Posts Tagged ‘skateboards’

Graffiti Alley – first visit of 2026

Posted: January 13, 2026 in alleys, graffiti and street art
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circular, concentric, calligraphy, stylized, street art painting with a profile of a person with eyes closed

This blog post is a quick look some of the “art” that can be seen in Graffiti Alley at the moment. There is lot on display even though I only walked between Spadina and Portland so this post focuses on the murals and larger paintings that I saw. The smaller stickers and paste ups will be in a subsequent post (sooner rather than later I hope!).

below: Blue birds and big ugly black dogs.

two murals, street art painting, graffiti alley, blue bird with open wins, but feet on pine branch, in background is a squat heavy set black and white dog mural

below: A portrait of Volodymyr Zelensky in Ukraine’s blue and yellow colours.

portrait of zelensky, ukrainian leader president, in blue and yellow, street art mural

below: Daisy, in rabbit ears

word daisy written on arm of girl in street art painting, graffiti alley, she has black rabbit ears

below: On one of the corners, there is a long grey mural with bits of red….

below: “A lone samurai known as Ghost stands on watch”.   A story and a mural by Dewucme

below: Portraits painted on skateboards – there has been a collection of such portraits hanging here for at least a year.  I am not sure if these three are newer, or if I just forgot them last time.  (Link to blog post of skateboards from 2025).  I have updated the 2025 post to include a few photos that I took last week of other skateboard portraits that I didn’t see a year ago.

graffiti alley, portraits on broken skateboard,

below:  Portrait by Bunso

black and white portrait, street art mural, graffiti alley, man in white t shirt and black cap, smiling,

below:  Other part of the above mural, but painted by a different artist (I think)

black and white portrait of a man

below: In memory of Andre Campbell

blue trash bins and black garbage bags piled in front of street art mural, black and white portrait of a man with short dark hair and glasses, with text that says in memory of Andre Campbell

below:  Behind the Queen Street stores

parking areas and back yards of stores on Queen street, graffiti alley view, three storeys, with balconies across the back street art and graffiti on fences

below: Painting on hoardings as downtown redevelopment (and subway construction) slowly encroaches on the Queen and Spadina neighbourhood.

tiger and dragon street art mural on hoardings in an alley in Toronto

below: “Find peace in your chaos” Plus, it seems to be wearing shirt and tie but it’s also drooling and looking just a little unhinged!

words on sidewalk that say find peace in your chaos, below a painting of a pink monster head with white eyes and big white teeth

squished face, monstrous, big eyes with orange pupils, big white teeth with gums bleeding above one tooth

monster faces, graffiti alley, street art, with snowman underneath

below: Monstrous television screen head with bloody gums and matching tie.

monster faces, graffiti alley, street art, big teeth, with a head shaped like a television screen

tree in front, looking across alley to side of building, completely covered in street art painting, graffiti alley

street art painting, graffiti alley, purple face, blue hands with thumbs up

street art painting, graffiti alley

below: “Who you gonna call?”  Ghostbusters green slimey thing!

street art mural in graffiti alley with green slime creature from Ghostbusters movie in center

below: He’s got one big eye and a scowl on his face.  There’s a burning cigarette in his mouth and the Ace of hearts is tucked into his hat band.  Quite the character.

two garage door murals in graffiti alley

below:  Not all cats are cute?

ugly cat, yellow, with bulging green eyes, street art mural, with two monkey faces, graffiti alley

below:  A woman with her purple hair tied up with little glowing (but ghostly) lanterns in a mural by MonkYi

street art painting by Monk Yi, woman holding a blue fan, with her hair tied up and two little lanterns in her hair, big gold ear rings.

street art painting, graffiti alley, large red and yellow daisy by catchoo, wad of money bills with arms and legs and a face too

street art painting, graffiti alley, on a door, woman with black hair, red lips, and red clothing that looks a lit like flames, red hot

street art painting, graffiti alley, pink tiger, with pink hearts

below: Climbing green onions (scallions?)?  An upside down blue goose?  … And in the middle, yellow siu mai (Chinese open-topped steamed dumplings, a dim sum favorite), all images from the imagination of Mixt Paints aka Kelcy Timmins Chan

purple naked person climbing a bunch of green onions a light blue duck with yellow beak that is diving downwards, street art painting by mixt paintz

below: There’s that snowman again, but on a different wall and surrounded by graffiti

a little white snowman with carrot nose and black buttons, street art painting on a wall covered with graffiti, graffiti alley

below: Ninos Libres, by Kalaruno

street art portrait of a child by Kalaruno, ninos libres

below:  Another Kalaruno painting

lumber and trash in front of a mural in graffiti alley, grey squarish character with human face by Kalaruno

below: At least it’s a step up from tagging…..

red, black, and white mural in graffiti alley

below: A green finger on the trigger.

side by side, two smaller street art painting, graffiti alley, on left is green hand and pink spray paint can while on right is a stupid round face with big oval teeth

behind store, graffiti alley view, pile of empty boxes and trash at bottom of stairs, with doors with street art in orange and blue

graffiti and street art under stairs, green turtle, mushrooms

below: Blue.  And strange looking.  He’s hanging out in the doorway.

street art painting, graffiti alley, in doorway, blue faced weird looking man

below: An introspective dragon

a street art painting of a greenish grey dragon with the word introspection in orange across its body

 

street art in graffiti alley

below: And last, many thanks to the usual Wednesday Gang!

people walking down a wet alley, puddles and reflections on the pavement, of the street art and graffiti on the surrounding walls

 

skateboard portraits

Posted: January 22, 2025 in alleys, graffiti and street art
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Graffiti Alley is still an interesting place to explore.  Unlike some street art locations that have succumbed to the scrawls and tags of the less well-intentioned, good art and ideas can still be found here.  At present, adding to the eclectic nature of the graffiti in Graffiti Alley are a few interesting portraits done on half skateboards (or at least on wood in the shape of a skateboard). Most are screwed onto wooden utility poles. This post was from January 2025 – a year later I found some skateboards that either I had missed the first time, or they had been added later. I also found that some of the originals had been defaced. I have mixed the two sets of photos into this post.

below: One on natural wood colour and the other in vibrant red.  The sticker says Positive Creations.  This is the 2025 version.

two men's portraits painted each on half of a skateboard, attached to a pole in graffiti alley. one is black line drawing on natural wood colour, and the other is very red

below: Photo taken in 2026

3 skateboard portraits with a large street art painting of a man's face, in grey tones, behind

below: 2025, pink and blue women

two women's portraits on a skateboard. Top one is turquoise and the bottom one is pink

below: A man with a mustache that looks a bit like Freddie Mercury

man's portrait painted on half of a skateboard, attached to a pole in graffiti alley

below: Three on the same pole in Graffiti Alley – A red person with shaggy hair and light blue glasses as well someone with very long orange hair.

portraits painted on half skateboards, 3 different men, one in red, one in orange, and one in pink, all on the same pole in graffiti alley, work of positive creations

man's portrait painted on half of a skateboard, in red, shaggy hair, and wearing light blue glasses, attached to a pole in graffiti alley

below: At the bottom, a quizzical look on a pink face.

pink man's portrait painted on half of a skateboard, attached to a pole in graffiti alley

below: From 2026 (as are the rest of the images)

graffiti alley, portraits on broken skateboard,

below: Old Joy is also a 2026 addition.

portrait of a person with log hair and glasses, painted on a broken skateboard also the text old joy, written 4 times in stencilled capital letters

portrait of a woman in yellow with blue outlines, short hair, on a broken skateboard

yellow outlline drawing portrait on red background, painted on a broken skateboard

below: These may have been included in the above images from 2025 but they have been defaced so much that I am not sure.   The top one looks like it might have been a multi-legged creepy crawly thing with pincers in front.

two defaced, painted over with other graffiti, portraits on skateboards, on wooden pole in graffiti alley

It’s possible that there are more…. Also, if anyone has any idea as to who has painted these, please let me know!

Multipli’city in progress

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

below: Some faces by Carlos Delgado

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

below: Just starting, background figures in white

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

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

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

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

 

 

summer in the city, June edition

Posted: June 15, 2016 in people
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Summer in the city – enjoying the summer weather!

below: Toronto street art in Graffiti Alley.

Street art painting in a n alley that says Toronto in blue

below: skateboarders

Two young men on skateboards are passing by, another is holding onto the back bumber of a red car while he is on a skateboard and the car is moving.

below: Enjoying a quiet moment, late afternoon.

a woman sits on an outdoor patio, under a large yellow and white umbrella with a Singha Beer ad on it, sitting on a bright red plastic stool. Other plastic stools are around her, both red and blue

below: Painting shingles – June 4th was 100 in One Day, a day where community activites are promoted. One of the activities on Kenwood Lane was shingle painting.

kids painting designs on wooden shingles, outdoors.

below: Running through the fountains at Yonge Dundas Square

a boy runs down the middle of the fountains at Dundas Square with his arms out at his side and a smile on his face

below: World Naked Bike Ride participants cycle through Kensington.

Five or six men on bicycles on a street in Kensington, they are all naked. One is wearing a large Canada Flag hat and has a Canadian flag flying from the back of his bike. Participants in the World Naked Bike Day.

below: Relaxing at Nathan Phillips Square.  #sitTO is a campaign to increase the number of places to sit in public spaces.

A man sits on a folding chair beside the fountain at Nathan Phillips Square. He has his feet up on the bars of his bike that is balanced there.

below: Distillery District

A woman is posing by the large red heart in the distillery district, she is leaning back on one side of it.

below: Patio, College Street

a restaurant on the corner of two streets, with a patio both out front and at the side. Both are full on a sunny late afternoon.

A woman is carrying a cat in what looks like a baby carrier on her chest. It is a Siamese cat

a frontyard full of small purple, blue and white flowers, all behind a chainlink fence

wallnoize

Posted: May 4, 2015 in graffiti and street art, locations
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Graffiti and/or street art on the north side of the railway underpass on Bloor St. West between Dundas West and Perth Avenue.  It is also by the Bloor GO station and where the West Toronto Railpath crosses Bloor Street.

Painted April 17, 18 and 19, 2015 by 26 artists led by Cruz1

looking along a sidewalk that runs under a railway bridge. Along the right hand side are a series of graffiti paintings.

street art painting under a railway bridge - big multicoloured lips, partially open revealing big white teeth

street art - brightly coloured, fluorescent like, giant squid, a steet art painting signed by Nick Sweetman

street art painting of an elephant standing upright, only upper part shown, wearing a plaid jacket, carrying a cane over his shoulder, a small hat on his head, and holding a flower in his trunk. A green train runs across the top of the painting. signed by blackburn

Street art painting of many cans of spray paint, some with faces on them.

Street art under a railway overpass as seen from on top of the bridge. A painting of a bumblebee flying towards a bright yellow and orange flower as well as a painting that is done is blues can be seen.

street art painting under a railway bridge - purple whale

street art painting under a railway bridge - astronaut's helmet

Man walking along a sidewalk towards a railway bridge. One side of the underpass has been painted with street art pictures.

street art painting under a railway bridge - a large woman's face, she is breathing on a little man who is standing on her outstretched hand.

street art painting under a railway bridge - a young man and a young woman on skateboards

street art painting under a railway bridge - an ugly blue creature with nasty look on his face, yellow stuff oozing from the corner of his mouth

woman walking along a sidewalk under a railway bridge. There is a graffiti picture of two people skateboarding beside her.

street art painting under a railway bridge - a pink, maroon and red bullblue street art painting of a wrecked sailing ship partially submerged as she sinks stern first

street art painting under a railway bridge - a mn with orange skin, large head and twisted pipes for arms. A bis S is coming out of the top of his head

east side of mural under the railway bridge - series of street art paintings by different artists, playground behind, street scene beyond.

street art painting in geometrics, especially trianges and angled lines.

street art painting under a railway bridge - a long yellow snake curld up amongst purple and red swirls

street art painting under a railway bridge - multicolored skulls

street art painting under a railway bridge - a white hand with finger pointing to the left

This was spudbomb was added a few days later.

street art under a railway underpass - tag spud and stencil that says spudbomb
street art under a railway underpass - pink lips and a blue bomb with a smiling face on it by spud

street art under a railway underpass - yellow stars, 3 D blocks and some pink flowers

 This was another StreetARToronto project.