on hoardings around new water treatment plant by Ashbridges, an orange octopus and a man in a red and white striped T shirt with words rise up

A white boat with many portholes sails past, while on the right, by Andrea Rodriguez (aka Andrea Cataro) a pink dolphin and a grey walrus swimming underwater.

a dog and cat head in front of a large white boat in one of the two murals on hoardings around new water treatment plant by Ashbridges. other mural is a pink dolphin and a blue narwhal playing in the water

below: Abstract and sort of geometric, in teal and purple, by David Baron

abstract geometric mural by forge fury in teal, purple, and black

mural, an old woman's face in the middle, stylized brown trees, lines for earth and sky

below: A wonderful woman with turquoise dreadlocks in a turquoise sea under a pink octopus wearing a tophat.  This mural was painted by Désiré Betty

mural on hoardings, a woman with long braided turquoise hair under a pink octopus wearing a black top hat, mural by dbetty13, Desire Betty

below: A blue, purple, and white sea monster  by Andre Castro looks towards red and purple text by mr_tensoe2 

two murals side by side on blue hoardings, on the left is a blue monster by andre castro and on the right is an orange and red text graffiti

looking along a wall of murals on blue hoardings

below: By dat_dude_stu

text street art in layers, red on top, yellow in the middle and green on the bottom

below: Something other-worldly by fongkikid

a painting by fingkikid, fuzzy abstract watery thing in blues and purples

below: By mr. Water

mural, in blues, stylized waves, or text, could be either

looking along a wall of murals on blue hoardings to where they cross and block the sidewalk

below: Swirls by Flip surround a slightly greenish woman with hair that merge into the waves.  The woman’s face was painted by @gosiakomorski One Love – Don’t let hate win.

wallnoize street art murals on blue hoardings around new water treatment plant, a woman with long flowing hair and with her eyes closed

below:  Luvs crocodile with crocs floating in the water to the right of a small elfin(?) woman with long pink hair by @monicavcao

wallnoize street art murals on blue hoardings around new water treatment plant, a crocosile, very realistic looking, by luvs, with its feet in water

below: At the end of the painted section of the hoardings is this old green car, “little deuce coupe” surrounded by skulls, a dudeman ‘trademark’ of sorts.

wallnoize street art murals on blue hoardings around new water treatment plant, one end of the hoardings, by the bike trail, an old green car by spud, and a graphic in neutral tones,

a few new ones

Posted: September 13, 2019 in alleys, graffiti and street art
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…murals that is.

construction fence around a building being built, also a small beige house with white trim. Between the two is an entrance to an alley, there is a mural on the wall of the house, in the alley

On Euclid Avenue just south of College there is a lane that runs towards Palmerston Avenue.   I am not sure if it has a name (Paese Lane is the extension of this lane on the other side of Euclid).   As you can see, there are now some murals in this lane.

murals in an alley,

below: Pinks and blues combined in a mural by Getso

a mural of black lines making circles and other irregular shapes filled in with pinks, purples, and blues

below: An unfinished mural by Adrian Hayles

partially finished mural by Adrian Hayles, in yellow, a face and some text

below: A portrait of Greta Thunberg by Meaghan Claire Kehoe.

mural in an alley, large portrait of Greta Thunberg, the Swedish teenager advocating for action on climate change, painted by Meaghan Claire Kehoe

below: A dark haired woman in a blue head scarf with a purple conehead flower by drippin_soul aka Kalkidan Assefa

mural my drippin_soul of a woman in blue head scarf beside a large pinkish flower

below: Raccoons have taken over this part of the alley! A mural by Emily May Rose

raccoon mural by Mily May Rose, raccoon on top of garbage cans, climbing on roofs, spray painting, inside garbage bins

two raccoons from a mural by Emily May Rose,

below: (across the lane from the ones above) This little green guy is up to no good!  Great ready for an explosion!  Perhaps life’s a blast?

small green guy with big ears painted on a wall, orange shirt and blue pants. Hands on a trigger to start an explosion

Laneway mural project organized by KJ Bit Collective

the second half of the band

Posted: September 18, 2017 in graffiti and street art, locations
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Last November I blogged about a large 22 storey mural on Yonge Street just below College (music makers on Yonge ).  This mural was by Adrian Hayles and it includes many Canadian music icons.   Recently, Hayles has created a matching mural of the same size on the other side (south side) of the building at 423 Yonge Street with portraits of more Canadian musicians.

tall mural, 22 storeys tall, on the side of a TCHC apartment building in Toronto, by Adrian Hayles, portraits of Canadian musicians such as the band Rush, Carole Pope and others

Rush, Goddo, the Band, David Clayton Thomas, Lonnie Johnson, Selome Bey, Carole Pope, Cathy Young, Jay Douglas, Kim Mitchell, Mandala, and John and Lee and the Checkmates are all shown in the mural.  It is best seen if you are walking north on Yonge Street although some trees partially block the view.

Canadian musicians on a wall, mural by Adrian Hayles,

part of a music mural, a trumpet player, male, with graying hair,

part of face and hands on a mural with a nesting pigeon beside it. It looks like the hand is reaching for the pigeon.

music mural,

bottom part of mural, guitar player and band dressed in white suits with black stripes, black pointy toe shoes, wall is behind two orange and black cones.

The mural was commissioned by the Downtown Yonge BIA,

music makers on Yonge

Posted: November 17, 2016 in graffiti and street art, locations
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As I was walking down Yonge Street yesterday I happened upon this, faces playing peak-a-boo with passersby on the street.  It’s a new 22 storey mural being painted on the north side of 423 Yonge Street.  A ‘musical mural’ featuring the faces of musicians from the 1950’s, 1960’s, and 1970’s.

a vertical mural painted on the side of a multi storey building, the mural is a series of faces.

below: From top to bottom: Ronnie Hawkins, Glenn Gould, Diane Brooks, Jackie Shane and Muddy Waters.

a vertical mural painted on the side of a multi storey building, the mural is a series of faces in a totem pole like arrangement

below: The bottom of the mural

musicians and singers painted in a mural, a black man in a suit, a black man playing a guitar, a man with longish hair singing into a mic with his eyes closed.

below: Looking up…. Shirley Matthews, B.B. King, Gordon Lightfoot and Oscar Peterson.

famous musicians and singers from the past painted on a mural, B.B. King, Gordon Lightfoot and Oscar Peterson

#yongemural | #adrianhayles

Florence Street hoardings

Posted: September 9, 2016 in graffiti and street art, locations
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There is a vacant lot on Florence Street that is now mostly hidden behind a wood fence.
These hoardings are now home to a mural by Adrian Hayles.

chain link fence with barbed wire above it on the left side and then a wood fence on the right, wood fence has been painted with a mural and here in the mural is a man walking a dog past a building

 The black letters in the mural spell the words Brockton Village.

a car is parked in front of a mural painted on wood hoardings.

part of a mural, stylized woman in high heels with seemingly no clothes, walks past silhouette of buldings

The blackness and the shininess of the mural makes it quite reflective.

two old mattresses lean against a fence that has been painted with a mural in black, red and light blue. Along a sidewalk with cars parked beside, a few small trees.

part of a mural, man walking a dog

 

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