There is a railway bridge over Lawrence Avenue East just to the east of Weston Road (close to Weston UP Station). The walls beside the sidewalk on both sides of the underpass have been painted with street art designs of flowers, birds and animals. The murals are the result of a collaboration between Que Rock and Alex Bacon.
Another Weston mural – Out and About
Another recent Weston blog post – A little piece of Weston
Recently I was in the area east of Danforth and Main when I had one of those moments where I stop and say to myself “I’ve been here before”. I recognized some of the street art in the lane (see Alleyway of Dreams, 2016). For this blog post, I have started with the artwork that I didn’t remember on the assumption that it is newer. The murals that remain from 2016 all seem to be in good shape.
below: A collage of pictures called “Against All Odds” in the shape of a map.
below: On the same wall as the above is this mural of a swan. My apolgies to Alika, Angela, Dylan, Molly, Serval, Bandi, Ludo and Weal (?) whose names I chopped off. To the right of the swan, and behind a parked car is a piece by Mediah.
below: A hummingbird with a red hibiscus flower.
Love birds of a different colour
below: There had been a fire in the back of a furniture store not long before I walked the alley this summer.
below: A black cat in the moonlight, sitting on some very curly branches. This row of fences was painted in 2016.
below: This blue pug was here previously but the rabbit that was once beside it seems to have disappeared.
below: The blue rhinoceros with the whimsical horn hasn’t moved either.
below: Stay Out is still sprayed on the old wood door but now it has a new lock. The blue 666 is also an addition.
below: “Bee Haven” from 2014. One of the earliest bee/pollinator murals in the city.
below: Signatures. The mural was painted by Elie J. Saad, Sarah Van Dusen, and Curtia Wright with help from Community Centre 55 kids.
This has been a wet spring along the waterfront. Lake Ontario has been at its highest level in years. Earlier, I had posted some photos that I took of Woodbine, Kew and Balmy beaches and the high water levels there (blog post, “water logged”). The other day I visited the beaches and walkways at the other end of the city’s waterfront, from H2O beach to Ontario Place.
below: Flooding at H2O Beach
below: All that water makes for some colourful reflections!
below: Looking west towards the old Canada Malting Company silos as the dark clouds signal an approaching storm.
below: The Empire Sandy docked along with the tugboat, M.S. Kane
below: Toronto’s fire rescue boat, the William Lyon Mackenzie, docked beside Fire Station 334. It was built in 1964 and is named for Toronto’s first mayor.
below: Queens Quay at Spadina, looking west
below: A streetcar starts to head north on Spadina
below: Playing basketball in the rain.
below: An old blue canoe at Little Norway park. A training camp for the Norway’s Air Force was located here (SW corner of Queens Quay and Bathurst) during WW2. The large rock that you can see in the photo is a 3000 pound boulder brought from Norway in 1976 to be part of a permanent monument to the people who trained and served here. In 1986 the space became Little Norway Park.
below: Looking back towards downtown and the CN Tower from the western end of Queens Quay West.
below: Lots of big puddles at Coronation Park
below: Yellow flowerpot islands
below: Someone has tied a string of small Canadian flags to the railing at Coronation Park. Happy Canada Day weekend!
below: Toronto skyline from Trillium Park, from the green trees of Coronation Park on the left and past the CN Tower to Billy Bishop airport on the far left.
below: Large granite rock in Trillium Park
below: Ontario Place, where TSN was playing to no one.
below: Flooding by the marina at Ontario Place. In the foreground is what appears to be an electrical box.
below: The Canada geese have these Muskoka chairs to themselves.
below: From the northwest corner of Ontario Place, looking west over Lake Ontario towards Etobicoke and Mississauga
below: There was also flooding on Lakeshore Blvd.
below: Puddles in an almost empty parking lot, CNE grounds.
Just south of St. Clair West, Runnymede Road runs under the CP train tracks. In the summer of 2017 the wall on the west side of the underpass a mural was painted by Christopher Ross (aka GAWD). It is a collection of animals, mostly in shades of pink and blue – dragonfly, pigs, birds, and more. Most of the animals are in pairs.
At one end of the mural, this little engine sits on a tree stump.
I’m still playing catch up as I go through photos that I took back in the fall. Late in October I went west on St. Clair to visit Feel Good Lane. The lane was officially named in 2016 in memory of Barry Lukensberg. He was a rapper, part of the 512 Crew, who was born and raised in the neighbourhood. He went by the name FeelGood. In 2014 he died in a motorcycle accident in Vietnam.
Just prior to my walk down Feel Good Lane, it had been the canvas for more than 30 street artists. This is what I saw that day. … Back before the snow!
below: The title mural, by SPUDBomb
below: by monicaonthemoon
below: by Oriah Scott
below: This is the front of the same garage in the above photo (with the streetcar). Both were painted Elly Dowson
below: Dog mural by @Dr_Roameo
below: Raccoons all over the place! A mural by Emily May Rose and Rage Williams.
below: The blue landscape is a painting by Leyland Adams
below: by Bomi (Bomino San Grantes)
below: by Cruz1
below: Butterfly face and curly hair – Frannie Potts
below: Another Cruz1 creation with a small painting by Bkez (aka Bareket) in the background
below: by Mska
below: A mural for the 512 Crew,
below: In the back, a mural by Odinamaad (turningwind). In the foreground is the work of Desko Zima
below: A face in blue and orange by Anya Mielniczek
below: On the right, a small piece by Andrew Castro
below: A fox head by Ed Hamer
below: Three pieces. Chris Perez mural on the left (blocked by a parked car), in the middle and one of a few swirls painted by Flip
below: The white chair is in front of a jellyfish and heart by Psyblimation
The project was organized by Julian Back and Kim Lesperance with the help of Team SPUDBomb. Financial support was provided by
StreetARToronto (StART). In addition, $5000 was raised from the community to help finance the project.
The brains are back! Close to 50 brains decorated by different artists can be seen in about a dozen locations around this city throughout the summer.
This year they are 2-dimensional, not three. They are much flatter. Above, making an interesting companion to the fabulous pink dress is “Enigmatic Glitter” by Donald and Elaine Rafelman Creative Arts Studio at Baycrest. When we picture art together it lights a spark and evokes a glitter of hope.
below: At Nathan Phillips Square, from left to right: “Pop Art” by Mary Ann Grainger, “No Brainer #Repainthistory” by Andrea Bolley, “Neon Future” by Steve Aoki, “Get Me Out! by Hate Copy (aka Maria Qamar), “Mental Vacation ” by Birdo, and “My Mind is Swimming” by Gina Godfrey.
below: “Power in Growth” by Amy Jeffreys in the Distillery District. Persevere and grow. Every human is capable of harnessing strength from their weaknesses. In this piece, the tangled roots represent the inner struggles and complexity of one’s thoughts.
below: “Memory” by Colin Nun at Nathan Phillips Square. “This type-based piece represents disconnect, dead ends, and memories lost to brain disease. It is inspired by the loss of the artist’s grandfather to Alzheimer’s disease and was created as a tribute to his memory. Take a close look to find a hidden word in the piece. What do you see?”
below: “The Mind’s Eye” by Dave Bagley at Yonge and St. Clair. Concentric rings of birds, fish, and diamonds radiate from the center.
below: Close up of the above, clearly showing the two seahorses in the center as well as the repeating yellow fish and blue birds. According to the artist, “I believe all of humankind share an organic Wi-fi that connects everyone, all we need to do is turn on the switch… is yours on?”
below: “Puzzled” by Harm Huibers on Grist Mill Lane in the Distillery District. The design of the brain is complex and intricate; when it’s complete, it’s a beautiful puzzle. Diseases like Alzheimers take pieces out of the puzzle.
The project is sponsored by Yogen Fruz and Pinkberry and is in support of the Baycrest Foundation. Baycrest, a leader in research into brain health and aging, is celebrating their 100th anniversary this year.
You can find pictures of all of the 2018 brains online at the brainproject.ca as well as descriptions of the brains and the artists behind their creation.
The other day I headed towards Dupont and Dundas West because I heard about a mural that I didn’t recall having seen. Here it is … and more.
below: The most westerly part of the mural is on the north side of Dundas West where Old Weston Road and Annette Street meet.
It continues along the side of the railway underpass on Dupont (it’s a confusing tangle of streets here!)
….and on the stairwell up to the West Toronto Railpath.
It was a gorgeous day so I walked around a bit more, of course!
below: On Dundas West
below: A row of houses with wonderful facades. You don’t many like that anymore! .. at least not on houses.
below: These fooled me at first. Interesting black and white photos looking grubby and worn… with a small McDonalds logo on the bottom right. The photo on the bottom left also has a few words in small print that give away the fact this is a McDonalds promotion. I don’t think I’ve seen any like these elsewhere – or have I missed something?
below: The large black metal staircase at the end of the footbridge over the tracks at Wallace Ave are gone. The replacement stairs are dull and bland. This change was meant to accommodate new development on Wallace.
below: Railpath window reflections.
below: Also on the West Toronto Railpath, someone has hung this colourful ‘curtain’ on the fence in order to add a splash of colour to a sitting area. Once upon a time there were more chairs here. And a table if I remember correctly.
below: One of two chalkboards installed by crazydames where people have written notes to cyclists imploring them to slow down and use their bells. I totally agree! Just before I came upon this, a man on an electric bike came up behind me, silently and fast.
below: This little gnome still stands by the entrance to a convenience store. This guarden gnome has been here (Bloor West) for a few years.
below: Reduce, reuse, recycle – here the R used is reuse. Truck and tractor parts and other bits and pieces craftily arranged and put to use on the outside of the Farmhouse Tavern. It should look better in a couple of months!
below: A fairy in a garden of mushrooms.
One last look at part of that mural!
The 16 storey Concourse Building at 100 Adelaide Street West was built in 1928. It was an Art Deco building designed by Martin, Baldwin and Green. Recently, the building as amalgamated into a new 40 storey office tower. The Concourse Building was gutted but the south and east facades were saved. Also saved was the entranceway (portal) that was designed by J.E.H. MacDonald, one of Canada’s Group of Seven painters.
below: The entrance is 2 storeys high, topped with a Roman arch. The rectangular panel above the door contains the four elements, earth (produce from the fields), air (stars and birds), fire, and water (fish swimming).
below: The mosaics under the arch represent Canadian industry and nature. Here, ship building and aircraft are depicted.
below: On the other side, a steam shovel and what looks like lightning in the sky.
below: The stone panels surrounding the door are carved with motifs of grapes and grape vines.
below: All seven mosaic pictures under the arch.
This is a #Thursdaydoors post. Lots of other blogs participate so if you are interested in doors of all kinds, check out this link.
As the year draws to a close many people like to look back and remember the year that was. Me, I go through files and although I find memories, I also find partially finished blog posts. I find ideas that I started to explore but there’s never enough time in a day to do everything you want. If only I could stop the clocks for a while and catch up!
This is one of the blog posts that didn’t see the light of day earlier in the year. These pictures were taken back in June, back when the leaves were green and people were wearing shorts. This is the street art on the garage doors of Perly Family Lane.
below: … as well as one little stencil black bird high on a pole.
below: An intricate stenciled painting of deer among the trees, plants, and flowers with a humming bird hovering overhead and three swallows flying past.
below: A colourful door by Manik I think.
below: The rest of the photos are paintings by Pascal Paquette.
They are abstract swirls and blobs of colour.
I suspect that there will be a few more posts like this as I try to clear out the backlog that has accumulated over the year. Thanks for taking the time to look at my blog…. and please come back and see what happens as we move into a new year!
Queen and Sherbourne – It’s a grubby corner.
below: Built in 1897 on the southwest corner and a major part of the intersection since then, is the Kormann House Hotel named for its hotel keeper in 1898, Franz J. Kormann. The Torontoist described the building in 2008 as “Though vacant for the past few years, this old watering hole will open its doors once again as part of an upcoming condo development.” That was 8 1/2 years ago. It is still vacant. The projected renovations and mid-rise condo development never got off the ground.
below: Diagonally opposite is now the Moss Park Discount Store.
below: The same corner as above but from a slightly different angle as it looked about a hundred years ago. Note the cobbled streets, streetcar tracks on both Queen and Sherbourne, and the lack of traffic lights. Photo found on Lost Toronto blog
Adding a bit of colour to the intersection is the new mural on Sherbourne Street, on the side of building that houses the Moss Park Discount Store. It features a young man in a baseball cap adorned with the Brazilian flag. Three parrots are also in the mural.
Close ups of parts of the mural:
Just north of Queen, there is a small dead end alley that runs east off Sherbourne. At the end of the alley is a mural by Vorteks…. she’s come to save someone (the world?) from an orange creature.
This birdo is still looking good. It’s just east of Sherbourne.
below: On the north side of Queen Street East, looking towards Sherbourne Street from Kim’s Convenience (with the birdo mural on the wall). I was going to write something about it ha ha having the same name as the CBC TV series “Kim’s Convenience”. Luckily I looked it up before writing because lo and behold it is the same store! The store was up until recently called Mimi Variety. The new name and new signs are leftovers from filming the TV shows. Most of the buildings in this block are heritage listed sites, especially those towards Sherbourne Street.
A few more little details to end the post with:
below: A triptych with the center panel missing or a diptych with a mystery middle.
below: On a pole, a grominator lovebot hybrid with its long red tongue. The other little guy’s tongue just can’t compare.
below: A dying breed, three Saabs in a row. It’s not just old buildings that catch my eye.
Perhaps the one on the right has been cannibalized?
below: And last, hearts seen on a Queen St. East building.
as I walk Toronto 