Posts Tagged ‘Craven Road’

the lure of Craven Road

Posted: March 15, 2022 in locations
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
1

Here are a few photos from a recent visit to Craven Road, one of my favorite streets.   The last time I posted about it was “Craven Road once more“, in May 2019.  That’s almost three years! – it doesn’t seem like that long ago but then again I find that COVID has really messed with my sense of passing time.  Anyhow, it’s always interesting to see what remains, what’s new, and what has just been rearranged.

below: Part of the fence

Craven Road art on a wood fence

below: Back in 2019 the clock read 12:10.  Time has passed.

found objects displayed on wood fence on Craven Road, green clock, angel figure,

Craven Road art on a wood fence, a black dog portrait, with snow in front

below: The sheep have been here for years (since at least 2015) and they are starting to show their age.  The other two images are recent additions.

Craven Road art on a wood fence, an old ripped painting of a flock of sheep in the snow, an orange sign that says Every Child Matters, and a night scene painting

below: Abstracts in blues

Craven Road art on a wood fence, small abstract paintings in shades of blue and purple

below: An upside down Q for the little red man.

found objects displayed on wood fence on Craven Road

below: I am hoping that the painting on the right says “The Great White North” …

Craven Road art on a wood fence, partially buried in the snow, blue circles around a green face

below: Even the mask has a mask

objects attached to a wood fence, a yellow plastic mask, small rubber boots, an old calculator, a small piano keyboard, a portrait of Marilyn Munro

a wood fence with many objects displayed on it, guitars, pictures, other found objects

below: Rubber boots, rubber gloves and a white hat make for a dashing figure.

found objects displayed on wood fence on Craven Road

found objects displayed on wood fence on Craven Road, two black guitars and some rainbow flags

found objects displayed on wood fence on Craven Road, diamond shaped mirror with markers to draw on it

below: Some newer landscapes

small landscape paintings displayed on a wood fence outdoors, Craven Road

paintings on wood fence

torn canvas, portrait of a dog lying on a porch, attached to a wood fence outdoors

below: …. and last, another two oldies of the feline variety.

canvas, portrait of a cat lying on a rug, attached to a wood fence outdoors

painting on canvas, goldish color cat, on a wood fence

paused, paintings

Posted: May 1, 2020 in galleries, locations
Tags: , , , , , , , ,
1

The Great Pause, March 2020 (and then April…. and now into May)

paintings on a fence including one that says the great pause.

paintings on a wood fence, with backs of houses in the background

below: Courage, joy, spirit, celebrate, community, equality, and one that has flipped over.

coloured flags on a wood fence, red flag for , gold flag for joy, yellow for spirit, light blue for celebrate, light blue-green for community, blue for equality. , also a picture of the Beatles, black on mirror

below: All you need is love.

paintings on a fence

little wood planters on a wood fence

Canadian flag displayed on a fence with a guitar at either end

below: What to do when spring seems so far away….

chalk drawing of three flowers growing out of a wood planter mounted on a wood fence

Craven Road once more

Posted: May 23, 2019 in locations
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
7

new leaves on a tree in the foreground, top part of a house in the background - bright green walls and old window

I went back to Craven Road this morning to see if anything had changed.   The last time I blogged about this street was in November 2016. As with many things in life, some things have changed while other things remain the same.  A quick tour of the street …..

below: Some of the cat paintings are there still.

large painting of a yellow and white cat on canvas stapled to a wood fence, outdoors.

below: These two paintings have been here since at least 2015 although the vines have started to grow over them.  Once the leaves reappear (soon), the paintings won’t be quite so visible.

two small paintings on a wood fence, with vines growing in front of them.

below: The sheep painting by Christine Kowal is still there

picture of sheep on a wood fence

below: On the other side of the fence, backyards on Ashdale.

backyard, reddish two storey house with grey added on back rood

below: There is still a section of the fence that has been decorated with found objects.

many found objects attached to a wood fence, outside,

objects attached to a wood wall, outside, small flag, musical instrument, clock, sign,

below: Parking for pirates only.  It was five past twelve when I took this picture so either it’s a functional clock or I happened past at a very fortuitous time.

a clock and a sign attached to a wall.

below: A creepy doll and boots to watch you.

below: A faded bunny from days gone by, holding a little watering can perhaps to water the metallic leaves?

metal leaf art piece attached to a wood fence, stuffed bunny that is faded and grey also attached to the fence

a stylized figurine, round head on conical body, screwed onto a wood fence and surrounded by a wood frame

below: Part of a collection of found objects in front of a house.   The gallery has expanded!

old objects arranged on a ledge in front of a house

below: Today I met Johnny, the King of Craven Road. He mentioned that he appears in a video about Craven Road so I looked it up (on Vimeo, “Craven Road – Director’s Cut). The video was made five years ago which pre-dates the collection of objects that he’s standing in front of in the photo. If you watch the video, you will see some of the cat, and other, paintings.

a man in tie dyed shirt and red bandana, and holding a can of beer, stands in front of a wall with many objects attached to it.

Johnny in a tie dyed shirt standing on the front steps of a blue house with red trim

below: A door knocker beside a front door.

old rusty white door knocker with metallic green garland beside it

small doorway

below: One of the older houses on the street being renovated.

old white house with screen door slightly ajar, signs in window that are building permits, inside of house is gutted and it is being renovated

below: Grass and dandelions in their own little enclosure.

three white houses in a row

below:  Red and yellow tulips in a small front yard that the fence is having trouble containing.

red tulips and yellow tulips growing in a very small front yard

below: Geraniums in the planters on the fence

small wood flower boxes on a wood fence, with geraniums growing in the boxes

Craven Road, north of Gerrard

Posted: December 13, 2016 in locations, public art
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
1

A few weeks ago I posted some pictures of the fence along Craven Road that has been decorated with artwork and old artifacts.  I was south of Gerrard Street when I took the photos.   I didn’t realize at the time that I missed another outdoor gallery on the other side of  Gerrard.  Today I took some pictures of those on display on the north side.   Here they are in no particular order:

below: Looking north up Craven Road along the fence.
That tropical sunset on the left looks very inviting!

small amateur paintings displayed on a wood fence, with trees and houses in the background, snowy day, looking down the length of most of the gallery, small pile of snow against the fence, painting in the foreground is warm Caribbean sun on beach with palm tree, Craven Road

small amateur paintings displayed on a wood fence, with trees and houses in the background, snowy day, an evergreen bough hangs over the top of the fence, above a painting of trees in a forest in winter, low sun, and long blue shadows.

small amateur paintings displayed on a wood fence, with trees and houses in the background, snowy day, Craven Road in Toronto, two paintings of black trees (no leaves) on red, and one grey tree on orange background,

small amateur paintings displayed on a wood fence, with trees and houses in the background, snowy day, a black tree on a blue background. Snow has been blown against the wood fence and some of it has stuck to the fence, Craven Road

below: Some of the paintings are small words in another language and another alphabet.  Can anyone translate for me?

small amateur paintings displayed on a wood fence, with trees and houses in the background, snowy day, four paintings. One black tree on light brown paper, and three small paintings with words in a different language with a different alphabet, Bengali perhaps

small amateur paintings displayed on a wood fence, with trees and houses in the background, snowy day, Craven Road, trees on blue and green background
small amateur paintings displayed on a wood fence, with trees and houses in the background, snowy day, three paintings, one is a fish

By now I’m very curious about this street and this fence.  I found a long, detailed, and interesting history written by local historian Joanne Doucette that you can read here.

 

Craven Road fence

Posted: November 25, 2016 in locations, public art
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
4

Just over a year ago, I posted some pictures of the art work hanging on a fence along Craven Road.
Some of it is still there, especially some cat pictures like this one:

painting of a beige and light brown cat, lying with its head up and tail wrapped around its body, painted on a wooden fence outside

below: Quite a few little planters have been mounted on the wall.  Because it’s now cold November, most of the plants have died.   These are two exceptions.

4 small wood boxes have been mounted on the side of fence, as planters, a couple still have purple flowers even though it's November and most of the trees have lost their leaves,

below: Some of the things that are now on the fence.   Because there are no houses on the west side of the street, the fence can serve as a gallery wall.

decorated wooden fence on Craven Road, a road with houses only on one side of the street, fence is decorated with a faded Canadian flag, a picture of Queen Elizabeth I, some wood planters, a painting of birch trees in autumn, old shoes, and a sign that says Craven road FEnce, 100 years, 1916 to 2016

below: A close up picture of the “Celebrating 100 years” sign as well as the picture of Queen Elizabeth I, engraved by Crispin van de Passe the Elder, after a drawing by Isaac Oliver.

closer view of the fence with its Celebrating 100 years, Craven Road fence, 1916 to 2016 sign as well as an engraving of Queen Elizabeth I. Planters with dead plants and painted pine cones on sticks, painted red, silver and gold.

below: Andy Warhol’s Marilyn Munroe beside many shoes in twos, knee pads and a walking cast.

a wooden fence with many things hanging on it - an Andy Warhol Marilyn Munroe print, a painting of autumn birch trees, and many old shoes

below: Mirror, mirror on the wall…  Bird pictures to the left and trees and sticks to the right.
Scattered among them are a few glow in the dark stars.

An oval mirror with an ornate wood frame is mounted on an outdoor fence, wood, three small framed pictures hang on both sides of it.

below: Artfully arrange artifacts… mask, hockey stick, dog pictures, toy helicopter….

all kin mounted artfully on a wood fence on Craven Road - hockey stick, football, picture of Charlie Chaplin, ds of things

below:  A woman with three wolves, a young boy and dragonflies listening to your heart.

old black and white photo of a boy, a small statuette of a woman and three wolves, dragonflies on a picture frame with a photo of the word love

below: A composition of found items.  A still life made of remnants of the past.

things on a fence as decoration, guitar, pictures, clock, boxes,

below: And lastly, a couple of pictures of some of the original paintings.

two painting on a fence. One is of a cat and the other is of white flowers

a painting of a line of white sheep on a snowy field, on a fence, outdoors, with houses and backyards beyond the fence, some trees too but they have lost their leaves because it is late autumn

Craven Road gallery

Posted: November 6, 2015 in locations
Tags: , , , , , , , ,
4

Craven is a narrow street that runs south from the railway tracks.  For most of its length, there are houses only on the east side of the street.  Between Gerrard and Dundas, a wooden fence runs along the west side right up next to the street.  This fence separates the backyards of the next street, Ashdale, from Craven Road.  As I drove up Craven this afternoon I noticed that someone has mounted a number of pictures onto the wall so of course I parked my car and took some photos.

There are paintings of cats of various sizes and colours

A canvas has been stapled to a wood fence, on the canvas someone has painted a large tan and white striped cat that is lounging on the ground but with its head up and alert. The canvas is wearing out a bit around the edges

The stars look like the glow in the dark stars that my kids used to have.

A small painting of a cat standing in a room with a light blue floor. It is mounted on a wood fence. Four glow in the dark stars are on a diagonal across the corner of the picture.

Most, but not all, of the paintings have an animal theme.  Seven Christmas sheep in the snow.

A painting of seven sheep in a line in the snow with more snow falling from the sky. The painting is on canvas and it is stapled to the fence.

They are painted on canvas and stapled to the fence.  Some are in better shape than others!  The pattern of the rips in this painting seems to complement the pattern of the boards in the fence although the cat doesn’t look too pleased about it!

A very weathered painting of a cat on canvas and stapled to a wood fence. The canvas has started to rip vertically in places. The pattern of the rips sort of matched the pattern of the boards in the fence.

There are a few dog pictures too including this reindeer dog.

Painting on canvas stapled to a wood fence. A large dog is sitting in the snow. Red fake reindeer antlers on its head. More snow is falling from the sky.

Two dogs sit on the front steps of a house. One of the dogs has a rope toy in its mouth.

You may have noticed by now that this gallery is a one woman show.  Christine Kowal is an artist and a  resident of the street.

Painting on canvas stapled to a wood fence. A long haired light brown cat resting on a striped carpet or blanket

And did I mention that there were pictures of cats?  🙂

Painting on canvas stapled to a wood fence. A small brown cat in amongst tall grass. A vine is growing on the fence beside the picture.

Painting on canvas stapled to a wood fence. A black silhouette of a cat that is surrounded by turquoise and farker blue swirls and smudges

Two paintings on a wood fence. One is a collection of animals in bright colours and the other is an abstract with a large amount of blue in it.