Charlie Chaplin, large and in many colours
at Eglinton and…. Chaplin Cres of course
Sometimes graffiti and street art have a short life span. Many taggers don’t care about what they are tagging over. Street art can also be “interactive” in that stickers and paste ups can get “added” to a piece. Anyone with a marker can have their say. On the bright side, new murals get painted and new paste -ups appear. And that is why I go back to the my favorite alleys every once in a while. This morning I walked the Milky Way again.
below: The Parkdale mural by Race Williams is still looking good.
below: The naked women are a bit more modestly dressed than they once were .
The most noticeable change is the fact that many pieces are now at least partially covered by greenery – small shrubs and tall weeds have proliferated and are looking quite healthy.
below: This lion is looking more and more like the king of the jungle even as the words faded and peel.
below: The small aliens at the top of the building are now in the shade of a fast growing tree.
below: And the larger aliens on the fence really need a hair cut now.
below: A large pink peony (at least that’s what it looks like)
below: The fence around the garden.
Previous Milky Way posts
Back to the Milky Way – Sept 2015
Walking the Milky Way – Oct 2014
We looked out side and saw that it was a beautiful sunny day!
These gals may be all dressed up with nowhere to go but I decided to hit the streets again.
below: It seems I’m in a neighbourhood that lovebot watches over and protects!
below: A ghost sign that has been revealed by demolition of a building on Queen Street East .
“Relieves fatigue, sold everywhere” is part of an old coca-cola ad. I wonder if 5 cents was a bargain at that time.
below: Another ghost sign. Mr. Frankfurt “Toronto’s hot dog king” opened their restaurant in July of 1984. It is long gone but the large yellow sign remains.
below: Peace and love encounter number two!
below: Love and concern of a different kind. Part of COUNTERfit memorial where people have scratched words and drawings into the metal. An angel, a heart, a dove, a coffin. “The war on drugs is a war on us”. “For every prohibition, you create an underground”. “Each death is an end of the world Cada muerie es un fin del mundo.” There is more to this memorial including a list of names as well as flowers and candles that have been left at the base of the metal sculpture.
below: Eddie’s Convenience with it’s bit of history. The mural on the wall is from an old photograph of Queen Street East circa 1926. The old “drink Canada Dry” sign that hangs over the doorway is a piece of history too. The faded words on the top of the sign say “Eddie’s Confectionery”. Does anyone know how old the sign might be?
below: More peace and love!
below: It seems like everywhere I go I encounter a building being demolished and today was no exception. The Church of Our Lady and St. Basil near Queen and Logan is in the process of coming down. It was not an old building.
below: Alley access is blocked beside the church.
You can see into the church where part of the exterior wall has been broken.
below: Dust drifts past the stained glass windows.
below: Valentine love (and Christmas bells) for all those who pass through the gate.
How can you resist smiling as you pass by?
below: A different house, a different arch over a gate – this time little balloon shaped objects made of fabric with tassles at the bottom. Do they have any significance?
below: A large plant grows inside.
below: A sunny day makes for interesting shadows.
below: A little bit of whimsy. Someone has hung three little decorative bird houses from the branch of a tree, not in someone’s front yard but by the sidewalk on Queen Street East.
below: And whimsy is good. This isn’t exactly cupid but it’s naked and has wings. Cupid as a grown-up?
below: Full circle, back to Doll Factory by Damzels – have a happy day!
Back in mid October I blogged about the new murals on the south side Wilson Ave as it passes under the Allen Expressway (where Wilson subway station is).
below: Looking across Wilson Avenue to part of the mural on the south side.
When I was there last, the murals on the north side were not completed. The other day I remembered that I hadn’t seen the finished work, so I took the subway back to Wilson station to see what the pillars on the north side look like. There is more light on the north side as there are entrances to the subway along the sidewalk here. There is also more pedestrian traffic.
This side was also painted by shalak and smoky (as was the south side).
below: In the center by one of the well-lit subway entrances.
below: Looking east along Wilson Avenue.
below: A little street artist with his can of spray paint has been left in a corner.
He’s not easily spotted.
There is a new collection of street art in Little India. It can be found if you go behind the stores on the south side of Gerrard Street between Rhodes Avenue and Craven Road. The art is easily seen because there is not only an alley behind the stores but also a parking lot.
below: Udlaakut Alysia. Udlaakut is Inuit for good morning.
below: Above the stairs painted by timmydrift and below the stairs by thepasystem
below: A marine creature (alligator) by Nick Sweetman and a woman’s face by Kairo.
below: The metal fittings on the back of the building were spray painted shiny gold and incorporated into the design of the mural.
below: behind 1465 Gerrard Street East
below: Lean back!
below: behind Siddhartha vegetarian restaurant
below: On the back of the Flying Pony cafe is this colourful mural painted by Tim Skynz, lead artist of the group Eskape Reality
below: tropical paradise?!
below: Side of the Flying Pony cafe
Diagonally across the corner (of Gerrard and Rhodes) from the Flying Pony is another store that has been covered with street art recently. This mural was painted by Runt. 1600 Gerrard East is the home of Lenswork, a photo and art studio gallery.
If you go back to Craven Road there are two murals.
First, there is the one by Monica on the Moon on a small building behind the Gujran Wala Tikka House restaurant.
Beside it, on the side of the Gujran Wala Tikka House, is a larger mural titled “The Rickshaw” by Monica Wickeler
(note: Monica Wickeler is Monica on the Moon)
below: And last, seen on a pole in the parking lot:
The alley project was coordinated by Tammy Rogers
with assistance from Monica Wickeler and the Gerrard India Bazaar BIA.
There is a lane that runs parallel, and just to the west of, Ossington Ave.
It’s only one block long, running north from Queen St. West to Humbert Street.
In the summer of 2012 this lane was the site for “Brighten the Corners For the Love of Art” mural project. The project involved a number of local community groups such as ProAction Cops and Kids as well as the Academy of Lions (a gym on Ossington Ave). Twenty artists painted many of the garage doors and fences in the alley. Some of the paintings remain, some have been defaced, and others have been painted over entirely since then. This is what the alley looked like last week.
The creatures on the garage door above always remind me of ‘scrubbing bubbles’ from the cleaning products of the same name.