Posts Tagged ‘alley’

Croft Street

Posted: November 5, 2013 in graffiti and street art, locations
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Croft Street is not a street, but it’s more than a lane.

It runs between Harbord Street and College Street, just west of Bathurst Street.  Although there are many different interesting things to be seen when you walk along this street, I have chosen to focus on the street art for this blog post.   The following is a selection of what I saw.

large piece of street art on a couple of garage doors.

surveying the scene

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a large piece of street art on a garage door.

a closer look

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large piece of street art on a garage door, in purples and greys. Above the garage door is a rusted metal wall.

paint and rust

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Blue garage door with the words can't sleep so I write written on it. There is also a stick figure drawing of a girl with a can of spray paint in her handof a girl

can’t sleep so I write

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mural showing two red brick houses, a small grey apartment building and a green street sign that says Harbord St.

Harbord street sign

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Did you know our Monty the cat? King of Croft and all that (Ask your dog. Ask your cat) Did you give him a pet Once you had met? Or tickle his soft silken tum tum? Did he tell you his tale in articulate meow And share his affection with a rub of his brow? His loss here has left us really quite blue But remembering all of those of YOU Who knew how to share a sweet kindness true Who would pause on the way, In midst of each day, To offer wee beastie affectionate feastie In Memory of Monty Thank you!

Did you know our Monty the cat?
King of Croft and all that
(Ask your dog. Ask your cat)
Did you give him a pet
Once you had met?
Or tickle his soft silken tum tum?
Did he tell you his tale in articulate meow
And share his affection with a rub of his brow?
His loss here has left us really quite blue
But remembering all of those of YOU
Who knew how to share a sweet kindness true
Who would pause on the way,
In midst of each day,
To offer wee beastie
affectionate feastie
In Memory of Monty
Thank you!

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Mural painted on the side of a garage. It has been painted to look like a red brick wall. In the wall is a yellow window and a black cat is standing on the window sill.

painted cat on painted window sill on painted brick wall

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Mural on a garage door showing a large group of people of many different races. There is a TTC street car in the center of the crowd. Some people are waving flags - a Canadian flag, a German flag, and a Union Jack

on the streets of Toronto

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An old wood door and wall with faded graffiti on it.

hidden doorway

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Street art on a garage door showing large stylized fruit with faces on them. A yellow banana, an orangish pink pear and apple and two other pieces of yellow fruit.

tutti frutti

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A graffiti picture of a boy who is wearing a black and white striped sweater. Shown from the hips up. His hands are on his hips. It is on a white garage door.

with hands on hips and with added words

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brown garage door, brown front door and rusty brown mail box. On the garage door is a piece of street art with orange and blue blobs. The front door is decorated with a grid made of metal strips.

art at the front door

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Mural on a garage door showing a man like figure made of leaves and other greenery. He is surrounded by, of made up of, flowers and plants

greenery

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A stencil graffiti of a stylized face in black and white. It is on a very red wall.

black and white and red all over

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Here I stand in silence but the patter of the rain who I was, you'll never know; my triumph

Here I stand in silence
but the patter of the rain
who I was, you’ll never know;
my triumph

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A stencil graffiti of a woman's head. She has shoulder length hair and she is staring straight ahead with a stunned look on her face.

staring eyes

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graffiti of a man's face. The mouth is actually a mail slot in a door.

mail man

At the south end of the street, there is a large red, white and blue mural by posr.  I have not included it in this blog post because it warrants a post of its own.  It’s the next blog post, or the URL is https://mcfcrandall.wordpress.com/2013/11/05/posr-on-croft-street/

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red umbrella day

Posted: November 4, 2013 in abstract, general Toronto
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umbrella, parapluie, paraguas

red, rouge, rojo,

Grey, damp days always need a touch of colour.

Yesterday, as I walked from Dupont subway station to Kensington I made use of my red umbrella.  It kept me dry.  It brightened up a few photos!

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A red umbrella is open and sitting on the wet pavement beside a grey painted wall.

Every rainy day needs a splash of colour.

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A red umbrella is wedged between two poles beside a purplish brown garage door in an alley

caught in the alley

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A mural on a garage door shows a girl reaching out her hand. The umbrella is placed by her hand.

When this mural was first painted, there was a downspout for the eavestrough running down the side of the wall. Her hand was painted to look like it was reaching for, or holding onto, the downspout. Because that downspout is no longer there, I decided that she needed something else to hold on to.

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A red umbrella is lying on a wet sidewalk beside a large puddle. There are lots of leaves on the sidewalk as well.

left in a puddle

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Whatsoever

‘Whatsoever you do’, a sculpture by Timothy Schmalz.  It is also referred to as ‘Homeless Jesus’.  This installation is outside of St. Stephen-in-the Fields church on College Street. It was installed on 14 September and was originally scheduled to remain there until 6 October. According to the description of the sculpture, it is a fiberglass cast of a silent, huddled panhandler. A person that people walk by and ignore. But if you look at the outstretched hand, you will see the stigmata (the wounds of Christ).
When we first placed the umbrella over her, we worried about the appropriateness of such an action but as I took the photo, a passerby commented on how people have been known to place cheeseburgers and other food in her hand.
The statue was stolen at the end of November. More information

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A close up photo of the red umbrella's reflection on the roof of a black car. There are lots of rain drops on the roof as well.

car roof reflections

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A red umbrella is beside a stone and brick wall that was once painted yellow. The yellow paint has started to wear off.

red and yellow

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A white line drawing of a man with a top hat (upper body only) on a dark grey wall. On the ground beside the wall is a red umbrella

top hat, umbrella…. where are my dancing shoes?

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A man is crouching beside a brick wall that has been painted purple and grey. He is holding a red umbrella over his head.

Toronto siesta

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A red umbrella in front of a wall made of different coloured bricks - yellowish, orange, brown, and purple

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A red umbrella on the ground beside a gate made of weathered wood

something old, something new

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The red umbrella is wedged between the top of a chainlink gate and a wood door.

The End

Special thanks to Sasha and David who played along and made the day even better!

Also to Michael for crouching against a purple wall!

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paper people

Posted: October 25, 2013 in graffiti and street art, locations
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paper people of Graffiti Alley

a paper graffiti of Bill Gates, Bill Murray and Bill Clinton on a graffiti covered door

Three Bills
This is now a recurring theme in stencil/paper graffiti. Originally, the Bills were used in response to ‘post no bills’ signs on fences surrounding construction sites.
The Bills here, from left to right, are Bill Gates, Bill Murray and Bill Clinton

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paper graffiti of ROb Ford, from the shoulders up, giving the finger.

In the fall of 2011, many of these Rob Ford stencils appeared in Graffiti Alley, amongst other places. They were the work of Toronto street artist, Deadboy. This might be the only one that remains in this alley.

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a poster with a black and white line drawing of a man's head. He has a beard. Beside him are words.

Leonard Cohen: “only one thing made him happy and now that it was gone everything made him happy”

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a black and white paper poster/stencil of a woman throwing her arms in the air and walking away. It is on a grey door in a lane. There is a broom beside the door.

“I don’t do floors”
“Clean it up yourself”

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A green and white sticker of a woman's head, stylized..

a brown and black set of posters/stencils of three heads. Two are the same - they look like heads with big ears and they are wearing very big sunglasses. The third looks like a woman in a helmet like the kind an astronaut might wear.

big ears and the astronaut

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I have not included all the stencils in Graffiti Alley as some have appeared in prior posts.  See https://mcfcrandall.wordpress.com/2013/08/22/walking-graffiti-alley-again/

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a stencil of large headed, no armed, creature.

alien in the alley

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With thanks to:

Georgette for her help with the three Bills

and Sally who recognized Leonard Cohen.

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