Posts Tagged ‘women’

Saturday afternoon in the city

Posted: July 21, 2018 in people
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
4

A Saturday walk about with friends

a group of people walking over the raised pedestrian bridge between the Eaton Centre and the Bay, 4 women, one man and a boy

Looking at people.  Ordinary people.  Going about their summer lives.

man with beard and moustache, one a bike that is stopped in front of a red and white TTC bus, man wearing a blue baseball cap with red Air Canada maple leaf logo on it

young Asian woman under a black umbrella, standing in a TTC bus shelter, reflections off her umbrella of other people, plus a stella artois beer ad

man in an apple store, orange T-shirt, leaning on the counter, with headphones on, looking closely at the screen of a laptop, other men in the store too

a young woman with bright yellow hair tied back in a short ponytail, tattoo covering most of her arms and upper part of body that is visible , wearing sleeveless black top, walking past Cheese Magic shop in Kensington market, Toronto

two people, one is a woman holding a coffee cup from Jimmys Coffee, she is laughing. The other is black, hair tied back, pink long sleeved shirt and sleeveless jean jacket, scowling,

a tanned older man in sleeveless black shirt leans against metal railing at the Eaton Centre, mannequins in a store window behind him, womens' sporting wear

a man sits with his son on the floor of the Eaton Centre, next to the glass railing. reflections from the railing make it look like there are two boys

looking into the window of a women's wear store, two dresses, on mannequins, each holding a handbag. a red dress and a dress with big red flowers, a red head woman is standing beside the mannequins

people walking across pedestrian bridge between the Eaton Centre and the Bay, one woman has long light pink hair and is wearing jeans with many rips and holes in the front,

a couple sitting in a restaurant, across from each other, in the window, window is open, drinks on the table . Woman has glass of white wine, man has something orange

a woman standa against an exterior wall, beside a tottoo place. The word tattoo is in large yellow letters beside her, her hair is multicoloured, she is wearing a short dress, knee bent with one foot against the wall, phone in hand, black jacket over her shoulders

three people sitting on a concrete bench outdoors at Yonge Dundas Square. An older woman with teal long sleeeved shirt and light blue hat, a man in a white t-shirt with black moustache, with a woman leaning against his shoulder with her eyes closed

a couple standing facing each other, talking to each other,

an older woman carrying a pale purple umbrella, and a handbag with pictures of cats on it, a blouse with orange flowers on it

mother and son posing for picture, Asian, boy is lying on the ground between his mother's feet

bald black man with black sunglasses is taking a selfie while holding a large ice cream cone

a young man holds a sign that says hug me we need it

black man with blue t-shirt holds a blue bubble maker and he is making bubbles as he walks down the street

young woman in sunglasses poses in front of a fountain

couple, one is smoking, man in yellowish orange shirt, standing by a chinese restaurant, pictures of the food on the wall behind them.

into the night

Posted: July 17, 2018 in people
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
1

For a number of reasons, I started walking late yesterday.
It was overcast and the the light was flat.

a woman on the sidewalk, with people on the other side of the street in the background

  There were a few people sitting around and/or hanging out – on their phones, alone with their thoughts,  meeting with friends, or just passing by.

three people, two sitting, one smoking and the other on her phone. The third person is male, lying down with head on lap of woman on her phone, outside,

Catching moments and freezing them in time – is that what photography is?   To call the images random would be farfetched.  They are edited starting from the first decisions such as where to aim the camera and at what moment do I take the picture.   But they are candid in that the people are unaware, unposed, and to me, more natural.  These women are just hanging out outside the Eaton Centre, together, yet separate.  Are they waiting for someone?  What is the woman on far left reacting to?

women in head scarves standing beside glass window of a store, other women walking past

men sitting on a bench, a woman walking past

As I mentioned above, the light was flat.  It was a grey afternoon and that is always a challenge.  As the day becomes darker, the ambient light provide by windows increases.

below: Is it my imagination or is her neck longer than most?  I don’t think that I’d be able to wear four leather rings around my neck even if I wanted to.

head of a mannequin in a store window, white, large sunglasses, leather rings around her neck

As I was processing some of my photos, I got to thinking about my grandmother.  I remember driving with her at dusk and into the early night.  She would get excited about being able to look into people’s windows after they’d turned on their lights but before they’d closed their curtains.  We could only get a quick glimpse as we passed by – were there pictures on the wall?  What was on TV?  What were the people doing?  But even that was enough to spark our imaginations and we would create stories about the possible lives of the people in those houses.

below: Talking at the bar

from the outside, looking into a bar. Line of bottles on a back lit shelf, two women takling near the window

below: Sitting at Timmies

three people at Tim Hortons, sitting at a table. Seen from the outside, a poster on the window blocks the view of one of the people

Night windows offer a different view.  Things that are hidden during the day become visible.

below:  Interior renovations in progress

looking in the window of a construction site, two ladders, square panes of interior glass on a wall

below: The mundane and austere railing and fluorescent light in the stone bank building caught my attention.  As I was lining up the shot I noticed the woman (who had obviously noticed me first).

evening, from outside, a lit window in a bank of Nova Scotia building shows a hand rail, a woman stands outside the window

people in the midst of getting on and off a streetcar

two people, slightly out of focus pass by a lit window

And then it started to rain.  My feet were getting wet and my umbrella wasn’t big enough so I called it quits and went home.

a woman holding an umbrella crosses the street

red chairs and white tables in an empty restaurant

cruising Church Street

Posted: June 26, 2018 in events, people
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
1

Walking with the revelers on Church Street on Sunday afternoon as the Pride Parade was winding down.

a man in drag, high heels, skimpy bottoms and a frilly red top looks at the camera with a smirk and a wink

crowds on church street, with a man in just underwear sprawled on a chair in the middle of the street

three Asian woman laughing as they walk down the street, looking at something that has made them laugh

an south asian man in pink shirt and sunglasses gets a topless woman to pose with him, she is kissing him

two men with big beards. one in a short red top and red cap, the other topless except for shoulders straps

two women talking, with rainbow headbands and colourful clothes, as another woman walks past behind them

a young girl holding a bunch of yellow balloons

men with no clothes except for black leather harnesses and straps and a black cap

below: A slow time at the ice cream truck

a young man sits in the window of an ice cream truck as he watches the crowd

below: It was the man behind that made me laugh.

two naked men walking down the street, with a man behind them taking their picture, two women in bathing suits and large hats

below: Matching butterflies.

two women in bikinis, both with sparkly butterflies on their lower back

a man in drag with a wig of long grey hair, black hat with red flowers, in the crowd

a young man with pink t shirt and fuzzy pink ears, another man with a rainbow flag on his back and his hand over his mouth

a group poses for a selfie shot as other people walk by

below: Daddy hunter

woman with a sticker that says daddy hunter

below: Another daddy sticker

a woman is putting a sticker on her upper thigh while another woman looks on

below: Spock makes an appearance

a man dressed as Spock mingles with the crowd in front of Pizza Pizza

Dyke March 2018

Posted: June 24, 2018 in events, people
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
1

The rain let up long enough for the Dyke March to parade across Bloor and down Yonge without everyone getting wet.  Lots of colour and sparkle was on display along with lots of enthusiasm and fun! This year’s theme was Resist as seen on this crocheted banner.

dyke march 2018 - a group of people carrying a banner made of yarn, crocheted, that says resist. #dmto #resist

dyke march 2018 - women in Sailor Moon costumes, one with a bubble gun and is making bubbles as she walks in the parade

dyke march 2018 - Asian women holding a blue banner that says Aqua, Asian Queer Alliance, 5 women holding the banner

dyke march 2018 - as parade goes along Bloor, cyclists, dykes on bikes, one reaches arm out to the crowd on the sidewalk

dykes on bikes lined up across Yonge street in the middle of the parade, Dyke March 2018

dyke march 2018, dykes on bikes - bare breasted woman with yellow and orange hair, on a bike in front of two women carrying a purple banner with the word inspire on it

dyke march 2018 - group of women carrying a banner that says bisexual women of Toronto

dyke march 2018 - dark brown person wearing blue lipstick holds a white banner

dyke march 2018 - a woman with rainbow headband and pink top is holding a small fluffy white dog with rainbow hat and coat

dyke march 2018 - a woman holds an orange Proud NDP sign in the parade, one arm reaching upwards

dyke march 2018 - two women in the parade, one with short purple hair, carrying a small black dog

dyke march 2018 - woman in pink bra with many tattoos is walking past a crowd on the sidewalk

watching the dyke march 2018 on Yonge street, two women with a dog on a leash and three girls on decorated scotters wearing bike helmets and bright sunglasses

drummers and marchers in the dyke march on yonge street

watching the dyke march 2018 - two girls on Yonge street draped in rainbow flags

dyke march 2018 - two young women together

dyke march 2018 - dancing women in orange T-shirts, rainbow sisters, one is waving a rainbow flag

woman holding up an large orange crocheted umbrella

woman on a bike in the dyke march 2018 parade, talking to a young woman who is carrying a banner, other women walking behind, a child on the lap of a woman on a motorized scooter.

a woman with very short hair on bike with a dog sharing her seat, black and white dog with nose pointed forwards as they ride together

two young women with large cardboard cut out letters wrapped with rainbow yarn, a G and and L. Part of a larger group that spells out LGBT

dyke march 2018 - a break in the parade is time for a photo op of motorcycle with passenger wearing helmet and fishnet stockings.

two men stand on a balcony of the Courtyard by Marriott Hotel on Yonge street, decorated balcony with Canadian flags and rainbow coloured paper or fabric.

an older woman stands beside a pole on the sidewalk as she watches the dyke march, she's holding a rainbow flag

dyke march 2018, banner that says dykeversity, lots of hand prints and hearts decorating it, women carrying it,

young black woman holding a banner in the dyke parade

women carrying signs black lives matter and black trans lives matter in dyke march in Toronto, marroon coloured hair and make up

dyke march 2018, dykes on bikes - in a corset with super woman insignia

dyke march 2018 woman with pale rust coloured hair and a black beret

groups of people walking in dyke march 2018, two are holding a sign that says today you are the fire and tomorrow you will be the sea and they'll have no choice but to hear your siren song a sign that says

dyke march 2018 - a young man sits on the ledge of an open upper storey window on Yonge street, rainbow flag with #weareorlando (we are orlando) written on it

two men in drag pose for a selfie with a woman, one man in bright yellow wig and the other in bright pink with flashy bright clothes to match

a young woman in black Pride T-shirt, holds a purple banner and is yelling dyke march 2018

dyke march 2018 - young woman carrying a cardboard sign that says I love butch girls

a young woman draped in a rainbow flag holding a large balloon the shape of a unicorn head with rainbow coloured mane

4 people on the sidewalk watching the dyke march Two of them are wearing white T shirts with L is for love on it in blue and purple letters, also flower garlands in their hair.

people watching the Dyke March, two men and two women. One man in pink baseball hat and My Little Pony T-shirt

switching into summer

Posted: May 23, 2018 in people
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
6

The weather’s been all over the place, warm, cold, hot, cold again, back and forth…. like May weather usually is.  We were fortunate to have great weather this past holiday Monday and a lot of people took advantage of the day!  As I walked around, this is some of what I saw.

a man stands and watches another man playing the drums outside on Yonge street, some other people standing around too

by the fountain at Nathan Phillips Square, a man dressed in orange hugs a man dressed in brown who is checking his phone after just taking a selfie

women and men standing outside the Eaton Centre on Yonge street

people crossing the street at an intersection, a woman in a pink top and white sweater is pushing a stroller with a fluffy small white dog in it, a man in a blue Jay t shirt, camo jacket and baseball hat, smoking a cigarette, is walking beside her

Graffiti alley, walking past an uber 5000 mural, a man and a woman with their backs to the camera. on the back of the man's camo coloured jacket are the words true freedom is being unknown

two women in the O of the 3D Toronto sign at Nathan Phillips square in front of city hall, examining photos that they have taken on their phone

2 young men and 2 young women walking down Graffiti Alley

a woman in a purple dress is sitting on the sidewalk, patting the cat wearing the superman costume that is sitting on a box. other people standing around, corner of Yonge and Dundas

a girl and her mother playing in the fountain at Nathan Phillips Square, in front of city hall,

a woman in jeans and pink top poses in the doorway of one of the back doors in Graffiti Alley

Womens March 2018

Posted: January 20, 2018 in events, public art
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
0

Womens March
Nathan Phillips Square

A few photos of people (of all ages) and signs at today’s rally and march.

below: “Women belong in all places where decisions are being made”  and “Destroy patriarchy not the planet” while sitting on the 3D Toronto sign.

Womens March, Nathan Phillips square, two young women sitting in the O of the 3D Toronto sign, each with a sign, a couple behind them - the woman looking at them, the man taking a picture with his phone. The cover on his phone is a British callbox (phone booth)

below: “Grope”.  A play on Obama’s Hope sign

Toronto womens march and protest, women with a sign that is picture of Donald Trump in reds and blues with the word Grope written in large letters

below: Walking across Dundas Street.  “Believe women”. “My body is not public property”.

women walking down Bay st towards Nathan Phillips square and city hall, womens march

women walking down Bay st towards Nathan Phillips square and city hall, womens march

 

below: There were many Princess Leia & the Resistance signs.

young girl on her father's shoulders, wearing hat and scarf and holding a reistence sign with a picture of Princess Leia on it.

below: “Men of quality don’t fear equality”.

men of quality don't fear equality.

below: “Gender equality now”.  “End Violence Against Women”.

Toronto womens march and protest, a woman with a sign that says gender equality now, and a woman with a sign that says end violence against women along with the names of women who have been killed by their partners.

below: “Boys will be good humans”

Womens march, protest parade - mother pushing double stroller, with two boys in in, sign that says boys will be good humans,

below: “I can’t believe we still have to protest this shit!”

older woman with a walker at womens march protest at Nathan Phillips, wearing a pink hat and a pink sign that says

below: “Love is the answer. Try it”

Womens march, protest parade, woman with hat and scarf and holding a sign made of brown cardboard, orange painted letters that say Love is the answer, try it

women holding protest sign, womens march, Toronto
signs and placards ready to be used in a protest rally, womens march, I am a snowflake, together we are an avalanche
group walking in a protest march, the future is female is one of the signs being carried, walking on Dundas St

Toronto womens march and protest, a smiling woman with a placard that reads hear me roar, along with a picture of a tiger

Nobody illegal, be kind, signs, held by kids and their parents in the womens march

person in shark costume holding a sign that says sharks aren't scary, climate change is.

below: “I stand with the dreamers” “Defend DACA”

I stand with Dreamers, Defend DACA, protest signs

young woman giving peace sign and laughing, holding a girls sign

below: “Missing my nap to smash the patriarchy”

mother and daughter, Womens march, protest parade, daughter is a baby in a front carrier, sign ver her says Missing my nap to smash the patriarchy

below: “Feminism is for everybody”

Toronto womens march and protest, a young woman with a sign that says feminism is for everybody

below: “The peeved beavers”

Womens March, Nathan Phillips square, two women talking, one is holding a sign that says the Peeved Beaver

Womens March, Nathan Phillips square, a woman with a very pink wig on, holding a sign from socialist.ca that says fight racism and islamophobia

below: “I am a snowflake”

Womens march, protest parade - a girl walking with her father, she has a pink sign that says I am a snowflake

two protest signs, one says because a strong woman raised me. the other is a Nellie McClung quote about never retract, never explain, never apologize, get things done and let them howl

below: “Pussy power”

Womens march, protest parade - a woman holding a black placard with pussy power in pink, stickers of cats, and some tampons on it

Womens march, protest parade - young women with signs and rainbow peace flags

below: ” I stand with you” across the shoulders

Womens March, Nathan Phillips square, from the back, a woman with short and very orange hair, has a patch on the back of her black jacket, rainbow flag with I Stand with you

below: “Why I march? So my daughter will never have to say #metoo”  “Supergirl in training”

Womens March, Nathan Phillips square, by the rink a mother and daughter getting their picture taken. Both are holding signs, the daughter's sign is yellow and says Supergirl in training, mother's sign is pink and says

Womens March, Nathan Phillips square, 3 girls watch the protest march go by, they are each holding a sign - Respect my existence or expect resistance, the second is Grab 'em by the Patriarchy, and the third is OK with

below: Trump in effigy, “Stop the madness”

Toronto Womens march, protest parade, woman holding up an effigy of Trump with a sign that says stop the madness. Others around her walking in the protest march

below: “Care about each other, not like Donald Trump”

boy with a large hand drawn sign on white bristol board that says care about each other not like donald trump

below: “Love not fear” and big red heart shaped balloon.

women in crowd at Nathan Phillips with sign that says Love not fear, also a large red mylar balloon heart

below: “I hope”

little girl on father's shoulders in Toronto womens march on Bay street, holding sign that says I hope

Womens march, protest parade, a group of people with animal rights, eat vegan, signs

Womens March, Nathan Phillips square, a woman with a megaphone

below: “Tick tock on the clock, we all say time’s up!”  “You’re so vain you probably think this march is about you”

women marching in Womens march, holding pink signs

below: “Respecta mi existengia espera resistencia”.  “We are the change”

many women marching, many holding placards with protest slogans

below: “We won’t let this slide”.  “My sexual preference is mutual consent”.

two women holding up signs, a pink one that says we won't let this one slide and a yellow sign that says my sexual preference is mutual consent

three plus one

Posted: November 26, 2017 in alleys, graffiti and street art
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
0

In a little lane that runs south of Graffiti Alley towards Richmond Street, I found four paintings that I don’t think that I have seen before.  The first one is this very realistic eye that looks like it’s keeping close watch on the rat with the red heart.  It was painted by @soortattoo aka Suren Davtyon, a Russian tattoo artist from Moscow.  That is the ‘one’ in the blog title.

street art painting by soortattoo aka Suren Davtyon, a realistic eye looking to the side, to see a rat holding a red heart

The ‘three’ refers to the fact that the next three that were on the same wall are by the same person, @inkcanon, who is also a tattoo artist.  Portraits of three women.   The first one is blowing bubbles, very big bubbles.

street art painting by inkcanon of a woman blowing a large bubble with bubble gum, in shades of pink and blue

street art painting by inkcanon, a k a Nico, of a woman's portrait in profile, blond hair, grey tones in face, blue and pink background

street art painting by inkcanon of a woman with long hair, vines growing up on either side of her.

elicser paints people (again)

Posted: October 18, 2017 in alleys, graffiti and street art
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
4

As part of a larger mural project in David French and Barbara Barrett Lanes (near Bloor and Bathurst), elicser has painted another mural with more of the kinds of people that he is known for painting. Every day people doing every day things – with some emphasis on musicians and the people who listen to them.

For this post I’ve combined photos that were taken back in mid-September on the weekend that the ‘Wall Expressions’ project was started with those that I took a few weeks later.  ‘Wall Expressions’ was a StreetARToronto project to paint/repaint garages in David French Lane.

below: Elicser works on a face

street artist, elicser elliott, up on a lift as he spray paints the outlines of a man's head as part of large mural that he is working on.

below: The finished face.

mural, part of, by elicser, people sitting outside, a young child with red hair sits on the grass, her mother behind her. A black man sits on a wooden seat, a cassette player on his lap

below: More of the mural in progress.

view of most of a long horizontal mural on the side of a building in an alley, by elicser, who is in the picture, painting, mural is of people doing various things.

part of a partially completed mural, two girls sitting at a table and talking, one with brown skin and long black hair, one with short red hair, a glass of water in one hand

partially finished man with green sweater, grey hair, elbows on table

finished section of a mural, with man with grey hair sitting with elbows on a table,

elicser works on painting a mural, in the foreground is a large painted guitar player with a red uitar, painted behind a metal fire escape staircase

part of a mural by elicser of people - 4 people, a woman overlooks them, a small black man on a cello and a man with beard and glasses on a white guitar.

part of a mural by elicser of people - a woman is sitting on a stool and playing a guitar, a man in a red and black checked shirt

below: The complete mural

mural by elicser of people - whole mural, completed, on Barbara Barrett Lane, musicians and the people listening to them as they sit at tables

Li-Hill on a garage

Posted: September 18, 2017 in alleys, graffiti and street art
Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
1

Tucked away on a garage in an alley near Brunswick and Harbord is a garage with three murals, at least two of which are the work of Aaron Li-Hill.

a two car garage in an alley, murals on both garage doors as well as on the side of the building

below: This mural is not new but I am not sure how old it is.  I am not even sure if I have seen it before.   I can’t believe that I found an alley that I haven’t walked before in this area, but anything’s possible.   This mural is by Li-Hill for sure.

a mural in two pictures of two women and a large tree by Aaron Li-Hill on the side of a garage in an alley

below: This too is the work of Aaron Li-Hill as you can see from the signature.

women with sohort dark hair from the neck up, side view, eyes closed, mural on a garage door by Aaron Li-Hill

below: This seaside town scene has no signature.  I like the little people, one with a surfboard, some playing in the water, and a couple hand in hand.

seaside town mural, buildings, water, beach, people, seawall, on a garage door in an alley, laneway

One more reason to wander the lanes and alleys of the city!
(With thanks to Anita for walking with me and showing me this garage.)

 

Sonya remade and rejuvenated

Posted: August 28, 2017 in graffiti and street art, locations
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
1

Close to Kensington market is a small park called Sonya Parkette.  Two of the sides of the park are walls.  A few years ago the walls were painted with historical murals that were subsequently tagged over.   More recently, the park has undergone some renovations including new murals on the walls.

Many of the murals are by P.S (aka Phillip Saunders).  If you are familiar with some of the graffiti and street art in the Kensington area, you will recognize the style.

multicoloured face with red text tag beside

orange face, blue eyes, short black hair, mural on a wall at Sonya Parkette in Kensington

mural, face in grey tones, on a background of water, trees, sky and clouds.

below: This mural, and the one below, are obviously by the same artist who painted the two murals of naked women in Milky Way.

mural of an orange naked woman reclining, wall is golden yellow colour

mural on a wall with green plants growing in front, mural is a blue person from the chest up, no hair. Some plants are part of the mural too.

below: A realistic painting of a sleeping man.

a man in green pants and white t-shirt is sleeping on the ground, a mural on a wall. the ground is green with small circles and semi-circles in other colours.

below: Peace and an abstract.

a mural with two parts, on the left is an abstract design with rectangles and a few curves. on the right is a realistic hand giving the peace sign

The Kensington area has a problem with taggers – many street art pieces get vandalized.  Let’s hope that these don’t suffer that fate.

Older Entries
Newer Entries