trouble makers

Posted on November 1, 2025 by Mary C

below: Trouble Makers on Heliosstrasse in Cologne. There was a Paste Up Festival in August of 2025 here that was organized by Street Art Against Hate. Although that was a couple of months ago, lots remain here on this wall and many other walls on the street.

paper paste-ups graffiti on a wall in cologne, along with words trouble maker in black paint

below: Some of the paste-ups found on the “Trouble Makers” wall.

paper paste-ups graffiti on a wall in cologne

below: On the left is a cross-eyed orange Pummel Fee Fart Fair (and I wish I knew what words were in the thought bubble above his head!). On the right is a MyCuteCreatures little cat with two even smaller friends between her ears.

below: One of these dogs has a peach coloured sweat shirt adorned with eyelashes and lips, by Miss GlueInverse (she calls her work analog collages). To the left of that dog is a woman cutting her long hair with a pair of blue scissors by Kalaa Baar.

below: An interesting phone conversation? And a bearded man in sunglasses and a bear (cat?) suit.

below: At the bottom, a pink Nadroschka pretends to be modest.

below: Another MyCuteCreatures and a second Mopsi. This time Mopsi has a bat on his neck and the words read, “Good boy, Bat habits”.

below: “I love Cologne” – but that cat seems too excited! So Schoen Immer Wieder is a German street artist who is responsible for the paste-ups of her pug ‘Mopsi’, most of which have cute/interesting words. In this case, the words are “easy, peasy, lemon squeezy”. The little blue dog also comes with words (same artist? I don’t know). It’s sign says, “You did so well today”.

below: On the right is a black and white drawing by SheepArt Cologne (aka Klaus Schaefer) while sleeping in the bottom left corner is a small drawing by French artist Balaet Balaets (viens, on rêve). A very full purple trash can sits in the middle. Is that a yellow balloon in the garbage?

below: Tweet cat (seen in Melbourne!) has teamed up with Mario while a little furry nose pokes his nose over the wall.

below: “Wer mit Dreck wirft verliert am Boden” which Google translates to “Those who throw dirt lose on the ground” which, by the sounds of it, may not be precise!

Photos taken October 2025

Carlin’s Cafe – San Fran

Posted on October 19, 2025 by Mary C

Carlin’s Cafe in the Mission District was closed for about 3 1/2 years during Covid. It re-opened in 2023. The paintings on the exterior wall pre-date the closure.

below: 298 Valencia Street.

street view of Carlins Cafe an Laundromat on Valencia Street in the Mission District of San Francisco, orange and yellow awnings over two large window,

below: A closer view

carlins cafe, exterior wall with large windows, paintings on the walls,

below: A rocket powered BART train? The lights of the Golden Gate bridge shine in the night while a sailing ship lingers outside the harbor. There is also a welder hard at work.

part of mural, BART train but with rocket engines, lights of the Golden Gate bridge,a welder, a sailing ship, a man wearing hat,

below: She’s dancing in a flowing orange dress but with a partner whose hands are skeletal.

part of a mural, a woman dancing with a skeleton in a black jacket, she's wearing long orange dress, also baseball players,

below: Tucked up in the shadows under the awning are a couple of baseball players

part of a mural, baseball players, with pennant flags

below: Playing for the camera?

below: A coffee moment.

below: More coffee, this time from the source.

coffee pot and spoon, pouring coffee, street art mural

below: The 49ers of the National Football League, the home team here in San Francisco.

below: A poster in the window

below: Seen outside the restaurant – This graffiti was inspired by Danny DeVito’s character Ongo Gablogian, art collector, critic, and patron, from the movie It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. This graffiti was created by Ongosf and apparently, little Ongos can be found in many places!

Photos take February 2025

covering a yellow door

Posted on September 23, 2025 by Mary C

In Melbourne’s Baptist Place there is/was a collection of stickers and paste-ups by a very international group of artists.

below: This is the door as seen in February 2025. It may look different now!

A closer look at some of the stickers and paste-ups……

below: Mama yellow rubber ducky and her four little ones with lots of balloons – and one little ducky is wearing black swim goggles. These yellow adventurers can be found in lots of places, especially in France which is the home of their creator, Canards Vagabonds aka Sylvie Gennerat.

canards, yellow duckies, mama duck with four little ones, one has a black pair of swim goggles on, 4 bunches of balloons too

below: A Wonder Woman figure by Little Meh as well as a DJ Gumba dude holding 2 black balloons. One of the balloons says “pretty cool”. On the right, is that man really carrying a very large carrot?

stickers and slaps on a door, one is DJ Gumba with two black balloons, one is a wonder woman figure by little meh, and one is a man in a plaid shirt carrying a very large carrot also a sticker with just text that reads helping animals doesn't need to be that hard

below: A grey possum with a little pink nose and a curvy tail under “Back rolls not gender roles”.

below: A collection of slaps by a variety of artists. There are two Breaking Bad yellow Lego men. The skateboarder with the black and white flowery hair is the work of Drecks. At the very bottom, a Tweet cat face with blue David Bowie style lightning bolts and a droopy eyed guy by American artist The Dtore (aka Dave)

below: One very pink eyed cat and a couple of red capped mushroom people. The latter is the work of My Cute Creatures (Creaturi Dragute) – Mama Mushroom and her little mushroom tyke.

below: Now ET can call home whenever he wants. In the bottom right corner is a tiny sticker by Vootsak aka Camille. The green eye with the tears but under a rainbow was created by Apparan. Leave no one behind.

below: A grey cat has found a handy perch atop the head of a ginger man with beard and mustache (by Stoeyes)

below: A white bird takes flight.

below: Some Australian animals – a white ibis (by Tweet) and a kangaroo with a white rabbit in its pouch. The latter is a collaboration between Maens_hh, a German artist who draws characters like the white rabbit, and Eppendorfs_finest, an artist who often draws/paints/showcases a dog called Lounis.

below: Another collection of slaps, stickers and paste ups including T-bonez of the urban ninja squadron, a common sight around Toronto. TRP613 Sailor Dude is wearing an Australia T-shirt but now has the Tweet cat face.

stickers and paste ups including tweet cat, urban ninja squadron, sailor dude with an australian shirt on, and others

below: Monstrous! Now Trp613 (a Canadian from Ottawa) Sailor Dude seems to have turned green but that’s okay by MIC (Maid in Cologne). Sailor Dude may be green but that woman beside him is very red! (by Zelda Bomba from France)

Sailor Dude as a greenmonster, graffiti, Zelda bomba bright red woman's head with blue hair

below: A monster party! … With bunches of sunflowers and plenty of balloons, by Tweet

monster party graffiti by tweet, frankenstein, all with balloons

below: “Body size is morally neutral”, “Protect queer kids”, “My cat thinks you should vote yes to the voice”. “Read books and dismantle [illegible] oppression.”

below: “Think!”, “Open your mind” and “Mutual aid is an evolutionary advantage.” Cupid’s got you in his line of sight – so beware of the balloons!

below: “Read boos. Be kind. Stay weird.” as well as a sleeping good vibes cat and a seahorse with a bouquet of tulips and balloons. Like many of the animal graffiti created by Industrie Tarte, this seahorse, or lippocampe, comes comes ready to divide into sections – filet, plat de cotes, bavette, flanchet – which are all cuts of meat. . The exact same pasteup was seen in Paris in 2023 (trust, live, love, all on a Paris wall).

below: Hey cool, it’s a balloon burger with bones…. but that dog doesn’t look too impressed by it all.

below: Almost life-sized Tweet cat with a fistful of balloons.

below: What big eyes you’ve got!

below: A bright rd crab with big claws beside a prickly echidna playing with balloons. And dancing figures, le petite peuple de l’ombre, with even more balloons (by Wall-Lilo)

big red crab, graffiti paste ups, balloons, floating people, and an echidna

below: Masked smoker with Batman ears?

Photos taken February 2025

around the Angel Brewery

Posted on August 5, 2025 by Mary C

The Angel Brewery is where the Arts District of Los Angeles meets Little Tokyo. It has been located in the Roebling’s Sons building the corner of Alameda St. and Traction Ave. since 2010. The building is now also home to a number of small pieces of street art.

below: …. now with a lovebot heart…. I forgot to take a lovebot robot sticker with me, I only had a heart one.

below: Esoteric

below: More Fossil Fools

below: 1dirlust Fox has a posse.

below: Ronald Regan has Legislative influence for sale, large mural by Shepard Fairey (aka Obey)

below: Marilyn Munroe in wheatpaste

below: 100% Clueless, like lambs to the slaughter. … but that’s okay because I think that there is a Rat that loves you.

Photos taken in 2015

This post appeared in my other blog but I am finally consolidating all my street art posts into one place.

East Village paper and paint

Posted on July 24, 2025 by Mary C

below: Hooligan and Zero Boy with masked Anonymous

below: John Lennon

paste up graffiti on a green pole, portrait of John Lennon

below: “Pee on Hamas”

graffiti sticker on a green pole, text says pee on hamas, with image a dog peeing into a puddle

below: A cute little pink heart

little graffiti sticker on a red surface, white furry creature with a little pink heart

below: Remand

slap graffiti on a grey pole, one says remand in large black letters, the other is a drawing of a small creature with large head, big mouth,

below: “Where is Corky Lee?” Lee was an Asian-American photographer who died in 2021.

graffiti sticker that says where is corky lee, an asian american photographer who died in 2021, black and white drawing of his portrait, holding a large camera

below: Artificial Scarcity on a fire and police call box

red emergency call box in new york city with sticker graffiti on it including one that says artificial scarcity

below: When I tried a google image search, I learned that naked or semi-naked women on rockets is a thing….

two graffiti stickers including one with a woman in thong bikini riding on a rocket

below: Nicole Ruggiero’s “A Moment of Bliss”. According to Ruggiero’s Instagram page, this image is a tribute to, and reimagination of, the original wallpaper, Bliss, from Windows XP way back in 2001. It was part of an exhibit titled, “SCREENSAVERS” in Seoul in 2024.

below: Femarchy multiple times and colors beside Black & Essential

below: Sign on a pole – “You don’t need it but you want to buy it!”

Photos taken July 2024

Enjoy (more) Denial

Posted on July 22, 2025 by Mary C

A previous blog post showed some of the murals that can be seen in Maiden Lane in Windsor. At the south end of that lane is a parking lot where one more large mural by Enjoy Denial has been painted.

below: The woman’s portrait painted by Denial was shown previously; a small portion of the other Denial mural can be seen here on the right

portrait of a woman, mural by daniel bombardier, also known as denial

below: A few images of different angles and views of the mural. In the first photo, a large replica of a highway 401 sign. Windsor is at the east end of the 401. There is also a sign in the mural pointing “To Canada, Bridge”; Windsor is home to the Ambassador Bridge that crosses the Detroit River.

part of a Windsor themed mural by denial beside a parking lot in downtown windsor

below: “Welcome to Windsor” turned upside down.

below: “Everthing must change” and the Detroit Pistons basketball team.

below: And last, someone has added their own two cents to the mural

in pink marker, someone has written words on a large mural, text says It only takes time for someone to become something

Photos taken June 2025

Barton Street “shoes”

Posted on June 19, 2025 by Mary C

Once upon a time, a very long time ago in fact, it used to be a shoe store on Barton Street. Now it provides exhibit wall space for street art artists. Almost two years ago I showed some photos that were taken here for the Wheat paste anti-gallery, (September 2023). The building still stands and the doors and windows are still covered with plywood. But now that plywood is taking on a life of its own as old wheatpastes fade and tear and new papers are added on top. This is how it looked mid-June 2025.

below: Oakwood Place and the old shoe store at Barton E and Ottawa.

below: A large wheatpaste, monochromatic, symmetrical collage with eyes in the center – a work by Jumblefacefoto, aka Jeremy Lynch.

below: Zeroing in on just the lower portion of one …..

below: Such wonderful feet!

below: Post no bills, if you can’t read it do you need to obey it?

an eye, and a sliver of the edge of a paper paste up piece, beside a section of plywood wall with multiple bits of old paper from graffiti, and some paint

below: More wheatpaste with eyes in the center.

jumblefacefoto paper collages graffiti on plywood wall

below: Remains of crnshnk pieces. Follow the link at the top of this post to see these in their prime.

remnants of older paper paste up graffiti, torn, on plywood, in black and white images

below: Another fragment of an older piece – what looks like a skull in a round mirror.

image of a skull in a round mirror, a portion of old paper paste up on wall, rest is torn away

below: Polar bear by Invasive Animal (from Sept 2023) is still there although now it appears to be behind bars.

paper wheatpaste of a polar bear, on plywood, by Invasive Animal, now behid a metal construction fence

three wheatpaste animals by invasive animal, a warthog, a rhino and a goat with horns

wheatpaste of horse head and mane by invasive animal

below: Almost disappeared.

below: Warning triangles – missiles, tanks, and robotics.

below: Stickers on the side of a Canada Post mailbox including two vintage kids by 33wallflower33

bicycles parked on the sidewalk outside a cycle shop, also a motorized wheelchair, scooter, in pink, Hamilton, Barton Street

Langs Lane

Posted on May 9, 2025 by Mary C

Visitors to Langs Lane (at Little Bourke) are greeted by a very large blue insect thanks to artist Louis Moore.

street art painting of a very large blue insect or beetle in Langs Lane, Melbourne

Langs Lane is a short alley that ends in a very narrow passage as it approaches Bourke Street.

people walking through a narrow alley from Langs Lane, red brick buildings beside, with graffiti on the walls

At the narrowing of the alley there is a pink angel with curly black hair and red wings.

street art painting on a brick wall in an alley, a pink angel with black curly hair and red wings

There is another blue painting here by Louis Moore – an image of a fish. Or more correctly, part of a fish as the fleshy part of its middle is missing. Just the spine and bones of the center section are still intact.

street art by Louis Moore, a blue and white fish, or at least a fish head, on spine and vertebrae, with intact tail.

A man in a cap seems to survey the alley

mural of a man in a cap, in profile, in black and grey on a white background, street art mural of a brown dog, side view, he seems to be barking

This poor flower was trying to say something but someone had the audacity to rip her face.

flower painted on paper, then pasted on brick wall in an alley, Petals of the flower are alternating purple and white, center is yellow with a green face

There are a few other remnants of artwork on paper that had been on display here. From what I can tell, there was a series of photographic works titled “Phobias”. It was presented by the Stills Co-op back in 2018 and featured works depicting some of our deepest fears. Unfortunately, very little remains but of course that is what happens when art is left to the elements. It takes on a life of its own, beyond our control. Until someone comes along and paints or papers over the old – you may have noticed some of the Phobia papers behind Louis Moore’s blue fish.

Sometimes the resulting fragments that are still visible can catch our attention.

bits of paper, remnants of a photograph on disply in an alley, outdoors, weathered and old

It was an interesting, and quite extensive, exhibit. Like many art exhibits, the originals live on the internet. See the video at Gavin John Photoography

torn paper, remnants of a photograph mounted on a wall in an alley

Some of the other graffiti in Lang Lane is cartoonish. Some with known cartoon, or animated, characters such as Marge Simpson

Marge Simpson in an mural on a wall in Langs Lane, with red hearts

… or Odie the dog from ‘Garfield’ (with more paper fragments behind).

a mural of Odie, the dog from the Garfield cartoon series, bright yellow with blue floppy ears and a big red tongue that sticks out a long way

2 cartoon characters on an alley wall, one yellow and the other green

Langs Lane with highroses above it, Melbourne CBD

around and behind Ossington

Posted on May 8, 2025 by Mary C

Ossington Avenue is an interesting street to walk with it’s numerous stores, restaurants and coffee shops. But there is another fascinating world hiding behind the main street in the numerous lanes and alleys in the area.

For this blog post, I have assembled more of the photographs that I have taken around Ossington since January of this year. It gets a bit long because I decided not to chop it into smaller pieces, so grab a seat and let’s get started!

below: A whimsical Uber5000 painting on a garage door.

below: Hearts on fire, burning love, and the fireman that is trying to extinguish the flames – in a mural created by D. Terra Stencils.

below: One of the cutest raccoons that I have ever seen, also painted by D.Terra Stencils.

below: Some more cute raccoons of a different sort go camping in a mural by Emily May Rose

below: … and some more raccoons!

below: …. and even more!

below: Smaller black stencil graffiti on a white garage door – an iconic image of Marilyn Monroe as well as a Kung fu Panda. The other woman gets a splash of bright red.

below: A trumpet player and a gun fight.

below: Bikes on the stairs with a colourful bird keeping a watchful eye.

Moooo…. Hey there good looking!… Here’s looking at you! This was painted by Poser. Usually he does bunny rabbits but I think that he’s pretty good at painting cows too!

below: An old square brick building, garages and fences with graffiti, old trees, and a row of houses at the end of the lane – this captures the look of a typical Toronto lane.

below: Home patio, outdoor living urban style.

below: “Stop and enjoy”. I like how the poster below the stop sign says “mediocrity” which makes the overall message, “Stop and enjoy mediocrity”. A bit snarky.

below: The tail end of a fishy mural.

below: This aquatic themed mural dates from 2016 when a group of artists painted many murals in the area, all with the Great Lakes as their theme. They were part of Pangeaseed Foundation’s Seawalls for Oceans project. Some artworks have survived better than others. Love letters in paint is a post (off site, in my Toronto blog) from 2016 that show most of them in their original form.

below: The Swiss army knife was also a Pangeaseed mural

below: Where possible, Jimmy’s Coffee shops have exterior walls painted with images of famous Jimmys including the one on Ossington. Jimmy Carter, James Dean, the guitar of Jimmy Hendrix and two muppets representing Jim Henson Gonzo and Elmo

below: A Jimmy of a different kind, a fantastic cacaphony of colours and shapes in a mural by Jimmy Chiale

below: Close up of part of a mural, a young man wearing a black mask over his eyes.

below: Rowell Soller

below: Two paintings on two different garages that look like they were done by the same artist. The signature appears to be Soul R. and the top painting is from 2017.

below: 2022 Christina Mazzulla, for the Golden Turtle Restaurant.

below: “You are stroger than you think”

below: Nick Sweetman has used shades of blue and purple to create this wonderful northern scene with a bear and moose combo.

below: Totally blue. The other colours have faded? Or were never there in the first place?

below: More garage doors painted by D.Terra Stencils

below: On a bright yellow background, an image of Jean Michel Basquiat, one of the original creators present-day street art.

below: .. and beside Basquiat, a levitating woman

below: Written in Portuguese is “Nem às paredes confesso” which translates to “I don’t even confess to the walls”.

below: Portuguese words, and nearby a Portuguese flag

below: Boxers – Muhammad Ali and an opponent

below: The last D. Terra Stencils is this rendition of Ren and Stimpy

below: The next four images are of the same mural in a snowy laneway parking lot… starting with DAM DOG ketchup bottle

below: Parking for Animals

below: These little ceramic animals have been walking in this alley for at least ten years.

below: T-bonez stands alone, maybe waiting for the light to turn green?

below: And what’s this? Even more raccoons?! Toronto’s “beloved” trash pandas are everywhere!

below: Six lit matches ready to go. This crazy cat is up to something no good…

below: An early Birdo piece, although the scroll names or street artists too. The first street art in this alley directly behind Ossington (on the east side) dates from 2012 when a group of artists painted some of the garages here.

below: A pink rose between two women.

below: Another oldie – this purple guy has been blowing a gust of wind for many years.

below: Vintage Spud bombs, some cheerful and some menacing.

below: A funny looking green creature with big white eyes and lots of skinny legs.

below: A couple, together in the stream, in a mural by Elicser Elliott with the title “Swim”

below: Geometric shapes with a touch of rainbow colour, by Peru

below: Large pink and white swirls and curls cover a wall. Any time that you see swirls like these, think Flips because that’s sure to be the artist that painted them.

below: Only a small portion of this moose painting by Aaron Li-Hill remains. I don’t usually show the original works but I am going to make an exception here. See next image.

below: This is what it looked like back in 2012 or 2013.

below: A newer Catchoo sticker.

below: A couple of faces taken from many faces around a garage.

below: Part of a Troy Lovegates mural (as are the next three images)

below: The closest garage on the right has a mural painted by Spud.

below: Durothethird paints peanut butter & (probably) chocolate

below: Horus, “Well and good”

below: A tribute mural celebrating Canadian Black designers.

below: Writing on black and purple

below: Portrait of George Sully, Canadian designer

below: Love yourself, over and over again, and in many different colours!

below: An old stikman in a frame, weathered but still there.

below: And lastly… Too extraterrestrial, which someone seems to love

down a dark alley

Posted on April 18, 2025 by Mary C

…. Finlay Lane, a short lane with a dead end, in Melbourne’s CBD (Central Business District).

below: Graffiti on an alley wall

below: Urban Cake Lady, with the red hoodies and blue and white striped pants that she likes to use in her artwork.

below: Human? Devil? An impish blue character with a long red satanic tail.

blue skinned character with long red tail

below: This isn’t the clearest image, but what you looking at here is a character putting on a mask. Its face is black and its two eyes look like lights (and are barely in the photo)

putting on a mask, part of a street art painting

mural in a Melbourne alley, throw up style, red tag on blue background

below: With all the wrong lighting, a large painting by Ling, for Flash Forward Melbourne whose line is “40 Artists, 40 Acts, 40 Laneways”. The image is too dark, but it’s a man in blue shirt, red robe, holding out one hand. A better picture can be found at the Flash Forward Melbourne website.