Posts Tagged ‘mural’

on Greenwood, Brickyards mural

Posted: August 4, 2015 in public art
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On the southwest corner of Gerrard and Greenwood is a mural that extends over the lower storey of a number of brick buildings.   Back in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s Greenwood Ave. was home to quite a few brick works such as the John Price Brickyard, the Taylor Brickyard, and the Joseph Russell Brickyard.  You’ll notice that these are the same as the names on the signs above the mural.   Just south of this building is Greenwood Park, also once a brickyard.

 

looking across the street to a row of brick store fronts, two storeys high. The bottom storey has been painted with a mural that has a yellow background.

Close up pictures of some of the details in the mural:

part of mural that depicts a street scene - two kids are playing on a red wagon, a woman is walking a dog and a woman with a cane is waiting at a bus shelter.

part of mural that depicts a street scene - a little girl pulls a boy in a red wagon while other kids are playing on the sidewalk

part of mural that depicts a street scene - four kids are playing marbles

 

Forbidden City

Posted: August 3, 2015 in graffiti and street art, public art
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Mural of the Forbidden City

A while ago I posted pictures of a large mural of The Great Wall of China in an alley off Dundas St. West.   A new mural has been painted on the other side of this alley,  a mural depicting the Forbidden City which is now in the center of Beijing China.  The Forbidden City was an imperial palace for twenty-four emperors during the Ming and Qing dynasties (about 1420 to 1912).   One could only enter the complex with the permission of the Emperor, hence the name Forbidden.

mural of the forbidden city in Beijing, painted on a wall in Toronto, showing a statue of a lion outside a building

A pair of Chinese Guardian Lions, one at each end, stand over the Forbidden City.

mural of the forbidden city in Beijing, painted on a wall in Toronto, showing a statue of a lion outside a building

The mural was painted by Blinc Studio artists,
Allan Bender, John Nobrega, Jesse McCuaig and Elaine Teguibon

painting of one of the red buildings in the Forbidden City in Beijing China, part of a mural in an alley in Chinatown

window of a Chinese restaurant with a young man sitting at a table by the window. On the exterior wall surrounding that window is a painting of a large Chinese lion statue that is part of a larger mural

Robert Home Smith

Posted: July 17, 2015 in history, public art
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Robert Home Smith (1877 – 1935) was a lawyer, business man, civil servant, and land developer.   In the early 1900’s he acquired 3000 acres of land along the Humber River, from Lake Ontario north to what is now Eglinton Ave. 

 A mural has been painted by Emilia Jajus on Royal York Road as it passes under the train tracks close to Dundas West.  The east side of the underpass is finished and it depicts Robert Home Smith and some of the effects that he had on the area.

below:  At the south end of the mural there is a portrait of Robert Home Smith.  A young girl can be seen hiding behind the trunk of a large tree.   Because the tree is painted on the corner, you can’t see the young boy who is hiding on the other side of the tree until you get closer to the mural.

part of a mural on an underpass, including a portrait of a man, Robert Home Smith

part of an historical mural on an underpass, two kids are playing, one on either side of a large tree that has been painted on the corner.

 below: Part of the mural, fishing in the Humber River by the bridge at the Old Mill.  The bridge was built in 1916 after an older bridge was washed out in a storm.  It is still there.

part of a mural showing a stone bridge over a river, the Humber River. A man is fishing in the river from the shore.

Part of the land that he owned was the site of the King’s Mill.  This mill was built in 1793 on orders from Lieutenant Governor John Graves Simcoe.  It was to mill lumber for the proposed town of York.    Here, Home Smith built the Old Mill Hotel as well as the  the Old Mill Tea Room.  The tea room was opened on 4 Aug 1914, the same day that Britain declared war on Germany.

below:  Part of the mural, the Old Mill Hotel

part of a mural that shows the Old Mill hotel, a tudor style two storey building with the lower part being made of stone

below: The Old Mill hotel in 1945

Copy of a 1945 photo of the Old Mill hotel in Toronto

photo from the City of Toronto Archives

Robert Home Smith planned to develop the land on both sides of the Humber River (known as the Humber Valley Surveys) into residential lots that were aimed at affluent buyers.  Although he died before the completion of this project, the neighbourhood of Kingsway as well as parts of Swansea, Baby Point, and Humber Village, still stand.

part of a mural showing a two storey stone house with fake tudor upper storey, in autumn, with tree with orange leaves beside the house.

The parkland that is adjacent to the Humber River as it curves around Baby Point is named Home Smith Park in memory of this man.

below:   A poor quality photo showing a view of the whole mural.   A replacement photo is needed, one taken on a day when there aren’t so many shadows!

picture of a mural painted an the wall of an underpass.

the painting of a mural

Posted: July 15, 2015 in graffiti and street art, public art
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Piliriqatigiingniq

This mural is on the south wall of Hosteling International on Church St.,
and in a parking lot on Court St.,
just north of King St. East and across from St. James Cathedral.

Painted July 2015

The beginnings of the mural on Court St. in Toronto. The picture is drawn in blue on the wall, and the bottom part is painted. Scaffolding is in place but no one is there at that moment.

This project was a collaboration between Mural Routes and the Nunavut Arts and Crafts Association.  Artists were youth from Cape Dorset as well as graduates from Toronto’s Oasis Skateboard Factory: Latch Akesuk, Audi Qinnuayuaq, Cie Taqiasuq, Parr Etidloie, Julieta Arias and Moises Frank.

Two people sitting on scaffolding while they paint a mural

A man wearing a hard hat who is sitting on scaffolding and painting a mural on the side of a building.

Completed mural of stylized and symbolic bird and snimal shapes in many bright colours. It is at least two storeys high.
Close up picture of the mural's bottom center part showing a man in winter clothing with a snowmobile strapped to his back. He is hunched over as he walks. On the snowmobile of a very large bird shaped crature with faces covering its body.

 

lovebot takes flight

Posted: July 6, 2015 in graffiti and street art
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Lovebot takes flight over the city
with a poser bunny tagging along for the ride,
beside 289 College St.

a mural on the upper storey of a two storey building. Lovebot is flying above a city scene with a light brown poser bunny holding on to him, and flying behind him

medicine wheel

Posted: June 26, 2015 in graffiti and street art
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Medecine Wheel is painted on the north side of the June Callwood Center for Women, Parliament Street.

It faces a vacant lot that is surrounded on the three other sides by chain link fence.
Locked gate.  No entry.

large mural on the side of a building, green weeds growing in front of it, a large man's face is the ceter piece of the mural.

large mural on the side of a building, green weeds growing in front of it, a large man's face is the ceter piece of the mural.

sign painted on a mural with its title "medecine wheel' and the names of the people involved in the painting of the mural

Hurricane Hazel under St. Phillips

Posted: June 12, 2015 in graffiti and street art, locations
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More art under another bridge over the Humber Recreational Trail, this time as the trail passes under St. Phillips Road (near Weston Rd and the 401).

Painted by Gabriel Specter and Dan Bergeron, it represents the energy of a hurricane.  Sixty years ago Hurricane Hazel was responsible for flooding of the Humber River that killed people and destroyed many homes.

below:  A purple graphic representation of a cyclone beside swirling water is the backdrop for the red slinky-like spiraling energy of the hurricane.

Mural of swirling water and a tangled spiral shape in red representing a hurrican rising from the eye of the storm upwards to the underside of the road

This spiral crosses under the road and connects the two side murals.

Mural on a concrete support of a bridge over a trail. rocks on blue, with a tangled spiral shape in red representing a hurricane rising from the rocks (or ending at the rocks) and passing upwards to the under side of the road above.

part of a mural under a bridge - a tangled spiral shape in red representing a hurrican rising from the eye of the storm upwards to the underside of the road

Fourteen murals are planned along the route of the Pan Am Path, a trail that will connect Brampton to Pickering running south along the Humber River and then east along Lake Ontario.

signs along the HUmber Recreational trail indicating the name of the trail, the cycle path number that it is, the fact that it is also the Pan Am Path, and lastly a sign that says dogs must be on a leash.

an old Mimico bridge

Posted: June 8, 2015 in locations, public art
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This railway bridge is on Royal York Rd, south of Evans Ave. and close to the Mimico GO station.  The mural that is there was painted in 2005 and is now showing signs of age.  A lot of the paint is peeling badly.

A man checks his phone while walking past a mural under a bridge

part of an old mural where the paint is starting to peel - a group of young people standing in front of some tall buildings as well as some head shapes with words on them.

part of an old mural where the paint is starting to peel - a multiracial group of 5 young men also two fists coming together in the forground, one dark brown and one light brown. The word respect is written on one of the arms.

part of an old mural where the paint is starting to peel - railway workers including a close up of a person's head - wearing a railway cap

part of an old mural where the paint is starting to peel - a railway locomotive with a workman beside it.
colourful street art on the side of a bridge

Project of Lamp Community Health Center,
funded by City of Toronto Graffiti Transformation Project,
with thanks to Mimico Residents Association, United Way, and Toronto Community Housing.

where the 401 passes over the Humber River

Posted: May 29, 2015 in graffiti and street art, locations
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Highway 401 passes over the Humber River just west of Weston Road. Beside the river is the Humber Recreational Trail that follows the river.  Just south of the 401 there is a break in the trail because of the train tracks so a short detour via Weston Road is needed if  you want to continue walking.  Otherwise, the trail runs south to Lake Ontario and north to the city limits at Steeles Ave.

Just north of the 401 is Pine Point park and that is where I went to access the bridge under the 401.   It is a big bridge with a lot of concrete surfaces.  In other words, it is a large canvas for street art.

The most eastern wall of concrete has been painted with a mural by Shalak, Smoky and Fiya as part of the the Pan Am Path.  The path is a “legacy” from the Pan Am games and will result in a trail the goes from Brampton to Pickering.   Most of this path will incorporate existing trails but new sections are also being built.   Anyhow, the mural consists of two women lying on a bed of flowers, one at each end of the bridge.  Both are holding a white mask.  In the middle is a heart and a pair of lovebirds on the branch of a tree.

part of a mural on a concrete wall under a bridge under the 401 in Toronto, looking along the length of the wall with a woman's head lying on a bed of pink flowers in the foreground.

part of a mural on a concrete wall under a bridge under the 401 in Toronto, a hand holding a white mask.

part of a mural on a concrete wall under a bridge under the 401 in Toronto, an anatomical painting of a heart that looks #D, surrounded by a yellow circle

part of a mural on a concrete wall under a bridge under the 401 in Toronto, two green lovebirds on a tree branch, with a background of multicoloured diamond shapes arranged concentrically

part of a mural on a concrete wall under a bridge under the 401 in Toronto, a hand is holding a white mask.

part of a mural on a concrete wall under a bridge under the 401 in Toronto, looking along the south end of the wall with a woman's head lying on a bed of pink flowers in the foreground.

 Facing the above wall, and on the other side of the trail, is a wall that has recently been painted by a group of street artists.  A picture is better than my attempts at translation!

graffiti signatures, tags, on a wall beside a large red and black tag. Smoky, Shalak, Own, HEC, Ren, Mska, ctr, wey, wisper are some of the ones that I can read.

 The following photos are from that wall.

large grominator street art painting, along with a small lovebot

a little lovebot in the mouth of a large grominator, a close up of details of a larger painting.

street art picture of a poser bunny with an outstretched skinny arm pointing to the left. He's on a large intricate tag.

part of a mural under a bridge - lovebot, a giant light blue lovebot swirls on a wall

part of a mural under a bridge - a wacky white face with open mouth. One hand of the creature is holding a sign that says 69 and the other hand has one finger pointed upwards

part of a mural under a bridge - large mantishrimp creature with long antennae (tentacles?) emerging from behind a tag

part of a mural under a bridge - two paintings. On the right is a very realistic growling wild cat (bobcat) wearing a blue and white baseball cap. On the left is a large spray paint can with a picture of a seated person on it. A large red dragon is behind that person, although the head of the dragon is coming forward above the person's head

part of a mural under a bridge - a tag in oranges blues and purples

part of a mural under the 401 in Toronto, a very large rooster in profile with its tail feathers reaching to the top right of the picture

part of a mural under the 401 in Toronto, a human like figure, with South American influences, lying on its side, the word WASTOID written across its belt

part of a mural under the 401 in Toronto, a large toucan head with a pink beak and yellow and orange head plume

part of a mural under the 401 in Toronto, tag like painting with a white hand, an eye and a small pyramid

part of a mural under a bridge - a large multi coloured wolf head that is in the process of being painted. A woman is positioning a ladder so that she can paint the upper parts of the piece.

part of a mural under a bridge - a large multi coloured wolf head

There are at least four more walls in this underpass.  Running parallel to the trail (all the photos above) is a tunnel like part of the underpass to the west.  There is no trail or river in this section, just dirt and rocks.   There is some older graffiti on the walls here as well as the beginnings of newer paintings.  I think that the plan is to complete these walls too.  In the meantime, this is a sample of what’s there now.

graffiti painting - Lovecat and a Japanese girl in pink kimono hiding her face behind a blue fan. A cute little blue bunny is in the bottom right.

lovebot genie painting on a concrete wall.

mural painting on a wall, looks like a green zombie head coming out of the ground. photo taken from a low angle

street art - a memorial in greys, a man with a tear on his cheek is holding a skull

a yellow grominator street art painting, bulging veiny eyes and many crooked sharp teeth

 And lastly, along the river edge

street art on a concrete bridge support, reflected in the river beside it is a yellow lovebot as well as some large tag letters

life as the shadow of vida

Posted: May 22, 2015 in graffiti and street art, public art
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There is a gorgeous new mural on both side of a small lane on the west side of the Lula Lounge, Dundas Street West.  Painting by Fiya, Shalak Atack, Essencia, Smoky, Sweetman, and Sapiens.

part of a large mural - a South American woman with long braided black hair with a baby wearing a Peruvian hat on her back

part of a large mural - the head and neck of two colourful birds by the street artist fiya

part of a large mural - a man wearing a bowler hat and a striped jacket, seen from the shoulders up.

part of a large colurful mural, a large fish with a yellow and orange body and blue and green face, on a wooden fence
Part of a large colourful mural - seen through a fish eye camera lens. The word Vida is written in capital letters and under it is written Life, also in capital letters but Life is made to look like the shadow of Vida.

Part of a large colourful mural, A woman's head, she has long dark hair that is braided at the back.

part of a large mural - close up of a tiger's face
part of a large colourful mural - a tiger in the middle, eyes iamongst green leaves on the right
Part of a large colourful mural - a large wrinkly man's face with round bulging eyes

part of a large colourful mural - a hand is reaching towards a birdhouse on a stand

street scene on Dundas West, sidewalk and store fronts, with mural in the alley just showing betweenthe Lula lounge with its orange, blue and white tiled front and a store with the sign Argentina on it.

 at the end of the alley

a garage door covered with a street art piece signed by smoky, a mural in the lane beside the garage is also visible

graffiti on a door of a large grotesque man's face with open mouth and what looks like blue ribbons coming out of his mouth, the blue ribbons continue on the concrete of the lane behind the door, and go towards the garbage bins beside the door.

#losclandestinos

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