“people” I encountered in Montreal….

Posted on October 19, 2026 by Mary C

Random sightings around Montreal

below: A portrait on pink accompanied by a gorgeous bird and a few flowers in a mural by Melissa Falconer

A portrait of a black woman on pink painted brick accompanied by a gorgeous bird and a few flowers in a mural by Melissa Falconer, on side of Baguette & Brochette shop

below: The remains of a mural by Phlegm

part of a mural by phlegm, black and white

below: Framed and topless Fractal Juice

graffiti, fractal juice, framed picture of person with colours shifted so that it looks like it is in multiple copies. Person has black hair and many red and yellow flowers in hair, topless, with white fabric draped over one shoulder

below: No faces here, instead two bodies merged into one, “Liberté” by Franco Fasoli (aka Jaz), 2015.

two bodies merged into one at the shoulders, no heads or necks, two silhouettes of bulls behind them, called Liberte, mural painted by Jaz, a k a Franco Fasoli. Arms and legs have tattoos, both wearing blue shorts

below: A face in purple and blue, by Philippe Mastrocola and Melsa Montagne

mural, large face in shades of pink, blue, and purple, by Melsa Montagne and Philippe Mastrocola

below: Part of a larger mural originally painted by Scaner in 2014. It was fixed up in 2018 by Zek One and Axe Lalime.

Part of a larger mural originally painted by Scaner in 2014, skull showing, a skeleton with clothes, upright and walking. Wearing blue jacket, white shirt, and red tie, also wearing a hat

below: Call me Daniel

very red background, street art is black line drawing of a person with no hair on top of head but long hair doen the back, open mouth screaming, with text call me Daniel

below: The top part of “Ne m’oublie pas” (“Don’t Forget Me”), created by artist Kezna Dalz during the 2024 Mural Festival

very white man with red lips and eyes closed looking upward, a halo over his head, wings on his back, in a mural by Kezna Dalz

below: Bottom of the same mural

bottom part of n'oublie pas mural by Kezna Dalz, two people

below: Incomplete and unfinished, Damaged, one-eyed man who doesn’t look too pleased – perhaps it’s the squiggles that have taken over his forehead.

black and white and grey shades, realistic image of an older man with a mustache but one eye and top of head is missing

below: Osheen Siva painted this large portrait with its radiating long blue hair and blue lips.

portrait by Osheen Siva, mural in Montreal, brown person with long blue hair, green lines on neck and shoulder, blue lips,

below: SNIKR’s paint roller girls

building with two murals, on upper floor is a woman with a paint roller, by SNIKR, lower floor has portrait of the young woman with a paint roller as well

below: Mural on the lower level seen closer.

building with two murals bySNIKR, mural on the lower level seen closer. young woman with large collar on her jacket, paint roller over her shoulder

below: I think that the signature says Lea but I am not sure. What I am sure of is that he/she has a strange imagination!

two halves, divided horizontally, upper half is painting by Lea, purple sky, man with small hat, smiley face on front of his shirt, smile on his face, but with hands that look like snake heads

below: “C’est compliqué” (It’s Complicated) by Sara Erenthal. Unfortunately the bottom part of the mural has been painted over. Originally there were two figures within the body of the woman (see next photo)…..

part of mural by Sara Erenthal, woman with surprised expression on her face, black line drawing but with red mouth

bottom part of mural, two figures sanding together

below: All wrapped up.

painting on a wood fence, probably male character with head wrapped in white bandages, blue shorts up to chin, big mouth,

below: Take the iconic I ♥ NY and transform it into a love letter to Montreal.

I love anything to do with Montreal graffiti

below: Tasty treats and curly straws.

man sitting on bench beside a food shop, with mural on outside wall, line drawing of people with drinks with curly straws, and one dog,

below: You’ve seen the signs that say “Beware of Dog”, well, here we have Beware of Old Bald Man!

doorway covered with graffiti including a bald wrestler on the door wearing bootss

below: She has six hands, two of which are holding a skull. She also has a very long (and ugly) tongue. Not the kind of person (creature?) that you would want to run into in an alley – even if she does have some similarities to the Hindu goddess Kali. Kali is associated with time, destruction, death, and the Divine Motherhood; she is the power of creation and destruction. I guess that she needs six hands after all. Painted by Bibi Una.

below: Obscured by fragments of those left behind.

eyes, from an older piece of street art where the lower parts of the face have been papered over with other graffiti, now torn

below: Sad button eyes

graffiti in Montreal on a red brick wall including a sad character that looks ike a stuffie with stitched mouth and tummy, sad face mouth, one eye is an X and the other eye looks like a button that has been sewn on

below: Happy faces

scrawl graffiti in blue and red including a couple of happy faces on corrugated metal fence

below: Rage5 stencilled on five heads covered

5 stencils in a row, woman in black head scarf, necks covered too, with rage5 on each head, graffiti in Montreal

below: mmm

graffiti of man farting. body looks lke Homer Simpson but head is different

below: It vaguely looks like a person….

drawing in black with red scribbled over it, that looks vaguely like a person, graffiti

below: A tiny man under a red heart

two pieces of graffiti on a wall, one is a tiny man and the other is a red heart

below: “I’m feeling blue – may be the skeleton is too, he’s been scrolling so long on his phone he doesn’t realize that he’s now dead.

slaps on the back of a sign, a blue square with text that says I am blue.

below: A big toothy grin and a sticker from peau-bleus

below: FUQU and a wrench (probably profane but c’est la vie), wings and devil horns.

sticker graffiti, character with fuqu on front

below: “I’m grateful you’re alive” … I am also grateful that you have found your way to this page!

sticker graffiti, white with words written on it, I am grateful you are alive

Photos taken September 2024

Springfield in Springfield (the one in Massachusetts)

Posted on October 14, 2026 by Mary C

below: Springfield written large across a wall. I don’t know the city well enough to be able to identify the people and scenes in this large mural. Perhaps you know some of them?

mural in Springfield Massachusetts, with word Springfield in capital letters and in colour, with illustrations inside the letters and black and white images of people and things associated with the city

part of a mural in Springfield Massachusetts, with word Springfield in capital letters and in colour, with illustrations inside the letters and black and white images of people and things associated with the city. Heads or portraits along the top of the name of the city, a steeple, a red and white airplane, a statue of two topless women, a feather in an Inndian headdrress

a pile of books, a bronze statue, and many portraits, part of mural in Springfield Massachusetts, with word Springfield in capital letters and in colour, with illustrations inside the letters and black and white images of people and things associated with the city

part of the Springfield mural, elephant, man playing bass, gold face with gold and bejeweled crown,

two cars parked in front of part of the Springfield mural, Dr. Suess character, cats, football player, dogs,

part of the Springfield mural, portraits in a blobby mouth eith teeth and many eyes

part of the Springfield mural, two women, a wrench,

Photos taken July 2024

last of Salem

Posted on September 30, 2026 by Mary C

Continuing to “finish” sections of this blog – today it’s Salem Massachusetts.

below: “Make art or die trying”.

Salem street art, graffiti sticker that says make art or die trying

below: “Super Dali” by Brazilian street artist Sipros (aka Wellington Naberezny)

young Dali with long curly mustache, oversized black glasses, and a cape like superman in a mural by Sipros, in Salem Massachusetts

below: Beside Dali is a spiral vortex in blues and oranges by HoxxoH, (aka Douglas Hoekzema)

HoxxoH mural in Salem, circles like a spiral vortex in yellow, orange, and blue

below: Golden 305 aka Cristhian Saravia

below: mmm

part of Golden 305 mural in Salem, pink unicorn, yellow cat, blue face with a yellow halo, alien in a small spacecraft

below: Unicorn love

part of a Golden 305 mural in Salem, pink unicorn with rainbow cooured horn, with pink heart, button eyes

below: “The Queen of the Block” by artist Mr. Cenz,

Mr. Cenz mural in Salem, woman's face on a building adjacent to one whose facade has been painted in graphic geometric shapes

below: “Si Se Puede” (translates to “if possible”) by Annadidathing aka Anna Dugan, and Yenny Hernández

below: Along the river path, by Chor Boogie aka Joaquin Lamar Hailey

mural in Salem, along the river path, by Chor Boogie aka Joaquin Lamar Hailey

below: It looks a llot like fences intertwined, but the title is “Creciendo Juntos” (Growing Together) by artist El Cekis

mural by El Cekis, in salem, bluish green leaves growing against a pinkish chainllink fence, another pink fence, and a loopy yellow fence

below: “Katherine” painted by Mexican artist Paola Delfín in August 2018.

mural titled, Katherine, painted by Mexican artist Paola Delfín, large portrait in grey tones

below: “Garden Boy” by Pixel Pancho

Garden Boy by Pixel Pancho, large mural, head and shoulders of boy entirely in flowers and leaves

below: Little orange guys

little orange characters with curly legs, on a blue background

little orange characters with curly arms, on a blue background

below: Denny Tentindo. This mural was painted over in August 2026. It was on the side of a building, The Witch Doctor. When the business moved, the mural was painted brown.

mural, a row of grey elephants on brown background, mural in Salem

grey elephants on brown background, mural in Salem

below: Happy faces in a rainbow of colours, more work by Golden305.

row of large happy faces on fence, different coloured backgrounds in each section, purple, pink, turquoise, green, orange, yellow, by Golden 305

large x as eyes, face mural, black on yellow, by golden 305

little stickers on a red do not block street sign

below: A chef and some faces in black and white

paste up graffiti, one is a chef with a shark's tail, the other is two male faces, both in black and white

below: Happy frog face!

sticker graffiti, blue frog's face, laughing, with flowers in its hair

More Salem photos on this site – Salem street art

Photos taken July 2024

Tacna & Emancipacion

Posted on August 2, 2026 by Mary C

Street art murals seen in downtown Lima, at the corner of Av. Tacna and Av. Emancipacion

below: Selling shoes, sitting on the sidewalk under the sleeping guy with many ears.

below: Ignoring the yells as she walks past

A woman is walking past a mural on a wall. An open mouth is yelling with flames and blue lines coming out of it. It looks like she is being yelled at by the mural.

below: There are hands that point and open hands to hold

Two women are walking past a mural on a wall, there is a large hand that is part of the mural.

below: “Hoy soy libre, manana tambien” – today I am free, tomorrow as well

Street art in bright colours of the words, Hoy soy libre, manana tambien

below: plug in to grow, green power, electricity for life….

part of a street art painting, a hand is hold a red extension cord. A stem with a few leaves at one end has an electrical plug at the other end. The green plug is being inserted into the red extension cord outlet.

below: He comes to life

two men are painting a mural of a man. One man is standing on two buckets so that he can reach near the top of the wall

below: Painting

a man is painting a piece of street art on a street corner in Lima.

below: All smiles, with orange peels, by Toxicomano

A large face of a man in black and white on a black and red horizontal striped background. There are some garbage bags full of orange peels in front of the mural.

below: “Toxicomano”

face in black, on yellows, oranges and reds

below: hanging out on Tacna with the street art

People on the sidewalk passing by a large mural street art piece with colourful faces, Tacna Lima Peru

below: The dog is watching. “Ya te sabe” – already you know

below: partially hidden behind his hand

close up of a graffiti picture of a boy's face. He has his hand in front of his mouth and chin

below: Is she carrying a sweet and/or toxic load?

Black and white graffiti of a woman with a basket of fruit on her head. Pineapple hand grenade graffiti on the wall behind her.

below: Pineapple hand grenade

A stencil graffiti of a hand grenade that has a pineapple top. Black on a blue and red background. It could be a hand grenade or a pineapple

Photos taken March 2014 (some files, once lost have now been found)

Mirka Lane

Posted on July 20, 2026 by Mary C

….. a small narrow lane filled with street art murals, many of them by female artists.

below: A stunning blue portrait by Juzpop

street art mural in Mirka Lane, St. Kilda, blue portrait of a woman by Juzpop

below: Mirka Lane is a ‘U’ shaped lane in St. Kilda, Melbourne.

street sign for Mirka Lane, city of Port Philip

street art mural in Mirka Lane, St. Kilda, portrait in bright colours

below: Juzpop’s red woman with a hat on the left. On the right is a ‘colder’ coloured woman in purples and blues by Tayla Broekman.

street art mural in Mirka Lane, St. Kilda, two womens portraits, Juzpop's red woman with a hat on the left. On the right is a 'colder' coloured woman in purples and blues by Tayla Broekman

below: One of the walls in Mirka Lane.

One of the walls covered with street art, Mirka Lane

below: Misshapen characters, lumpy and pink, that seem to float around, by Jaz Mishap (aka Jaz Miu)

street art mural in Mirka Lane, St. Kilda,

below: Manda Lane is an artist that specializes in very realistic flowers (and other plant life).

street art mural in Mirka Lane, St. Kilda, white flowers by Manda Lane

below: Niqui Toldi has painted a woman with short pink hair that matches both the pink stripe in her top and her fingernails

below: More blue people – these pink-haired women are the work Bronik.

street art mural in Mirka Lane, St. Kilda, these pink-haired women with blue skin were painted by Bronik

below: A green and purple chair by Giovanna Da Silva.

street art mural in Mirka Lane, St. Kilda, A green and purple chair by Giovanna Da Silva

below: Another look at the wall… From the other end this time.

below: All in blue, “I’ll be back”

below: Circular calligraphy, also in blue.

large blue mural, circles of calligraphy

below: One Love with happy flowers

street art mural with flowers and grass and words that say one love

below: Bright red mushrooms in the grass

part of a larger mural,Bright red mushrooms in the grass palm trees in the background

below: Caroline Lejeune painted this wild looking over-sized eye atop a skinny naked body that even has a long tail. Naked except for the high heel shoes.

mural by Caroline Lejeune, wild looking over-sized eye atop a skinny naked body that even has a long tail. Naked except for the high heel shoes.

below: Fox, by Tayla Broekman

below: Girl with a red bandana or kerchief around her neck, by Stephman, aka Stephanie Mannerheim

Stephman mural of a young girl who is crouching, wearing shorts and a red kerchief around her neck

Photos taken March 2025

Let’s make peace

Posted on February 8, 2026 by Mary C

below: Let’s make peace with this nightmare – “Facciamo pace con glu incubi”. She is one of a few paper paste-ups that appear together on a section of wall in Naples (via Santa Maria di Constantinopoli)

below: This is that wall

below: This purple and black watercolour portrait is also included.

below: As are these women and their big yellow flower.

below: Immediately beside the above wall is this little Exit Enter figure and its bright red heart.

below: More red – this time on the other side of the wall.

Photos taken February 2026

Collingwood (Melbourne) portraits

Posted on January 22, 2026 by Mary C

A collection of faces that I saw as I walked around Collingwood one summer day.

below: She looks down on the parking lot.

street art painting, portrait, woman's eyes and nose on grey wall, high above cars parked below, lower part of face has been tagged over

below: Artist LING painted this image of Patrick Coyle on the side of the Albion Hotel. Coyle was the original owner of that hotel.

street art painting, portrait by artist LING, of Patrick Coyle, man sitting with a full glass of beer in his hand, elbow on table, chin in hand, face has mustache and beard

below: mmm

street art painting, portrait, 2 workman with beards and mustaches, yellow and orange high viz vests, black wool hats

below: An older portrait by Adnate graces a small brick wall.

street art painting, portrait, a woman, by adnate, with head scarf and red cloth covering mouth

below: There is another, much larger, Adnate mural nearby. This apartment building on Wellington Street was painted in 2018. I wrote a blog post about it a few years ago – Four Adnate Faces, Dec 2018

below: On the left, is a portrait by Vince Moloney. Three little yellow characters by dscreet are on the door to the right.

on the left, in grey tones, street art painting, portrait in greys of young man wearing large headphones and on the right, three yellow characters by dscreet, one of which looks like an owl

below: Another portrait by LING, this time it’s Alf Stewart who stars in ‘Home and Away’, an Australian soap opera.

street art painting, portrait by artist LING, of Alf Stewart, under a street sign that says Bedford street, red car parked in front, person on sidewalk beside,

below: Michelangelo on a wood fence.

Michelangelo portrait in many colours, on wood fence in alley,

below: It almost looks like someone is playing “Peek a Boo” although I am sure that the two faces were not painted at the same time, or by the same person.

below: Drew in bright colours

top of head in blue, bright blue nose, pink glasses, yellow and green eyes, red very short hair and red eyebrows, word Drew written across bottom of face, 24

below: One of the uglier faces that you will see today…

ugly mis-shapen face painted on gate, small forehead, large jaw, mouth and teeth, long nose,

below: With visions of palm trees in front of his face – a blue skull by Callum Preston

blue skull wearing red glasses with images of palm trees in the lenses, by Callum Preston

Photos taken February 2025

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

Higson Lane, downtown Melbourne

Posted on December 12, 2025 by Mary C

….Yet another lane in the Central Business District in Melbourne that has street art on its walls.

below: Two bald men, two pink robots.

street art urban art in Higson Lane, two bald men's heads with two square pink robot heads

below: Two different men. On the right, Julian Assange, of WikiLeaks fame, is painted on a roller door. On the left is a portrait of a different man, Ethan Joker, by Lushsux.

muralsin an alley, On the right, Julian Assange, of WikiLeaks fame, is painted on a roller door. On the left is a portrait of a different man, Ethan Joker, by Lushsux

below: Bob Marley

Black and white stencil graffiti of Bob Marley, with cursive text of some of his lyrics "You say you love rain But you use an umbrella to walk under it. You say you love sun But you seek shelter when it is shining. You say you love wind But when it comes you close your windows. That's why I'm scared when you say you love me." — “You say you love rain But you use an umbrella to walk under it. You say you love sun But you seek shelter when it is shining. You say you love wind But when it comes you close your windows. That’s why I’m scared when you say you love me.”

below: A mix of different paste-ups and stencils including an astronaut’s proclamation that “We are the Chosen Few” and a UFO with an enormous brain.

below: A closer look at “We are the Chosen Few”

paper paste up in alley, We are the chosen few, UFO with a very big brain in the dome of the top

below: Catwoman on the run with a blue bag from DeliveryBunny.

below: Bad Habits – Riots not diets!

sticker graffiti, with text bad habits, plus cursive writing riots not diets

below: The Breaking Bad LEGO guys are in Higson Lane too. There is also a little Robbo-T guy with crossed wrenches – a skull and crossbones motif!

below: More little stickers and paste-ups.

below: She has funny ears, perhaps elfin ears.

below: “Classic” graffiti

graffiti that looks like ancient greek or roman art, people in togas, man with laurel wreath

below: One end of Higson Lane

Higson Lane in downtown Melbourne, with urban art

below: Chimp One painted this portrait

below: Painting in shades of pink by Louis Moore

painting of a man, street art mural, in pink hues, by Louis Moore

below: Cute penguins and a big fuzzy penguin, by Lukas Kasper

Cute penguins and a big brown fuzzy penguin, a mural by Lukas Kasper

below: On the left, another Lukas Kasper painting – this time a lizard. On the right, a brilliantly coloured falcon’s head by Silly Sully

2 street art murals, On the left, a Lukas Kasper painting of a lizard. On the right, a brilliantly coloured falcon's head by Silly Sully

below: Melbourne Moments

below: Revolution on the Television Head, or something like that. A women’s revolution? It’s the work of Salvo, aka Matthew Domenic Salvo.

below: “It’s okay to change your mind” written on orange beside a Tinkerstrumpf paste-up of a young woman and her guns. She has appeared in London and Cologne as well here in Melbourne.

below: On the right, a sort of portrait of a woman, or at least the skull of one.. with sunglasses.. and then overlaid with yellow, orange, and red stripes (by v-Is_4_vasso) The one in the middle is either a restaurant menu or an artwork meant to look like a menu – whichever the case, she has a red octopus on her head. Last, the very pink face on the left looks a lot like Princess Leia.

3 paper paste ups graffiti pieces, one is red, orange and yellow portrait of a long haired skull with sunglasses on by v is 4 vasso.

below: Ronald McDonald is saving a seat for you.

graffiti, ronald mcdonald sitting on a wood bench

below: Robbo-T has ripped his heart out but the two young ladies haven’t noticed.

paste up graffiti, one is Robbo-T sitting on ground with his heart in his hand, the other is two young women, one dress in black boots and black outfit, the other is wearing nothing, Sitting with their knees bent in front of them.

below: Black and white photos of somewhere in Melbourne.

below: XUF with Wednesday Addams about to spray.

below: Cax One created it, but what an ugly face!

below: It’s a beautiful day to respect other people’s pronouns. It also seems to be a good day for dancing.

below: Little fish swimming on the concrete – like a fish out of water

small three D fish graffiti on a wall, beside a painted yellow heart with happy face on it

below: Born in the spotlight, under surveillance from the beginning. POW! Or Prisoners of War?

stencil street art of a surveillance camera by a bird's nest, also 3 D red letters spelling POW

Photos taken February 2025

Balmy Alley on a winter afternoon

Posted on December 2, 2025 by Mary C

A previous post, ‘stencils on a blue fence‘ featured art in San Francisco’s Balmy Alley. This post contains a lot more street art from the same location! Although the alley is only one block long, there is a lot to look at! Most of the art depicts Mexican or Hispanic history and culture; there is a strong reoccurring theme of social justice as well.

below: Street art paintings have been a part of Balmy Alley since the early 1970s. it is now home to numerous brightly colored murals.

below: Part of “Five Sacred Colors of Corn” at the entrance to Balmy Alley. Prior to 2021 these panels were at Mercy Housing.

below: A Day of the Dead image – a holiday to remember and honor those who have died.

part of a mural on Balmy, day of the dead theme, mexican roots

below: Max from “Where the Wild Things Are”

mural based on the character Max from the book Where the Wild things are, boy dressed in white wolf suit

below: This photo, and the following two, are from an older mural by Hector Escarraman. It was painted on a wood fence in the alley back in 1995. The colours have faded and the vines have started to encroach on the top of some of the heads but enough of the image remains that you can get a good idea of what the original painting looked like. All of the people in the mural are icons of Mexican art.

faded mural on wood fence, two people, man and woman, man wearing glasses, woman with long braids

below: A lonely red heart has been added.

mural, faded, portrait of a man, with a small red heart sticker on it,

below: One of the figures in blue is Frida Kahlo.

faded blue mural of people standing together

below: Three generations of women working in Nepal are depicted in this mural by Martin Travers. “Naya Bhinana” (A New Dawn) was painted in 2002.

part of Three generations of women working in Nepal are depicted in this mural by Martin Travers. "Naya Bhinana" (A New Dawn) was painted in 2002.

below: These stairs were decorated by Precita Eyes Muralists with a mural titled “Dragon Eyes”. It was painted way back in 1998. For more than forty years Precita Eyes has used murals to enrich communities in San Francisco – murals that focus on positive images about such topics as culture, nature, unity, and history

below: Zigzags and triangles in bright colours with a couple of hummingbirds flying around.

below: There’s a lot of religious and cultural symbolism in this mural and it shows how much the two are entwined.

mural, Madonna, dragon, butterfly in center, symbols, woman's portrait, bright colours

below: On the left, Frida Kahlo and Tina Modotti with a few origami birds added to the scene.

faded murals, on left is Frida Kahlo and Tina Modotti, both of wooden doors in an alley at number 86, small origami birds have been added

below: Mother and child

on a wood fence, large faces of mother and child

below: At 50A

painted buildings and fence in alley. Large brown and white cow in a landscape

below: Women of the Resistance, 38 women’s portraits in a group, painted in 2018 by Lucía González Ippolito aka Cia Lu Art

women of the resistance mural in balmy alley, featuring portraits of many women

left side of women of the resistance mural in balmy alley, featuring portraits of many women

right side of women of the resistance mural in balmy alley, featuring portraits of many women

below: Ruby throated hummingbird resting on a very blue finger.

street art mural, small ruby throated hummingbird sitting on the finger of an outstretched hand, along with some desert vegetation, cacti and succulents, red sky

mural, Cosmogonia by Chilovia, Raiz Peskado, dedicated to Andres Hernandez, on a wood fence in a lane in San Fran, blue woman with a hummingbird on her hand, boy riding a wolf, turtle, frog, and other flora and fauna

below: There is a dragon here too!

half of mural by Carla Wojczuk, a woman in front of a building,

below: The other half of the mural… It as painted by Carla Wojczuk in 2011 and is titled “56 Lu the Wanderer”.

below: “The Mission District is for Everyone” is the text on the sign that the little blue bear is holding. The mural is “Victorion” by Sirron Norris

mural of houses and apartment buildings that have become parts of robot like monster,

below: A tribute to Archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador, who gave his life fighting for social and economic and ecological justice. He was murdered by the CIA (or at least by CIA-backed assassins) on 24th March 1980, the day after he he urged Salvadoran soldiers to disobey their superiors. A few days later, more than 30 people were killed at his funeral. In all, at least 75,000 people lost their lives during the 12 years that the civil war lasted in El Salvador.

mural that is tribute of El Salvador Archbishop Oscar Romero who was murdered 24 March 1980, as well as the people killed at his funeral

part of mural that is tribute of El Salvador Archbishop Oscar Romero who was murdered 24 March 1980, as well as the people killed at his funeral

below: Un Pasado Que Aún Vive (A Past That Still Lives Here) by Joel Bergner, from 2004

mural by Joel Bergner, mother holding a child, sitting outside,

below: Standing in a barrel is El Chavo from a Mexican television sitcom from the 1970s and 1980s. He is standing beside a mural from 2001 of a butterfly and a palm tree in “Memorias Primas” by Marta Ayala. The butterfly has been covered up for some reason.

below: Happy singing tree? Scared yelling tree? Enchanted and magical forest? Haunted and creepy forest?

mural of a tree with a human face that seems to be screaming

below: Another tree/human mix. This time there is a contrast to the hot colours of the desert on one side and the cooler colours of the city on the other. It is titled “Love and Compassion” and it is in memory of Father Richard Purcell (1938-2011), a Franciscan friar who ran a homeless shelter nearby for men with AIDS. The mural was painted by Laura Campos, a Precita Eyes member.

man as a tree, orange desert background on one side, blue city background with a house on the other

below: Parrots and toucans and other details, mural by Dallas Hyatt

large mural covering garage front, parrots, macaws, toucan, and other birds, also a Jesus with woman and baby.

mural on a garage door in balmy alley, large eyes looking at you

below: “Enrique’s Journey” by Josué Rojas,

mural by Josue Rojas in Balmy Alley San Francisco

mural by Josue Rojas in Balmy Alley San Francisco, man playing guitar

mural by Josue Rojas in Balmy Alley San Francisco, Uncle Sam holding a baby who is crying, ICE immigration depicted as skulls

mural by Josue Rojas in Balmy Alley San Francisco, angel, young boy with arms outstretched as if flying

below: “Tu doy una Cancion como un Disparo como un libro, una Palabra, una Guerrilla, Como Doy el Amor. I give you a Song Like a Tribute, like a Book, a Word, a Freedom fighter, like a I give Love.” Silvio Rodriguez.

man playing guitar, rainbow coming out of guitar and swirling around to form cornucopia of fruits and vegetables being held by a woman.

mural, two people with rifles pointed, three people holding framed photographs of other people

below: Day and night. The man in the moon reflects on the water below. The sun shines in a blue sky.

Photos taken February 2025

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: portraits

“people” I encountered in Montreal….

Springfield in Springfield (the one in Massachusetts)

last of Salem

Tacna & Emancipacion

Mirka Lane

Let’s make peace

Collingwood (Melbourne) portraits

Graffiti Alley – first visit of 2026

Higson Lane, downtown Melbourne

Balmy Alley on a winter afternoon