Tag Archives: painting

the smaller stuff too

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…in Graffiti Alley

My previous post was also about a walk down a section of Toronto’s Graffiti Alley (Spadina to Portland).   This post is from the same walk –  because there were so many  images that I wanted to share, I decided to divide the fun into two parts.  This second part takes a closer look at some of the smaller pieces.

graffiti stickers covering signs at the entrance to graffiti alley where there is lots of street art in the background

below: Peeling paper hands….  A 33wallflower33 group of three women in their dashing outfits … and a charming man with devil’s horns and red glasses.

paper paste up graffiti on a door

below: Although it’s getting more difficult to see, there’s a Poser rabbit by the door.  The door is disappearing behind a layer or two of paper and paint.

a door covered with graffiti, with more street art paint on the walls beside it

below: There is a little pink stikman on the light above the door.

pink stikman graffiti on a light over a door in an alley

below: Once upon a time this skinny little guy was pink but ooops, a layer of paint and now he’s prematurely grey.

white stikman graffiti on a white wall behind metal bars

below: In her face – another stikman

small red stikman on yellow paint with a woman's face at the bottom layer

below: Last stikman for today… sometimes you find them tucked away in hard to see places.

green and black stikman hiding behind a hook with a black strap on it

below: Party line?  Four hands phone.

old phone booth but with 4 receivers, all covered with paint and graffiti

below:  A bleeding heart, a pansy flower, and a woman with a red hat and big ear rings.

small graffiti in graffiti alley, a red painted heart, paper paste ups of a pansy flower and a person's head

below: Polly wants a cracker before she takes over the world, or at least that’s what she told me.

paper paste up graffiti, one is a green bird with text that says bird takeover

below: A young woman with blue lipstick and jagged pink make up on her cheeks.  A spiked collar is around her neck.  Make of it what you will.

graffiti, woman with blue lips and spikey black hair, beside word peace stenciled twice in paint

below: Another young woman,  this time she’s a little softer (at least in appearance) – drawn by Catchoo.

below: Multiple Sailor dudes (trp613) in two varieties hanging out with a happy little catchoo critter and its smiley daisy balloon.

lots of paper pasteup graffiti in graffiti alley, one is a catchoo character holding a daisy shaped balloon

below: “Save me”!

paper pasteup graffiti in graffiti alley, including a blue floppy disc with text that says save me, by catchoo

below:  It looks like catchoo has been busy.

graffiti on a wall in graffiti alley

below: More of that wall.

lots of slaps, graffiti on a wall in graffiti alley

below: Darth Vader makes an appearance too.  Who’s that man peeking through the hole?

orange skull, graffiti on a wall in graffiti alley, also Darth Vader,

urban ninja squadron and others, graffiti on a wall in graffiti alley

below: One flower sprouts a bald person while the other produces a sunny orb.  That black octopus doesn’t look very happy – perhaps in this winter weather it needs more than just a woolly toque.

paint graffiti in graffiti alley, black octopus wearing a red toque

below: There are those women again!

33wallflower33 sticker of three flapper women

below: Dogma slaps standing tall in his puffy jacket and bright red mitts.

2 slaps graffiti on a wall already covered with street art paint. One is a dog, standing on two feet and dressed in human clothes - or perhaps it is a man with a dogs head

below: Riding a D7606 crayon – T-bonez always finds new adventures.

paste up graffiti high on a wall, t-bonez, from urban ninja squadron is riding a large orange crayon with D 7606 (name of another artist) on it,

collection of stickers, graffiti alley,

below: A collaboration between Tamm Shinzo and April Showers Art produced this little round piece – sitting on top of the clouds with the moon shining over her shoulder.

round paper paste up on a utility pole in Graffiti Alley,

below: Cryptid Supremacy – a rat with a very long tail

pink background with drawing of a rat sitting on a bench, long tail, words: cryptid supremacy

below: More rats, this time “the rat race is rigged”.  Also another skull (skulls are very popular!), this time by Broke Canvas (aka Colin Green) on yellow.   And third, is it a rainbow or a very sad face?  – slap by Rider Waitress (aka Frances Sousa)

graffiti on a wall, a black rat with words the rat race is rigged, a yellow square with a drawing of a skull by broke canvas, and last a rainbow with two flowers that looks like a sad face, by rider waitress

below: While we’re dealing with rats – Squee!  They are all fleeing from an NYC trash can.  Don’t litter!

a sticker on a wall in graffiti alley, mice fleeing from a trash can, squeee

below: Another small collection – Catchoo shows up on a soy sauce bottle while a Sentient Cookie (aka Cecil Tian) character gets taped to the wall… remember that banana?!   And last, in the top left corner, a Cartoon Car Slaps.

catchoo soya sauce bottle, sentient cookie paste up and a cartoon slaps slap, garffiti on a wall in graffiti alley

below: Juice box time. By Clem Crevetz

sticker on metal pipes in graffiti alley, man sitting, with juice box in his hands

small green fish sticker beside a lock on a door

small graffiti painting, black line drawing of a face, with very pointy chin, on white background

elicser elliott painting of a woman in rabbit ears, drinking a can of pop

graffiti where is my $$

alley graffiti stickers, blepser and nervo
pasteup little character in white suit, probably marcel morceau, the mime artist

elle was here, written on sidewalk in pink

Photos taken January 2026

Locked Down but Still at Work

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Sixteen paintings lined up on a wall in a downtown Buffalo alley….  a series presented by the Albright Knox Gallery.  It is titled “Works, from Home” and it represents the thoughts and feelings of sixteen artists on their experiences with lockdowns during the Covid pandemic of 2020.  Presented here in no particular order (with the artist’s name underneath) –

a row of paintings, part of a series called Works from Home, Covid themed images by local artists, presented by Albright Knox gallery

part of a series called Works from Home, Covid themed images by local artists, presented by Albright Knox gallery, painting by Ashley Johnson

Ashley Johnson

part of a series called Works from Home, Covid themed images by local artists, presented by Albright Knox gallery, painting by Chris Piontkowski

Chris Piontkowski

part of a series called Works from Home, Covid themed images by local artists, presented by Albright Knox gallery, painting by Adam Weekley

Adam Weekley

part of a series called Works from Home, Covid themed images by local artists, presented by Albright Knox gallery, painting by Obsidian Bellis

Obsidian Bellis

part of a series called Works from Home, Covid themed images by local artists, presented by Albright Knox gallery, painting by Rachel Shelton

Rachel Shelton

part of a series called Works from Home, Covid themed images by local artists, presented by Albright Knox gallery, painting by Jon Mirro

Jon Mirro

part of a series called Works from Home, Covid themed images by local artists, presented by Albright Knox gallery, painting by Julia Bottoms

Julia Bottoms

part of a series called Works from Home, Covid themed images by local artists, presented by Albright Knox gallery, painting by J.P. Hawkins Sr

left: Karle Norman
right: Jay P. Hawkins Sr.

part of a series called Works from Home, Covid themed images by local artists, presented by Albright Knox gallery, painting by tricia Butski

Tricia Butski

part of a series called Works from Home, Covid themed images by local artists, presented by Albright Knox gallery, painting by M.J. Myers

M.J. Myers

part of a series called Works from Home, Covid themed images by local artists, presented by Albright Knox gallery, painting by Jason Seeley of a young man with Covid mask on

Jason Seeley

part of a series called Works from Home, Covid themed images by local artists, presented by Albright Knox gallery

part of a series called Works from Home, Covid themed images by local artists, presented by Albright Knox gallery, painting by Jennifer Ryan

Jennifer Ryan

part of a series called Works from Home, Covid themed images by local artists, presented by Albright Knox gallery, painting by Fotini Galanes

Fotini Galanes

Photos taken April 2025

 

mountain villages, mural village

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Ihwa-dong is a neighbourhood, built on a hill (Mount Naksan) in Seoul. Some of the houses are literally built into the city walls. Because of its hilly nature, it is often referred to as a mountain village. In 2006 as a cultural project there was an effort to transform this relatively poor section of the city into an artistic landmark by adding public art – especially murals. Seventy artists were involved. The area became a tourist destination. It was also saved from demolition and redevelopment.

In 2016 the residents petitioned to have the art removed as they did not like the increase in tourist traffic. The local government didn’t do anything so some of the residents painted over a few of the more popular murals. There are also reports of murals being painted over in 2023 … or residents adding their own art

painting on a wall, I love seoul where the love is a red heart

below: A woman walks down (very down!) a street in Ihwa-dong

a woman walks downhill down a street in a village, house at end of street has small mural painted on the front

below: A small neighbourhood behind a fence. Bright red shutters.

a small street art mural on the front of a house, image is a collection of houses, streets, and fences

below: Girl with a red balloon at number 69.

street art painting, a girl in black stencil, holds the string of a red balloon

below: Little puppy dogs and a friendly kitten by the hedge

street art mural, green background like grass or a leafy hedge, 3 little dogs and a cat. one of the dogs has a long stem rose between its teeth

below: Toucan and monkeys. The black car is blocking the shiny green car but he doesn’t seem to mind.

mural on a wall, three black and white monkeys, and a large toucan with a bright beak. a car is parked in front of the mural and is blocking part of it. Also in mural, a man is getting out of a car

below: Watching time, but it’s always ten past two; watching each other but seeing nothing.

two street art paintings in black and white, on the right is an analogue clock with hands pointing to time that is 2:10. on the left are two men with binoculars, looking at each other up closely so that the ends of the binoculars touch

below: Motorcycle parcel delivery (although on closer inspection, it might be a trailer load of cardboard for recycling)

street art mural, a man in a low back motorcycle that is pulling a trailer loaded with parcels

below: A great place to see views of Seoul…. but there are a lot of stairs!

view from ilha village, overlooking seoul, bridge, road with big curve, coffee shop, houses, roofs,

stairs to bottom of hill beside road and bridge, murals under bridge including white leafless tree on green background

below: Up a narrow street (no not street, just stairs), more paintings on the walls

on walls, narrow street, murals, one with a man in a red jacket

below: Doorway conversation

street art on a door, two people talking to each other, one on left is taller and darker

below: Square head sitting with a woman with very, very long red hair

street art, two people, man is sitting with back to woman, man has a square head and head is twisted around to look at woman. Woman has long red hair that points straight up

below: Fish by the door of the shop

fish painted on bright blue background, around door of a store

… fish on the wall

orange and white carp painted on blue wall

… and fish kissing teapots.

a real teapot hangs beside a painting of a fish that looks like the fish is going to kiss the teapot

below: A tired old faded bear sits by the road

a very large stuffed teddy bear is sitting in a rocking chair on the sidewalk beside a house. bear is weathered and faded.

below: Looking down to the layer below where people are sitting outside Espresso Bar Odeoksae Coffee. They are joined by a few silent people on the walls. To the left, two camels have wandered into the scene.

people sitting outside coffee shop, street art on walls of odeoksae coffee shop

below: Rainbow stripes and some silhouette figures that look they belong in Alice in Wonderland – a trumpet blowing rabbit and the queen of hearts.

wall is painted in rainbow stripes in the front, and in pale blue in the back. on the back are three figures in black silhouette with red hearts

below: Slouching past with his mind on other things far away….

mural of a young man walking past a brick building

below: Yellow shirts and flowers

mural on a wall of a man in yellow shirt and black pants, and sandals, standing there

below: This is Son Heung-min who is the captain of the Tottenham Hotspurs as well the South Korea national team.

street art painting of a soccer, football, player, with words super son number 7, white jersey,

below: Off to the shops with her bright red purse and blue shopping bag

street art painting on a wall, woman in blue skirt, carrying red purse, and pulling blue shopping cart

street with houses on both side, narrow, one has mural on side, street art painting on a wall, woman in blue skirt, carrying red purse, and pulling blue shopping cart

below: People on the boat, fish swimming under it.

under a window and behind a planter, a rough painting of a boat with people on it, and large fish in the water below

steep street in mountain village in seoul, with houses above

Photos taken September 2024

downtown Worcester

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clock tower in downtown worcester on old stone building, with newer glass skyscrapers behind it

below: Wrdsmth – “This is my palette.  A mere twenty-six deep, yet the possibilities are infinite.”  … Plus his typewriter that appears in all his graffiti and street art.  The mural also credits PowWow Worcester which was an annual arts festival (for a few years prior to 2021) that was responsible for bringing a number of murals to the city.

close up of lower right corner of large mural by wrdsmth that is the letters of the alphabet, this photo shows letters V, W, X, and Z, as well as the typewriter and text large mural by wrdsmth that is the letters of the alphabet, with a typewriter in the lower right corner, and the words: This is my palette.  A mere twenty-six deep, yet the possibilities are infinite

below: A tower of women, by Marka27, aka Victor Quinonez, 2016, a very vertical mural on the side of the parking garage at Federal Plaza.

marka27 mural of 3 women forming a tower, younger girl on bottom, older woman on topmarka27, or Victor Quinonez, mural of 3 women forming a tower, younger girl on bottom, older woman on top

below: A painting by Christina Angelina, another parking garage mural at Federal Plaza

christena angelina mural of a woman in profile, long hair, waterychristena_angelina_vertical-2

below:  Another mural that was painted during a PowWow Worcester is this cartoon-like painting by Greg Mike (2016).

mural with cartoon like characters, mouse from Tom and Jerry, the word smile, a tiger with long front teeth, an owl with big eyes

close up of mouse and word smile from greg mike mural in downtown worcester

below: Jason Eatherly’s trucks parked beside the old brick building.

old fade blue trucks, mural by Jason Eatherly on the side of a red brick buiding with exterior metal fire escape stairs

below: One of the first murals painted in Worcester is this now slightly faded creation by Caleb Neelon

caleb_neelon_trafficlights-2

below: Calligraphy type design, part of a larger mural by Imagine, aka Sneha Shresta.

part of calligraphy type mural by nepalese artist sneha shresta, in reds and oranges on blue background

below:  At the YWCA, two young girls in shades of blue on a red background.

blue portrait of young woman on red backgroundblue portrait of young woman on red background
below: Keep on smiling!

street art painting of a helium filled balloon that is yellow with big black happy face on it

Photos taken July 2024

There were also murals by Damien Mitchell (below) and Insane that I saw in downtown Worcester but they have already been featured in a prior blog post, (Insane + One)

damien mitchell mural in worcester, large portrait of white woman

*****

caleb neelon mural on wall in downtown worcester

Murales Campo 65

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In Altamura a wall has been painted with copies of old photographs of Campo 65. This camp, or center, began as a Prisoner of War camp during World War 2. Allied POWs were held here in 1942 and 1943. It was also a training center for troops that liberated Yugoslavia in 1945. After the war was over, it was then used to house refugees.

mural in shades of grey using images of old photographs from Camp 65 from WW2, one is a woman on a bicycle
mural in shades of grey using images of old photographs from Camp 65 from WW2, a group of 6 images in a row

below: The 36 barracks contained up to 12,000 Allied prisoners of war: British, South African, New Zealand, Canadian, Cypriots, and Palestinians mainly from the North African war front. It was the largest Italian WW2 prisoner of war camp.

mural in shades of grey using images of old photographs from Camp 65 from WW2, row of white buildings, barracks
mural in shades of grey using images of old photographs from Camp 65 from World War 2, one image is a woman's portrait, the other is a man in a pith helmet type hat
black and white image in a mural, a group of men playing in a band including an accordion, a drum and a trombone
two men standing by a car from the 40s, black and white image on mural
mural in shades of grey using images of old photographs from Camp 65 from WW2, group of men
group photo of women in military uniforms, including hats, made into a mural in grey tones

mural in shades of grey using images of old photographs from Camp 65 from WW2

two black and white photographs of people and life at camp 65, turned into images on a mural painted on a wall, one shows two women standing in front of small white buildings
campo 65

Murals painted by: Donato Lerusso, Marco Forte, and Mattia Pellegrino, 2022

Photos taken February 2024

graffiti pieces, Paris

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below: Near rue Liban, Bar Populaire with a wall of graffiti.

below: In a circle of knives and with a Medusa head of snakes,

below: Another Laszlo piece – Stern looking portrait of Wednesday Addams from the “Addams Family”  TV series.

below: A column of paper pieces

on an outdoor wall, 6 paper pieces of graffiti

below: The top two, both on pages of old books.  Top – a heart with “Aimez-sous Bordel” with a multicoloured figure by Corine Forest.   On the bottom, drawings by Sulfid

below: More Corine Forest – this time a bird on a page of of music along with a little monster character by Axo. Mam’zelle Nitouche is the music that was chosen (or happened upon?). This is a vaudeville-opérette in three acts composed by in 1883 Hervé (aka Louis-Auguste Florimond Ronger (1825-1892)).

On the bottom – a dove in a heart shape full of white cursive love. “Go Love Anybody Anywhere Anytime”. A little saccharine but sort of sweet.

Learn from yesterday, Live for Today, Hope for Tomorrow.

below: One more Corine Forest wheatpaste – a winged horse among the moon and stars.

below: Paix

La suele couleur qui compte c’est celle denotre de notre sang
(The only colour that matters is the colour of our blood).

below: Invader mosaics and Sorry Mom by Etienne Racine

below: I have no idea who produced the last few – help! Sign your work… or at least drop a hint, leave a clue, but don’t leave with nothing!

at 1st Street North & MLK

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below: The northwest corner of Martin Luther King Blvd and 1st St North in St. Petersburg Florida where there are a few murals on the buildings. The mural of the cat and dog in the foreground was painted by Matt Kress.

northwest corner of 1st Street North and Martin Luther King Blvd showing some one storey buildings with murals on the sides

below: On the other side of the building (an animal hospital) are more cats and dogs.

part of a mural, a cat face that is partially obscured by a white fence

part of a mural, two dogs

part of a mural, a cat's head, mouth open, tooth showing

In the first photo, you can see small parts of another mural. This one features well known cartoon characters such as the cats Felix and Garfield, as well as Disney’s Donald Duck, Daffy Duck, and Goofy. It was painted by Greg Mike as part of the SHINE mural festival in 2021.

below: The whole mural

mural by Greg Mike featuring lots of well known cartoon characters

mural by Greg Mike featuring lots of well known cartoon characters including Felix the cat and Donald Duck

part of a mural by Greg Mike

Garfield the Cat in a mural by Greg Mike

Disney's character Goofy in a mural by Greg Mike

mural by Greg Mike

below: The last mural here, on the far side of the back building, is another recent painting. Also part of the SHINE 2021 festival is “Tell Me How You Feel, Part III” by Bakpak Durden.

mural by Bakpak Durden a large jaw from a skull with white teeth, a hand is reaching out to touch it

Queen Elizabeth + Bowie = Banksy NOT!

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Rock star status lightning bolt – a now iconic symbol painted on David Bowie’s face for the “Aladdin Sane” album cover in 1973. Here, Banksy Incwel applies the lightning bolt to a younger Queen Elizabeth in a piece titled “Still Sane”- bestowing her with rock star status? It was painted in 2012, the year of Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee (i.e. her 60th year as monarch).

behind a traffic light, on the upper level of a building, on a pale grey wall, a Banksy street art. A black and white Queen Elizabeth 2, younger woman, with a crown on her head. She has a red and blue David Bowie lightning bolt across her face like the Aladdin Sane album cover of 1973

in a Madrid park

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The following photos were taken in a walled park (or community garden) in Madrid in March 2018.

below: Face and fishes by Lazaro Totem

large realistic painting of a man's face on white brick wall, with some fish swimming above his head, signed as

below: El Indio

El Indio street art painting of a yellow man, skinny arms and legs, arms raised above his head and spear in his hands, red mask over eyes, loin cloth of red, yellow and green

below: Por Favor is a street artist whose work can be seen around Madrid.

poster by Por Favor of a woman's face in pink and purple

below: Ianah

painting on a wall of a girl's head and shoulders, in water, with fish covering her head, and fish swimming in the water,

below: The front of a large ROA animal

front part of a large mural of an animal by ROA

below: And the back part of the animal, and the left part of the mural

back part of a large mural by ROA, pigs,

below: Another El Indio.  He’s wanted for something!

El Indio street art painting on brick wall, large Wanted sign on the top, picture of a yellow man with red mask and blue skimpy underpants

below: A long drawn mural with lots of detail.

wall separating park from high rise apartment building with balconies, on wall is a mural

below: A close up of part of the mural above

close up detail of mural on white brick, trees and plants in front

below: The Madrid coat of arms is the blue shield shape with a bear and a tree in the middle, similar to what is painted here.  The man chopping down the tree is definitely not on the coat of arms!

mural of someone working on the Madrid coat of arms

below: Vegan bunnies

vegan bunnies street art