Posts Tagged ‘murals’

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

back to Bulwer Street

Posted: May 22, 2018 in graffiti and street art, locations
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construction site, with posters on the hoardings, tall white, grey, and red building in the background.

Almost two years ago I wrote about the murals and street art on Bulwer street.   Somethings have changed and some of the murals have disappeared.  For instance, the area bounded by Bulwer, Soho and Queen streets is now a construction site instead of a parking lot.   I walked here yesterday, a holiday Monday, and discovered that there were no parked cars blocking views of the street art.  I also discovered a tour group stopping to talk about something on the street but I was too far away to hear what they were talking about (something about bricks on the buildings?)

below: An unobstructed view of the David Suzuki and Atlantic salmon mural by Kevin Ledo, painted in 2016 as part of the “Love Letters to the Great Lakes” mural project.

david Suzuki and the atlantic salmon mural by Kevin Ledo, a very large 24 foot by 64 foot mural, large head of David Suzuki

below: The mural, a collaboration between Elicser and Indigo, hasn’t fared as well.  As you can see, the bottom portion has sadly been tagged over.

large mural by elicser of kids, bottom part has been covered with three large tags.

upper part of a mural by elicser showing a boy in an orange t shirt holding a small green sprouting plant in his hands.

view of the back of stores and residences on Queen street as seen from the street behind, street art and graffiti on the old garages, tree, large buildings in the background.

below: Part of a mural by horus.

part of a larger mural, green swirls, a fish with big teeth

below: A 2017 creation by sightone, breakin’ atoms, a memorial to Vandel.

text graffiti by sightone, pinks and purples and red

below: A collection of items attached to the schoolyard fence.  Metal pans and a shoe form?

old metal pans attached to a chainlink fence at a school

 

below: The CN Tower, a metal staircase, and some graffiti.  The back building looks very old, especially the windows.

back of old brick buildings, some graffiti, orange metal stair case, CN TOwer in the background

below: Another bit of “old” is this Toronto Hydro building with its very high fence and gate.  Is it still in use?

chainlin fence and gate around on old two storey brick building that was part of Toronto Hydro

old no parking sign, rusty, on fence in front of old Toronto Hydro building

One last little bit – this stikman is still here – weathered but still standing.  Once upon a time he was covered with a circuit board design but that layer has peeled away.   Aging but ageless.

an old stikman on a wall by a door with a rusty hinge

faces of P.S, Augusta alley

Posted: March 16, 2018 in graffiti and street art, locations
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As you walk down Augusta Ave., you may spot this familiar face:

mural of a head and shoulder of a young man, by P.S., in an alley

It, like all the others in this blog post, is signed P.S (& this is the signature of Phillip Saunders). The background in the one above looks very much like the work of J. Chiale.

below: A very red face and the traces of a moustache.

mural of a head and shoulder of a young man, by P.S., in an alley, very red face

below: More stylized and almost abstract, very purple too.   The door with its circuit board and honeycomb patterns says no entry.

mural of a head and shoulder of a young man, by P.S., in an alley, purple face, beside a door that has street art on it too

below: A couple at the end of the alley.   Love is golden.

more from Graffiti Alley

Posted: November 28, 2017 in alleys, graffiti and street art
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It’s taken a few days, but here is the last (of three) of the blog posts featuring photos that I took this past weekend when I walked Graffiti Alley.

below: Levar Burton is my father, or at least that’s what’s written on the wrist.

mural in Graffiti Alley - a large blue hand the size of a door, with watch on wrist and words Levar Burton

below: Swimming with the octopi?  Or else she’s landed in hot water?  An other worldly mural by Planette.

mural in Graffiti Alley - by planette, a womanwearing face mask and helmet and in water up to arm pits, tentacles coming out of the water in front of her.

below: Mural by earth crusher,

mural in Graffiti Alley by earth crusher - man in black suit, white shirt and black tie, small rectangle machine head and a smart phone in each hand

below: How can it be evil if there is a cupcake and an ice cream cone? I think that Choo Choo the cat from Hanna Barbera’s Top Cat.

mural in Graffiti Alley - Choo Choo the cartoon pink cat from Hanna Barbera Top Cats,with white t-shirt on, Mike Myers evil character from movie, a cupcake and an ice cream cone

below: Huckleberry Hound seems to have reason to fear the cops.

mural in Graffiti Alley - cartoon dog in blue on door, with words run cops!

below: But everything is A OK with this guy!

cartoon character with pyramid shaped body, small black arms and large white hands, open mouth with red tongue = mural in Graffiti Alley

below: The hamburger probably isn’t coming out of the garbage bin! It doesn’t look like she’s too impressed with it though,.

below: @kyleghostkeeper, another tattoo artist. Red eyes, eyebrows, and lips but turquoise hair.

large woman's face, blue hair, re lips, over done make up

below: A stencil and a sticker.  Another @stick_tags  “Are you living your dream?” sticker.

stencil graffiti of a person in white coat

below: There’s a lot going on here – all small and not all noticed the first time in part because of the mess.  The cat, a small man screaming, and the words “just a pawn” written a few times.

graffiti in a doorway. stencil cat, words that say just a pawn, stencil small man screaming

graffiti words on a wall in Graffiti Alley, bad man no take no selfie

There are always words written on walls.  Sometimes funny, sometimes profane, and sometimes just weird.  Today, we have comments about selfies and queer witches.   Both made me smile.

graffiti words stencilled on a wall that say Queer witches for a better tomorrow

mural in Graffiti Alley - person wearing gas mask and holding a spray paint can in outreached hand

The next two blog posts are also from Graffiti Alley.

You are Here

Posted: November 24, 2017 in alleys, graffiti and street art
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big bright pink flowers, mural on a garage door by Blazeworks
above: Bright pink flowers by Blazeworks

I shared David French Lane with some garbage men, a bright green truck, and a lot of smelly garbage the other day. Luckily there were lots of murals to distract me from the smell!

a green GFL garbage truck in a lane as men pick up garbage on garbage day

below: The north end of David French Lane is at Barbara Barrett Lane, immediately south of Bloor.  Here, elicser painted a mural in his characteristic style that I have already blogged about.   It is also where there is a mural of a blue and white train.  I didn’t take any photos of it this time because it isn’t new and it wasn’t part of the Wall Expressions project.

corner where two alleys meet, a green P parking lot and a building with murals on two sides.

Quite a few of the garages in David French Lane had been painted sometime in the past.  Many had been tagged over or were in need of updating.  The ‘Wall Expressions – You are Here’ project provided the lane with a fresh coat of paint back in mid-September.

below: A large TTC bus drives into the alley by dudeman, surrounded by skulls of many colours.

a mural by dudeman, TTX bus, spadina sign, and lots of different coloured skulls

‘You are Here’ was the result of a collaboration between StreetARToronto, the Tranzac Club, the local community, and last but not least Team Spudbomb who organized the artists who participated.

below: More colours here too – lots of movement and energy too.   Mural painted by Chris Perez.

a garage covered with colour splotches

below: Almost didn’t get this shot – the garage door started opening as I stood there.  A geometric abstract mural by Andre Kan.   It reminds me of the chaos of roads in the city

geometric abstract mural in browns and red and blues, by andre

below: Another geometric design – this time by mediah.

geometric abstract mural in browns and greys, by mediah,

below: whales by wales, swimming in the lane

large mural with marine life theme, whale, blue background for water,

a row of garages with the doors painted with murals, garbage ready for pick up in front of them, in a lane, large tree too

below: Midtown cinema by ACK

mural on a garage, red and light brown text on the botto, grey tones picture of midtown cinema on the top part

below: A portrait of Ed Mirvish holding an iconic Honest Eds sign, painted by spud.

street art portrait of David Mirvish holding iconic Honest Eds signs

garage with two sides painted in street art, lane, backs of houses, no leaves on tree,

sides and front of garage with street art on them

below: Mural by fly vandals

mural on side of building, purple,

mural on garage

below: An apt phrase – ‘Be Here Now’ beside a fence of spudbombs.

a garage door with the words Be Here Now beside a fence painted with spud bombs, hand grenade shaped characters with eyes and smiling mouths

Paul Estrela Lane

Posted: November 23, 2017 in alleys, graffiti and street art
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Have a seat!
It’s another tour of laneway street art.

two chairs sitting in front of a closed garage door, a wooden chair with teal back and legs, a directors type chair with teal fabric, garage door is painted teal. autumn, leaves on the ground in front of the chairs.

Today’s blog features Paul Estrela Lane which runs for one block on the northside of the Danforth ending at Woodbine Avenue.   Some of the garages and fences have been painted with bright and cheerful murals.  There are quite a few paintings considering the fact that the lane is only one block long.   Here they are…..

below: A mural by mediah and the CBS crew.

abstract geometric mural by mediah on a red background

below: Another contribution from the CBS crew but this time in collaboration with kanos, a French artist, from Paris.  More of his work can be seen under ikanografik on instagram.

red background mural in black and white

below: A warm summer day by the surf.

mural of a brown woman with a two piece bathing suit standing on a beach holding onto a surfboard. There are 4 very big waves behind her. Painted over two garage doors.

below: Toothy grins and googly eyes, coloured monster faces all squished together to completely cover the back of this building.   It is the work of monicaonthemoon.

exterior wall in a laneway with mural by monicaonthemoon with many silly stylized faces in bright colours

below: Listening to music as her orange and pink hair blows in the wind, by Kim

garage door painted with a mural of woman with light skin skin and orange and pink hair with eyes closed and wearing blue headphones. music notes around her head

below: Marine life swimming in the laneway, an octopus with orange eyes looking at you, and what I think is a squid on the left.  Painted by kittzen.

 

two garage doors with murals of marine life, a squid on the left and an octopus on the right.

below: Wings by monicaonthemoon aka Monica Wickeler

large black and white wings with multicolouredbackground - mural on a garage door in a lane

below: The work of dajenesis aka Jeannie Priscila

head of an animal, front view, wide open mouth with large white teeth by dajenesis

below: More goofy faces

fence in a laneway with mural by monicaonthemoon with many silly stylized faces in bright colours

below: Japanese characters painted by Tokyo.   Hint to street artists – if you want to be found, your moniker should be something that doesn’t bring up millions of unrelated hits on a search engine.  Any ideas about what he might be saying?

 

mural by Tokyo, red background with black and white boys face, and white word bubble with red Japanese characters written inside

below: And last, partially obscured by the car, a profile in shades of blue in front of a cat with marvelous green eyes.

a grey car is parked beside a mural by @victorful of the side view of a person's head, in blue tones, as well as the painting of a cats head

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

 

 

Sonya remade and rejuvenated

Posted: August 28, 2017 in graffiti and street art, locations
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Close to Kensington market is a small park called Sonya Parkette.  Two of the sides of the park are walls.  A few years ago the walls were painted with historical murals that were subsequently tagged over.   More recently, the park has undergone some renovations including new murals on the walls.

Many of the murals are by P.S (aka Phillip Saunders).  If you are familiar with some of the graffiti and street art in the Kensington area, you will recognize the style.

multicoloured face with red text tag beside

orange face, blue eyes, short black hair, mural on a wall at Sonya Parkette in Kensington

mural, face in grey tones, on a background of water, trees, sky and clouds.

below: This mural, and the one below, are obviously by the same artist who painted the two murals of naked women in Milky Way.

mural of an orange naked woman reclining, wall is golden yellow colour

mural on a wall with green plants growing in front, mural is a blue person from the chest up, no hair. Some plants are part of the mural too.

below: A realistic painting of a sleeping man.

a man in green pants and white t-shirt is sleeping on the ground, a mural on a wall. the ground is green with small circles and semi-circles in other colours.

below: Peace and an abstract.

a mural with two parts, on the left is an abstract design with rectangles and a few curves. on the right is a realistic hand giving the peace sign

The Kensington area has a problem with taggers – many street art pieces get vandalized.  Let’s hope that these don’t suffer that fate.

Multipli’city in progress

Posted: August 18, 2017 in graffiti and street art, locations
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More of the bents holding up the road that passes over Underpass Park in Corktown are in the process of being painted.  Back in 2015, the bents and pillars on the west side of Lower River Street were painted as part of the Pan Am games preparations.   The latest mural project involves the bents closer to St. Lawrence Street.

below: Looking east towards Lower River Street, skateboarders in the park behind a mural by Chief Ladybird and Aura. In the background is a pink elephant by Christopher Ross.

people at Underpass Park, under the expressway, with pillars painted in murals, guys on skateboards,

Thirteen bents by seventeen artists have just been completed, or are in the process of being painted for this project.  The artists are:  Al Runt, Andrew Dexel, Annie Hamel, Aura, Chief Lady Bird, Carlos Delgado, FONKi, GAWD, Jill Stanton, Kalkidan Assefa (aka Drippin_soul), Lacey & Layla Art, Meaghan Claire Kehoe, OMEN,  Ness Lee,  Rob Matejka  Anya Mielniczek

a large blue face mural, horizontal, looking down at the park below

below: As Al Runt works on his mural, he is reflected in the mirrors above him.

a man is painting a mural on a concrete bent at Underpass park, up on a lift, he is reflected in the mirrors on the ceiling of the park, Al Runt

below: Some faces by Carlos Delgado

conrete pillar in Underpass park that has been painted with large orangish toned faces, by Carlos Delgado

below: A social gathering around the mural painted by Annie Hamel… although the youngest one seems to want to join the skateboarders instead.

a group of people is having a small party in Underpass park, standing around a concrete bent that has recently been painted with a mural by Annie Hamel

below: I’m not sure why they would choose this location for their photo shoot when they are covering the mural with a grey screen.

a photo shoot in underpass park, grey screen in front of a mural covered bent, a woman in workout clothes, men behind the camera

below:   A face in orange and purple tones by @drippin_soul aka Kalkidan Assefa

a mural of a woman's face in orange and purple tones, large, purple lips, on a concrete pillar, with young woman sitting in the park in the background

below: One side of the bent painted by Lacey & Layla Art

cars parked under a bent that has been painted with a wrinkly brown man's face wearing glasses

below: And the other.  The mural is accompanied by a Robert Browning quote: “Grow old with me, the best is yet to be.”

urban open space under a bent that has been painted with a wrinkly brown man's face

below: At the far west end, a gruesome spike being plunged into a heart.

A concrete bent in an underpass that is a hand holding a large spike that is being plunged into a bleeding heart. Cars are parked underneath

The project is managed by Mural Routes and is part of the StreetARToronto Partnership Program in collaboration with the Corktown Residents and Business Association, the City of Toronto Parks Department, and Relay 2017 – Friends of the PanAm Path.

below: Just starting, background figures in white

a person stands on an elevated platform and looks at the white outline that they have made in preparation for painting the bent white, the beginnings of a mural

***

This is the fourth blog post about the murals at Underpass Park.  Others are:

First stage of the project (Pan Am games),  in two posts:
Underpass Park  July 2015
People Overhead  July 2015

The next stage were the pillars along the sidewalk on the west side of Lower River Street
New neighbours at Underpass Park, Oct 2016

 

 

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

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