Posts Tagged ‘emily may rose’

Annex alleys

Posted: October 26, 2022 in graffiti and street art, locations
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
0

This past Saturday’s walk started on a familiar corner, Bloor and Bathurst, but at a new place, Mallo Coffee.  I don’t always mention my coffee starts and stops but not all of them have wonderfully eccentric washrooms!  The wiggly strands of light were blue which gave the room an eerie blue glow.

part of washroom wall at Mallo Coffee shop, black and white paper with drawings, images, and words, with a blue neon (led?) light that curves around giving the room an eerie blue glow

Pre-COVID there was a proliferation of small independent coffee shops in the city.  It’s nice to see that many have survived and many new ones are opening up.  It’s not so nice to see the remains of those that didn’t make it.

covered windows of closed coffee shop, plywood in one pane, picture of pink and whtie coffee cup and chocolate chip muffin in another pane

From Bloor and Bathurst I walked generally east with a little south thrown in.  Is this The Annex? or Harbord Village?  Technically the quadrant to the southeast of Bloor and Bathurst is Harbord Village but I kept seeing street art referencing The Annex.

When you’ve been taking pictures in a city for more than 10 years, you end up walking the same streets and alleys.  Sometimes you find yourself with identical pictures.   Other times things have changed and there’s a new story to present.  For this blog post there is a bit of both.  Some of the murals that I saw in the lanes behind Bloor were new to me but there were many that I have blogged before.  Rather than show all of the previous murals, I have linked to older posts.

below: Part of “Meet me at the Magnolias” by Leslie Phelan

large mural on the side of store featuring magnolia flowers painted by Leslie Phelan

below: The back part of a larger Elicser Elliott mural on the side of Dirty Bird Chicken and Waffle restaurant on Bloor Street.  The full mural is featured in the blog post “feeling hungry?” from early in 2017.

part of an elicser elliott mural on dirty bird chicken and waffle, man in brown eating a very large sandwich on a plate, a smaller man with a drink in his hands

Bagpipe Lane runs behind the south side of Bloor for less than a block

below: A few simple designs

elicser elliott mural in background, 2 abstract minimalistic designs on a wall with air conditioners and other containers, one is red on pink and the other ooks like a green eye and eye lashes on orange paper

below:  Boris Badenov from the “Rocky and Bullwinkle Show” – who is he trying to blow up now?!

graffiti, black and white wheatpaste of Boris Badenov, cartoon character from Rocky and Bullwinkle show, about the throw a round black bomb, evil look on his face

Barbara Barrett Lane is the eastern continuation of Bagpipe Lane.   This is what you see when you first enter the lane from Borden Ave.

side of a two storey brick house with lower half covered in a mural with stylize street scene, houses, street, cars, green grass,

barbara barrett lane street scene mural

barbara barrett lane street scene mural

below: Nine years ago this was part of a mural that covered the back of buildings on Bloor Street.  You can see it, and other murals that were in Barbara Barrett Lane at the time, in a blog post from 2013.

part of an od mural, faded, headless man with brown vest, blue diamond motifs

There is a large mural by Elicser Elliott on Barbara Barrett Lane.  I have already posted quite a few pictures of it so rather than show more of the same, here is the link to the “elicser paints people” post.

 

mural that says you are here Annex

David French Lane runs south from Barbara Barrett Lane.

below: Near the north end of David French Lane is this black and white garage.  It is now partially covered with ivy and vines but it too also been around since 2013.  At that time many of the garages were already covered with street art but they have all been re-painted (see 2013 blog post, ‘graffiti on garages’)

ivy and vines with leaves in green, yellow, and red, hangs over a garage with a door that is black with white line drawings all over it

below: This mural on David French is very similar to the “street scene” mural on Barbara Barrett shown above.  I wish there was a signature of some sort on them!

street scene mural on david french lane

In 2017 there was a laneway paint project, “You Are Here” on David French Lane.  Once again, you can see images of most of the garages in a previous blog post.

below: Dudeman’s skulls and old TTC bus were part of that project.  Route 77B was a combination of the 77 Spadina bus and the 510 Spadina streetcar; it runs from Spadina station (on Bloor) south to Queens Quay before looping and returning north.

mural by Dudeman covering the front of a garage in an alley, lots of differenc=t coloured skulls, a TTC bus, signs for Spadina

below: A dog with a spiked collar by Christina Mazzulla.

street art on garage door, large dogs with spiked collars, big teeth, open mouth, pink tongues, painted by C mazzulla

alley view, mural on a garage door, back of three storey house, back yard

below: A blue eyed, black haired person with a tiger and a bluebird, all at 263.

painted garages in David French Lane, the one in the middle has a person with long black hair and blue eyes beside a tiger head in profile and a blue bird taking flight

below: Emily May Rose’s now iconic raccoons.  They hang out all over the city!

emily may rose raccoon mural an a garage in David French Lane

a mural on the outside of a wood garage, red x in the middle with other tag, text elements

below: “Fat bottomed girls … You make the rocking world go ’round”  Name that tune!

alley view, garages with street art and graffiti including a pink bum, with backs of houses and trees seen above the garages

in the foreground, black and white faded and peeled painting, with mural across the lane in the background which has a marine theme, large whale and other aquatic animals

Farther east there is another lane but with no name (Toronto is full of nameless lanes!).

black graffiti on a white garage door, black stencil of man upper body, some blobs and the words they live

alley view, line of garages with utility poles

below: Glorious old textures

an old wood garage door in an alley with old tags, faded paint, moss on roof, newer wood gate beside,

painting on a garage of a topless man holding up something very heavy across his back and shoulders, sort of like greek god atlas.

below: This may or not be something called Tomo

on a wood fence, painted white, with black line drawing of a large plump cat like figure with two ears that stand up, small eyes, whiskers, and 3 hearts on his tummy, a small rabbit sits on its head. red word tomo with question mark beside it

… and back to Mallo.  Until next time!

interior of Mallo Coffee shop, woman behind bar, bar with orange, turquoise and blue tiles, a young woman witting at a table, red model airplane hanging from ceiling,

south of Davenport

Posted: January 5, 2022 in alleys, graffiti and street art, locations
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
3

Sometimes I find myself in unfamiliar territory and so it was last week when I went to investigate some alleys where I’d heard that new murals had been painted.   My previous post, Around Wadsworth Park, was part of the same walk; there was just so much to see that I split my photos into two groups.  In general, the last post was north of Davenport Avenue while this post features Davenport and the streets & alleys to the south.

below: More raccoons by Emily May Rose, this time they are being watched over by a big white rat. Quite the dumpster fire!

mural in an alley by Emily May Rose of raccoons and a big white rat. One raccoon is setting fire to a dumpster

preparing for a sidewalk sale, including a sign that says amenity closed because of covid 19

below: A large mural by Birdo beside Charles Sauriol school

large birdo mural on the side of a building, street art

the side of a house is covered with street art, 2 or 3 murals on both upper and lower storeys

below: A man reaching out a multicoloured hand to a woman by Phillip Saunders covers the back part of the house

murals on the side of a house, a man and a woman with black curly hair

below: A brown octopus and bright coloured tiger playing together – a collaboration between Luvs and June Kim.

mural of a tiger on the side of a house

below: Baby birds with beaks uplifted in a mural by Bruno Smoky and Clandestinos

mural by Bruno Smoky and Clandestinos on a wood fence in an alley, baby birds in a nest with their beaks open waiting for parents to feed them

below: Blue jay and tomato face, rowdyradrat and Chris Perez

street art on a wood fence in a lane

murals on a wood fence in a lane, tomato, blue jay

below: Taking cover under umbrellas on a rainy day in a mural by Elicser Elliott

mural by elicser elliott on a garage door in an alley, people under umbrellas in the rain, pink background

below: Someone has extra time lying around, but without the coffee

leaning against a lime green dumpster is the time part of an old coffee time donut shop sign

a motorcycle parked in a backyard with lots of weeds and junk

small house with brown picket fence in front, second story with mansard roof on one part of house only

street art painting of a nuthatch bird on a wood pole

below: Mural in a lane, signature says June, Bacon, and Erika.

mural in a lane, nuthatch, flowers by Bacon, and a bright cat by June Kim

below: Part of another June Kim feline

a June Kim mural of a tiger or cat, feline, on a brick wall in an alley

below: A man walks down the alley, between a mural on the right and Quick Recording Studios on the left.

an older man with a cane and a plaid jacket walks down an alley, back to the camera

below: In the window of the Art Academy of Canada, Davenport Ave.

paintings in a window, with window reflections, of Art Academy of Canada

below: A.J.’s So Fresh Coin Laundry, also on Davenport

buildings on Davenport Ave., two storey, one is A.J.'s So Fresh Coin Laundry

below: A multi-lingual thank you to essential workers on Davenport – obrigado, gracias, merci, and grazie!

a mural on a brick wall on the side of a building on Davenport, a thank you to essential workers during covid, thank you written in many languages

below: Boney Santa’s lost a lot of weight recently… he’s probably tired of all the weight gain jokes and comments though…..

large skeleton outside in front yard with Santa hat and red scarf, holding a plastic candle light, other Christmas decorations on porch of house

below: More Emily May Roses’s mischievous raccoons and their cans of spray paint.

emily may rose mural on the side of a dark grey building, raccoons playing around a white cube van, with orange spray paint

below: Anya Mielniczek’s woman’s face looks down the lane.

mural by Anya Mielniczek of a girls's head in pinks and oranges down a lane, rest of mural blocked by fence

below: A closer look of the mural reveals another woman’s head on the far side along with people mixing together in the central portion painted by Raoul

orange and pink woman's head by Anya Mielniczek along with a picture of

below: HeldbyHuda mural

street art mural on a garage door by artist with instagram handle heldbyhuda

below: Patterns of circles and semi-circles on a gate by Stephanie Bellefleur

street art on a wood gate across the back of a garage, patterns of circles and semi circles

below: Another gate, but half of this one has been removed.

car parked behind a house, gate across back of yard is partially closed and a mural can be seen on it, other part of gate is open so other part of mural is blocked

below: A Nick Sweetman painting of a large Cuckoo wasp feeding on a yellow flower

mural by Nick Sweetman on a garage door in an alley, a large blue green bee on a yellow flower

below: by Victoria Day

garage door mural by Victoria Day, stylized yellow and green flowers on a blue green gradient background

garages in a laneway in Toronto, some garage doors have murals and street art painted on them

below: Sections of citrus fruit in glass bowls, by Steam

Steam, the artist, painted a mural on a garage door of citrus fruit sections in glass bowls

below: A pink and purple butterfly by Dani Coghlan

pink and purple butterfly mural on a garage door

below: A floral wallpaper-like design by Tara Dorey

floral wallpaper like design on a garage door by Tara Dorey

jumble of chairs and other objects on a lawn, behind a chainlink fence

in an alley, two old garages with a crooked gate with peeling dark green paint, house in the background

below: A collaboration between Diana Lynn VanderMeulen and Tebby G.

mural with two cartoon like animals, one pink and the other blue, beside a blue mountain along with some pink flowers, a mural on a garage door

below: Pink flowers by Claire Browne

mural by Claire Browne on a garage door in a n alley, pink clover flowers with green leaves on a

below: Self explanatory?

a mural with a large word that says great

below: Planta Muisca mural with an orange snake under a purple night sky.

a mural by muisca on a garage door in a lane, an orange snake in the purple night with moon and plant with large leaves

below: Birds wearing neckties and hanging out together in a mural by Rob Elliott

birds painted on a garage door, stylized, large bird wearing a long necktie and smaller birds with similar ties, all on an orange background

car parked in front of two murals on garage doors, breaking bread is one of the murals

below: Sometimes while walking in this city during Covid and various lockdowns, even this might do!

old toilet on the doorstep of an apartment beside a fish and chips store

fish and chips shop sign on a store doorstep along with a folding chair

below: Remains of a vegetable garden planted along the side of the alley. Portugal peppers once grew here.

remains of a vegetable garden in late December, sign saying Portugal peppers

below: Stop and smell the flowers

wood utility pole painted white and decorated with flowers and a sign that says stop and smell the flowers

white pole with purple flower painted on it, also some stickers, welcome, kindness

covid 19 mask caught on a dead branch in a garden

Support for the alley murals was provided by the Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario Arts Council.

Unfortunately, I have missed a few of the paintings.  A complete set of photos can be found on Erika James’s Instagram page.  She was one of the organizers of the project.

 

little elf characters hanging from a tree in a front yard, green cap and shirt like holly with red pants and trim but everything made of tinsel strands

Some of the murals from this post can also be seen on by worldwide street art blog, Carleton Village murals Toronto 2021

Water is Life

Posted: October 7, 2021 in alleys, graffiti and street art, locations
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
2

Women Paint Riverside
“Currents of Change”

the word life painted on a fence white letters on blue background

the word life painted on a fence white letters on blue background with small flowers painted all over it.

below: The faucet is on and water pours into a glass.  Interesting lively water, full of colours and patterns in this mural by Kirsten McCrea

lift truck beside wall with new mural of a glass of water in many colours and patterns,

below: A large mural by Mo Thunder.  Follow the link to her website for more information about the mural – a mother and child lying side by side forming the land as water swirls around them.

the word life painted on a fence white letters on blue background

part of a mural by Mo Thunder on Broadview Ave of a mother and child lying in water, child has plants in her hand, mother earth theme, water theme

artist, Mo Thuner, on a ladder painting details on a mural with a small paint brush

murals in an alley

below: White flowers on a watery blue background by Julia Prajza

large white flower painted in a mural, on a blue watery background, ladder sitting in front of it, step stool with a can of spray paint

below: Invasive species such as phragmites in the Don Valley, by Merryn

metal stair cases, exterior of a variety store, laneway, bike, garbage bins, artist on a ladder painting a mural

below: Rabbit and deer having to contend with out of control greenery, possibly dog-strangling vine. Phragmites are reeds, those tall perennial grasses that grow very tall.

part of a mural by Merryn about invasive species in the Don Valley, a pink rabbit and a pink deer having to contend with out of control greenery

below: Raccoons frolic in the water and raccoons sit by the shore.  Even one raccoon spray painting a rock, naughty raccoon!  Mural by Emily May Rose.

below: by Haenahhh.  Arms around each other

part of a mural, a couple standing by a lake with arms around each other, seen from the back

below: Hands reaching out in a mural by Claire Browne,

murals behind Queen Street East, Riverside, Toronto, behind stores, water theme, blue, Women Paint Riverside,

black hand, large painted, mural, at bottom of metal exterior stairs and under a window with metal bars, part of a mural with water and plants

tall green plants in a mural by Claire Browne

below: Victoria Day‘s mural – what looks a bit like a blue water serpent but is actually a dragon flying high above us in the sky.

two murals in a Toronto alley, on the left, all in blue tones, a water serpent, very big and rising out of the water. on the right, a long horizontal lake scene with a pink border

below: In the pink is written, “A persistent drop of water will wear away the hardest stone.”

on a wood fence in an alley, a lake scene mural with pink border

below: by Scarbrite Collective (brightening the streets of Scarborough), aka Frannie Potts and Sylvie with help from Memengwaa Kwe Originals aka Caterina.

a woman backlit by large round white moon is holding an infant in the air, woman has long dark hair, sky is pink

laneway mural by Scarbrite Collective and Memengwaa Originals, a mother lifts her baby up backlit by full moon on a pink sky

part of a mural in an alley covers fence and a door in the fence, wood, painting of a landscape scene with water, green shrubs, a tree, and night sky with stars

below: Love not hate.  A blue raccoon stealthily walks across a roof above a mural that was painted by participants in this year’s Girls Mural Camp (a three week program in the summer for teenage girls).

murals in a lane in Riverside near Queen and Broadview, Toronto. raccoon on upper story approaching a window, night scene on lower floor with bird silhoutted by full moon

below: The other part of the Girls Mural Camp project.

on a garage door in an alley, a mural of a blue faced women with swirly white and blue hair, flowers in her hair

murals in an alley

below: by Moonlight Murals Collective

three water women mural on a wall

part of a mural with theme of water, blue woman dancing with eyes clsed

part of mural, pale blue legs and bare feet walking in swirling water

below: Three heads that seem wrapped by a fish, mural by Cedar Eve

below: Eyes closed

long haired creature with just eyes showing, long pink and red hair on a blue fence

below: The Girls Mural Camp 2020 mural is in the same alley.

girls camp mural in an alley near Hamilton Street in Toronto, poster like pictures connected with white lines like a schmetic drawing

blue raccoon painted on wall above a garbage can

NOTE: There is also an installation by monicaonthemoon on the back of the Broadview Hotel that is part of this project but I have given it a separate blog post – Hands, Florests, and Minds.

With support from:

Eastend Arts

Women Paint

Native Women in the Arts (NWIA)

Riverside BIA

StreetARToronto

St. Clair, west of Dufferin

Posted: September 12, 2021 in alleys, graffiti and street art, locations
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
3

This blog post starts with donuts… who doesn’t like donuts?!  Mediterranean?  Well, that’s veggies on a cream cheese icing.  DeSotos restaurant starting making and selling donuts as a way of surviving Covid lockdowns.   The lemon bomb was delicious!

donuts in the window of De Sotos restaurant

below: Living the van life? Or living in the past?

a brown van is parked in a backyard, an old green peace save the whales sticker is on the back window, blue and white curtain inside over same window, other old stickers on the back of the van

below: Unfortunately this Coca Cola sign at St. Clair and Winona was tagged over last year.  The vacant lot will soon be yet another condo development.

old red and white coca cola sign on the side of a building on St. Clair West, partially painted over and tagged

a poster on the side of a grey metal box on sidewalk, man from monopoly and words that say empty promises for everyone,

below: Looking east, northeast corner of St. Clair West and Alberta  – a new condo, one being built, and one in the very beginning stages.

intersection of St. Clair West and Alberta, cyclists waiting for traffic light, hoarding around construction site on the northeast side, looking east

people waiting for a traffic light to turn green, and older man wearing a mask and pulling a shopping buggy, a woman carrying a boquet of flowers

below: Milking the cow on the sidewalk.

bell box on sidewalk painted to look like a cowboy on a small stool milking a brown and white cow

below: Dinosaurs playing in the yard.

toy dinosaurs lined up in the front yard of a house

below: And Woody, Gumby, Pokey, and their friends hanging out on the porch.

toy characters decorating a porch, woody from toy story,

below: But Wonder Woman doesn’t approve

toy characters decorating a porch, upper body of wonder woman with her arms crossed in front of her, also pots of plants

below: Another front yard, this one decorated with many light fixtures on poles, or hanging from a tree.

a silver candlabra with 5 lights, in a front yard with many other antique light fixtures.

below: A bright red door and matching car beside her.

a red car is parked in front of a mural on the side of a building that has a red door at the back

below:  Most of the murals painted a few years ago in Feel Good Lane are still there.  This lane runs parallel to St. Clair to the north between Atlas and Arlington.

part of a mural in feel good lane, children, a rocket, and three stencils of a couple dancing

below: Also in Feel Good Lane is a mural featuring Emily May Rose’s cute but naughty little green raccoons.

part of a mural by Emily May Rose of green raccoons vandalizing a van with spray paint and graffiti

below: St. Clare’s RC Church

front view of St. Calre's Roman Catholic church with front steps, wood door, brick bulding with fake columns, cross on top

below: Hanging baskets of pink and red petunias across the street from the St. Clair Fruit Market with Muskoka chairs in a makeshift roadside patio.

hanging basket of pink flowers across the street from St. Clair Fruit Market that has green and pink muskoka chairs outside

below: El Eden Ecuatoriano – it seems like everything Ecuadorian is available here especially music and food (in an area that has a growing South American ethnicity).

store front on St. Clair, Ecuadorian establishment

below: Way up high, a mouse surveys the scene while people wait at the street car stop.

mouse graffiti high on side of store on St. Clair, with people waiting to cross at street light below. Shoe City store, Tim Hortons, and a Photo Plus variety store

below: Hanging out in front of Buy and Sell.

people on sidewalk talking, in front of Buy and Sell junk store

below: TTC streetcar stop.  All the stops have artwork across the top of the shelters.

TTC streetcar stop on St. Clair West with brick storefronts behind

below: A white metal railing on the porch and flowers in the well kept yard.

a front porch of a house at 121, white metal railing, flowers in the yard

below: Regal Heights neighbourhood

two storey brick houses in Regal Heights neighbourhood, large front porches and peaked roofs

below: A unique hood ornament!

a gold swan ornament on the front hood of a red truck that used to be a Rogers truck

below: Or, line up your favorite little stuffies on the front dash.

small stuffies lined up along the front dashboard of a car - spongebob squarepants and miss kitty and others

stencil on a concrete wall that says tell your friends you love them

below: On a door at Wychwood Barns.

paper flower decorations on a grey metal door

table at farmer's market, of weird shaped carrots for 2 dollars a bunch, also jars of honey

below: I’m not sure what’s happening here but it looks like an unhappy drunk llama behind bars. I wonder what its backstory is?

a stuffed llama behind bars of a window, empty bottle of corona beer beside it

below: A. A. Milne’s words of wisdom: “If the person you are talking to doesn’t appear to be listening be patient.  It may simply be that he has a small piece of fluff in his ear.”

a chalkboard sign on the sidewalk outside a store with a quote of A.A. Milne written on it

below: Always look on the bright side of life.  Can you say it aloud without breaking into the Monty Python song?

woman taking photo with a phone camera of an eye chart in the window of an optometrist that reads always look on the bright side of life

With thanks to Georgette and Mondo for being my tour guides on this walk!

 

reflection in window of man walking past, red high heel shoes in the window

go for the photography, stay for the love

Posted: August 1, 2021 in events, locations, people, public art
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
1

Yonge and Dundas and thereabouts

below: Part of a large relief sculpture on the wall of the northwest entrance to Dundas subway station of life sized figures on their way –  Terra cotta artwork by William McElcheran from 2015.

part of relief sculpture at Dundas subway station, a man holds on to his hat as he hurries along

below: Ryerson Image Centre,

photographs of famous Canadians on the outer wall of Ryerson Image Center, with woman sitting on the concrete surrounding the reflecting pool by the entrance to R I C

There is a photography exhibit outside the Ryerson Image Centre showcasing three winners of the New Generation Photography Award, Chris Donovan, Dustin Bron, and Curtiss Randolph.

below: ‘Boy in the Window’ by Chris Donovan

a black and white photo by Chris Donovan with reflections of a boy in a window and street scene below, on display outside Ryerson Image Centre

below: A second, “Objects in Mirror” also by Chris Donovan

black and white photo of cars, Chris Donovan, on exhibit

below: ‘AC 2019’ by Dustin Brons

below: ‘Horizon 2017’ by Curtiss Randolph.  First in a short series involving a staged drama at this intersection.

a coloured photo of a corner of an intersection with a gas station on it, Horizons, houses, apartment building in background

below: The statue of Egerton Ryerson is gone.  There is graffiti on the walls where the statue once stood.

place where statue of Egerton Ryerson once stood, a single tree, graffiti on the walls of the building

below: On the Bond Street side of the Ryerson building is another photography exhibit.  This is Maximum Exposure 26, an annual exhibit of pictures by Ryerson’s School of Image Arts students.   There are 28 very diverse photos included here.

large collage pf photos on wall of Ryerson Image Centre, Maximum Exposure 26, work of graduating students

below: Food Pantry.  Take what you need; Donate what you can.

Free food pantry, shelves with glass covered doors for food to exchange, it is almost empty

below: In the alley behind the Lutheran church and Ryerson.

alley behind Ryerson Image Centre with large murals of green bike and blue bike, also with a person asleep in the alley by the church

below: Peace, hearts and respect written on the green bike.

below: The old white building on the northeast corner of Victoria and Dundas is still there and the mural by Emily May Rose with its cute raccoons survives.  If only the real raccoons were as lovable!

below: Looking east on Dundas.  There is talk of renaming Dundas Street.

below: Yonge Dundas Square is now filled with hearts.  There are pink heart shaped seats to sit on and pink hearts on the ground too.  Each heart on the pavement has something about Toronto to love – street art,  endless streets to explore, the Jays, great architecture, always changing, and more.

a man stands beside his Christian religious display at Yonge Dundas square while he talks to two men about Jesus

below: Keep looking up!

Yonge Street, looking up at banners on metal poles, tops of some highrise buildings,
below: Another part of a large relief sculpture on the wall of Dundas subway station

 

Luttrell Loop Lane murals

Posted: August 27, 2020 in graffiti and street art
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
2

Almost two years ago, inthe fall of 2018, a group of artists brightened up Luttrell Loop Lane with some murals.  Luttrell Loop Lane is on Danforth, just west of Victoria Park.

below: A marvelous blue portrait by luvsomone

in blue tones, on a garage door, a portrait by luvsomone of a face with closed eyes

below: A partially hidden face in a mural by Anya Mielniczek

partially hidden by bushes and plants, a face street art mural by anya mielniczek

below: Unveiled

revealed, when branches moved away, partially hidden by bushes and plants, a face street art mural by anya mielniczek

a mural on a garage door by anya mielniczek of a face

below: The imagination of Al Runt and the characters that it produces is on display in this mural.

part of an Al Runt mural on a fence, orange background with lots of his typical characters in bright colours

mural of a large white bird, swan?, heron?, stork?, with wings in position as if about to fly, large yellow flowers

below: The garage at the corner gets four murals.  On the garage door is a moon over a little house by Jieun June Kim.  Beside it, Bomi has painted a mural using linear shapes (for lack of a better word to describe it).

at the intersection of a street and an alley, a garage with street art on all sides facing road, with four different murals on it

below: The whimsical and funny raccoons of Emily May Rose help with the gardening.

a raccoon mural, raccoon with watering can, gardening and looking after plants

teal raccoon in a mural looking at a plant growing in a white planter

mural on a garage door of purplish figures, looks very first nations-like

below: A skateboarder on her way to somewhere important, by Kim Therese Dolan

mural on a yellow fence of a person on a skateboard with a bag in one hand, by kim therese dolan

sign on a yellow wood fence that says beware of dog, a black squirrel is sitting on top of the fence

This project was supported by The Laneway Project

a few new ones

Posted: September 13, 2019 in alleys, graffiti and street art
Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
0

…murals that is.

construction fence around a building being built, also a small beige house with white trim. Between the two is an entrance to an alley, there is a mural on the wall of the house, in the alley

On Euclid Avenue just south of College there is a lane that runs towards Palmerston Avenue.   I am not sure if it has a name (Paese Lane is the extension of this lane on the other side of Euclid).   As you can see, there are now some murals in this lane.

murals in an alley,

below: Pinks and blues combined in a mural by Getso

a mural of black lines making circles and other irregular shapes filled in with pinks, purples, and blues

below: An unfinished mural by Adrian Hayles

partially finished mural by Adrian Hayles, in yellow, a face and some text

below: A portrait of Greta Thunberg by Meaghan Claire Kehoe.

mural in an alley, large portrait of Greta Thunberg, the Swedish teenager advocating for action on climate change, painted by Meaghan Claire Kehoe

below: A dark haired woman in a blue head scarf with a purple conehead flower by drippin_soul aka Kalkidan Assefa

mural my drippin_soul of a woman in blue head scarf beside a large pinkish flower

below: Raccoons have taken over this part of the alley! A mural by Emily May Rose

raccoon mural by Mily May Rose, raccoon on top of garbage cans, climbing on roofs, spray painting, inside garbage bins

two raccoons from a mural by Emily May Rose,

below: (across the lane from the ones above) This little green guy is up to no good!  Great ready for an explosion!  Perhaps life’s a blast?

small green guy with big ears painted on a wall, orange shirt and blue pants. Hands on a trigger to start an explosion

Laneway mural project organized by KJ Bit Collective

mural, Dundas and Victoria

Posted: September 1, 2019 in graffiti and street art
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
2

There is a new mural at Dundas and Victoria.  It is a welcome addition to a building that has been boarded up for years and is a definite improvement over the dingy and dirty grey wall it was just a few weeks ago.

mural: The northeast corner of Dundas and Victoria as seen from Yonge Dundas Square.  The left side was painted by Emily May Rose

mural at the corner of Dundas and Victoria, is actually two murals in one. on the left is one by Emily May Rose, alley jams van and spray painting green raccoons. on the right is a tribute to Killy and Swagger rite, by one day creates

below: It features green raccoons running wild, some with cans of spray paint.

black and white pictures in the windows, green raccoons on the walls, looking at one of the pictures

below: On the other side, is a mural in blues and oranges by @onedaycreates (aka One Day Mural & Video Production).  It is a tribute to Killy and Swagger Rite, two Toronto born rappers.

large paintings of two men, killy and swagger rite

close up of part of mural, blue face, orange furry scarf, person wearing two rings, hat, dreadlocks,

Feel Good Lane

Posted: February 27, 2019 in graffiti and street art, locations
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
2

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

street art on a brick wall in a lane, text, cursive that says Fell Good Lane, painted in blues, white and pink by Spud bomb .

below: by monicaonthemoon

monica on the moon mural painted on a garage door. Bright colour flash of paint with stencils of girls leap frogging over objects

colourful abstract mural of three birds

below: by Oriah Scott

mural on a garage door in Feel Good Lane by Oriah Scott

behind trees, in the autumn, murals on the sides of garages, TTC streetcar, orange flower, green abstract,

below: This is the front of the same garage in the above photo (with the streetcar). Both were painted Elly Dowson

colourful mural covering all of the front of a building that is a garage, abstract sun in top right corner, blue sky, green hill,

below: Dog mural by @Dr_Roameo

alley with murals painted on garages and on the sides of walls, large grey dog painted on a wall, trash cans and recycling bins in the alley too

below: Raccoons all over the place! A mural by Emily May Rose and Rage Williams.

mural on a garage in an alley, Feel Good Lane, by Emily May Rose and of a white van with lots of green raccoons around it, on top of it, and in the drivers seat

below: The blue landscape is a painting by Leyland Adams

3 murals in Feel Good Lane, one abstract rectangles and bars of colour, one a realistic painting,

below: by Bomi (Bomino San Grantes)

bars, dots, and stripes of colour on a black background, mural in a lane

below: by Cruz1

stylized painting of a womans head, blue skin, white hair, pink background

below: Butterfly face and curly hair – Frannie Potts

painting by Frannie Potts, a street art face on a garage, woman, with large curly afro style hair in pale colours, with a butterfly painted covering her eyes and cheeks.

below: Another Cruz1 creation with a small painting by Bkez (aka Bareket) in the background

gnarly monster face painted on the side of a small wall, bllue, with big yellow teeth and small red eyes

below: by Mska

mural of a deer with birch trees painted on a garage

below: A mural for the 512 Crew,

red and white mural of a man (cartoon like) beside a TTC 512 St. Clair street car, in Feel Good Lane

below: In the back, a mural by Odinamaad (turningwind). In the foreground is the work of Desko Zima

two murals on garage doors in Feel Good Lane, one a green halloween-like scene with silhouettes of bats the other is a marine scene

below: A face in blue and orange by Anya Mielniczek

a mural of a woman's face by Anya Mielniczek

below: On the right, a small piece by Andrew Castro

two murals in Feel Good Lane, face, lines

below: A fox head by Ed Hamer

street art painting of a fox head in profile by Ed Hamer, realistic

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

murals in Feel Good Lane, including one by Chris Perez in which a car is parked in front of.

below: The white chair is in front of a jellyfish and heart by Psyblimation

white plastic chair outside in alley in front of a mural of a jellyfish and a heart

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.

womxn in the lane

Posted: September 4, 2018 in graffiti and street art
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
2

Or more specifically, #womxnpaintto recent laneway project

I had heard about this event but I was away in mid-August which was the week that it occurred.  I knew that it was on a lane off McCaul but I couldn’t remember where.  McCaul isn’t that long so I started walking north at Queen.  At Dundas, this is what I saw:

below: The edge of a mural by Emily May Rose beckons you to come and take a closer look.

a mural by Emily May Rose of figures of woman on a black background on the side of a building, a fence runs parallel to it, entrance ways to buildings

I knew that I was in the right place when I saw the word (is it a word?)  #womxnpaintto painted on the ground.  So I followed the little yellow arrow and walked behind the buildings to a lane running east/west behind Dundas Street.

below: The mural is higher than the fence by quite a bit so as I walked beside the fence I was able to take this picture.

part of a mural by Emily May Rose of dancing female figures on a black background

below: Three murals on a double garage.  On the right is a woman with blue and orange rays by @dbetty13 (aka Désiré Betty).  The other woman, the one with the wild turquoise hair was painted by toest (aka Sarah Gilmore).  On the side of the building, partially obscured by the car is a mural painted by @nightarcade (aka Sarah Cannon).

An alley way with a double garage and a car parked beside it, high rise buildings behind it, a young man walking past it. Each door is painted with a mural of a woman's head, one by Desire Betty (dbetty13) and the other by Sarah Gilmore, or toest. On the side of the garage is another mural, this one by nightarcade, Sarah Cannon,

below: An attempt to get a closer look at the side of the garage (with St. Patricks RC church in the background).

part of a mural by nightarcade, Sarah Cannon, black background, large pink wild rose, striped mushrooms, and lots of green leaves

below: A fence with some murals –  starting at the end with ” What You Do is Magic” by Shelby McLeod.  Magic hands perhaps.

below: Next, six figures by Wenting Li

below: A tiny crown on long red hair, a bathing tattooed woman by Natalie Very B

part of a mural by natalieveryb, in red and white, a woman, with long red hair, eyes closed, in black water, with red leaves

below: The white words on the black building behind the painted fence wasn’t part of the project.  The quote is from the Electric Prunes and it says “I had too much to dream last night.”

fence with murals painted on it, large buildings behind it,

a gold coloured van is parked beside a fence that has three murals painted on it, in an alley

old two storey brick building in a lane with upper window and lower single door. Door has a street art piece on it as does whole lower level, a garage on either side of it each with the door covered in a new mural

below: According to the door, Everything is political.  Lauren Pirie painted the mural beside the door.

a white door with words that say Everything is political, also a large mural painted beside the door, two figures amongst pink, yellow and pale blue curly vines and leaves, abtract

below: Flowers painted by @thepaintedlime (aka Tennille Dowers)

a painting by @thepainted lime, lime, on a garage door, flowers on a dark background,

below: A swampy street art piece by Diana Lynn VanderMeulen

three murals in a lane

a grey car is parked in front of a double garage, each door has a mural painted on it

below: Long dark blue hair on a pale blue profile painted by Gosia Komorski

a mural on a garage door of a pale blue woman in profile, with long flowing dark blue hair, symbols and concentric designs in her hair around her face

small street art painting on the side of a building, woman with long swirly pink and purple hair, eyes closed, stylized

below: Many active women cover the front of this garage; painted by Erin McCluskey

garage front covered with a mural by Erin McCluskey, black background, then figures of women in pink, yellow and pale blue, dancing, playing, flying, jumping,

below: @laceyandlaylaart (Lacey Jane and Layla Folkmann) painted this large face, wrinkles and all

a large face of an older person, eyes, nose, mouth and wrinkles, covers the whole front of a garafe, in prange, blues, and purple, the work of Lacey & Layla,

laneway in toronto with some garages with murals on them, tall buildings in background, utility poles and wires,

below: Grow through what you go through by, with love by @bkez  (Bareket Kezwer) and @_muisca_

mural in pink and pale blue, with some greenand yellow flowers. Large words that say Grow through what you go through.

below: Herons and geese cover a garage, painted by Andrea Manica and Caitlin Taguibao

alley mural on a garage, herons and geese,

I’ve been able to put some names to some artwork.  A list of all the other women:  Cindy Scaife, Curtia Wright, Delazed, Jacquie Comrie, Jei Escalante, Monica Wickeler, MSKA, and Aura & Chief Ladybird.

This project was supported by StreetARToronto and Mural Routes

part of a mural, two orange geese on a door, black and orange, alley

Older Entries