Tattersall and Stevenson Lanes

Posted on April 7, 2025 by Mary C

below: Step Right ….. and Follow along!

below: In Melbourne’s CBD, Tattersall and Stevenson alleys are connected. They are also covered with a lot of paint and paper! As I wandered through these lanes I tried to capture some of the more interesting things, both big and small.

stevenson alley, lots of graffiti and street art, trash bins, metal kegs stack against one wall,

below: Spiderman likes taking pictures

graffiti in an alley, an image of spiderman with a camera, a pair of red underpants with waistband words going going gone, also a sticker with words end medical weight stigma

below: The Street Art Hunters (aka SAH) are dressed in hot pink!

graffiti poster by the street art hunters, group of three dressed in bright pink coveralls with black masks, psychadelic colours background

below: A purple Frankenstein along with his bride, also in purple, hanging out together behind bars. Artwork by Moon of Jupiter Art (aka Ryan Callisto)

graffiti poster by Ryan Callisto, a purple Frankenstein, along with a purple bride of Frankenstein, on a wall behind green metal bars, in an alley

below: Now in green. A small Complimentary Nuts paste-up is immediately below this version of Mr. and Mrs. Frankenstein, “7 out of 10 dentists say that your teeth are awesome. The other three need your cash”.

below: A third poster by Ryan Callisto. This time Frankenstein is just a tattoo on her arm.

below: “You’ve got to love Melbourne!”

below: Fall in love, not in line

below: “Sending you love because wow! what a shithow” and Love is Hell.

below: “What if we kissed in the smouldering ruins of capitalism?”

below: Little beaded diamond shapes like these have appeared all over downtown Melbourne.

below: Every deck of cards needs a Joker

below: Two artworks, paper paste-ups. A woman’s portrait on top and a playing card style image of Jimmy Hendrix, the H of Hearts, below.

Graffiti paste up image, playing card style, I of hearts

below: Prince, in purple, becomes the P of Hearts in this playing card style image.

graffiti paste-up image of Prince singing, in purple, P of hearts,

below: When someone came along with a can or two of spray paint, the little girl with the “Just doubt Fascism” sign survived. The bug on the right is probably not too happy with the situation.

below: A musical bluebird by Lukas Kasper.

below: Is it smiling? or smirking?

painted street art on a brick wall, blue and yellow striped snake like creature with one big eye and a small mouth with yellow teeth, looks to be smiling

In an alley, wall and shared street zone signs are covered with stickers and spray paint graffiti

below: Two megaphones… and a very determined look on her face

black and white paste up a woman holding up a megaphone in each hand, partially obscured with pink spray paint

below: It’s always fascinating to see how some bits of graffiti last so much longer than others. Even if they are left untouched, they slowly weather and fade away until almost ghost-like.

below: While we are on the subject of “vintage” graffiti, there are four pieces on this wall by Junky (aka Daniel Lynch) They are looking a little rusty and forlorn. I first encountered ‘recycled’ cans like these when I was in Melbourne in 2016. See post, Junky Recyles

below: Button-eyed face

below: What is a Lost Form?

below: Door covered with posters, street art images

below: Closer view of the posters on the bottom half – SAH, Tweet

about 6 pasteups on a door in an alley, all images

below: top half

below: Scrawny alien-like character with big yellow eyes and spikey hair. Is there a pop culture reference for this guy?

below: The Postman and David Bowie

below: A blue Care Bear sticking out his tongue, and Robbo-T times two wandering in the forest.

below: Pink hair and blue eyes, times two

below: “Praise be the form eaters”. Any ideas as to what this means?

below: Looking a little closer… Still not sure….

below: Red eyes burning small but intense.

below: Parrot

below: Little yellow LEGO guys from Street Art Hunters, one with a gun and the other holding what looks like a container? a camera?

below: That’s probably Michael Jackson in the middle.

below: Dried flowers.

below: “Woman with Feathers”, a collaboration between Adnate and Shida, 2012

portrait of a woman, surround by wispy feathers, high on a brick wall, by adnate and shida

paper paste up graffiti, a realistic image of a hand holding a marker, and a drawing of a blue scooter with an orange balloon

below: “How cool are you in the hot city?” – and more ‘messiness’ in Stevenson Alley.

Photos taken March 2025

Hosier hearts

Posted on April 2, 2025 by Mary C

Recently? Or at least in early 2025? many of the walls of Hosier Lane in Melbourne were painted with hearts.

below: Frida Kahlo too

below: A note from the Complimentary Nuts as well – “You shine like the sunlight rays on a winter day.”

below: He comes bearing his heart in his hand, a real heart at that.

below: Pink Panther

Photos taken March 2025

panda, dragon, and a foxy lady

Posted on March 30, 2025 by Mary C

Baptist Place, Melbourne
One small section of a yellow wall.

below: him: I’ve waited a long time to carry you over the threshold, her: Finally a tent of our own!

below: It doesn’t take many lines to make a compelling portrait.

below: Two simple but cute puppies selling their wares.

below: Two Marilyns

below: upper: “Without leaving my House I know the whole universe.” Panda Philosophy. lower: T-bonez rides with trp613 (aka Ty Pro), Visual Noise & Urban Ninja Squadron.

below: A little dragon creature, by stenandoli

below: The sad grey man with the very long arms and bad posture is another creation of stenandoli. In the middle is an Australian White Ibis by tweet – I wonder what it is trying to say to the cat?

below: A foxy lady, by Susi Foxy Art, aka Susi Luard.

below: Carried away by a yellow balloon…..

below: left: “T Phobia is rooted in White Supremacy” with a purple flower. middle: “Don’t be dick”, with a yellow flower. right: He seems to be holding a fish. Seems fishy?

below: Look out everyone, there’s an angry looking Blastoise pokemon character coming your way!

below: Think!

Photos taken February 2025

First 2025 visit to Graffiti Alley, Toronto

Posted on January 27, 2025 by Mary C

My previous post, skateboard portraits was from a walk down Graffiti Alley in Toronto the other day. This post contains more photos that I took that snowy afternoon… so, let’s take a look!

below: Uber 5000’s yellow bird is still walking his dog and singing a song on this side of this red brick building. It’s at least 10 years old? The black and grey portrait on the right is much newer.

below: Profile portrait by TheHalfDecent

below: “Let them drink beer”, a stencil from D. Terra featuring Ontario Premier Doug Ford whose biggest “win” in the province is bringing alcohol sales to convenience stores and gas stations…. at a massive cost.

below: A 33wallflower33 pasteup in the foreground, with a corner of one of Nick Sweetman’s bird murals in the background.

below: A collaboration between Nick Sweetman and Shanehuss produced this drippy, melting jaw portrait.

below: The top portion of ” RIP King Reign & Son of Soul” remains. This tribute mural was painted by Elicser Elliott and Omen514. I am not sure who is responsible for the newer painting on the bottom, the one in yellows and blues. That’s probably a ‘signature’ in the bottom left but I don’t recognize it.

below: Graffiti Alley in the snow.

below: Sun of Aquarius (aka Andre Mandela Lopez) painted this naked figure with brown wings and bird mask

below: A pole covered with knit squares while T-bonez is shushing you.

below: A pointy nosed, long snouted dog by Mr. Myl, aka Luis Casas, who was originally from Havana Cuba.

below: Another Mr. Myl dog, this one with its blue eyes popping out. I don’t think that it’s because of the woman next to him. “Para mi Tita” is Spanish for “For my aunt”.

below: Blue haired woman by April Showers

below: And another blue haired woman…..

below: … and a third. I think that I see a trend. Methinks April Showers likes blue hair.

below: An anti-camera, anti-photographer image, “Gimmy a break, clik, clik, clik” featuring uber 5000’s yellow bird and blue cat, with the Pink Panther is a supporting role. Love the red specs!

below: Poser bunny in red

below: He (she?) seems puzzled by the snow?!

below: Is it a man or is it a chicken? A red headed cigarette smoking, spray painting character by Tuffytats

below: This one looks more like a chicken should look, so fowl.

below: An environmental message – “Got mercury?” from a non-profit group trying to raise awareness of the impact of mercury poisoning on indigenous communities.

below: Good Luck!

below: Another 33wallflower33 vintage woman.

below: Chubby purple cheeks gives a thumbs up

below: Still reaching out and trying to touch someone…..

Photos taken January 2025

abandoned site, Baldwin & Spadina

Posted on January 18, 2025 by Mary C

There once was a building on the southwest corner of Spadina Ave and Baldwin (Toronto). That building is long gone but the hoardings around the vacant lot have become a home for graffiti. Although advertising posters sometimes take over some of the space, there is often new graffiti too.

This is what was there in January 2025.

below: The Last Laugh by Nigel Smith.

below: Paste-ups on plywood. On the left – a City Kitty character in big pink frame glasses (and what’s that on his head?!). Small black and white pasteups include Visual Noise with Urban Ninja Squadron.

below: WOW! He is not dead yet. Live! Let Live!

below: Two pieces by Bao aka (Bao Pham) who seems to like to mix cultural icons that aren’t usually associated with each other.

below: “Fab Four Troopers” Quebec highway sign

below: “Return of the Boom Bap Trooper”

below: A woman’s portrait among the advertisements.

below: “Frida Moss”, A Frida Kahlo and Kate Moss mash-up, also by Bao

below: A green catchoo looking atch you

below: Ouch! Another Urban Ninja Squadron paste-up, this one in collaboration with Dio Tha Dog.
\Photos taken January 2025

Photos taken January 2025
This post also appears in As I Walk Toronto blog

walking along the Seine

Posted on May 14, 2024 by Mary C

Graffiti and street art seen while walking along the Seine in Paris.

below: Woof woof! Yes Paris!

below: Multi-coloured by Tremos, Peruvian artist living in France

below: At Voie sur Berge (Passerelle Léopold Sedar Senghor), in the 7ème, is this long mural by Michael Beerens titled “Plastique” – it is a comment on the state of our oceans.

large mural in blues on a wall beside the River Seine

The title is French but the word in the mural is English, “plastic”.

part of Plastique, a long blue mural by Michael Beerens along the banks of the river Seine

below: Honey bear by fnnch. There are quite a few of these around Paris and I blogged about them in June of 2022, Honey Bears.

Swallows in flight; swallows with little white halos.

graffiti, painting of a swallow (bird) in flight, with a small white halo over its head

graffiti, painting of a swallow (bird) in flight, with a small white halo over its head. also words that say forever child and joja

below: A “My dog sighs” sticker beside a portrait of a woman with very orange hair.

stickers and pasteups on a metal box, outside, including a painting of a woman in turquoise dress with orange hair

below: A small black and white cat by Copycat, an “anonymeows streetartist” who has painted hundreds of cats.

below: Another Copycat cat…

below: ….. and yet another, on a multi coloured background

below: Another Copycat cat… this time it has a companion, another orange headed woman. She is surrounded by an intricate design and is the work of OJA.

two paste ups, paper, on metal boxes outside. One is a loose-skinned hairless cat by copycat and the other is a woman, surrounded by intricate detailed border by o j a

below: Two faded OJA pieces

below: Re-using many, many can lids – beer cans, pop cans, drink cans.

3 d art, large plywood board with circle made of pop can tops which are circular

below: Are three heads better than one?

below: A sassy blue monkey with a pink heart bum.

below: Mr. Djoul is an artist who creates mosaics, especially of this little green-eyed alien creature

below: Invader mosaic? And in the lower left corner, bright red hair and words that say “My weariness in longing”

below: From the description beside the photo: “Ho–[torn] made a famous photograph of a dying soldier which became anti war icon since 1930s. Later it was proven to be a staged image on which nobody really died… From Russian diaries of Krapiva Netleva” [krapiva is the Russian word for nettle]

faded large black and white photo mounted on an outside wall

below: Four photographs on a wall

4 small colour photos, framed, on a wall

below: On a post overlooking the river.

two stickers on a pole, river seine behind, buildings on the far side of the river in the background

below: This guy gets around! Nourf, by Pimax

below: More slaps and stickers. A Mohawk-type hair style with A2, Natreel (a clothing brand), Tom Azria (faded), and Venus in a witch’s hat.

below: Abstract shapes and colours. Trying to look 3-dimensional.

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

Ostiense bridge – another section

Posted on January 25, 2024 by Mary C

My last post, Under an Ostiense railway bridge, showed some of the graffiti and street art that I saw there a few years ago. This post includes more photos of the artwork (and scribbles) that were seen. There was a lot! Even this is only a small portion of the total.

below: Piramide

poster graffiti under a bridge, text says piramide

below: Project Qwerty’s alien in a cage

graffiti under a bridge, qwerty, blue alien-like figure with red high heels sitting in a birdcage

below: Disgusto is the name/word on this.

graffiti posters under a bridge, signed disgusto,

below: Leonardo Crudi 900 poster on the bottom and BVKA on the right .

graffiti under a bridge

below: Foto star Ostiense photo of a woman between a large yellow mushroomy fungus type guy and BVKA who puts the same black head on most of his work.

below: Closer look at Leonardo Crudi 900,

below: The angel resting her head on a trash bin, Cancelletto (aka Rizio Ticenco)

graffiti under a bridge

graffiti on a concrete wall under a bridge

below: He says “Smile!” but the croc is not interested.

below: Icarus on the bottom and a greenish crocodile face on the left. I am not sure what the woman is doing or thinking but that looks like a very long cigarette in her hand.

below: Factory mart and abstract art.

below: Plant a tree; Plant a life.

with a green crocodile in the middle

Posted on December 10, 2023 by Mary C

A collection of slaps, pasteups and stickers, on a wall in Montmartre, with a large green crocodile (or alligator?) head in the middle. Maybe it’s Krok.

below: A Gameboy … The 9 of clubs says that it’s all smoke and fucking mirrors by Broken Hartist … the climate change slogan that crops up all over theplace “There is no Planet B”.

below: The Postman has done many pieces with artists and celebrities on spray paint cans similar to this one featuring Jim Morrison. He died in 1971 but his fame lives on.

below: Little Miss Tickles? or Sunshine? or something similar, along with Tropa do Carallo which turns out to be the name of a band.

below: Batman and Robin in an amorous pose on a sticker by Brazilain artist Eraquario, a portrait of Diana Ross by Narotones, and a big green teddy bear by Keja Creation.

below: Half hidden behind a bandana. painted on the page of a book where the last lines are, “J’entends le feu parler en raint de tiedeur. J’entends un homme dire qu”il n’a pas souffert” (translation: “I hear the fire speak in warmth, I hear a man say that he did not suffer”). It is a poem, ‘Dit de la Force et de l’Amour’ by Paul Eluard.

below: Nat at Art portrait with purple lips.