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

between West Lodge and Lansdowne

Posted on April 12, 2025 by Mary C

In Toronto, running west off of West Lodge Ave., there is an alley behind Queen Street West on the north side. The upper part of this long, low building was painted blue a number of years ago. Since then it has been tagged and used as a place to spray, stick, or paste graffiti.

below: T-bonez from Urban Ninja Squadron practises yoga positions.

below: A bright red door that has unfortunately been scrawled on. Beside it is a black figure that seems to be diving backwards while holding a bunch of colourful balloons.

below: Once it was a pink cat with green whiskers

below: Holding tight to that red rose.

Continuing west towards Lansdowne ….

below: Faces in the alley, with a bit too much gold

below: Chubby cheeks and big fat lips…. and how many eyes?

below: Faces, many faces with their eyes closed and their hair swirling around. Mural painted by Carol Ann Apilado

below: “Tell me its all going to be okay? Not sure if I can do that buddy…..

below: Patterns and shapes on fence, by Hello Kirsten

below: Enough! Although once upon a time it said more than that…..

words on a pole

Posted on February 27, 2025 by Mary C

There is a pole, or pipe (downspout?) in Baptist Place, Melbourne, that is covered with many little drawings. They are all slogans or phrases written using music scores as a paper source. I am not sure what songs were used (or if that has any relevance?) but the lyrics are written at least two languages. At the top is “Eat the Rich” .

on a pole, or pipe, in an alley, covered with pasteups, paper, posters, that are words written artistically on old music scores

below: Next comes “Resist”. I was curious about what song was in the background, so I checked google translate – “qui quae-runt” is Latin for “those who run”.
paste up with the word resists written in large letters aver music score

below: … and then “Riots not Diets”
riots not diets are the words written on this paste up

below: “Mad Pride”

mad pride, text in artwork, on pasteup

below: “Alt Right Delete”, but now the lyrics are in English and include “the water” and “somersaults”

alt right delete text in artwork on paste up

below: “Fat so?” with more lyrics like “averte mala” and “tu a disperde”

fat so? is the question asked here

below: “Cats Rule” in bright colours.

cats rule, text in many colours, paste up

below: The bottom paste-up has the number 13 written above the number 12. Is this a hint as to who the artist is?

the number 13 above the number 12

Photos taken February 2025

trust, live, love, all on a little Paris wall

Posted on May 14, 2024 by Mary C

below: The first of two cats by Missmam (aka Marie-Anne Montfort) whose Instagram page says: “Street Chats pour le plaisir et autres curiosités pour la beauté”. On the right, a girl with long blond braids by Nevoul Art (the Little Street Art Fairy).

two paper pasteups, lucky cat by Missmam (aka Marie-Anne Montfort) and girl with long blond braids in traditional costume by nevoul art.

below: Keeping it simple, a kiss, by Artiste Plume.

below: Missmam, another “La chat fortune” but this time, the lucky cat is getting a bouquet of tulips and balloons from an amorous seahorse by Industrie Tarte. This lippocampe comes ready to divide into sections – filet, plat de cotes, bavette, flanchet – which are all cuts of meat.

lucky cat by Missmam (aka Marie-Anne Montfort)

below: “Trust, live, love” on a little heart

below: She’s slightly fuzzy in this photo I’m afraid, she also appears on a number of European walls. Street art by seiLeise (aka Tom Ossege)

graffiti painting, girl sitting on sidewalk looking at a small tree

Photos taken March 2023

paper and old paint in Polignano a Mare

Posted on February 25, 2024 by Mary C

below: On the left is a little Nuno Costah character with a bird on its hand and the world on its back, all showing más love. Beside it is a portrait of Domenico Modugno by bio dpi (aka Fabio della Ratta). Domenico Modugno (1928-1994) was an Italian singer, actor and, then, a member of the Italian Parliament.

below: On the south side of the city is this old wall.

below: Two old reddish faces

below: A crab with its insides exposed takes on a squid

below: A boy and his cat.

below: A little black Qwerty figure partially obscured by a scowling blue man from Beijing Tattoo China.

below: Ti apprezzo – I cherish you.

below: Tiny coloured drawing of a young woman with three flowers, along with what looks like another woman in profile drawn with parallel black lines. Also, at the bottom, an AU OSCE sticker

below: And last, a little yellow feathery bird with skinny legs and a cap with a W.

Trastevere slaps – another wall

Posted on January 28, 2024 by Mary C

below: A street in the Trastevere neighbourhood in Rome.

below: A collection of paste-ups (or wheatpastes) from a number of artists.

an exterior wall on a street in trastevere section of rome with many pasteup graffiti pieces on it, in Roma, arte urbano

below: The large simplified guy has Frafimi written on his tummy while the blue hand says “Smile please” as it seems to reach for a skunk. Draw is on the run, The Chosen Few Worldwide show a fist and Horus, at the far right, has weird eyes.

graffiti on a wall in Rome by Farfimi and the Chosen Few

below: A pink thing by Tzing

below: T.A.C.I.M. Collective‘s black and white portrait of a woman with long hair beside a funny looking Jack’o’lantern (i.e. a pumpkin with a face carved into it).

below: Blackheart boy of The Chosen Few with another black and white woman’s portrait. She partially covers that strange image of the two men. ”Liebe” is on the screen at TV Clan. Liebe is love.

graffiti on a rome wall, by tv clan and black heart boy of the chosen few

below: Urban ninja squadron from Toronto makes an appearance. There is also a circular drawing by Streetartee of a women’s leg emerging from a swirl of hair – being reborn. The I ‘heart’ mare is also one of hers. On the top left, with big lips and finny feet is Fishes Invasion (aka Merioone). This little fish gets around; I have seen his image in so many places!

urban ninja squadron t bonez paste up along with some other graffiti on a trastevere wall

below: A combination of streetartee (aka 11tee, or Tracey) and Alessandro Spun (aka spun29) and a large black and white Marilyn Monroe. This is one of those pieces that I struggle with but the fact that streetartee is female seems to make it easier for me to accept it. ”Vivi di gusto” is live with taste while “vivi disgusto” is experience disgust. An interesting play on words.

black and white Marilyn Monroe with other pieces of graffiti and the text vivi di gusto

below: No Limits

black and white graffiti of Marilyn Monroe, a man's head, and many hands

below: Another wall, another collection.

a wall with graffiti paper paste ups on it

below: Two faces with a heart in the middle. The face on the left is an example of pareidolia since the ripped paper forms two eyes, a forehead, and a mouth – our brains see those shapes and interprets it as a face. The other pieces are more paste-ups by streetartee.

paste ups by streetartee on a wall in rome

below: It’s not a very good photo, but this little image of a woman lying on a cauliflower that has been cut in two is another Spun29 piece. The words, “pelle morta di ventisette anni” translate to “dead skin of twenty-seven years”. And I will leave you with that profound thought…..

Photos taken December 2019

If you are interested, there is a previous blog post from a couple of years ago with more Trastevere slaps

wheat paste anti gallery

Posted on September 7, 2023 by Mary C

Take a few abandoned downtown Hamilton buildings and add large size artworks by a diverse group of artists and you have the makings of the Wheat Paste Anti Gallery. No artist’s statements, no words on the wall. This is the project has been brought to life by jumblefacefoto, aka Jeremy Lynch (including the producing, printing, and pasting of all the images in the installation).

In this blog post I want to show you the artists whose work now on display “in” Hamilton’s first Anti Gallery (in no particular order). First, Invasive Animal has taken over the front of the Oakwood Place building at 1067 Barton Street East where a sign says “Hop Canadian”. Once upon a time it said, “Save our jobs, shop Canadian”. Also once upon a time, this was a restaurant/bar. Now the animals have taken over.

front of an empty and boarded up grey two storey building in downtown Hamilton that now has many wheat paste images of animals

Some of the animals:

wheatpaste images of animals printed on paper, on exterior of grey abandoned building, a parrot, a beaver, and a bear

Next door to the Oakwood was a Shoe King store. The “king” is gone and plywood covers its windows and doors; now it is a gallery wall for crkshnk (pronounced crookshank), an artist from New York City. All the images across the storefront are his work.

exterior of old shoe king store in Hamilton, large sign is broken, store front covered with plywood, now many wheat paste paper street art artworks on the exterior walls

Another artist on display here is 33wallflower33. Her (and I am assuming that!) women and children evoke a previous age and often have a message to deliver.

My body, my choice.

Next, Brazilian artist antype (aka Luciano Costa) and Stephen Conner (from London England) share space on a building at John and Main.

below: A sample of antype’s black and white distorted portrait-like images.

Circles…..

black and white paper wheatpaste on wall, by antype a ka a Luciano Costa, faces and partial faces

… floppy circles, planetary circles, and planetary hats.

Stephen Conner’s images are also portrait-like but they are darker.

Installed in May 2023, gone by September 2023….. Urban Ninja Squadron’s T-bonez character livened up a stretch of blank wall at James and Wilson.

old abandoned building, with ground floor level covered with images by urban ninja squadron, hamilton ontario, james and wilson

Urbannija squadron, visual noise, street art images

Last, but definitely not least, a series of images, or firegrams, by Danielle Goshay pasted onto the facade of the old Colonial Hotel building.

firegram by Danielle Goshay displayed on plywood

two posters, both firegrams in browns and blacks, by Danielle Goshay, on plywood that is covering doors and windows of Colonial

As mentioned above, all works were produced, printed, and pasted by jumblefacefoto

hanging wheat paste artwork outside, wheat paste anti gallery installation

For more pictures and information, see the Wheat Paste Anti Gallery website

Photos taken between April and September 2023 by Danielle Goshay (Many Thanks for sharing them !!!)

graffiti in Faro

Posted on February 23, 2023 by Mary C

below: Some sort of art?

graffiti, black and white wheatpaste of a man in a mask, wearing glasses, head and shoulders view, with text, I am some sort of art

below: And another some art

below: Recycle yourself

black stencil on stone, recycling symbol with word yourself below it

below: He sits behind the glass.

black ink drawing of a man's portrait, signed amarantejaoum, behind the window pane in an old window with white frame

below: Green hair, teal hair.

street art painting of a woman with greenish blue hair, blue eye shadow and red lips

below: Rube stork in black and white

sticker, line drawing of a large bird with its wings out stretched

below: Trump as purple clown. Maybe the colour suits him!

graffiti, Donald Trump in a clown costume including little hat, printed in purple and black

below: The world in red and white.

graffiti, red on white, a globe of the Earth being held by two hands

below: Two faces and an arrow

blue line drawing of a face, also a blue arrow pointing downwards

below: Ouvre les yeux. La vie est belle/ bleue. Open your eyes, life is beautiful.

sticker graffiti, two faces, words that say Ouvre les yeux. La vie est belle but someone has crossed out belle and written bleu

below: Not my World Cup … protesting the 2022 World Cup (football) being held in Dubai.

FIFA world cup trophy wrapped in barbed wire, sticker graffiti

below: Priority mail

graffiti made with a USA Mail priority sticker

below: A cute little couple by Costah (aka Nuno Costah)

below: Grey Putas DSCF4794 (2)

below: Love is blue

below: Question authority?

below: “A veces el cambio se siente como en arcoiris est blanco y negro” roughly translates from Spanish to English as “Sometimes the changes feel like the rainbows are black and white.”

below: On an old wall

graffiti text and a couple of images of people, on an old wall

below: Monkeys with weapons

DSCF4706 (2)

below: … and a red mushroom

DSCF4708 (2)

below: Fox under red

grey fo pasteup on a wall, with red spray paint above it

below: Batman!

line drawing of Batmans head

below: Yes, it’s just a chicken. If you are wondering why I took a picture of a sticker with a chicken on it, you are not alone. I think that the couple walking behind me, who stopped to look at the pole too, were also confused!

sticker on a pole, a black and white chicken

below: One frog, two frog; green frog, red frog (doesn’t quite rhyme does it?)

blog_green_red_frog

below: Love and suicide and a question that is fraught with complications

graffiti, image of person with up-do hair style, with words is love suicide?

street scene in Faro, green tag saying ano, other buildings in the background

mural with roses and a jellyfish

below:Keep smiling … until next time!

Photos taken February 2023

wheatpaste on the windows

Posted on February 18, 2023 by Mary C

On blackened windows in a row of abandoned houses in Barreiro (an area in Lisbon) there is a series of images.

below: Kouka Ntadi’s image of an African woman is the only signed piece.

black and white image of an African woman

a graffiti piece, with image of a Campbells soup can

black and white image graffiti of a jelly fish-like creature with body of a hand grenade and small wings

wheatpaste paste up image of two children sitting together and looking out the window

four images on a wall, one is a wheatpaste bicycle

two graffiti pieces on a wall, one is the back of a man as he uses a long handled roller

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

Eyes on the Streets

and feets on the ground. Graffiti, street art and murals seen while wandering the streets and alleys of our colourful world.

Tag Archives: paste ups