Happy New Year!

Posted on January 22, 2023 by Mary C

January 23rd is Lunar New Year as we enter the Year of the Rabbit (except in Vietnam where apparently it’s the Year of the Cat).

below: Although this mural has nothing to do with rabbits (or cats), it is found in Toronto’s Chinatown. Three dragons cavorting on the wall on Oxford Street, painted by sightone in 2016.

below: Blue dragon guarding the door at number 5.

Nearby there is an alley where the Chinatown BIA has sponsored some murals with Asian themes.

below: A large koi, or carp, swimming towards a pink lotus flower.

below: “Flowers of the four seasons – Autumn Chrysanthemum” by rowdyradrat.

below: Another rowdyradrat painting – this one is “Flowers of the Four Seasons – Winter, Plum Blossoms” and it features Chinese plum blossoms.

a visit to Freeman Alley

Posted on January 14, 2023 by Mary C

Freeman Alleyis a private lane that runs parallel to the Bowery close to Sara Roosevelt Park and Bowery subway station. It has become a destination for graffiti both for those who make it and for those who want to look at it. Stencils, wheatpaste, and stickers are the most common and there is lots of it! There is probably more than one blog post’s worth so this is just the start.

below: No loitering in the alley. About to munched on – this one-eyed pink and purple banana by eye.sticker is i danger of losing part of its peel.

below: “Do you see this?” Eyes and hearts but with a tear or two.

below: Mickey Mouse crucified, and a feline love more, #nohatefamily. Something about hello mushroom in there as well.

below: “Black Lives Matter is a movement, not a moment, by Individual Activist,

below: Many faces here including a lightning struck David Bowie. In the center is an anti-war poster by Brad Heckman (aka hecksign) that features a portrait of Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky.

protest poster, anti-war, support Ukraine in its war

below: Another Individual Activist anti-war poster. Ukraine is not Putin’s blank canvas. On the left is a big colourful beetle by modomatic.

below: Another modomatic, this time a multicoloured mask. Sticking out on the right is a yellow arm with a pink donut and half smoked joint while a Half Brooklyn Crooklyn’s figure is running away (the last is by TheOhioGirl).

below: Another modomatic creation – insect like? Botanical?

below: “So much love” on newspaper by jkosart along with a back and white intricate drawing of a creature of some kind (signed moose)

below: A picture of a painter painting a picture, by font147

a poster by font147 of a yellow headed person painting on a large canvas and easel in front of a door and window

below: Two women – one on the Sony screen along with one as a BLM tribute by Voxx Romana

below: Mother and Child on blue

stencil graffiti, black on blue, of iconic mother and child

below: A yellow duck below an old faded poem. Once there was a bouquet of red roses but it looks like someone showed their displeasure with pink paint.

below: At the very top, a multiple-eyed face by sold out art show. The woman with the black and white flower hair has her own post on this blog – see Unleashing Flowers.

below: A period piece, black and white in sepia, from 33wallflower33,

below: Oversalted broccoli and a boxer

In case you are interested in such things, there is a gallery/shop in the alley that features the work of many of these artists.

Photos taken June 2022

unleashing flowers

Posted on December 2, 2022 by Mary C

in New York City

Her hair is always a tidy profusion of black and white flowers and there is often a tiny little red heart tucked into her curls.

drecks drawing of a female character with hair as big black and white flowers, slaps in new york city, green outfit, big brown boots with laces, and a word bubble that says burp happens

These characters are the creation of drecks.

drecks drawing of a female character with hair as big black and white flowers, slaps in new york city, wearing very small but very red shoes

drecks drawing of a female character with hair as big black and white flowers, slaps in new york city, drawings of city buildings on the bottom of her pants

drecks drawing of a female character with hair as big black and white flowers, slaps in new york city on yellow background, with grid of daisy like flowers below

Museum Muses – Muses du musée

Posted on October 4, 2022 by Mary C

Street art of a slightly different kind…. Seen pasted on a wall on a street in Paris – a display of black and white prints of famous paintings by women artists from over the centuries.

below: ‘Game of Chess’ by Sofonisba Anguissola (c1532-1625, Italian)

painting of three women, two are playing chess and the third is watching, painted by Sofonisba Anguissola in the 16th century. A black and white print pasted on a wall

below:Self Portrait by Judith Leyster (1609-1660, Dutch)

black and white print of Judith Leyster's self portrait

below: Portrait of Antonietta Gonzales painted by Lavinia Fontana. (1552-1614). She was possibly Italy’s first professional painter. The subject of the painting, Antonietta, suffered from a condition known as hypertrichosis (aka werewolf syndrome), a rare genetic disorder that results in excess body hair. Antonietta’s father also had the disorder as did two of her sisters.

black and white print of Lavinia Fontan's portrait of a young girl with werewolf syndrome, painted in the 1500s

below: A man’s portrait by Rosalba Carriera (1673-1757, Venetian)

black and white print of a man's portrait painted by Rosalba Carriera, a Venetian painter

below: ‘Portrait of a Lady as a Vestal Virgin’ by Angelica Kauffman (1741-1807), a Swiss Neoclassical painter. Her father was also a painter. He started teaching her at an early age and by 12 she was already known as a painter in her own right. Kauffman was one of only two women founders of the Royal Academy in London.

below: “Still Life with Flowers and Gold Trophies” by Clara Peeters (1589-1657, Flemish)

below: Another still life with flowers, this one by Rachel Ruysch (1664-1750). She was a Dutch artist whose painting career lasted more than 60 years; she was a master at painting still lifes with flowers.

painting of still life flower arrangement, black and white copy pasted onto a wall outdoors

below: ‘The Redeemer’ by St. Hildegard von Bingen (c1098-1179), with a copy of the original (in colour and unfaded) underneath. St. Hildegard, or Sybil of the Rhine, was a German Benedictine abbess with many accomplishments to her name.

below: ‘The Penis Tree’. Between about 1325 and 1353, Jeanne and Richard de Montbaston printed books and manuscripts including the “scandalous, rude and misogynistic” poem, the ‘Roman de la Rose’. The first 4,058 verses were written by Guillaume de Lorris in the early 1200s and they describe a courtier’s attempt to win over a woman. About 40 years later, Jean de Meun (aka Jean Chopinel) wrote another 19000 lines. This was before the invention of the printing press so each manuscript was hand drawn. The picture shown here of a nun picking penises from a tree is attributed to Jeanne de Montbaston.

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

Patio de Dom Fradique, Lisbon

Posted on March 31, 2022 by Mary C

entrance to Patio de Dom Fradique, sign on gate post, people walking up the path, street art on walls in the distance

below: Maybe it’s a hand wrapped in ribbons? Painted by osch aka Otto Schade

mural by Otto Schade in Lisbon of a hand with finger pointing made of ribbons wrapped around and around

below: A man with his musical dog by omik, aka Mickael Guedes.

murals on an old wall in Lisbon, in front is a man holding a whistling dog by omik

below: Another person by omik, this time a long haired woman in a pink dress and bare feet.

street art painting of a young woman with large head, white eyes, long reddish hair, pink dress and bare feet, by omik a k a Mikael Guedes
an old twisted tree in a courtyard beside a path, with street art on the walls around it, Lisbon

below: A guitar playing, cowboy hat wearing, man who has seen better days, by Toys Daniel.

older painting on a wall, some paint peeling, a bear-like man with yellow skin, blue cowboy hat, playing a guitar
street art painting of a young woman on a door, she's looking upward, beside a small square window with a metal grille

below: A fish on an old wall, a fish out of water, by Vibes aka Will Vibes

a mural of a large fish parts are realistic and parts are collages of other images including a mans face

small painted multicoloured flowers on a wall

Casablanca seawall

Posted on November 14, 2019 by Mary C

There is a path that runs along the shore of the Atlantic Ocean, leading to the new Hassan 2 mosque. Beside the path is a wall that has been painted with street art. When I walked here in October 2019, these are the murals that I saw. I have only been able to identify some of the artists.

women leaning against railing on path beside the ocean in Casablanca, with Hassan 2 mosque and Atlantic Ocean in the background

below: “Oxymoron” by iramo aka Iramo Samir

woman's head and shoulders, mural by Iramo Samir called Oxymoron, most of her face is covered with flowers, lower part of face and shoulders is blue water with a person who seems to be drowning

below: Like all the murals on this wall, this one is looking out to sea

stylized painting of a black face with yellow mouth, blue around one eye, red hair,

mural on a wall in Casablanca, blue woman's face with black cloth around top of head

below: A man in a purple camo hat, by Majid aka Majid El Bahar

man's head, mural, wearing a purple camo hat and a black top with lots of white squiggles on it. A rope winds its way through the image

below: Casablanca plus text (artist’s tag) by TRUST

text graffiti by trust also with word casablanca and some scenes from that city

below: By Moka 187

mural by vida moka of a topless man with orange pants, mask over face, teapot in one hand, running,

sea wall, with path below, beside the Atlantic Ocean in Casablanca, with Hassan 2 mosque in the background

below: Would you kiss a shark? Even one that claims to love his mom? mural of a shark with toothy grin, words that say I want a kiss. Shark is holding a broom, has smd written on chest, as well as a red heart with word mom on it black line drawing mural on a wall, with faces

below: Close up of a man’s eyes and nose, signed as Senzoclouds aka Senzo or Mr. Clouds.

mural, close up of man's eyes and nose by Senzoclouds, senzo, mr clouds mural with woman in purple shirt and turquoise hat, holding arm in front of her face, mural two men sitting in front of a mural with woman in pink shirt and turquoise hat, holding arm in front of her face

a breown animal in profile, mouth open wide as it roars. a bear maybe

a dog-like creature wearing a baseball cap is spray painting a tag on a wall, mural

Plovdiv street art

Posted on August 12, 2019 by Mary C

While walking around the city of Plovdiv I found a lot of great street art.

below: A floating candle in the night sky,

mural of a man from behind, one hand behind his back , the other hand in the air just released a candle, or is reaching for the candle

below: Behind the Drama Theatre in Plovdiv, on one of its bright red walls, is a large mural by Bozko. Is this older man in a jester outfit a political statement?

a large mural of an older man in jester outfit, with arms crossed in front of him, make up on his face

below: These red walls were also painted with a large horizontal mural (next three photos). A woman sleeps among purple flowers. Is she dreaming of skulls and hands? Is it a nightmare?

below: As much of the mural as I could get in one photo.

below: Another woman sleeps but with books as her pillow. Transported into dreamland by the words she’s read.

below: Bloody Romance by Ernaste Nasimo

the story of romance, a mural by ernesto nasimo of a man giving a blue flower to a woman with shoulder length brown hair, on a red background

below: Another painting by Nasimo called “The Chain Rockers”. It looks like he has just broken the chain with his teeth. Behind the head is an open book with words written on the pages. On the left is “raja-vidya raja-guhyam pavitram idam uttamam pratyaksavagamam dharmyam su-sukham kartum avyayam”. On the right is the partial translation of this Krishna text into English: “This knowledge is the king of education, the most secret of all secrets. It is the purest knowledge, and because it gives direct”

mural on a wall of the head ans shoulders of an older balding man with beard, moustache, and large white teeth. He has an angry look on his face. his collar is in Bulgarian colours, red, yellow and black. An open padlock is in his beard and a chain runs across the lower par tof his face but it lookslike he has just broken it with his teeth

below: Watermelon seeds make the eyes and nose of the watermelon face… but then he eats the watermelon? Two paintings by Viktoria Georgieva and Nikolay Bozhinov, aka Mouse and Nikkawhy

two murals side by side, one by mishka the mouse, and the other by aleksi varna. on the left is a watermelon cut open, seeds form a happy face, and the mural on the right is a person in round glasses eating a slice of watermelon

below: A boy with a large black bird painted on a box.

a painting on an electrical box on the street, of a boy with round orange glasses holding a large black bird

below: Four eyes, one of which is the handle for the box.

below: Cupid in browns pointing his arrow at an unsuspecting victim.

a small graffiti piece of a small chubby partially naked cupid with an arrow ready to shoot from his bow.

below: Bare toes, blue jeans, and a striped sweater. A comb in one pocket and a little critter in the other.

below: Some whimsical, cartoon-like characters on a blue cloud.

small mural of a group of cartoon-like characters standing on a blue cloud, signature is mora.

below: She’s wearing flowers in her hair – is that hair being held up with chopsticks?

mural of a woman with large glasses and two flowers in her hair. she is holding something blue in one hand

below: A very long tongue from a happy frog wraps itself around a dragonfly.

below: My Bulgarian is non-existent so I’m not sure what this says. Covered in tattoos and puffing on red smoke as he takes a rest on his bike.

mural of a bald man with a mustache on bike with lake and sunset behind him, puffing on red smoke, covered in tattoos,

below: And last, a quiet cup of tea by the mail box in the shadow of little triangular flags hanging across the street.

All in white, like a silhouette, a tall lamp stand with three lamps at the top, a woman sitting beside a table with a tea pot and a vase on it.

graffitis animaux à paris

Posted on December 11, 2016 by Mary C

Little animals, big animals.
Pasted, painted and stenciled graffiti animals.
Real animals and those just imagined.
All on the walls of Paris.

below: A very realistic tiger walks towards you. Painted by mosko.

pasteup graffiti of a very realistic tiger drawn in oranges and black, almost life size, walking directly at the viewer

below: Another mosko creation, a leopard.

pasteup graffiti of a very realistic leopard drawn in oranges and black, almost life size, walking directly at the viewer

below: What cows order when they stop for fast food. Human meat burger with a side of human finger nibblets. I wonder if he’ll order his burger with meadow grass or cheese?
a poster showing a cow in a fast food restaurant ordering a human meat burger. Another cow is behind the cash register. Pictures of items on the menu are above the cashier. Done in cartoon style

below: A pink fish dreamily swims past.

big pink fish graffiti, with a half open eye and a moustache

below: There’s a zebra under the window.

stencil graffiti of a greenish coloured striped zebra

below: A very tall mural of a blue and white long-necked bird. Un héron bleuté, painted by STEW in the Chinatown area of Paris (13th arrd.)

very large mural on the side of an apartment building of a large blue and grey bird with a long neck. either a heron or a crane

below: A close up view of the bottom of STEW’s heron mural.

part of a larger mural, a white bird in flight, with a long nexk, surrounded by blue sky with a lot of flowers in the sky . The flowers are line drawings in yellows and white

below: An elephant head, and mouton white sheep above the cordonnerie

on the side of a beige concrete wall, two pieces of graffiti, one is an elephant's head and the other is a white sheep with black face and feet.

below: A pink and blue teddy with a few bits missing. It seems to be passing something to the window. Amor! A creature stands under the cross.

a pink and blue teddy bear paste up pon a wall, partially torn. He's beside a window. on the other side of the window is a small red cross with the word amor written under it.

below: A wide mouthed big teethed snake

two graffiti pieces on a wall, a blue and silver diamond shape an a green snake

below: A pink cat

stencil of a realistic grey and black cat on a pink wall

below: Two birds standing together

reddish stencil graffiti of two birds standing beside each other

below: The next two may not be animals, but they certainly aren’t human either. Two creatures just playing tunes and boarding on by. The first is labelled Les Impressionoures.

on a metal box on the sidewalk pavement beside a street, a red creature with a band aid on its cheek rides on a skateboard while holding a ghetto blaster near its ear . The words les impressionoures is written below him

below: And last, a little yellow dinosaur.
stencil graffiti of a little yellow dinosaur

more Dublin street art

Posted on October 11, 2016 by Mary C

Street art seen September 2016 in various parts of the city.

below: A place for Jenny to sit on a rainy day, by Albenty.

mural on a wll painted white, by Albenty and for Jenny, a red straight back wood chair with a red umbrella hovering above it

below: Wanted Kats, the Superhero Lady, by Amanda Deer, on a metal box beside the street.

on a metal box beside the road, a blue kat superhero woman with an rocket tank on her back, brih=ght pink background, by Amanda Deer

below: “Trust me, you’re lovely.”

a young man on his phone is standing in front of a street art painting, lavender colour background with a boy and girl withtheir back to the viewer. THe boy has his arm around the shoulder of the girl. There is a heart in the upper right corner, outlined in red and containing the words Trust me you're lovely.

below: “Once we were heroes”, by canvaz

stencil of a man sitting on a stool, wearing a suit and hat, and holding a sign with red letters on white that say Once we were heroes.

below: “I feel free when I’m riding a horse in the wild… Also when I take Ecstasy”

wall painted red, stencil of a horse's head plus some blobs in green, yellow and blue. Words written on it that say I feel free when I ride a horse in the wild and when I take ecstasy

below: Making his escape on Earl Street.

altered red and white circular no entry street sign, a black figure is trying to climb out of the white horizontal bar

below: U Are Alive

mural, diagonal rainbow stripes for the background, large white letters for the words U are alive

below: Better together crayons. Red + Blue = Purple. By peachydublin

a poster of three crayons standing together and holding hands. The one in the middle is purple and it's shorter, On either side is red and blue. At least that's what the words say, only the blue has been coloured in, signed #peachydublin

below: Making music, musical shamrocks

black stencil on a wall, a girl is playing a trumpet and out of the trumpet come shamrocks, three leaf clovers

below: Believe. A portrait of Kate Taylor, an Irish boxer and winner of a gold medal in the 2012 Olympics in the lightweight division.

poster on a grubby dirty white wall of a woman in profile, black with white top and red boxing gloves held in front of her chest. The word believe is written in capital letters under her

below: Pink vines growing towards the door by the bridge.

man walking away from the camera, walking past a mural on the side of a shop, pink vine growing upwards, a small round balcony with a window.

below: On the wolf’s back. Available

black drawing on white of a woman sitting the shoulders of a person with a wolf head, hands on her knees, signed Available

below: A yellow horned animal on the street

mural of a yellow horned animal on the side of a store, beside the sidewalk

below: Vote yes for marriage equality.

two adjoining window shapes with brown frames and rounded tops. On the left a picture of a man voting yes with the words marriage equality. On the right the word yes in yellow with a yellow heart.

below: Two pieces. Trees, mountains and sun that has been tagged over and second, a long blue haired person by Evolve Urban Art.

two street art paintings on a yellowish stucco wall, side of a building. One is a stylized landscape with trees, mountains and sun that has a large tag on top of it. The other is a person with long blue hair, hand by chin, head and shoulders only, by Evolve Urban Art

below: Another piece by Evolve Urban Arts, this time on Thomas Street.

a street corner in Dublin, two men are walking on the sidewalk past a shop, Welsh's confectioner that is closed. A street art painting is on the metal screen or awning that covers the window of the shop.

below: What caught my eye here was the word “Don’t” on the door. Perhaps Simone and Caitlin were here too.

exterior of the The Tenters Bar in red with black trim, closed and boarded up. The door is brown. Stencilled on the door is the word Don't. Simone and Caitlin are also written in white on the red wall.

below: Space invaders, cute little creatures, come in peace.

a line of 5 space invader creatures from the video game, with the words we come in peace under them.

below: I saw this face a number of times in various sizes…

large paste up a man's face, white with black line drawn features, on grey wood hoardings in front of a construction site.

below: … including this one, diceman by canvaz

large paste up of a man's head on a door of a grubby dirty white wall.

below: A cute little white cat and white dog surrounded by flower petals.

flowers in different colours, black and white pattern on petals, plus red petals, yellows and pinks too. In the background a pink blob with words written on it, street art,