Posts Tagged ‘#whatsvictorupto’

from Broadview eastward

Posted: November 4, 2020 in alleys, graffiti and street art, locations, nature, stores
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row of stores and cafes on Danforth, covered with street art, the Only Cafe,

My walk the other day started with a coffee and a croissant from Broadview Espresso, just north of the Danforth. It was a bit chilly and damp to be eating & drinking outside but that’s the way of the world at the moment, at least in Toronto. At least walking helps keep you warm! Anyhow, just outside the coffee shop was a sidewalk unicorn painted by whatsvictorupto. There was one on each of the 4 corners of the intersection of Broadview and Pretoria. Here are two of them.

painting of a unicorn on the sidewalk, a blue unicorn surrounded by 4 blue hearts, all on a pink background, the work of whatsvictorupto

painting of a unicorn on the sidewalk, a brown unicorn head and neck with white mane and horn on a green background

whether you’re walking

upper part of a mural on the Danforth of a man walking on a map of the area, around two windows of the building on which it is painted.

Part of a mural by Monica on the Moon

or on a bike

on the side of a Chinese restaurant, a mural of a woman on a bike. She's holding the handle bars but her legs are straight out behind her. She's wearing a red dress and has long black hair. There are three signs on the restaurant, First, Indian Hakka Chinese Food, second, 7 dim sum, and third, we deliver

there’s always something to see along the Danforth or behind in its alleys.

a utility pole on the street decorated for Greektown, in blue and white vertical stripes and an oval with the words Greektown on the Danforth along with a Roman column

There are windows to look in

two shelves with head mannequins, wearing different wigs, covid masks, hats, and halloween masks

below: A great assortment of Covid masks

fabric covid masks for sale in the window of a store

below: Multilingual covid signs on the window of the Greek grocery – where shelves with oregano, tomato paste, pasta, coffee beans, grape juice, eggplant, and candy are all display.

the window of a Greek grocery store, with food, also signs re covid rules in Greek. for sale, oregano, Nescafe coffee, tomato paste,

There is more street art and graffiti to find, sometimes at your feet

below: Grounded Together, A painting by Caitlin Taguibao on the sidewalk

a painting on the sidewalk, a circle with words grounded together, pictures of women with plants and flowers, a dog chasing a bird.

and sometimes closer to eye level.

below: Skull and sticker

large dark blue stencil of a skull in profile on a blue newspaper box. There is also a sticker that says end white supremacy

Posters with social/political messages can also be found.

below: End White supremacy above, and now a poster re stats in Toronto “Black people in Toronto are 20 times more likely to be shot and killed by the police”. Source: from the Human Rights Commission, 2018.

a poster on a metal utility pole with a graphi to illustrate how black people are more likely to be shot and or killed by the Toronto police

In this case, wake up and see the climate crisis. A faded bee on pink juxtaposed with the black, red, and white butterfly painted on the street box.

2 posters on a utility pole plus a painted street box behind. One poster says climate crisis wake up disobey. The other poster has a pink bee

below: I get the no peeing part. I suspect that those aren’t eggs and this is a warning? or a threat?

wood fence, exterior light, and a sign, picture of man peeing with a red line through it, below that is picture of a pair of scissors and two eggs.

And then there is artwork of a different kind – on the front of St. Irene Chrisovalantoy Greek Orthodox Church built in 1974

2 pictures, exterior, front of Greek Church, white walls, with a Greek flag flying between the two of them

2 pictures, exterior, front of Greek Church, white walls,

stained glass over the front entrance, from the inside

stained glass window over the front entrance of Greek Church

Even on a grey day there are colours to be found, not just in the artwork and stained glass windows, but in the nature around us.

below: Some sunshine in bloom

a sunflower in bloom

below: autumn vines with a street art background

autumn coloured vine leaves cover a wall that has street art painted on it

below: This tree dominates with its abundance of red leaves. You may have also spotted the murals in the background.

Felstead Park, a tree with a lot of red leaves on it, as well as on the ground below it, dominates the picture

below: These are the murals in the second Butterfly Laneway project (2018). Check this link (metamorphosis in the lane) to see all the murals.

trees in autumn colours, with butterfly murals on the garages beyond the park

below: One of the murals is carefully put aside while work is done on the back of this house.

a house, seen from the back, being renovated, backyard is also being fixed up, fence between house and park has been removed, but garage door with mural on it has been preserved

below: More renovations. Apparently, people staying home because of covid = a boom in home renovations. Both Home Depot and Lowes reported increases in revenue for the second quarter of 2020, both were more than expected.

2 houses side by side, one with pale blue siding on upper floor, the other with yellow siding, both with porches in the front, the one n the right is being renovated and has a bin out the front

old car and old garage in front of a large new modern house

below: The unusual roofline and trim on these two houses caught my eye. I also love the fact that they are attached yet have a distinct character of their own. Brick vs stone, little peaked roof over the door vs. green and white metal awning, rectangular window vs bay window. Like identical twins trying to be their own person.

two adjacent houses with barn like rooflines, one in brick and the other in stone,

Danforth subway line, Donlands station. Ten years ago, it was decided that Donlands station needed a second exit and that it would be on the corner of Strathmore and Donlands, One building, 17 and 19 Dewhurst would have to be torn down to make way for the new exit. 19 Dewhurst was sold to the city in 2018 and just last year the property at 17 Dewhurst was expropriated.

through a chainlink gate, front yard is square concrete patio stones, yellow front door

front yward is overgrown, white railing on porch, dark porch and front door

Across the street at 14 Dewhurst, the old Temple Baptist Church (1925) is being redeveloped as condos, the Sunday School Lofts.

large old brick church, Temple Baptist church, is being redeveloped as residences, plus an addition added to one side of it

The home remodeling business may be doing well but the restaurants are hurting. As of the end of October, indoor dining in Toronto was prohibited.

below: Abyssinia restaurant. One of the many different ethnic restaurants along the Danforth. Although it is still referred to as Greektown, and the Greek influence is still strong, you can eat a wide range of foods from different cultures. As you move east along the Danforth, there is a strong African (especially Ethiopian) presence.

a man pushes a stroller along the sidewalk past a store and the Abyssinia restaurant on the Danforth

below: Did you know that gourmet cinnamon rolls was a thing? Did I run across the street to buy one? (Almost!!).

a woman walks past Cinnaholic, a store selling gourmet cinnamon rolls

below: The northwest corner of Danforth and Donlands. You can choose between halal chicken and pizza, or dim sum.

northwest corner of Danforth and Donlands, two storey brick

Other little graffiti stickers, posters, and paste-ups:

below: Another flying bicycle

stencil on paper on a utility pole, in orange and black, a girl riding a bike, with wings on her back

below: Mad Dog Wrecking Crew

2 graffiti stickers on a Canada Post box, the top ones says gewn snail, the bottom one is an abstract drawing in black and white

below: A very sad man

paper pasteup on a metal pole, sad man

below: Checkerboard sneaker and a big tooth-ed skull by mr. Toon.

two stickers. the bottom one is a skull by mr. toon and the top one is a no laces, slip on sneaker in black and white checks

below: The paper is torn but it is: “She clasped my face in her bones and kissed silence into my mouth” a quote by Amiri Bakara (I saw one exactly the same in Kensington last summer).

paper pasteup on a metal pole, top is a skull looking down, bottom is a man looking up, with words

below: With a car parked in its mouth

dripping paint in blue and red on a wall with a hole in it, two eyes drawn above the rectangular hole. A car is parked on the other side of hte wall and shows through the hole

below: Does the blue haired woman know whats lurking behind her?

two wig mannequin heads in a store window. the one in front has pale turquoise hair, the one in the back has black hair.

Happy November – let’s keep walking and see what we can see along the way…. and in case you need help…!

display of eye glasses in the window of a store

29 July – another Pedestrian Sunday

Posted: July 30, 2018 in events, people
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People watching at Kensington Pedestrian Sunday

a woman in white sleeveless top and with very red dyed very curly hair, carrying a bottle of ginger beer,

a young black man in black wide brimmed hat sings in front of a microphone, part of a band performing ouside in front of a mural on a wall

below: The Spontaneous Poet, poet 4 hire

woman with green felt hat with floppy brim, smoking a cigarette, sitting at a small table and typing on an old Smith Corona typewriter. She has a sign on the table that says, poet for hite, the spontaneous poet.

older man with white beard and mustache, wearing sunglasses and teal baseball cap, leans on a garbage can while smoking a cigarette

a young black woman with long dreadlocks has a large snake on her forearm, she's smiling. A man with grey grey beard and moustache watches her.

man standing in an alley with street art on one wall, holding a guitar, he has just finished playing and singing, a man is behind him on a bike

balding black man with the Queen of hearts playing card stuck on his head makes a muscle man stance with fists clenched, he's performing magic tricks while people watch him

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

victor painting on the sidewalk in Kensington. He's wearing a shiny sparkly mask over the top of his head. people are walking past #whatsvictorupto

an older man in tweed jacket and cap with long white beard and mustache, black rim glasses, white plastic bag over one arm, walks down the street

young black man dancing on the street, part of a group, Pedestrian Sunday afternoon at Kensington, people in the background watching

young Asian womanin a straw coloured wide brimmed hat, smiling as she dances, she is holding the brim of her hat with both hands so it doesn't fall off

a male mime, black hamburg hat, lime green shirt, black suspenders and red carnation on the suspenders, beckoning to the crowd, outside, street festival, pedestrian sunday at kensington

a black man dances on the street, slow dance, with an older blond woman,

two women dancing, one with long hair on the top but shaved on the sides, wearing an intricate black necklace, double, one woman in focus in the front, the other slightly out of focus, purple and black sleeveless tops, close up of head and shoulders and one hand with grey fingernails

woman in short velvet close fitting top, large necklace, and holding a white parasol walks down a street in a crowd of people

young girl in Minnie Mouse tshirt and frilly pink skirt, pacifier in mouth, sits on the street beside a bike while she watched a performer, summer afternoon,

black woman with very short hair, round sunglasses and white top, wearing many strands of beads, sitting on a bench on her phone

a man wearing a purple vest and white hat, stands on stilts with long trousers covering, juggling 4 different coloured bats (or pins?) shaped a bit like bowling pins, two in his hands and two in the air. outside on the street

 

sing everything you see

Posted: November 6, 2017 in general Toronto
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“Sing me a rainbow, paint me a dream.
Show me a world that I’ve never seen.”

The first Monday after the “fall back” time change is always one of my favorite days of the year.  That’s when I feel like I got an extra hour of sleep.  So I woke up feeling great but of course it’s November so there were some grey clouds.  Still, the phrase “I can sing a rainbow” was stuck in my head.  But I don’t sing, so I did the next best thing and took a rainbow of photos as I walked today.  Beat the blahs away by capturing the brightest moments.

reflections in the side of a red car

cracked concrete wall that is painted red

close up of an orange construction sign

part of a jack o'lantern carved pumpkin for halloween, triangle eyes and nose

yellow plastic cone in front of a pale yellow wall

yellowish green leaves hanging on a tree

slightly rotting wood painted bright green

part of a greenish blue poster

close up of a bright blue letter on a white background

reflections of blue sky in the window of a blue car

pint boxes of blueberries

part of a poster on a wall, shades of purple

purplish brown leaves, close up picture

below: And what goes best with rainbows? Why not a unicorn?! It looks like the work of #whatsvictorupto

sidewalk painting of a unicorn head, by whatsvictorupto

If you know the children’s song, “I Can Sing a Rainbow”, you will know that the colours in the lyrics aren’t in the correct ROYGBV order (or IV at the end if you include indigo).  It’s a cute little song so I will forgive the author.

And in case your childhood didn’t include this song, here are the words:
Red and yellow and pink and green,
Purple and orange and blue,
I can sing a rainbow,
sing a rainbow,
Sing a rainbow too.

Listen with your eyes,
Listen with you ears,
And sing everything you see.
I can sing a rainbow,
Sing a rainbow,
Sing a rainbow too.

 

 

Pedestrian Sunday, August 2017

Posted: August 29, 2017 in graffiti and street art, landmarks, people
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Once again, the last Sunday of the month was Pedestrian Sunday in Kensington Market.  There was a large turnout this past weekend!  Lots of people, music, food, sunshine, and good times.

below: Dancing in the steet

a small group of men are playing instruments and singing Spanish songs, a crowd of people have gathered to watch, outdoors, on a street, some of the people have started dancing on the street

Two men stand beside their bikes talking, a woman in a straw hat an dsunglasses sits behind a table with a yellow table cloth with items for sale on the table

a large number of people in an alley. A banner over the alley says Kensington Flea Market and Beer Garden

below: A song, a mandolin, and a Polish Boy Scout belt buckle?

two musicians, one is playing a mandolin and singing the other is just singing, they are both sharing the same microphone

below: She is showing lots of courage!

a mannequin sits on an upper balcony but only her legs and feet show in the picture, hanging from the balcony are some pieces of paper with the word courage written on them

a young man drills out the center of a pineapple while two women blend the chunks into juice. The juice is then poured back into the hollowed out pineapples and sold as a drink

a head mannequin in a store window, with an orange piece of fabric wrapped aroungd her head. Other fabric in the window. also two people reflected in the glass

two men with baseball caps are sitting on yellow Muskoka chairs on a sunny afternoon. One is facing the camer - he is holding a piece of paper in one hand, he is yawning.

below: A quiet corner for a good book

double entrance to semi-divided house, both doors are open, there are bookcases beside the doors. In one of the doorways, a boy in a green t-shirt sits and reads

looking into the window of a bakery/restaurant. Three people are sitting at a table that looks out the window. One is one his phone and the other two are looking out the window. The sign on window, in red lettering is Ricas tortas,

items for sale on a table outside, three shoes (no pairs), one gold, one red velvet and one patterned, on a purple table cloth. Also for sale, two round orange lamp shades

below: Numbers on the alley by #whatsvictorupto

an alley in Kensington with a painting by #whatsvictorupto on the ground - numbers

below: Drinks – the changing nature of Kensington market is reflected in the food and drink that is available.  There is now a large South American influence in the area so products like Inca Cola and Chicha can be bought.

sample of drinks for sale at a food stall at a street festival, nestea, coke, water, some soft drinks as well as south american products like chicha (purple) and

below: A poser bunny still lurks in an alley.  Everything around him as changed be he remains.

an old poser bunny on a wall in an alley

below: Sign on phone – Stop busting our phone!  Outside the Moonbean Coffee Shop

a small phone booth outside a coffee shop with a patio. Some people are sitting on the patio, Moonbean coffee. On the phone is a round white hand written sign that says Please stop busting our phone

a man looks at sunglasses at a table outside where they are for sale. The sign says Pedstrian Day Sale, sunglasses ten dollars, straw hats ten dollars

an old green and white pickup truck parked in a driveway in Kensington Market, beside a store with a very faded sign that barely says King of Kensington

below: Who you callin’ a pretty boy?

an ugly white dog, on a leash, is looking at the camera, outside, on the street, with the legs and feet of some people

items in the window of a store, as well as on a table set up outside the store

below: The Joker and a friend.

in an alley, two graffiti pieces. One is a pasteup, realistic and detailed drawing of Heath Ledger as the Joker and the other is a quick black line drawing of a man's face

Prince and the unicorns

Posted: May 1, 2016 in graffiti and street art
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As I was walking across Queen Street West a couple of days ago, I saw a pink sparkly tribute to the musician Prince who died recently.   In 1993 while having contract problems with Warner Brothers, Prince changed his stage name to this symbol.  It became known as the Love Symbol although he was more regularly referred to as ‘The Artist Formerly Known as Prince’ for the next seven years.

A large pink painting on a sidewalk, a symbol used by the singer Prince. The painting is a memorial to him. His dates are given 1958 to 2016.

A few feet away, at the corner of Queen and Spadina I found the artist busy on another painting.  Victor, as in #whatsvictorupto, was in the middle of painting a blue and purple unicorn with pink glitter too.  I asked him if there was any significance to the unicorn.  He said that this was going to be his ‘Year of the Unicorn’.  He also mentioned that he already painted a few unicorns….

A man is painting a glittery pink and purple unicorn picture on the sidewalk as people pass by on Queen Street in Toronto

below: The finished painting

A blue and purple painting of a unicorn with pink glitter added to it too. Painted by Victor and signed as #whatsvictorupto

below: So far I have found two other unicorns.  First, this slightly faded unicorn on a four leaf clover is painted outside the Black Irish pub on Queen Street East at Sherbourne.

A unicorn in green, blue and black painted on a green four leaf clover by #whatsvictorupto The word Kelsey is also beside the painting

below:   Second, a unicorn on the sidewalk in front of Sick Kids Hospital

A blue and gold unicorn head painted in a red heart on a sidewalk, by Victor of What's victor up to.

below: A little bit of fun – it seems that a lot of people have uploaded their pictures of the  Prince painting to instagram in the past day or two!

a screenshot of a cellphone, pictures of the pink Prince symbol that different people have added to instagram

If I see any more unicorns I’ll let you know!