Tag Archives: alley

zirco fish

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In an alley near Dovercourt and Queen West in Toronto are two garage door murals unlike any others.

below: ‘Elephancy’ by Zirco Fish – It’s an elephant but it’s not. Tusks like an elephant and the ears seem to be big a floppy. But the mouth is like a beak and the eyes are certainly not those of an elephant. A crazy fantastical creature, the product of someone’s imagination.

a street art mural on a garage door, rust coloured wood garage. Image looks like an elephant
mural on a grage door, another garage door that has been tagged, graffiti on a fence, the back of a house, in a lane.

below: ‘Scrat Attack’ by Zirco Fish. 

mural of a cat head, in memory of Scrat, painted by James Zirco Fisher, on a garage door in an alley

Durazzo 2014

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green vine grows in front of a blue painting, outside, of boats on the water, grape vines or ivy

All of the paintings in this blog post were seen in a lane in Durres Albania, in the “old town” part of the city near the Roman amphitheatre.

paintings in a laneway, on the left is a painting of a partially open wood doorway with a girl stepping out and smiling at the two boys on the front step. A black and white cat is also there. Some words are written in the corner, then on the right is a pale pastel coloured painting of flowers and leaves

Faleminderit Shqiperi = Thank you Albania!

They were all painted in 2014 (8 years ago) so most of them are looking a little weathered.

painting of kids, 2 boys and a girl, playing in a doorway

Written beside the painting below: “Ass. Cult. Ecletica 1st Bienale di Durazzo 2014”. 

painting on exterior concrete wall, a green shape with a face seems to be in water, beside a tree
paiting on outdoors wall, in black silhouette, a couple kiss under an open umbrella
a painting on a wall on a narrow street in Durres, a fisherman holding his net watches a woman dive into the water
a man walks past a mural on a concrete wall of a pair of pink lovebirds on a grey tree with grey and pink leaves

painting of a door on an exterior wall with a semi circular window above the door

mural on a wall in a lane, a woman looking out of a window, children playing on the beach

mural on a wall in an alley, seaside, old urn or jug, a helmet, other treasures washed up on the shore or hidden away

street art painting of a mans tie with colours and shapes on it as well as a black Albanian crest symbol
painting of fish swimming away from fish hooks, outdoor mural street art
painting on an outside wall
abstract mural around a window with a musical theme - a guitar, some music notes, treble clef

With thanks to the Mulliri Vjeter coffee shop on Rruga Myslym Shyri in Tirana where I hung out trying to stay cool while editing photos for this post. June 2022

behind Central Ave

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St. Petersburg is home to a growing number of murals. There are maps online that help you find the murals but if you walk along Central Avenue and explore the streets and alleys close by, you will encounter most of them.

below: There’s a short alley behind the north side of Central Ave that is home to quite a few street art pieces. This is the view westward from 6th St. North (toward 7th St N)

street art and murals painted on walls and buildings in an alley

below: This is the mural at the east end of the alley.  This portrait among the fishes and mermaids was painted by Derek Donnelly

mural of a man with black rimmed glasses painting on the wall, marine scene part of a mural, a mermaid with long pink hair and a pink fin part of a mural with fish

below: Colourful mural by kosharekart

a mural by kosharekart

below: Some paper pasteups that have seen better days paper pasteups, partially peeling

paper paste ups on a wall in a lane

below: Circle patterns in a mural by Megan Kelly

below: Frida Kahlo

a small mural on the side of a garage, portrait of Frida Kahlocar parked in front of a mural

below: Another painting by kosharekart

female figures with very decorated clothing, painted in a mural close up of a mural showing a woman in a sail boat, with a large bird and its beak beside

below: Another Derek Donnelly fish.  The lower portions were once a brighter orange but it`s faded over time (painted in 2014).

a car is parked in front of a mural of a very large fish painted by Derek Donnelly mural in an alley by kosharekart

below: Boat on the water

mural in a lane, a woman stands beside a boat on very wavy water

below: Hearts, a bird, and a snail

mural in an alley of a female figure dressed in a red heart covered dress. There is a large snail on her lap

below: Someone seems to disapprove of Mr. Cactus.

a small sticker of a cactus with a face, stuck on a mural beside a face

below: `Twiggy`by Brad Mize is at the rear of 648 Central Ave.

very large face on white background, mural in an alley

pale purple background, cursive writing of the words life is magical “Life is Magical When You Look” with a black cat sitting on the moon nose to nose with a dragonfly in a mural by Christy Faris

mural of a black cat sitting on the curve of a new moon, also a dragonfly by the cat

below: Brad Mizes ‘Mr. Sunshine’ is now partially behind a fence.  The sun is a copy of a 1940s design used to promote the city of St. Petersburg.

bright yellow sun on sky blue background, mural, sunshine mural

below: Fish in a birdcage

small sticker on a post, white background, black drawing of a fish in a birdcage
mural around a door that makes it look like it's in India, some white lotus flowers painted beside the door

below: Adios! Let it go

black mural with hands and the word adios in cursive

below: Treat yo self, woof woof, by aurailieus

mural of a black pug dog on blue background

below: Mural for Caskey, a musician, or more specifically, for his song “Thank God I Made it” which was released about the same time that the mural was painted (May 2021).  Artist: skycaptain

skycaptain mural ode to musician caskey

below: Shark mural by Shark Toof, a 2015 SHINE mural, on the east wall of the State Theater building.; It too is a little bit faded.

mural of a grey shark on an orange red wall a car parked in front of a mural that is the same orangish red that the background of the mural is, a large shark with mouth open and many teeth

below: This the Hindu Goddess, Saraswati, who symbolizing knowledge, learning and wisdom was well as, music, art, and speech. She was painted by Palehorse Design. Follow the link to learn more about the mural.

large 50 foot by 30 foot mural by Palehorse Design of the Hindu goddess saraswati playing a musical instrument called a veena. She has four arms to represent the four elements of inner life, mind, intellect, ego, and consciousness.

below: “Space Rainbows” by Ricky Watts

view from behind trees in a parking lot, large mural called Space Rainbows covers the side of a building Space Rainbows mural from the side Many of these murals are the product of SHINE Mural Festivals. Follow the link for more information about these festivals. All photos were taken in mid-April, 2022

faces in pinks and blues

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A mural full of odd and somewhat disturbing faces can be found in a narrow alley near the corner of Prince Arthur St. and Saint Laurent Blvd. It was painted by Mono Sourcil, (aka Maxilie Martel) a Montreal street artist. It dates from Mural Festival 2017 and has survived well.

Some of the people look rather ordinary and are doing ordinary things…. others, not so much.

mural by Maxilie Martel in an alley in Montreal, faces in pinks and blues,
part of a mural by Monosourcil, of faces, some odd faces, including a greyish blue face with one pink eye,
part of a mural in a Montreal alley by Mono Sourcil, faces of people, including man with very pink face and dark pink hair, blue lips, another man with a face that looks more like a walrus
chair behind an empty hut in a parking lot, part of a mural sticking out on the wall of the alley behind the chair

Baptist Lane, Melbourne

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Graffiti and street art seen in Baptist Lane, CBD

below: looking down the lane.  On the immediate right is an old mural of the Last Supper which has been scrawled over almost to the point of making the mural indecipherable.

graffiti and street art in an alley, pale yellow walls

once it was a sepia toned painting of the last supper (religious) but it has had a lot of graffiti written on top of it

below: A blank eyed bride with her flowers

black and white pasteup of a bride in veil, with 5 black stars encircling her head, holding a large bouquet of flowers

below: Two faced and holding up a jacket.

two black and white pasteups on a wall. on the right is a pair of white hands holding up an open jacket and on the left is a woman's head with two pairs of eyes, and a pair of hands below the head

below: Red brick wall and a window box

two windows in a small building in a lane, surrounding the windows is street art like a window box, awning, and then the wall space between the windows is decorated too

street art beside a window

below: I’m against all authority except my mother (close enough translation anyhow).

words on top and below a headless figure holding the head of a woman in its hands, words say contro toda autoridad excepto mi mama which is Spanish for I defy all authority except my mother below: Studying the hole in the fence

black and white pasteup of a person in a hoodie standing behind a chain link fence with a hole in it.

below: Two little catstwo black and white cats on a pasteup in a lane

Chopper Lane, Collingwood

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Chopper Lane is a small dead end alley that runs off Perry Street in Collingwood. This bright blue mural is at the end of the lane.

below: I can’t read the signature at the bottom right, any ideas?

looking to a dead end lane, Chopper Lane, wall is painted like a blue sky with a few clouds, text written on it.

Text in the mural:
“I meet love and I lose it,
I sense it, I reject it,
I pursue it,
I find it in small things
Like
When I stop to look at the sky
And I wonder
About You”

upper part is remains of a mural showing just a pair of woman's eyes, in blue, mural on the bottom of women working

below: The signature at the bottom right of this one is utama.co and lingerid.  Unfortunately, I cut off the signature on the left (partially visible here).

mural of two women

red and silver graffiti on a wall underneath a row of windows with frosted glass

below: One Mob

street art painting of a man topless with arms over head in victory, with text underneath that says one mob

below: Mural of a sugar glider, a small nocturnal possum.

street art mural of a sugar glider, a small rat-like rodent

I’m not sure if it’s still Chopper Lane after it crosses Perry Street, but you can continue walking north.

below: Looking across Perry Street from north to south.

devil mural on the right, then looking across the street to another wall and garage door on Perry Street in Collingwood, that is painted with street art

below: On the paper it is written: “Sometimes a deal with the devil is better than no deal at all.”  Even if it’s the devil from the TV show “Futurama”
futurama devil in a mural, yellow colour, blue text graffiti, devil is holding a hand written paper that says sometimes a deal with the devil is better than no deal at all

gold letter text street art with a picture of a woman in broad rimmed hat and purple and orange sunglasses

coloured lines, abstract, street art painting

below: A knight in no armour but a helmet spearing open a spray paint can.

street art painting, man on horse with long lance, or sword, on horse back, horse rearing up on hind legs,

text street art in an alley in Collingwood Melbourne

street art picture of a blue spray paint can being held by a blue hand, can has mouth wide open showing white teeth and red tongue.

below: I’m not sure it’s “street art” but it was too cute not to include here.

a row of stuffies behind a rusty metal grille in front of a window.

below: A closer look.

close up of three stuffies behind a rusty metal grille in front of a window.

looking into a back yard from an alley, drawing on white door, an old chair in front of the door.

below: Two pasteups on a pole

a row of spoons drawn on a piece of paper then used as a pasteup on a pole

black and white pasteup on a pole, outisde, with some red spray paint covering parts of it.

below: Oh!  It looks like I was spotted!

man on a balcony above a garage is looking down into the alley, another garage door has street art sprayed onto it

door in a fence in an alley covered with street art, textual

If you walk to the end of the lanes, you’ll find yourself on Bedford Street where there is another mural by Lingerid.

large painting of a man's head on the exterior wall, surrounded by grey words

in an alley with my umbrella

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in Montreal.

below: This large mural by M.C. Baldassari is at one end of the lane, at Prince Arthur.

large mural on the side of the building, in greens on red background, three women with dark gren hair and bright green eyes

below: The very bottom part of the mural

small part of a large mural on a brick wall in an alley, red and green,

As you walk down the lane, there are a number of older murals along with a lot of graffiti.

blue umbrella in a lane with street art and autumn trees on both sides

below: A Waxhead creation

street art by wax head by two exterior metal staircases in a montreal alley, green and blue figures

below: Three mermaids by three different artists including lulukathulu and Amanda Valdes

a mural with three different mermaids by three different artists

a blue umbrella beside a fence with large grey and red text graffiti, wet day, autumn, leaves on the ground,

below: A blue eye on the door. With a smaller eye drawn inside it.

a bit blue eye painted on a brown door, with lots of graffiti around it.

below: Some of the murals have been tagged over.  Parts of the pink animals (and blue dog) are still peeking out above the mess.

a mural of large pink animals has been tagged over on the bottom part

a large mural with a bright yellow and pink tag on the bottom of it,

a red umbrella sits on the ground beside a mural

street art art mural in a laneway, back of building,

une ruelle verte, Montreal

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In 2017, there Last year, there were 346 officially designated ruelles vertes, representing about 69 kilometres of laneway, in Montreal.  One of these alleys is in the vicinity of Milton and Parc.

close up of back wheel of an old bike that has been painted pink and has a garland of fake autumn leaves woven through the spokes.

an old bike that has been painted pink and has a garland of fake autumn leaves woven through the spokes. bike is leaning agains a wall where the bricks have been painted in shades of white, pink, and green.

below: Two murals by Kael Paradis – the first blue triangle shapes on red

mural, red backgound across back of brick building and door, shapes made from blue triangles painted on the red

below: The second Paradis mural is “La Fete des Voisins”, a winter scene

winter scene mural by Kael Paradis, called Le Fete des Voisins, sun, fire, people in winter clothes and parkas,

mural on the back of a house, including real door, that makes it look like there's a roof and a window, planters with real plants in front

below: A tree of words, words such as diversity, art, croissance, foi, loving, fierte, desprit, and many more positive statements.

close up of part of street art mural in an alley, shape of a tree but filled in with words in different colours, words shuch as passion, communate, respect, fierte, English, French and Spanish words.

below: The same tree, but more of it.  Multilingual too.

street art mural in an alley, shape of a tree but filled in with words in different colours, words shuch as passion, communate, respect, fierte, English, French and Spanish words.