Posts Tagged ‘bear’

Finch and Morningside

Posted: November 7, 2020 in graffiti and street art, intersections, locations
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I heard that there was a new mural near Finch and Morningside which of course means that I have to try and find it.  In doing so, I found three murals.  This is their story.

Blue and white Toronto street sign for Staines Rd, top part is sign for Morningside Heights, naturally beautiful

This is Morningside Heights at the far eastern side of Scarborough.  The Rouge River, the border between Scarborough and Pickering, is not far away.  The Toronto Zoo is also nearby.

below: Bus 133, Neilson Road, waits at a stop on Finch just west of Morningside.  The houses that you see in the background are on Morningside.

TTC bus parked on Finch just west of Morningside, route 133 Neilson. A row of houses in the background, on Morningside

The Canadian Pacific railway tracks run on a diagonal at this intersection.  They cross Morningside south of Finch and they also cross Finch just west of Morningside.  The bridges, and underpasses, are very close to each other.   In this photo, the train is on the bridge over Finch.  Do people often stand outside the front of a train?

Canadian Pacific railway engines pass over bridge over Finch Ave. A TTC bus is waiting in the foreground, as well as a man standing at the bbus shelter.

In the above picture, the wall of the underpass on the left is unpainted.  The wall on the right, the one that you can’t see has a mural by Mediah.

under the bridge, part of a mural by Mediah IAH Digital, train underpass on Finch Ave in Scarborough

It is called “Interoh Gale” and Mural Routes was a partner in its development last year.

part of a mural by Mediah IAH Digital, train underpass on Finch Ave in Scarborough

maple leaf and stripes, under the bridge, part of a mural by Mediah IAH Digital, train underpass on Finch Ave in Scarborough

below: west end

west end, part of a mural by Mediah IAH Digital, train underpass on Finch Ave in Scarborough

orange maple leaf

below: east end

part of a mural by Mediah IAH Digital, train underpass on Finch Ave in Scarborough

below:  Construction has begun on the southwest corner of this intersection. The site plan, approved last year, shows a Shell gas station with retail on three sides of it.  Leases are available! (you’ll have to google it).

construction site

dump truck leaving a construction site

below: There is a pond with a walking trail around it almost directly across Morningside from the above construction site.

pond with Canada geese, backs of houses on the far shore,

below: Two people, after being on the trail around the pond, walk south on Morningside via an underpass that has murals on both sides.  This is mural on the east side.  It is older than the others but it is in reasonably good shape.

two people walk past a mural on a railway underpass

below: A boy on a skate board and a girl doing what?  The two green signs say Love and Malvern.  I don’t know Scarborough well enough to know if the buildings in the mural represent real ones.   Malvern is just to the west.

end of a mural underpass, sloped concrete with railing on top

mural, picture of a growling bear's head

below: MFRC is Malvern Family Resource Centre and there is a picture on their website of the unveiling of this mural in September 2015.

old mural on concrete wall, of a person on a bike on a path, someone playing basketball, in the mural,

below: This is the newest mural.  It is called “Colour Outside the Lines” and it is the work of Lacey and Layla Art (aka Lacey Jane and Layla Folkmann)

a mural with three large kids faces in purples, pinks, and blues,

part of a mural by Lacey and Layla called Colour Outside the Lines, a young girl looking upward, a child's drawing of a girl in with a curly yellow line around it

mural, two large girls faces, under a railway bridge, on Morningside, by Lacey and Layla

part of a mural, a large face of a boy in pinks and blues, with a yellow crown drawn on top of his head

below: Looking north on Morningside from Finch.

looking north up Morningside Ave fr4 land road with a wide boulevard in the middle, small trees have been planted on the boulevard. Row of houses on the righ, east, side of Morningside. om Finch,

On the northwest corner of this intersection, there is a large piece of vacant land.  The railway tracks run along the west side of it.   I can’t find any information about it online.  There isn’t the usual blue and white Notice of Development sign.   The website on the billboard shows some of the houses that they have built/remodeled but there is nothing about this particular project.

billboard advertisement for development property on vacant land, rovillage coming soon it says

Once it was fenced in by the looks of it. Not much of the black cloth remains.  It looks a bit creepy, as nature undoes man’s work.

remnants of a black cloth fence that has rotted, outdoors, hanging off of posts, vacant, land, weedy,

But now it’s for sale maybe?  LOL. A cliff hanger ending for this post!

a for sale sign half hidden in the overgrown weeds

 

a Yorkville meander with Captain Canuck, Batman and a mountie or two

Posted: May 16, 2018 in galleries, locations
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looking down Hazelton Ave towards Yorkville Ave., two older houses, now used as commercial businesses, one half painted blue and the other half is red.

It’s still May and the CONTACT Photography Festival is still on so I am still trying to see as much as possible.   Yesterday afternoon I went wandering in Yorkville where there is lots to see and do besides a couple of CONTACT exhibits.

below: Captain Canuck.  I started with the TD Gallery at the Toronto Reference Library.  It wasn’t that long ago that I was there (April I think) but the exhibit has changed.   It is now ‘Alter Ego: Comics and Canadian Identity’.  Isn’t Captain Canuck the most famous Canadian superhero?  He first appeared in 1975.

painting of Captain Canuck, from the chest up, one arm raised to shoulder height

below: Not so well known – The cover of the book ‘Nelvana of the Northern Lights’ by Adrian Dingle (1911-1974).   Nelvana was Canada’s first female superhero; she first appeared in 1941, a few months before (American) Wonder Woman.  Nelvana’s superpowers included turning invisible and traveling at the speed of light along a ray of the Northern Lights.  According to Wikipedia, she “visited lost kingdoms under the ice, journeyed to other dimensions, and fought against the Axis Powers during World War II, eventually taking on the secret identity of secret agent Alana North.   Her last adventure was published in 1947.

book cover, book called Nelvana of the Northern Lights, a comic book by Adrian Dingle, 15 cents, 68 pages, hard cover

below: This structure was built in 1876 as a Carpenter Gothic Revival Style church – the Olivet Congregational Church.  It has been the home of the Heliconian Club since 1923.  This women only club was formed in 1909 and is still active today supporting women in the arts.  There is a photo exhibit on there at the moment but viewing is by appointment only (it is a club not a gallery after all).

pale blue wood building, originally a church, now the home of the Heliconian Club on Hazelton ave. Bright blue doors, two, rose window,

below: For CONTACT, the Lomas Gallery on Yorkville Ave is featuring a few large photos of cityscapes that are full of tall buildings.  The one behind the red couch is ‘NoMad New York’ by Christopher Woodcock.

Lomas Gallery in Yorkville, bright red oval shaped couch in front of a wall with a large photo of a city scene, lots of skyscrapers with lots of windows, by Christopher Woodcock, plus words on the wall that say Contact Festival, City Obscure, Windows on either side of the wall with people passing by

below: On the wall beside is ‘[a]DCLXI’ by Amyn Nasser.

on a gallery wall, Lomas Gallery, a large photo, [a]DCLXI by Amyn Nasser of a wall of glass skyscrapers with lots of windows, on the wall beside is another photo in which Nasser's photo is reflected.

below: It’s not a sculpture or a statue, but this red faced mannequin caught my eye. Maybe next time he’ll remember his sunscreen.

two male mannequins in a mens wear store window, one has a very red face, also a picture of a man in a black suit with a bright blue background is in the window

below: The clock tower of the Yorkville firehall. One side seems to missing its clock face.

the clock tower of Yorkville fire station with a reflective glass building behind it. A Canadian flag is flying on top of the firehall clock tower.

below: Brendan Meadows’ black and white portraits hang on the walls of the Liss Gallery in an exhibit titled ‘Ipseity’.  These were printed as silver gelatin selenium-toned lith prints by Bob Carnie from negatives made from digital images.  The images were also  manipulated with the Sabatier effect (solarization); this results in an image that is wholly or partially reversed in tone. Dark areas appear light or light areas appear dark.

interior shot, Liss Gallery, frames black and white portraits on the walls

below: Posters on hoardings add a little life at street level to the construction sites in the area.  This set features businesses and sites in the area including the ROM.

posters on hoardings in front of a construction site - picture of the ROM at night, picture of the interior of a menswear store, man trying on a suit

below: Some colourful art deco style posters.

art deco posters on hoardings in front of a construction site

art deco posters on hoardings in front of a construction site inclujding a Vogue picture

below: Prepared for anything!  With a yellow duckie, handcuffs and binoculars, Batman and his Robin hand puppet prepare to take on the forces of evil!  These are sculptures by Patrick Amiot.

a metal junk sculpture by Patrick Amiot, outside, by the front door of an art gallery, batman, with a very small robin in one of his hands.

below: Part of the Miraim Schiell gallery is devoted to Amiot’s work.

a wall mounted artwork by Patrick Amiot of a man ice fishing with his dog, created from junk

an artwork on a gallery wall, by Patrick Amiot, of the front of a Spadina TTC streetcar, crowded with driver, man, and dog,

below: This large RCMP mountie and his dog stand behind the gallery.

metal junk sculpture by Patrick Amiot of a mountie and his dog, outside, behind a gallery in Yorkville

below: Enjoying the wonderful spring afternoon on Cumberland.

outside, park in Yorkville, tall trees with leaves just coming out, spring, people sitting on chairs under the trees, talking, reading, phones, drinking,

statue of a bear outside, life size, a painting in a glass enclosed box is behind him

below: Oh.. that second mountie that I alluded to in the title of this post – he was on the wall at the Alter Ego exhibit.  This one.   Just don’t call him Dudley Do-Right.

large picture of a mounti on a horse with a gun in his hand, on a wall in a gallery

below:  This is either ironic or sad.  The first few lines of text say “In the the 1960s and 1970s, Yorkville village was the heart of Canada’s bohemian, counterculture community”.  As I took this picture a new Bentley with dealer plates drove past.  I looked around and the ‘counterculture’ of 40 to 50 years ago has been replaced by designer boutiques, high end stores, fine art galleries, and restaurants with linen napkins.  Not a lot of music happening here.  Full transcription is below.

plaque to Yorkvilles music scene, Heritage Toronto black and white plaque, from 2016

“In the the 1960s and 1970s, Yorkville village was the heart of Canada’s bohemian, counterculture community. More than 40 clubs and coffee houses nightly featured folksingers-songwriters, including Ian & Sylvia, Gordon Lightfoot, Joni Mitchell, and Neil Young, who performed some of their first compositions in these smoky venues.
Yorkville’s first coffee house, Club 71, was opened by Werner Graeber in 1959. By 1964, Yorkville had become a nurturing environment not only for folk music, but also for pop, blues, and later, psychedelic rock. Hippies and teenagers flocked to these unlicensed venues, which offered an alternative to Yonge Street bars.
Yorkville was also home to three sound-recording studios, taping major acts such as The Guess Who, Lighthouse, and Ann Murray. With its vital role in fostering a wealth of talent, the Yorkville scene inspired a generation of songwriters and led to the rise of a new Canadian sound.”

outside pizza pizza, man inside eating, another man outside looking at mural on the wall

Ice Breakers 2018

Posted: February 10, 2018 in public art, waterfront
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Ice Breakers returned to the Toronto waterfront once again last month.   In mid-January five interactive art installations were built along Queens Quay West between the Harbourfront Centre in the east and the Music Garden in the west.

 

below:  Appropriate for a space called the Music Garden, is a large structure supporting many wind chimes.   This is “Ensemble” by Joao Araujo Sousa and Joana Correia Silva of Portugal.

the back side of two red muskoka chairs in a snow covered park with a large art installation of wind chimes in the background

a man is touching and pushing a series of wind chimes that are part of an art installation at Toronto Music Garden as he walks by it. Snow covered ground, red muskoka chairs, park, large tree,

There are two installations in H2O Park.

below: On the west side of the park is “Winter Fanfare” by Thena Tak of Vancouver.  It is made from painted layers of wood.   After I had walked past this installation I happened to look back to see a group of boys using these wood forms as protection as they had a snow ball fight.

6 or 7 large wooden forms in convex and concave shapes in a snow covered park with highrises in the background. An art installation that is part of Ice Breakers 2018 on Toronto waterfront.

below: Also in H2O park is “Through the Eyes of the Bear”.  This giant bear, or rather parts of a bear, is the creation of Tanya Goertzen of Calgary.

a large red head, and four red paws of a bear arranged to look like its on its back and that the bear is partially covered by the snow covered ground.

below: The large head of the bear is open at the back.   With a little crouching you can go inside and look out through the bear’s eyes.  It’s got a great view of the CN Tower!

the CN tower with bright blue sky, as seen through the hole in a sculpture, the eye of a large red bear.

below: Close to the Simcoe Wave Deck (at the bottom of Simcoe Street) is a structure called “Black Bamboo” that you can walk through.   It was designed by Bennet Marburger and Ji Zhang of China.

a tunnel like structure made of black bamboo poles loosely intertwined and joined together on the sidewalk beside Queens Quay, snow on the ground, condos in the background.

below: Last is “Root Cabin”, a small hut constructed from large tree roots.  The day that I walked past these Ice Breakers was early on when they weren’t quite complete.  The roots were being arranged, like a puzzle being put together.   The pink frame was being used as a guide and the plan was to remove it once the roots were in place.   This installation was designed by Liz Wreford and Peter Sampson from Winnipeg.

pink wood forms a frame in the shaipe of a small cabin with a pointed roof, it is being covered with large tree roots.

For more information, Ice Breakers

These installations remain until the 25th of February.

Cliffside murals

Posted: June 30, 2017 in graffiti and street art, public art
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Cliffside is an area around Kingston Road in the west  side of the city and the ‘cliff’ in the name refers to the Scarborough Bluffs.    The murals in this post are all on Kingston Road just west of Midland Ave.    They are the result of work of Mural Routes, an organization “dedicated to the creation, development and promotion of public wall art” since 1990.

below: ‘Spooners Garage’ by Phillip Woolf, 1992.   Art Spooner’s garage in Cliffside was built in 1926 (and rebuilt in 1947).   The mural has two parts, each showing a different time period.  They face each other.

mural of gas station, Spooners Garage, from the 1920s or 1930s

mural of gas station, Spooners Garage, from the 1920s or 1930s

below:  … and the later version

part of a mural showing a gas station from the 1940s or 1950s

part of a mural showing a gas station from the 1940s or 1950s

below: ‘H.M. Schooner, Onondaga c. 1793’ by Jeff Jackson 1992.  The Onondaga was built near Kingston in 1790 and it served with the Provincial Marine until 1797.  It was the ship in which John Graves Simcoe and his wife Elizabeth sailed across Lake Ontario to York (now Toronto) to establish the capital of Upper Canada.

painted mural of a schooner from the 1790s sailing on Lake Ontario

below: ‘Let’s Take a Walk on the Wildside’ by B.C. Johnson, 2016.   Canadian plants and animals cover all four sides of Ikki Sushi – herons, bears, moose, beaver, and fox among the pine trees. Creeks, swamp, and waterfalls can also be seen.  More of Johnson’s work can be seen at Sandown Lane Cliffside blog post

Ikki Sushi restaurant covered with a mural with scenes of Canadian flora and fauna,

back of restaurant with open door. Ikki Sushi restaurant covered with a mural with scenes of Canadian flora and fauna, inside of door is painted too

below: ‘Cliffside Golf Course’ by Dan Sawatzky, 1991.   Founded by George McCordick in 1931, the Cliffside Golfcourse was south of Kingston Road and overlooked Lake Ontario.    It closed in 1950.  The mural is faded and partially obscured by two trees.

two trees obscure a faded mural

below: The words on the mural tell the story of the golf course.

mural of two men golfing. One is swinging a golf club and the other has a golf bag slung over his shoulderh

red vintage car in a mural

mural, woman from the 1930's standing behind a vintage car and holding a set of golf clubs

The last two murals have appeared in a previous blog post that I wrote once upon a time when I didn’t know how many Scarborough murals there were.  Even now I’ve hardly scratched the surface.

below:  ‘The Half Way House’ by John Hood, 1990.  The mural is at the corner of Midland Avenue & Kingston Road which is where the inn and stage coach stop was located.   The  building was moved to Black Creek Pioneer Village in 1965.

mural depicting the Half Way House, an old inn that used to be at the corner of Kingston Road and Midland. Two men are sitting on the stairs in front of the mural

below: ‘The Bluffs as Viewed by Elizabeth Simcoe c. 1793’ by Risto Turunen, 1992.   The story is that Elizabeth Simcoe was so impressed by the view of the cliffs she persuaded her husband, John Graves Simcoe, to name the area after Scarborough England where there are similar cliffs.

Three cars are parked in front of a large mural of the Scarborough Bluffs, there is a small row boat on Lake Ontario in front of the cliffs.

There are more murals on old Kingston Road both to the east and west of these, but that will be a story for another day.

also see: Heritage Trail Mural 8 – Old Kingston Road 

Frank Kovac lane

Posted: June 8, 2016 in graffiti and street art, locations
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Frank Kovac Lane is a short alley just south of Christie subway station.  Some of the garage doors were painted with murals in past years and, as usual, there were plenty of tags.  Recently, the lane was the scene of a community mural painting session thanks to the 4th Toronto Rangers (Girl Guides), StreetARToronto,  artist Nick Sweetman, and some local residents.  Now some of the tags are gone and more importantly, some more garage doors are home to bright and cheerful murals.  A few of them are included here.

below: At the north end of the lane is this large, colourful mural by Nick Sweetman.
Two large blue bears have found a plethora of honey.  Will the bees share?

large mural by Nick Sweetman on a wall in Frank Kovac Lane, two very large blue bears are eating honey from honeycombs while a few large bees buzz around.

part of a large mural by Nick Sweetman on a wall in Frank Kovac Lane, two very large blue bears are eating honey from honeycombs while a few large bees buzz around - close up of one bear's face

below: The new murals continue the animal theme, “Urban Wildlife”, starting with this fox.

garage door in an alley painted with a mural of a fox head beside a bicycle wheel with trilliums growing up in front of it.

below: A common Toronto animal, a raccoon, beside a red fire hydrant.

view in an alley, a lavendar coloured door. to the left of the door is a garage door painted with a mural of a raccoon and a red fire hydrant.

below: A blue jay eyes some blueberries.

mural on a pale yellow garage door of a blue jay sitting on hydro wires, also a bunch of wild blueberries is in the image

below: Several monster faces have lived in this alley for a while and they still remain.
This one looks like he needs a hair cut.

garage door painted with a monster face, big mouth and teeth, orange nose, in tones of blue, grey and orange, ivy is growing over the top of the garage and it looks like green hair.

three garages in a row in an alley, all painted with a large monster face

a skinny blue graffiti figure on the edge of a garage, between two garage doors with stylized and abstract faces painted on them. One is black and green and the other is black and white

An old garage and concrete fence with a door in it. The fence is cracked above the door. The door is painted black with bright colour scribbles, the garage door has a black and white mural on it

a painting in grey tones of a young boy in old fashioned shorts and long sleeved top, standing.

below: This graffiti is actually on Harbord Street but I couldn’t resist taking a picture of it
– a camera and an “oh snap”

Above Guan's auto service shop, a graffiti on an upper storey wall, a small camera and turquoise lettering and words in pink that say Oh snap. Above that is a red billboard for Bud and Burger

Harbord at Bathurst

Posted: September 24, 2015 in graffiti and street art
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If you walk along Harbord Street, just east of Bathurst Street, you can’t miss the colourful paintings at the entrance to James Hales Lane.  Most of them were painted by street artists Shalak and Smoky.

large street art painting of a snail with a tiny house on the back of its shell. The piece is signed by Smoky

Looking down along a wall in an alley on which there is a large crocodile and a bear's head painted on the wall. Multicoloured. Bright colours.

Intricate street art painting of a crocodile or alligator on a wall in an alley. Alley animal.

Close up of some new growth, new leaves, on the stump of a small tree. The stump has been covered with spray paint, because it against a wall on which a street art painting was done

below: This bear is painted on the west side of Bampot Bohemian House of Tea & Board Games which explains the floating tea cup above his head.

The face of a bear, perhaps panda bear, but in purples and greens. It is in water up to its nose. A steaming tea cup floats above its head.

below: This peacock is on the other side of the tea house. Signed by MXP, 2004.

street art painting of a peacock. The feathers make a circle shape and are made of houses and trees.

below: This tiger is also on Harbord.  It faces the peacock.  Parts of the picture are washed out because of the angle of the afternoon sun on the day I saw this mural.

A shalak painting of a large tiger head with mouth open and teeth showing. Multicoloured, painted on a wall in an alley. The sun is shining directly on part of it so its a bit washed out in places.

James Hales Lane is short and it is a dead end.  There isn’t much more graffiti or street art in the lane.

A shite garage door in an alley, on the concrete block wall beside the garage door is a line drawing of a rose that is as high as the garage door.