outdoors | as I walk Toronto

Posts Tagged ‘outdoors’

Lansdowne underpass project

Posted: December 28, 2022 in graffiti and street art, locations
Tags: Alex Bacon, Andrea Manica, artchild, bacon, Biizindam, Caitlin Taguibao, Cedar Eve Peters, cedareve, Community Built, Curtia Wright, Danielle Hyde, ducks, Dyan Marie, Elicser Elliott, fawn, Jordan McKie, June Jieun Kim, Kalsang Wangyal, Kalsang Wangyl, kaya joan, Keitha Keeshig Tobias, Lansdowne Ave., Leone McComas, Little Tibet, loon, Mo Thunder, monkeys, mural, mural routes, nature, Nick Sweetman, outdoors, people, Planta Muisca, Que Rock, rainbow, Red Urban Nation Artists Collective, Ren Lonechild, Rowell Soller, sasquatch, Shawn Howe, Shirley Ave., stairs, Tenzin Tsering, underpass, waz Graphics, willow, Yasaman Mehrsa

There is a railway bridge that crosses Lansdowne Ave just south of Dundas West. Along the concrete wall on the east side of the underpass is a long stretch of murals painted last year by a group of muralists and street artists. This is “Community Built”.

below: At the south end of paintings…. Ducks and loons in the water; ducks in flight by Nick Sweetman. Most people will recognize the green-headed mallard; the duck with the big black and white head is a male hooded merganser. A female merganser has a similar crest on her head except that it is brown.

Next to the ducks there are people fishing and wading in a creek. This portion was painted by Elicser Elliott.

below: Under the tracks, abstract flowers in yellows and oranges by Chris Perez

below: Black hands and white hands reaching out, by Rowell Soller

below: Kedre Brown (left) and Artchild (right)

below: Scenes on light green by Andrea Manica – a dog, a bee, and a couple of strawberries – walking in heels with coat and hat – sitting on a yellow blanket – a tent, mushrooms, and playing ball.

below: As the years go by we’ll be able to date the artworks of 2020 to 2022 by the presence of masks. That’s assuming that we won’t be wearing them again…..

below: Under a rainbow where nature thrives in a collaboration between Shawn Howe and Mo Thunder.

below: Que Rock

below: A few artists from Red Urban Nation Artists Collective had a section of the wall to paint

below: Part of the RUN Collective, is Ren Lonechild who painted the mother sasquatch with her little ones at the bottom of the stairs. Swooping and swirling around the apes and the stairs are ghostly creatures that are the work of Cedar Eve Peters

below: The view from the top of the stairs from Shirley Avenue

below: by Danielle Hyde

below: A mural with a message that the willow tree is nature’s aspirin. Willow bark contains salicin which is chemically similar to aspirin which also known as acetylsalicylic acid. The salicin chemical structure is shown in this mural by Keitha Keeshing-Tobias.

below: This project incorporated a previous public art installation on this site. Back in 1989 a number of small sculptures, or forms, by Dyan Marie were embedded into the wall of the underpass.

below: This is Leone McComas’s contribution to the ‘Community Built’ project

below: Alex Bacon painted dancers in hazy flowing shades of pink and orange.

below: Two murals.

below: Close up of the cyclist painted by Curtia Wright

below: Two brown figures by kaya joan

below: On the right – a blue woman reclines by a cluster of colourful houses. She’s got one hand on a pink lawn and her feet on a red lawn under a white-leafed tree. This mural was painted by Yasaman Mehrsa.

below: Close up view of the big regal cat by Planta Muisca as it sits on a blue mat by a bowl of papaya and a slice of lemon.

below: Welcome to Little Tibet … standing beside a white chicken by Caitlin Taguibao

below: People from the Little Tibet mural, by Kalsang Wangyal,

below: A mural by Tenzin Tsering on the right – a bonfire where “the flames of the bonfire represent the tradition of oral storytelling and act as a homage to the diverse and unique stories/voices of the people in Tkaronto.” (from her instagram page)

below: And what’s a Toronto mural if it doesn’t have a raccoon?

In the mural two pictures above, the painting on the left is the work of Jordan McKie (aka trip2thetop) The next few images are from that mural.

below: A dragon’s head at the north end of the underpass by June Kim.

below: Looking south

A Mural Routes project from 2021

June, Jordan McKie, Tenzin Tsering, Kalsang Wangyal (waz_graphics), Caitlin Taguibao, Planta Muisca, Yasaman Mehrsa, kaya joan, Curtia Wright, Alex Bacon, Leone McComas, Keitha Keeshig-Tobias Biizindam, Red Urban Nation Artists Collective (Drew Rickard, Danielle Hyde, Cedar Eve Peters, Ren Lonechild and Que Rock), Mo Thunder and Shawn Howe, Andrea Manica, Kedre Brown, ARTCHILD, Rowell Soller, Chris Perez, Elicser Elliott, Nick Sweetman.

Curator and community engagement facilitator: Bareket Kezwer

Elicser and Sweetman at West Lodge

Posted: December 15, 2022 in graffiti and street art
Tags: animals, apartments, baby, bee, dog, dragonfly, Elicser Elliott, flowers, hedgehog, kids, mural, Nick Sweetman, outdoors, paint, park, parkdale, people, pink worm, planting, playing, reading, robin, skunk, squirrel, West Lodge

Along a wall beside the playground at 103 and 105 West Lodge is a mural painted by Elicser Elliot and Nick Sweetman a couple of years ago. It’s theme is the outdoors and it includes scenes like kids playing baseball, people reading and sitting outside, as well as people planting gardens. There are also lots of animals – a large dragonfly shows off its wings, bees fly by, squirrels hoard nuts, a robin pulls a pink worm out of the ground, and a very large hedgehog sniffs the flowers.

below: Hedgehog covered with thousands of protective spikes.

below: Playing baseball and keeping an eye on the bees

below: An encounter with a skunk

below: Playing with friends. Great dunk shot!

below: This robin has found very large worm

below: A blue dragonfly with translucent wings

below: A black squirrel and a grey squirrel and thousands of nuts!

the lure of Craven Road

Posted: March 15, 2022 in locations
Tags: boots, clock, collage, Craven Road, fence, found objects, gallery, guitars, landscapes, masks, outdoors, paintings, shoes, toys

Here are a few photos from a recent visit to Craven Road, one of my favorite streets. The last time I posted about it was “Craven Road once more“, in May 2019. That’s almost three years! – it doesn’t seem like that long ago but then again I find that COVID has really messed with my sense of passing time. Anyhow, it’s always interesting to see what remains, what’s new, and what has just been rearranged.

below: Part of the fence

below: Back in 2019 the clock read 12:10. Time has passed.

below: The sheep have been here for years (since at least 2015) and they are starting to show their age. The other two images are recent additions.

below: Abstracts in blues

below: An upside down Q for the little red man.

below: I am hoping that the painting on the right says “The Great White North” …

below: Even the mask has a mask

below: Rubber boots, rubber gloves and a white hat make for a dashing figure.

below: Some newer landscapes

below: …. and last, another two oldies of the feline variety.

below the bluffs

Posted: March 22, 2020 in locations, nature
Tags: beach, bluffs, cliffs, dogwood, grasses, icicles, Lake Ontario, nature, outdoors, park, people, rocks, Scarborough, Scarborough Bluffs, spring, surfers, trees, walking, water, waves

Scarborough Bluffs Park on sunny but windy Sunday afternoon in March.

The red twig dogwood is looking redder and the trees are barely starting to bud.

The water and air are still cold enough that icicles form on the overhanging branches that get hit by waves.

buds and birds

Posted: March 19, 2020 in nature, people, reflections
Tags: bench, bridge, buds, chickadee, downy woodpecker, nature, outdoors, park, pussy willow, robin, spring, squirrel, sumach, train, trains, trees, Wilket Creek

Getting used to this “social distancing” thing but not the “stay at home” part. A walk in the park seemed like a good way to mix the two – get a little exercise without running into too many people.

below: Keeping his distance

It’s close to March 21st and the beginning of spring. Actually this blog post started to take form after I parked my car and wandered aimlessly a few yards. I was standing on a path in a ravine wondering which way to go… but why was I here? I heard a bird, and then I heard another.

below: A robin snacking on sumach

below: A female downy woodpecker

below: A little chickadee

below: It’s not a bird nor is it a sign of spring, but it sat still enough to let me get my camera focused through the branches.

below: The red dogwood branches have started to become more vibrant.

below: Pussy willows have opened up their fuzzy white buds. A definite indicator of spring.

below: There weren’t many tree buds but this tree (and others of its type) were an exception.

below: There was a train too! A different kind of sign of life.

Spring, and a walk in the park. Sometimes it’s just the little things…. including someone to share your space.

below: Reflections in the Wilket Creek

waiting on the cherry blossoms….

Posted: May 9, 2019 in locations, nature
Tags: blossoms, cherry, flowers, High Park, outdoors, park, people, sakura, spring, trees

I’m not sure what the allure of the cherry (aka sakura) blossoms is. Has it become a symbol of spring and who doesn’t like the long awaited end of winter? Is there something special about the cherry flower? Or is it more ‘exotic’ than the magnolia that flowers about the same time, or a bit earlier? Why not celebrate the lilac trees? Or other trees that blossom in the spring?

below: A couple of cherry blossoms along with some buds and partially opened flowers.

Although there are a number of places around the city to see sakura trees (14 I think), High Park seems to be the most popular place. True, they have the oldest trees and the most trees planted in one area. It has become the site of an annual pilgrimage by thousands of people to see the blossoms. Even though the ‘sakura watch’ website said that ‘peak’ blossom hadn’t yet arrived, I decided to check out High Park yesterday.

below: Lots of signs to direct pedestrian traffic to the cherry trees. The roads were closed to most cars.

below: There were a couple of school groups there for the morning. Although there weren’t too many blossoms to see, it was a beautiful spring morning and many of the kids were making the most of it.

below: An Instagram moment I suspect.

below: An engagement photo shoot

Yesterday there were many more buds and partially opened flowers than there were blossoms. By the weekend, there will probably be a profusion of white petals… as well as a swarming of people. I had to search for flowers to take pictures of but at least it was a relatively quiet and peaceful morning.

winter doors

Posted: February 15, 2019 in doors
Tags: awning, door, exterior, for sale, houses, icicles, outdoors, outside, porch, roof, snow, table, window, winter

It’s been a while since I’ve done a “doors” post but as I was walking with my camera today, I noticed that a number of doors were catching my eye. I’ve narrowed the selection down to a few pictures where snow plays a role. None of them are the prettiest doors but I hope that you find at least some them interesting.

below: For sale. No tracks in the snow probably means no one has been by to take a look. I tried to find the listing online and discovered that it has a bit of notoriety. Toronto’s ‘The Star’ newspaper featured it in an article just a couple of weeks ago. Apparently this “as is” bungalow is priced at $2,500,000. Yes, 2 1/2 million. If I had known this when I walked past, I would have paid more attention and taken better pictures! Check out the article!

below: Watch your step!

below: A blast of purple in an alley.

below: Another painted wall and door

below: I am always fascinated by the chairs and tables that people leave on their porches and in their front yards. It’s not quite coffee on the lawn weather yet though!

Like the previous few doors posts, this is a (little late) “Thursday doors” post – part of a series of door posts on a number of different blogs hosted by Norm 2.0. As usual, if you want to see more doors, follow that link. At the end of each of Norm’s posts there is another link that leads you to even more doors. Lots of doors! I wonder, how many doors are there in Toronto? In the world?

29 July – another Pedestrian Sunday

Posted: July 30, 2018 in events, people
Tags: #whatsvictorupto, cards, crowds, dancing, hair, hands, hat, Kensington, necklace, outdoors, parasol, Pedestrian Sunday, people, poet, sidewalk, singing, street, sunglasses, typing, walking, watching

People watching at Kensington Pedestrian Sunday

below: The Spontaneous Poet, poet 4 hire

below: #whatsvictorupto painting the word ‘together’ on the sidewalk.

into the night

Posted: July 17, 2018 in people
Tags: bar, bench, light, mannequin, men, outdoors, people, rain, sitting, streetcar, windows, women, Yonge Dundas

For a number of reasons, I started walking late yesterday.
It was overcast and the the light was flat.

There were a few people sitting around and/or hanging out – on their phones, alone with their thoughts, meeting with friends, or just passing by.

Catching moments and freezing them in time – is that what photography is? To call the images random would be farfetched. They are edited starting from the first decisions such as where to aim the camera and at what moment do I take the picture. But they are candid in that the people are unaware, unposed, and to me, more natural. These women are just hanging out outside the Eaton Centre, together, yet separate. Are they waiting for someone? What is the woman on far left reacting to?

As I mentioned above, the light was flat. It was a grey afternoon and that is always a challenge. As the day becomes darker, the ambient light provide by windows increases.

below: Is it my imagination or is her neck longer than most? I don’t think that I’d be able to wear four leather rings around my neck even if I wanted to.

As I was processing some of my photos, I got to thinking about my grandmother. I remember driving with her at dusk and into the early night. She would get excited about being able to look into people’s windows after they’d turned on their lights but before they’d closed their curtains. We could only get a quick glimpse as we passed by – were there pictures on the wall? What was on TV? What were the people doing? But even that was enough to spark our imaginations and we would create stories about the possible lives of the people in those houses.

below: Talking at the bar

below: Sitting at Timmies

Night windows offer a different view. Things that are hidden during the day become visible.

below: Interior renovations in progress

below: The mundane and austere railing and fluorescent light in the stone bank building caught my attention. As I was lining up the shot I noticed the woman (who had obviously noticed me first).