flower | as I walk Toronto

Posts Tagged ‘flower’

Feel Good Lane

Posted: February 27, 2019 in graffiti and street art, locations
Tags: #monicaonthemoon, alley, Andrew Castro, Anya Mielniczek, Bareket, Barry Luksenberg, birds, bkez, Bomi, butterfly, Chris Perez, colour, colours, cruz, deer, desko, Ed Hamer, Elly Dowson, emily may rose, faces, Feel Good Lane, flip, flower, fox, Frannie Potts, garages, lane, Leyland Adams, mska, murals, Odinamaad, Oriah Scott, paint, painting, people, psyblimation, raccoons, Rage Williams, ROAM, spud bomb, street art, streetARToronto, streetcar, Team SPUDBomb, TTC, turningwind, urban, van, zima

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

below: by monicaonthemoon

below: by Oriah Scott

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

below: Dog mural by @Dr_Roameo

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

below: The blue landscape is a painting by Leyland Adams

below: by Bomi (Bomino San Grantes)

below: by Cruz1

below: Butterfly face and curly hair – Frannie Potts

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

below: by Mska

below: A mural for the 512 Crew,

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

below: A face in blue and orange by Anya Mielniczek

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

below: A fox head by Ed Hamer

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

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

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.

3 churches and Church

Posted: February 18, 2018 in construction, doors, nature, old buildings
Tags: Allan Gardens, amaryllis, architecture, barrel cactus, billboards, buds, buildings, cacti, cars, chuch, Church St., conservatory, construction, Dundas Square, enough is enough, flower, Grace church, hoardings, icicles, Jarvis Street Baptist, Metropolitan United, mural, old buildings, park, people, plants, redevelopment, reflections, signs, snow, stores, street, street scene, traffic, trees, windows, winter, Yonge Dundas Square

I was meeting a friend at Queen and Church for walkies and coffee last Monday. I was there a few minutes early so of course I took a few pictures while I was waiting. I had come across King Street because the streetcars tend to be faster on King these days. Plus, it was a nice day for a walk.

below: Looking north up Church Street from Richmond.

below: Metropolitan United Church is on the NW corner of Queen and Church. Even if you aren’t religious, there is something inspiring about the architecture. In this case, the setting adds to the grace and beauty of the building. Usually there are people around but it was surprisingly quiet that day (too cold outside?)

below: Take a few more steps towards Metropolitan United and then turn around. This is the view that awaits you. The intersection of Queen and Church from a different angle.

below: As I walked back to the intersection, this man walked in front of the streetcar. I think that he called himself either Cowboy Bob or Cowboy Bill.

below: Church #2. Jarvis Street Baptist Church.

below: Yes, there are a lot of churches in this section of downtown. This is the third (and last for today’s blog) but there are many more. Grace Church through the trees.

below: A stop at Allan Gardens conservatory for warm and a washroom. If this picture is looking a little fuzzy around the edges, my camera lens kept steaming up faster than I could wipe it off.

below: Every Christmas, the conservatory at Allan Gardens is decorated with many amaryllis plants. The other day, many were looking a little worse for wear. These buds were a few of the exceptions. At some point (soon?), the Christmas plants will be switched out for spring plants.

below: Barrel cacti in differing sizes in the Allan Gardens conservatory.

below: And just around the corner from Allan Gardens there is this painted cactus (or is it a succulent?) standing in the cold.

below: This part of Church Street is now in McGill Granby Village. There is even a lovebot on the pole.

below: “Enough is enough”, a large Church Street mural.

below: On Church Street, another redevelopment victim.

below: And just up the street, another.

below: Trucks, construction, and condos. Ho hum. Been there, done that.

below: One set of construction hoardings has been decorated with kids’ paintings. Bright and cheerful.

below: Through the layers

below: Icicles!

below: Trudeau senior looks down on the world.

below: The guys over the entrance to the Chang School at Ryerson are wearing little puffy white hats.

below: As we walked past Yonge Dundas Square, I stopped, took another look, and then said: “Isn’t that a new sign?”. My walking partner replied that she wasn’t sure. Neither was I.

I happened to walk past Yonge Dundas Square again yesterday, and yes, there is a new sign. A big one.

below: “It’s OK to be scared, just take a deep breath” as the fourth panel of the new sign is installed.

below: Working on the new sign. That billboard on the left, 98.1 CHFI is all Christmas music? Still? In February?

C’est too for now friends!

strong, smart, united

Posted: July 21, 2017 in alleys, graffiti and street art
Tags: abstract, auralast, carolannapilado, chiefladybird, chiefladybug, child, controlartdelete, cvbinns, Elicser, emily may rose, eyes, faces, flower, hello kirsten, Jieun June Kim, Monica on the moon, mother, motorcycle, mska, muisca, murals, strong smart united, tbonez, toes, toest, urban ninja squadron, women

Written in big bold letters – STRONG SMART UNITED

Those three words are what you see first as you walk down Lansdowne just north of Queen Street. This striking wall is the beginning of a group of murals and street art paintings that now adorn some of the walls and doors in an alley on the north side of Queen Street West. The paintings were done last weekend by a group of women artists. The walls had been primed previously by four high school students (and organized by the Toronto Police Services).

below: Shapes and colours by controlartdelete (aka Rachel Wilmshurst)

below: Emily May Roses’s women

below: Abstract houses and greenery by Jieun June Kim

below: Two kneeling women and a long necked bird with wings spread by Caitlin Taguibao

below: Monica on the Moon, “Over the mountains under the stars”

below: A colourful mural by _muisca_ (aka Daniela Rocha)

below: Unfortunately, this one has already been defaced, including the signature.

below: Desert woman theme, by mska

below: Geometric shapes, colours, and patterns, by hellokirsten (aka Kirsten McCrea)

below: Left – by originalsmilez (aka Julieta Arias).
But on the right, help! I don’t know (do you?)

below: Looks a bit like a brightly coloured Picasso – the work of huntoland (aka Renato Hunto)

below: My apologies but this another one where I don’t know who the artist is

below: … and this one as well I’m afraid

below: A elicser figure outside the door. Elicser is definitely male – was this mural already here?

below: Shades of pink with blue lips, by toest (aka Sarah Gilmore).

below: On a seriously cracked wall there is now a pink flower inside a green triangle surounded by a circle, by CVBinns (aka Courtney Binns)

below: Long flowing hair and with eyes closed, a mural by carolannapilado

below: A collaborative effort between auralast (aka Monique Aura) and chiefladybird (aka Ogimaa Kwe Bnes) – mother and child with the city beyond.

below: Also in the lane there are two urban ninja squadron paste ups by Tbonez

below: Looking east along the alley. The first road is Macdonell Avenue. Lansdowne is in the distance.

This project was supported by the StreetARToronto program, Toronto Police Services and the Drake Hotel. I talked briefly with a policewoman who was in the alley at the same time that I was – there is hope that the lane to the east of Lansdowne can be painted in the future.

Before then, a second all women street art jam and mural will be happening in Little India (1460 Gerrard Street East) at the end of August. The street art jam will be on the weekend of August 26th and 27th and will showcase the Woman in the Walls mural being painted at that time.

#womenpaintTO

standing room only

Posted: February 19, 2017 in locations
Tags: angels, Christmas, clown, decorations, dolls, fabric, flower, frisbee, gnome, lights, mickey mouse, plaques, plastic, Pokemon, Shrek, signs, snowman, stuffed, sunglasses, tape, taped, toys

Take one ordinary semi-detached house on an ordinary street in Leslieville…
and add a decoration or two…

The above photo was taken back in November whereas the one below was taken a couple days ago. Many, many items are the same. The biggest change is that there a few more Christmas decorations now large candy canes, another Santa Claus, a couple of angels and an elf or two.

Call it cute. Call it creepy. Call it fun. Call it fascinating. Call it a mess.

below: Some of the dolls and toys are attached to wooden stakes that stand upright in the yard.

below: The fence is packed full with toys and dolls and the like, including this creepy clown and ghoulish green faced doll. The pink Powerpuff girl (Blossom?) looks happy and even Elmo doesn’t seem to mind being behind bars.

below: A red candle fence lines the entrance.

below: The retaining wall is also covered. Welcome to our Garden, Boston Bruins, more Mickey Mouse, Dora the Explorer, Season Greetings and a frisbee or two or three.

I wonder how it all started? And where is it going?

I wonder what the neighbours think.

Love or Love

Posted: November 21, 2015 in graffiti and street art, locations, public art
Tags: Allen Expressway, Art Start, community, empty, flower, heights, home, Lawrence Heights, limitless, love, love or love, mural, Ranee Ave., renewal, Sean Martindale, shoot for the stars, stars, streetARToronto, telephone poles, Toronto Community Housing, Yorkdale, Zachary Court

I drove the back streets to Yorkdale yesterday. It’s not something that I normally do; in fact I can’t remember the last time I drove those streets. But I’m glad I did because I found another mural painted on an underpass. Four sections of concrete wall, four words in bright colours – Love, Home, Limitless, Heights.

Home – just to the right of the word ‘home’ was a large heart that unfortunately I missed when I took the next photo. There was also a sign describing the story behind the mural.

This community mural was painted by youth from the neighbourhood, Rocco Ursino, Salim Yislam, Michelle Collin, Jaden Beckford, Tamika Smart, and Hassan Mohamed under the mentorship of Sean Martindale and Joshua Barndt. Apparently it was inspired by a popular local expression “Love or Love” and tries to convey compassion, hopefulness and determination. Needed sentiments as this neighbourhood undergoes major changes and revitalization.

This 2012 project was produced by Art Starts in partnership with Toronto Community Housing and office of councillor Josh Colle. Funding was provided by StreetARToronto and TCH.

The mural is on Ranee Avenue as it passes under the Allen Expressway. It is also right by the south entrance to Yorkdale subway station.

When I parked my car I saw this telephone pole – Shoot for the stars. Great advice!

And because one thing always leads to another, I was parked on Flemington Road beside this – the remains of Zachary Court.

The street is fenced off and the houses are empty. Some of the windows are missing but most are boarded up. This must be the neighbourhood redevelopment referred to in the description of the mural, or at least part of it.

There was another telephone pole with a happy picture painted on it but looking a little worn.

There are two development proposal signs posted on Ranee Avenue that pertain to this area. One of them is for a seven unit, three storey townhouse development on Ranee Avenue itself. The other is for the demolition and replacement of 233 social housing units as well as the construction of 824 market value units serviced by a new public street. The latter development involves a number of streets besides Zachary Court on both sides of the Allen Expressway (Zachary Court backs onto the west side of the Allen).

walking down McCaul Street

Posted: October 21, 2015 in graffiti and street art, public art
Tags: bottles, brinks building, fish, flower, flowers, Grange, lovebot hearts, McCaul St., moter, mural, Nunca, OCADU, slaps, Stephanie St., stickers, street art, swimmer, Toronto, uber5000, wheatpaste, woman

This post is the result of a search for street art while walking south of OCADU on McCaul Street past Grange Road and Stephanie Street on the way to Queen St West.

below: Part of a painting by Uber5000 on the ramp to Above Ground Art Supplies, OCADU on McCaul at Grange.

below: On the SW corner of Grange and McCaul is this woman. The building is 60 McCaul St., the Brinks Express Company of Canada building.

below: On the south wall of the Brinks building is a mural. It was painted in 2014 by Julia Dickens, Tara Dorey, Alexandra Mackenzie, Lido Pimienta, Peter Rahul and Diana Vander Meulen.
UPDATE: As of 4th Nov 2015 the lower right part of this mural has been tagged over unfortunately.

below: This building has a City of Toronto Development Proposal sign on it. This sign says: “40-60 McCaul Street and 10 Stephanie Street. An application has been filed to amend the Zoning By-law to permit a 14 storey residential building with 184 units and a below grade parking garage as well as a 3 storey building proposed to a private art gallery. Statutory Public Meeting: Information will be posted once meeting is scheduled.”

below: The next building south on McCaul Street is 52 McCaul. Dasic Fernandez and Uber5000 contributed this street art to the northwest corner of the building. It is across the parking lot from the mural pictured above.

below: On the back of 52 McCaul (west side) is:

below: There is a large mural on the south side of 52 McCaul. It was painted by Francisco Rodrigues da Silva, a Brazilian street artist who goes by the name Nunca, in 2009 as part of that year’s Manifesto Festival.