colours | as I walk Toronto

Posts Tagged ‘colours’

nuit blanche 2

Posted: October 10, 2014 in events
Tags: amazing, colours, lights, maze, metal bars, nuit blanche, people, rays of light, shadows, snbTO, Toronto, walking

Nuit Blanche – the Amazing Maze.

Some metal framework, some gauze-like fabric, and some interesting lights.

Shadows, lights, and colours to play with.

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walking the Milky Way

Posted: October 1, 2014 in graffiti and street art, locations
Tags: aliens, animals, brick walls, cement, cherries, city, colours, concrete, doors, faces, fence, fish, ghost, ghost dick, graffiti, Jarus, letters, metal, mural, people, persue, photos, shark, street art, Toronto, urban, weeds, woman, words

The Milky Way from Dufferin to Elm Grove.

Once upon a time this alley led to a dairy. Story has it that milk was often spilt along the way.

graffiti picture on a brick wall of a horse's head, a wagon wheel and spilt milk pouring from a large container.

At the west end of the Milky Way is a mural of two horses (one shown here), a wagon wheel, and an overturned milk can.

There is also quite a bit of graffiti in the alley.

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another Kensington alley

Posted: September 4, 2014 in graffiti and street art, locations
Tags: all seeing, alley, blue eye, colours, eyes, faces, graffiti, grin, heads, Kensington, lane, people, red eye, smile, street art, Toronto, trees, wise

Back in May I posted some photos from a small dead end alley in Kensington.

This past weekend I took some pictures in a different Kensington alley.

Take a look 🙂

Colourful graffiti in a Kensington lane. Close up of a pair of grey eyes. Bottom part of face is obscured, including her cheeks.

Eyes hold a fascination for me.

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The top part of a woman with long black hair and wearing a white and blue dress is standing amongst many tree trunks.... Colourful graffiti in a Kensington lane. There is a broom, a mop, and two large buckets on the sidewalk in front of her.

It looks like she is in the midst of cleaning. Mop, broom and buckets handy.

Colourful graffiti in a Kensington lane stencils of heads, one dark blue and one purple.

twins, similar but not identical

pride parade

Posted: June 30, 2014 in events, people
Tags: asses, bananas, bare asses, bare bums, Bloor St., bums, chaps, colours, cops, crowds, fun, gay, girls, guys, laughs, men, parade, people, police, pride, rainbow, raunchy, silly, smiles, topless, Toronto, wigs, women, Yonge St.

Shooting the pride parade was a lot different from shooting the dyke march! The pride parade is much bigger and by necessity much more tightly controlled. I was able to walk alongside the women in the dyke march but the streets were barricaded and non-participants kept off the route for the pride parade.

crowds are behind barricades along the streets, policemen on motorcycles are waiting at the end of the street. parade hasn't started yet

looking west on Bloor towards Yonge.

I walked the first part of the route, along Bloor Street, just before the parade started. Lots of crowds were behind the metal bars; a few police were watching/ignoring me. When I turned the corner at Yonge St., I realized just how controlled the crowds were! I chose not to continue walking south on Yonge. A policeman opened the barricade enough to let me out. After that I walked amongst the crowds….. and saw nothing of the parade! Too many people! But they were interesting people and I enjoyed walking amongst them. …. until Dundas when there were so many people and no one could move. That’s was my cue to exit stage right.

So here’s a salute to all those who joined the fun. A little raunchy and a little over the top at times but all good.

Two women in banana costumes posing for the camera.

Kudos to these two ladies who showed up in banana costumes! I asked them if they were part of a group, but no, they’re just fruity they said. I hope they joined the parade had fun (and didn’t get too hot!… unless they peeled…. )

Two women, or men dressed as women, one in black and one in white. The one in white has a large black & white clockface behind her

timeless

A group of people are standing behind metal barricades waiting for the parade to start, some are waving and some are smiling. A group of three girls are wearing pink boas.

pink, with smiles, waiting for the parade to begin

A group of policemen and policewomen pose for a group shot before the pride parade

Before the parade started – They were actually posing for someone else… but I suggested that they look a little livelier, wave their hands or something…. thanks for obliging!

viewable, & captured, from all angles

One guy in red underpants (with Christmas bells attached to the front) is pointing to the bare bottoms of his two male friends. He is making an exaggerated facial expression of surprise and shock.

boys just wanna have fun

Two older men dressed in white are under a rainbow striped umbrella. One has a white boa, the other has a red boa.

keeping the sun away. These umbrellas were great – very photogenic!

A woman with very large and almost bare breasts. Her face is decorated

Two men are standing beind, and leaning on, the barricade. They are wearing multicoloured beads, incuding some very big beads that look more like balls for a Christmas tree

big grins! The one in blue was more game than his partner…. you could almost say that one in grey is grimacing more than grinning. Thanks guys!

A group of men are standing behind barricades.

He had such a wonderful smile and he seemed so happy that I couldn’t resist taking his picture.

four girls, each with a different coloured mask, like the ninja turtles TV characters wear.

ninjas, mostly unmasked

a boy is sitting on his father's shoulders

a better view!

many people lining the route of the pride parade on Yonge St.

The crowds at Yonge and Wellesley just as the parade reached that part of the route.

A row of people wearing hats in the foreground, looking across an empty street to a very large crowd behind barricades

How does one even start to calculate how many people were there?

A quick shot – he saw my camera, turned and quickly posed, and I got the shot. It wasn’t until I downloaded the photos that I saw the marvellous juxtaposition!

a group of four girls wearing rainbow curly wigs, frilly short skirts and rainbow striped socks are walking up the street between two rows of parade watchers

almost their own little parade!

streetcars at the intersection of Yonge & College, all corners are packed with people

stopping the parade to let the College/Carlton streetcar through

Two people are standing on the window sill of a large window. The woman is wearing a striped dress. She is texting. The guy beside her is topless, wearing grey shorts

She doesn’t seem to be having fun – standing in the window of Starbucks at College & Yonge.

Wall to wall people at the intersection of Yonge and Dundas. All you can see in the photo are people's heads.

I walked the parade route at about the same speed that the parade went. An hour and a half later, I reached Yonge & Dundas where the crowds were so thick no one could move.

Two boys are standing on a window ledge so they are above a crowd of people. The small boy doesn't look too happy.

At the corner of Yonge & Dundas – by the time I made it to this intersection, I was beginning to agree with the boy in green!

Two topless women are painted in big rainbow colours. Two clothed women are posing for a photo with them.

posing with the body painters – Body Art by Tania was the booth on Church St., near the start of the parade.

actoronto – AIDS Committee Toronto

*****

Pedestrian Sunday

Posted: May 26, 2014 in events, people
Tags: bikes, chalk, chalk chick, colours, eating, enjoy, eye, food, graffiti, Kensington, patio, pedestrians, people, photos, pictures, sidewalk, sights, stores, street art, summer, Sunday, sunny, Toronto, umbrellas, walking

The first Pedestrian Sunday of 2014, Kensington Market, 25th May.

What follows is a collection of sights from that afternoon.

A group of young people are walking down the street, away from the camera. Some are walking their bikes and some of the men are topless.

It was a warm day, the warmest day of the year so far. Time to shed the remains of winter and enjoy the sun and the city.

art and music…..

A young woman is sitting on the sidewalk. She is creating a picture of one of the characters from the TV show Futurama.

‘chalk chick’ – see more of her work at chalkchick.com

A man sitting on a stool on the sidewalk, playing a musical instrument

I am not sure what his name is or what kind of instrument he plays. If anyone knows, please give me a shout!

Two men on the sidewalk outside Sancis store. One man is standing and the other is sitting.

guitar players

food and drink…..

Three women are lined up waiting to be served at a street vendor who is selling food.

one of the many street vendors selling food and drink – BBQ chicken, burgers, fries, sandwiches and coconut sorbet included

The front of Wandas Pie in the Sky restaurant. People are sitting at tables and chairs set up outside the restaurant.

enjoying Wanda’s patio

A number of people are having lunch on a patio.

lunch on the patio!

A group of young people are sitting onthe curb eating food out of stryofoam containers

street food

people watching ……

Some people sitting on steps, three women standing in front of a large graffiti face that is wearing large star shaped sun glasses.

In front of big red starry sunglasses.

giant scrabble!

A couple with a small dog on a leash are standing by one of the barricades used to keep cars off the street

People with animals ….

A woman has a large fake red nose and large white frames sunglasses. She is carrying a green umbrella with a froggie face on it

keeping cool under the froggie

A woman is sitting at a table, under a patio umbrella. Behind her is a large graffiti piece of a young woman's face

two women, one larger than life

A woman is looking at her phone as she waits behind a table where she is selling denim shorts (on the sidewalk). In the background a man is buying something at another vendor's table.

‘This Way’ to browsing, buying and selling.

A pile of large wood blocks are in the middle of the street and a family is building small towers with them - a small girl and boy and their parents.

playing with blocks

Two women, each with an umbrella open above their heads are standing in the street.

Some people bared their skin to bask in the sun while others wanted more protection

under the blade

….. and the sights of Kensington

Detail of messages attached to a telephone pole. They are written on strips of yellow and blue heavy paper. In the background is a painting of a large eye, part of the sign above the door of Orbital Arts on Augusta Ave.

A watchful eye from Orbital Arts looks over Augusta Ave.

At an intersection, lots of people are walking on the street. Across the intersection is a three story burgundy colored brick building with a shop, and awning, on the ground floor. There are murals of faces on the upper level of the outside wall along with the words 'Welcome to Kensington, Romeos'

crowded streets mid-afternoon outside Romeo’s

a man stands in the doorway of a shop that has towels in the window and a lot of things for sale on a table outside the shop

Captain America and the Hulk lurk outside a store.

street scene of the intersection of Kensington and Dundas West. There are people walking on the sidewalk past a boarded up shop.

the corner of Kensington and Dundas West

A man is sitting on a fence reading a book. There are books on the ground in front of him that are for sale. There are also some shirts on hangers that are for sale.

a quiet corner to read on

little people stuck to the wall, sticker street art on Kensington

graffiti on garages

Posted: November 10, 2013 in graffiti and street art, locations
Tags: Alan Powell, alley, camille, city, colours, Darth Vader, David French, dogs, door, faces, fence, garages, graffiti, Harbord village, lanes, locomotive, paint, photographs, street art, Toronto, train, urban

Graffiti and street art on the garages

of David French Lane and Alan Powell Lane

David French Lane runs south from Barbara Barrett Lane (just south of Bloor St.), one block to Sussex Ave. If you cross Sussex Ave., the lane continues as Alan Powell Lane. Both lanes are lined with garages for the houses on Borden St. and Brunswick Ave., the streets that run parallel on either side of the lanes. Alan Powell Lane also runs behind Central Tech Collegiate.

There is an excellent interactive map of the lanes of Harbord village and the people for whom they were named at http://www.harbordvillage.com/laneways/lanewayinteractivemap.html

mural of a large blue and white locomotive that is painted to look like it is coming out of a brown brick building

A railway locomotive roars past the corner of Barbara Barrett Lane and David French Lane.

detail of a green and blue blob on a door. In the blob shape someone has written I love you Camille

Camille is loved.

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A grey garage door with two pictures of Darth Vader's head, two Scottie dog heads, and a couple of other dogs

Darth Vader and the dogs

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view of Alan Powell lane, looking north. a chain link fence runs along the left side of the lane. some old garages are on the right. One of the garages has words spray painted on it

The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog, in duplicate. Looking north up Alan Powell Lane.

A posr rabbit lurks in the corner, Alan Powell Lane

Croft Street

Posted: November 5, 2013 in graffiti and street art, locations
Tags: alley, Always, brick wall, cat, colours, Croft St., face, garage door, garages, graffiti, head, lane, Monty, MUHA, murals, photographs, photos, poetry, rain, rust, stencils, street art, Toronto, wood, words

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

a large piece of street art on a garage door.

a closer look

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

can’t sleep so I write

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

Harbord street sign

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!

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

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

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

hidden doorway

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

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

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

greenery

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

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

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

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/

walking Graffiti Alley again

Posted: August 22, 2013 in graffiti and street art, locations
Tags: colours, fish, graffiti, Graffiti Alley, marine life, McDougall Lane, paint, posters, Queen St. West, resurrect, Rush Lane, soul, spray paint, stickers, tags, Tom and Jerry, Toronto, uber, weeds

Behind the south side of Queen St. West, starting at Spadina and heading west. At Bathurst there is a slight detour because someone built a Loblaws grocery store and a condo in the way. But just turn south to Richmond and walk a short distance west. On your right there is a small alley; follow this lane to almost Dufferin street – if there is no construction in the way!

I have walked this route many times. Sometimes there are new things to see, or changes have occurred. Sometimes I just notice things that I missed on previous visits.

Larger than life. The woman on red has been there since the first time I walked this way a couple of years ago. The aquatic scenes on the building across the alley are a more recent addition.

Tom and Jerry and their never ending chase scene.

The alley changes with the seasons. Even here there is greenery.

Sunshine and shadows in the lane.

Above the alley. She now appears in a few places.

Tag, baker, inserted between two windows

I just want people to like me. A sticker in McDougall Lane, a good use of US Priority Mail labels.

I resurrect the destructed poster with a few tags added accompanied by a girl with a broken heart.

Black and white graffiti on a wall and door. There is life sized picture of a man on the door. He is holding a red heart in his hands.

He evolves. First his face was added – with googly eyes and his tongue stuck out. Now he seems to be anatomically correct as well!

Graffiti of many caricature images of Rob Ford. Most are black and white but one is red and white. Some of the edges are beginning to rip.

Starting to fray at the edges

back of a building on Queen St. that has a large red and blue tag on it. There is a large green skull-like picture on the door. Four blue recylcing bins are by the door.

Garbage bins guarding the door.

Uber's yellow bird is laughing and drinking something from a can. Somone has added the words grain fed to his forehead.

I’m not sure what he’s drinking, but apparently he’s grain fed. He looks a bit grubby because he’s sitting on the ground next to the dust and dirt in the lane.

A smiling Cheshire Cat and a few other creatures.

as I walk Toronto

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