Posts Tagged ‘muisca’

Proudly Parkdale

Posted: July 11, 2024 in abstract, construction, graffiti and street art, locations, old buildings, stores, windows and walls
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… a little bit of Queen Street West

sticker on the window of a restaurant that says proudly parkdale

no parking sign, and parkdale village street sign for Queen st w, on a pole

parkdale architecture, old bay windows, oval glass,

below: These late-19th and early 20th century commercial buildings along Queen Street West with their display windows are part of the Parkdale Village Heritage District.  The 2022 draft plan for this district describes this row as  Edwardian Classicism style.  The plan is more than 160 pages long but in case you are interested in the history (and politics?) of it, here’s the link: Parkdale HDC plan (a pdf )

row of brick apartments and store fronts at ground level.

below: South side of Queen West, looking west from Jameson

queen street west, south side of street, west of jameson, row of three storey brick buildings, stores,

below:  A broom for $8.99.  $7.99 will buy you a pair of crocs or six tall glasses.  Chili sauce, lights shaped like lotus flowers or Buddha, wicker baskets, espresso makers, mixing bowls, and frying pans also available!

looking in a store window with many items on shelves, boxes of things, shoes, crocs, a broom,

below: Lightning alert! It’s a potato, no, it’s a cloud!  Or maybe a lightning bug!  Small metal street art by Rocky Zenyk

small metal street art by rocky zenyk screwed onto a wood utility pole, blue background, orange cloud and 5 streaks of lightning emanating from the cloud

sign in a restaurant window that says we're all in this together

people walking past an empty store front in parkdale

on a corner, TTC streetcar approaches a stop, with TD bank in background and people waiting for the streetcar

orange lilies growing in a planter on the sidewalk on queen west, street car in the background

a young woman and her phone, waiting in a bus shelter in parkdale

below: Where the aliens hang out on a hot July day!

exterior of small building painted made to look like an ice cream store with big window and awning, aliens are buying and eating ice cream, also an alien dog on a leash

below: Scaffolding in front of the church – Epiphany and St. Mark Anglican church.   The octagonal belfry is being repaired and restored with the help of a 2024 Toronto Heritage Grant.  It is considered to be Gothic Revival style.  The cornerstone laid October 1880 and the first service in the church was held in January 1881.  The gateway was added much later.

Church of the epiphany, St. Marks, with scaffolding over the entrance

below: Hope over the entrance to the community garden at Masaryk Park

community garden in a park, with sign made of wood that says hope, over the entrance

below: Arty metal panels line the south wall of Masaryk-Cowan community center.  Bonar-Parkdale Presbyterian Church is in the background.

metal 2 d sculptural shapes on brick wall, exterior, presbyterian church in the background, highrise on the left

below: Notice for redevelopment of Parkdale Library and Masaryk-Cowan community centre site.

blue and white city of toronto development notice for queen west and cowan, redevelopment of parkdale library and masaryk cowan community centre

part of mural celebrating 136 years of sunnyside beach

below: Queen Fresh Market

Queen Fresh Market on Queen West, with fruits and veggies and plants for sale, displayed on sidewalk

below: A unique building topper – North side of Queen, at Dunn.

Queen West, old buildings in Parkdale

below: $25,000 winning ticket sold here! Hopes and aspirations… and Canada Dry.

window of a convenience store in parkdale, atm machine, coke and sprite ads,

below: More details on brick buildings on Queen West.

three storey red brick buildings in parkdale, on queen street west

below: Standing alone

3 storey red brick building in parkdale, standing on its own, now Daol Korean restaurant on the ground floor

people standing on sidewalk waiting for a green light, older brick apartment building behind them

below: Tiny Cafe

tiny cafe, a small yellow building with a red and white sign, large window in front, beside an alley in parkdale

upper part of a house with a large canadian flag as well as some paintings on display

balcony on a high rise apartment building that has a large Canadian flag

below: Murals and street art in an alley.  Butterflies and monochrome daisies

street art mural in a parkdale alley

below: Emily May Rose mural in an alley – women, we come in many shapes and sizes.

street art mural in a parkdale alley

below: Hello Kirsten on the far left

street art mural in a parkdale alley, hello kirsten

below: A mural painted by Chief Ladybird.  Mother and child finding peace in the city.

street art mural in a parkdale alley, seated woman holding baby, by chief ladybird

street art mural in a parkdale alley

mural on a garage door in an alley, curvy line drawings of women faces and heads

street art mural in a parkdale alley

below: Face in the alley

below: And more faces, Picasso like faces and body parts.

mural on brick wall in laneway, parkdale, round characters, faces mostly, in many colours

below: Muisca

street art mural in a parkdale alley

below: Elicser – so many faces merging into one.

street art mural in a parkdale alley, multiple faces in one, by elicser lliott

below: Monica on the moon – “Over the mountains; Under the stars”

street art mural in a parkdale alley, person on a motorcycle with text over the mountains and under the stars

street art mural in a parkdale alley

graffiti on a door in an alley, shape of a large blue bird in profile

below: A few reminders of Parkdale’s grander past on the quieter side streets – lots of old trees and some houses that remain as they once were.

pale yellow brick parkdale house with picket fence, gravel driveway, large front yard, and old garages in the back

maroon brick house with white gingerbread trim, attached to another brick house, orange colour, and beside a larger white brick house

beige brick house with red front door, between two other houses that re obscured by trees and large shrubs

two storey house behind a metal gate

brick house with curved porch with white trim and white railing

brown metal gate in front of a walkway to the front of a house

below: A little bit of religion and a little bit of social justice at the end.

build social housing poster

man in white clothes, standing on sidewalk, by dollarama store

south of Davenport

Posted: January 5, 2022 in alleys, graffiti and street art, locations
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Sometimes I find myself in unfamiliar territory and so it was last week when I went to investigate some alleys where I’d heard that new murals had been painted.   My previous post, Around Wadsworth Park, was part of the same walk; there was just so much to see that I split my photos into two groups.  In general, the last post was north of Davenport Avenue while this post features Davenport and the streets & alleys to the south.

below: More raccoons by Emily May Rose, this time they are being watched over by a big white rat. Quite the dumpster fire!

mural in an alley by Emily May Rose of raccoons and a big white rat. One raccoon is setting fire to a dumpster

preparing for a sidewalk sale, including a sign that says amenity closed because of covid 19

below: A large mural by Birdo beside Charles Sauriol school

large birdo mural on the side of a building, street art

the side of a house is covered with street art, 2 or 3 murals on both upper and lower storeys

below: A man reaching out a multicoloured hand to a woman by Phillip Saunders covers the back part of the house

murals on the side of a house, a man and a woman with black curly hair

below: A brown octopus and bright coloured tiger playing together – a collaboration between Luvs and June Kim.

mural of a tiger on the side of a house

below: Baby birds with beaks uplifted in a mural by Bruno Smoky and Clandestinos

mural by Bruno Smoky and Clandestinos on a wood fence in an alley, baby birds in a nest with their beaks open waiting for parents to feed them

below: Blue jay and tomato face, rowdyradrat and Chris Perez

street art on a wood fence in a lane

murals on a wood fence in a lane, tomato, blue jay

below: Taking cover under umbrellas on a rainy day in a mural by Elicser Elliott

mural by elicser elliott on a garage door in an alley, people under umbrellas in the rain, pink background

below: Someone has extra time lying around, but without the coffee

leaning against a lime green dumpster is the time part of an old coffee time donut shop sign

a motorcycle parked in a backyard with lots of weeds and junk

small house with brown picket fence in front, second story with mansard roof on one part of house only

street art painting of a nuthatch bird on a wood pole

below: Mural in a lane, signature says June, Bacon, and Erika.

mural in a lane, nuthatch, flowers by Bacon, and a bright cat by June Kim

below: Part of another June Kim feline

a June Kim mural of a tiger or cat, feline, on a brick wall in an alley

below: A man walks down the alley, between a mural on the right and Quick Recording Studios on the left.

an older man with a cane and a plaid jacket walks down an alley, back to the camera

below: In the window of the Art Academy of Canada, Davenport Ave.

paintings in a window, with window reflections, of Art Academy of Canada

below: A.J.’s So Fresh Coin Laundry, also on Davenport

buildings on Davenport Ave., two storey, one is A.J.'s So Fresh Coin Laundry

below: A multi-lingual thank you to essential workers on Davenport – obrigado, gracias, merci, and grazie!

a mural on a brick wall on the side of a building on Davenport, a thank you to essential workers during covid, thank you written in many languages

below: Boney Santa’s lost a lot of weight recently… he’s probably tired of all the weight gain jokes and comments though…..

large skeleton outside in front yard with Santa hat and red scarf, holding a plastic candle light, other Christmas decorations on porch of house

below: More Emily May Roses’s mischievous raccoons and their cans of spray paint.

emily may rose mural on the side of a dark grey building, raccoons playing around a white cube van, with orange spray paint

below: Anya Mielniczek’s woman’s face looks down the lane.

mural by Anya Mielniczek of a girls's head in pinks and oranges down a lane, rest of mural blocked by fence

below: A closer look of the mural reveals another woman’s head on the far side along with people mixing together in the central portion painted by Raoul

orange and pink woman's head by Anya Mielniczek along with a picture of

below: HeldbyHuda mural

street art mural on a garage door by artist with instagram handle heldbyhuda

below: Patterns of circles and semi-circles on a gate by Stephanie Bellefleur

street art on a wood gate across the back of a garage, patterns of circles and semi circles

below: Another gate, but half of this one has been removed.

car parked behind a house, gate across back of yard is partially closed and a mural can be seen on it, other part of gate is open so other part of mural is blocked

below: A Nick Sweetman painting of a large Cuckoo wasp feeding on a yellow flower

mural by Nick Sweetman on a garage door in an alley, a large blue green bee on a yellow flower

below: by Victoria Day

garage door mural by Victoria Day, stylized yellow and green flowers on a blue green gradient background

garages in a laneway in Toronto, some garage doors have murals and street art painted on them

below: Sections of citrus fruit in glass bowls, by Steam

Steam, the artist, painted a mural on a garage door of citrus fruit sections in glass bowls

below: A pink and purple butterfly by Dani Coghlan

pink and purple butterfly mural on a garage door

below: A floral wallpaper-like design by Tara Dorey

floral wallpaper like design on a garage door by Tara Dorey

jumble of chairs and other objects on a lawn, behind a chainlink fence

in an alley, two old garages with a crooked gate with peeling dark green paint, house in the background

below: A collaboration between Diana Lynn VanderMeulen and Tebby G.

mural with two cartoon like animals, one pink and the other blue, beside a blue mountain along with some pink flowers, a mural on a garage door

below: Pink flowers by Claire Browne

mural by Claire Browne on a garage door in a n alley, pink clover flowers with green leaves on a

below: Self explanatory?

a mural with a large word that says great

below: Planta Muisca mural with an orange snake under a purple night sky.

a mural by muisca on a garage door in a lane, an orange snake in the purple night with moon and plant with large leaves

below: Birds wearing neckties and hanging out together in a mural by Rob Elliott

birds painted on a garage door, stylized, large bird wearing a long necktie and smaller birds with similar ties, all on an orange background

car parked in front of two murals on garage doors, breaking bread is one of the murals

below: Sometimes while walking in this city during Covid and various lockdowns, even this might do!

old toilet on the doorstep of an apartment beside a fish and chips store

fish and chips shop sign on a store doorstep along with a folding chair

below: Remains of a vegetable garden planted along the side of the alley. Portugal peppers once grew here.

remains of a vegetable garden in late December, sign saying Portugal peppers

below: Stop and smell the flowers

wood utility pole painted white and decorated with flowers and a sign that says stop and smell the flowers

white pole with purple flower painted on it, also some stickers, welcome, kindness

covid 19 mask caught on a dead branch in a garden

Support for the alley murals was provided by the Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario Arts Council.

Unfortunately, I have missed a few of the paintings.  A complete set of photos can be found on Erika James’s Instagram page.  She was one of the organizers of the project.

 

little elf characters hanging from a tree in a front yard, green cap and shirt like holly with red pants and trim but everything made of tinsel strands

Some of the murals from this post can also be seen on by worldwide street art blog, Carleton Village murals Toronto 2021

an alley near Yonge and Sheppard

Posted: November 5, 2021 in alleys, graffiti and street art
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Just over a year ago, I found two murals in a lane near Yonge and Sheppard, one by Rowell Soller and the other the work of @rowdyradrat aka Ian Gabriel.

below: “Make me smile” is still written here.  Street art by rowdyradrat

street art by rowdyradrat of Japanese woman in fluid kimono, 20 cents, scary pink smiley face

below: Rowell Soller’s painting of a man’s profile is now joined by Spooky Boo, a striped ghost-like figure by Jieun June Kim.

street art by Rowell Soller of black man's face in profile with calligraphy in white and blue as hair. Beside it is pink and yellow striped ghost figure called spooky boo by June Kim

below: Two animal stickers, a cat and a tiger (or is it two tigers?), both by Jieun June Kim.

2 street art sticker slaps on a metal pole. both are images by June Kim. A cat and a tiger

Since then, other street art has appeared in the same alley.

below: another piece by Jieun June Kim

street art mural of a pink and purple striped tiger by June Kim, beside a tree with a blue bird in it (also painted)

below: A little blue bird by KJ Bit (who helped organize the painting of many of the murals back in June of this year).

mural of a blue bird

below: Straight lines on blue, geometric and abstract, painted by Erica James aka Nixo

geometric straight lines abstract mural in blues with black and yellow lines by nixostreetart

below: Construction in the background

an alley behind Yonge street just north of Sheppard, construction of condos, with cranes, in the bacground, murals and street art on the back of some of the buildings

below: A tricolour jaguar, in yellows, blues, and reds, by Nick Sweetman

mural of a realistic looking leopard head and face in yellow, blue and red tones, in a lane

below: A little sparrow with a rusty coloured cap, by luvs

street art mural by luvs of a sparrow with a rusty coloured cap on its head

below: Another luvs painting – the woman on the left – beside a snail and a blue dog with a very long pink tongue by cruz

street art painting of a woman's profile by luvs beside a

small red angry bird painting on a box in a lane

laneway with murals, an orange snake by muisca, blobs by Andre Kan, and a sparrow by luvs

below: A snake among the plants in purples and oranges, by Planta Muisca

mural with an orange snake wrapped around a purple pole as well as orange and purple plants

below: On the right, colourful blobs and splashes in motion painted by Andre Kan

back of buildings in an alley, a mural of coloured blobs on the back one building, a small green tent, a picture of a sparrow on the other building, condos in the background

below: frog and snail

street art mural of a large lumpy green frog and an orange snail

below: …. and last, another frog.  This one was painted by Eugene Lee

car parked by a wall with a painting of an olive green coloured frog jumping from a lily pad

Deluxe grouping

Posted: November 26, 2019 in alleys, graffiti and street art
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This incredibly intricate butterfly or moth by alfalfa faces Bathurst street.  The body of the butterfly makes the human face within the insect unmistakable .

a large street art piece of a butterfly with man's eyes on the wings, boy of butterfly looks like man's nose

On the south side of the same building is this captivating turquoise-skinnedcharacter painted by muisca.

character with turquoise face and yellow and orange hair and dress, by muisca, mural on the side of a building

On the north side of the building there is a driveway that leads to an alley.   There are murals on the side of the building as well as on other buildings and garages immediately adjacent.

 

below: This tiger by luvsumone (aka Moises Frank) is on a garage door in the alley.

partially abstract painting of a tiger by luvsumone, xyz

below: If you follow the sound of many pigeons cooing you’ll find yourself in front of one of the garages that must have a pigeon loft on the upper storey.  The same garage has two pigeon murals.  This stylized pigeon who seems quite happy with his can of spray paint is on one side while the pigeon in the next image is on the garage door.

a stylized pigeon, painted on the side of a building, with a spray paint can by it's head

below: Stay fly pigeon, luvsumone, painted in 2017

a large painting of a pigeon on a garage door in an alley

below: Another of the alley murals.

4 garbage bins lined up beside a small building with a mural of a young woman with blank eyes above the bin

below: The north side of the building has three murals of people.  These eyes are part of a larger man’s face.

part of mural of man's face, two eyes and a nose,

below: A woman’s face seems to float on the brick wall.

a large woman's face painted on the side of a brick building

close up of a pair of blue lips painted as part of a mural of a woman's face

below: This wall has also become a memorial wall.

mural of young woman's face, looking straight ahead, eyes partially closed, arms crossed in front of her,

words written under a group of street art pieces, deluxe the 6, names of street artists

Butterfly Laneway number 3

Posted: June 30, 2019 in alleys, graffiti and street art
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Recently, Art Eggleton Lane, south off Harbord Street, was the site of the third annual butterfly laneway painting project organized by Nick Sweetman with help from StreetARToronto and the David Suzuki Foundation.

below: Putting the finishing touches on a mural that was a collaboration between Nick Sweetman and Christina Mazzulla

Nick Sweetman on a ladder adding the finishing touches, with spray paint, to a large mural of butterflies on the side of a garage in a lane. Another ladder leans against the same wall, boxes and can of spray paint on the ground. On the same garage, there is a colourful mural on the garage door

three butterfly murals on three garage doors in an alley

below: Bird on a branch with butterflies in the background by luvsumone, muisca, and Javid Jah.  This mural is on the same garage as theone with the three butterflies on the left in the photo above.

painted mural in a lane, butterflies behind a large bird

spray painted mural in a lane, purple butterfly,on bright green, covering two doors

below: Black line butterflies on a wood fence by Oriah Scott

spray painted mural in a lane, butterfly and circle, on wood fence, by Oriah Scott,

below: This mural gives the impression that the butterfly is as vast as the universe, flying with the stars.

a very large butterfly on a mural on a grage door, wild colours in blues and red, It looks like the butterfly is superimposed on the whole universe

below: She becomes a butterfly in orange and pink, by Anya Mielniczek

spray painted mural in a lane, woman lying on her back, orange face with pink features,

below: In the foreground, a rainbow wasp moth by @drippin_soul aka Kalkidan Assefa

butterfly murals painted on garage doors in an alley

below: Butterflies in bubbles in a futuristic world by Sadar aka blazeworks

painted mural on a garage door in a lane, butterfly,

below: Butterflies and milkweed by Mique

painted mural in a lane, butterflies and milkweed plants

below: Chris Perez working on his mural

a man on a short ladder spray painting a mural on a garage door in an alley, Chris Perez

below: Sunset mural by @roshnisart aka Roshni Wijayasinha

sunset mural in pinks and blues by Roshnisart

below: Another face, with eyes closed as the butterflies flutter around, by @curtia aka Curtia Wright

mural on a garage door with large pink face, eyes closed, butterflies flying around

below: Triangles put together to form a butterfly, by CTR (aka Christian)

two butterfly murals in an alley

below: Another butterfly mural, this one is by Pascal Paquette

butterfly mural by Pascal Paquette

below: A multitude of butterflies around another pink face by MCK Studios aka Meaghan Claire Kehoe

spray painted mural in a lane, butterflies, lots of butterflies around a pin face by M C K studio

below: An abstracted butterfly (or more?) by Jacquie Comrie

painted mural in a lane, butterfly, very abstract, by Jacquie Comrie

below: Two monarch butterflies on a bright blue background, each with a flower of its own, by Leyland Adams

a mural with two monarch butterflys by a flower, bright blue background, garage door

below: A butterfly amongst small red flowers, by Phillip Saunders

small red flowers growing in bunches, in a mural, along with a butterfly, on a garge door

below: A stylized and very angular butterfly by Andre Kan

monarch butterfly, mural in alley

below: A gnarly yellow creature by Braes

braes butterfly mural on garage door

gigantic butterfly head and antenae

stylized butterfly with lots of colours and spots, on a garage door

below: An orange tiger lily flower with both a butterfly and a hummingbird interested in it, a mural by c_mack2.0 aka toner2

mural on a garage door in an alley, large purple and black butterfly, an orange tiger lily flower and a hummingbird

painted mural in a lane, butterfly in pale blue behind a man's head. Man in oranges and blues, wearing sunglasses

below: Large yellow butterfly

spray painted mural in a lane, large yellow butterfly,

The previous two butterfly laneway projects are
2018, Felstead Lane
2017, Butterflyways, by Garrison Creek Park

a mother and daughter walking down an alley

between Euclid and Palmerston

Posted: October 31, 2018 in alleys, graffiti and street art
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Lightup the Laneway Project

below: The largest mural was a collaboration between three artists.  In the middle, Bacon works with blue.

Nick Sweetman painting a mural in a laneway, alley mural

below: Christina Mazzulla working on her ghost fish.

spray painting a mural of a fish swimming in the water

below: And the last artist working on this mural is Nick Sweetman whose narwhal is on the west end.

Nick Sweetman works on a mural of a narwhal

below: Toucan by @ghazaraza (aka Ghazaleh)

mural of a toucan on a garage door

below: Working on her mural, Anya Mielniczek

Anya painting a mural of a woman with wavy white and black hair, yellow face, yellow eyes, she's standing on a ladder

old building in an alley with murals being painted on two sides

below: Completed mural with stencils of elephants around the bottom as well as a note about the precarious state of elephants in Botswana

completed mural by anya mielniczek, woman with yellow skina dn eyes and black and white wavy hair,

below: Spraying on the orange hair in a mural by mck_studio (aka Meaghan Kehoe)

green and ornage mural on a garage door of a large face with frizzy hair, hand is holding a spray paint can and praying towards hair, orange paint orange hair.

below: Autumn painting leaves, a mural by Erin McCluskey

orange woman lying on the ground, holding a paint brush, mural on a garage door
a woman painting a mural on a garage door in an alley

below: Natashia Faustino and her pink cat (tiger?) on “Into the Wild”

painting a mural

below: Melo was the artist who created these organic looking blobs and swirls

mural on a garage door of white, orange, and purple blobs and squiggles

below: Raoul working on his mural

using a long handled brush to paint a mural of a woman's face on a garage door

finished mural of a woman's face, with her eyes closed

below: Making straight edges on his mural, Andre Kan.

spray painting a mural

below:  Flowers surrounding a peaceful woman in blue, a mural by Gosia Komorski

blue lady in profile, head only, with long hair ties up on head in a large braid, surrounded by stylized flowers in a mural in pinks and blues

close up of stylized flowers in a mural in pinks and blues

below: White squirrels on yellows and oranges by Karen Roberts

artist sitting on the ground while painting a mural on a garage door in a lane

below: Al Runt puts some finishing touches on his mural

Runt, street artist, painting a mural

below: The finished mural

mural by Al Runt, coloured creatures. a patchwork dog plays a piano that has walking legs

below: Near/Far by Henry Tyminski

mural that says Near Far

below: More words, this time “It’s a beautiful day in the neighbourhood.”  A quote from the TV show, ‘Mr. Rogers Neighbourhood’ along with a picture of Daniel Striped Tiger, a hand puppet from the same show.

white garage door with blue words that say It's a beautiful day in the neighbourhood, also a picture of a hand puppet,

 

below: Shafia Shaik working on her mural.  The word GLOW has been cut off.  The finished work was signed as  EWOK project standing for Equity for Women of (K)olour.

spray painting the eye on a mural

rise and shine mural by C. Scaife, looks like neon signs that would be in a restaurant, eggs cooking, hot coffee, bacon and the words rise and shine in cursive writing

below: A mural by muisca.  The finished mural has green leaves and vines on both sides of the face.

mural by muisca on garage door, bright colours, aztec face and head dress

below: Bright lines by Bomi (aka Rodrigo)

painting a mural

Andre Castro painting a mural of multicoloured whale on a garage door in a lane

below: Finished whale by Andre Castro

finished mural of a multicoloured whale on black background

a pink kids' bike parked beside a garage door with a mural, no seat on the bike

below: A second whale, this one is the creation of CTR (aka Christian)

large mural of a many coloured whale swimming on a white garage door in an alley

parrot head on a garage door, mural, done in triangles and other straight edged shapes

below: Cruz1 mural in the foreground

garage doors being painted with street art murals, laneway

mural by cruz 1, green angry face

close up of ugly red face in mural by cruz 1, big blue eye and green mouth with large crooked teeth

below: Slightly abstracted flowers by Chris Perez

Chris Perez mural of red and blue flowers, slightly abstract, on a garage door

below: A wonderful, larger than life loon swims towards the sunset, by Cameron Chalmers.

mural on a garage door of a loon swimming into the sunset

blog: Wild and crazy colours and shapes in a mural by Diana and Ted

a wild mural with bright colours, shapes from nature, watery, and a black background by Ted and Diana

below: Lines and angles all over the place, by Kenny Alexander

lines all over the place, abstract picture, mural

below: Lemon Drop man is waving at you.  Mural by Jieun June Kim

lemon drop character on a pink and purple house with green trees, a mural by Jieun June Kim

below: Choose Kindness and a heart with four eyes!  A mural by monica on the moon (aka Monica Wickeler)

pink heart that is sort of anatomically correct, with words choose kindness around it, mural

below: A mural by Soul partially completed

partially completed mural by artist soul,

below: And, last but not least, two murals by Nixo

mural by nixo on garage door, straight horizontal lines

graphic looking design painted on a garage door in black and yellow with grey lines, by nixo

This project was supported by StreetARToronto

womxn in the lane

Posted: September 4, 2018 in graffiti and street art
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Or more specifically, #womxnpaintto recent laneway project

I had heard about this event but I was away in mid-August which was the week that it occurred.  I knew that it was on a lane off McCaul but I couldn’t remember where.  McCaul isn’t that long so I started walking north at Queen.  At Dundas, this is what I saw:

below: The edge of a mural by Emily May Rose beckons you to come and take a closer look.

a mural by Emily May Rose of figures of woman on a black background on the side of a building, a fence runs parallel to it, entrance ways to buildings

I knew that I was in the right place when I saw the word (is it a word?)  #womxnpaintto painted on the ground.  So I followed the little yellow arrow and walked behind the buildings to a lane running east/west behind Dundas Street.

below: The mural is higher than the fence by quite a bit so as I walked beside the fence I was able to take this picture.

part of a mural by Emily May Rose of dancing female figures on a black background

below: Three murals on a double garage.  On the right is a woman with blue and orange rays by @dbetty13 (aka Désiré Betty).  The other woman, the one with the wild turquoise hair was painted by toest (aka Sarah Gilmore).  On the side of the building, partially obscured by the car is a mural painted by @nightarcade (aka Sarah Cannon).

An alley way with a double garage and a car parked beside it, high rise buildings behind it, a young man walking past it. Each door is painted with a mural of a woman's head, one by Desire Betty (dbetty13) and the other by Sarah Gilmore, or toest. On the side of the garage is another mural, this one by nightarcade, Sarah Cannon,

below: An attempt to get a closer look at the side of the garage (with St. Patricks RC church in the background).

part of a mural by nightarcade, Sarah Cannon, black background, large pink wild rose, striped mushrooms, and lots of green leaves

below: A fence with some murals –  starting at the end with ” What You Do is Magic” by Shelby McLeod.  Magic hands perhaps.

below: Next, six figures by Wenting Li

below: A tiny crown on long red hair, a bathing tattooed woman by Natalie Very B

part of a mural by natalieveryb, in red and white, a woman, with long red hair, eyes closed, in black water, with red leaves

below: The white words on the black building behind the painted fence wasn’t part of the project.  The quote is from the Electric Prunes and it says “I had too much to dream last night.”

fence with murals painted on it, large buildings behind it,

a gold coloured van is parked beside a fence that has three murals painted on it, in an alley

old two storey brick building in a lane with upper window and lower single door. Door has a street art piece on it as does whole lower level, a garage on either side of it each with the door covered in a new mural

below: According to the door, Everything is political.  Lauren Pirie painted the mural beside the door.

a white door with words that say Everything is political, also a large mural painted beside the door, two figures amongst pink, yellow and pale blue curly vines and leaves, abtract

below: Flowers painted by @thepaintedlime (aka Tennille Dowers)

a painting by @thepainted lime, lime, on a garage door, flowers on a dark background,

below: A swampy street art piece by Diana Lynn VanderMeulen

three murals in a lane

a grey car is parked in front of a double garage, each door has a mural painted on it

below: Long dark blue hair on a pale blue profile painted by Gosia Komorski

a mural on a garage door of a pale blue woman in profile, with long flowing dark blue hair, symbols and concentric designs in her hair around her face

small street art painting on the side of a building, woman with long swirly pink and purple hair, eyes closed, stylized

below: Many active women cover the front of this garage; painted by Erin McCluskey

garage front covered with a mural by Erin McCluskey, black background, then figures of women in pink, yellow and pale blue, dancing, playing, flying, jumping,

below: @laceyandlaylaart (Lacey Jane and Layla Folkmann) painted this large face, wrinkles and all

a large face of an older person, eyes, nose, mouth and wrinkles, covers the whole front of a garafe, in prange, blues, and purple, the work of Lacey & Layla,

laneway in toronto with some garages with murals on them, tall buildings in background, utility poles and wires,

below: Grow through what you go through by, with love by @bkez  (Bareket Kezwer) and @_muisca_

mural in pink and pale blue, with some greenand yellow flowers. Large words that say Grow through what you go through.

below: Herons and geese cover a garage, painted by Andrea Manica and Caitlin Taguibao

alley mural on a garage, herons and geese,

I’ve been able to put some names to some artwork.  A list of all the other women:  Cindy Scaife, Curtia Wright, Delazed, Jacquie Comrie, Jei Escalante, Monica Wickeler, MSKA, and Aura & Chief Ladybird.

This project was supported by StreetARToronto and Mural Routes

part of a mural, two orange geese on a door, black and orange, alley

at Cherry and Lakeshore

Posted: September 20, 2017 in graffiti and street art, intersections, locations, transportation
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You might recognize the building below – it’s the Cherry Street interlocking tower.  Along with the Scott Street and John Street towers, they housed the the electro-mechanical interlocking for the railway tracks.  Interlocking is an apparatus that prevents conflicting movements through an arrangement of tracks, in other words, it keeps the trains separated so there are no collisions.   It was back in 1931 that the track work for Union Station was completed and the Toronto Terminals Railway interlocking system became operational. The interlocking was installed by General Railway Signal Co. of Rochester NY and it was/is controlled from the three above mentioned towers. Apparently this 1931 interlocking system has operated reliably for 86 years and today it makes it possible for 235 passenger trains travel on these tracks every weekday.

 

small brick building with sloped roof, sign under window that says Cherry street, beside train tracks, two tall condos in the background

The intersection of Cherry and Lakeshore isn’t pretty.  The south end of Cherry passes under the railway tracks, 8 tracks wide, just before ending at Lakeshore Blvd which is under the Gardiner Expressway at that point.

cars stopped at a red light at the south end of Cherry street where it intersects with the Lakeshore, under the Gardiner, a red convertible is the first car at the light.

below: This is the view if you’re walking east on Lakeshore.  The ‘tunnel’ is Cherry Street as it goes under the railway tracks.  The three glass condo towers are part of the Distillery District.

intersection of lakeshore blvd and cherry street from the southeast, cherry street bridge for the tracks, 3 condos of the distillery district, some traffic, billboards, concrete

below: From above –  the best way to help you visualize the intersection.   The very bottom left corner is the north end of the Cherry Street bridge.   Cherry Street and the Lakeshore come together under the Gardiner Expressway before they split again with Cherry continuing south to the Portlands and the Lakeshore curving back under the Gardiner.

view from above, railway tracks, road, waterfront, Lake Ontario,

Also, the intersection can be confusing if you’re a cyclist or a pedestrian, especially if you are coming south on Cherry Street.    It’s one stretch where the undeveloped land under the Gardiner Expressway has been neglected in part because it is also a section of the city that is in limbo – is the Gardiner going to be taken down?  or will it be moved?  or will we debate it until it’s too late to do anything?   As city redevelopment spreads east, there is more interest in this area and in the Portlands adjacent to it.

two old faded street signs one says pedestrians use west sidewalk and the other says cyclists dismount to cross roadway

below: Looking west towards the city.  The Martin Goodman Trail runs along the south side of Lakeshore before turning south at Cherry towards the Portlands.  On the other side of Lakeshore is the Lower Don River Trail that parallels the Lakeshore before turning north at the Don River.   Both trails are part of the PanAm Path.

looking west along the Gardiner Expressway and Lakeshore Rd, curve of the Gardiner as it passes over the bottom of Cherry Street, downtown skyline with CN tower, cyclists on the bike path on the south side of Lakeshore

The Panam Path was a legacy project from the 2015 Pan Am Games. The path is not completed yet but it starts at the south end of the Clairville Reservoir in the northwest part of the city. It follows the Humber River to Lake Ontario and then runs east to the Don River before heading inland a bit. Eventually it ends at the mouth of the Rouge River.  The path goes under many bridges and there is street art in quite a few of these spots.

below:  Some of the pillars and bents under the Gardiner just east of Cherry Street are the latest to be painted.  Finally some colour!

part of a colourful mural on concrete pillars under the Gardiner Expressway, cyclists in the distance, pillar with street art in the foreground

The first painting was done as part of an Art Spin event at the end of August.  Art Spin is a group that runs bicycle-led events/tours of art a few times a year.    The project is also a part of the STEPS Initiative that promotes public art in the city.

below: XYZ 2017 VAL JAM LUVS DRPN ___ DELUXO OGV  written on top of the snake before it had a tongue.

part of a colourful mural on concrete pillars under the Gardiner Expressway

 

Artists involved:
Daniela Rocha (muisca)
Fathima Mohiuddin (fatspatrol)
Stephanie Bellefleur (bellefleurhaus)
Meera Sethi
If I’ve left anyone out, please let me know

part of a colourful mural on concrete pillars under the Gardiner Expressway - 3 horizontal paintings on the bents,

Some of the concrete in this area is slated for refurbishment so the affected pillars have been left clear for the moment.

painted pillars under an elevated expressway, murals

below: More bird motifs, this time by @fatspatrol

lifters under the gardiner, machinery for artists to reach higher spaces, murals

below: An owl at night, stars in the sky, and purple hills, mural by Muisca.

an owl with the night sky and stars, purplish mountains, part of a colourful mural on concrete pillars under the Gardiner Expressway , a green snake with a long tongue on the vertical pillar on the right

below: A whimsical fun little purple creature with long arms.

part of a colourful mural on concrete pillars under the Gardiner Expressway - drain under the Expressway has been painted light purple and made into a head. Drainpipes are the arms

mural on bents

below: Bullets transforming into birds taking flight.

mural by Meera Sethi, shades of turquoise, bullets on the bottom but transforming into birds as they rise

part of a colourful mural on concrete pillars under the Gardiner Expressway - abstract in turquoise and other bright colours, triangles and lines and blobs

part of a colourful mural on concrete pillars under the Gardiner Expressway - pillars are light blue with birdlike and feather-like patterns at the bottom of two pillars that are close to each other

policeman on horseback as seen through two pillars under the Gardiner expressway

 

 

strong, smart, united

Posted: July 21, 2017 in alleys, graffiti and street art
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Written in big bold letters – STRONG SMART UNITED

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

mural with the words strong smart united written in rainbow colours, big block capital letters

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

abstract shapes, circles, rectangles, by controlartdelete

below: Emily May Roses’s women

mural by emily may rose of various women's faces, in black and white and pink, long black hair, pink head scarf, pink dress, short hair,

below: Abstract houses and greenery by Jieun June Kim

blocks in a mural look like abstract houses and circles for trees, by Jieun June Kim

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

mural on a garage door in orange, black, white and green of a bird with wings spread, standing on flowers, with a woman kneeling behind each wing

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

a monica on the moon mural with a woman getting on a motorcycle in grey tones except for the helmet which is red. the words Over the Mountains and under the stars are written over the motorcycle

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

Spanish or South American themed woman with large sun shaped headdress and colourful dress by muisca

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

mural in an alley laneway

corner of a building in a lane showing the street art on two sides

below: Desert woman theme, by mska

a blue car is parked in front of a mural of a face with desert symbolism, a large cactus is in the mural beside the face

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

mural by hello kirsten, shapes and geometry,

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

2 square street art paintings on an alley fence, one is a woman with a wand-like object in her hand and the other is swirls of colours

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

picasso like painting of round people in pieces, in bright colours, mural in a lane

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

mural on a wall in Toronto alley, part of #womenpaintTO

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

stylized throw up type graffiti

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

elicser street art piece in a lane, a face with another face with multiple eyes that might be part of the first's head or might be separate

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

a smal street art painting by toes of a pink flower and a woman's head, long dark hair with streaks of pink, blue lips, and eyes closed

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

pink flower in a green triangle surrounded by a circle, street art

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

mural, black background with faces with eyes closed and flowing stylized hair

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

mother sitting holding child (baby) in First Nation like theme, black city skyline in the background, by auralast and chiefladybird , yellow background with flowers

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

a tbonez urban ninja squadron pasteup of the ninja in the jaws of a shark, another paste up of a dog (cat?) is looking at the ninja

a tbonez urban ninja squadron pasteup - standing with hand up and fingers crossed, has a shadow

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

a woman walking her dog in an alley, another woman walking away from the camera

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

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

#womenpaintTO