Graffiti Alley – first visit of 2026

Posted on January 14, 2026 by Mary C

This blog post is a quick look some of the “art” that can be seen in Toronto’s Graffiti Alley at the moment. There is lot on display even though I only walked between Spadina and Portland so this post focuses on the murals and larger paintings that I saw. The smaller stickers and paste ups will be in a subsequent post (sooner rather than later I hope!).

below: Blue birds and big ugly black dogs.

below: A portrait of Volodymyr Zelensky in Ukraine’s blue and yellow colours.

below: Daisy, in rabbit ears

below: On one of the corners, there is a long grey mural with bits of red….

below: “A lone samurai known as Ghost stands on watch”. A story and a mural by Dewucme

below: Portraits painted on skateboards – there has been a collection of such portraits hanging here for at least a year. I am not sure if these three are newer, or if I just forgot them last time. (Link to blog post of skateboards from 2025)

below: Portrait by Bunso

below: Other part of the above mural, but painted by a different artist (I think)

below: In memory of Andre Campbell

below: Behind the Queen Street stores

below: Painting on hoardings as downtown redevelopment (and subway construction) slowly encroaches on the Queen and Spadina neighbourhood.

below: “Find peace in your chaos” Plus, it seems to be wearing shirt and tie but it’s also drooling and looking just a little unhinged!

below: Monstrous television screen head with bloody gums and matching tie.

below: “Who you gonna call?” Ghostbusters green slimey thing!

below: He’s got one big eye and a scowl on his face. There’s a burning cigarette in his mouth and the Ace of hearts is tucked into his hat band. Quite the character.

below: Not all cats are cute?

below: A woman with her purple hair tied up with little glowing (but ghostly) lanterns in a mural by MonkYi

below: Climbing green onions (scallions?)? An upside down blue goose? … And in the middle, yellow siu mai (Chinese open-topped steamed dumplings, a dim sum favorite), all images from the imagination of Mixt Paints aka Kelcy Timmins Chan

below: There’s that snowman again, but on a different wall and surrounded by graffiti

below: Ninos Libres, by Kalaruno

below: Another Kalaruno painting

below: At least it’s a step up from tagging…..

below: A green finger on the trigger.

below: Blue. And strange looking. He’s hanging out in the doorway.

below: An introspective dragon

Photos taken January 2026

Brunswick

Posted on October 7, 2025 by Mary C

Brunswick is one of the suburbs of Melbourne; it is north of the Central Business District.

below: One of the murals painted on the side of an older building on Sydney Road. This is the Retreat Hotel and the mural was painted by Buff Diss.

cyclist cycling past a street art mural on the side of an old two storey building on Sydney Road in Brunswick

below: Treaty” and “Teach Black history” JESWRI (aka Jesse Wright) on the side of another older building on Sydney Road. There is a Korean BBQ restaurant on the lower level although most of the building looks a bit decrepit.

street art mural on the side of an old two storey building on Sydney Road in Brunswick

below: A series of paintings in shades of gray with a large pointy mountain in the back.

below: “Tram Kangaroo” by Mike Maka. One very large kangaroo hops along beside an old abandoned Melbourne tram (route 19, which runs along Sydney Road) in this dystopian future scene.

below: A closer look …

below: Not such an old building this time.. on the side of the Savers store is a mural by Danielle Weber. A pair of hands is trying to pull back the gray wall to reveal a tropical scene hiding behind it.

below: Zatira (aka Katherine Gailer). has used a palette of vivid colours in this mural dedicated to Teresa Bruno, a well known local chef and owner of Zia Teresa Restaurant (Italian).

throw up type street art in Brunswock, abstract shapes and colours,

below: Protest type poster where the mayor is shielded from the people by layers of armed police. People are too mesmerized by what is on their screens to care.

below: Uprooted police cars.

below: “The colony will fail”.

Photos taken February 2025

Aloha e komo mai

Posted on July 29, 2025 by Mary C

below: Seen at the corner of Cooke and Auahi streets in the Kaka’ako neighborhood of Honolulu – One building with at least three sides covered with street art murals.

below: On the east side is a large painting by Matt Eaton. Not shown in this photo is the tribute written in one corner that says, “In memory of our beloved uncle, Rabindra”

below: “Aloha, e komo mai” or Hello! Welcome, come in… a friendly Hawaiian greeting.

large mural on the side of a building in honolulu

below: Creativity is my freedom. The freedom to express not impress. To impress is to become a slave to others opinions.

below: Among the leaves and flowers you can see the words, “Don’t let anyone steal your joy”.

below: Finding peace under the old gnarly tree.

below: Sitting together at the table while the dog waits underneath.

below: Trumpet players and dragons with horns and spiky tails.

part of a street art mural, a young man with eyes closed, an older man playing the trumpet, a dragon with open mouth, horns on head, and a long spiky tail.

below: Circles and triangles form patterns on the wall around the entrance to Aupuni Space, an artist-run art gallery.

mural, with door in middle, circles made of triangles in black, on orange background

below: A giant turtle swimming in the clear blue waters of Hawaii in a mural by Artworkbykai aka Kaiili Kaulukukui

below: A painting by Tatunga aka Tatiana Suarez – yellow worm-like animals eating a piece of juicy guava.

below: The last mural shown here springs from the imagination of Alex Pardee

small part ofmural by Alex Pardee, on bright yellow background, many weird and ugly monsters, close up of one with out stretched green skinny arm

Photos taken July 2025

near Balaclava train station

Posted on March 6, 2025 by Mary C

below: On the corner of Nelson and Carlisle streets, near Balaclava station in St. Kilda East.

below: Black panther roaring with mouth open wide, fangs and teeth ready….

below: The railway crosses over Carlisle street at the north end of Balaclava station

below: Praying. Painted by Pawtl

below: Two women hanging out with a white rabbit and a white cat, by Deb.

below: Come Alive Melbourne

below: A rainbow lorikeet

below: Owls by the door

below: More owls

below: Continuing the bird theme – a very old and weathered stencil of a pigeon

below: Another oldie, a paste-up of many people. One person in a red and white striped shirt, holding a toddler. A girl with long hair wearing a checkered red and white dress; she’s holding something like a brown box in her hands. Beside her is a girl who is wearing a white top and a blue skirt. Who else can you see?

The next few pictures are a selection of paintings on the upper level of some of the stores on Carlisle.

below: Dana’s Patisserie

below: Many hands

below: Flowers and faces

below: “TAKE” or perhaps “TAK E” above a painting beside the walkway to Balaclava station, southbound trains.

below: On the platform, Balaclava station, “Shake was here”

below: Gradients in blue and orange cover the ground floor level of a new development beside the station – seen from the station platform.

below: Also seen from the platform, street art on the back of a building by the tracks.

below: Raise a steaming cup to the coffee culture that is strong here in Melbourne! Cheers!

Photos taken March 2025

Ignite, Create, Connect

Posted on February 9, 2025 by Mary C

A portrait project from 2014 – 10 years on and still looking great

A total of 528 portraits line the side of a walkway under the railway tracks in Lynn.

They are the product of a Raw Art Works project – Young artists took photos of various people in Lynn and then made portraits from those photos. The portraits also include ones that the artists made of themselves.

Raw Artworks – whose mission statement includes the words; “to ignite the desire to create and confidence to succeed”. It’s a program for youth that has been running in Lynn since 1994.

Photos were taken in July 2024

Beverly murals and stickers

Posted on December 12, 2024 by Mary C

… The Beverly in Massachusetts that is

below: Large back and white mural by Alex Senna with feet overhanging a parking lot.

large black, white, and grey mural by Alex Senna, a male, reclining, feet in sandals

below: The large feet also sit above a line of circus themed images. These vignettes, so to speak, are also seen on the other side of the building (a theater). Some of them are shown here.

feet from mural by Alex Senna, on red brick wall, with a line of circus images below, an elephant,

below: Two clowns.

below: Magic rings

below: Another magician with his props

below: “Welcome to the Golden Theater Beautiful” on one side and “Le Grand David and his Own Spectacular Magic Company” on the other.

below: Appropriately, it was painted on a bicycle store wall. Sadly, the bike shop closed in 2018 after being in business for 70 years. The frog on its bike endures.

on upper part of red brick building, a green frog on the seat of an old fashioned bicycle with a very large front wheel

below: Mural by Helen Bur and Sam Worthington, “Uprising”

below: This mural is dedicated to Howard Lomen (1959-2004). There are words written on the mural including: “Charles Olson and Vincent Ferrini fire their poetry pistols in a dual at niles beach.” It was painted by his son Erik Lomen. Both Olson and Ferrini (in the black hat) were poets from the Gloucester MA area (just up the coast from Beverly).

below: The blur of headlights in the night, a mural by Dana Woulfe

below: A lively flower arrangement by Hailey Bonia

below: Nowhere over fast and a burning car

below: Stay Calm and Love Your Neighbourhood

below: Stickers on a stop sign including a green snail

Photos taken July 2024

mountain villages, mural village

Posted on November 26, 2024 by Mary C

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

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!

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

below: Doorway conversation

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

below: Fish by the door of the shop

… 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

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

Photos taken September 2024

behind a building on Union Street

Posted on September 3, 2024 by Mary C

This is the back of 270 and 280 Union Street in Lynn MA as seen from the (large) parking lot. All of these murals were painted as part of the Beyond Walls program.

A closer look at the four of them…..

below: Two large murals, male and female, by Erin Holly

below: A large, vibrant mural titled “KLK Mi Gente” painted by a group of artists: Angurria (aka Nestor Garcia), Dovente (aka Johann M. Baez) Silvia López Chavez, and Willgom (aka Willy Gomez). The artists are either from the Dominican Republic or have Dominican roots.

“KLK” is an acronym for “Que lo que!,” which loosely translates to the English, in meaning and usage, as “What’s up?” The mural is a celebration of Dominican culture.

below: Hanimal, an artist from Colombia, two little guys like two peas in a pod , meticulously detailed,

mural in green tones, on a red brick wall, lots of detail, two little people with eyes closed together in a pea pod, pea plant, painted by hanimal

below: Portuguese artist, Diogo Machado aka Add Fuel painted the top corner of the building. His ‘layers’ wrap around the corner, each layer revealing a different tile pattern.

mural by add fuel, high up on two sides of a corner of a brick building, designs in blue and white as well as brown and white, painted to look like layers of wallpaper being removed to reveal the layer below,

Photos taken July 2024

a walk around Holyoke

Posted on August 5, 2024 by Mary C

Over the past few days I have posted pictures of some of the murals in Holyoke Massachusetts. This post will be that last one for that city for now. I know that I didn’t see everything that Holyoke has to offer but I hope to be back soon!

below: “Yagrumo” by Vero Rivera. Rainforest plant with palmate leaves – In brown and white, together forming patterns and designs.

mural on an old brick building, by vero rivera, design using patterns of brown and white leaves

closer view of the brown and white palmate shaped leaves in the rivera mural in holyoke

below: Painted by David Zayas, high energy dancing, with music and movement. The rooster may not be dancing but it too moves with energy and vigor.

mural by david zayas, woman dancing, rooster

below: The Master of Masks, by David Zayas and Don Rimx. The mural portrays Don Raúl Ayala Carrasquillo, who was a master in the art of making vejigante masks – A vejigante is a folkloric character in Puerto Rican festival celebrations, especially during Carnival. He learned his craft from his father and he, in turn, passed the tradition on to his children.

large mural on the side of a midrise residential building in holyoke, of a man in a red baseball cap who is making a mask, by david zayas and don rimx, vacant land around the building, cars parked nearby

closer view of large mural on the side of a midrise residential building in holyoke, of a man in a red baseball cap who is making a mask, by david zayas and don rimx

below: “Child Flower” painted on the former Boys Club building on Race Street, by Gleo

yellow mural by gleo, a boy surround by big yellow flower

below: Colonia – topless, draped with a Puerto Rican flag.

below: Frankie Borrero’s creation, “Transición de las antepasadas” (Transition of the Ancestors)

closer view of frankie borrero mural with many people in it

below: Right – The mural says EL ARCOIRIS as a tribute to an after school program created by Nueva Esperanza more than 20 years ago. They use art and murals as part of their program to engage youth. This mural is a tribute to those pioneers and was painted by Golden 305 (aka Cristhian Saravia). Previously, I posted another of his murals in Holyoke

On the left is “Chromoji” by Bikismo (aka Ismo La Joya del Caribe, or the Chrome Master)

two murals, on left what looks like a shiny reflective face made of ice or metal, and in the right, text mural that says el arcoiris

below: An older El Arcoiris mural, faded blues with a rainbow connection between the two windows. Flowers and butterfles, and a guitar.

older faded el arcoiris mural with flowers, butterflies, rainbow and a Puerto Rican flag

below: A mural on the side of a bakery. Puerto Rica and the USA, Palm trees and sunflowers. Farmers harvesting food from the fields behind the city streets.

mural on the side of a bakery, with garden in front

below: There’s even a horse drawn carriage.

below: Nuestras Raices = Our Ancestors

below: On the large wall of University Products, Yo Soy I am by TakeOne and GoFive

large mural of a boy in native american headdress with red and blue feathers, also the words, yo soy, spanish

An interesting description of this mural is on the Beyond Walls website: “Yo Soy! I am anything and everything. It is not enough to simply exist. Playing it small doesn’t serve the world, therefore it does not serve me. I embody the very essence in which life is created.
I am a powerful force.
I am light.
I am beauty, undefined.
I am capable.
I am resilient.
I am, You are, We are
ENOUGH!”

below: As mentioned in my previous post, Holyoke has the largest number of Puerto Ricans per capita outside of that country.

El Spirit Republic of Puerto Rico – Defending our roots and our communities.

below: mmm

below: Tim Purington was a City Councilor and public health advocate who died in 2019.

below: Needle exchange programs were one of the public health initiatives that he advocated for.

below: “Iguana-boina ” by Rafique aka Rafael Enrique Vega. Here we see the union of the iguana, the symbol of the sun, and “boina”, a dark-colored snake that represents dark rain clouds. From these, life is formed. These elements are found in the Taino creation story where the cave of Iguanaboina was the primordial den from which the Sun emerges to illuminate the earth and to which it returns to hide as the moon emerges. The Taíno people were the predominant indigenous people of the Caribbean.

below: Alvin is missing the rest of his chipmunks.

A few days ago I posted pictures of the father and baby moose that Bordalo 2 made on Clemente Street and yesterday I shared images of the mural ‘La cultura es poder’…. But there are many more Holyoke murals thanks to organizations such as Beyond Walls and Nueva Esperanza. I think that I have barely scratched the surface.
Photos taken July 2024

Dream Home

Posted on July 31, 2024 by Mary C

On a fence in Salem Massachusetts is a series of paintings by a group of artists who used the book “A Dream Called Home” as inspiration. The book is a memoir by Mexican-American author Reyna Grande and in it tells of her dreams of a stable home and how she makes it happen. Last year several artists participated in the project, including six local artists from the neighborhood. These are the murals on that fence.

Punto Urban Art Museum is the organization behind this project. It was founded by North Shore Community Development Coalition (North Shore CDC) in Salem’s historic El Punto neighbourhood. This fence is but one of their many projects.

below: “Teenage Mutant Ninja Tortugas” by Kearin Alexander Frias is on the left.

murals on a fence in Salem's El Punto neighbourhood, Dream of Home theme

below: Anatomically correct heart in blue hands, a painting by Llemonmoss.

mural, mutant teenage ninja turtle, using dominican turtles instead

below: Left – “Home Cooked Meals Feed the Soul” by Nick Pinciaro and on the right – “Vessel” by Amanda Beard Garcia.

two cooking theme murals on a fence in salem, on the right is person holding a rice cooker

below: Left – “My Father’s Keeper” by Emily Kwong and on the right – “Nou La” by Rachel Domond

two murals on a fence, a small tree is in front of the one on the left which is a man's face

below: There is text in the background that is difficult to see in this photo but it is a blend of two quotes from the book:  “You are now bilingual, bicultural, and binational. You are not less. You are more, twice the girl you used to be.” Painted by Yixuan Zeng