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

Hess Village, Hamilton

Posted on June 12, 2025 by Mary C

In a small section of Hamilton……

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

mural of a woman with flowers by Megan Oldhues

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

below: A tribute to Sophia

some downtown Barrie murals

Posted on June 24, 2024 by Mary C

In downtown Barrie there is a narrow alley with a large bright coloured mural by Clandestinos and Shalak Attack

alley in town of Barrie, downtown, mural on one side, by clandestinos and shalak attack, two large birds, a green star, butterfly, and woman's portrait

clandestinos mural in an alley in downtown Barrie, birds at the bottom end of the lane

shalak attack contributions to a mural in barrie ontario, a portrait of a woman

a butterfly in a clandestinos and shalak attack mural

Also downtown is ‘The Container Project’ at Meridian Place.
below: One side is the Barrie skyline filled in with flowers and some animals (there’s at least one raccoon). Painted by Katie Green.

mural in orange and blue, barrie skyline filled in with images of flowers and feathers, and some animals

close up of flowers in barrie skyline mural by katie green

The other side of the same container is another Katie Green mural which looks like a collage of Barrie landmarks.

close up of some of the scenes in a mural, a gazebo, rowers on the river, an old bridge over a narrow street, a clock on a pedestal, the East Bayfield community center,

below: On a very pink wall, a mural by Alanah Jewell

very pink wall, with images to make a mural, cedar tree, salmon, bears, sun, water, flowers, moon, clouds, plants, by Alanah Jewell in downtown Barrie — In the words of the artist:
“The sun will teach us about beginning new every day, and the importance of providing light and warmth.
The moon will teach us about the cycles of life and the importance of water. She will teach us that our bodies’ cycles are sacred and will tell us stories of Grandmother Moon
The stars will teach us about navigation and our ancestors’ journeys across this land. They will tell us about a time, thousands of years ago, when each of our ancestors started as someone living in harmony with each other and with the land.
The bears will teach us about rest, protecting our young, and the importance of strength. They will teach us about survival.
The fish will teach us about the depth of the water and the vastness of aquatic life. He will teach us that the water is worth healing and protecting.
The eagles will teach us about wisdom, guidance, and a connection to the spirit world. They will tell us about our Creation stories.
The cedars will teach us about standing tall and strong. They will tell us to give thanks for this life and the medicines that are abundant all around us.”

Photos taken June 2023

at 24th Street and 5th Avenue South

Posted on April 2, 2024 by Mary C

St. Petersburg, Florida

below: Pandas galore in “Laughing Giants” by Aaron (Woes) Martin, 2021

two white trucks parked in front of a mural with heads of many pandas, by Woes Martin,

close up of pandas heads in mural with title laughing giants

below: “We are all magic” with green eyes, unicorns, and a butterfly. Mural by Sarah G. Sheppard. This mural is actually on the same building as the mural that I showed in the last blog post here, Pink Men on 5th.

mural by sarah sheppard, eyes, butterfly, text that says we are all magic

close up of mural by sarah sheppard, eyes, butterfly, text that says we are all magic

below: “Temple of Eternal Bliss”, 2019, by Palehorse (aka Christopher Parks)

mural by palehorse, lines, two dragons, doorway, temple shape

front of a low building covered with portraits and street art paintings of girls and women

mural with a large white question mark in a circle, surrounded by hundreds of smaller question marks

Photos taken March 2024

Nearby are other murals in the Warehouse Arts District. They can be seen in two other blog posts: 1. Pink Men on 5th and 2. St. Pete’s – more from the Warehouse District.

rue Candie eye candy

Posted on April 25, 2023 by Mary C

below: by David Selor, a sorry fox you might say

a man in a blue winter coat walks past a wall with a painted street art fox on it, fox is standing upright and wearing and blue and white t shirt and a red pair of pants. It was painted by David Selor in Paris

below: Two copies of Frieda Kahlo on what looks like Mexican export stamps

paper wheatpaste graffiti on a wall in Paris, looks like picture is printed on background of Mexican export stamps, or Mexican postage stamps. Frieda Kahlo
s portrait, 2 copies, radially symmetrical, in grey tones, smiling, hair tied back

below: At number 1 rue Candie there is a small collection of paper pieces.

below: Riding with the butterfly and swinging along side are the little people. These are some of the “petit peuple de l’ombre” created by wall.lilo

below: More butterflies! A beautiful blue butterfly made with leaves on blue photosensitive paper as well as another wall.lilo butterfly

below: La geule du bois becomes The hangover when translated into English even though a more literal version might be the mouth of wood.

wheatpaste street art on a wall, a person with long dark hair, blue sleevelss shirt, a tattoo on shoulder, white head band and white hat strapped to head. the hat has words la geule de bois

below: “Je t’aime un peu partout” or “I love you everywhere” (Nevoul Art)

Photos taken March 2023

two women and a faded heart

Posted on September 14, 2022 by Mary C

below: A red headed woman wrapped in a blue shawl and holding a white rose. White roses are symbols of purity and innocence as well as love and affection. Traditionally the Virgin Mary is depicted with a blue shawl or similar clothing. The mural is ‘Oblicze Piękna’, painted in 2018 by Paulina Nawrot. The title translates to Face of Beauty, or Vision of Beauty.

below: A faded woman sits by her telephone in a 2014 mural by Russian artist, Morik as part of Galeria Urbans Forms.

mural by Morik of a woman sitting on the floor beside a telephone, with large plant leaves around her, monstera deliciosa.

close up of part of a mural, a woman's head with large leaves from a monstera deliciosa house plant.

close up of part of a mural, an old fashion telephone with the receiver off the hook and lying on the floor. A woman's hands and bare feet are by the phone.

below: Another faded mural, this one shows an anatomically correct heart with half of a butterfly on each side. Above the heart grows a large tree. The mural was painted in 2015 by Puerto Rican artist Alexis Diaz and is titled “Czuć” (or in English, “Feel”)

on the side of a building with a small tree partially blocking the view, a faded mural. An anatomically correct heart in the center bottom with a large deciduous tree growing from it. A butterfly, cut in half, sits on either side of the heart.

Artur Rubenstein and a butterfly

Posted on June 23, 2022 by Mary C

These two murals are close to the train station in Lodz. In the foreground is a large portrait of pianist Artur Rubenstein. Just in the picture on the right hand side, is a wall with a faded butterfly mural.

The colourful portrait was painted in 2014 by Brazilian artist Kobra (aka Eduardo Kobra). Like many of the murals in the city, it was painted as part of an Urban Forms Foundation project/festival and now is part of the Urban Forms Gallery.

small green space in front of large colourful mural by Kobra featuring a portrait of pianist Artur Rubenstein

Rubenstein was born in Lodz in January 1887. He was a child prodigy – giving his first piano performance when he was 7 years old. At 13 he played with the Berlin Philharmonic and at 19 he played Carnegie Hall in New York City. He career spanned eight decades. He died in 1982 at age 95.

close up of face of Artur Rubenstein in a mural by Kobra in Lodz Poland

a wall in Lodz Poland with some faded text as well as a large painting of a butterfly.

Clandestinos in a hidden corner

Posted on April 5, 2022 by Mary C

…. of downtown Toronto.

a brick arch with a hanging light near the top, view through the arch is to a multi level parking garage, slight glimpses of a mural on the left side

Shalak Attack and Bruno Smoky have painted another large colourful mural. This one features two women, a baltimore oriole, and many flowers.

mural by Shalak Attack and Bruno Smoky in a narrow passageway

below: Close up of the bird, a baltimore oriole

part of a Clandestinos mural, showing a bird, a baltimore oriole, with a woman's face close to it. she has her eyes closed

close up of a womans face in a clandestinos mural, butterfly flying past her cheek,another woman behind her with flowers and fruit in her hair, eyes closed.

below: Adorned with leaves, flowers, and fruit – blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries. Lots of cherry blossoms and another bird too.

cherry blossoms, faces, painted in a mural, fruit and flowers for hair, raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries

400ml on two walls

Posted on December 9, 2019 by Mary C

In the Gueliz part of Marrakech I saw two walls that were painted by 400ml (aka Hicham Bellaghzal). The first three pictures show the first wall presented from left to right.

“love love love”

mural by 400 ml, right habd side of mural, bly sitting, large red heart beside him, and rays of light coming from his eyes

“When we haven’t what we like we must like what we have.”

middle section of a mural by 400 ml in Marrakech, a boy in black and grey, back turned, against wall of bright reds and blues with words, love, love, love as well as