Posts Tagged ‘poser’

behind Ossington

Posted: April 13, 2025 in alleys, graffiti and street art
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Moooo…. Hey there good looking!…  Here’s looking at you!  This was painted by Poser.  Usually he does bunny rabbits but I think that he’s pretty good at painting cows too!

street art mural of a black and white cow looking at you, on a garage

For a number of years now, there has been a lot of street art and graffiti in an alley that runs behind the east side of Ossington starting at Queen Street and ending one block north at Humbert. Some of it is interesting; some is not. A few garages and walls look the same as they did 12 or 13 years ago so some of these photos may look similar to older photos used in this blog.

building in an alley, northeast corner of queen west and ossington, street art and graffiti on the walls

below: In the background, an untitled piece by Caratoes.  It was one of 5 murals painted in Toronto in 2016 for the “Sea Walls: Artists for Oceans” series.  In total, there were over 500 murals in 20 countries in this series.

graffiti on a wall in many colours, with a large grey tones mural in the background.

below: Six lit matches ready to go.  This crazy cat is up to something no good…

mural on a fence, a grey cat with matches in his mouth, playing with a bottle

below: An early Birdo piece, although the scroll names or street artists too.  The first street art in the alley dates from 2012 when a group of artists painted some of the garages here.

older mural by birdo, two creatures standing together on a rusty garage door in an alley

below: A pink rose between two women.

pink rose sprayed painted on green wood, beside a figure dressed in white paste up

below: Another oldie – this purple guy has been blowing a gust of wind for many years.

old graffiti on a wall

below: Vintage Spud bombs, some cheerful and some menacing.

spud bombs street art, little grey bombs with cheery faces, on a wall in an alley behind ossington avenue

below: A funny looking green creature with big white eyes and lots of skinny legs.

street art mural

below: A couple, together in the stream, in a mural by Elicser Elliott with the title “Swim”

street art mural by elicser elliott of two people, man and woman, in purple stream, title is swim

below: Geometric shapes with a touch of rainbow colour, by Peru

on a garage in an alley, painting by artist called peru,

part of a street art mural, man that looks ancient greek or roman sitting, holding a large pot, wearing a toga and sandals

below: Large pink and white swirls and curls cover a wall. Any time that you see swirls like these, think Flips because that’s sure to be the artist that painted them.

pink and white swirls and curls, mural in alley

below: Only a small portion of this moose painting by Aaron Li-Hill remains.  I don’t usually show the original works but I am going to make an exception here.  See next image.

old street art painting of a moose partially covered with pywood

below: This is what it looked like back in 2012 or 2013.

old street art mural by aaron li-hill of a moose with full antler rack, open mouth,

below: A newer Catchoo sticker.

little daisy sticker by catchoo on a metal pipe in an alley

below: A couple of faces taken from many faces around a garage.

below: Part of a Troy Lovegates mural (as are the next three images)

part of a Troy Lovegates mural in an alley behind Ossington, two merged heads with necks that come out of the same hole in the red and blue sweater that they are wearing. One face is yellow and the other face is half grey and half purple

part of a Troy Lovegates mural in an alley behind Ossington Avenue in Toronto. In the middle is a framed recessed box in the wall with 3 egg shapes in it

part of a Troy Lovegates mural in an alley behind Ossington Avenue in Toronto

part of a Troy Lovegates mural in an alley behind Ossington

below: Looking south. The closest garage on the right has a mural painted by Spud.

alley, with garages on one side, mural on the wall of a building on the left

below: Durothethird paints peanut butter & (probably) chocolate

street art on a garage door in an alley, peanut butter,

below: Horus, “Well and good”

street art on a garage door in an alley by horus

garages covered with street art and graffiti, in alley on west side of ossington avenue in toronto, just north of queen street west

street art on a garage door in an alley pink polka dots on red

below: At the north end of the alley

buildings in alley covered with graffiti and street art

small part of a larger painting, street art, on side of garage in an alley, three fuzzy balls, each with one eye. Balls are yellow, and a red, and one blue.

weathered street art and graffiti on a wood garage in an alley

purple line drawing in spray paint of a man, with yellow wings, graffiti added to it, alley

below: Writing on black and purple

white line drawing on black line drawing of a man with glasses and a beard, mural in an alley

below: Portrait of George Sully, Canadian designer

portrait of a young black man, with a triangle behind his head, in a mural in an alley

below: Love yourself, over and over again, and in many different colours!

on a black wall in an alley, in cursive writing, the words love yourself written in many colours, many times

below: An old stikman in a frame, weathered but still there.

weathered street art paint on wood, with a tiny wood frame, inside frame is an old stikman graffiti piece

below: And lastly…  Too extraterrestrial, which someone seems to love

black wall, with graffiti, hand drawn character with words too extra terrestrial,

below: Looking north

alley behind ossington, on the west side, garages covered in street art and graffiti

garage in alley covered with paintings of bright flowers

First 2025 visit to Graffiti Alley

Posted: January 23, 2025 in alleys, graffiti and street art, locations
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My previous post, “skateboard portraits” was from a walk down Graffiti Alley the other day.   This post contains more photos that I took that snowy afternoon… so, let’s take a look!

below: Uber 5000’s yellow bird is still walking his dog and singing a song on this side of this red brick building.  It’s at least 10 years old?  The black and grey portrait on the right is much newer.

Graffiti Alley street art paintings, many, including uber 5000 walking dog and singing,

below: Profile portrait by TheHalfDecent

Graffiti Alley street art painting, profile portrait of woman in black and purple, car parked in front of it

below: “Let them drink beer”, a stencil from D. Terra

below:  A 33wallflower33 pasteup in the foreground, with a corner of one of Nick Sweetman’s bird murals in the background.

pasteup by 33wallflower33, a black and white vintage photo of a woman, cut to oval shape, on a red surface. graffiti alley, a mural by nick sweetman is in the background, a blue bird in flight

below: A collaboration between Nick Sweetman and Shanehuss produced this drippy, melting jaw portrait.

street art mural, calligraphy in grey tones is the background, man's portrait with red skin, purple hat, metal frame glasses, the bottom part of the face is either washing away or melting.

below: The top portion of ” RIP King Reign & Son of Soul” remains.  This tribute mural was painted by Elicser Elliott and Omen514.  I am not sure who is responsible for the newer painting on the bottom, the one in yellows and blues.  That’s probably a ‘signature’ in the bottom left but I don’t recognize it.

Graffiti Alley street art painting, 2 men wearing caps, King Reign and Son of Soul tribute mural, also a uber5000 little yellow bird with a tea cup in his hand

part of King Reign and Son of Soul tribute mural by Elicser Elliott and Omen 514, with newer abstract mural covering the bottom part

below: Graffiti Alley in the snow.

graffiti alley in the snow

below: Sun of Aquarius (aka Andre Mandela Lopez) painted this naked figure with brown wings and bird mask

in an alley, exterior stairs to upper level balcony in alcove with two sides painted with murals, including one by sun of aquarius

below: A pole covered with knit squares while T-bonez is shushing you.

Graffiti Alley street art painting, on wall, pole in front of wall that is covered with knit squares, also a pasteup of urban ninja squadron, t bonez

below: A pointy nosed, long snouted dog by Mr. Myl, aka Luis Casas, who was originally from Havana Cuba.

mr myl street art painting in graffiti alley, on bright pink background, an orange and yellow dog with log snout and orange teeth, small ears, sitting position

below: Another Mr. Myl dog, this one with its blue eyes popping out.   I don’t think that it’s because of the woman next to him.  “Para mi Tita” is Spanish for “For my aunt”.

mr myl street art painting in graffiti alley, on bright pink background, an orange and yellow dog with log snout and orange teeth, small ears, sitting position, beside a portrait of a woman holding a large calla lily, with text

below: Blue haired woman by April Showers

below: And another blue haired woman…..

below: … and a third.  I think that I see a trend.  Methinks April Showers likes blue hair.

grey car parked in parking lot at end of alley, murals painted on the walls, stickers cover the signs

below: An anti-camera, anti-photographer image, “Gimmy a break, clik, clik, clik” featuring uber 5000’s yellow bird and blue cat, with the Pink Panther is a supporting role.   Love the red specs!

street art on a wall by stairs, pink panther, uber 5000 yellow bird, tags, also uber 5000 complaints about photographers

below:  Poser bunny in red

street art, red poser bunny

below: He (she?) seems puzzled by the snow?!

a young person with short dark hair, and a yellow t shirt, mural in graffiti alley

below: Is it a man or is it a chicken?  A red headed cigarette smoking, spray painting character by Tuffytats

street art painting by tuffytats

below: This one looks more like a chicken should look, so fowl.

below: An environmental message – “Got mercury?” from a non-profit group trying to raise awareness of the impact of mercury poisoning on indigenous communities.

graffiti on a wall, yellow bird from uber5000, red and turquoise character with devil horns and furry hair

graffiti alley in the winter, snowing, some snow on the ground

below: Good Luck!

street art painting, green background, a red apple sitting on 2 books, an arrow runs through the apple

graffiti alley mural, guitar player, red guitar, also an elicser elliott piece of a person wearing a rabbit hat

below: Another 33wallflower33 vintage woman.

graffiti on a wall including woman in bikini by 33 wallflower 33.

below: Chubby purple cheeks gives a thumbs up

street art painting of a large purple monster face

below: Still reaching out and trying to touch someone…..

old telephone booth in graffiti alley

street art mural, asian woman with purple hair tied up on top of her head with glowing lantern

graffiti on a wall including a red heart with J + J written in the middle

Danforth – Woodbine – Gerrard

Posted: April 7, 2024 in alleys, doors, graffiti and street art, history, locations, reflections, stores, transportation
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or thereabouts…

below: Starting point, Woodbine and Danforth

below: Small Mediah painting in the doorway, Danforth

small street art mural by mediah in the entrance to a store, people on the sidewalk, Danforth

below: Another Mediah mural, on the railway underpass on Woodbine just south of Danforth

mural by mediah, geometric shapes and colours, on an underpass

below: And again, in an alley south of Gerrard.

below: East End Love

tall narrow mural beside sidewalk on the Danforth, East End Love

below: “Humming on Woodbine”  – A hummingird and a young woman with daffodils in yellow and purple, a mural by Blazeworks at Woodbine and Danforth.

mural painted by Blazeworks in 2023, called humming on woodbine

below: Closer-up version  –  an old streetcar (when did they stop running on Danforth?  The TTC operated streetcars on Danforth from 1923 until the subway opened in the 1960s.)

below: Two storey brick stores with square facades in front.  Rows like this can be found all over the city although in many places they are being replaced. This row has probably been here for a hundred years; this section of Danforth was developed between 1910 and 1930.  The streetcar provided a commuter route and facilitated growth to the east.  The opening of the Prince Edward Viaduct (Bloor Viaduct) over the Don River in 1918 made access to downtown and the rest of the city even easier.

row of two story brick stores on danforth

below: Some stores have added features such as this little peaked facade at the front and the fancy brick work around the windows.

two storey brick store front on danforth, with small peak in roof on on side

below: Window reflections

reflections in a window of a store on Danforth, cars and stores across the street can be seen.

below: Tims stands alone

two story building with a Tim Hortons, pale pink building, no buildings on either side of it, a woman in a pink coat walks past

below: Ghost sign on Danforth, Burnett Brothers Butchers, The House of Quality.  That would be Alfred and Horace Burnett.

ghost sign for Burnett Brothers Butchers of high quality, on old brick building on the Danforth

below: Remnants of streetcar tracks can also be found on Strathmore Blvd (behind Woodbine station) that abruptly end at Cedarvale

old streetcar tracks in a street, Strathmore Blvd., that come to an end.

below:  Drink Coca-Cola – an iconic red disc. As for the rest of the sign, the font and the style of sign is still seen in many places in Toronto.

old store, now a gallery, with red round drink coca cola sign, also old sign saying confectionery

below: Soaking up the sun in front of Atop Appliances

two people in a bus shelter, one standing, one sitting, in front of store called Atop Appliances which is an old grey building with a black shingle roof

below: Spring blossoms, pretty even if they aren’t real!

mural on the side of Value village, spring scene with blossom tree and green grass, bike share bikes in a row in front of the mural

below: A line of stars

painted along the side of a red brick building, beside driveway, two stripes, a narrow white stripe on top and a wider blue stripe below. On the blue, are eight pale orange stars

below: And stars on fences in an alley

2 large stars as decorations, on old fence in an alley, crooked fence, car parked in alley, dead leaves on the ground, mossy roof on garage next door

below: Aren’t doors fascinating?  Final Notice and 2nd Final Notice.  If a door is a title to the story that lies within, what is the story that would unfold here?

old black door, with yellow spray paint, three times, that says final notice, mailbox beside the door, number 2138, crooked concrete step

below: Many little pots in a sun-filled window, looks like an attempt to jump start spring planting.

row of old store fronts on gerrard, some now home, one has large window with greenish curtains, also a lot of little pots in the sunlight, perhaps growing seeds for spring planting

below: My favorite kind of Canada Geese.  They are quiet and don’t leave little messes behind.

front yard with decorations - in the shape of canada geese with red scarves around their necks

below: Lakeside campfire at sunset on a garage door

painting on a garage door, campfire on a granite outcropping beside a lake with pine trees around it, at sunset, sky in reds, oranges, and purples

below:  Poser bunnies in a mural on Gerrard

poser bunny mural on the side of a two storey structure on gerrard street

below:  I saw a lot of these posters that day – How to fold a fitted sheet.  Once upon a time such posters had a phone number written on little flaps that you could tear off.  Now we have the dreaded QR code.  Apparently there is now something called “quishing” which is QR code phishing (I am not calling this poster fake, I am just ranting about QR codes in general – like how annoying they are on menus because now everyone has to get their phones out).

poster on wood utility pole with the title How to fold a fitted sheet

below: Secret Park  …. sshhhhh  I can’t tell you where it is.

below: Empowerment by the wading pool (this is not the Secret Park!)

below: Toronto Chinese Mennonite Church (formerly Rogers Presbyterian Church), Woodbine

front of brick building, toronto chinese mennonite church

below: Crossing the street, towards Grant African Methodist Episcopal Church, Gerrard St.

woman crossing stret with a dog on a leash dog has a purple coat on, in front of old brick church, grant african

below: Plaque of Dedication for Grant Church

Plaque outside Grant Church

Plaque of Dedication commemorating the relocation of Grant African Methodist Episcopal Church from 23 Soho Street to 2029 Gerrard Street, November 17th, 1991. 
  Grant Church Journey
In 1833 in Toronto, worship began in each other’s homes.  The meetings were held on a site on Chestnut Street.  Later, a church was built on Richmond Street.  In 1856 we moved to a hall at Queen and McCaul Streets.  In 1912 we celebrated the grand opening at University and Elm Streets, and moved to 23 Soho Street in 1929.

grant african methodist episcopal church, brick building, on gerrard,

below: St. Francis National Evangelical Spiritual Baptist Faith, Archdiocese of Canada.

below: Semis on a slope

semi divided houses in a row on gerrard, two stories, with front porches,

below: A newer three storey residential building. I wonder how many units it has? Three at least?

new three story residence beside an older house

below: Layers

car parked in a driveway beside an older house, with a taller glass and brick condo building behind

semi houses, large trees between sidewalk and street

below: Pink house with a lot of stairs to the front door, Woodbine

below: Housing on the hill

below: A bus shelter, unfortunately it seems to be acting as housing as well.

below: May Peace Prevail on Earth in two languages (and more on the back)

4 sided pole about 8 feet high, with words written on it, may peace, also written in another language (different alphabet too)

blues, and more, in a Kensington lane

Posted: January 13, 2024 in alleys, graffiti and street art
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My previous blog post was about graffiti on a wall on St. Andrew Street  (Is everyone nice?) which is in the Kensington neighbourhood.  Also in Kensington are quite a few alleys and laneways, and in most of them you can find graffiti and/or murals.  This post is a short tour down one of these alleys.

below: The garage door with the UBER 5000 painting of dogs playing cards marks the entrance to the alley.  Lucky the little yellow birdie points the way.

part of an uber 5000 mural of dogs playing cards, with a little yellow birdie in the top left corner, entrance to alley, other graffiti and street art can be seen including a large piece by Rowell Soller

part of an uber 5000 mural of dogs playing cards, with a little yellow birdie in the top left corner, entrance to alley, other graffiti and street art can be seen

below: The first blue is a man with the start of a beard and mustache by Phillip Saunders

portrait of a blue man with a mustache by Philip saunders, on a wood fence

below: A poser bunny

poser bunny street art on a wood fence

below: A long term resident now is this woman with the purple lips and Jamaican flag.

portrait of a Black woman, purple lips, Jamaican flag under her

below:  One eyed red daisy painted large by Life©️(aka Life in the streets)

large text street art painting in yellow and green

street art mural of a large purple fish with billowy tail, swimming,

murals on garages at the end of the lane with other murals on the buildings on the side of the alley too

below: Some of the pieces are mismatched but she’s still intact.

portrait of a woman in blue painted on a wood fence

below: Another blue face keeping an eye on the alley

a bike leaning against a wall in an alley, a street art mural of a woman in blue paint in the background

below: Cats on garages, both by Mankaur Arts (aka Manpreet Kaur) because the world won’t save itself…. but maybe we can score a goal or two in the meantime.

murals on garages, one of the right is cats playing hockey and on the left is a cat with text saying

an old mattress leaning against a fence in an alley, murals on some of the garages,

below:  Another shade of blue, a bit more teal this time.

painting of a teal coloured man on a wood fence in a Kensington alley

below: Center part of a mural by Rowell Soller.

 

mural by Rowell Soder in an alley, part of a face, mouth and nose, surrounded by red, yellow, and white shapes

graffiti stickers, faces

graffiti stickers, faces plus my name is marene

Sherlock Holmes hangs out behind the library

Posted: December 22, 2023 in graffiti and street art, public art
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Behind the Toronto Reference Library that is…..

The passage between Asquith and Church streets has been renamed Sherlock Holmes Walk and it now  features a large mural honoring the fictional detective first brought to life by British author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

hoardings, decrated with panels with sherlock holmes theme, painted by various artists. title sections,

“I am a brain Watson. The rest of me is a mere appendix”, section by Bernice Lum

The mural was developed in partnership with the TTC,  the City of Toronto’s StreetARToronto (StART) program, the Toronto Public Library (TPL) and the Friends of the Arthur Conan Doyle Collection.  It differs from most street art in that the panels were produced elsewhere.   They also have a shiny finish on them so there are many reflections.

 

pathway behind library, with hoardings on right side, painted with images with sherlock holmes theme

The hoardings surround a construction site for the TTC’s Bloor-Yonge Capacity Improvements Project. The site will be home to a future fan building to enhance air circulation at the newly renovated station.

below: The Palace of Westminster (England’s parliament buildings) as Sherlock’s “Mind Palace”, an image created by EGR.  Other London scenes can be found in the background.

EGR image for Sherlock Holmes mural, Holmes with Westminster Palace in London as the top part of his head

below: A younger Sherlock Holmes playing with toy soldiers and toy dinosaurs, Jeff Blackburn

boy in blue pith helmet lying onthe grass playing with toy dinosaurs, painting in a mural by jeff blackburn

below: A collection of images from Heidi Berton,

mural by Heidi Berton, Sherlock Holmes related images

part of a long wall of hoardings around TTC property, at left is mural by Heidi Berton, Sherlock Holmes related images

part of a larger mural, fountain pen lying on white piece of paper, words written, ink blots on paper and table

below: Niiwin Binesi (Four Birds) – Brent Hardisty

part of a mural about sherlock homes, a section by indigenous artist,


A group of StART artists provided artwork for the mural – I haven’t been able to match all the artists to the sections (and I missed a panel or two?) As well as the artists named above, the following were also involved in this project:  Artists: Adrian Hayles, Annwin Arts, Fatspatrol, Brian Jiang,  Jasmin Pannu, Keitha Keeshig Tobias, Megan Oldhues, Melika Saeeda, Poser.

below: An image that makes me think of  “The Hound of the Baskervilles” novel.

 

El Mocambo Lane

Posted: November 2, 2021 in graffiti and street art, locations
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The El Mocambo, a Spadina landmark since 1948 has had a makeover

new sign for El Mocambo Tavern on Spadina, palm tree with LED flashing lights in the leaves and neon lights spelling the name of the tavern on the trunk of the tree

… including a new sign to go with its renovations.  It has just re-opened after being closed since 2014.

The alley behind the tavern has been spruced up a bit too – 24 new murals have been painted over the past few weeks all within the theme of “Grit”

street art on the back of the El Mocambo tavern

street art black and white indigenous girl in first nations clothing, black and white stencil

below: Elicser Elliott’s painting of the back of a building, with a masked and hooded horseman to the left.

mural by elicser on back of building in alley

below: Road runner and coyote, still together

upper levels of apartments and businesses on College street as seen from alley behind, some street art, a painting of the road runner, and elicser mural, lots of stairs,

below: Doorway painted by Adore

street art on recessed doorway by adore, text tag throw up of adore plus winged green man

below: Circular calligraphy by kreecha

street art by kreecha circles of ornate calligraphy, white in the center, then a red ring, then a pink ring, surrounded by white on black

below: A Poser street scene

mural in El Mocambo Lane by poser, houses on a street with his tag below

below: Devilish art

street art in El Mocambo Lane, grit laneway, blue text tag with little orange devil diving into it. devil wearing only a white diaper

street art murals in el mocambo lane

below: An older man sits on a bench watching the pigeons, a painting by Steam.

murals and street art in el mocambo lane, man on a bench with pigeons,

part of a mural of a realistic older man with balding grey hair, sitting on a bench with his cap in one of his hands

below: Archer in the city with a loaded paint brush, part of a mural by Keitha Keeshig Tobias

female archer with arrow as a paint brush dripping with pink paint, street art in a toronto lane

upper part of a mural, city at night with tall buildings and lit windows, pink blob

below: Oh oh!  Little pink guy seems to have broken through…. painting by Skero

cat mural in el mocambo lane, cat wearing green coat, pink flowers and some white smiling bunnies too

pink smiling flowers and a white smiling rabbit in a mural

street art painting of a grey woman

stuff in alley, a mop, circular mirror, wood pallet

This project had the support of the city’s StreetARToronto program, the Chinatown BIA, as well as local businesses including El Mocambo and Gwartzman’s Art Supplies. It was led by Amos Danniels (a.k.a. ‘SIGHT’) as its co-curator and project manager along with Project Coordinator Nishina Loft.

Ashbridges wallnoize wall

Posted: October 31, 2020 in graffiti and street art, locations
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There is a large construction project underway adjacent to the Ashbridges Bay water treatment facility between Lakeshore Blvd and Eastern Ave. The whole site is surrounded by plywood hoardings.  In mid-September, Wallnoize 2020 took over the area and painted water themed murals on a large portion of the hoardings.   More than ninety artists participated in this project, all coordinated by Cruz1.

signs at the entrance to the construction site for the new ashbirdge's bay water treatment facility on Eastern Avenue.

Let’s take a walk around the site, starting by walking east on Eastern Avenue towards Coxwell, south across the park, and then back along Lakeshore.  I suggest that you’re sitting down since I tried to cover all the murals and it might take a while!

below: Painted by Danielle Hyde

mural of large brown hands holding water

below: Trina Moyan‘s horse has a mane like many brightly coloured feathers.  “‘Water Spirit Horse’ – Nehiyaw Mistatim (Plains Cree horse).“

a brown horse with mane that lookslike coloured feathers, face painted in primary colours, mural

below: Portrait of a street artist in pink and white by Keitha Keeshig Tobias

mural in pink and white, a face wearing a gas mask, breathing apparatus for spray painting

below: by Siezswift

a tree in front of a text throw up mural in blues

autumn trees in front of hoardings covered with murals, wallnoize, leaves on the ground,

below: ‘Nibi Manitous’ by Cedareve. The water spirits are are shapeshifting between human and animal.

mural by cedar eve on blue hoardings, fish like creature with human heads

mural with two fish making a circle with a deer in betwee, some trees on both sides, multi coloured background

autumn trees in front of hoardings covered with murals, wallnoize, leaves on the ground,

below: “You are Loved” in a heart dripping with water in the center of a mural that is the product of the combined efforts of Shawna Howe and Monique Aura.   Rainbows and dancing stars.

mural on the hoardings around the ashbridge bay water treatment facility expansion construction site. the words you are loved are in a heart shaped space in the middle, brown hands holding a shallow brown bowl fromwhich a rainbow is pouring out into the smaller cupped hands of another person

below:  A head in the water by Shina

mural on hoardings near Ashbridge Bay water treatment facility, brown profile in water near yellow and orange shore

below: Bird and flowers by Jennifer, her first solo piece

mural on hoardings near Ashbridge Bay water treatment facility, wallnoize project, indigenous art style bird facing upwards with flowers on both sides

below: This picture of a bald man snorkeling was painted by still_hungry

mural on hoardings near Ashbridge Bay water treatment facility, wallnoize project, head of bald man with diving mask and snorkel, in the water,

below:  He looks like he’s made of water and he looks like he’s on a skateboard.  Painted by 3tr_t

mural on hoardings near Ashbridge Bay water treatment facility, blues wildstyle with man that looks like he's made of water, on a skateboard

below: Floating away, floating with the fish in a pink bathing suit.  Painted by Ghazaleh

hoardings around a construction site, beside vehicle entrance, a mural of a woman in a pink bathing suit floating on her back in a pool

below: by Francis Pratt, the poolboy cares apparently

the letters s o r b ae, with different fonts and different backgrounds

below: Branislav Dordevic‘s mural suggests keeping an eye on the water and ice, warm and cold.

mural, a large eye at top center, ice bergs, lake, ice and snow by onesketchyguy

below: Water being poured into three tall clear glasses because we’re all thirsty for clean water, a mural by Julia Antohi

three tall glasses of water, each with a different amount, with the words thirsty for clean water, in a turquoise box, a mural

below: A green god with his trident – either Neptune the Roman god of the sea or Poseidon his Greek counterpart, by tongbokes

a small tree in front of murals on hoardings near Ashbridge Bay water treatment facility, wallnoize project,

below: After the green god, is a more somber toned mural with the words, 1752, Mi’kmaq Nation, Take care of the water.

looking uphill at murals on hoardings near Ashbridge Bay water treatment facility, wallnoize project,

below: A mermaid in a jar by Yasaman Mehrsa. Has she been captured?  Is she in a protective bubble?  Do mermaids live in glass houses?

mermaid in a jar in the water, a mural

mural on hoardings near Ashvridge Bay water treatment facility, wallnoize project,

mural on hoardings near Ashvridge Bay water treatment facility, wallnoize project,

below: Surfer dude by broguymanz and a green throw-up on purple by Lukas Byra

mural on hoardings near Ashvridge Bay water treatment facility, wallnoize project,

truck and vehicle entrance to construction site, orange cones, wire fence, hoardings,

below: “Be Like Water” by Adrian Hayles and  what could be blue sea serpent, or a blue Chinese dragon, by Avril Wu

wallnoize street art murals on blue hoardings around new water treatment plant, by an entrance to the site, a mural of a man

below: A mermaid of another sort, with skulls and burning candles, brought to life by Oriah Scott.

mural, long haired woman with nose ring, topless, upper body covered with tattoos, with scarves over her arms, halo on head, skulls beside her and a burning candle in each hand

below: Bomi (aka bomitosangrantes) painted the lines and white dots that cover this corner

wallnoize street art murals on blue hoardings around new water treatment plant, cranes behind the fence, murals at the corner

below: It’s not that easy to see, but the grey letters that look like stones in water along a rocky shore were painted by Getso.  In the foreground is what looks like a mountain of flowing water (by bareket)

long line of murals on blue hoardings zround water treatment facitily upgrades construction site, with yellow water pipe running along beside, green grass,
below: This pink striped octopus with stars in its eyes is the work of Jieun June Kim.  Did you know that October 8th was World Octopus Day?

a mural of a pink striped octopus sitting in the water with head above water and some tentacles sticking up above the water, by Jeun June Kim

below: Like the words say, Kizmet the original Toronto raccoon, Radcliff is his name.  I don’t think he’s going after the cranes even though that’s what it looks like.  Swimming away from Radcliff is a Sedna, a curving woman by Angela Aulia.

wallnoize street art murals on blue hoardings around new water treatment plant, a kizmet raccoon and a person swimming

below: A KERZ throw-up to the left of the BUBZ wildstyle  with the tam-wearing duck with a bottle of water on top

 

a duck character looks over the top of two text based graffiti murals one says kerz and the other is by bubzart

below: A “Clew” throw-up by Clewin77

throw-up style graffiti on mural in light blue and olive green

below: Three colourful fish swimming in the waves by Poonam Sharma

mural of stylized fish swimming in the water with the sun shining down from above

below: Blackbird flying along with the moon in different phases is the work of Natalie Very B.   On the right, the wildstyle text-based mural was painted by spud1

2 murals on hoardings, a stylized blackbird flying with the moon in different phases around it. on the right is a wildstyle

below: A watery wildstyle by Trevor Goodwin (aka Horus)

wildstyle mural on blue hoardings, pine tree beside

black and white wildstyle mural on blue hoardings, pine tree beside

below: The white eyes are a bit disconcerting – awake? asleep?-  but otherwise she’s colourful.  Kizmet32 again.

water treatment facility construction hoardings, mural, by kizmet 32, a woman's face in green, blue and red, on top of a textual

pine tree beside hoardings around a construction site that have been painted by wallnoize, a group of street artists who have each painted a mural on a section of the wall

below: Burner on the left and Poser on the right

two text murals on hoardings, on the right is poser, and on the left is one with two eel heads poking up on top

below: The happy grinning lobster with a fish on each arm is Gentle Giant aka big_doz261.   The other mural is by onerzeus

a cartoonlike character red lobster grinning with a female fish on either of two arms, one at each side

below: A little fish nears the blue head at the end of the CRUZ tag in this Cruz1 mural.

mural by Cruz 1 on hoardings around a construction site near Ashbridges, a blue face and lots of colours around word that says Cruz, plus a tiny fish in top right

blue text

below: by Rusty (aka gutter_crew_guru),  If anyone would like to attempt an interpretation, I’d love to hear from you.  There’s a lot of detail in the mural that is fascinating yet creepy. Happy Halloween!

bright orange background like fire

below: A collaborative effort between Rowell Soller and @tenneshaskyers

portrait of a black man in the middle surrounded by calligraphy in black and white

on blue hoardings, a row of text graffiti

below: A very realistic looking creature in the water painted by Cesar Ar.

very realistic painting of a water dragon or monster in the water

below: Mural by Julie Amlin

Julie Amlin mural on Ashbridge water treatment construction hoardings, curves and curvy shapes in different colours

Jipik'am mural of a snake with tongue out, first nations symbols, words that say land back

hoardings around a construction site that have been painted by wallnoize, a group of street artists who have each painted a mural on a section of the wall with city of Toronto water tower behind

below: The work of invader.zima

green text, with a machine

below: Horizontal stripes of fish and water in a basket, or woven onto fabric, by Dakota Brant beside a Octo-Godess-Sea-Witch Lady by Katrina Canendo

two murals

below: A vintage scuba diver among the weeds, by silestyle161

below: Two whales swimming in the ocean, an orca on the left by Ren Lonechild of Red Urban Nation. The whale on the right was painted by Camila Wong and she describes it on instagram as “Inspired from the Great Hokusai artwork, expressive waves with colourful brushstrokes and whale represent overcoming challenges in your life“.

2 murals, one is a whale and the other is a dolphin, swimming in the water

below: Three Nick Sweetman green moray eels looking at SADAR‘s (aka blazeworks) mechanical octopus.

two murals. one is 3 large eel heads in yellos by Nick Sweetman, the other is a mechanical looking octopus

below: Two murals made with text.  FATHOM on the left and the creative efforts of RUN (Red Urban Nation) Artist Collective

two textual paintings on a wall, one with hashtag red urban nation and the other says fathom

below: Ashbridges water treatment facility with the wall.

round Ashbridges water treatment tower with lots of green grass in front, a blue hoardings wall around the construction of new parts of water treatment plant, with lots of street art murals painted on the hoardings

below: Looking in the other direction.

city of toronto concrete water tower behind blue hoardings with street art murals on them

below: Calligraphy by Kreecha (right) and a painting by Art Child (left)

two murals on hoardsing with crane behind.

below: Two figures nose to nose with their reflections in the moonlight, by Julii McMillan. The nail polish matches the blues of the water.

mural by Julii McMillan of two identical heads nose to nose in the water up to their noses, reflections of the two. hands beside heads so they reflect too. water, dark, moonlight

below: Victoria Day painted the very pink woman with grey hair who is surrounded by lily pads and little green dinosaurs? eels?   To the right is Clean Water text by SKAM

two murals on hoardings around new water treatment plant by Ashbridges, on the left a very pink faced lady with grey curly hair in the water with little green dragons and lily pads. on the right, text painting that says clean water H 2 O

below: A lovely orange octopus by Spyone beside a man partially submerged in the water, Rise Up by James (aka mistersoy)

two murals on hoardings around new water treatment plant by Ashbridges, an orange octopus and a man in a red and white striped T shirt with words rise up

A white boat with many portholes sails past, while on the right, by Andrea Rodriguez (aka Andrea Cataro) a pink dolphin and a grey walrus swimming underwater.

a dog and cat head in front of a large white boat in one of the two murals on hoardings around new water treatment plant by Ashbridges. other mural is a pink dolphin and a blue narwhal playing in the water

below: Abstract and sort of geometric, in teal and purple, by David Baron

abstract geometric mural by forge fury in teal, purple, and black

mural, an old woman's face in the middle, stylized brown trees, lines for earth and sky

below: A wonderful woman with turquoise dreadlocks in a turquoise sea under a pink octopus wearing a tophat.  This mural was painted by Désiré Betty

mural on hoardings, a woman with long braided turquoise hair under a pink octopus wearing a black top hat, mural by dbetty13, Desire Betty

below: A blue, purple, and white sea monster  by Andre Castro looks towards red and purple text by mr_tensoe2 

two murals side by side on blue hoardings, on the left is a blue monster by andre castro and on the right is an orange and red text graffiti

looking along a wall of murals on blue hoardings

below: By dat_dude_stu

text street art in layers, red on top, yellow in the middle and green on the bottom

below: Something other-worldly by fongkikid

a painting by fingkikid, fuzzy abstract watery thing in blues and purples

below: By mr. Water

mural, in blues, stylized waves, or text, could be either

looking along a wall of murals on blue hoardings to where they cross and block the sidewalk

below: Swirls by Flip surround a slightly greenish woman with hair that merge into the waves.  The woman’s face was painted by @gosiakomorski One Love – Don’t let hate win.

wallnoize street art murals on blue hoardings around new water treatment plant, a woman with long flowing hair and with her eyes closed

below:  Luvs crocodile with crocs floating in the water to the right of a small elfin(?) woman with long pink hair by @monicavcao

wallnoize street art murals on blue hoardings around new water treatment plant, a crocosile, very realistic looking, by luvs, with its feet in water

below: At the end of the painted section of the hoardings is this old green car, “little deuce coupe” surrounded by skulls, a dudeman ‘trademark’ of sorts.

wallnoize street art murals on blue hoardings around new water treatment plant, one end of the hoardings, by the bike trail, an old green car by spud, and a graphic in neutral tones,

Albert Jackson Lane

Posted: September 16, 2019 in general Toronto
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Albert Jackson Lane is a small alley that runs south from Harbord Street.

upper storey door with metal stair case and its shadows. White door. Red flower box on railing outside door.

below: What is happening to Harbord Fish & Chips? (Albert Jackson Lane is on the right).

small brick building painted white was Harbord Fish and Chips, sign is gone and the building is being renovated

below: Looking down the alley, the first impression is that it is rather nondescript but a few bits of colour suggest that walking down the lane might be worth the effort.

looking down a short alley, Albert Jackson Lane, with garages lining both sides, the backs of houses at the end including one that is being renovated

below: A purple and teal fish by birdo, aka Jerry Rugg

birdo mural on a garage door, orange background, fish swimming behind a stone, fish is teal and tail is purple and teal striped

below: Part of “Secret Garden” by Emily Kouri

mural by emily kouri from 2012 on a garage door, in pinks and blues with yellow circles with butterflies in the circles

below: An older mural that completely covers the garage and the fence on both sides.  I am not sure who the artist is.

older mural on garage and fence on both sides, covers the whole thing, in oranges, browns, and greys,

below: This character is well known – a poser bunny.

poser bunny and text, pink bunny, pink text, on light blue background, text is on garage door, bunny is on wall beside door

below: The Toronto skyline and its reflection in Lake Ontario in a mural by Mel Coleman.

a mural of Toronto skyline reflected in Lake Ontario, stylized, by Mel Coleman in Albert Jackson Lane, painted on a garage door

below: A talking head, a square head on TV.  I love the bunny ears on the TV – who has those anymore!

on a beige garage door, a white rectangle painted and on that, black drawing of a man with with a square head on TV, a lamp is beside the television

below: At the end of the alley, a house with major renovations in progress.

row of backs of houses from lane, house in middle has windows removed and hole in the walls being enlarged

of many ages

Posted: August 7, 2019 in alleys, graffiti and street art
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Follow the pointy fingers!

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

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

two large faces painted side by side in an alley

below: A very bright face by Curtia Wright

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

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

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

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

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

A Poser bunny face and a companion mini happy face too

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

Bonjour from the future

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

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

male head in many different colours

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

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

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

Mario sticks his head above text graffiti that says flyguy

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

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

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

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

Kensington Pedestrian Sunday, July 2019

Posted: August 4, 2019 in general Toronto
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a young man plays a violin in front of a pedestrian Sunday banner

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

an Asian woman walks holding a white umbrella with frilly trim

below: Bubbles of joy

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

below: Honkers on their saxes performing on the sidewalk.

two saxophone players, hinkers group, at outdoors performance

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

below: A dog and many tattoos

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

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

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

below: Paper graffiti on a utility pole

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

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

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