Posts Tagged ‘Graffiti Alley’

snowy morning on Queen West

Posted: March 20, 2022 in alleys, graffiti and street art, landmarks, stores
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… and Graffiti Alley

stencil graffiti, words that say met u in toronto written twice in a circle around a happy face, yellow on black, sprayed on a brick wall in Graffiti Alley

in Graffiti Alley, on a door, a big pink heart with love written in cursive through the middle of it

below: Northeast corner of Spadina and Queen West

northeast corner of Spadina and Queen in a snow flurry,

early morning, storefronts on Queen West, fruit market, empty store, lots of cardboard boxes on sidewalk waiting for trash pickup

below: Mannequins on orange

mannequins in Joe Fresh window, orange background, kids clothes

sidewalk scene on Queen West, bus shelter with Queen West advert, green P parking sign, some stores,

below: Queen Street westbound approaching Bathurst

TTC streetcar westbound on Queen West approaching Bathurst, snow falling, other cars waiting for red light,

below: It’s always nice to see that there’s at least one Lovebot still hanging out in Graffiti Alley.

in Graffiti Alley, a lovebot pasteup up hgh, love bot and a bunch of balloons

below: On the door, a jumblefacefoto collage

jumblefacefoto collage paper pasteup on door in graffiti alley in the middle of a text throw up street art

below: Reach out and touch someone

Bell phone booth covered with stickers, plus a fake bony hand holding onto the receiver, in Graffiti Alley

below: Open your eyes

brick wall with paper pasteup graffiti, open your eyes, a jumblefacefoto

below: Are you smiling?  Are you happy?

old KFC building, empty, with graffiti painted on wood leaning against the building, black letters on white that say In a passive society smiles are not the faces of happy people R "2022"

TTC streetcar at Queen and Spadina, in the snow

an older couple walking on sidewalk on Queen West waiting for greenlight at Bathurst by taccorito restaurant

below: Southeast corner, Queen & Niagara

early morning, yellow lights on in plant store on Queen West, a woman walking past,

below: Same intersection slightly later in the morning and from a slightly different angle

people on the sidewalk at queen west and niagara, traffic lights, woman pushing stroller, Japanese mural in the background, chive plant store in the foreground

two storefronts in old brick building, Queen West, Park Avenue Cleaners and Shanti Baba

photograph on exterior of store, group of people standing together, number 789 Queen West is next door

t bonez urban ninja squadron paste up of him in yoga pose

mural of a naked upper body with arms up and flowers around the head with words turn off your mind

below: Windigo Army piece

street art painting of an indigenous man with long black braid, wrapped in a white and black blanket, with yellow and red aura around him

below: A little orange character pasted to a pole; the work of kode_dipz aka Kyara Cabrera Fong

kode 905 slap graffiti little orange character with green face and tummy, on a pole

below: Because of the construction of a new condo at Richmond and Augusta there has been scaffolding in a section of Graffiti Alley. The other day some of it was being dismantled. This woman is more visible now but some of the bars remain.

mural of a woman with a cloth covering her head, behind scaffolding bar,

below: Life©️ one eyed red daisy supersized

black and orange traffic pylons beside the entrance to Graffiti Alley with a red one eyed daisy painting by life co beside it, then a row of paintings on hoardings

graffiti and street art on plywood hoardings that got switched around

4 faces found in different pieces of street art, all cartoonish, including a one eyed pink monster with oozing body,

below: Part of UBER5000’s Toronto mural.

large uber5000 Toronto mural in Graffiti alley, lower portion of it, behind chainlink fence

below: By luvs – a woman and her dog, with duplicate vision

part of a mural by luvs of a woman's head and a bulldog beside her, duplicate eyes and sunglasses that she's looking over, on a garage door in rush lane

two women walking their dogs in a snow storm on Spadina

from inside, a man walks past window of Le Gourmand bakery cafe on Spadina

below: A properly worn mask…..

window of flashback vintage, a mannequin in brown jacket and blue dress, mask needed sign on door

a collection of dolls in a store window with yellow metal grille in front

What is creepier?  Dolls or mannequins?

two images of mannequins in a window, one in pink and the other in red with red hair, both with large bows in their hair

below: Poetaia wants to know what you’re up to, wink, wink.

sticker graffiti on a wood utility pole that says What are your plans for the weekend?

below: Peeling paper makes the gold words difficult to read

grid of painted paper on top of street art, peeling at edges

below: There’s a yellow eye and possibly a blue one too?

paper collage face with yellow eye,slightly peeling at the edges

two mailboxes on a black door, 555 is salmon colour and 557 is black

two stickers on a metal pole on the topis a picture of a man's head with word think and on bottom is t bonez with finger over mouth as in saying shhh shush

small sticker graffiti on pole

small black and white sticker graffiti on pole, picture of man in a mask holding shoulders of a woman

Ukraine Invaded

Posted: March 15, 2022 in graffiti and street art
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Two new murals have appeared in Graffiti Alley and Rush Lane, both in reaction to the ongoing invasion of Ukraine by Putin’s Russia.  First:

mural in Rush Lane in blue and yellow, text in Cyrillic alphabet, bird, white dove with branch that is half yellow and half blue

part of a mural, white dove of peace with a branch in its claws that is half blue and half yellow representing Ukraine

crow-like bird with beak open wide as it makes noise, top part blue and bottom part yellow, for Ukraine

UPDATE: The above mural is a group effort.  The bird, a nightingale, was painted by Nick Sweetman.  That link should take you to an instagram post that describes the thinking behind the mural.  It also lists mr_tensoe2,  SpyOne, and TwiceBorn as the collaborators.

below: … and second, a painting that has already been scribbled on.

street art portrait of Putin in grey tones, wearing a baseball cap that says Make Russia Great Again, background is half blue and half yellow for Ukraine. It has already been scribbled on

love and little characters in Graffiti Alley

Posted: January 23, 2021 in graffiti and street art, locations
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a man walks down graffiti alley

below: Dynamic Duo so to speak, a T-bonez Robin to a Batman of a different sort.

black and white poster paste up in graffiti alley, urban ninja squadron with another character in a cape and super hero outfit

graffiti, 5 orange stencil figures on a white pole, one hand with two fingers up in a peace sign all with faces added in black sharpie

below: A collection of stickers and pastups – urban ninja squadron (TCF), spud, a blue Bentoghoul, and others

pasteups and stickers on a wall in graffiti alley

below: There is love in this lane

love sign on a pole, with a heart, street sign as well,

as well as broken hearts

graffiti, red broken heart on white circle

below: Playing games with Psiconauta on a pole while the little purple figure gives a peace sign.

urban ninja squadron sticker on a pole, little figure stencil in blue on wall beside it

below: T-bonez clad in pink and red with T-smoke on his back.

graffiti alley, urban ninja squadron paste up, t bonez in pink and red

below: Stay warm folks!

urban ninja squadron t bonez character with words stay warm

stickers and paste ups on a wall in graffiti alley

urban ninja squardon paste ups

black lives matter words on a wall with an urban ninja squadron t bonez in a pink suit and holding a red daisy with one eye in the center, graffiti alley

below: …. and a spudbomb too

pasteups and stickers on a wall in graffiti alley

below:  Flower Power. Many daisies by Life© popping up in Graffiti Alley (or at least they look like daisies).  “Consciousness watching the world”.

small sticker of a daisy with red petals and an eye in the center, on a wall already covered with painted street art

stickers and paste ups in graffit alley

small sticker of a daisy with yellow petals and an eye in the center, on a wall already covered with painted street art
orange daisy with an eye in the center and the word life written many times around it

below: Until next time… keep your eyes open!

pasteup of a photo of a man's face, with beard and moustache, other scribbles around the face

in the alleys near Queen and Spadina

Posted: September 21, 2020 in graffiti and street art
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below: Older street art in an alley behind the north side of Queen Street West

mural in an alley on the north side of Queen West

a woman stands by a table on the side of a road, across the street is a wall with two pictures on it, a cigarette smoking moose and a square thing with three eyes and long dangling white arms

below: Although it was painted in 2015, Greg Mike‘s message of “Stay positive” still applies.

street art mural by Greg Mike of a turquoise square thing with a large square mouth and white teeth, three eyes across the top of its head, a pink droopy tongue with its own face and tongue, and long white arms and legs. In one hand it holds a sign that says Stay Positive

below: Elicser‘s mural of a woman with a bald eagle fling over the city.

large mural on a wall, woman with a bald eagle, some text graffiti on it too

below: Keep calm and meow on!

graffiti on torn paper on a wall, black marker drawing of a cat with words keep calm and meow on

below: The birch forest painting by Jim Bravo is still at Queen West and Denison.

mural of a birch forest with golden yellow leaves on the side of a building, around the windows that are reflecting sky and buildings from across the street

below: Also remaining, is the remnants of this stikman although he is now covered with a fresh coat of paint.

old stikman on a wood pole, only legs remaining, pole has been freshly covered with white and light blue spray paint

traffic cones down the middle of one of the small lanes running perpendicular to Graffiti Alley

red brick wall with white tag graffiti, similar graffiti on green garbage bib two guys sitting on the curb on the other side of the lane

white line drawing of a man with a bowtie, head only, over coloured spray paint street art

below: Truth phone in Graffiti Alley, by Mike Salisbury

phone booth with three ones, white, red, and yellow, with sign that says your truth

below: A ROC bird character in collaboration with kone

birdie ticker, orange shirt and black bowler hat, white glasses, with words on arm of t-shirt that says kone x roc

two young men walking their bikes down Graffiti Alley

below: A tribute to frontline workers in Rush Lane.  Treaty 13 between the British government and the Mississauga of New Credit is also known as the Toronto Purchase.

mural as salute to frontline workers, on upper level of a wall, mentions treaty 13, first nations symbolism,

a woman takes a picture of street art in Graffiti Alley, late afternoon with low sun and long shadows

below: Pink panther

street art painting of the pink panther

below: Stickers and slap on metal – zonr, feelings boi, and peru143

slaps and stickers on a pole with street art around it

below: Two more stickers.  Daughtcalm on the right and Obey, aka Shepard Fairy, on the left.

two slpas on a pole, on the right is a daught calm you tuber man with a you tube T-shirt, and a red inner tube around his hips. On the left are two soldiers with a red rose coming out of the end of the rifles

below: There is an “Obey Eye” mural on the side of a store on Queen West (near Portland) that was painted in 2014.  It is on the upper level and in a small side alley. The words in the mural say OBEY never trust your own eyes always believe what you are told.

large mural of an eye by Obey, high on a wall near Graffiti Alley, faces QUeen Street West

below: Part of the Black Lives Matter tribute murals that were painted back in June.  Zianna Oliphant was the girl from Charlotte North Carolina who spoke for black rights at a council meeting after a fatal shooting of a black man by Charlotte police.  Also, note the altered yellow sign that now says “Watch for Injustice”.

two women walk into an alley, past a mural featuring Zianna Oliphant, a black girl, garbage bins in front,

below: A green Lambourghini and it’s photoshoot.

a young man in red shoes poses beside a green Ferrari parked in Graffiti Alley, being photographed, other people walking by including woman in ripped jeans

people walking up Rush Lane

a mother takes a picture of two kids standing in front of a garage in Graffiti Alley

a mural of a purple rhinocerus by Nick Sweetman with a woman standing in front of it. She is taking a photo of a child in bright red shoes and red wool or ribbons braided into the hair

street art painting of a Japanese anime boy in orange suit with black belt, jumping up with spikey hair and a grimace on his face

painting of a man on a traffic box, black suit and tie, white shirt, but brown paper bag over his face, with heart painted on it

a sticker on a grey metal pole, yellow with an abstract design drawn in pinks, greens and blues with circles and vertical lines

President Fear

Posted: September 20, 2020 in graffiti and street art, locations
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….  fear and other vices.

posters on a wall in Graffiti Alley, of president trump, parody, president ego and president hate, on abstract America flag, caricatures of Trump just his face in each poster

Five posters on a wall in Graffiti Alley showing pictures of Donald Trump’s face along with five features of his character and presidency, blame, fear, hate, greed, and ego all on abstract rendition of the American flag.   Political street art.  Current and relevant.  I was going to call them caricatures but they’re not, they are the real thing.

posters on a wall in Graffiti Alley, of president trump, parody, president ego and president greed, blame, fear, on abstract America flag, caricatures of Trump just his face in each poster

There is a 6th which I seem to have missed.
They are the work of Mike Salisbury. Follow the link for a free download of the posters.

new slaps on Toronto streets

Posted: March 18, 2020 in graffiti and street art
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don't worry sticker on a pole

below: The garbage always leaks before you can get rid of the bag! A trashy Daught calm sticker.

daught calm sticker on a pole of a man in blue pants and sweatshirt holding up a leaking bag of garbage

below: Knome with an expression of alarm. a cute little sketchnate puppy and urban ninja squadron sprouted big ears when tbonez teamed up with srats (sketchrats). All on the side of a Canada Post mail box.

stickers on the side of red Canada Post mail box

below:  1. The woman with a heart for an eye (got her eye on love?) looks like the work of Italian street artist c_ska.  It also looks like she’s taking her temperature.  Another c_ska sticker is a naked backside (or is it?) on top of an urban ninja squadron.  Yes, you can make jokes about being on top.  2. Talking about jokes, playing on words is daught calm’s ‘be a tuber’ YouTube dig.  I guess that’s better than being a potato.   3. The little orange guy, pizza guy?  pizza face? is by sketch nate.

stickers

below: Red chick light bulb, lites creation.

sticker on a grey metal pole, a red con shaped bird over a light bulb

below: Looking for a drink?

white soda can, pop can, draawing on a sticker, on a graffiti covered wall

below: Brian has become an astronaut.

an astronaut shaped slap graffiti that someone has written the name Brian on

below: Morbid, Icey, etc. along with the bearded face of No love; Alone boy in black and white by ozokoh.  And of course, don’t worry.  It took a while…  but see that grey face and its mysterious signature? It’s a lino print by Brian (aka bodh.io)

stickers on the side of a phone booth

below: Tbonez with a new face

an urban ninja squadron sticker with a different face intead of tbonez

below: Urban Ninja Squadron as a climbing frame for a whole slew of little sketch nate characters.

urban ninja squadron sticker, in colour, on a blue background - side of a Bell phone booth

below: Forge fury, feelings boi, and a sad puppy (yee hop) by sketch nate.

4 stickers graffiti on the back of a street sign, a yellow forge fury wiggly line sticker, a black feelings boi with white line drawing, a small white dog by sketchnate

below: Pikachu and a pokeball…. and a pokemon character that I don’t know.

pokemon and poke ball sticker on a painted pole

people in graffiti alley

a man in a grey puffy jacket taking a picture of another man who is posing beside street art

This post will also appear in Eyes on the Streets, a street art blog.

paper words in the alley

Posted: August 5, 2019 in alleys, graffiti and street art
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In Graffiti Alley to be more specific.

Recently, a few pasteups have appeared in Graffiti Alley that are either text based or have a lot of words written on them.

One series consists of posters with sayings credited to A.J. Maldo whose instagram page calls the work “Poetry for the Mind, Body, Soul”.  You’ll find many more of these positive messages if you follow the instagram link.  I saw three in Graffiti Alley yesterday. 

a poster with a saying or perhaps poes credited to A.J. Maldo

“A simple notion to reveal an ocean, without commotion, you can swim in stride if only you tried, even in times of waves, be confident, you have what it takes.”

.

a poster with a saying or perhaps poes credited to A.J. Maldo

“Dig in deep where beauty grows, see in you where the magic rose, your soul is at stake, no time to waste, choose your fate, inside it waits.”

.

on a wall in Graffiti Alley, a poster with a saying or perhaps poes credited to A.J. Maldo, with a woman in a turquoise sari walking past

“It’s not easy realizing that you’re the one who has been holding you back this entire time.”

The next paste-up, seen up high on a wood utility pole, is by hnr_hnr (aka Henrique Nobrega from Brazil).  You probably recognize the girl in the picture.  I am not sure what the words say but the text starts with “girl” and ends with “half woman”.    A lot of Nobrega’s paintings and stickers involve words.

on a wood utility pole, a picture of the girl in the Vermeer painting with words written part in English and part in Dutch over her face

below: The woman and the text/symbols below her are both by Nobrega.  The words talk about ups and downs and enjoying the ride in this cosmic world.

six paper paste up graffiti pieces, four with mens faces in profile with top of head missing but eye beside the chin, one with black woman in profile with yellow over her face, and one with words and symbols

And last is this hand written note, a poem.   By ending with this one, I am ending on a down note but c’est la vie, swim in stride, it’s all part of the ride.

hand written note on white paper written in pen, pasted onto wall in Graffiti Alley

A Thought without Warmth
More powerful a trauma
a wound of fright
Most and all the sadness
in the darkness with
no light
To be alone
alone in the night
[a drawing of an open book of paper matches]

***

I am me!

rants in the alley

Posted: May 25, 2019 in alleys, graffiti and street art, locations
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a red and white Canadian flag printed on a sticker that says Toronto Canada that someone has added their tag to, stuck on a utility pole in an alley

Today’s wander down Graffiti Alley yielded more than just a few new paintings and bits of graffiti.  I also came across a group of students from da Vinci school who were there doing an assignment that involved filming each other giving rants in the alley.

one woman is filming another woman who is talking in graffiti alley

two girls checking a video on a phone, other people nearby, in graffiti alley

below: Nipsey Hussle memorial mural by Sum Artist

black and white mural portrait of a young man in a toque, signed sum artist

one boy is filming another as he talks in the alley, in front of a colourful mural

woman in red dress and red shoes, graffiti on an alley, on a wood fence that has been painted white

two stickers on a graffit covered metal utiity pole. one sticker is a black drone in a grey circle

one woman is filming another woman who is talking in graffiti alley - in front of Uber 5000's mural

one woman is filming another woman who is talking in graffiti alley in main part of alley

below: Smile!

graffiti, word smile

three girls working on a video in a corner of an alley, on is filming with a phone and one is talking and one is holding the paper with the words on it.

a poorly done blue faced woman with red hair, beside a doorway with a black, white, and red, geometric face

a boy in shorts and a baseball cap is filming another boy in blue fleece and camo pants as he is talking in front of a mural in graffiti alley

mural of a pink praying mantis on the right and some students in graffiti alley on the left

teacher, students, and other people in graffiti alley

black and white painting of a man's face, very large, part of a mural in an alley

Today’s encounter reminded me that I once encountered Rick Mercer in the alley as he filmed a rant for his TV program – photo from October 2011.

photo from 2011, Rick Mercer and film crew walking down Graffiti Alley as he filmed a rant for his TV program.

One last thing that I want to address here – maybe you could call it a rant of my own.  Except that it will be in pictures not words.  There’s something new in Graffiti Alley; it’s not unexpected but that doesn’t make it any easier, or better.   The old Stephenson Rental building is on its way down.

demolition sign on a metal fence in front of a graffiti covered wall

In fact, it’s mostly down.

only one corner remaining, demolition of building in graffiti alley, covered with street art

demolition of building in graffiti alley

and mostly sad

demolition of building in graffiti alley, remaining buildings in the background

Graffiti Alley, February

Posted: March 4, 2019 in graffiti and street art, locations
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A winter walk down Graffiti Alley and Rush Lane

a lone beige running shoe on the ground beside a pile of snow in Graffiti alley

people taking pictures in graffiti alley

below: Posing with a blue mask (you can also see them in the photo above).

a young woman in a blue mask poses in front of an Uber5000 mural

below: A little red dress with flair

little graffiti stencil, a red dress on a white background

below: TBJ, Toronto blue jay

street art mural of a blue jacy, in stylized geometric shapes, shades of blue

Graffiti Alley in winter

below: A large rose by Josh Creighton

a large stylized rose in a mural in a lane

below: Yin and yang

close up of a spray paint artwork in alley, a yin yang symbol in black and white with red drips of paint running through it

below: Rust, grime, and the remnants of stickers on an old window.

an old window with stickers on it and rusted bars in front of it, graffiti all around it

below: Horst

a text graffiti by horst, yellows and pale pinks

looking down Rush Lane on a winter afternoon, snow and ice on the ground, some people walking

2 young men looking at street art in a lane, a large mural with two black and white mens faces in the foreground

below: This blog post would have been finished a day or two earlier but I fell behind because of this photo. I fell down the rabbit hole when researching these condos. I have since decided that rather than getting bogged down now discussing this development, I would leave it for a later date.  The red face sums it all up.

a sign advertising new Rush condos has been defaced, it is against a wall with street art and graffiti on it

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

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