Looking north up Rocco Mandalfino Lane towards Dundas Street.
Looking south
A walk down Graffiti Alley on a rainy night.
below: Unfortunately, one of Uber5000’s large Toronto/Canada themed murals has been defaced (the one on the north side of the alley).
below: Doug Ford running away with the money, stencil graffiti by D. Terra. Our Premier seems rather happy with his haul. Accurate?
below: A dope piece that bears some resemblance to Homer Simpson.
below: A yellow one-eyed daisy standing tall.
below: This portrait has hair!
below: For some reason, a section of one of the side lanes (McDougall Lane? or Rush Lane?) was lit by a red light. Here there was a collection of pasteups and stickers including one with an abundance of flowers in her hair, a skater figure by drecks. She is joined by a bare breasted woman with even more flowers on her head as well as a Snoopy look alike and a cat on the telly.
below: On the same wall as the above – Tweetie bird, from Australia, along with some friends. Because of the red light, this photo is very low contrast and difficult to see. Best to see this wall in the daytime! Second best, would be to check out the instagram page of tweet_streetart
below: Another selection of slaps, mostly birds this time.
below: A little raccoon
below: Mortus figure – his hands are almost big enough to hold all those skulls.
below: On the pavement
below: FP Monkey (aka Julia H), Skamoney, Monster Fan Club, and PP Spray
below: Poser bunny
below: Making a rap music video
below: The east end of Graffiti Alley, the part closest to Spadina, was very dark.
below: As it turns out, the buildings at this end (north side) are now behind a metal construction fence. Darkness equals empty I suspect.
below: Yes they matter but was there no where else to paint this? There’s so much junk in the alley that no one would miss.
below: I am going to end this post with a bit of a rant. Yes, to some extent the art in this alley has come somewhat commercialized especially with the newer buildings on Richmond that back onto the alley. Uber5000 has benefited from some of this as he has painted a few large (and very good) murals here. I understand that street art by its nature is prone to “disappearing” behind the work of others but I reject the notion that one person’s tag is as good as another person’s mural. Anyone can destroy. Anyone can paint their “name” but if you are proud of writing it over someone else’s more talented work then you haven’t progressed beyond the preschooler phase of life.
This post also appears in eyesonthestreets.blog
Yesterday was not the first time that I walked the Milky Way; I have blogged about it a few times, mostly recently two years ago in July 2017. What surprised me most this time was just how little has changed. A lot of murals and paintings were done in 2013 and they are still there.
below: The two horses at the west end of the alley
below: A one eyed monster, melting ice cream cone figure with big black boots.
below: A star that has lost its shine.
below: Unused and overgrown
below: Someone’s not pleased.
below: Kaos in the alley.
below: Dinosaur riding.
below: Rafiki from ‘The Lion King’ still guards the door but his words may be lost to time.
below: This mural was ‘defaced’ (although the faces weren’t touched LOL) shortly after it was painted. The black letters on the middle woman have been there since at least 2017.
below: This was the only street art piece painted in 2019 that I saw.
below: Not the best seat in the house.
Peperonata Lane runs north from Harbord Street. Most of the garage doors in the alley have been painted. Some were painted as part of a Wallnoize project in 2013.
below: Take a seat… and see what kind of street art there is here.
below: A woman feeds the chickens.
below: This mural, done in 2009, is one of the older ones in the lane.
below: A deer and a hawk
below: Elicser people and a text painting by poise.
below: Split face on a fence, by fiya
below: A poser bunny
below: Multicoloured grumpy cat by shalak and clandestinos.
below: Wrinkled man with fish in hand, by smoky
below: A garage door painted by miles.
From City of Toronto documentation on the naming of Peperonata Lane, November 2012:
Wood cracks. Metal rusts. Paint fades and paint peels, its just what happens to paint when its exposed to the elements. Street art painted on a surface suffers the same fate. Nothing lasts forever and sometimes a mural’s life span is quite short. Sometimes other factors come into play – street art is defaced or altered in some way. Tags cover it; words get written on it. That too is the nature of street art.
below: I love what the weather has done to this woman’s face. Aging with grace and dignity. The texture of the old wood adds an element of depth and character to her as well.
below: One slat replaced. I’m sure it wasn’t the artist’s intent, but the gaps in the wood look like bars in a cage, or those metal bars you often see on windows.
below: Broken chin, but still watching the world pass by on Baldwin Street.
below: Yelling at the bushes.
below: Eyes are mysterious things. I have never been able to draw them properly and I am in awe of those who can. Even more so if the eyes communicate something, some emotion or expression.
below: I have always been intrigued by this face. A photo of the original painting hangs on one of my walls. I still find her mesmerizing. Those blue eyes still stare at the world. Is she looking through a veil? Or is she able to see through all the nonsense that the world throws at her?
below: A devilish child is still in good shape.
below: “Without money we’d all be rich”. That’s the kerb (curb) that runs along the bottom of the picture. Her whole face was not there in the first place.
below: And animal faces too!
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.
below: Taking selfies is an artform in itself.
below: Making a video in one of the side alleys.
below: A home for hundreds of stickers, all nicely frames together
below: This poser bunny takes the spotlight.
below: A new piece, with some older poser bunnies in the background.
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.
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!
below: Donald Trump and the lovebot share a pole. Poor lovebot 😦
below: Street art by gems
below: One more new street art piece
below: Talking trash says “She’s bound to put a blanket on my bed”.
below: A small blue airplane and another little blue thing, all that remains of a larger mural painted long ago.
below: Apparently he doesn’t miss us?
below: Oh no! Stikman is behind bars and lovebot’s been restrained.
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! 🙂
below: A protest piece. A play on the national anthem. Oh Canada our home on native land.
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.
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.
Today’s blog starts with an anatomy lesson as illustrated by vampz on a wall in Graffiti Alley – the arterial and venous blood flow of the head and neck.
I walked the alleys behind Queen St West today to see if there was anything new. The biggest new pieces were the above head and a new birdo creation, pictured below. A realistic looking blue jay and a floating pink gem.
below: The back part of the blue jay is on the side wall of the garage
which produces an interesting 3D effect.
below: This tribute to the basketball Raptors and their appearance in the 2016 Eastern Conference Finals is also a new addition. DeRozan is pictured on the left and my apologies for not knowing the player on the right. Unfortunately, it was too close to garbage day and the bins were overflowing so I couldn’t move them out of the way. Next time.
below: And unfortunately, garbage was an issue today.
below: The face isn’t new to the alley, but the words are.
Written by a woman with priorities!
Pretty female working retail falls in love with guys who need bail
the sweet smell of lust or love
you mean well, but money can get her a new car and clean nails.
The Lady”
below: Love Department featuring Phoebe.
You can find more of her on instagram @phoebenewyork
below: Even a simple smile will do most of the time.
below: Cloud Monet and the woman in white, or Who you lookin’ at Mr. Fish?
below: A couple of stikmans. No anatomical realism here!
below: A bit of mystery. I’m not sure if it’s a stikman or if it’s a newcomer to the alley
below: Pull up a seat and rest a bit, we’re almost done.
below: The final words on today’s walk. Someone’s not happy!
Back in the spring I posted pictures of the murals that were painted on the north side of the railway underpass on Bloor Street just east of Dundas Street. Since then, the walls on the south side have also been painted. Both walls were Wallnoize projects.
behind Dupont, near Bartlett
below: This wall has been covered with graffiti for a number of years now.
photo taken July 2015
below: The same wall in August 2012
below: Close ups from this past summer
below: Farther along the tracks. Note the small bicycle on the rusted metal drum.
It too has been here for at least a couple of years.
Renfrew Place, near Queen Street West and University Avenue.
Another alley, another collection of graffiti and street art.
below: Lovebot strides over speed bump warnings.
below: The Korean Grill House restaurant is at the corner of Queen West and McCaul.
below: This mural by elicsr is on the corner of Renfrew Place and John Street.