near Balaclava train station

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below: On the corner of Nelson and Carlisle streets, near Balaclava station in St. Kilda East.

stores, on a corner,

below: Black panther roaring with mouth open wide, fangs and teeth ready….

street art painting of a black panther with mouth open showing large white fangs

below: The railway crosses over Carlisle street at the north end of Balaclava station

railway tracks, bridge over carlisle street,

below: Praying. Painted by Pawtl

mural of a man with hands closed in prayer

below: Two women hanging out with a white rabbit and a white cat, by Deb.

street art painting of two woman, stylize, with short tops, exposed middles, and long skirts with hearts on them. Saturn and a white cat in the background

below: Come Alive Melbourne

cars parked in front of a mural

below:  A rainbow lorikeet

street art painting of a rainbow lorikeet bird, on a tree branch

below: Owls by the door

a door in the middle of a street art painting of owls including two small baby owls

below: More owls

street art painting of three owl faces,

below: Continuing the bird theme – a very old and weathered stencil of a pigeon

weathered black and white stencil of a pigeon, on a red brick wall

below: Another oldie, a paste-up of many people.  One person in a red and white striped shirt, holding a toddler.  A girl with long hair wearing a checkered red and white dress; she’s holding something like a brown box in her hands.  Beside her is a girl who is wearing a white top and a blue skirt. Who else can you see?

paste up of a group of people, very small

 The next few pictures are a  selection of paintings on the upper level of some of the stores on Carlisle.

below: Dana’s Patisserie

upper level, exterior, of Danas Patisserie on Carlisle street, with painting of a woman with a potted cactus and a black and white flower in a pot.

below: Many hands

paintings of three hands on upper level of a storefront, carlisle street, melbourne

below: Flowers and faces

paintings on the upper level of two adjacent stores, one with flowers on a green background and one with four portraits

below: “TAKE” or perhaps “TAK E” above a painting beside the walkway to Balaclava station, southbound trains.

store on Carlisle street beside ramp up to balaclava station, with large orange mural on one side of the building. the word take is above the mural large orange mural

below: On the platform, Balaclava station, “Shake was here”

platform at Balaclava station, with building behind, has text graffiti that says shake was here

below: Gradients in blue and orange cover the ground floor level of a new development beside the station – seen from the station platform.

stripes forming gradients in blues and oranges along the side of a building including the door to a garage

below: Also seen from the platform, street art on the back of a building by the tracks.

throw up calligraphy type street art,

below: Raise a steaming cup to the coffee culture that is strong here in Melbourne! Cheers!

little blue and white graffiti sticker, man walking while holding a cup with steam coming off of it

Photos taken March 2025

Louden Place

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…

below: On one side of the alley is this long mural that comes in two sections – a sleeping woman with an outstretched hand is a collaboration between Vexta and Lisa King.

mural by vexta and lisa king, woman lying down on a rainbow of bright colours, on her back, eyes closed, hand outstretched with object in hand, in two sections, woman is in shades of grey

mural by vexta and lisa king, woman lying down on a rainbow of bright colours, on her back, eyes closed, hand outstretched with object in hand, in two sections, woman is in shades of grey

… and a little bird stands on her forehead.part of a mural by vexta and lis king, of a black and white bird, black back, black head, and white tummy,

below: The wall of the other alley is covered by a black and white painting of kangaroos, birds, and other animals… along with some plants. A few red feathers brighten the image.  It was painted by Minna Leunig, an Australian artist from Darwin.

part of a mural by minna leunig, black stylized kangaroos and birds on a white background

part of a mural by minna leunig, black stylized kangaroos and birds on a white background

below: It’s easy to miss because of its location, but if you go to the end of the lane and look way up, you’ll catch a glimpse of this mural by Cam Scale.

at the end of Louden Place, high up on a tall brick building, a mural by Cam Scale, a man's portrait done in black paint

at the end of Louden Place, high up on a tall brick building, a mural by Cam Scale, a man's portrait done in black paint

portraits on Little Bourke

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Near the west end of Little Bourke Street are 4 large murals that feature people.

below: First there is this couple whose bed is high above the street – painted by Fintan Magee

large mural by Fintan Magee, a couple on a bed, fully clothed,

a small red car is parked in front of a building with two large murals on it, directly behind the car is a large portrait of an old man with beard and mustache by smug. beside it is a painting of a woman who looks like she is looking at the car

below: The old man, pictured above as well as here, was painted by Smug, aka Sam Bates.

portrait of an older man with beard and mustache by street artist smug, also known as Sam Bates,

below:  Next to the old man are two women in blue painted by Rone.

large mural portraits on Little Bourke street in Melbourne including one with two women's portraits painted by rone.

below: Last, is this portrait of a young man looking skyward, by Adnate (whose portrait of a mother and child is featured in a mural seen in Albany Alley that was shown here in a previous post).

large mural of a young man's portrait by adnate

below: Photos taken March 2025

bright lights

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Pasted onto a wall in Baptist Lane, Melbourne, is a woolen string of paper lights where each light bulb is a little artwork.

on a wall painted yellow, paste up graffiti of a string of light bulbs where each bulb is a little artwork by a different artist

below: Julybubble80’s blue cat has grown wings

paper pasteup on yellow wall, shape of a light bulb, blue, with a cat, by julybubble80

below: Another julybubble cat along with “Aimer”, two red and blue whale (fish?) tails that come together to form a heart by NBF Street (Sirène in the street). A little fairy holds a gold star, the work of Balaet Balaets.  “Viens, on rêve… (come, let’s dream).

on a wall painted yellow, paste up graffiti of a string of light bulbs where each bulb is a little artwork by a different artist, 3 bulbs

below: Little yellow rubber duckies – these traveling ducks (canards vagabonds) are having more adventures!

paper pasteup on yellow wall, shape of a light bulb, a group of yellow ducks, with pencil crayons, canards vagabonds

below: With her usual cat-like persona, tweet_streetart holds an Aussie flag waving koala.

paper pasteup on yellow wall, shape of a light bulb, person with a cat head hold a grey koala who in turn is holding an Australian flag

below: It’s pink bandana is signed, Valcu G.

below: A cheeky little blue octopus sits on a light bulb that contains a fish (artist: o21_simplement).

paper pasteup on yellow wall, shape of a light bulb, a little blue octopus with its tongue sticking out, sits on top of one of the bulbs that contains a small fish. the other light bulb has a cat head, rest of bulb is out of the picture

below: Two images of little women by wall_lilo

paper pasteup on yellow wall, shape of a light bulb, by wall lilo paper pasteup on yellow wall, shape of a light bulb, by wall lilo

below: Paddywagon is an artist who combine street art and cyanotypes (a process that creates white images on blue like the.  Here, a small light bulb showcases one of her images of tiny compound leaves.  To the left, “Come on baby, light my fire”, a woman with long and flowing yellow hair, by Wild Wonder Woman.
paper pasteup on yellow wall, shape of a light bulb, wild wonder woman and paddywagon cyanotype of leaves

below: A second Wild Wonder Woman, this time her long yellow hair flows down her bare back and wraps around her swing.  Next to her is a picture by Felfi (aka tanzt_die_orange), a Dutch artist.

paper pasteup on yellow wall, shape of a light bulb,

below: Close by is a second set of light bulbs with art by the same artists – you might recognize some of them!

paper pasteup on yellow wall, shape of a light bulb,

paper pasteup on yellow wall, shape of a light bulb,

paper pasteup on yellow wall, shape of a light bulb,

Photos taken February 2025

words on a pole

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There is a pole, or pipe (downspout?) in Baptist Place, Melbourne, that is covered with many little drawings.  They are all slogans or phrases written using music scores as a paper source.   I am not sure what songs were used (or if that has any relevance?) but the lyrics are written at least two languages.  At the top is  “Eat the Rich” .

on a pole, or pipe, in an alley, covered with pasteups, paper, posters, that are words written artistically on old music scores

below: Next comes “Resist”.  I was curious about what song was in the background, so I checked google translate – “qui quae-runt” is Latin for “those who run”.
paste up with the word resists written in large letters aver music score

below:  …   and then “Riots not Diets”
riots not diets are the words written on this paste up

below:  “Mad Pride”

mad pride, text in artwork, on pasteup

below: “Alt Right Delete”, but now the lyrics are in English and include “the water” and “somersaults”

alt right delete text in artwork on paste up

below: “Fat so?” with more lyrics like “averte mala” and “tu a disperde”

fat so? is the question asked here

below: “Cats Rule” in bright colours.

cats rule, text in many colours, paste up

below: The bottom paste-up has the number 13 written above the number 12. Is this a hint as to who the artist is?

the number 13 above the number 12

Photos taken February 2025

three women of Lynn

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This post highlights three murals in Lynn Massachusetts that feature a portrait of a woman.  They certainly aren’t the only women portrayed in Lynn, they just happen to be located close to each other.

below:  Layers of women.  Two portraits on different buildings but from the same viewpoint.  In front, “The Protector” by David Zays; In back, a mural by Marka27.

from a parking lot in Lynn, two murals on two different buildings, one partially obscured by the other. David Zayas woman in a white blouse with a rooster on her shoulder is in front

below: From a better angle, the woman in blue with a yellow flower in her hand in the mural by Marka27, aka Victor Quinonez.

large mural by marka 27, also known as victor quinonez, of a woman in a blue robe holding a yellow flower in her outstretched hand, on the side of a large building

below: Yellow petals flying away, blowing in the breeze.

close up of a part of a mural by marka27, hand out with yellow flowers

below: “The Protector”, a mural by David Zayas.  Like many of his murals, there is a lot of symbolism.  The aloe plant is known for its healing properties and hence  is a symbol of protection. The rooster on her shoulder represents the resilience and fighting spirit that we need when life get tough.

a large mural by David Zayas of a woman in a white blouse with a rooster on her shoulder

below: Looking closer at the intricate detail in the rose pattern in her blouse and the detail in the rooster’s colourful feathers.  close up of part of a David Zayas mural of woman in a white blouse with rose patterns in it, and with a rooster on her shoulder

below: The orange colour in the bird has faded a bit so it’s more difficult to tell that it is a robin.

part of a david zayas mural, arm of woman, with a vine, also a robin

below: “Grandma Eve” by Helen Bur is on the same building as the Davd Zayas mural, but on the other side. Bur’s grandmother is shown holding a playbill designed by her husband during WW2 when he was a prisoner of war in the Pacific. The prisoners put on a play, ‘Murder at Sea’, and the artist’s grandfather designed the playbill for the show.

part of a mural by helen bur, an older woman sitting, holding a book called murder at sea

Photos taken July 2024

Ignite, Create, Connect

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A portrait project from 2014 – 10 years on and still looking great

9 close ups of people, raw art works portrait project in lynn massachusetts, many portraits hanging under an overpass,

A total of 528 portraits line the side of a walkway under the railway tracks in Lynn.

raw art works portrait project in lynn massachusetts, many portraits hanging under an overpass

They are the product of a Raw Art Works project – Young artists took photos of various people in Lynn and then made portraits from those photos.  The portraits also include ones that the artists made of themselves. raw art works portrait project in lynn massachusetts, many portraits hanging under an overpass

15 of the portraits, raw art works portrait project in lynn massachusetts, many portraits hanging under an overpass

raw art works portrait project in lynn massachusetts, many portraits hanging under an overpass

Raw Artworks – whose mission statement includes the words; “to ignite the desire to create and confidence to succeed”.  It’s a program for youth that has been running in Lynn since 1994.
raw art works portrait project in lynn massachusetts, many portraits hanging under an overpass, panel explaining the project, all text

Photos were taken in July 2024

First 2025 visit to Graffiti Alley, Toronto

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My previous post, skateboard portraits was from a walk down Graffiti Alley in Toronto the other day.   This post contains more photos that I took that snowy afternoon… so, let’s take a look!

below: Uber 5000’s yellow bird is still walking his dog and singing a song on this side of this red brick building.  It’s at least 10 years old?  The black and grey portrait on the right is much newer.

Graffiti Alley street art paintings, many, including uber 5000 walking dog and singing,

below: Profile portrait by TheHalfDecent

Graffiti Alley street art painting, profile portrait of woman in black and purple, car parked in front of it

below: “Let them drink beer”, a stencil from D. Terra featuring Ontario Premier Doug Ford whose biggest “win” in the province is bringing alcohol sales to convenience stores and gas stations…. at a massive cost.

below:  A 33wallflower33 pasteup in the foreground, with a corner of one of Nick Sweetman’s bird murals in the background.

pasteup by 33wallflower33, a black and white vintage photo of a woman, cut to oval shape, on a red surface. graffiti alley, a mural by nick sweetman is in the background, a blue bird in flight

below: A collaboration between Nick Sweetman and Shanehuss produced this drippy, melting jaw portrait.

street art mural, calligraphy in grey tones is the background, man's portrait with red skin, purple hat, metal frame glasses, the bottom part of the face is either washing away or melting.

below: The top portion of ” RIP King Reign & Son of Soul” remains.  This tribute mural was painted by Elicser Elliott and Omen514.  I am not sure who is responsible for the newer painting on the bottom, the one in yellows and blues.  That’s probably a ‘signature’ in the bottom left but I don’t recognize it.

Graffiti Alley street art painting, 2 men wearing caps, King Reign and Son of Soul tribute mural, also a uber5000 little yellow bird with a tea cup in his hand

part of King Reign and Son of Soul tribute mural by Elicser Elliott and Omen 514, with newer abstract mural covering the bottom part

below: Graffiti Alley in the snow.

graffiti alley in the snow

below: Sun of Aquarius (aka Andre Mandela Lopez) painted this naked figure with brown wings and bird mask

in an alley, exterior stairs to upper level balcony in alcove with two sides painted with murals, including one by sun of aquarius

below: A pole covered with knit squares while T-bonez is shushing you.

Graffiti Alley street art painting, on wall, pole in front of wall that is covered with knit squares, also a pasteup of urban ninja squadron, t bonez

below: A pointy nosed, long snouted dog by Mr. Myl, aka Luis Casas, who was originally from Havana Cuba.

mr myl street art painting in graffiti alley, on bright pink background, an orange and yellow dog with log snout and orange teeth, small ears, sitting position

below: Another Mr. Myl dog, this one with its blue eyes popping out.   I don’t think that it’s because of the woman next to him.  “Para mi Tita” is Spanish for “For my aunt”.

mr myl street art painting in graffiti alley, on bright pink background, an orange and yellow dog with log snout and orange teeth, small ears, sitting position, beside a portrait of a woman holding a large calla lily, with text

below: Blue haired woman by April Showers

below: And another blue haired woman…..

below: … and a third.  I think that I see a trend.  Methinks April Showers likes blue hair.

grey car parked in parking lot at end of alley, murals painted on the walls, stickers cover the signs

below: An anti-camera, anti-photographer image, “Gimmy a break, clik, clik, clik” featuring uber 5000’s yellow bird and blue cat, with the Pink Panther is a supporting role.   Love the red specs!

street art on a wall by stairs, pink panther, uber 5000 yellow bird, tags, also uber 5000 complaints about photographers

below:  Poser bunny in red

street art, red poser bunny

below: He (she?) seems puzzled by the snow?!

a young person with short dark hair, and a yellow t shirt, mural in graffiti alley

below: Is it a man or is it a chicken?  A red headed cigarette smoking, spray painting character by Tuffytats

street art painting by tuffytats

below: This one looks more like a chicken should look, so fowl.

below: An environmental message – “Got mercury?” from a non-profit group trying to raise awareness of the impact of mercury poisoning on indigenous communities.

graffiti on a wall, yellow bird from uber5000, red and turquoise character with devil horns and furry hair

graffiti alley in the winter, snowing, some snow on the ground

below: Good Luck!

street art painting, green background, a red apple sitting on 2 books, an arrow runs through the apple

graffiti alley mural, guitar player, red guitar, also an elicser elliott piece of a person wearing a rabbit hat

below: Another 33wallflower33 vintage woman.

graffiti on a wall including woman in bikini by 33 wallflower 33.

below: Chubby purple cheeks gives a thumbs up

street art painting of a large purple monster face

below: Still reaching out and trying to touch someone…..

old telephone booth in graffiti alley

street art mural, asian woman with purple hair tied up on top of her head with glowing lantern

graffiti on a wall including a red heart with J + J written in the middle

Photos taken January 2025

skateboard portraits

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Toronto’s Graffiti Alley is still an interesting place to explore.  Unlike some street art locations that have succumbed to the scrawls and tags of the less well-intentioned, good art and ideas can still be found here.  At present, adding to the eclectic nature of the graffiti in Graffiti Alley are a few interesting portraits done on half skateboards (or at least on wood in the shape of a skateboard).  All are screwed onto wooden utility poles.

below: One on natural wood colour and the other in vibrant red.  The sticker says Positive Creations.

two men's portraits painted each on half of a skateboard, attached to a pole in graffiti alley. one is black line drawing on natural wood colour, and the other is very red

two women's portraits on a skateboard. Top one is turquoise and the bottom one is pink

below: A man with a mustache

man's portrait painted on half of a skateboard, attached to a pole in graffiti alley

below: Three on the same pole in Graffiti Alley – A red person with shaggy hair and light blue glasses as well someone with very long orange hair.

portraits painted on half skateboards, 3 different men, one in red, one in orange, and one in pink, all on the same pole in graffiti alley, work of positive creations

man's portrait painted on half of a skateboard, in red, shaggy hair, and wearing light blue glasses, attached to a pole in graffiti alley

below: At the bottom, a quizzical look on a pink face.

pink man's portrait painted on half of a skateboard, attached to a pole in graffiti alleyPhotos taken January 2025