Posts Tagged ‘garage doors’

zirco fish

Posted: August 30, 2022 in graffiti and street art
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In an alley near Dovercourt and Queen West in Toronto are two unique garage door murals.

below: ‘Elephancy’ by Zirco Fish – It’s an elephant but it’s not. Tusks like an elephant and the ears seem to be big a floppy. But the mouth is like a beak and the eyes are certainly not those of an elephant. A crazy fantastical creature, the product of someone’s imagination.

a street art mural on a garage door, rust coloured wood garage. Image looks like an elephant

mural on a grage door, another garage door that has been tagged, graffiti on a fence, the back of a house, in a lane.

below: ‘Scrat Attack’ by Zirco Fish.

mural of a cat head, in memory of Scrat, painted by James Zirco Fisher, on a garage door in an alley. Green wood single car garage with number 108 above the door

This post also appears in my street art blog, Eyes on the Street

Luttrell Loop Lane murals

Posted: August 27, 2020 in graffiti and street art
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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

ending on Dufferin

Posted: February 14, 2020 in alleys, history, locations, old buildings
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The general idea yesterday afternoon was to walk Oakwood, southbound from St. Clair.  What I didn’t expect when I left my cosy apartment was a strong cold wind,  so part of the adventure was dictated by which direction the wind was blowing and how to avoid it (if possible!).  If some of these photos look a little blurry, it’s because of the snow that was falling all afternoon.

below: Pizza Pizza on the northwest corner of St. Clair and Oakwood.

NW intersection of St. Clair and Oakwood with a bus at a bus stop and a pizza pizza restaurant

below: I hadn’t gone far when I found a lane so of course I had to follow it…  Looking back towards Oakwood Collegiate.

looking down a lane that runs parallel to St. Clair West, with Oakwood Collegiate in the background.

below: Old black and white photo of St. Clair Ave from 1911 just after construction of Oakwood Collegiate was complete.  Oakwood Avenue is now on the other side of the school in this photo.  It is interesting to note that St. Clair had streetcar tracks back in 1911 but was still a dirt road.  Apparently the city started building these tracks when the school was open – the St. Clair streetcar line was open in 1913.   I found this photo in Living Toronto – follow the link if you want to read more about the history of this school.

vintage black and white picture of Oakwood Collegiate from 1911 when St. Clair was a dirt road

icicles along the edges of garage roofs in the backyards of two adjacent houses, view from the alley looking over the gate

in an alley, beside an orange concrete block garage, a wooden staircase leads to an upper floor, covered with snow

below: And that is where I spotted this man with a little red heart…

rough painting on a garage door of a man's face with a small red heart beside it

below: … and across the alley from him was this woman, also with another little red heart. It’s Valentines Day today, how sweet and how appropriate.

on a brick wall, a drawing of a woman's face with the eyes being the most prominent, a small red heart beside her face

below: The hearts just kept on coming.  I’d only walked a few minutes and already I had enough for a Valentines Day post! 🙂

graffiti, red heart on a wood fence

below: At the end of the lane I spotted this too…. can you see the LOVE?  It looks like it’s written in the middle of the pink and blue graffiti but it’s actually on the metal vent.

looking towards the side of a pinkish building, with graffiti higher up, over the level of the 2 storey buildings beside the pink one

below: So much for walking down Oakwood.   I circled back to St. Clair West where I saw the Yummi Cafe & Laundromat with it’s hand written sign in the window.  Support Our Teachers!  These are trying days for education in Ontario as the teachers lock horns with Doug Ford and his Conservatives who speak first and think later.

storefront, yummi cafe and laundromat, picture of pink ice cream cone as an ad for Kawartha Dairy, also a sign that says support your teachers, offering them free coffee

a bike with a flat front tire is locked to a street sign pole on the sidewalk on St. Clair west

below: This is middle section of the Royal Heights village mural painted by Murals by Marg in 2019.  It is on the side of 1006 St. CLair West (at Appleton Ave).

middle part of the Regal Heights mural, geometric shapes in bright colours

below: To the right is a small butterfly, child height.  Choose to be kind.

a butterfly in a colourful mural with the wods choose to be kind written above it

below: The left side has a larger butterfly as well as a bright yellow door with a blue umbrella.  Let love rain down!

a multi coloured butterfly, mostly blue and yellow, made of geometric shapes, in a mural beside a yellow door with a blue umbrella painted on it

below: Right across the street (on the northeast corner of Appleton & St. Clair) is this mural.  I haven’t been able to find out who the artist was.

mural in blues and greys on the side of a brown brick building, an outdoor winter scene

TTC streetcar stop on St. Clair West, stores, traffic lights, and poeple waiting to cross the road

below: Looking west on St. Clair as you approach Glenholme.

looking west on St. Clair approaching Glenholme, people on sidewalk, traffic lights, Boom restaurant, other store fronts
below: A coin laundry as well as Glenholme Variety on the southwest corner of St. Clair and Glenholme.

southwest corner of Glenholme and St. Clair with large 3 storey brick building housing GLenholme Variery store and a laundromat.

below: In front of 98 Glenholme is this little sculpture, an old fashioned sewing machine on a pole.  It marks the home of Marcello Tarantino Sartoria (tailor).

little metal sculpture of a sewing machine on a pole with a bit of green above it

below: Another alley – the wind back here is not so bad!

old green Chevrolet delivry van parked in a snowy alley, also part of a mural with hearts on it, alley scene

below: An old green Chevrolet delivery van with Imperial Upholstering Co written across the side and above the front window in faded letters. Also fading is the text: Manufacturers of Individual Style(?) Furniture

old green Chevrolet delivery van with Imperial Upholsteriing Co written in faded cursive writing on the side

laneway scene, snow, car, poles, trees, garages, part of a mural with hearts on it

Mural by Ross Bonfanti and Sandra Tarantino with hearts, stars, a flying car and superhero kids.

mural by Bonfanti and Tarantino of superhero kids and los of pink and red hearts, a yellow star and a car with wings flying in a blue cloud

superhero kids mural

The alley ended at Dufferin and that is where I headed south.

below: The southwest corner of Dufferin and Davenport

south west corner of Dufferin and Davenport, pizza restaurant with large billboard on the roof

below: A black and white photo from 1912 of the construction of Dufferin Street at Davenport.  This photo is originally from the City of Toronto archives but I found it online in an article on the history of Dufferin Street in blogTO.

1912 black and white photo of construction of Dufferin, cobblestones or bricks, at Davenport

below: Mary looks down upon us, from a niche in the wall of St. Mary of the Angels church.

a small grey statue of Mary in a grey niche on the exterior of a brick church, St Mary of the Angels

below: Remnants of an art project left to weather on a fence around a schoolyard.

remnants of fabric or paper that has been wrapped around parts of a chainlink fence at a school yard

below: A smiling happy mural on the side of a dental office on Dufferin Street painted by spudbomb (2017)

long mural by spud bomb of a woman smiling, holding a red apple with a bite out of it in one hand and a globe in the other hand. She is wearing a red and purple striped close fitting outfit over her arms and head. On the side of a dental office. The word smile is written many times in different fonts

below: Just north of Dupont Street, the CPR tracks cross Dufferin.

a red railing separates a parking lot from a hill, in the background a white tanker railway car is passing over a bridge

train with grafiti on the side of the car passes over a bridge over Dufferin Street and there is graffiti on the walls of the underpass

graffiti on the side of a building by a small hill and some trees. The hill is part of the embannkment for the railway tracks

below: This strange pillar (artwork?) is on the southwest corner of Dufferin and Dupont.  It used to be the marker/sign for the stores in the Galleria plaza on that corner.  Everything there is under renovation at the moment so instead of tearing down the sign, it was converted into this.   Hence, “Love me till I’m me again”.

a sign that says Love me till I'm me again in red neon, on a column that has been spray painted in different colours, a neon red heart outline at the top, in a parking lot with cars passing by

below: From a different angle – the neighbourhood wins no beauty contest.

looking west on Dupont at Dufferin, old Galleria sign, parking lot, traffic lights, plaza

below: The architecture on Dufferin, both houses and stores, is a mishmash of styles (or non-styles!) that have evolved over the years.   The next few photos try to give you an idea of the variety.  First, at Dufferin & Rosemount

large house on the north west corner of Dufferin and Rosemount. Brick on the bottom, brown siding on the top, construction cones on the sidewalk around it

below: Dufferin & Hallam

house and stores on Dufferin street, including the San Antonio Coin laundromat and a Home hardware

chainlink fence with dead vines on it, snow, around the front of a brick house with broken railing on the porch

two storey barn style house, brick, with large pine tree in front yard

below: Dufferin & Auburn

intersection of dufferin and auburn streets, lowrise row houses with porch

side of a brick multi family residence, windows, white door, with a small white porch over the door, broke chair beside the door

below: Standing alone at 1432

old house number 1432 Dufferin with a new fence

below: 1452A and its neighbours

three houses on Dufferin, the one on the left is 1452A

a 2 storey semi divided house on Dufferin, upper level has a balcony with with a green and white railing, winter, snow on the ground

two storey semi divided house beside Dufferin Bloor auto shop, bus stop in front,

below: An ominous sign – a boarded up house on Dufferin Street.  Is change far behind?  Just in case, I like to document what’s there because in this city, you turn around and everything’s different.  And you think to yourself, “What used to be there?”  But you can’t remember because that is how our memories work and isn’t that disconcerting?

a large tree grows in front of a brick house that has been boarded up

walking north on Croft Street

Posted: September 16, 2019 in alleys, doors, graffiti and street art, locations
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This is another blog post about Croft Street, a short street that runs between College and Harbord streets just east of Bathurst.   It has changed a lot since I first wrote about it in 2013.  The corner of Croft and College Streets was home to the mural commemorating the fire of 1904 – it is long gone.  In between then and now, the south end of Croft was spruced up with colourful murals and planters in 2016.   These are a few pictures that I took as I walked up Croft yesterday (after dodging construction stuff and workmen at College).

 

below: A mural by Elicser is at the northeast corner of College and Croft.

elicser mural on Croft street, man in doorway with a drink in a pineapple in his hand, other person sitting with hand over face

below: Praying mantis mural

mural of a large praying mantis on a wall

below: Croft is not immune to the construction/renovation craze that we’re in the midst of.

a digger and a blue porta-potty in a vacant lot construction site, with a row of backyards and backs of houses behind

below: The fire station tower at College and Bellevue is now visible from Croft street.

the fire station tower at College and Bellevue is visible beyond a vacant lot and a street of houses and backyards

below: Looking up Croft Street.  One of the garages now has a Raptors logo and the one next to it is being renovated.

Croft street alley with garages on the left, and apartments above some of them, a mural of a man's face where the bottom half has been painted over with white paint

below: Some of the 2016 murals and planters are still in place.

garage doors with murals in Croft street

a simple painting of a blue bird on a branch of leaves

below: Looking north across Vankoughnet Street

a very small white house at the corner of a street and an alley, a view up the alley

door with glass panel with white tape over one of the bottom corners, walls painted in yellow, pink, and blue splotches

below: A door to nowhere

2 storey building. Garage door covered with a tag graffiti on the bottom, a white door surrounded by brown shingles on the upper floor.

below: We are the future and we don’t want any junk mail

a wood wall and door in an alley painted red and brown, the number 74 on it twice, a mail slot with white paint around it to make slot look like mouth with tongue stuck out, no junk mail written too, a picture of a man on the door with the words we the future

below: The door with the metal strapping is still there.

a narrow brown door with metal strapping grid on it beside a garage door with red, yellow, and blue stripes, wall is covered with green shingles

below: A large grominator on a brick wall

a large grominator graffiti on a brick wall, blue eyes

below: Morning glory flowers and vine growing up a street sign pole.

a street sign pole with morning glory flowers and vine growing up it, one way sign, speed control zone sign, no parking signs,

below: More flowers, red rose stenciled onto a garage door

red rose stencil street art on a garage door

below: Garage doors painted by Bruno Smokey and Andrea Manica

garage doors with murals on Croft Street including one by Bruno Smokey

below: A fun ride in vibrant colours by dudeman

a fun mural of an old car by dudeman, in reds and oranges with front grille and radiator in blues

behind tall weeds, a painting on metal attached to a utility pole, painting of a bird, a red back sandpiper

at Harbord street entrance to Croft street, a woman on a bicycle waiting for traffic, Central Tech school across the street, a mural for the store Just For Her beside the cyclist

meandering near Bloor and Dundas

Posted: November 9, 2018 in general Toronto, graffiti and street art, intersections, locations, nature, old buildings
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Presenting an eclectic compilation of images so

Have a seat!

below:  But maybe not here, even if they are two comfy sofas!  Comfy but wet.

two burgundy sofas on the sidewalk

Meandering on a day early in November

while the trees were still showing their last hurrah of colour.

colourful leaves, red and yellow leaves on trees in a residential neighbourhood, Neepawa Street

This mural is on Roncesvalles is partially obscured but is still a welcome splash of colour and vibrance.

a man walks by a mural on a fence, a peacock feather and a pink flower

   I love the raccoons!  Pink raccoons

test graffiti on a garage in an alley, also with a pink raccoon painted above the garage door

and blue raccoons on street art that I haven’t seen before.

street art on a garage door in an alley, large heart shaped face with big eyes and red lips, also raccoons,

Crooked lines,

garage doors and fences in an alley, autumn, trees with gold and yellow leaves, as well as leaves on the ground

tight spaces,

small walkway between two light purple buildings that leads to the entrance to another residence

and old glass.  All kinds of alterations.

sign on an old house, now a commercial property, that says Alteration Fast & Best All Kinds Of

old red brick building on Dundas West, sign that says Downtown Rental

 Peeling paint on diamonds  (once red?)

paint peeling on wood, three layers of wood with upper two layers cut in diamond shapes

and water drops on leaves (definitely red).

red leaves of a plant, wet from the rain, in front of a bright turquoise wall

One very pink car.  Whiskey for Whiskers.

pink car in parking lot

Uber 5000’s yellow birdies and friends are still on the side of Tommy’s Gift & Variety.

Uber5000 mural on the side of Tommys

And next door you Coffee and breakfast at Tina’s while your tax returns are prepared.

restaurant and store, rainy day, wet sidewalk and street in front of it, Tina Coffee and Breakfast restaurant, and Tommys Gift & Variety, pink door between the two, two storeys, lots of windows in the storey above Tina's.

 Semi neighbours

two attached houses in the Junction, one painted red brick with dark blue roof and the other light brown with dark red roof and bright red trim, small white picket fence in front of the red house, metal fence in front of the brown house (beige actually)

at the edges of gentrification.

building on the corner of Perth Ave and Bloor West, pale purple paint, a bright yellow happy face graffiti, a sign advertising Drake Commissary

Lights over the train tracks

looking across the train tracks to an old building with street art on the lower level, lights on metal posts over the tracks, tight mesh fence beside the railway as well

and graffiti beside.

graffiti on the concrete bridge supports, Dundas St West over the railway tracks, taken from the West Toronto Railpath

A fine and dandy tractor

a red toy tractor, old fashioned, in the window of fine and dandy on Dundas Street, white back drop behind the tractor, the building is dark grey

and a great idea

words painted on a garage door that say gratitude goes viral

She’s gone green but she’s got the blues.

a paper paste up of woman's face in green and blue (green skin and blue hair) on a very black wall and door

and Ontario’s now orange.

row of stores on Dundas Street, one on the end has a map of Canada painted on the exterior wall, with orange background.

A family outing

an adult bike locked to a ring, two kids bikes and a toddlers push car locked to a second ring, on a sidewalk on Dundas West, cars and buildings in the background.

below: The building with the giraffe pattern on top, at Bloor and Dundas West, is still there.

giraffe building at Bloor and Dundas West, with traffic and pedestrians in front
giraffe pattern brown and gold wall on top and brown below, movie posters and a bike

below: The murals painted by Wallnoize are still there. They were painted in the spring of 2015 and I posted a lot of photos of them shortly after that.

people walking on a sidewalk that passes by a long mural painted by wallnoize, many small murals joined together, apartment buildings with large trees with yellow autumn leaves in the background, Bloor West,

below: The murals run under the Bloor Street underpass (railway tracks overhead), on both sides of the street.

a woman walks along a wet sidewalk under a train bridge, railling on one side, street art on the wall on the other side.

below: The new MOCA (Museum of Contemporary Art) is now open on Sterling Road. The renovations to the old Tower Automotive building aren’t totally complete; most of the area is a construction site. But the museum opened earlier this year. Access from the West Toronto Railpath is available.

chainlink fence along a path leading from West Toronto Railpath to Sterling Road, with new MOCA (Museum of Contemporary Art) in the background, what used to be the Tower Automotive Building

But hey! Why stop here?…. more about the new MOCA follows ……

Graffiti Alley all over again

Posted: August 10, 2018 in graffiti and street art, locations
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Graffiti Alley keeps drawing me back to see if there are any changes.    What is new and what has disappeared.   To see who is hanging out in the lane today and have a silent chuckle or two at the tourists.

below: Sunny days in Graffiti Alley

a woman carries an open blue umbrella on a sunny day as she walks down Graffiti Alley

below: Let’s Eat Sandwiches Together Forever, by elicser, seems to have been refreshed recently.

let's eat sandwiches together forever, a mural by elicser, with people and sandwiches, people in the middle are hugging

a mother and daughter walk down Graffiti Alley, past a lrge mural of a young man by Janus

below: He’s pointing to the sky because he’s giving us a detailed weather forecast.

a man in a yellow vest is talking in Graffiti Alley

below: The last time that I walked down Graffiti Alley, elicser was in the midst of painting this door.

a mural of a person in an old fashioned aviator's helmet and goggles, and wearing a blue dress, on a door in an lane
a mural of a person in a gas mask (spray paint mask) on a door in an lane with pink on either side

below: Hello!

a woman sits on a window sill on a building iin Graffiti Alley as a man takes her picture

below: Montreal and Toronto and the writing in between.

text street art with the words Montreal and Toronto written in the top corners

below: A lovebot of a different sort.  Almost unrecognizable except for that heart.  Only lovebot has a heart like that.

lovebot street art

below: A large carp painted by Nick Sweetman.  A fish out of water.

a large carp mural by Nick Sweetman in Graffiti Alley

below: Broken window

orange door and street art in Graffiti Alley

below: Pink roses and words of love and encouragement (and a little bit of flattery).  The future is bright and do more of what makes you happy.

pink roses and words about love on a mural

below: A new poser bunny at Portland Place

a poser bunny on a wall

below: Toronto Blue Jays vs. stencils are wack

street art painting of a street artist in grey hoody and mask, hoody has Toronto blue jays logo, but someone has used black marker to write words on hoody say Stencils are wack

below: Walking past the praying mantis which is memorial to Jesse.

people in graffiti alley with a large pink praying mantis mural

below: Rat and a spray paint can can’t keep the eyes in their heads.

below: Unfortunately, part of the uber5000 wintertime Toronto mural has been tagged over.

below: Honk! honk! An uber5000 yellow bunny offers a donut

A man avoids the puddles in the lane as he walks past an uber5000 mural of a yellow birdie with a donut, birdie is driving a little orange car

below: Starbursts (or flowers, or just interesting shapes) in pink and yellow

part of a painting on a metal garage door of two starburst shapes, one in pink and one in yellow

below: The elephant isn’t in the room, it hasn’t made it down the stairs yet.

graffiti above and below a diagonal metal staircase, an elephant above the stairs and a dog below. The dog is saying woof

below:  A collaboration between immortalwales and kyleghostkeeper.   Both are tattoo artists and they both have instagram accounts if you are interested in seeing their work.

woman wearing a white head scarf and large glasses, with red lips

butterfly ways

Posted: June 20, 2017 in alleys, graffiti and street art, locations
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street art on a low retaining wall that says butterflyways in bright pink letters

Garrison Creek park is a small strip of green between the railway tracks an alley of garages. Many of the garage doors were painted last weekend with murals all on the theme of butterflies.  There are about 30 paintings and they are the work of a number of different street artists.   The project was curated by Nick Sweetman and it is part of the David Suzuki Foundation’s Butterflyway project; StreetARToronto was also involved.

If you don’t like pictures of butterfly murals, I suggest that you skip this post because I’m sharing photos of a lot of the garage doors!  In no particular order here they are:

 

mural of an orange and blue snake loosely tied in a knot around a purple tree, blue butterfly hovers in front of snake's face, mural by Cruz 1

Artist: Cruz1

 

Three black line drawings of a butterfly, with details and shadowing, very realistic looking, on a fence

Artist: unknown (by me)

 

Artist: blackburn

 

many whimsical butterflies and caterpillars

Artist: J. McKie

 

pink water lily painted on a black background

Artist: C Mazzulla

 

a mural on a garage door in an alley, part of butterflyways project - a possum and a butterfly by wales

Artist: wales

 

a mural on a garage door in an alley, part of butterflyways project - a person's face in profile, with a butterfly spread over the back part of the head

Artist: 2US & XYZ (not positive about that)

 

a mural on a garage door in an alley, part of butterfly ways project - very stylized abstract picture of a butterfly and a flower

Artist: XYZ & MAC

 

a mural on a garage door in an alley, part of butterflyways project - two adjacent garage doors, the left one is by mska and is a brown butterfly and mushrooms. on the right is an hibiscus flower by horus taffytats

Artist: (left) mska, (right) horus, tuffytats

 

a mural on a garage door in an alley, part of butterflyways project - two adjacent garage doors, the left one is a monarch butterfly landing on pink flowers, on the right is a riot of blues and greens

Artist: (left) braes, (right) C. Perez

 

a mural on a garage door in an alley, part of butterflyways project - a pink and purple butterfly that looks like a face, with daisies

Artist: @anyamielniczek

 

a mural on a garage door in an alley, part of butterflyways project - a black butterfly with orange and blue highlights, on a green leaf

Artist: P.S

 

a mural on a garage door in an alley, part of butterflyways project - two adjacent garage doors, the left one is painted on a light green fence and is a flower in pale oranges and beiges. On the right is a purple butterfly

Artists: unknown (by me)

 

a mural on a garage door in an alley, part of butterflyways project - a red butterfly with a bright light in the center of it.

Artist: NEDO

 

a mural by smugugly on a garage door in an alley, part of butterflyways project - a red, black and bluish butterfly

Artist: @smugugly

 

a mural on a garage door in an alley, part of butterflyways project - two adjacent garage doors, the left one is a stylized (cubist) butterfly in blues and purples. On the right is a Nick Sweetman yellow butterfly with black details as well as a white Scottie dog that looks like Tintin's dog Snowy

Artist: (left) FIP or FYP? , (right) Sweetman

 

a mural on a garage door in an alley, part of butterflyways project - two adjacent garage doors, the left one is painted by braes and is a portrait of David Suzuki. On the right is a blue mural by C. Perez

Artist: (left) braes & wales, (right) C. Perez

a mural on a garage door in an alley, part of butterflyways project - two adjacent garage doors, the left one is width=

street art mural of a Japanese girl upper body and head, hair in two buns kept together with chopsticks, looking aghast at something behind her

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

when leaves were green.

Posted: December 20, 2016 in alleys, graffiti and street art
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As the year draws to a close many people like to look back and remember the year that was.  Me, I go through files and although I find memories, I also find partially finished blog posts.  I find ideas that I started to explore but there’s never enough time in a day to do everything you want.  If only I could stop the clocks for a while and catch up!

This is one of the blog posts that didn’t see the light of day earlier in the year.  These pictures were taken back in June, back when the leaves were green and people were wearing shorts.  This is the street art on the garage doors of Perly Family Lane.

below: … as well as one little stencil black bird high on a pole.

a small stencil of a black bird's head and neck on a piece of wood, mounted high on a telephone pole in a lane, along with a no parking sign, in Perly Family Lane in Toronto.

below: An intricate stenciled painting of deer among the trees, plants, and flowers with a humming bird hovering overhead and three swallows flying past.

stencil art on a white garage door. greenery, a hummingbird, three swallows in flight, a deer, some red flowers

below: A colourful door by Manik I think.

street art on a garage door in a lane, purple text graffiti with red and yellow background, colourful, abstract

below: The rest of the photos are paintings by Pascal Paquette.
They are abstract swirls and blobs of colour.

abstract street art on a garage door in a lane, by Pascal Paquette, swirls of colour

abstract street art on a garage door in a lane, by Pascal Paquette, swirls of colour

Pascal Paquette abstract street art on two adjacent garage door in a lane, by Pascal Paquette, swirls of colour

abstract street art on a few adjacent garage door in a lane, by Pascal Paquette, swirls of colour

Pascal Paquette abstract street art on two adjacent garage door in a lane, by Pascal Paquette, swirls of colour

I suspect that there will be a few more posts like this as I try to clear out the backlog that has accumulated over the year.  Thanks for taking the time to look at my blog…. and please come back and see what happens as we move into a new year!

 

Peperonata Lane

Posted: December 6, 2016 in graffiti and street art, locations
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Peperonata Lane runs north from Harbord Street.    Most of the garage doors in the alley have been painted.  Some were painted as part of a Wallnoize project in 2013.

a lane running parallel to a park with garages on the other side, a line of large trees by the garages. Most of the garage doors are covered with street art

below: Take a seat… and see what kind of street art there is here.

a wooden chair is tied to a tree, autumn leaves on the ground, a row of garages in the background, a number of large trees,

below: A woman feeds the chickens.

mural on a garage door of a woman feeding some chickens in a yard with colourful laundry hanging out to dry, houses in the background, mural on a garage door.

below: This mural, done in 2009, is one of the older ones in the lane.

blog_mural_simple_houses_garage

below: A deer and a hawk

mural on a garage door, a deer and a hawk

below: Elicser people and a text painting by poise.

street art on a garage and fence by elicser and poise in a lane,

below: Split face on a fence, by fiya

blog_face_gate_halves_split

below: A poser bunny

a poser bunny and tag on a garage door in an alley

below: Multicoloured grumpy cat by shalak and clandestinos.

shalak and clandestinos painting of a colourful cat face and paw with claws, on a garage door and fence in a lane

below: Wrinkled man with fish in hand, by smoky

painting by street artist smoky of a wrinkled old man holding an ugly fish in his hand.

below: A garage door painted by miles.

street artist miles tag and colourful street art on a garage door

garage doors in a lane alleyway that have been painted with street art

 

 

From City of Toronto documentation on the naming of Peperonata Lane, November 2012:

“The residents whose properties border on the lane have provided the following background information on the proposed name:”
” …throughout each year, the Galle family, who’ve lived at 441Montrose (the east side) since 1972, includes many Montrose residents in their annual celebration of making the “sugo” or tomato sauce, the roasted peppers and peperonata party, and the spirited soppressata contest, which they bring from their home country of Italy. Everyone learns the old world techniques and celebrates their new life in our Canadian context.
To commemorate how our lives have been enriched by the Galles welcoming and generous spirits, and in keeping with the traditions they’ve taught us and that we’ve now made our own, we propose the lane be named “Peperonata Lane” as a way of celebrating their unsung contribution to our neighbourhood”.
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