Posts Tagged ‘Kensington’

an evening out

Posted: August 18, 2024 in alleys, doors, graffiti and street art, people, stores, transportation
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
2

This used to be Yonge Dundas Square (photo below) – soon it will be Sankofa Square. Or at least I think that’s what’s happening as there was some controversy over the name change. Although the name Yonge Dundas is very dull and unimaginative, that is what we’ve become accustomed to calling it. Some of us still claim that the Leafs play at the ACC or that the Blue Jays call the SkyDome home – yeah, we can be rather slow!

Whatever its name, that intersection is usually a colourful place on a summer evening.

musician, yonge dundas square, people watching red umbrellas

So that is where I started walking late in the afternoon the other day.  The walk was rather meandering, and did include a quick hop on a streetcar or two.  The weather was perfect and the streets were alive.  It was nice to see so many people out enjoying the evening.  Many (all?) of the curbside patios were busy too.

two men and a women talking and walking together

a man waits by bus shelter on dundas outside of H and M store

women walking, summer evening, two are talking, one is carrying a drink

below: Spiderman sits on a chair waiting for someone to hang out with.

spiderman sits in a chair

man sitting on bench inside bus shelter, people getting on and off streetcar, reflections,

reflections in a window, two levels of interior, with drug store and pharmacy on the lower level

a man sitting on sidewalk in blue t shirt, pan handling, two people on bike waiting for green light to cross Bay street

young man, topless, on skateboard, on street

a topless young man wearing a hat and jeans, and carrying a bag over his shoulder, in middle street, police car passes by, people on sidewalk turn to look because police car has short blast of the siren

below: Garfield is not amused (but he is shiny… or is that why he’s grumpy?)

clothing for sale, on sidewalk, at dundas and spadina, flatbed towtruck on street

two motorcycles parked, a pigeon on the sidewalk, and a couple at a table outside seven lives restaurant in kensington

a young couple on a pink motor scooter

below: On a balcony in Kensington, a war protest or at least a pro-Ukraine and anti-Russian statement.   Lots of sunflowers fill the space and Putin (presumably) is hung in effigy.

on a balcony in Kensington, many sunflowers, both real and fake, plants in blue and yellow pots, an effigy of putin, and a sign that says putin murdered over 200,000 men women and children

below: August is tomato season in Ontario!

boxes and baskets of tomatoes for sale outside of fruit and vegetable market

below:Buddha prays (meditates?)

fabric hanging outside a store, one with buddha, praying

below: A rare species spotted in Kensington – a rainbow tree

patio in front of a restaurant with a blue translucent fence, and a tree with trunk wrapped in stripes of yarn knitted

below: Shadow play on a Kensington graffiti wall.

man on sidewalk in front of graffiti in Kensington

below: Laundry time

man with red bag outside a coin laundry in kensington

below: This young man still watches over College Street (mural by Jarus).

mural on upper storeys, an image of a young man seated on ground, by jarus, above fast food restaurant of gyros, shwarma, poutine, souvlaki, felafal, and fries, and more, with new condo in background, people on sidewalk

below: Lord of the Fries!

sign on sidewalk for hogtown, lord of the fries

people walking on College Street

below: A creative use of a few chairs.

three turquoise plastic chairs in front of a store, written in red paint on chairs is the word open and a red heart

reflections in the window of an uncle tetsu cheesecake store

below: Mural by roam_t.o

mural by roam t o

below: Where danger lurks around the corner, unseen and unexpected!  (mural by Tensoe2 and Nick Sweetman)

mural on the side of a dominos pizza, animal with open mouth and big teeth, looks like it is after the people walking by on the sidewalk

below: Nazare Snack Bar

two stores on Dundas West, Nazare Snack Bar, and a convenience store, evening, people on the sidewalk talking

below: Taking a rest from riding on the broom?! Hallowe’en shopping done early!

mother and daughter sitting on streetcar, mother with shopping bag from halloween store and daughter holding a black witch's broom

below: A sign that claims that Ossington is the coolest neighbourhood. Any opinions?

sign on sidewalk on dundas, at ossington, claiming ossington to be the coolest neighbourhood, streetcar and street life in the background

below: Don’t text me!

don't text me

below: “Freedom is a state of mind” (not just another brick?)

graffiti, in white, on red brick, says freedom is a state of mind

below: Graffiti, text on a poster, by Kleeshay, “All the fun things we did when we were kids never stopped being fun we just stopped doing them”

text, black on white, by kleeshay on a wall at spadina and dundas

below: “We are taught to put emphasis on our differences because it would be too dangerous if we ever realized how much we have in common “

graffiti on a garbage bin, text, black on white, by kleeshay

below: A third Kleeshay poster – “You might forget who you are if you’re surrounded by people who act like you aren’t who you are. “

poster on an exterior wall, lots of text that says

below: Turtle Island, bald eagle

bicycle parked beside a metal utility pole, graffiti on pole, bald eagle with turtle island symbol inside it

 

below: Locked up; behind bars

black and white small graffiti of a mans face, behind metal bars of a gate

below: “Respect the Space”, an urban collage on a door in Keningston. “Baby’s first pistol” – yikes!
on a white door in Kensington, mailboxes and graffiti, text saying respect this space, stickers,

below: Another collage, sort of – I find it hard to believe that someone actually taped a coffee cup to a pole… but seeing is believing?
bits of old posters on a utility pole, an A and W coffee cup taped to the pole as well

below: Nothing fancy here, but I was fascinated by the old concrete posts that are keeping this fence up. She walked in front of me as I slowed down for a closer look…..

woman walking on sidewalk, walking past a fence made of concrete posts and metal bar, metal gate

below: This final picture is for the person who mentioned that they once thought of collecting images of all the shopping carts they saw abandoned around the city. Ever since reading that comment, I see shopping carts everywhere!!

a house with small frontyard, an old metal shopping cart in the yard

below: What do you see when you walk around Toronto?

from Harbord to Dundas via Kensington

Posted: January 18, 2024 in alleys, doors, graffiti and street art, locations, reflections, stores
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
0

…. or thereabouts.

It started with a stop that was earlier than planned.    I was on my way to meet a friend in Kensington but that morning my walk started closer to Harbord because the 510 car wasn’t going anywhere.  An incident on a streetcar involving the police means the whole route gets backed up.

streetcars stopped on Spadina, police car with lights flashing stopped beside the one in front

below: This building on the west side of Spadina (372/374 Spadina) has languished for a few years.  It falls within the Harbord Village HCD (Historic Community District) and there may have been a change of ownership.

large old houses on Spadina near harbord

below:   I tried researching the present status of the property but I came up empty. There is a building permit in the window but there are no signs of work being done.

old large brick house with front porch, building permit in window

below: My fellow TTC travellers and I walked the curve in Spadina.

people walking on the sidewalk, walking past large old brick houses

below: At the south end of the curve is Lord Lansdowne School which was built in 1960/1961 to replace an older school nearby and to accommodate the post-war population growth in the city.  The main part of the school is a nine-sided circular building with 18 tapered steel pylons radiating outward like flying buttresses.  The roof consists of folded concrete plates,

part of exterior of lord lansdowne school

below: A big chunk of anorthosite sits in the schoolyard.   Some of the rocks brought back from the moon are anorthosites.  But this isn’t a moon rock!  This type of rock isn’t found in many places in North America but there is some to the north of the city in the Canadian Shield region.  It is composed predominantly of feldspar.  It is an igneous rock which means that it was formed from the cooling and solidification of molten rock (such as lava).

large grey rock in a schoolyard with a plaque on it describing the rock

Plaque: “This basic igneous rock was found at a depth f 12 feet during the course of excavation for this school.  The composition is a very rare type and is  assumed to have been carried here from Caribou Lake north of Parry Sound by a glacier during the Great Ice Age approximately 12,000 years ago. “

below: Every Child Matters on the schoolyard fence

orange ties on fence to spell words every child matters

below: Also on the fence, parent and child walking hand in hand past the playground.

painted cutouts on a chainlink fence around lord lansdowne school, a mother and child holding hands

below: Intersection of Spadina and College, looking south.

intersection of college and spadina, looking south on spadina

below: A small disc mounted on a concrete pole – a tribute to Saul Gwartzman by Rocky Zenyck.  Gwartzmans Art Supply store is still on Spadina Ave.

circular brass piece, mounted on utility pole, a face in the middle of it, with words marked on it

Engraved in around the face on the disc, “We remember. Saul Gwartzman. Born on Spadina Avenue above the store where he supported artists in Toronto for decades, 1936-2019”

below: Walking on Spadina, south of College.

spadina, south of college, west side of the street, Smoke and Variety store, El Macombo tavern, people on sidewalk winter time, no leaves on trees,

below: Canadian souvenirs are unavailable at the moment!

store front on spadina, closed, with canada flags on door,
stores and buildings on the east side of Spadina, old brick buildings,

below: Dragons on the wall, Oxford Street.

dragon mural on red brick building

below: One of the Kensington poles with a globe at the top.  Another site in limbo – the hoardings are still around the lot on the southwest corner of  Baldwin and Spadina.  I wrote about them in Dec 2020 (post: a long time lingering) and they were old then.

Spadina Ave, pole for entrance to Kensington, with globe on the top

There were not many other people walking around Kensington that morning, we were a bit early for that.  Even without people, it is a neighbourhood that is full of colours and full of life.  Parts of it are run down and grubby but that rarely stops a photographer!  The next photos are a random sample of what we saw that day.

below: Looking west on Baldwin.  The king is on the wall.

looking west on Baldwin, yellow wall with painting of man with crown on head, on the side of one of the buildings

below: Kids for sale!

items in the window of a kensington cheese store, an old picture of queen elizabeth with words eat more queso, a piece of wood shaped like a goat with words kids for sale

below: Mice in the cheese store window.  There’s Mickey Mouse and the little brown mouse, Jerry, from another cartoon series as well as some not so famous rodents.

items in a cheese store window, toy mice, mickey mouse, flags of Greece, Serbia, and Singapore

below: Uncle Vintage at the other end.  The mural on the right is “When Math Meets Art”

looking down an alley in kensington, view of Uncle Vintage clothing at the end, murals on both sides of the alley

below: From a different angle. It was painted by Sasha Q (aka Oleksandra Stepanenko)

mural in blues and greys with title Math Meets Art on old brick building in Kensington

 

below: Mural of a blue crab by Nick Sweetman,

blue crab mural by nick sweetman

below: Look Mom Paint!

large words painted on the side of a building that say look mom paint

below: Three old black and white photos of Kensington scenes in the window of the Peruvian food store,

three old black and white photos of Kensington area in the window of a Peruvian store,

below: A bright and cheerful red daisy keeping an eye on things.

street art in a small corner on Baldwin Ave in kensington

below: “And then the streets became my notepad – GOD”

written in large black letters on a pinkish salmon coloured brick wall, and then the streets became my notepad, god

below: More hoardings and the consequent graffiti covering them.

below: It’s difficult to see, but some of the words written on the hoardings are “It’s hard but ur strong”.

below: Mark has left his mark.

a man with a walker walks past a white wall with a large purple painting of the name Mark in capital letters

below: The backside of Moonbean Coffee as seen from the alley behind.  Little faces in Paradise.

graffiti and street art on upper back part of moonbean coffee as seen from the alley behind

below: Yummy!  Mini Boston Cream Bombs on display in the window.

boston cream bomb donuts in the window of a donut store

below: Not so yummy?!

looking in the window of a fruit and vegetable store, large green squash and a pile of oranges beside the window

below: Pigeon fanciers, this one’s for you. It seems there were some takers.  Sorry, but I didn’t follow up with the research on this one so I am not sure what happens if you call!

poster on a wall with a street art face painted on it, poster is looking for pigeon fanciers to interview

below: Union Jack either faded to pink, or in trans colours?

hand painted union jack on a fence but the red has faded to pink

below: Super Serve on Dundas, across the street from People Hair Salon.

below:  It looks like Rowell Soder mural although he rarely paints the eyes – the mushroom top should give you a hint as to what this store sells.

below: I like yellow rubber duckies but I doubt that I would wear this many at once!

below: You grow girl!

below: She leans left.

below: Little yellow bald guys as well as some words written on a wall; they are Leonard Cohen lyrics.

“From Leonard Cohen Book of Mercy, …I heard my soul singing behind a leaf, plucked the leaf, but then I heard it singing behind a veil. I tore the veil, but then I heard it singing behind a wall. I broke the wall, and I heard my soul singing against me. I built up the wall, mended the curtain, but I could not put back the leaf. I held it in my hand and I heard my soul singing mightily against me. This is what it’s like to study without a friend.”

below: Mirror, mirror, on the wall..  A Sigil is a sign in magic or witchcraft or similar.

below: Mannequins in feathers….

below: … and mannequins in hats

a Kensington laneway

rusty white metal gate at the end of a walk in front of a blue house painted with white gingerbread trim

below: The mural on the left features a white egg with a large open mouth.  The text above it says, “Feed Eggs”.   Any ideas?

alley in Kensington, looking towards turquoise building, Courage my Love vintage clothing store

below: It’s Dick Dastardly and his dog Muttley

mural in alley, Dastardly and his dog muttley, cartoon characters

below: A mandolin player by SashaQ and a Phillip Saunders portrait in blue.

murals in a kensington alley, in the front is a mandolin olayer, then a portrait in blue.

 

below: Leftovers from both Halloween and Christmas

outside a house in Kensington, both halloween and christmas decorations, snowman

below: An eclectic collection of posters and notices cover a restaurant window… pictures of food as well as posters for  young Asian musicians.

signs and posters in the window of a chinese restaurant on spadina

below: Fight Your Demons

written on a wall in black paint, fight your demons

below: South on Spadina

spadina, looking south,

below: Spadina and Dundas

With many thanks to Merle for walking with me on that grey day!  We enjoyed wandering around the street and alleys and discovering what Kensington has to offer.  It was fun to have someone helping to find all the little bits and pieces that often get overlooked.   Here we found a party, or at least the remains of one.   All those little coloured blobs are actually shiny words that say “party”.   I hope that it was a good party!

woman wearing pink hat taking a picture with her phone of confetti on the sidewalk that is bits of shiny paper spelling the word party

Merle has a blog too where she meets and interviews interesting seniors (or seniors who are doing interesting things), Super Bubbies!  I forgot to ask her how old one needs to be a Bubbie and am I old enough?!!!  If you are interested in the photos that she took on this walk or you’re curious as to what makes aa Super Bubbie, check out Super Bubbies!  I find it fascinating how different people can walk the same route and come away with quite a different recollection of the walk.

Keep exploring!  Keep being super!

is everyone nice?

Posted: January 11, 2024 in graffiti and street art
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,
2

graffiti in Kensington

There are two very different pairs can be seen on opposites sides of an old window on St. Andrew Street.

graffiti on a blackened window of an empty store in kensington, three pieces of graffiti on it, including a df606 david bowie in the center of an old rotary phone

below: On one side,  City Kitty is asking,  “Canada, Why is everyone so nice?” while sitting beside a D7606 David Bowie in the center of a rotary phone.  Is he waiting for a call?  Can you hear me Major Tom?

NYC based artist City Kitty cat reading a book about Canada and saying Canada why are you so nice beside a second pasteup of a rotary phone with David Bowie's face in the middle of it

below: On the other side two men, white on black, by Adeyemi Adegbesan (Yung Yemi), masked? or blinded?  in chains? or in armour?

black and white street art by Adeyemi Adegbesan of two Black males with elaborate jewellery and chains joining them, also a collar that looks like a metal jaguar or tiger roaring,

below: Close up of a kitty of a not so gentle nature.

black and white street art by Adeyemi Adegbesan of two Black males with elaborate jewellery and chains joining them, also a collar that looks like a metal jaguar or tiger roaring,

generally Dundas, from McCaul to Augusta

Posted: March 26, 2022 in alleys, graffiti and street art, intersections, locations
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
0

Toronto is a city of surprises; a city of variety.  If you are bored with one street, just walk another block or turn at the next intersection and chances are you’ll encounter something different.  The scenery will change.  For instance, on Dundas West you leave the downtown core just after University Ave., walk past OCADU, the Art Gallery of Ontario and Grange Park… next, through a section of Chinatown at Spadina and then immediately into the Kensington Market area.   Just south of Kensington is the redevelopment of Alexandra Park….  and you’ve only walked a few blocks.

traffic signs and pedestrian crossing signs on Dundas with downtown highrise in the background and Ocadu banner on pole

below: The newly renovated OCADU annex building on the southeast corner of Dundas and McCaul is now called the Rosalie Sharp Pavilion.  The curve of the roof contrasts nicely with the sharp edges of the neighbouring buildings

Rosalie Sharp pavilion on the southeast corner of Dundas and McCaul, shiny metal facade on the building,

below: The northeast corner of Dundas and McCaul is yet another hole in the ground.  The Art Gallery of Ontario and Rosalie Sharp Pavilion are in the background.  I am beginning to feel like a broken record player when I mention yet another condo construction site (tangent – is there a 21st century equivalent to “broken record player”?).

construction site, orange plastic, hole in the ground, St. Patricks church on right, AGO in the background, at Dundas and McCaul, northeast corner

below: The demolition of the buildings on Dundas West opens up new views of St. Patricks RC Church.

on Dundas West, just east of McCaul, hoardings around a construction site with St. Patricks RC Church behind

below: Around the corner from St. Patricks, is Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church and its bilingual signage and beautiful red door.

entrance doorway to Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, red wood door, signs on right side in English, signs on left side in Chinese

below: Krispy Kreme (yes, they still exist!) and Jimmys Coffee on McCaul in almost identical buildings.  Like twins but with a dash of their own personality.

old buildings on McCaul street, two remaining rowhouses, three storeys, one is Krispy Kreme at street level, the other is a Jimmys Coffee. A larger squarer brick building on the right, also three storeys

below: Thing 1 and Thing 2 running down the alley

mural with Thing 1 and Thing 2 from Sr. Suess Cat in the Hat book

below: …but not this alley.   That’s a lot of stairs!

Toronto downtown alley backs of houses, exterior stairs up to third floor, fences, brick, concrete,

below: Each building has it’s own character from years of changes and modifications as people come and go.  They may not be good looking but they are often unique – someone’s little piece of the city.

back of houses in alley, tree, fence,

below: Front yard patio

loveseat and armshair outside on grey mat, door to building is double red door, storefront,

below: Critters in the window

three stuffie toys in the middle window of a bay window set in a beige stucco house, behind a wood fence, rusty metal roof on bay window

below:  An old TTC streetcar loses its load.  By the looks of it, this image will disappear once the ivy comes back to life in a few weeks.

painting on concrete wall of a TTC street car leaning over and people falling out

Super star written on the window of a hair salon in china town, large red Chinese letters too, reflection in the window

below: Put together by the ‘Long Time No See Photo Project’, “Chinatown, the Best” is a collection of portraits that highlights seniors in the Chinatown area along with their thoughts and opinions on what makes Chinatown great.

Chinatown poster series on residents, in windows and door on Dundas

below: The posters are on display over eight locations on Spadina and Dundas West.

Chinatown poster series on residents, in windows and door on Dundas

Left to right:
1. Come and work out in Chinatown.
2. Chinatown is my looking glass. Newcomers come thru finding support to enter Canada & I go back thru to understand where my ancestors and I come from. Keep Chinatown strong!
3. Chinatown is my ancestral village. In 1892 Great-Grandfather Charlie Yep laid down family roots in Montreal – but the early years of international racism gave way to self-loathing Kungfu? Chinesey food? Aiiyah!! Standing defiant in a martial arts pose is a testimony to overcoming my denial. I am Chinese-Quebecois Canadian. Au bout!
4. For making Chinatown the Best, Lily draws on her spiritual energy medicine knowledge to develop a healing relationship with the living landscape and its inhabitants to foster the restoration of the area’s sluggish energetic anatomy and amplify its vibrational health and wholeness.
5. deu say lin yeung im ah im duck!

below:  In another Chinatown window is this display – pictures of food with four old black and white pictures.

picture in window in Chinatown, collage of food photos and old black and white photos. One black and white is old Shanghai Bund

below: The picture on the far right depicts Shanghai Bund and river waterfront so it is possible that the other photos are also of Shanghai?  Or at least cities in China?

close up of a picture of sliced meat on a platter, as well as two old black and white photos. Photo on right is Shanghai Bund with boats docked along the river shore.

below: Another window with pictures – this time The Kensary, a cannabis store in Kensington.

window of the Kensary cannabis store in Kensington, full of Toronto landmarks

below: A close up of part of the window showing Casa Loma, Roy Thomson Hall, Hughs Room, the El Mocambo, the Silver Dollar, Massey Hall, and gabled Victorian era houses

close up of picture in window of The Kensary, Toronto landmarks, Casa Loma, Roy Thomson Hall,

below: Hoardings on Spadina where a skeleton reaches out for passers-by.

man on sidewalk on Spadina, walking past hoardings with graffiti and street art and adverts, one mural is a large skull with outreached bony arms,

below: Kensington view of the CN Tower

CN Tower in background, large hydro wood structure in foreground, view from Kensington

below: Facilities at Bellevue Park – more than just “all gender”

a blue and yellow porta potty covered in macabre street art, in bellevue park

in blues, mural by elicser of an older man with white beard, a hook for a hand, smoking a pipe, wearing a cap

a dead end in an alley where all the fences and gates are covered with murals, a large tree, the backs of two storey houses in different materials and colours, brick, wood,

below: Wanted poster for Putin the war criminal

two stencils on hoardings, one is a pink woman's head and the other is a wanted poster for putin, war criminal, Russian leader for his invasion of ukraine

street art on hoardings with word war, black hands and red flames, yellow building tower,

below: There’s at least one Maple Leafs fan left!

sticker on a pole, a stick figure person with a happy face and a realistic blue Maple leafs hockey jersey

bke parked at bicycle stand with graffiti slaps on it, across street from fruit and vegetable market with green walls and red and white striped awning, Kensington market area of Toronto

poster graffiti of a white skull on black background, large red border, on a pole, with alley street art in the background

a woman taking pictures of street art in an alley

below: Jumblefacefoto collages

two large jumblefacefoto collages on walls of empty storefront, open door, with large sign saying coming soon, someone has written in black marker, large letters, freedom in back

in an alley, a door painted black, part of a callligraphy mural with black writing on magenta and orange background

below: Alexandra Park redevelopment progresses. Dundas West is the northern edge of the 16 acre site owned by TCHC (Toronto Community Housing Corp). Most of the original units that were built in the 1960s are now gone.

orange digger working behind a fence, beside older brick apartment building, sign on fence that says you are not your mistakes.

on a pole, twp graffiti slaps, on top is an intricate line drawing of flowers and on the bottom is a bruha, intergalactic in many colours

below: Apparently it’s okay to be white. Actually it’s okay to be brown, or black, or any shade in between too.

on the back of street traffic signs, two slaps. On top is one with words It's okay to be white, and on the bottom a small face with a round surprised mouth

below: Anarchist piano lessons?

poster on hoardings that says Anarchist piano lessons

below: “They say death takes you to a better place but I doubt it”  Me?  I’m in no hurry to find out.

square slap graffiti, small, with text crammed into it that says They say death takes you to a better place but I doubt it

small black and white sticker of a screaming face, on a pole with street art, beside a wood utility pole with lots of orange paint

on a wooden fence, a sign that says warning CCTV cameras, surveillance, you are being watched

Kensington after sunrise

Posted: December 16, 2020 in graffiti and street art, locations
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
1

Welcome to Kensington market!

tall pole to mark Kensington market area of Toronto, with a globe on top. Circling the globe are objects like a shirt, a piece of meat, things that represent merchandise in the market

It’s very different here before the stores open and there aren’t many people out and about.

a metal post on Spadina with chinatown painted on it, 2 large black and orange traffic cones

vietnamese restaurant on the corner of Spadina and Nassau,

a man walks his dog along the street past the back of a truck where another man is unloading

window of Sunwah fruit market in Kensington before the store opens, no food on display

across the street, people are getting a fruit and vegetable store ready to open up, putting food on display outside. in the foreground is a metal bike stand with graffiti slaps on it, including a urban ninja squadron and soap ghost, wash your hands

plywood over a glass door, with spray paint words that say hindsight is 20 20 see you in hell 2020.

entrances to a couple of stores in Kensington, painted stairs, an uber 5000 yellow birdie coming out of an egg for egg bae cafe, also old anti Rob Ford picture with we can't af ford this.

looking in a store window, little Christmas trees made in cone shapes with fuzzy and shiny items.

garbage man hauling blue bin towards back of truck, garbage day in Kensington, mural on the side of one of the stores, empty fenced in patios,

boxes of juice sitting outside a store that hasn't opened yet.

store fronts & windows, small tiles on exterior wall, orange metal gate,, closed, with stairs behind it

front of old smartwear store, now closed and empty, very dirty glass on windows and doors

2 old mattresses left on the sidewalk, leaning against a small tree. big happy face spray painted onto one of them along with the message stay safe

paintings on the glass on the window of a store, we grind fresh, peanuts, almonds, picture of a hand and a grinder

front of yellow painted store, army surplus store in Kensington, lots of little signs in the window,

turquoise door with window it. window is covered with pictures, entrance to store is small sidewalk that is covered with a temporary portable tent like structure,

in a store window, a cow statue wearing a mask, and a fat Santa Claus

in a store window, at the bottom are 4 head mannequins with sunglasses and or black balaclavas on display

a head mannequin in a jewellry store window, with a red covid mask on

building covered with street art, two storeys, windows above, store below. Greys. panels covering store windows are all covered with painting too

balcony over lucky money restaurant, full of plants and bright ywllow and green flower pots.

below: Do you remember Mr. Cod and Chinese Leader Mao?

concrete wall behind store, with words that say remember chinese leader

below: Fancy bath tubs galore on the shower curtain in the window.

mural of a blue cat in front of the orange-ish rising sun (or setting sun?)

a small two storey house with garage at the end of a short lane, no parking is painted across the top of the garage, an apartment building behind the houses makes up all the background

below: Yin and yang in the corner with tbonez and Cosmo Cam

posters and paste ups on a wall in Kensington,

yellow gas pipes on the outside of a building, with some street art and graffiti on the walls as well

street sign street art
graffiti stickers on the back of a street sign

mirrors in the shapes of bricks glued on top of some bricks on an exterior wall in an alley, also a fence with graffiti

small brass coloured circle with carvings on it, attached to wood utility pole among hundreds of old staples

graffiti on a wall

stickers on a grey metal box, feelings bot, tbonez, a drawing of a womans face

small stciker on a metal box, a skeleton is pointing a gun

of many ages

Posted: August 7, 2019 in alleys, graffiti and street art
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
0

Follow the pointy fingers!

4 black and white stencils of hand and fingers pointing, on the sidewalk, pointing towards a mural on a wall

In a Kensington alley just north of Dundas there are several new faces.

two large faces painted side by side in an alley

below: A very bright face by Curtia Wright

large face mural on an exterior wall in an alley, in bright fluorescent oranges and blues, wearing a large floppy hat

below: An up close look at ‘Lovely’ by ahayahisone (aka Philip A. Saunders, or P.S.)

close up of a face in a mosaic like style with shapes of different colours making up the skin, green eyes, red lips, by Philip A. Saunders, called Lovely

below: A portrait of Philip Saunders by luvsumone (aka Moises Frank)

portrait of a man in shades of brown, orange and purple, with a hat, by luvsomone, a mural in an alley

A Poser bunny face and a companion mini happy face too

a black on silver poser bunny painting on a wood fence in an alley, a little happy face is in the top left corner of the picture

Bonjour from the future

black woman's head in space helmet of clear glass, futuristic clothing around her neck, Jamaican flag painted on her collar, purple lips

This one looks very much like it’s another P.S. painting.

male head in many different colours

Not as bright, but still surviving in the lane, are a couple of older faces

faded, on an old wood fence is a profile picture of a woman that is faded, the wood grain comes through very clearly, some peeling paint on the edges

on a fence that is vertical slats of wood, a portrait of a woman in blue

Mario sticks his head above text graffiti that says flyguy

head of Mario from the Nintendo game peaks over the text graffiti

“Keep yo head out the clouds” to which someone has responded.  At first I thought the response was “Nah, Rock that cloud.” but on closer inspection I see that I am wrong.  I like my answer better!

wood fence painted red with yellow words that say Keep yo head out the clouds, with a couple of white clouds, one with green eyes and a nose and mouth

on a wood fence, a drawing in white pencil of a man in a tie, beside him are the words cloudy daze. above him are two clouds

Kensington Pedestrian Sunday, July 2019

Posted: August 4, 2019 in general Toronto
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
0

a young man plays a violin in front of a pedestrian Sunday banner

It was a very busy (i.e. crowded) Sunday afternoon at Kensington. Last Sunday that is.

an Asian woman walks holding a white umbrella with frilly trim

below: Bubbles of joy

a young boy in yellow shhorts and blue shoes is laughing as he runs through a stream of bubbles, outside on the street

below: Honkers on their saxes performing on the sidewalk.

two saxophone players, hinkers group, at outdoors performance

below: Street performance by Hero-San, a Japanese man who has been performing around the world for 25 years.

hiro son, a Japanese performance artist stands on one hand on a box in front of a crowd, outdoors, on the street, street performance

below: His show is part comedy and part stunts involving standing or walking on his hands.

hiro son, a Japanese busker and performance artist does a hand stand on the arms of two men standing facing each other, orange sweat pants and legs open wide for balance, a crowd is watching from behind

below: The finale was Hero-San walking on his hands while going through the open legs of a young boy. Even though his body was very close to the ground, only his hands actually touched the ground.

hiro son, a Japanese performance artist is standing on his hands in front of a young boy who has his hands close to his mouth, crowd watching in the background

below: A wagon full of plants to sell. $25 each.

people around a man with a woagon full of small marijuana plants that he is selling for twenty five dollars a plant

below: Sitting in front of poser bunnies while the world walks past.

two people sitting in front of poser bunnies mural in Kensington as other people walk past

below: A dog and many tattoos

a dog on a leash being held by a person with tattoos on booth knees and shins

two black women walking down the street while looking at their phones, on in a bright pink T shirt

a woman walking in short brown dress and floppy beige hat, another woman sitting in the window of a cafe and a third woman in striped pants and grey hat

below: Paper graffiti on a utility pole

on a utility pole, a paper graffiti piece of a man's face with the eyes from a different picture

Pedestrian Sundays in Kensington are the last Sunday in each month from May to October.

Kensington paper

Posted: July 8, 2019 in graffiti and street art, locations
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
0

Slaps, stickers and paste-ups in Kensington.

below: Stickers on a pole

slaps on a pole in Kensington, people on bikes in the background.

below: Ohhhh, Portland is burning

slaps stickers on a pole, top one is Portland is burning with man pasting sign to wall, another has a man with a fat chin and mouth open in O shape.

below: Feelings boi hanging out on a wall with a morose pot belly poop

feelings boi pasteup beside a pot belly pop pasteup on a wall

below: Riding zebras in pairs

two copies of a small pasteup of a yellow figure riding a zebra

below: The words flow. “She clasped my face in her bones and kissed silence into my mouth” a quote by Amiri Bakara

pasteup on a wall, of a skull looking down at a man's head, who is looking up at skull, Letters are between the two mouths. words written below the man

below: Four urban ninja squadrons and a couple arguing

5 black and white paste ups on a wall in Kensington, four are urban ninja squadron and the the fifth is of a couple arguing, him on the left and her on the right, in the middle between them dark angry figures come nose to nose

below:  Even aliens check their phones.

sticker on a grey box on sidewalk, little figure, martian alien like, with head mostly one eyeball, human shape,

below: An ad, a drawing, and some knowledge

parts of a few different posters and drawings on a wall, a man in a red shirt on blue background which is part of an ad is on the left, a drawing of three naked women is in the middle (but is faint and hard to see), and a drawing on yellow labelled knowledge

below:  Black and white photos of people’s faces with the eyes missing.

black and white photos of faces, cut and manipulated to remove the eyes, i.e. forehead lowered to cover eyes

below:  More missing eyes, but this time some of the faces have eyes.   For the latter, the faces are composites

black and white photos of peoples faces. Some have eyes from a different person inserted, others have eyes removed by lowering of forehead

below:  One is blind and one is the merging of three.  I’ll leave it to you to figure out if it’s three different people, or the same person photographed three times.

large black and white faces on grey metal box on sidewalk, one side has person with eyes missing and the other side is a face made of a composite of at least three different faces

below: Urban ninja with Grey Owl and its large (and very sharp looking) talons

urban ninja squadron sticker with hooded ninja character with arm up, and owl on forearm, owl has face of Donald Trump

below: Go vegan for her. A pig’s eye?

sticker on a pole that says go vegan for her, shows one eye of a pig, on pole near drawings of other eyes

Those are what I saw today.  You could probably walk Kensington and see others.   Many are hard to miss but keep your eyes open for the little things in unusual places!

Kensington never disappoints

Posted: June 11, 2019 in graffiti and street art, locations
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
0

murals in Kensington, Mona Lisa with fruit, and Poser bunnies,

Here you will find a few random things that I found the last time I wandered through Kensington, some large and some small, but most new to me including this wonderful dinosaur mural by Nick Sweetman.

on a Kensington wall, a large mural of dinosaur on a black background it's wearing a small gold crown with 3 points,

below: Kids for sale.   Perhaps they mean goats?  Hmmm……

sign in a store window that says kids for sale

below: She needs a better makeup artist.

head of a mannequin with large brim hat, shoulder length blond hair, red sunglasses, lipstick

below: An exhibit: petrified skull and horn of a Shoasaur, approx 1.4 million years old, right?

tacked to a wood fence is an old wood shoe form that someone has turned into an exhibit of a fossilized skull and horn, complete with drawings of the animal that it came from

below: A profane glove

one single glove with a face drawn on it and fuk you written on it, stuck on the top of a wood fence post

below: Pasted, ripped, and painted…. an abstract in the making.

posters on a window that have been partially ripped and streaks of red paint sprayed on them, also white spray paint

below: Soap ghost has some good advice

a small paste up on a green fence that is soap ghost, words say wash your hands

below: Two witches grace a door –  XVIII The Full Moon Witch and XVI The Hell Hath No Fury Witch

two cars stuck into the crack formed between a door and a wall, two witch cards,

below: Urban ninja guy has grown a mustache!

three stickers and paste ups on a metal post, urban ninja warrior on the top, with a black mustache, and a pink and blue bunny face on the bottom

below: Spanish graffiti says “Estamos solas pero nos tenemos todos” which equals “We are alone but we have all (everybody)”.

black and white paste up on a wall, Spansih words that say estamos solas pero nos tenemos todos

below: Weed the bored as a play on We the North.  So many Raptors references around the city these days!

chalk drawing on a sidewalk that says weed the bored

below: A candle to light Death’s way.

painting on a fence of death with his scythe and holding a candle

below: Watching the street, or has that orange cone caught his eye?

mural of a large face with eyes looking outward, looking onto the street where there are people passing by, Kensington storefront

Keep your eyes open!

Hope Wall

Posted: April 11, 2019 in graffiti and street art, locations
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
2

large painting of a face, street art, yellowish skin, small moustache and beard, glasses, eyes looking straight ahead

Hope Wall on Spadina Ave., near Kensington Market.

wall, plywood hoardings, covered with paint and graffiti as a Hope Wall, in memory of Andre Alexander who was killed when hit by a car. painting of his face, plus large space for people to write messages, on Spadina near Kensington Market,

below: Messages written on the wall for Andre Alexander, aka Hip Pop Art who died in October 2018.

messages written on a wall

a man sleeping on the sidewalk in front of a wall covered with street art, graffiti and art in memory of Andre Alexander who was an artist who worked in Kensington

wall and doorway painted purple, a black man's face in greys on one side of the entranceway, other graffiti too

 

Older Entries