Posts Tagged ‘shadows’

Walking with friends

Posted: January 22, 2021 in nature, old buildings
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Howdy!

little metal character made of found objects and rusty metal, hat, fishing net, overalls,

There are rumours of a vaccine being available but at the rate at which people are being inoculated, we’re going to be living this socially distanced life for a few (many?) more months.  To help alleviate the feelings of isolation without jeopardizing anyone’s health, I have started walking with friends in their neighbourhoods.  My previous post, about Glendon College, was the result of a walk that I took with my mother and it was that afternoon that I decided to make a point of walking with friends more often.  The result of the first of these walks, near South Kingsway & Bloor, is what you see here.

yeard decorations of two small metal bikes, one blue and one yellow, in front of a house with Christmas wreath on the door and other Christmas greenery decorations too

stret of houses and large trees across from Rennie Park, single family homes, residential area, large trees, winter, no leaves, some snow on the ground.

bench in park, snow on ground, large tree, lots of long shadows,

a melting snowman with a blue and black plaid cloth around it, looks a bit like a large bid witha sharp curved beak

below: Rules of the rink for these Covid-19 times.

outdoor skating rink at Rennie Park, winter, with two signs regrding the rules for outdoor rinks during covid times, a few people are skating

outdoor skating rinkm some people getting ready to skate, enclosed rink for hockey etc with more natural rink beside it

child in red pants and blue winter coat pulling a sled across a park, houses and trees behind it

looking down a hill towards a park with a playground, backyards and houses beyond that. orange snow fence, railings of the stairs going down the hill

two adjacent two storey houses with lots of white statues and fountains in the front yards

white statues in front of a house

A little house!

older smaller house beside a larger newer one

older light grey stucco house on lot with grass and large trees

chainlink fence beside a path through the woods in early winter, no leaves on trees, some snow on the trail

below: Be careful where you walk!

wooden bridge over creek, ground at end of bridge has been flooded, hill onthe other side of the bridge with aprtment buildings (low rise) on top

below: Evidence of beaver activity!

beside a pond, thin layer of ice on the water, dead leaves on the ground, some medium sized tree trunks, one that a beaver has tried to take down

below: The muddy path beside Catfish Pond

path beside a pond that is muddy, boards placed on top of mud to make it passable

below: Morningside High Park Presbyterian church, built 1917.

front entrance and steeple of Morningside High Park, a stone church built in the Gothic style in 1917

below: In the distance, highrises near Bloor West and Keele

street curving downhill towards park, city skyline ion the background, a house or two beside the road

small white house behind a large pine tree and between two larger houses, on a small hill with stairs leading up to it

below: High Park

below: The very north end of Grenadier Pond.  Work is underway to remove invasive species of plants from this part of High Park and replace them with native vegetation.

a man is going down a long set of stairs towards a park, winter time,

and back up the stairs to Bloor West

older small apartment building from the 1920s, brick,with white wood trim and balconies

With thanks to Alice for being my tour guide.

a woman taking pictures in the woods, winter

drawn to walls

Posted: September 9, 2020 in windows and walls
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I’m not sure how many posts I’ve now done on walls but this it the latest installment….
Walls as a canvas for abstractions and graphic design elements.

yellow wall with a black shadow of a fence along the bottom

below: Sprayed black on orange.  Colour, line.

brick wall painted orange with graffiti on it

below: Red metal.  It was once part of a truck.  Text, pattern.

red metal wall

below: Wood and brick.  Two textures.

red brick wall, boarded up window with curved upper window frame, 4 wood trellises in front in different shades of rust and brown

below: Wedged in  between wood and glass, from Sunday 12th February 2017.

boarded over window beside a door covered with wallpaper. Sunday Star newspaper stuck between the boards and the glass of the window

below: Splotches of paint on a textured wall.

a yellow fire hydrant in front of a wall that is rust coloured tile on the bottom and grey stucco above. the stucco has been painted in splotches probably painting over graffiti

below: It’s actually construction in front of Holt Renfrew on Bloor Street.

small section of wall in front of Holt Renfrew, grey cladding on top, part of pink and blue wall around the windows can be seen behind grey vinyl covered fence for construction

below: Beginnings.  Layout and design – repeated vertical lines.

small green tree and six brown bars (for locking bikes) in front of a grey wall

below: Almost nothing there, slipping away

white brick wall with part of a window with white blinds

white walls

Posted: March 10, 2020 in abstract, windows and walls
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A few white walls on a sunny shadowy day.

a white door on a white wall with blue sky, also a bird house above the roof, horizontal shadow across the front of the house

A metal wall with peeling paint and a few rust spots…  and then add an old basketball hoop to the composition.

metal wall, painted white, exterior, with some rust, also an old basketball hoop and its shadow

shadows on the wall of a white house

In the spotlight, spotlight, spotlight, spotlight… and on camera too?

side of a white garage with lights and security cameras

Twig and texture

white wood wall with metal strip, a twig in front, with texture and shadows

sunshine and slush

Posted: March 2, 2019 in general Toronto, nature, public art, reflections, shadows
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The Last Day of February

below:  These boots are made for walking… walking through the snow and slush on a sunny day.

reflection in a shiny stainless steel panel of a person in pink boots walking on a snowy and slushy sidewalk

February has come to a close but it’s still winter and there’s still lots of snow on the ground.  There was a bit of a respite from the cold the other day but rumour has it we’re headed back to some very cold temperatures in the near future.  Of course, slightly warmer temperatures mean slush and puddles on the streets and sidewalks of Toronto.

below: The CN Tower is reflected in an oily puddle.

the CN tower is reflected in a large puddle with a bit of an oil slick, on a sidewalk downtown Toronto

below: The cows don’t seem to mind the snow!

two sculptures of cows lying down, snow covered lawn,

below: And the dogs at Berczy Park are all sporting scarves!

a light scarf is tied around the neck of a sculpture of a dog

below: Slow thaw.  Melting and dripping down the window.

looking through a drity window that has melting ice on it and something red behind it is out of focus

below: Rust and snow

close up of rusty bicycle gears and chain, bike is parked in the snow

below: Outside smoke break shadows.   Brrrrr

a man in a suit and tie is standing outside, his back to a bright turquoise wall, he is looking at his phone and has a cigarette in the other hand, shadows,

below: Sun and reflections, southwest corner of King St and University Ave

buildings on the southwest corner of University Ave and King Street, traffic lights, entrance to St. Andrew subway station

below: Flip yourself around….  and now looking north up University Ave past the northeast corner of University and King Street West.

looking at the northeast corner of King Street and University Ave., entrance to St. Andrew subway station, a man is coming up the stairs and out of the station, Canada Life building and other tall buildings in the background

below: Wet tree branches glistening in the sun

trees with no leaves in front of a building that is reflecting another building

below: More tree branches, but soft and feathery this time

winter, snow on tree, dead leaves on tree, wispy leaves, in front of a rust coloured building

below: These two little birds now watch over the dogs in Berczy Park.

two yellow birds, not real, little sculptures, perched on the bar of a street lamp

below: A section of a picture on display at Union Station.  It is part of an exhibit called “A Thousand Paths Home” and is the work of Torontonian Yung Yemi aka Adeyemi Adegbesan aka SoTeeOh.  A write up of his work appeared in Afropunk.

part of a picture on display, art work, Union station,

below: There were also some real people at Union Station, or at least parts of people.

looking along a wall at Union station, there are photos on the wall, part of an exhibit, between the pictures there are recesses in the wall with benches and people sitting on the benches, only their legs show in the photo

below: Looking north up Lower Simcoe Street towards the railway bridge

Lower Simcoe Street, looking north from Bremner Blvd, GO train on the trains on the bridge above the street

below: Salt and dirt and slush and snow, yes, the city in winter.

part of a very dirty blue car, parked in the dirty brown slush at the side of a street, snow, winter time,

below: It’s nice to still find lovebots!

large lovebot sticker on the back of a sign. Three lovebots in different shopes, with the words uploading love

yellow sign on sidewalk that says Caution Falling Ice Overhead

Falling snow and ice from above, and slush under foot. That was February.

a white star on the dark sidewalk, with dirty slush on top of it in blotches

Nuit Blanche 2018

Posted: October 5, 2018 in events, people
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This year’s Nuit Blanche was on September 28th and 29th.  The night’s activities were spread over a large number of locations around the city.  That was a few days ago so yes, I am a bit behind.  I was laid low for a couple of days with this cold that’s been going around… or I took a few days to recover from being up until 3:30 a.m.!

 

below:  Part of ‘Continuum: Pushing Towards the Light’ by Brandy Leary and the Anandam Dancetheatre.  They made they way across the glass enclosed bridge over Queen Street between the Eaton Centre and The Bay store.

4 people in costume, performance art, on glass covered bridge

below: From behind the burlap (or tarp?) Nathan Phillips Square, from an installation ‘Radical Histories 2012-2018’ by Ibrahaim Mahama.

looking at the back of the 3D Toronto sign at Nathan Phillips, looking through burlap and tarps that have been stitched together

below: More from the same installation, this time from the “right” side.  It was great for making shadow figures.  Thanks to Jude for starting off the evening with me… and getting creative (silly?) too.

making shadows against the fabric draped around City Hall and Nathan Phillips square

below: We found a photo shoot on Bay Street.

two young women posing on the street

below: On Bloor Street, nothing to do with Nuit Blanche but it looked cool.   Reflections and lights.

reflections in a window that has been lit with a red light, a mannequin is reflected from the store across the street

below: Eaton Centre, a quieter moment that night.

a young boy leans against his father as he reads a book, MIghty Robot, at the Eaton Centre

below: Checking the map.   Yonge Dundas Square – the installation there was very unimpressive so I took people pics instead.

a couple looks at the Nuit Blanche map

below: At Church of the Redeemer (Avenue Road and Bloor), Korean Dancers.  “Star Moon Water Stone” by Ensemble Jeng Yi

two Korean women in traditional costume, gold dresses, and decorated hair

below: Drummers, same venue as above.

drummers, performing, Church of the Redeemer, Nuit Blanche

below: ‘This Storm is You’ at the Ontario Science Centre, an installation by Zahra Saleki.   Photography on the walls and stories on the floor.

art installation for Nuit Blanche at the Ontario Science Centre, by Zahra Saleki called 'This Storm is You'.

below: Walk among the stories.  “Every story deserves to be lit.  Grab a sharpie and write yours.”

lit sign, large capital letters in pale blue, Every Story deserves to be lit. Grab a sharpie and write yours.

below: Smile!.. and a testament to the start of love.   Two of many lit stories.

white lanterns, rectangular, with tea lights in the bottom, scattered around the floor, people walking around them.

below: Saleki’s photos displayed here are abstract dance photographs in black and white.  Negative images and slowing the camera to produce the blur of motion.

black and white photo of a man leaning forward, finger pointed to ground, slow shutter speed, blurred motion,

four photographs on a black wall, by zahra Saleki, figures in motion

below: This is what you saw when you first got off the subway (is the SRT a subway?) at Scarborough Town Centre.  It’s part of the ‘The Things They Carried’ Babel series.  The motifs are similar to those on the installation at Yonge -Dundas Square, that oops, I don’t have a picture of.

installation of blue lights shining on fabric banners

below: At Scarborough Civic Centre, ‘Everything I Wanted to Tell You’ by Hiba Abdallah.  A series of words in lights projected onto several buildings.  The words changed every few seconds to tell a story or two.

two large signs at Scarborough Nuit Blanche, from the installation called Everything I wanted to tell you. Back lights say We worked so hard to make this place home

below: More of the words.  “People hold on so tightly to a specific narrative of this place”.

words projected onto the side of a building at Scarborough Civic Centre, part of Nuit Blanche installation, Everything I wanted to tell you by Hiba Abdallah

below: More projections at Scarborough Civic Centre.  Sorry, not sure which installation this is.

large projections on the concrete wall of Scarborough Civic Center

below: Scarborough Town Centre (mall) had a mountain of inflatable globes you could walk under, or just look at.  ‘Walk Among Worlds’ by Maximo Gonzalez

piles of inflatable globes are arranged at Scarborough Town Centre, people are walking around them and through a tunnel made of them

below: Weaving stories, ‘Interlacing’ by Community Arts Guild, at Scarborough Town Centre.

three people are taking their turn weaving coloured strips of fabric into a community weaving project

below: Watching a performance at the Scarborough Civic Centre.

people line the edge of a balcony to watch a performance below

below: Running through the lights.

woman runs past a white screen that is being lit with coloured lights, making her shadow coloured

below: Reflections, Aga Khan Museum

in front of the Aga Khan museum, a large white lit ball is reflected in the pool of water

below: more Aga Khan

Aga Khan at Nuit Blanche

below: Showing ‘Insomnia’, a video filmed in Tehran showing simply the view out his bedroom window, by Simin Keramati, Aga Khan Museum

a room in the Aga Khan that is showing a video made in Tehran, two people are sitting on stools as they watch it, orange carpet on the floor, old decorated bookcases against the walls.

side of the Aga Khan museum lit in bluish purple light

below: Trash at Yonge Dundas Square.  Nothing to do with Nuit Blanche, just an ordinary day’s worth of garbage.  It just happened to catch my eye as I was walking down the stairs to the subway.

clear plastic bags full of trash are pilled up against a clear wall at Yonge Dundas square

Ending with rubbish would be a weird way to end a post, so here’s another mannequin.  I saw lots of them that night too, unfazed by the activity around them, unmoved by the night’s events.

below: I’m out here every night.  Nice of you to finally notice….

bald white mannequin with dark sunglasses and very dark red lipstick, looking at the camera, wearing an orange and brown top with a collar, reflected red, ywllow, and green lights behind her.

 

wonderful!

Posted: May 5, 2018 in general Toronto
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Today.  Wonderful

back of an audi with the licence plate 1drful, or wonderful,

and Shiny.

wavy reflections of a building in the windows of another downtown building

I am not usually a morning person but how could I resist not getting up and moving on this gorgeous spring day?  With my metropass in my back pocket….

looking out the open doors of a TTC streetcar, as they start to close, see reflection of the streetcar in the window of the store beside the streetcar

… and my walking sandals on (Yes! Sandals!) I headed out to explore the day.

a foot, standing on pale brick red lockstone, crumbling kerb beside the foot, some weeds starting to grow up between the cracks.

(early enough to beat the crowds!)

interior of a TTC streetcar, looking towards the back, red covered white seats, no one else on the car.

The early morning criss cross shadows and reflections.

light and shadow patterns produce by low morning sun shining on downtown glass skyscrapers, on the street below with its white lines adding to the pattern

The soft greens, and almost yellows, of new leaves.

a park with green grass, trees just beginning to bud, in front of a number of glass and steel condo towers in downtown Toronto . willow trees and other kinds of trees.

The flowers – tulips, daffodils and hyacinths – that have spring up in planters around the city.

pink tulip growing beside a shiny metal sign, reflected in the sign, other spring flowers in the background.

Oh no.  The geese are back (or did they never leave?).

A lone Canada Goose walking on a small stretch of grass beside a busy road and the onramp to the DVP. head down, looking for food.

The dogs are still waiting for the water to be turned on.

statues of dogs around a fountain that is dry at the moment.

On Yonge Street (near Wellington), there has been too much water.  The street has been closed while water main issues are straightened out (it has since been opened).

road closed sign, black arrow on orange sign, ornage and black striped traffic cones, blocking Yonge street, with trucks in the background.

wet road, water gushing out of a large hose, feet and legs of some men.

While Yonge was closed anyhow, workmen install a new sign at the corner of Yonge & Wellington.

workmen on a lifter install a new sign on the outside of a Rexall drug store.

Also needing fixing – yesterday’s wind storm left a lot of damage around the city including this very large tree that lost a very large branch.    Actually the whole tree has come down.

large sections of an old tree lie on the ground where they fell during a wind storm. They landed on a chain link fence that is now broken. in a park .

Lots of wires were down too.

a large pole with a myriad of wires (hydro wires) has started to fall over. wires draping low across the street. hydro trucks on the scene

Not everybody was up with the sun this morning.

a man under a white blanket is asleep in the doorway of the old Kingsbrae restaurant, with a can of beer beside him

I hope that your day was shiny and bright too!
I can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings!

below: The reigning champ and I!

a man in a black tshirt crosses the street towards a large indow with lots of reflections in it.

walls, more walls

Posted: June 28, 2017 in abstract, windows and walls
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This blog post is part of my continuing fascination with walls and the other things that you see on walls such as windows, shadows, pipes, bars, and other architectural details.  I like to look at how the elements interact visually and how they come together to form compositions.  Sometimes they tell a story and other times they are just an abstract picture.   Here are a few that I have collected over the past few months.   The first one in the group is a photo that I took this morning; it was the prompt that led to this post.

below: the contrast of red, black, and right angled yellow

red wall with black door and yellow pipes

below: blue from the inside, shadows on the outside

grey wall with peeling paint, small window with metal bars and a blue board covering the inside of the widow, telephone pole with shadow, metal vent in the wall

below: yellow pipe, orange concrete

bright yellow pipe against a bright orange wall, with shadow.

below: a window seat

bright red wall with window. A chair is in the window, also reflections of chinese signs, number 52 on the wall

below: frosted reflections

hazy reflection of a window and a grey wall

below: from a different angle, still a wall

on an angle, rusty brown coloured wall with horizontal windows on a white section

below: nailed links where the hinge once was

chain link fence nailed to a bright blue wood fence, corrugated plastic behind the chain link

below: aging shingles and plywood

grey and rust brown shingles cover most of a wall with two windows that have been boarded over with plywood that is peeling, three basement windows with pink trim

below: yellow people and books above and dandelion specks of yellow below

dandelions grow against a concrete wall that has large yellow panels on the upper part

below: dollar signs in the winter

grey concrete wall with window, someone has drawn a dollar sign on the wall, leafless shrub growing against the wall, winter time

below: cracked and peeling

yellow wood door with peeling paint, red gate, also with peeling paint, up close of parts of them

below: vertical reflections, horizontal grooves

horizontal window in a wall with horizontal grooves

below: open days a week and empty frames

4 nespaper boxes lined up on a sidewalk in front of a beige wall, store, with sign that says open days a week.

below: painted square shining in the sun

partly hidden by shadow, brick wall with reddish painted square on it.

below: At 972 and 972A, a hidden doorway and a trophy in the window.

brick wall with recessed doorway on the left and window on the right. There is a trophy in the window

below: rectangles, diamonds, and trapezoids

trapezoid sections on a concrete exterior wall

below:  a deep red curtain and a few exposed bricks

window with deep red curtain, grey painted brick wall, lower basement window

below: The last few pictures are of this wall and the ghost remains of a house that once stood beside it.

side of a building with the ghost remains of the house that once adjoined it.

below: (16″) 2 steps from landing

wall with patched brick and concrete sections, also words written in marker

wall with sections of brick and plaster. Plaster covers what once was a doorway

old exterior wall, brick, mortar, plaster

Previous blog posts about walls:
1.  wall compositions (Nov 2015)
2. walls in the abstract (Oct 2014)

on the sunny side

Posted: September 15, 2016 in general Toronto
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a variety store on a corner of 2 streets in a mostly residential area. Green awning on one side of the building, an orange umbrella stands over the corner. sign on store says Sunshine Variety.

So excited!  So happy to be able to walk on the sunny side of the street and not be struck down by heat stroke!

below: You could say that we’re walking on cloud nine at the change of weather.

metal cutout figures of people walking, alongside a chainlink fence as part of an art installation

This past Sunday was a great day for a walk.  Luckily, it was also the day that Penny (author of ‘Walking Woman’ blog) and I had set aside to explore westward from Christie subway station.   Actually, we were going elephant hunting.  Well, it started off as an elephant hunt, but it turned into a treasure hunt – a treasure trove of Toronto quirkiness.

shadows of a railing along the side of a street with no sidewalk, just narrow space between the fence and the kerb, green bike lane. At the top of the photo is a shadow of a pedestrian walking, backpack on.

Eureka! As it turns out, it was also a great day for elephants to hang around outside.  This is Sally, a lifesize fiberglass elephant that stands nearly 3 metres tall.  She’s been standing here since 2003 and despite a little crack at the top of her trunk, she’s looking pretty good for her age.

a large white plaster? elephant stands in the frontyard of a house, tree beside it, bikes parked behind it. Residential street.

It was also a good day for gorillas to sit in trees.  A shout out to the man who was standing under this tree talking on his phone, oblivious to this furry creature above him.  The same man who gave me a strange look when I walked over with my camera, but then who shared a laugh with me when he too looked up and saw the monkey.

a large stuffed gorilla sits in the V formed by a tree trunk and a large branch of a tree, gorilla is wearing red boxing gloves.

Quirky treasures like woolly headed scarecrows.

a scarecrow in pink shirt and wooly hat stands high over a garden, between a garage and a fence in an alley.

below: Tartan columns holding up shady porches.

a shady porch at the front of a brick house with two columns painted in black and red tartan, or plaid.

below: Pet waint at Lansdowne subway station.

a sign that says pet waint on a sign that says Toronto in front of Lansdowne subway station entrance

below: A solitary dandelion in a lawn of astroturf. Even fake grass isn’t immune to the ubiquitous dandelion.

a single dandelion grows in a lawn of astroturf (fake grass) where it meets the concrete sidewalk

below:  We encountered many Little Free Library boxes.  This is not just a Toronto phenomenon and I’d have to say that it is beyond the “quirky” stage.  There is now a Little Free Library organization where you can register your library.  They claim to have over 40,000 registered libraries in over 70 countries.

a woman in a white baseball cap is reaching into a 'little free library' shelf of books outside a house

When I checked their website, I found a map of Toronto locations.   There are the libraries that are registered with the organization; I know that there are more than what is on this map.  What the map does show though is that these little libraries are numerous and that they are spread around a lot of the residential areas of the city.

map, from google maps, of the locations of little free libraries in the city,

below: Quick, get your Valentines Day roses while they’re still on sale!

a sign in front of a store selling plants and flowers that says Valentines Roses on sale, 10% off

below: The middle way, in case you’re lost?  There was a man standing there, the middle man so to speak, but he didn’t hang around long enough for me to get his picture.

two houses with a small walkway between them. Someone has written mid on one side and dle on the other so together they spell middle

below: Figures watching over a front yard, including angels and a buddha.

upper part of a statue of a young girl with decorated wall behind. Coloured picture of a biblical scene, 2 small angel statues and a buddha statue

below: And of course, what’s a Toronto walk without a lovebot?

lovebot and a lovebot nintendo gameboy on a wall above a graffiti bird with a word bubble that says everybody got a hungry heart

Near the end of our walk, we passed what is known as the Terracotta House.

house covered with terra cotta tiles with different designs on them. upper part of front of house

This house was built in 1905 by John Turner, a builder.  In the late 1800’s terra cotta tiles went out of style and there was a glut of them on the market.   Mr. Turner was using up excess stock that he had on hand?  Or advertising his business?  Or just taking advantage of a cheap material?   Whatever his motives, the house is still standing and is still a unique piece of architecture more than 100 years later.  I wonder what his wife thought of it?

house covered with terra cotta tiles with different designs on them.

detail of house covered with terra cotta tiles with different designs on them.

May all your walks, or cycles, be on the sunny side …

part of a mural called Strength in Numbers, on a wall, a painting of two cyclists. One is a black man with dreadlocks and the other is a woman in a polka dot dress with a box on the back of her bike.

… no matter how long they are!

an old tree trunk has been turned into a support for many little arrow shaped signs that point the direction to cities around the world along with how many kilometres it is to those cities.

late afternoon, Graffiti Alley

Posted: August 12, 2016 in graffiti and street art, locations
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As you may know, every few months I wander down Rush Lane and all the other lanes that make up Graffiti Alley on the south side of Queen West.  There is usually something new on the walls and hydro poles and there are often people watching opportunities as well.   Wednesday’s walk did not disappoint.   Here is the photographic evidence – some street art that I saw for the first time and some worth a second look… and even a person or two.

mural of a large face with paint brush by the mouth, wearing glasses, mural seems to be looking at a car that is parked in front of it, with reflections of the mural in the car window

below: Taking selfies is an artform in itself.

two young women pose in front of a colourful mural in an alley, while around the corner of the building a young man is looking at his phone,

below: Making a video in one of the side alleys.

making a music video in front of the street art in an alley, a young man in white t shirt is dancing to the music (and lip synching too I think) while another man, bald, is filming him and recording him.

below:  A home for hundreds of stickers, all nicely frames together

The words noo ideal painted above a window in an alley. The window is covered with a metal grille as well as hundreds of stickers

below: This poser bunny takes the spotlight.

a poser bunny painted on the side of a building, spotlighted by the afternoon sun, the wall behind him is in shadow

below: A new piece, with some older poser bunnies in the background.

street art on a wall in an alley, text starting with G, two yellow eyes as well

below: When I first saw this piece (by elicser?) I thought that he had his heart in his hands.  As I look at it more, I’m not so sure.   Any ideas?  Also, “How long do we have?”  An open question, an incomplete question, a mysterious question, or a question of philosophy.  You see, one question leads to another.

street art and graffiti in an alley, on a wall and in a doorway. On the wall is a headless man holding a pink blob in his hands, on the doorway is a lot of graffiti and tags along with the words, How long do we have?

below: This one isn’t new and isn’t particularly outstanding, but the way the sun was shining on it caught my eye.  A bit of a silly comment – I’ll assume that W C doesn’t stand for water closet!

wood double garage door, center opening, with a large street art W and C painted on it.

a large orange text graffiti across a large door and on the wall on both sides, all in orange, with three orange traffic cones in front of it.

below: Donald Trump and the lovebot share a pole.  Poor lovebot  😦

two stickers on a pole. The top one is a lovebot sticker and the bottom one is Donald Trump's head on a naked man's body.

below: Street art by gems

text graffiti by street artist gems, words spells gems in oranges and blues.

below: One more new street art piece

street art text painting in blue

below: Talking trash says “She’s bound to put a blanket on my bed”.

trash bins outside a restaurant. One of them has had words written on it,

below: A small blue airplane and another little blue thing, all that remains of a larger mural painted long ago.

very small street art painting of a blue airplane amongst tags

below: Apparently he doesn’t miss us?

small line drawing graffiti of a person with a word bubble that says I don't miss you

below: Oh no! Stikman is behind bars and lovebot’s been restrained.

a stikman is on a wall behind a metal grille and lovebot is on a metal pole to which a metal strap has been placed, over top of lovebot

below: A seat and a smoke at break time. Maybe he’s texting his girlfriend about the weirdos he sees in the alley. Or maybe he took my picture and he’s adding it to his instagram collection of strangers in the lane! 🙂

a man is sitting on a small orange plastic stool in an alley. He has a yellow apron on. He has a cell phone and a cigarette in his hands.

below: A protest piece.  A play on the national anthem. Oh Canada our home on native land.

street art on a wall in an alley, Canadian flag with background colours changed to Native flag colours, and words that say Oh Canada Our Home On Native Land. Honour our treaties.

 

below: One word of warning if you plan to walk this alley in the late afternoon, you may be dodging cars that are trying to avoid Queen Street traffic.

close up of the side of a car as it drives past in an alley

below: But you’ll also be entertained by those who get stuck.  It’s especially amusing when it’s the more aggressive drivers who are thwarted.   It is a working alley, not a street, after all.

cars trying to go in two different directions as they pass a truck parked in an alley

get outdoors!

Posted: May 23, 2016 in abstract, nature, waterfront
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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Well, this May 2 4 weekend has been splendidly sunny and fabulously warm!  I hope you’ve had the chance to take advantage of it, whether sitting on a patio with a cold drink and friends, or out enjoying the the greenness that has bloomed all around us.   It’s been a great few days to get up close and take a good look at nature.

looking down at a piece of concrete at water's edge, in the concrete is a cut off hollow pole, there are pebble and water in the hole.

below: Old moss covered metal seems to reach out of Lake Ontario like claws.

old bent metal embedded in concrete but partially inderwater. Moss is growing over it and making it look green

below: Reflections in the Yellow Creek, Beltline trail.

reflections of trees and blue sky in a creek, blue water, dark brown tree trunks and mottled greens of the leaves, in a ravine, in the city

below: Wet pebbles with the beginnings of green moss growing on them shine in the morning sun.

pebbles in greys and browns in the water near the shoreline of Lake Ontario. The pebbles closest to the shore are bright green with the beginnings of moss growth

below: Greater celandine, a yellow flowering plant, blooms along the railing of Milkmans Lane.

yellow flowers in bloom in the ravine, against a railing post, with shadows cast on the wood, large green leaves

below: New growth unfolds in the sunshine.

small maple tree with lots of new red leaves that have just come out. Grey rocks blurry in the background

below: The dark pink blossoms were at their peak this week.

many pink blossoms on the branch of a tree

below: Green and brown mosses sway with the water currents along the shore of Lake Ontario.

looking in the water beside some rocks. There is moss and algae in green, yellow, rust and brown swirling in the water of Lake Ontario

the end of a shovel is in the ground, behind a chainlink fence. The sun is shining and making reflections. The reflection of the chainlink fence is on the shovel.

below: The snow fences have been bundled up and put away for the summer.

rolls of wood slat snow fences bundled away for the summer in large rolls. 4 rolls viewed from the end.

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