Carleton Place

below: The Mississippi Mudds is an amateur theatre group based in Carleton Place (Ontario). Why Mississippi? Because the town of Carleton Place is on the Mississippi RIver, the one in Ontario, not the more famous one to the south.

mural, brick wall, Carleton Place, theatre stage and curtain, tragedy and comedy masks, a keyboard, treble clef, music notes, and text that says Mississippi Mudds

below: mmm

mural, brick wall, Carleton Place, theatre stage and curtain, tragedy and comedy masks, a keyboard, treble clef, music notes, and text that says Mississippi Mudds, beside parking lot

below: Ode to Stompin’ Tom Connors (1936-2013), country and folk singer and songwriter. “Everyone’ll tell ya around Carleton Place – Mississippi dripped off of big Joe’s face…” This quote is a line from Connors’ song ‘ Big Joe Mufferaw’. In the song, a very large Joe was a logger and when he worked, the sweat dripping from Joe’s face was so massive that it formed both Mississippi Lake and the Mississippi River.

tribute mural to Stompin Tom Connors, man in cowboy hat playing the guitar

below: A mural in memory of Captain Roy Brown (1893-1944), a WW1 flying ace and the pilot who was officially credited with shooting down Manfred von Richthofen, otherwise known as the “Red Baron”. Brown was born in Carleton Place where his father owned a power company.

Captain Roy Brown of the RAF is featured in a World War one memorial mural, his biplane is shown in a dogfight with the Red Baron

below: This picture is one of several that illustrate some of the events in the town’s history. They are mounted on the walls of a small building next to the city hall. Ballygiblin refers to Ballygiblin House, North Cork, Ireland where many Irish immigrants came from in the very early 1800s. They settled in Lanark County around the Mississippi River back when Carleton Place was known as Morphy’s Falls. At the time, men had to register with the local militia (mustering). During one of these mustering events in 1824, fights broke out between the Irish of Carleton Place and the Scots of nearby Almonte. There were also religious differences. The fighting lasted for a couple of days with one dead, several wounded and some buildings damaged. Picture by Shaun McInnis.

mural commemorating the Ballygiblin Riots of 1824, done in sepia tones, men in clothing of the time with bats as weapons

below: In a couple of places, old style signs have been painted on old buildings. Taylor’s Hardware did exist in downtown Carleton Place and in fact, it was in this building. William Taylor built the store in 1888 and his sons Jack and Frank continued the legacy until the Depression in 1929. At one point it was Taylor’s Department Store and Garage.

text art, ad for Taylors Hardware and Tinsmithing, plumbing, stove, furnaces,

below: Just up the street from Taylor’s is the Canadian Tire wall. Here you can find four images from old Canadian Tire ads along with an older version of their logo – probably from 1957.

old Canadian tire ads street art decoration on building

below: She quietly sits, absorbed in her book

mural that looks like life size real image of a woman sitting on a bench beside an open window
mural that looks like life size real image of a large dog standing beside a window

below: “Last Train to Carleton Place #1226 – January 8, 1960,” was painted in 2013 by artist Shaun McInnis on the side of Edwards Grocery building, another old building in Carleton Place. Back in the 1920s trains on the CPR (Canadian Pacific Railway) stopped here on their run between Montreal and Vancouver. There were also many trains to Ottawa, Brockville, and Pembroke.

engine number 1226, large train engine, in mural about the last train to carleton place

below: Memorial to Wayne Richards, also known as Wandering Wayne. It too was painted by Shaun McInnis.

mural dedicated to Wayne Richards, milkman, also known as wandering Wayne, shown with an old horse drawn wagon milk cart from Maple Leaf dairy
Wayne Richards (1936-2016)
Wayne believed that “one step at a time” was good for the soul. He will forever be known as “Wandering Wayne” to the town of Carleton Place. He was one of the last milkmen to deliver door to door by horse drawn wagon, working for both the Maple Leaf Dairy and Carleton Place Dairy. If you took the time to talk to him he could tell you more about the town and your family than you thought possible. Wayne asked for the best of each of us in our little town and hopefully we met his expectations. Thanks Wayne for always reminding us to take the time to be kind. May you be walking the clouds in heaven.”
mural dedicated to Wayne Richards, milkman, also known as wandering Wayne, shown with an old horse drawn wagon milk cart from Maple Leaf dairy
portrait, part of a mural dedicated to Wayne Richards, milkman, also known as wandering Wayne,

below: Fireworks from the bridge over the river.

silhouette of many people standing on a bridge watching a fireworks display, picture mounted on stone wall

Photos taken July 2026

flowers and birds on Dundas East

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.

street art mural 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
2 street art murals

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

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.

street art mural

below: With mouth wide open – singing? yelling?

street art painting, all in shades of blue, face of person wearing glasses and with mouth wide open

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.

Huckleberry Hound and Top Cat, mural
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

part of a street art mural, grey rabbit head with yellow and green eyes, signed oaks

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

below: Deconstructed. Eyes, ears, mouth, and nose. It brings to mind the childhood song of ‘Head and Shoulders’…..

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

below: Garfield is a basketball star (or he just thinks that he is?)

Garfield the cat  is a basketball star in a mural

below: Cracks in the paint; cracks in the wall

cracks in the layers of paint on a wall, many shade of blue and red, with some yellow

photos taken July 2026

thirty years in downtown Oshawa

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

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

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

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,
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.

seven storey tall mural on the side of a parking structure, by Dani Crosby, of old grist mill, with large water wheel, colourful, with flowers, fish in the creek, and other wildlife

part of a seven storey tall mural on the side of a parking structure, by Dani Crosby, of old grist mill, with large water wheel, colourful, with flowers, fish in the creek, and other wildlife, butterflies,

part of seven storey tall mural on the side of a parking structure, by Dani Crosby, of old grist mill, with large water wheel, colourful, with flowers, fish in the creek, and other wildlife, fox, frog,

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

part of a mural by Bruno Smoky, green future energy, electric vehicles, windmills

part of a mural by Bruno Smoky
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.

mural, Camp X
part of mural, Camp X
part of mural, Camp X
part of mural, Camp X

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

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.

part of an animal themed mural by Nick Sweetman in Toronto, bee and butterfly

part of an animal themed mural by Nick Sweetman in Toronto, white tigers

part of an animal themed mural by Nick Sweetman in Toronto

part of an animal themed mural by Nick Sweetman in Toronto, cat

part of an animal themed mural by Nick Sweetman in Toronto, frog, lizard

part of an animal themed mural by Nick Sweetman in Toronto, bear

part of an animal themed mural by Nick Sweetman in Toronto, bears in blue

part of an animal themed mural by Nick Sweetman in Toronto,fox

a man walks in front of

part of an animal themed mural by Nick Sweetman in Toronto, fox

part of an animal themed mural by Nick Sweetman in Toronto,buffalo, bison, cows

part of an animal themed mural by Nick Sweetman in Toronto

part of an animal themed mural by Nick Sweetman in Toronto

Photos taken May 2026

Sanko trading company

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.

people walking on sidewalk on Queen Street West near Claremont, with mural on the Sanko Trading company in the background, the JapanTown mural

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.

a portion of Japan Town 5 mural on the side of Sanko Trading Company store on Queen Street West, south end of mural

a portion of Japan Town 5 mural on the side of Sanko Trading Company store on Queen Street West, with two windows, images of sushi, graffiti painters,

a portion of Japan Town 5 mural on the side of Sanko Trading Company store on Queen Street West, images of sushi, salmon and roe

a portion of Japan Town 5 mural on the side of Sanko Trading Company store on Queen Street West, image of Canada goose, part in origami and part realistic, flying over a large blue wave

a portion of Japan Town 5 mural on the side of Sanko Trading Company store on Queen Street West

a portion of Japan Town 5 mural on the side of Sanko Trading Company store on Queen Street West

a portion of Japan Town 5 mural on the side of Sanko Trading Company store on Queen Street West

a portion of Japan Town 5 mural on the side of Sanko Trading Company store on Queen Street West, large cat face

a portion of Japan Town 5 mural on the side of Sanko Trading Company store on Queen Street West, blue aligator

a portion of Japan Town 5 mural on the side of Sanko Trading Company store on Queen Street West, blue fish with large eye, open mouth with teeth, also a yellow cat and a red Japanese gate

a portion of Japan Town 5 mural on the side of Sanko Trading Company store on Queen Street West

a portion of Japan Town 5 mural on the side of Sanko Trading Company store on Queen Street West

a portion of Japan Town 5 mural on the side of Sanko Trading Company store on Queen Street West, chopsticks reaching into a soup bowl with egg, noodles, and a bit of pinkish meat

a portion of Japan Town 5 mural on the side of Sanko Trading Company store on Queen Street West

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

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

graffiti that is all text, words that say u r god

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”

graffiti that is all text, words that say

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”

graffiti that is all text, words that say 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.

graffiti, Henry was here

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

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

graffiti that is all text, words that say
graffiti in blue that says the skys not classified

What would you say?

down Biscuit Lane

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.

street art mural of downtown Toronto with CN tower, subway, union station rogers centre, tall buildings

below: More Toronto, painted by Thomas the Anonynous

street art mural of downtown Toronto with CN tower, subway, union station rogers centre, tall buildings

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

street art mural, with pink heart, words in heart say I will always be here with you.

street art mural,

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

part of a mural by ness lee, black woman with long hair swimming or floating in white wavy water

part of a mural by ness lee, black woman with long yellow hair

part of a mural by ness lee, black woman with long green or white hair

below: Looking north on Biscuit Lane

looking north up biscuit lane, street art or urban art on both sides

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!

street art covering a door with many cartoon characters, pink panther, garfield, wiley coyote, donald duck, daffy duck, elmer fudd, bugs bunny, tweetie bird,

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

double door in alley, covered with street art which is letters of the alphabet all jumbled up together in many colours

street art mural by thomas the anonymous in biscuit lane

street art mural by thomas the anonymous in biscuit lane, including circular target with red bulls eye

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

street art mural showing some comic book superheroes

street art mural on blue background, in biscuit lane

electrical box in alley painted red, with words painted on it, raptors phone

Photos taken April 2026

Hiding behind the Danforth

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.

an alley behind the Danforth, a painted fence, a large pink man's portrait, a painted traffic box at the end of the lane

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.

close up of part of a mural on a wood fence in an alley painted by Natsha Dichpan, a purple young woman's face beside a pink and purple wolfs face

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

street art on a wood fence, two womens faces, and a wolf, in an alley

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.

two street art paintings on a concrete building, a small painting of pink mushrooms on a door, and a larger mural of a four-eyed woman with pink flowing hair riding on a blue goose (or pelican), a bird with a long beak. she has an eye on the back of her hand too

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

close up of pale green skinned woman in mural of a four-eyed woman with pink flowing hair riding on a blue goose (or pelican), a bird with a long beak. she has an eye on the back of her hand too

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 …”

mural on side of concrete building, in two sections, on the left a pink faced man with very short dark hair, surrounded by words, on the right is a square of calligraphy white letters on black with a pink flower below it. The words say sometimes you have to be lion to be the lamb that you are
below: by Amani Muhammad, blues…. blue woman, blue pigeon, and blue butterflies among the pink and red flowers

mural by Amani Muhammad, a woman in blue holds a blue pigeon, pink and red flowers around them as well as blue butterflies

close up view of mural by Amani Muhammad, a woman in blue holds a blue pigeon, pink and red flowers around them as well as blue butterflies

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.

painted metal bell box on a sidewalk in front of a church

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.

2 houses on Bowden Avenue, 3 storeys high, one with a large wood balcony

below: Behind the church

garages in the alley behind Danforth near Bowden including one with a basketball hoop above the door and the squares in the door all painted differently

a small shed behind a house, lane behind Danforth

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.

garages in an alley behind Danforth with doors with old paintings on them

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.

double garage doors, one side painted by chest and says magic mystery tour and the side painted by rasr and says imagine, painted in 2012

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

corner of a mural signed pest bacon and nozer, on a garage door in an alley, in reds and purples, in 2013

behind an old 2 storey brick house, a fence and a gate. on one side of the gate the fence is painted teal, on the other side it is red

Photos taken January 2023

the smaller stuff too

…in Graffiti Alley

My previous post was also about a walk down a section of Toronto’s Graffiti Alley (Spadina to Portland).   This post is from the same walk –  because there were so many  images that I wanted to share, I decided to divide the fun into two parts.  This second part takes a closer look at some of the smaller pieces.

graffiti stickers covering signs at the entrance to graffiti alley where there is lots of street art in the background

below: Peeling paper hands….  A 33wallflower33 group of three women in their dashing outfits … and a charming man with devil’s horns and red glasses.

paper paste up graffiti on a door

below: Although it’s getting more difficult to see, there’s a Poser rabbit by the door.  The door is disappearing behind a layer or two of paper and paint.

a door covered with graffiti, with more street art paint on the walls beside it

below: There is a little pink stikman on the light above the door.

pink stikman graffiti on a light over a door in an alley

below: Once upon a time this skinny little guy was pink but ooops, a layer of paint and now he’s prematurely grey.

white stikman graffiti on a white wall behind metal bars

below: In her face – another stikman

small red stikman on yellow paint with a woman's face at the bottom layer

below: Last stikman for today… sometimes you find them tucked away in hard to see places.

green and black stikman hiding behind a hook with a black strap on it

below: Party line?  Four hands phone.

old phone booth but with 4 receivers, all covered with paint and graffiti

below:  A bleeding heart, a pansy flower, and a woman with a red hat and big ear rings.

small graffiti in graffiti alley, a red painted heart, paper paste ups of a pansy flower and a person's head

below: Polly wants a cracker before she takes over the world, or at least that’s what she told me.

paper paste up graffiti, one is a green bird with text that says bird takeover

below: A young woman with blue lipstick and jagged pink make up on her cheeks.  A spiked collar is around her neck.  Make of it what you will.

graffiti, woman with blue lips and spikey black hair, beside word peace stenciled twice in paint

below: Another young woman,  this time she’s a little softer (at least in appearance) – drawn by Catchoo.

below: Multiple Sailor dudes (trp613) in two varieties hanging out with a happy little catchoo critter and its smiley daisy balloon.

lots of paper pasteup graffiti in graffiti alley, one is a catchoo character holding a daisy shaped balloon

below: “Save me”!

paper pasteup graffiti in graffiti alley, including a blue floppy disc with text that says save me, by catchoo

below:  It looks like catchoo has been busy.

graffiti on a wall in graffiti alley

below: More of that wall.

lots of slaps, graffiti on a wall in graffiti alley

below: Darth Vader makes an appearance too.  Who’s that man peeking through the hole?

orange skull, graffiti on a wall in graffiti alley, also Darth Vader,

urban ninja squadron and others, graffiti on a wall in graffiti alley

below: One flower sprouts a bald person while the other produces a sunny orb.  That black octopus doesn’t look very happy – perhaps in this winter weather it needs more than just a woolly toque.

paint graffiti in graffiti alley, black octopus wearing a red toque

below: There are those women again!

33wallflower33 sticker of three flapper women

below: Dogma slaps standing tall in his puffy jacket and bright red mitts.

2 slaps graffiti on a wall already covered with street art paint. One is a dog, standing on two feet and dressed in human clothes - or perhaps it is a man with a dogs head

below: Riding a D7606 crayon – T-bonez always finds new adventures.

paste up graffiti high on a wall, t-bonez, from urban ninja squadron is riding a large orange crayon with D 7606 (name of another artist) on it,

collection of stickers, graffiti alley,

below: A collaboration between Tamm Shinzo and April Showers Art produced this little round piece – sitting on top of the clouds with the moon shining over her shoulder.

round paper paste up on a utility pole in Graffiti Alley,

below: Cryptid Supremacy – a rat with a very long tail

pink background with drawing of a rat sitting on a bench, long tail, words: cryptid supremacy

below: More rats, this time “the rat race is rigged”.  Also another skull (skulls are very popular!), this time by Broke Canvas (aka Colin Green) on yellow.   And third, is it a rainbow or a very sad face?  – slap by Rider Waitress (aka Frances Sousa)

graffiti on a wall, a black rat with words the rat race is rigged, a yellow square with a drawing of a skull by broke canvas, and last a rainbow with two flowers that looks like a sad face, by rider waitress

below: While we’re dealing with rats – Squee!  They are all fleeing from an NYC trash can.  Don’t litter!

a sticker on a wall in graffiti alley, mice fleeing from a trash can, squeee

below: Another small collection – Catchoo shows up on a soy sauce bottle while a Sentient Cookie (aka Cecil Tian) character gets taped to the wall… remember that banana?!   And last, in the top left corner, a Cartoon Car Slaps.

catchoo soya sauce bottle, sentient cookie paste up and a cartoon slaps slap, garffiti on a wall in graffiti alley

below: Juice box time. By Clem Crevetz

sticker on metal pipes in graffiti alley, man sitting, with juice box in his hands

small green fish sticker beside a lock on a door

small graffiti painting, black line drawing of a face, with very pointy chin, on white background

elicser elliott painting of a woman in rabbit ears, drinking a can of pop

graffiti where is my $$

alley graffiti stickers, blepser and nervo
pasteup little character in white suit, probably marcel morceau, the mime artist

elle was here, written on sidewalk in pink

Photos taken January 2026