On the Move (Toronto)

Posted on September 1, 2026 by Mary C

If you walk east on Bloor from Dundas West, you will encounter a railway bridge.

man pulling a suitcase as he walks on the sidewalk on Bloor street, eastbound, with GO train on railway bridge in the distance.

A section of the walls of this underpass have recently been painted by 40+ artists. The south side is now covered in new murals.

cyclists in bike lane on Bloor West, traveling eastbound and about to go under the railway tracks just west of Perth. Street art on the walls of the underpass

This underpass has been painted previously – back in 2015 both the north and south walls were painted in a Wallnoize project (see post from 2015). Some of the same artists appear on this updated version. This time it was StreetARToronto that sponsored the artworks. Let’s take a look at some of the murals (in no particular order)….

below: Stay young! An old man on a bike that he outgrew years ago! by Adrian Hayles

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West painted by Adrian Hayles - an old man in yellow suit and hat, riding a very small yellow, or gold, bicycle

below: Opola Karim painted this Toronto skyline scene, a view that is well known to anyone who has visited the Toronto islands.

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West painte by Opola Karim, showing Toronto Harbour and Toronto skyline in a very stylized design, loon in water, beaver on a rock, Canada geese flying overhead

below: Peaceful, loving hands joining together by Phillip Saunders aka Loveishere

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West, by Phillip Saunders, a k a Love is here. Four hands in shades of beige and brown, 2 with peace sign, one holding a round object with a red heart on it,

below: Close to the west end of the underpass is this colourful section. The collection of birds on the right side were painted by two artists, Just J. Art (the hummingbird and the hibiscus flower) and Ambsoul Art

two street art murals on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West. On the right side is collection of birds on the right side were painted by two artists Just J. and Ambsoul. BJR painted the let side, first nations symbols and objects like a bear with a fish in its mouth,

below: The left part (of the above image) BJR aka Bradley J. Reinhardt

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West, byBJR, or Bradley J. Reinhart, bear with a blue fish in its mouth and a red heart on its side

below: Ambsoul Art’s feathery bird.

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West, bird head, part of a larger mural, by Ambsoul

below: From under the bridge, glimpses of colour between the steel girders and concrete barricades.

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West as seen from across the street metal girders supporting bridge, traffic on the road,

below: Three of the artworks

three street art murals on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West. Artists were Curtia Wright, Phillip Saunders, and Artistic Perception.

below: Curtia Wright – a portrait with yellow flowers

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West by Curtia Wright, portrait of a brown woman with yellowy brown eyes, yellow flowers on either side of her

below: More women’s faces – some with no mouths? – have they been silenced? By Artistic Perception aka Kanisha

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West by Artistic Perception. three black women with short curly black hair, clothes in grey shades, with a garland of daisies

below: The Toronto Railpath runs beside these tracks.

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West where it joins Wallace street entrance to the Toronto Railpath

below: By Getso – it’s green, it has sharp teeth and a tail, and it can stand on two legs (he’s standing in a boat)….

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West by Getso, a green crocdile, standing, with tail wrapped around a brown pole, beside water

below: EGR (with the help of some high school students) painted these cool glasses …. and the young woman on the skateboard.

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West by EGR, woman with sunglasses that reflected Toronto skyline and a person cycling past, red rims and blue glass

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West by EGR, a young woman skateboarding

below: Precious cargo in the old milk crate in a mural by Wenting Li aka Wenting Things.

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West by Wenting Li, A cyclist riding a green bicycle past a stylized blue neighborhood skyline, transporting a growing branch with clusters of red fruit in a bright orange milk crate.

below: Another cyclist pedaling along, this time by Isabella Fassler

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West

below: Caitlin Taguibao and Andrea Manica created a mural of people and flowers.

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West, a mural of people and flowers created by Caitlin Taguibao and Andrea Manica

below: A boy on the water and a blue jay watching him by Bunso, aka Night Owl Drawings

below: Adrian Hayles’ man in yellow again, with a 26 cent stamp by Frannie Potts.

below: A closer look at the bird and flowers on the stamp.

below: Part of the Nick Sweetman mural showcasing fish.

below: Visible Noise, aka Andrew Patterson

below: A pink cat with spots is the result of a collaboration between Muys and Chris Perez. Or is it a leopard?

below: Timmifuk removing not one mask, but two.

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West by Timmifuk, young man with green face is removing two masks, one is blue and the other is a demon red

below: Rowell Soller

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West by Rowell Soller

below: StephVonAwesome aka Stephanie Avery

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West cartoon llike characters by StephVonAwesome aka Stephanie Avery<

monsters having a tea party, mural by Stephanie Avery, including three eyed orange guy and purple furry guy

murals on wall of Bloor street railway underpass by , Isabella Fassler, Caitlin Taguibao, Andrea Manica, and Stephanie Avery

below: “Water is Life”, Bubzart

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West, water is life, pregnant woman

below: A peace dove in a swirl of calligraphy, by Medeio

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West A peace dove with an olive branch in its beak, in a swirl of calligraphy, by Medeio, monotone grey

below: Danilo Deluxo, a woman in an elaborate helmet, futuristic pilot.

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West, by Danilo Deluxo, a woman in an elaborate helmet, futuristic pilot.

below: Facing each other, Danilo Deluxo and Drippin’ Soul

two street art murals on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West, Danilo Deluxo and Drippin' Soul

below: Using shades of black, teal and magenta, Drippin’ Soul has created a very metallic looking profile

below: That’s one creepy red eye! Or is it two red eyes? Ahhhh…. the red eye and brass (bronze?) pieces are part of a mask and the design was apparently “inspired by the taotie motifs of the Shang dynasty” (Quote is from MonkYi’s instagram page). The Shang dynasty dates back to between 1600 BC and 1050 BC; it marked the beginning of the Bronze Age in China. A taotie was a mythological creature that represented greed and gluttony.

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West by Monk Yi, woman wearing a mask that has one red eye

two men walking past street art murals on the wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West

below: Ghazaraza‘s ladies are sharing a pot of tea.

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West by Ghazaraza, two ladies are sharing a pot of tea, seated on the ground facing each other. Pink flowers in the middle

below: Flowers in her hair, flowers everywhere… Oh, I don’t know just why
She simply caught my eye…. Or you can all it by its title, “Wildlife in Bloom” by Lula Lumaj.

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West by Lula Lumaj, woman with long dark hair, flowers in her hair, monarch butterfly, bee, other flowers around her

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West, a butterfly and a bee by some small pink flowers

below: A cute little grey cat with green eyes.

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West, a grey cat with green eyes and a little pink nose

three street art murals on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West. an image of a GO rain engine is in the middle

below: GO train – definitely On the Move!

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West, image of a GO train engine

below: “The Lookout aka the Fruit Bandits” not letting a fence get in the way! by Jim Bravo

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West, by Jim Bravo, a group of children is picking fruit from trees that are on the other side of a fence, title is fruit bandits

below: Mother and daughter watching the traffic in a mural by Colin Tea.

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West, Mother and daughter watching the traffic in a mural by Colin Tea, girl is called Violet

three muralon a railway underpass, bloor street , street art, urban art,

below: Greetings from West Toronto by Rage WIlliams

Greetings from West Toronto is the text in this white, gold, and pink mural by Rage Williams.

below: Reboser’s athlete – a football player sprinting down the field.

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West, football players by reboser

below: From the The Graffiti Studio ….

below: Jeff Blackburn‘s young person on the move with drink in one hand and backpack in the other.

below: Two dogs and a stack of old tires, a painting by Megan Oldhues

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West, two dogs and a stack of old tires, by Megan Oldhues

below: Hummingbird by an orange flower.

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West, hummingbird

below: Three animals by a river from Waskwane Designs – beaver, bear and wolf (with a few bees and butterflies too)

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West, by Waskwane Designs, animal, beaver beside a river

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West by Waskwane Designs, bear with a butterfly

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West, by Waskwane Designs, animal, wolf in black and white

below: Not for Sale, letters and flowers in a small square of concrete at one end of the wall.

below: A lone pigeon watches me as I pass by.

below: The wall of the underpass peters out by the time Bloor Street reaches Perth.

Link for more information on StART – StreetARToronto

Photos taken August 2026

checking in to see what’s new

Posted on August 26, 2026 by Mary C

… another walk down Graffiti Alley

below: Part of a monochrome mural by Nicolas Araneda aka niko.volts that has a lot of very American feet walking all over the faces of other people as lay on the ground…. ‘Trampling’ might be a better verb than ‘walking’

below: Some walk in heavy boots, and others swim with open mouth ….

below: Looking crazed and demented, “Lobo” by Horus (aka Trevor Goodwin)

below: Not quite so crazy or so demented but certainly not cuddly and warm either.

below: “Bring your green hat” by FreshPaintDaly aka Billy Creekwater

below: Two (and a bit) of six panels, drawings by Hartshorn (or posts collective).

below: “Not today Satan”. There’s a lot going on here – the Silly Sausage Gang being front and center. 33wallflower33 in her white coat with the fuzzy collar and little decorations by catchoo . There is also a T-bonez (of urban ninja squadron fame) wearing a green shirt and a necklace with a pendant – that’s Sticker Eddie he’s wearing, apparently. The red-hearted pug’s name is Mopsi. Mopsi has something in his mouth but the donut is in the way (for more Mopsi see the Instagram page of his creator, So schoen immer weider)…. And the other dog is a collaboration between TRP613 (check out the reflections in the sunglasses!) and DivadogLA

below: “Get me out of here” and a dose of Instant Karma.

below: Free Iran

below: This painting of a woman with her headphones above and yellow birdie walking a dog below was one of the first murals in Graffiti Alley – the work of Uber5000. Not many originals still exist!

below: Elicser Elliott’s contribution to a larger mural that has been painted below the pink Poser bunny, “Don’t watch me cry”

below: Half a face. He only needs one eye to stare at you.

below: Gold… With a garland of white and blue flowers.

below: A very large and very purple bear is at the door.

below: He or she looks rather cramped in there. Signature says Neem?

below: Another flower garland and another Neem head squeezed into a box.

below: Scowling and smoking with ace in his cap.

below: Skydome forever and ALCS, as well as Vladdy’s number 27 shirt and World Series 2025…. little blue and white pieces of ceramic that celebrate the Toronto Blue Jays that someone lovingly made.

below: One Inch? … And other stickers crammed together.

below: “We are the colours of corn”

below: More stickers and pasteups including catchoo’s dumpster fire that t-bonez from urban ninja squadron is using to dry his socks and underwear.

below: A couple of contributions from Dogmaslaps here (they’re all about dogs in case you haven’t guessed yet).

below: More pasteups, some of which are quite intricate and detailed … especially the top two (vulture and jaguar?) which are both the creations of Ezpektro.

below: Sharing space with the Ezpektro pieces are a few smaller pasteups, some of which were made by artists that are new to me. There is a pink bike in the top right, the same bike that is in the Make Art Not War poster in the above image… BikeDeSuro creates stickers and wheatpaste featuring bikes. From the left, a woman by Fiigueers and then a young girl with the Spanish words, “que nunca se apague la llama de la autonomia” which translates to “may the flame of autonomy never be extinguished”… The collection is rounded out with a guitar player from Sentient Cookie and a cute little green guy from Catchoo.

below: MonkYi cat with a very real looking heart in his claws. Two carp swimming on the pavement in front.

below: Charmander, a Pokemon character.

below: Alfred E. Neuman makes an appearance in a couple of places – he’s the dude from MAD Magazine.

below: By 50 shades of greatt aka Adam McKnight – It looks a lot like Sponge Bob… maybe it’s his cousin? But what’s with that tongue? It looks like a slug is trying to slither out of his mouth.

below: Verity and a happy face.

below: Someone is not impressed…. Lame

below: Green guy says: “In one year’s time, strike your blow, I shall return.”

below: “These days will define us”

Photos taken August 2026

Carleton Place

Posted on August 4, 2026 by Mary C

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

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.”

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

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.