behind Alhambra

Posted on November 29, 2025 by Mary C

below: This short alley in Toronto starts at Alhambra Avenue and runs east towards Dundas.

below: Renovations to expand up and out.

below: Cats, dogs, and little yellow clouds.

below: He walked into my picture.

below: The lane turns south and runs between Dundas West and Alhambra Avenue.

below: She stares at you from beside the Taj Mahal.

below: Ready to play.

below: Two Kizmet Radcliffes, the crazy raccoon.

below: Cruz1 painting (signed as Cruz Uno) – a parrot flies somewhere over Toronto.

below: Herbs vegan snacks

below: The Faceless Few in orange and blue.

below: Can you see it?

below: Sunflowers, bent over under the weight of their heads.

Photos taken November 2025

GAWD’s animals

Posted on August 24, 2025 by Mary C

This post first appeared in my Toronto blog back in 2019. I am posting here because I have learned that this mural has been painted over.

In Toronto, just south of St. Clair West, Runnymede Road runs under the CP train tracks. In the summer of 2017 the wall on the west side of the underpass a mural was painted by Christopher Ross (aka GAWD). It is a collection of animals, mostly in shades of pink and blue – dragonfly, pigs, birds, and more. Most of the animals are in pairs.

At one end of the mural, this little engine sits on a tree stump.

Enjoy (more) Denial

Posted on July 22, 2025 by Mary C

A previous blog post showed some of the murals that can be seen in Maiden Lane in Windsor. At the south end of that lane is a parking lot where one more large mural by Enjoy Denial has been painted.

below: The woman’s portrait painted by Denial was shown previously; a small portion of the other Denial mural can be seen here on the right

portrait of a woman, mural by daniel bombardier, also known as denial

below: A few images of different angles and views of the mural. In the first photo, a large replica of a highway 401 sign. Windsor is at the east end of the 401. There is also a sign in the mural pointing “To Canada, Bridge”; Windsor is home to the Ambassador Bridge that crosses the Detroit River.

part of a Windsor themed mural by denial beside a parking lot in downtown windsor

below: “Welcome to Windsor” turned upside down.

below: “Everthing must change” and the Detroit Pistons basketball team.

below: And last, someone has added their own two cents to the mural

in pink marker, someone has written words on a large mural, text says It only takes time for someone to become something

Photos taken June 2025

WIFF Alley

Posted on July 20, 2025 by Mary C

WIFF = Windsor International Film Festival

sign that says create made to look like a reel of film on old style film projector

below: Silhouettes in the window – Willy, Edgar, Dorothy, Toto, and Edna

on a brick wall, onld windows have been bricked over and in each of the 4 windows is a black silhouette that looks like a famous film character, Edgar Allan Poe, Dorothy and Toto from the Wizard of Oz, Willy Wonka, and the little spymaster woman Edna in the "The Incredibles' movies

below: In autumn 2019, Daniel Bombardier a.k.a Denial or Enjoy Denial, painted this movie themed mural

below: Jessica Rabbit from ‘Who Framed Roger Rabbit’ is portrayed on the far left side of the mural. She stands under a “Danger 10,000 volts” sign. Popcorn anyone?

below: Action! Charlie Chaplin and

Charlie Chaplin with black hat and mustache the blue emotion emoji character from Inside Out, in a mural by Denial

below: More moments in cinema including Rosebud from Orson Welles’ ‘Citizen Kane’

Princess Leia from Star Wars, Marilyn Munroe, Rosebud, The End, censored, fist from Superman, Jack Nicholson's head on door, all in movie themed mural by Denial

below: “Life is Cinema” by Derkz

large mural in an alley by Derkz, shades of grey, very realistic, people with movie cameras, one modern, one slightly older, hand held cameras,

below: Complete the sentence….

Rainbow coloured paint covers metal staircase in alley, with text is one place that says Mr. De Mille, I'm ready for my

three d sign or sculpture at the start of an alley, windsor theme images on the sculpture,

below: Rose City mural

Rose City mural, red and white roses on purple background, with an open with a palm full of rose petals

below: Mr. Toon hangs around in WIFF Alley too

Mr. Toon, 3D artwork, on wall under sign that says WIFF alley

below: Cheerful and cheering, Chris Haven characters on a pole in the alley.

two graffiti stickers on metal pole, both by Chris Haven, small pyramidal shaped character with stick arms, triangle shaped mouth, both cheering with arms up

Maiden Lane – Windsor

Posted on July 19, 2025 by Mary C

Windsor Ontario that is.

green vehicle parked in front of street art murals, with other murals reflected in its windows

Artist Alley and Maiden Lane, between Ouellete and Pellisier Streets, has provided a canvas for many street artists. Free 4 All Walls is an organization that has helped turn the alley into the art gallery that it has become. This blog post is a look at some of the murals that have been painted here.

Back side of a building in an alley, covered with graffiti that is mostly words in different fonts and colors, such as will be, everything, no more yes, fun, no fun,

below: A man in shorts, all in red, by Jarus.

below: A PURE Maple Syrup can makes an appearance in this mural. If you see any painting, or other form of graffiti featuring this can, you can assume that it is the work of Canadian artist ‘WhatisAdam’ aka WIA

mural of a man in cowboy hat, leading a horse past pine trees and blue sky, horse is wearing a can of pure maple syrup

horse is wearing a can of pure maple syrup, in a mural in windsor ontario

below: Spy vs Spy, cartoon sharacters wearing wide brimmed hats. Black Spy vs White Spy, both with long pointy noses. These characters originally appeared in Mad magazine as early as 1961.

below: Nychos painted this strange cowboy. Weirdly realistic but very anatomical. I’m not sure how his hands stay in place.

below: Peace sign with bones

below: Now adding a green peace symbol beside the peace sign with bones

large green peace symbol beside a hand made of just bones making the peace symbol

below: Another peace symbol

street art painting of a realistic hand, very large, making peace sign with background of protest signs in black and white, as well as a large red spray paint peace symbol

below: No guns, No war zone, Keep the mayor happy at all costs. More protest signs.

graffiti wall with words Love Street, and No War Zone, image of pistol with red slash through it,

below: More Peace and Love

below: According to an Instagram post by the artist, Jason Garcia, this image was inspired by an aerial view of the Windsor/Detroit area. The cities in pink with the river between them.

part of mural by jason garia around a window with metal grille over it, geometric shapes to the right of the window, lots of red, green, and blue hearts to theleft

below: The pink pyramid guy is by Chris Haven.

graffiti on a wall, red character with round face and bat wings, pyramidal shaped character in pink giving peace sign.

below: Oh my!

orangish yellow character with body like a basketball, long skinny arms and legs, looking angry and wielding a wood bat, on a building in an alley with a door

below: It’s not Spiderman in that red costume… and that skull is rather creepy. The artist for this mural was Matt Gondek.

mural by Matt Gondek in a Wndosr Ontario Alley, large red costume, ripped to show grey skull below,

close up of head of character in mural by Matt Gondek in a Wndosr Ontario Alley, large red costume, ripped to show grey skull below,

below: “.. And then things got better” in a mural by Denial.

below: “Denial loves you”.

below: Luigi! But he’s behind bars…..

below: Piccachu makes an appearance too (that’s a lot of cameras on his body!). This image bothers me a bit – the look on her face is not nice. Mind you, with a chipmunk stuffed in there she’s got to be uncomfortable. Ick. There is text on the mural (not in the photo) that says Graffiti Zombie

CK, Can Jam murals

Posted on July 3, 2025 by Mary C

Last summer, Chatham Ontario held its first mural festival event, Can Jam, and these are some of the murals that are now on some downtown walls.

below: Meghan Kehoe (aka MCK Studio) and Sarah Steele painted this very large woman behind the Capitol Theatre in downtown Chatham. Most of her hair is a bird’s nest with three shiny pink eggs. A small black and yellow bird stands on the nest.

street art mural in Chatham Ontario, on the side of the Capitol theatre

below: A version of the Tooth Fairy, by Fel3000ft. Winged teeth and butterflies.

below: Rather plump, and very bright – blue, red, and purple birds sitting together on a red branch, by Crz Prz (aka Caesar Perez)

below: Sarah Steele also painted this musician duo.

below: Sunflowers, daisies, and a bee on a purple background in a mural by local artist, Sarah M. Robbins

Photos taken June 2025

Instagram page for CK Can Jam

Chatham history

Posted on June 26, 2025 by Mary C

There are 2 older murals in Chatham Ontario that depict some scenes from yesteryear. The first is at least 25 years old and shows a line of stores and businesses. Even the upper windows are part of the artwork. Just this week (mid June 2025) it was announced that a new mural would be painted here this summer. I have just discovered that there is a video on Facebook of this old mural being dismantled and removed. I must have been in Chatham the day before it was removed!

So…. for a limited time only, here it is (in two images)

below: People enjoying meal at the Savoy cafe while others are tempted by the desserts on display in the window.

history of Chatham mural, older, peeling and faded a bit, a line of businesses, including the Savoy Cafe

below: Also in the row of businesses is Heintzman & Co Pianos, Lyons Tailoring, and Thomas Stone & Son (clothing?). People mingle on the street and a car drives past.

history of Chatham mural, older, peeling and faded a bit, a line of businesses, including Heintzman Pianos and Lyons Tailoring.

below: Ladies checking out what’s on display at the tailors, window shopping.

history of Chatham mural, older, peeling and faded a bit, a line of businesses, two women looking in the window of Lyons tailoring where a woman is adjusting a dress on a headless mannequin. A man about to get on a bike is also in the picture

below: A girl plays a tune on a Heintzman piano while a family out for a drive, passes by.

The Historic Downtown Chatham Business Improvement Area (BIA) have chosen a design for a new mural that was created by local artist Ruth Ann Pearce. Apparently history will still be part of the theme but beyond that, a surprise awaits!

The second mural is newer but was painted by the same artist as the one above, C. Penelope Duchesne. Help was provided by Nancy Foulis, Bonnie Cernenac, Shannon Lindsay, Amy Maynard, Terry Nelmes, and John Reimer.

The mural is in three parts – on both the right and left side is a market scene.

part of a mural by Penelope Duchesne of a market scene from early in the 1900s

part of a mural by Penelope Duchesne of a market scene from early in the 1900s, a white chicken in a cage, a bunch of sunflowers

“The old town hall at north end of the market, 1905” The central panel of the mural features the old Town Hall which was built in the 1850s. The market stretched out behind it. The city sold it in the 1950s; it was demolished some thirty years later.

painting of the old Chatham Town Hall, a large brick building, in a mural

Barton Street “shoes”

Posted on June 19, 2025 by Mary C

Once upon a time, a very long time ago in fact, it used to be a shoe store on Barton Street. Now it provides exhibit wall space for street art artists. Almost two years ago I showed some photos that were taken here for the Wheat paste anti-gallery, (September 2023). The building still stands and the doors and windows are still covered with plywood. But now that plywood is taking on a life of its own as old wheatpastes fade and tear and new papers are added on top. This is how it looked mid-June 2025.

below: Oakwood Place and the old shoe store at Barton E and Ottawa.

below: A large wheatpaste, monochromatic, symmetrical collage with eyes in the center – a work by Jumblefacefoto, aka Jeremy Lynch.

below: Zeroing in on just the lower portion of one …..

below: Such wonderful feet!

below: Post no bills, if you can’t read it do you need to obey it?

an eye, and a sliver of the edge of a paper paste up piece, beside a section of plywood wall with multiple bits of old paper from graffiti, and some paint

below: More wheatpaste with eyes in the center.

jumblefacefoto paper collages graffiti on plywood wall

below: Remains of crnshnk pieces. Follow the link at the top of this post to see these in their prime.

remnants of older paper paste up graffiti, torn, on plywood, in black and white images

below: Another fragment of an older piece – what looks like a skull in a round mirror.

image of a skull in a round mirror, a portion of old paper paste up on wall, rest is torn away

below: Polar bear by Invasive Animal (from Sept 2023) is still there although now it appears to be behind bars.

paper wheatpaste of a polar bear, on plywood, by Invasive Animal, now behid a metal construction fence

three wheatpaste animals by invasive animal, a warthog, a rhino and a goat with horns

wheatpaste of horse head and mane by invasive animal

below: Almost disappeared.

below: Warning triangles – missiles, tanks, and robotics.

below: Stickers on the side of a Canada Post mailbox including two vintage kids by 33wallflower33

bicycles parked on the sidewalk outside a cycle shop, also a motorized wheelchair, scooter, in pink, Hamilton, Barton Street

Hess Village, Hamilton

Posted on June 12, 2025 by Mary C

In a small section of Hamilton……

below: “Woman with Flowers” by Megan Oldhues from the 2022 Concrete Canvas Festival

mural of a woman with flowers by Megan Oldhues

below: Mediah‘s angular shapes and colour contrasts on a bright purple background.

mural of graphics, lines, angles and shapes on a bright purple background, by Mediah

below: Reaching for a butterfly, “Helping Hand” by Alex Bacon from the 2019 Concrete Canvas Festival

large mural of a brown hand reaching for a butterfly, by Alex Bacon

below: Raven and turtle, a collaboration between Mique Michelle & Kalkidan Assefa (aka Drippin’ Soul), 2019

man walking past a mural, mural of a raven with a red berry in its beak, also a turtle in the mural, it was painted by Mique Michelle and Kalkidan Assefa

mural of a raven with a red berry in its beak, also a turtle in the mural

below: Some curvy-limbed and very flexible people, part of a mural by Burnt Toast

part of a black and white mural on a fence, of people with curvy arms and legs, by burnt toast creative

below: A tribute to Sophia

around and behind Ossington

Posted on May 8, 2025 by Mary C

Ossington Avenue is an interesting street to walk with it’s numerous stores, restaurants and coffee shops. But there is another fascinating world hiding behind the main street in the numerous lanes and alleys in the area.

For this blog post, I have assembled more of the photographs that I have taken around Ossington since January of this year. It gets a bit long because I decided not to chop it into smaller pieces, so grab a seat and let’s get started!

below: A whimsical Uber5000 painting on a garage door.

below: Hearts on fire, burning love, and the fireman that is trying to extinguish the flames – in a mural created by D. Terra Stencils.

below: One of the cutest raccoons that I have ever seen, also painted by D.Terra Stencils.

below: Some more cute raccoons of a different sort go camping in a mural by Emily May Rose

below: … and some more raccoons!

below: …. and even more!

below: Smaller black stencil graffiti on a white garage door – an iconic image of Marilyn Monroe as well as a Kung fu Panda. The other woman gets a splash of bright red.

below: A trumpet player and a gun fight.

below: Bikes on the stairs with a colourful bird keeping a watchful eye.

Moooo…. Hey there good looking!… Here’s looking at you! This was painted by Poser. Usually he does bunny rabbits but I think that he’s pretty good at painting cows too!

below: An old square brick building, garages and fences with graffiti, old trees, and a row of houses at the end of the lane – this captures the look of a typical Toronto lane.

below: Home patio, outdoor living urban style.

below: “Stop and enjoy”. I like how the poster below the stop sign says “mediocrity” which makes the overall message, “Stop and enjoy mediocrity”. A bit snarky.

below: The tail end of a fishy mural.

below: This aquatic themed mural dates from 2016 when a group of artists painted many murals in the area, all with the Great Lakes as their theme. They were part of Pangeaseed Foundation’s Seawalls for Oceans project. Some artworks have survived better than others. Love letters in paint is a post (off site, in my Toronto blog) from 2016 that show most of them in their original form.

below: The Swiss army knife was also a Pangeaseed mural

below: Where possible, Jimmy’s Coffee shops have exterior walls painted with images of famous Jimmys including the one on Ossington. Jimmy Carter, James Dean, the guitar of Jimmy Hendrix and two muppets representing Jim Henson Gonzo and Elmo

below: A Jimmy of a different kind, a fantastic cacaphony of colours and shapes in a mural by Jimmy Chiale

below: Close up of part of a mural, a young man wearing a black mask over his eyes.

below: Rowell Soller

below: Two paintings on two different garages that look like they were done by the same artist. The signature appears to be Soul R. and the top painting is from 2017.

below: 2022 Christina Mazzulla, for the Golden Turtle Restaurant.

below: “You are stroger than you think”

below: Nick Sweetman has used shades of blue and purple to create this wonderful northern scene with a bear and moose combo.

below: Totally blue. The other colours have faded? Or were never there in the first place?

below: More garage doors painted by D.Terra Stencils

below: On a bright yellow background, an image of Jean Michel Basquiat, one of the original creators present-day street art.

below: .. and beside Basquiat, a levitating woman

below: Written in Portuguese is “Nem às paredes confesso” which translates to “I don’t even confess to the walls”.

below: Portuguese words, and nearby a Portuguese flag

below: Boxers – Muhammad Ali and an opponent

below: The last D. Terra Stencils is this rendition of Ren and Stimpy

below: The next four images are of the same mural in a snowy laneway parking lot… starting with DAM DOG ketchup bottle

below: Parking for Animals

below: These little ceramic animals have been walking in this alley for at least ten years.

below: T-bonez stands alone, maybe waiting for the light to turn green?

below: And what’s this? Even more raccoons?! Toronto’s “beloved” trash pandas are everywhere!

below: Six lit matches ready to go. This crazy cat is up to something no good…

below: An early Birdo piece, although the scroll names or street artists too. The first street art in this alley directly behind Ossington (on the east side) dates from 2012 when a group of artists painted some of the garages here.

below: A pink rose between two women.

below: Another oldie – this purple guy has been blowing a gust of wind for many years.

below: Vintage Spud bombs, some cheerful and some menacing.

below: A funny looking green creature with big white eyes and lots of skinny legs.

below: A couple, together in the stream, in a mural by Elicser Elliott with the title “Swim”

below: Geometric shapes with a touch of rainbow colour, by Peru

below: Large pink and white swirls and curls cover a wall. Any time that you see swirls like these, think Flips because that’s sure to be the artist that painted them.

below: Only a small portion of this moose painting by Aaron Li-Hill remains. I don’t usually show the original works but I am going to make an exception here. See next image.