Winged fairy

 

Location: Noise barrier along the rail corridor, viewed from Sudbury just south of Queen St. W.

Date photo taken: 11 November 2021

The jagged edge on the right side of this mural is explained by the fact that it forms the final E in the name Parkdale. It's part of a lengthy mural that adorns the sound barrier along the railway lines south of Sudbury Street. Each letter is blocked out against black and features its own mural. Further murals spell out Liberty Village and West Queen West. Another mural in this set was featured in 2022 and you can read more about the project in that post. 

This mural was contributed by EGRart. According to their statement, "In a metaphorical framework, her art delves into the notion of finding our place in the world by depicting archetypes within wondrous urban and natural settings; fantastical characters blessed and at times burdened by our modern day ways of living. Figures convey strength, vitality and power; winged characters and fairies represent angels among us."

Mayan mural

 

Location: Symington Avenue, north of Dupont

Date photo taken: 17 November 2022

This Mayan figure stands facing north, part of a larger mural spanning the west side of the rail underpass on Symington Avenue. Between tagging and flaking, this mural, created around 2009, has seen better days, but this figure, and Isis on the south end, remain relatively unscathed. 

Heading for destinations unknown

Location: 1073 Bloor Street West

Date photo taken: 25 October 2015

I don't know the story behind this mural but I loved it instantly. With the colourful sky, the rolling water and the classic wardrobe, it just screams adventure. It's in a laneway, halfway between Gladstone and Havelock, just south of Bloor Street.

Purple cat

 

Location: Laneway near Davenport and Uxbridge

Date photo taken: 7 December 2022

For today, a splash of colour. This kitty is part of a larger wall featuring the work of three different artists. This is by Jieun (June) Kim and while this picture doesn't do the colours justice, it gives you an idea of her glorious, trippy style. 

Berry buddies

 

Location: Laneway north of Dundas, just west of McCaul

Date photo taken: 4 September 2018

I wanted something spring-like for this week and have opted for this mural by Sarah Cannon (@nightarcade). With the plucky mouse figure and its unlikely partner, it just makes me happy. It's yet another mural in the laneway transformed back in August 2018 by a WomxnPaintTO event.

Divine Femininity

Location: Laneway south of D'Arcy, east of Beverley
Date photo taken: 4 September 2018

In honour of International Women's Day next week, I'm sharing yet another fabulous mural from the Womxn Paint's laneway event back in 2018. This one is by Désiré Betty, and believe it or not, it was her first mural and her first time working with spray paint.

Pink Panther

 

Location: North east corner of Dundas and Dovercourt

Date photo taken: 9 July 2022

It was suggested that this week I post something relating to New Year's Eve. I don't know why, but scrolling through my images, this one just seemed appropriate somehow. This Pink Panther is the work of Matt Gondek, an L.A. based artist known for putting dark, destructive spins on pop culture icons. It's looking a little faded now - it was painted in 2018.

Street art in Alex Faulkner Lane

 

Location: Alex Faulkner Lane, between Islington and Sixth

Date photo taken: 24 March 2022

This bit of wildstyle is just a small piece of the colourful street art that covers two sides of the Toronto Tree Care building at the corner of Sixth Street and Alex Faulkner Lane in New Toronto. Many of the lanes in this part of town are similarly colourful, making it a fun place to explore.

Laughter Solves Depression

 

Location: Noise barrier along the rail corridor, viewed from Sudbury just south of Queen St. W.

Date photo taken: 11 November 2021

This mural, encapsulated within a large letter S, is one small part of the gigantic mural that stretches along the sound barrier adjacent to the railway lines running through West Queen West and Liberty Village. While not that noticeable at street level, the wall is highly visible from the adjacent condos, and Urbancorp, developers in the neighbourhood, were responsible for keeping the space from becoming an eyesore. Attempts to cover the barrier in ivy met with little success and the wall was repeatedly and extensively tagged. The eventual solution was to accept that the wall was the perfect canvas and offer it up to street artists. Large blocky letters marked out in white primer, spelling out Toronto, Parkdale, West Queen West, and so on, provided over 50 street artists with individual canvases on which to contribute their own visions. If you want to learn more, a short documentary was created detailing the project. 

Water Dragon

Location: Construction hoarding at Lakeshore east of Coxwell
Date photo taken: 26 February 2021

The City is undertaking its largest ever storm water management program to help improve water quality in the Don River and the along the waterfront. The first phase involves the creation of a huge tunnel system for capturing and storing excess water during storms. The hoarding which was erected around the construction site on the western edge of the park known as Main Sewage Treatment Playground has provided a huge canvas and last October more than 90 artists were invited to create their vision of a water-themed work of art. This one is by Cesar AR, or Cesar Alonso, a Colombian born artist based in Toronto. 

Just Chilling with the Cat

Location: Atlantic Avenue, south of Liberty

Date photo taken: 11 November 2020

I feel like this is what many of us have been doing this February. Sitting around, enjoying way too much coffee, talking to the cat. 

This mural is by Jason Pinney and Jarus and it was commissioned back in 2016 by Liberty Street Cyclery which occupied the building at the time. It was sponsored by the City's StreetArt program. 

 

Friendly Robot

Location: 1712 Ellesmere Road

Date photo taken: 18 February 2017

This friendly-looking flower loving robot can be found on the barrier wall edging the property of Community Living Toronto at 1712 Ellesmere. On the other side of the wall is the portion of Line 3 that extends between McCowan station and the McCowan Yard, where the trains rest when not in service.

The mural is one of several that were painted as part of the WALL EXPRESSIONS - Community Strong!! Event held over a weekend in June 2015. A collaboration between Team SPUDBomb, StreetARToronto and Toronto Police Services, the project was designed to inject some extra colour, fun and positivity to the neighbourhood.

Keep Ur Distance

Location: Lower Don River Trail, south of Corktown Common

Date photo taken: 15 July 2020

I love this Banksy-esque bit of street art for so many reasons. Mostly because I love raccoons, or at least the idea of them. I'm not sure if I had a backyard I'd want them in there, but I love seeing them depicted around the city. I love that the artist chose to render this one pretty much life-sized and low to the ground, easy to overlook if you're not paying attention. And finally I love the duality in this image. Is this a friendly safety message from one of Toronto's unofficial ambassadors? Or is it a warning, backed up by the threat of physical violence? I wonder whether having a backyard influences your reaction?

This raccoon is not alone - there are several more of them out there. Where have you seen them?

SPUDway

Location: East side of 625 Richmond Street West

Date photo taken: 11 April 2019

Here's a fairly early mural by Toronto born graffiti artist SPUD. Completed in 2005, this mural stood alone on the side of this building for almost 10 years before being joined by a colourful group of characters. But they're for another post.

Heckle and Jeckle

Location: Laneway off Denison Avenue

Date photo taken: 16 August 2013

In these days of social distancing I was drawn to this image of casual closeness. I was never a fan of Terrytoons stars Heckle and Jeckle but I may spend some time in the next few weeks revisting them on YouTube. I am curious to see how the original cartoons from the 1940s compare to the versions created in the late 1970s and 80s. 

Tahlequah

Location: Laneway south of D'Arcy, east of Beverley
Date photo taken: 4 September 2018

This mural, the second to be featured from Womxn Paint's 2018 laneway event, is by sisters Chief Lady Bird and Aura. It is a tribute to Tahlequah, an orca mother living off the Pacific coast of Canada, who mourned her dead calf by carrying it with her for 17 days.

The next #womxnpaintto mural jam is happening soon, this time in North Etobicoke. Watch for artists at work on Finch between Kipling and Islington on the weekend of July 12-14.

BirdO Mural

Location: Down the side of 194 Sherbourne, just north of Shuter

Date photo taken: 28 November 2017

If you make a habit of looking down alleys or around corners, you've probably noticed that the city is home to more than a few strange creatures like this one. The surreal birds and beasts are the work of the Toronto-based artist known as BirdO. For more on the artist, check out this great short interview piece.

Lacey and Layla Portrait

Date photo taken: 4 September 2018
Location: Laneway north of Dundas, west of McCaul

In August, Womxn Paint hosted an event in the laneway that curves between D'Arcy and McCaul, just north of Dundas. They invited female identified artists to come out and transform the garages along the lane with art. The organization's goal is to empower women through art, and in the process, to diversify the public art experience throughout the city. This mural was done by Lacey Jane and Layla Folkman, a professional art duo based out of Montreal. Check out their Instagram feed for some images of the event in progress.

There's Something on the Garage

Location: in laneway between Logan and Ferrier

Date photo taken: 13 February 2017

On August 3 1978, just in time for long-weekend trips to the lake, Piranha hit theatres. I vividly remember seeing this movie and refusing to go swimming for days afterward. These memories return whenever I see this garage, painted by cruz1 (Angel Carrillo) as part of a Wallnoize event back in May 2015. Wallnoize9 brought a number of artists to brighten the walls and garages surrounding the small parkettes running west from Pape Station. Themes were nature, animals, characters, and kid friendly. 

The Dream Chaser

Location; Church Street, just south of Dundas

Date photo taken: 27 April 2018

Today, one small bit from the block-wide, absolutely crazy, wonderful mural on Church Street called The Dream Chaser. The project was organized by Wallnoize, and involved students from a local school. It was a real community effort, with even local police lending a hand.