flowers and birds on Dundas East

Posted on July 14, 2026 by Mary C

All of the pictures in this post were taken on Dundas East, just west of Jones Avenue. Along this stretch of Dundas, garages and backyard fences line the street. Most of them have been painted with bright and cheerful images of flowers, birds, animals, and other living things.

below: There is only one person who would paint a mural with these cute but mischievous raccoons, Emily May Rose

mural by Emily May Rose of raccoons playing with red flowers, and sitting on brown boxes

below: Sadly, unsigned and unknown. Two snakes slithering through pink flowers and green grass.

street art mural on wood fence, a green and a red snake slithering through green grass and pink flowers

garages on Dundas East, with street art murals, two are dogs by Blackburn, and two are large apples with faces

below: La Pupila (aka Valentina) has painted rosy red apples with faces, and even a bite taken out of one of them.

mural on garage door, large pink and red apple, with green leaves, black feminine face, a large bite taken ot the top corner

below: Two dog portraits by Jeff Blackburn

two adjacent garage doors with paintings by jeff blackburn, both are portraits of dogs

below: Red hearts and laughter in a mural by Phillip Saunders

street art mural by philip saunders, of two people's faces, looking at each other, face to face, laughing, red heart in between the two

below: A young child with bond curly hair holds a very large pink flower in a painting by Wade Benedict.

backyards, garages, with street art murals, Dundas St east

below: Picking oranges and watering flowers, working together in the garden in a mural by Golden Butter Murals

golden butter murals painting on garage on dundas east, mother and child working in the garden

below: Making hearts. Long necked ducks or geese beak to beak.

street art mural on a wood fence, two long necked geese, beak to beak, in bright colours

below: White flowers by timmifuk

street art mural on a garage door, white flowers and green leaves, by timmifuk,

below: More garage door flowers – this time pink peonies in a vase.

street art mural, pink peonies in a brown vase

below: Orange lilies by hotsnackz (aka Chrissy Kuiack)

street art mural painting of orange lilies in bloom

below: Black on colour.

urban art on a wood fence, in four sections, one yellow, one purple, a green, and a blue, black silhouette paintings on each section of a different floral plant

below: Ryan Dineen painted this little bird

painting on a garage by Ryan Dineen of a small bird perched on a branch. bird has reddish orange nape of neck and lighter tummy

below: A young looking loon swims as the sun sets in a mural by Julia Prajka

street art mural of a loon by julia prajza

painted garages (murals) behind houses on Dundas street east, red cardinals in flight, loon, and a red trillium

below: Two red cardinals in flight by Adrian Hayles.

garage door murals, red cardinals in flight, by Adrian Hayles

below: A ruby throated hummingbird flies among the fireflies, by Blazeworks.

ruby throated hummingbird in flight, a street art mural on a garage door by blaze works

below: Close up of an abstract mural by Bareket (bkez)

close up of abstract painting, street art mural on a garage door, by bareket

below: Que Rock, butterfly

mural by que rock, flowers and native symbols

street art murals by que rock and jarus on dundas street east

below: “I’ll be here until you arrive”, a portrait of an older man with a beard, in shades of red, by Jarus

portrait of an older man, in shades of red, by jarus, on a garage door

below: Nick Sweetman – a pelican and a flamingo splashing in the water

nick sweetman mural on a garage door in pinks and blue, pelican on the pink side, flamingo on the blue, water bubbles splashing in the middle

below: On the right, covering two garage doors, is an aquatic scene by Jarus.

four garage doors in a row, all with street art murals, a spider, a butterfly and two with fish

below: This spider painting is signed “Vudu” (Christine Mazzulla?)

street art painting of a spider by vudu, on a garage door

below: Another bird flying over a garden full of flowers on a fence painted by Julia Louise Pereira (aka ohlordyitsjulia)

colouful mural on a wood fence by oh lordy its julia, also known as Julia Louise Pereira, flowers

below: A very Toronto sight, by Skamoney

back of two single family homes a white garage with a mural of the front of a TTC streetcar (older style) on it, with blue background

This was a StreetARToronto project

Photos taken June 2026

small part of jarus mural, all in shades of red, vase with two flowers, hat, bird

Kingston’s graffiti wall

Posted on July 12, 2026 by Mary C

There is a wall in Doug Fluhrer Park in Kingston that has been designated as a legal graffiti wall. At the moment (or at least last week when I was there) many of the paintings were the work of the same artist, Steve Oakley, aka ridinlow613. Pop culture references are plentiful.

graffiti on a wall, with weeds growing in front, and a brick building behind

below: Homer Simpson snores again.

Simpsons themed mural, Homer Simpson is asleep, other man holding a fistful of money, weeds and grasses have grown up to cover bottom of wall

below: Another character from the Simpsons (Otto Man, the school bus driver), but this time they share space with Ozzy Osborne.

two street art paintings, rock singer Ozzy Osborne and Otto Man from the Simpsons

below: Pennywise the Clown from Stephen King’s “It” has sprouted green leafy hair on top of his already colourful red.

street art, pennywise the clown from Stephen King novel. Red hair, blue clothing, evil eyes

below: Her sleeves suggest Disney’s Snow White.

below: With mouth wide open – singing? yelling?

below: Lola Bunny has a smile for you.

Lola Bunny portrait in a street art mural

below: Huckleberry Hound and Top Cat lounging around in the shade.

street art graffiti, green cactus, red heart, brown dog portrait

mural, black and white stripes in tornado swirl shape

below: If it was Snow White above, perhaps this is the wicked step-mother?

mural, wicked face of a woman with red lipstick

graffiti wall in Kingston, with contributions by different artists

below: Snakes!

mural, street art, by ridinlow613, two snakes, one is green and has its mouth wide open as it attacks the other, a red, yellow and black striped snake

below: Richie Rich “poor little rich boy” first appeared in 1953, later in the 1980s he had his own TV show.

street art painting of Richy Rich, cartoon character

graffiti, mouth, eyes, ear, noses, all disconnected

thirty years in downtown Oshawa

Posted on June 25, 2026 by Mary C

Over the past thirty years the city of Oshawa has added murals to many of its downtown buildings. Most of the murals celebrate the city in one way or another. Several focus on past events and the McLaughlin family appears a number of times. In the early years of the 20th century, the McLaughlin family turned their Oshawa-based carriage manufacturing business into the McLaughlin Motor Car Company. It eventually became part of General Motors.

Back in 2024 the city had a debate as to whether or not to refurbish and upgrade the 14 or 15 older murals that had been painted in the 1990s, or to just paint over them. Since they are still here, the paint over proponents must have lost.

below: “Oshawa 1935” by Dan and Peter Sawatzky

part of a mural by Dan and Peter Sawatzky in downtown Oshawa, image showing the city as it was in 1935

below: “Recreation by the Lake” by Tony Johnson, 1997 – relaxing on the waterfront at the foot of Simcoe Street. Barnhart’s Pavillion is in the background – this is where you’d go to dance on a Friday night. The round thing in the middle? That’s the Ocean Wave!

people sitting on the beach, Barnharts dance pavillion, in a mural by Tony Johnson

behind a fence, people sitting on the beach, Barnharts dance pavillion, in a mural by Tony Johnson

below: On the walls of the bandshell in Memorial Park there is a mural by David Yeatman that showcases Northern Dancer, a famous thoroughbred racing horse who was born and raised on Windfields Farm in Oshawa.

on the exterior of the bandshell in memorial park, mural by David Yeatman showing E. P. Taylor and the Windfelds Farm in Oshawa where famous racing thoroughbred horse Northern Dancer was born

mural by David Yeatman showing E. P. Taylor and the Windfelds Farm in Oshawa where famous racing thoroughbred horse Northern Dancer was born

below: Although the first Windfields Farm was in Toronto (on Bayview Ave), a second was established in Oshawa in 1950 when E.P. Taylor bought 1500 acres from the McLaughlin family. It was here that Northern Dancer (1961-1990) was born, and where he is buried. in 1964, he became the first Canadian-bred horse to win the Kentucky Derby. On April 16, 2018, Northern Dancer’s grave became an official heritage site.

below: These four panels depict some of the history of the Ontario Regiment starting with its formation in 1866. The other panels memorialize various battles and conflicts that they have been involved in since then. These panels also stand in Memorial Park and were painted by John Hood

These four panels depict some of the history of the Ontario Regiment starting with its formation in 1866. The other panels memorialize various battles and conflicts that they have been involved in since then. These panels also stand in Memorial Park and were painted by John Hood

below: Borsberry Music Hall, by Brian Romagnoli

part of borsberry music hall mural in oshawa with images of a flute, bust of Beethoven, harp, ,two glasses of red wine, two red roses, violin, conductor, top hat, piano keys, and stage curtain

part of borsberry music hall mural in oshawa with images of a french horn, a clarinet, a fan, sheet music, a violin, and a flute, also a well dressed couple in the background coming down a curved staircase

below: Building on a strong foundation in ‘Oshawa’s Development (Historical Industry and Development)’ by Robin Burgesse. Three local businesses are shown – Warren Mills, Williams Piano Factory, and the McLaughlin Carriage Company

mural in oshawa with text Building on a strong foundation, by Robin Burgesse. Three local businesses are shown - Warren Mills, Williams Piano Factory, and the McLaughlin Carriage Company

below: The Oshawa Generals was a Major Junior League hockey team that was formed back in 1937. Bobby Orr is probably the most famous player but Billy Taylor,Terry O’Reilly, and Eric Lindros are also pictured in this mural (Paul Ygartua, 1997)

mural by Paul Ygartua showing famous hockey players that once played for the Oshawa Generals junior team, including Bobby Orr, Eric Lindros,

below: ‘Turning the Wheel’ by Dani Crosby commemorates the John Bolase Warren Flour Mill that used to sit on this site. (tore down a mill to put up a parking lot?!?). This large gristmill was built in 1837 and demolished in 1981.

below: Instead of looking back at the past, this mural by Bruno Smoky (Clandestinos) focuses on the future, a green future (including electric vehicles).

mural by Bruno Smoky, green future energy, electric vehicles, windmills

below: This long horizontal mural on the side of Wall ‘N Floor Decor is “Driving Force” by Rudolf Stussi (1996). It illustrates the evolution of the automobile starting with the Oshawa Carriage Works.

below: Another history mural that references the Oshawa Carriage Works is “Full Steam Ahead” by Gus Froese, 1995. The title is shown as a headline in The Oshawa Daily Reformer newspaper.

below: Another artwork that celebrates the automotive industry is one that consists of 5 panels by artist John Hood. Here are two of them – crash test dummies, and a nod to the people who helped develop and refine engine technology

crash test dummies, in mural by John Hood

man working on a car engine, mural by John Hood

below: “Camp X” by Tony Johnson (2001). It tells the story of a secret Special Training School 103 that opened in 1941. It was here that 500 “secret agents” were taught hand-to-hand combat, interrogation techniques, psychological warfare, explosives training, espionage, sabotage, and how to survive behind enemy lines.

below: The perils of painting murals beside parking lots! A hummingbird is front and center in this bright and cheerful mural, “Stop and Smell the Flowers”.

mural with hummingbird, flowers, butterflies

below: Little by Little Becomes a Lot

long wall with street art mural, background is bees, butterflies, birds, and flowers. there is also text in block capital letters that say little by little becomes a lot

below: Life is Beautiful

Side of building painted black, with street art calligraphy in cursive, life is beautiful

Photos taken June 2026

animals under the 401

Posted on June 15, 2026 by Mary C

There are two large murals by Nick Sweetman that cover the two sides of Bathurst street as it passes under the 401 highway (in Toronto). Both of them are a collection of animals – birds, frogs, cows, cats, foxes, bats, tigers, and more. This is a selection of images from those two walls.

Photos taken May 2026

Sanko trading company

Posted on May 30, 2026 by Mary C

below: People walking on Queen Street West in Toronto. Do you think that they realize that a large yellow eye is watching them from behind? This is the eye of a very large painting of a cat, probably a Japanese cat.

The mural, the JapanTown mural on the side of the Sanko Trading Company, has been re-painted. The previous mural dates from 2013/4. A blog post with photos of what that looked like in 2015 is at: Sanko Wall. This blog post should give you an idea what it looks like now.

The group of artists (‘The Summit’) who painted the mural also made a video for youtube: The JapanTown Project No. 5

Photos taken May 2026

when the walls speak to me

Posted on May 17, 2026 by Mary C

If I believe what is scrawled and scribbled on walls, there’s a lot of love out there…. but not all of it is “happily ever after”. Unrequited love can be a sad thing as Mickey has learned.

graffiti that is all text that says I will always love you my babbies No matter what they say or make up, but it needs 2 end not us the rumours you are still my Mini even Know you don't want me as your Mickey. I love you

below: “Look around, love around”. Like philosophy, it can be interpreted as you wish. It’s like “vague posting” on social media.

graffiti that is all text, words that say Look around, love around

below: I hope that you all have a “baby love dove”! It sounds very romantic!

graffiti that is all text, words that say My lover My protector My Angel My Best Friend my soulmate My Everything My Whole World My baby love dove, love 4 ever an always plus a day

below: Elevate love

graffiti that is all text, words that say elevate love

below: “Love your neighbor”

graffiti that is all text, words that say love your neighbor

below: I will file this one under ‘love’ as well

below: And this one as love too – although it could be lust or just admiration? Nah, the hearts give it away. Alex probably knows the answer.

graffiti that is all text, words that say Alex Lee is the hottest alive, A + A

below: “I’ve always known it was you” is another rather ambivalent statement. Yes, you are the one and only for me or, yes, you’re the one who stole my phone…. It could be the start of many narratives!

graffiti that is all text, words that say I have always known it was you

below: And of course, there is always the opposite of love

graffiti that is all text, words that say I don't even miss him

Some text reads like the words of a motivational speaker…

below: … such as this one, “You are sacred, you are worthy”

graffiti that is all text, words that say

below: “You’re almost there”

below: “Fear less, create more”

below: “Hope is tax free”

graffiti that is all text, words that say Hope is tax free

A few graffiti sayings sound like they could have been written by your therapist.

below: Take seriously each other’s vulnerability”

graffiti that is all text, words that say Take seriously each other's vulnerability

below: “Practice being brave”

below: “We need each other”

graffiti that is all text, words that say we need each other

Some get philosophical (or at least try)

below: “No moment more fleeting than the present”

graffiti that is all text, words that say No moments more fleeting than the present

graffiti, black marker on grey concrete, that says tears in the rain

Or more political…

below: “To be wealthy and honored in an unjust society is a disgrace.” … although at least one person has made it known that they disagree.

sticker that says to be wealthy and honored in an unjust society is a disgrace. someone has written bullshit across it.

below: “We are poor because they are rich.”

poster with pictures of Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, and Elon Musk, with words, we are poor because they are rich

There are some warnings on those walls and fences too!

below: Poor Laura!

graffiti that is all text, words that say Laura has cooties. It's true, I saw them!

Sometimes there is just a bit of whimsy

below: Henry has left his mark here.

But, as we all know, many have no meaning at all…

below: … unless someone has decided to name themselves Potato 300

graffiti in blue that says the skys not classified

What would you say?

down Biscuit Lane

Posted on April 19, 2026 by Mary C

Biscuit Lane is a short, narrow alley in Toronto that has street art murals on both sides.

below: A Toronto mural in a Toronto alley.

below: More Toronto, painted by Thomas the Anonynous

below: “I’ll always be here with you!”

below:Cartoon characters & Pop culture references! Bert doesn’t look too comfortable!

below: Inspector Gadget, one of the Smurfs, Betty Boop, Tweety Bird looking angry, Goofy isn’t sure what’s happening, Launchpad McQuack, and Droopy Dog.

below: Marge Simpson with her enormous blue hair, Yogi Bear (fondling that hair), Jessica Rabbit, Bert, Woody Woodpecker, Little Hiawatha, The Mask and Huckleberry Hound.

below: Along one wall is a large mural by Ness Lee – women with long hair

below: Looking north on Biscuit Lane

below: Wanted poster for what looks like the Pink Panther in black hat and shades. Wanted for “harbouring stool pigeons near sanctuary”

below: “Wanted for keeping it 2 real”. Marvin the Martian?

below: …. and even more (with some repeats)….. A smug Pink Panther and a concussed Sylvester…. Beep! Beep!

below: It’s the alphabet all jumbled up in many colours, many ‘fonts’, and many sizes.

below: Superhero time! Superman, Spiderman, and more.

Photos taken April 2026

along Boulevard Décarie

Posted on April 9, 2026 by Mary C

… a few murals seen on Boulevard Décarie in Montreal.

below: By Cecile Gariepy, holding up blue cube houses and showing them to each other in “Chez Nous” on a wall of Habitations Bourret housing project. a gift from the organization MU to the Office municipal d’habitation de Montréal (OMHM) for their 50th anniversary. 2019

portion of chez nous, a mural by Cecile Gariepy

below: Fonki painting of bulldogs and pugs

Mural of group of dogs, bulldogs and pugs, by artist Fonki,

part of larger mural by Fonki of bulldogs and pugs

below: Tilly, another bulldog, painted on pink on what is now an empty building.

below: This portrait of Tilly was painted by Kevin Ledo.

below: This is the street art seen under the portrait of Tilly.

below: Dora the Explorer, in a Tim Hortons & Wendys parking lot.

Dora the explorer mural in Wendys parking lot on Decarie, Montreal

below: Dora the Explorer chases butterflies.

Photos taken April 2026

Montreal theatre hommage

Posted on April 8, 2026 by Mary C

There is a small collection of murals that pay tribute to actors and theatre in the area near rue Wolfe and rue Robin. All of them were painted under the auspices of MU, an organization that is devoted to creating murals about people and their community.

below: One of these murals is a portrait of actor Denise Pelletier (1923-1976) painted by Mateo (with help from Ilana Pichon, Rocio Perez, and Julien Sicre).

street art mural of Denise Pelletier by Matteo, in Montreal

below: On rue Robin there are two matching murals side by side. On the left is one in blue with a man sitting on top of a ladder. The text reads, in French, “Ne compte jamais sur rien ne restez ni sur un echec, ni sur un succes” ( = Never count on anything, don’t dwell on either failure or success.). It is a tribute to the founders of Théâtre de Quat’Sous and was painted by Gene Pendon.

mural by Gene Pendon in Montreal, in blues, a man sitting on top of a ladder, with text in French Ne compte jamais sur rien ne restez ni sur un echec, ni sur un succes

below: “Commencez toujours autre chose c’est la suite qui compte” = Always start something new; it’s what comes next that counts. This is a quote by theatre director (and writer) Paul Buissonneau (1926-2014). It is the work of street artist Sender.

mural by sender in red and black , white line drawing of a building, with a quote in French from actor Paul Buissonneau, Commencez toujours autre chose c'est la suite qui compte which translates to Always start something new; it's what comes next that counts.

below: La Roulette was the name of Paul Buissonneau’s first theatre. It began in 1952 – performances were outdoors in Montreal parks. According to a nearby plaque, this mural was not a Mu production, instead it was a La SPAG initiative (la société pour la promotion des arts gigantesques) and was created by Laurent Gascon. Gascon has produced eight other similar murals that showcase actors, performers, singers, etc.

street art mural, that looks like mosaic, with words La Roulette, which was a theatre in Montreal.

below: Lastly, there is tribute (painted by Hsix156) to Dominique Michel (b. 1932), a Quebec actress, singer, and comedian. She began her career in cabaret but got a start in television in the 1960s.

street art mural of actress Dominique Michel beside a small park in Montreal

For more information about MU, check out their website (mumtl.org)

Photos taken April 2026

Hiding behind the Danforth

Posted on January 21, 2026 by Mary C

On the south side of Danforth, near Bowden Ave.., there is an alley….

below: Looking west to Bowden Avenue. There are a few street art pieces that have been painted in the past couple of years.

below: Natasha Dichpan painted this young woman and wolf (dog?). It’s probably a dog but for some reason I’d like to think that it was a wolf.

below: The multicoloured swirls of dots and splotches are by Andre Castro.

below: A young woman with flowing pink hair, pointy elf-like ears, and many eyes, rides on a blue pelican (or at least a bird with a big beak), painted by Katrina Canendo in summer of 2021. Pink mushrooms in blue foilage on the accompanying door.

below: She also seems to have an extra arm as well as an eye on the back of her hand. She ate the mushrooms?

below: By Sasha Fonkatz, the only man on the block. The calligraphy in the black box on the right says: “Sometimes you have to be a lion to be the lamb that you are” (a Dave Chapelle quote). I am not sure what the whole story is surrounding the pink faced man, but the first two lines start “A true community is not just about …”

below: by Amani Muhammad, blues…. blue woman, blue pigeon, and blue butterflies among the pink and red flowers

below: Another Katrina Canendo piece, this time from April 2022. On the sidewalk on Bowden Street with Danforth Church in the background. Once called Chester Baptist Church, the building was completed in two stages. The original building was built in 1911 while a newer addition fronting onto Danforth was added in 1931.

below: Bowden Ave. The street is named after John Wilson Bowden, a builder who purchased land in the area in 1858 and subdivided it in 1871.

below: Behind the church

To the west of Bowden there are a couple of garage doors that have been painted but that was long ago. Some have been tagged over.

below: Long ago as in 2012 which is when this double garage was painted – CHEST on one side with Magical Mystery Tour and RASR on the other with Imagine. Beatles fans I presume.

below: and 2013 (pest, bacon, nozer).

Photos taken January 2023

Eyes on the Streets

and feets on the ground. Graffiti, street art and murals seen while wandering the streets and alleys of our colourful world.

Category Archives: Canada

flowers and birds on Dundas East

Kingston’s graffiti wall

thirty years in downtown Oshawa

animals under the 401

Sanko trading company

when the walls speak to me

down Biscuit Lane

along Boulevard Décarie

Montreal theatre hommage

Hiding behind the Danforth