Phlegm’s progress.

British mural artist Phlegm has been painting a large mural on the side of 1 St. Clair West.   The first time I saw it, was on the 14th of July, 2016, when it looked liked this:

below: The white background of the mural was painted first.

a street in Toronto, St. Clair Ave., with an older nine storey building with concrete facing, on the side, above the level of the stores beside it, is the outline of the start of a mural. All painted white, a seated figure.

below:  Photo from 19th July, 2016

a verylarge mural on the side of a building is in the process of being painted. An white outline of a seated person with their knees drawn up, one leg has been painted with a design in black

As it turns out, there is a lot of detail in the mural!  It slowly took shape.

below: 21st July

a very large mural on the side of a building is in the process of being painted. An white outline of a seated person with their knees drawn up, one leg has been painted with a design in black

below: Fast forward to August 2016 when the mural was almost finished. …
but wait!  Isn’t that the CN tower on the shoulder?

large black and white mural by phlegm of a seated person with their knees bent up, made of tiny houses and buildings and other structures

below: Hey!  It is the CN tower.  And isn’t that the Gooderham/flatiron building?  And that building with the little dome, isn’t that on Yonge street?

close up of mural made up of toronto landmarks like the cn tower and the gooderham flatiron building, by British artist phlegm

below: There’s the ROM and its ‘crystal’ too!   This is the ‘bottom’ of the figure and in this photo two things become clearer.  First, the scale of the project and just how big the mural is becomes apparent.  Second, the mural is of a person coming out of the earth, being pulled out by the roots almost.  But is it a person?  Or is it a living city?

the bottom part of a mural, man in scaffolding is still working on it, black on white, pictures of buildings.

below: The head part – play ‘spot the building’!  Is that old city hall?

head part of phlegm mural

below: Scalliwags is on one of the knees along with a lot of trees.

knees part of the mural

below: And last, the feet with more roots at the heels

feet of a person in a mural made of paintings of trees and buildings, roots growing out of the heels. satelite dish in the mural and on the building beside the mural

This project is also a part of the STEPS Initiative program.

Photos taken back in 2016
This post also appears in a blog about Toronto, As I Walk Toronto.

Jamaica at Hillgrove, Bristol

below: A panda finds a quiet corner under the street sign.

small street art piece of a panda with bamboo in its mouth, under a street sign for Hillgrove Street

 

Hillgrove is a short street, two blocks long.  It is dissected by Jamaica Street.   On one corner is a large mural by Phlegm.  A man looks through a telescope while sitting on the shoulders of a man who in turn is standing on stilts.  One hand is holding the telescope while a bird on a rope is held by the other.   A large red and white wave reminiscent of ‘The Great Wave off Kanagawa’ by Katsushika Hokusai is the eye catching focus of the painting.  It’s as if he’s looking to the future while standing on the shoulders of giants (masters). 

 

buildings on a street in Bristol, including one with a large mural by phlegm,large red and white wave with a person on a ladder besideit looking through a telescope

large mural by phlegm,large red and white wave with a person on a ladder besideit looking through a telescope

 

below: A stenciled cat walks on the sidewalk….  the  work of Beastie.

small stencil of a realistic looking cat, on a concrete wall, at sidewalk level so itloks like it's walking on the pavement

below: A natural woman of sorts – with plants, vines and roots and the bugs and butterflies that depend on them.

tall narrowmura of a woman with flowers and vines and chinese character tattoo on her shoulder