First 2025 visit to Graffiti Alley, Toronto

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

murals, Rochester New York

Wall/Therapy

Wall Therapy is now an annual event in Rochester New York. It started in 2012 with 11 street artists painting 16 different walls in the city. From their website, Wall Therapy is “a public community-level intervention using mural art as a vehicle to address our collective need for inspiration.” The Wall Therapy website also has a map of the locations of the murals. They are spread around the city. It is possible that some of these murals are not actually a part of the Wall Therapy project.

photos taken in June and September of 2015

 

below: ‘Anabel’ by Faring Purth, on 4th Street.

mural on the side of a black brick building, of a woman done in wide strokes of different blues, yellows and white. Upper body, mostly in profile, with her elbow bent and her hand turned towards her arm.

below: ‘Rhapsody’ by Faith47 with a close up of the skull below it.  Pleasant Street.

mural of a woman looking upward with a light radiating from her hands, a skull is below and beside her.

detail of a larger mural - a large skull with a flower

below: Jimi Hendrix, by Ernest Shaw Jr., 2014, on King Street

A brightly coloured man's face, that looks like the famous guitar player Jimi Hendrix, is painted on the back of a building, but it is behind a chain link fence. There is a vine growing on the fence that looks like it might be the man's hair.

below: ‘Untitled (Eagle and Wave), by DALeast, on West Main Street.

A bird in flight, street art mural, black on red brick.

part of a mural, an abstract looking boat with a wave of water, all done in black

below: ‘Etty’ by Faring Purth, under the railway bridge at Brown and Silver Streets.
The bridge is in a dark spot and the mural is long. (4 photos)

mural of a woman's head, lying on her side, under a rusty railroad bridge, by Faring Purth

Detail of a large mural. This picture shows a bird in flight swooping down to catch a worm that is being held by the fingers of a hand.

middle part of a long mural of a woman lying down, her hand is in her pocket which is also a bird nest. Five or six birds are in the picture, a couple tucked under her arm, some lying on her.

part of a long mural under a railway bridge, the end of the mural with a person's feet and large toes, with two birds also in the picture.

below: `From the Ruins` by Mr. Prvt and Msshaftway on the side of Cook Iron Store, Andrews Street

Long mural on the side of Cooks Iron Store, many falcons in flight over a city skyline at sunset. Taller buildings are in the background, empty parking lot is in the foreground.

part of a mural, falcons flying over a city skyline at sunset

below: I Got You, by Elicser, West Main and Canal

mural on the back of a red brick building, beside a metal exterior staircase, of a man carrying a woman on his back. Above the picture are the words I Got You

below: ‘Avery’ by Jarus, 2014, on Palmer Street (Fedder Industrial Park)

A mural by Jarus of a woman on a water tower (or silo shaped storage tower).

below: ‘The Red Dress’ by Jarus, Seward Street.

mural on the side of building, woman in a red dress lounging on a couch, dark background

below: ‘Love is Sacrifice’ by Jeff Soto and Maxx242, at Rochester Public Market

Love is sacrifice mural showing a woman with yellow hair that could also be a bird. Two vibrant blue roses are by her ears.

blog_rochester_blue_roses

below: `Martin Luther King’ by Case, on Park Avenue.

Mural of Martin Luther King on the back of a building. The building has a balcony on which is a barbecue and some chairs. In the mural, his hands are coloured, one in greens and one in reds.

below: by Troy Lovegates, 2014, Fedder Industrial

very large mural on the side of a building, three men and a cloud. One man has blue hands.

below: by Conor Harrington, on the wall of Historic Houseparts, on South Ave.
On a photo of the original mural there was no red colour.

Wall Therapy mural in Rochester, on the side of a building, in black and white, what looks like one man murdering another, the blood is red which is the only colour in the painting

below: by Cern, 2012, Pennsylvania Ave.,

Wall Therapy mural in Rochester, on the side of a building, whimsical elephant, cat, and other animals,

below: by David Walker, 2014, on Goodman St.

Wall Therapy mural in Rochester, on the side of a building, two large bluish faces looking up towards the sky. A car is parked in front of it.

below: Untitled (Fish Market) by Alexis Diaz, West Main Street

mural in a blue triangle of a person like shape with a three eyed fish as it`s head, upper body made of a tightly woven vine, heart with a keyhole in it, hand

below: Fox and Rabbit by Mr. Pvrt, 2013, on Comfort St.

Wall Therapy mural in Rochester, on the side of a building, A very realistic looking fox with round beady eyes

mural painting of a verylarge rabbit head on the second storey of a store, A and Z South Market.

below: Armand from House of Guitars, by John Perry, 2014, on Pennsylvania Ave.

Wall Therapy mural in Rochester, on the side of a building, a very large hand is hold a TV screen. A man with big bunny ears seems to be coming out of the screen along with a word bubble that says "hop hop"

below: Pixel Pancho, 2013

Wall Therapy mural in Rochester, on the side of a building, a picture of a boy hugging a robot head that has plants starting to grow up around it

below: Sea Creature, by Bile, on the wall of Stanley Steemer, South Ave.

A pink squid like marine creature under the water, but it's tentacles become very tag like

below: Mermaid, by Case, 2012, on Pennsylvania Ave.

A large mural of a mermaid swimming in the water with another woman on her back - the other woman is wearing a white bathing cap and orange arm floaties.

below: by Liqen, 2012, on Pennsylvania Ave., by Public Market

Wall Therapy mural in Rochester, on the side of a building, black line drawing of a very large eagle on its back, tied down as well as locked and chained. A soldier with a machine gun is guarding the eagle.

below: by Mike Ming, South Ave. on the north side of Personal FX Hair Studio

mural of bright coloured swirls and curved shapes.

below: by Sam Rodriguez, 2014, on Greenleaf St.

Mural of a large pink and purple face with letters in different colours painted on top of parts of it. One eye, nose and open mouth are visible.

below: by Omen, on Greenleaf St.

mural of a woman, very realistic looking, lying on her side with her eyes closed. It covers two garage doors.

below: by HowNosm, on Pitkin St. by Harts Local Grocers.

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below: Understand, by Adam Francey, South Ave. on the south side of Personal FX Hair Studio

colourful mural of abstract figues, faces, birds, and fish on the side of a building, There is one word written on mural and it is "understand"

detail of one of the faces in a colourful mural of abstract figues, faces, birds, and fish on the side of a building, There is one word written on mural and it is "understand"

blog_rochester_mural_understand_word

below: Discount Evolution by DALeast, 2012

Wall Therapy mural in Rochester, on the side of a building, a long whale in grey and black

below: by Omen, July 2014, on East Main St.

Wall Therapy mural in Rochester, on the side of a building, a three storey high black and grey woman looking over her shoulder

below: The World is Yours, by Queen Andrea, 2014, on Greenleaf St.

Wall Therapy mural in Rochester, on the side of a building, colourful words in capital letters that say "The world is yours" in blue, pink, and red, and orange

below: by Thievin’ Stephen, 2012, on Pennsylvania Ave.

Thievin Stephen is the title, Wall Therapy mural in Rochester, on the side of a building, a man's torso in a light grey shirt, but with a cow head, pink background

below: `The Giant Storybook Project` by Herakut, Oct. 2012, on St. Paul Street

blog_rochester_power_mural

top part of a tall mural showing a man's head with a white creature covering his head and looking like long wavy hair. With the word 'Will power always consume the ones that seek it?'

below: It rained the day that I was there and I didn’t realize that my pictures of this building were taken with raindrops on my camera lens.

six storey red brick building with two tall vertical murals on it, one on the left side and one on the right side.

below: A bear by Mr. Pvrt at Rochester Public Market

A mural of a grizzly bear face up close, his mouth is open and his teeth are showing

below: ‘Sleeping Bears’ by ROA, on St. Pauls Street,

Black and white and grey mural, very large, on the side of a building by a parking lot by ROA featuring 2 bears, one on top of the other. A car is parked in front of the mural. It is raining.

below: Luong Mural by Addison Karl, 2014, on Palmer Street (Fedder Industrial Park)

A large four storey mural of a man, upper body, in profile, in blues and purples. His hands are in front of him.

very large street art hand, part of a mural, in blues and purples on a turquoise wall

below: Untitled (REXY) by St. Monci and Justyn Iannucci, behind 700 South Avenue.

A low building has been painted grey and then rectangular shapes in red and turquoise have been painted on top of that.

below: ‘Rock, Paper, Scissors’ behind South Ave near Gregory (and next to the one pictured above).

 

rock, paper, scissors mural in a parking lot with cars parked in front of it. Another mural is in the background

Detail of a larger mural. Showing two feet - one where the bottom of the foot is seen, and the other where the calf and toes are seen.

part of a larger mural - two hands, a red open hand and below it a closed green fist

below: The next four murals were on the side of the same building. I am fairly sure that it was at the end of Flint Street. It is definitely on the west side of the Genessee River by a street that dead ends at the Genessee Riverway Trail.

 

A mural by LanShonda Davis, yellow background, two faces in profile, both black tieh dreadlocks, one man, one woman, they are face to face and their noses are almost touching.

by LaShonda Davis

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A mural by Myron Hall on the side of a wall of many people, mostly men, standing around talking, singing and generally being social.

by Myron Hall

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a wall of a building, steps with a yellow metal rail lead to a red door. To the left of the door is a mural, green background, a man playing a saxophone with musical notes coming out of it. A pregnant woman is in the mural, she looks like she has just walked up the stairs. Instead of a baby, she is carrying a globe, the Earth.

 

A mural on the side of a building. Blue background. A young man with an Afro hair style is wearing red boxing gloves. The words on the mural say " To be once defeated is to find cause for an everlasting struggle to reach the top" It is a quote attributed to Marcus Garvey. The mural is signed by Lujar.

by LuJar

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below: The next three photos are at 400 Atlantic Avenue.

Three older buildings on Atlantic Avenue in Rochester. Two of the buildings have painted boards in their windows. The third building is a taller brick building with a mural at street level alongside the sidewalk.

street art art mural on the side of an embankment wall and lower part of a red brick building on Atlantic Ave in Rochester New York

below: ‘Together We Fall’ by Aaron Li-Hill

Together we fall, a mural by Aaron Li-Hill in white, grey and black on the side of a dark red brick building. Abstract looiking people.

below: At 430 Atlantic Avenue – this building was painted on three sides by four different artists, Daze, Nate Hodge, Eder Muniz and Vexta. Daze’s contribution is on the east side:

A mural on the side of a building in Rochester New York showing a large eye that is half green and half pink. Lots of swirls of colour as well. Also a small section is painted as a grid of different colours.

below: Vexta painted this face on the northeast corner 430 Atlantic

A very large man's face painted by Vexta in a mural, with a background of different coloured splotches.

below: The southeast corner of 430 Atlantic Avenue.

The corner of a one storey building that is covered in a blue and white bubbly looking mural. With a sign for Meier Supply, HVAC Specialists.

Front of a building covered with a mural in blues, yellows and white, clouds like blobs, yellow lines, very abstract mural.

below: ‘Untitled (Boy on Heart)’ by Icy and Sot, South Avenue.

a small street art painting on the upper storey, side of a building above 701 South Ave in Rochester. A boy in black and white is straddling a large red heart. She has a red rose in her hand

brick wall painted orange. A skull graffiti stencil is on the wall, just above ground level. A snowflake shaped graffiti in white next to it with the word gyde written in cursive

 I haven’t found any information on the remaining murals.

large mural of active people over the front entrance of a three storey building,

mural on a garage door of a dog and deer meeting nose to nose

mural of a boy and a bird. The bird is sitting on the boys head such that the feathers of the bird look like the boys hair.

blog_rochester_mural_industrial

below: I haven’t been able to find any information yet about the next two murals either. They were both on South Ave. Liquor Store, to the south of most of the other murals that I saw. By the way, it was a nice little store with an interesting selection of wine.

on the side of a building, large eagle taking flight

mural on the corner of a building, The word home is written in large blue letters around the corner, and on one side of the building is a pair of eyes over a real window, and a woman sitting beside the window. It looks like she is sitting on the ground, one knee up and she is turned from the waist to look back at the viewer.

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