Posts Tagged ‘face’

bruno smoky on Croft St.

Posted: April 12, 2018 in graffiti and street art
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While meandering down Croft Street today I discovered a new mural by Bruno Smoky on a garage.   A large reddish face of a man – Neptune, the God of the Sea?   It also makes me think of the book, ‘The Old Man and the Sea’.

mural on a double garage door, man's face, fish swimming underwater, by Bruno Smoky 2018

Two very large swim nearby.

mural by Bruno Smoky, part of it, two large fish swimming under water.

part of a mural on a garage door by Bruno Smoky, a large red face of a man.

milky way revisited

Posted: July 21, 2017 in alleys, graffiti and street art
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a man walks away from the camera as he walks down an alley that has graffit and street art on the garages and buildings

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.

two stickers on a pole in an alley. one is a pink and purple striped tail of an animal disappearing down a hole. the other is a white face with angry expression and cigarette in mouth

below: The Parkdale mural by Race Williams is still looking good.

mural in magenta and turquoise that says greetings from parkdale, large magenta streetcar in the mural by Race Williams

below: The naked women are a bit more modestly dressed than they once were .

street art mural of three naked women. Someone has painted white over the private parts

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.

tall weeds and small shrubs grow in front of a painting of a lion (from the Lion King) painted on an unused doorway in an alley

below: The small aliens at the top of the building are now in the shade of a fast growing tree.

small aliens painted along the top of a building are now partially covered by the branches and leaves of a small tree

below: And the larger aliens on the fence really need a hair cut now.

space alien mural painted on a corrugated metal fence are now partially covered with vines from the top and weeds from the bottom.

below: A large pink peony (at least that’s what it looks like)

street art painting of a large pink peony

below: The fence around the garden.

wooden fence around a backyard that has been painted with garden scenes, cabbages, flowers, sun, and a donkey

a line of black and green rubbish garbage bins along a wall that has street art on it, picture of a boy with a spray paint can in his hand along with some text , stairs leading up to the upper level of the building as well

text graffiti on two buildings in an alley

Previous Milky Way posts
Back to the Milky Way – Sept 2015
Walking the Milky Way – Oct 2014

metal gate that has rusted. large numeral 47 on it as well as some graffiti scrawls

peace and love

Posted: February 17, 2017 in alleys, graffiti and street art
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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.

looking out a store window, 3 headless mannequins are in the window, dresses in women's clothing, one has a red tam on her shoulders, one has a dress with a repeating pattern of typewriters, one has a red skirt with with white hearts all over it.

window mannequins, Doll Factory by Damzels, Queen St East

below: It seems I’m in a neighbourhood that lovebot watches over and protects!

a neighbourhood watch sign posted on a hydro pole, a lovebot sticker is on each of the three houses on the sign

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.

an old wall has been exposed after a building has been demolished. The sign is part of an old coca cola advertisement and says relieves fatigue 5 cents.

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.

a large yellow sign for Mr. Frankfurt restaurant showing a red headed girl trying to eat a hot dog that is larger than she is. yellow sign attached to building.

below:  Peace and love encounter number two!

spray paint large red lips, outline drawing, on an old wood garage door in an alley

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.

part of a metal memorial for people who died of drugs and AIDS, Counter fit (a harm reduction organization). people have scratched words and drawings into the metal, a dove, a heart, words like The war on drugs is a war on us

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?

looking diagonally across the steet to Eddie's convenience store with it's old Canada Dry ad sign hanging over the doorway and the black and white mural taken from a view of Queen St. East long ago.

below: More peace and love!

painting on a garage door, black line drawing of a face on blue with peace written above and love written below the face

 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.

vertical windows on a birck church, behind a chain link fence. Two of the windows have panes missing and are covered with orange cloth

below: Alley access is blocked beside the church.
You can see into the church where part of the exterior wall has been broken.

orange cones and a construction fence block entrance to an alley beside a church that is being demolished

below: Dust drifts past the stained glass windows.

dust from demolition drifts up and past church stained glass windows that are now seen more clearly because one of the exterior walls has been partially removed

below: Valentine love (and Christmas bells) for all those who pass through the gate.
How can you resist smiling as you pass by?

a small archway over a gate at the entrance to a front yard, the arch is the shape of a heart and it has been decorated with flowers.

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?

hanging lantern shapes made of fabric, with tassles at the bottoms, hanging over a gate, yellow, green, orange and white

below: A large plant grows inside.

a metal grille that was painted green covers a window with a rusty metal frame and one pane cracked. A plant grows inside the window.

below: A sunny day makes for interesting shadows.

shadows on a sunny day, a metal fire escape is diagonal across the back of a light teal coloured house, it passes the bottom corner of a window

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.

three little decorative bird houses hang from a tree branch by the sidewalk

below: And whimsy is good.   This isn’t exactly cupid but it’s naked and has wings.  Cupid as a grown-up?

a wood cut out in pale pink, mounted high on an exterior green wall, naked person with wings and a funny shaped face

below: Full circle, back to Doll Factory by Damzels – have a happy day!

mannequin head, bright yellow short hair, blue eyes, red lips, pink ears, big smile on her face, wearing a beige tam

back to Wilson station

Posted: December 7, 2016 in graffiti and street art, locations
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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.

looking across Wilson Avenue, under the Allen Expressway towards a mural that has been painted on the pillars and supports on the other side. A face is painted there.

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.

pillars and supports under an overpass that have been painted in bright colours by smoky and shalak

This side was also painted by shalak and smoky (as was the south side).

pillars and supports under an overpass that have been painted in bright colours by smoky and shalak - swirls of purples and yellows

below: In the center by one of the well-lit subway entrances.

pillars and supports under an overpass that have been painted in bright colours by smoky and shalak - red pillars with blue geometric patterns in a band around it near the bottom

pillars and supports under an overpass that have been painted in bright colours by smoky and shalak

pillars and supports under an overpass that have been painted in bright colours by smoky and shalak - a face showing eyes and top of nose

below: Looking east along Wilson Avenue.

pillars and supports under an overpass that have been painted in bright colours by smoky and shalak - a large face in the center pillar, with hands gripping the outer pillars on each side of the face

below: A little street artist with his can of spray paint has been left in a corner.
He’s not easily spotted.

a grey tones painting of a man with a spray can in his hand, from the waist up

 

 

udlaakut, good morning

Posted: November 6, 2015 in graffiti and street art
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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.

back of a row of stores and restaurants viewed across an empty parking lot. The lower storey of the exterior walls are covered with street art and murals.

below: Udlaakut Alysia.  Udlaakut is Inuit for good morning.

A street art painting with the words udlaakut Alysia. Udlaakut is Inuit for good morning

The corner of a building with street art on it. Wispy people in blue

below: Above the stairs painted by timmydrift and below the stairs by thepasystem

The back of a store with street art on it. A metal staircase goes diagonally up across the building. Above the stairs is a multicoloured swirly piece while under the stairs the street art in is blue and purple A campfire burns yellow in the bottom left corner.

Detail of a flower from a largeer street art piece. It looks like a purple and red daisy

below: A marine creature (alligator) by Nick Sweetman and a woman’s face by Kairo.

An orange chair sits in front of a corner of a building that is covered with street art. There is a realistic woman's face by kairo and a creature by Nick Sweetman

below: The metal fittings on the back of the building were spray painted shiny gold and incorporated into the design of the mural.

Close up of part of a larger street art painting. The metal parts of the building have been spray painted shiny gold and incorporated into the mural.

Doorways covered with street art, something cutesy in pink and yellow, a furry head creature and a blue koala

below: behind 1465 Gerrard Street East

doorways behind 1465 Gerrard St. covered with street art, a white ghostly skull and a girl standing with her head back and arms upraised

below: Lean back!

A creature whose body is made of small circles and triangles, with skinny black arms and legs, wearing white shoes and white gloves

street art on the back of building. On the top is a starfish shape in blues. On the bottom is a grumpy little man with an oversized head done in teal colours. He is wearing an orange headband. GFC Cruz

The back of a few two storey shops where the bottom half is covered with street art and murals

below: behind Siddhartha vegetarian restaurant

garages and walls at the back of stores and restaurants covered with street art. Pink anf purple blob like creatures and an elephant

An elephant head and trunk street art painting by PUA (#PUA69) on a garage door.

below:  On the back of the Flying Pony cafe is this colourful mural painted by Tim Skynz, lead artist of the group Eskape Reality

Two murals, both brightly multicoloured featuring creatures, on walls in an alley

below: tropical paradise?!

street art mural of a blob creature in green with two faces, one with tongue sticking out and one with three eyes. It is beside a palm tree on a beach.

mural on a wall, with a window in the middle, many blob creatures with different number of eyes in blues, reds and purples, many with tongues sticking out, one giving a peace sign with white hand

below: Side of the Flying Pony cafe

the side of the Gallery Coffee Bakery with a red winged horse sign on the upper storey of the red brick bulding. The door and window frames of the shop are painted in primary colours.

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.

A store on the corner of Gerrard and Rhodes in Toronto where the front and side of the building are covered with multicoloured street art.

If you go back to Craven Road there are two murals.

the west part of the back of a building covered with street art. The street and another lower building with a mural on it is in the background.

First, there is the one by Monica on the Moon on a small building behind the Gujran Wala Tikka House restaurant.

A mural by Monica on the Moon on a dark blue or black background, a bright orange and blue flower on the right and a flower/face on the left. The words Gujran Wala Tikka house are written in the top right corner which is the name of the restaurant that this building is behind.

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)

mural in Little India of a decorated bicycle in front of a beige building with orange umbrellas on the left

below: And last, seen on a pole in the parking lot:

sticker on a grey metal pole. head with the words Blob Head written underneath. Purple hair, open mouth, pink lips, teeth showing, purple bushy eyebrows and three small eyes where each eye should be (six eyes in total)

 

The alley project was coordinated by Tammy Rogers
with assistance from Monica Wickeler and the Gerrard India Bazaar BIA.

back to the Milky Way

Posted: September 6, 2015 in graffiti and street art, locations
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A return trip, out of this world.

Toronto street sign, Milky Way, with a one way arrow sign below it.

below: Street art along the north wall of 376 Dufferin Street.

tag-like street art under a window in an alley

tag-like street art under a window in an alley that says GEMS

tag-like street art under a window in an alley

Street art on a wall in an alley, A Jarus woman with a blue shawl around her shoulders and a persue rabbit reaching for money that the woman is holding in her hand.

below: A new buff monster on pink.

A garage door in an alley painted pink. A large fat grey creature with bat-like wings and bulging eye takes up most of the space, a small skeleton is sitting on the creature's head. The piece is signed Buff Monster

below: Greetings from Parkdale mural

Greetings from Parkdale mural in light blue and purple featuring a ttc streetcar in shades of purple

below: This mural can be seen from Milky Way although it is painted on the side of Stones Place on Queen St. West

vacant lot, with a grey van parked in it, two pieces of street art on a wall as well as a large two storey mural

blog_milky_way_queen_west

below: Back in October 2014, there was a large lovebot on the wall where the mural is now.
For other photos of Milky Way from last autumn, see when  I blogged about it previously.

large wheatpaste lovebot on a brick wall

A large street art piece painted in an alley. It covers most of the side of a brick house. It is mostly blue lines and arrows.

graffiti in yellows and greens on a blue background, on a wall in an alley, between two windows with metal grilles, signed BSM Crew

Street art in pinks and reds, signed by Wizard

Two heart stickers on a metal pole. One is a pink lovebot shaped heart and one is a drawing of two hands making a heart shape with the thumbs and forefingers

A black poser bunny spray painted on a wall that is covered with slaps, stickers, and words written in black marker
A number of stickers, or slaps, on a black metal box

Black and white wheatpaste of a man's head, bald but with a large curly beard. Line drawing

Other new street art in the Milky Way was in a separate post a few days ago.

north to Humbert

Posted: August 21, 2015 in graffiti and street art
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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.

An alley that runs parallel to Ossington Ave., looking north with garages on both sides and a tree overhead, looking towards Humbert St.
Two birdo creatures on a brown garage door
Two spud bomb graffiti characters on a blue garage door in an alley

A large white spud character on a garage door, with big googly eyes and arms that come out from where his ears are

 

a number of colourful street art paintings on a garage door and gate in an alley

garage door painted orange and then a geometric street art painting in greys and purples painted on that

A door in an alley with two montsters painted on it. A one eyed purple monster with a long pink tongue is sitting on top of a blue monster who is trying to pinch the end of the purple monster's tongue

Close up of a graffiti piece, many colours, with a blue 3D stick figure surrounded on three sides by frame-like boards

Two garage doors with street art. On the left is a yellow lovebot and a red grominator. On the second is a large woman's face that has been scribbled on as well as a fairy-like creature. The latter two are the work of EGR.An old broken toilet is in the corner.

A purple faced man is blowing grey clouds, the alley is in the background.

A mural of big headed, big toothed creatures by broken alley on a garage door in a lane.

The creatures on the garage door above always remind me of ‘scrubbing bubbles’ from the cleaning products of the same name.

A picture of blue scrubbing bubbles from TV ad

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