the smaller stuff too

Posted on January 16, 2026 by Mary C

…in Graffiti Alley

My previous post was also about a walk down a section of Toronto’s Graffiti Alley (Spadina to Portland). This post is from the same walk – because there were so many images that I wanted to share, I decided to divide the fun into two parts. This second part takes a closer look at some of the smaller pieces.

below: Peeling paper hands…. A 33wallflower33 group of three women in their dashing outfits … and a charming man with devil’s horns and red glasses.

below: Although it’s getting more difficult to see, there’s a Poser rabbit by the door. The door is disappearing behind a layer or two of paper and paint.

below: There is a little pink stikman on the light above the door.

below: Once upon a time this skinny little guy was pink but ooops, a layer of paint and now he’s prematurely grey.

below: In her face – another stikman

below: Last stikman for today… sometimes you find them tucked away in hard to see places.

below: Party line? Four hands phone.

below: A bleeding heart, a pansy flower, and a woman with a red hat and big ear rings.

below: Polly wants a cracker before she takes over the world, or at least that’s what she told me.

below: A young woman with blue lipstick and jagged pink make up on her cheeks. A spiked collar is around her neck. Make of it what you will.

below: Another young woman, this time she’s a little softer (at least in appearance) – drawn by Catchoo.

below: Multiple Sailor dudes (trp613) in two varieties hanging out with a happy little catchoo critter and its smiley daisy balloon.

below: “Save me”!

below: It looks like catchoo has been busy.

below: More of that wall.

below: Darth Vader makes an appearance too. Who’s that man peeking through the hole?

below: One flower sprouts a bald person while the other produces a sunny orb. That black octopus doesn’t look very happy – perhaps in this winter weather it needs more than just a woolly toque.

below: There are those women again!

below: Dogma slaps standing tall in his puffy jacket and bright red mitts.

below: Riding a D7606 crayon – T-bonez always finds new adventures.

below: A collaboration between Tamm Shinzo and April Showers Art produced this little round piece – sitting on top of the clouds with the moon shining over her shoulder.

below: Cryptid Supremacy – a rat with a very long tail

below: More rats, this time “the rat race is rigged”. Also another skull (skulls are very popular!), this time by Broke Canvas (aka Colin Green) on yellow. And third, is it a rainbow or a very sad face? – slap by Rider Waitress (aka Frances Sousa)

below: While we’re dealing with rats – Squee! They are all fleeing from an NYC trash can. Don’t litter!

below: Another small collection – Catchoo shows up on a soy sauce bottle while a Sentient Cookie (aka Cecil Tian) character gets taped to the wall… remember that banana?! And last, in the top left corner, a Cartoon Car Slaps.

below: Juice box time. By Clem Crevetz

Photos taken January 2026

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

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

rue Mouffetard

Posted on September 19, 2022 by Mary C

This large mural, ‘Cecile’s House’, painted by SETH adorns the side of a school on rue Mouffetard (at rue Saint-Medard)

A small painting by the same artist is on the school gate, beside an upright grey and blue rabbit (un lapin gris et bleu!).

mural by seth on a gate, two kids, a boy and a girl kneeling face to face with heads joined together.

Also on rue Moufftarde are two whimsical pieces by Oji

red storefront, librairie (book store) with a small mural painted on the wall beside it, a painting by Oji of an older grey haired person with a cane spray painting something on a wall, and a younger man with a yellow bird on his head and pulling a wagon, watching.

Never underestimate the grey haired people!

Oji is amember of Lezarts de la Bievre, a collective of Paris street artists.

nous amour sens reve – four little words – we love meaning dream, mix and match to your heart’s content.

Photos taken June 2022

honey bears

Posted on June 20, 2022 by Mary C

I don’t think that these characters are actually called Honey Bear but that’s what I started calling them as I found more of them on the streets of Paris. I’m not sure if they even have a name.

I can remember my parents buying honey in bear shaped bottles. After a quick google search, I now know that this bear shaped bottle was first used in 1957 for Dutch Gold Honey, and was design by Ralph and Luella Gamber. They never patented the idea and it was copied by many other honey producers and vendors.

The street art bears are the work of fnnch, an artist based in San Francisco USA. If you take a look at his instagram page, you will discover that this bear comes in hundreds of variations! There is even bear merchandise. I only saw 6 variations…. These are the ones that I saw.

Bowie Bear

street art bear in the shape of a bear shaped honey bottle with David Bowie lightning flash over one eye

Red Wine Bear

two graffiti pieces on a wall, a honey bear with a glass of red wine and a tile portrait

Martini Shaker Bear

Cool Heart Shaped Sunglasses Bear (tapping his foot!?)

Spray Paint Can Bear

Avocado Bear

Chopper Lane, Collingwood

Posted on December 12, 2018 by Mary C

Chopper Lane is a small dead end alley that runs off Perry Street in Collingwood. This bright blue mural is at the end of the lane.

below: I can’t read the signature at the bottom right, any ideas?

looking to a dead end lane, Chopper Lane, wall is painted like a blue sky with a few clouds, text written on it.

Text in the mural:
“I meet love and I lose it,
I sense it, I reject it,
I pursue it,
I find it in small things
Like
When I stop to look at the sky
And I wonder
About You”

upper part is remains of a mural showing just a pair of woman's eyes, in blue, mural on the bottom of women working

below: The signature at the bottom right of this one is utama.co and lingerid. Unfortunately, I cut off the signature on the left (partially visible here).

mural of two women

red and silver graffiti on a wall underneath a row of windows with frosted glass

below: One Mob

street art painting of a man topless with arms over head in victory, with text underneath that says one mob

below: Mural of a sugar glider, a small nocturnal possum.

street art mural of a sugar glider, a small rat-like rodent

I’m not sure if it’s still Chopper Lane after it crosses Perry Street, but you can continue walking north.

below: Looking across Perry Street from north to south.

devil mural on the right, then looking across the street to another wall and garage door on Perry Street in Collingwood, that is painted with street art

below: On the paper it is written: “Sometimes a deal with the devil is better than no deal at all.” Even if it’s the devil from the TV show “Futurama”
futurama devil in a mural, yellow colour, blue text graffiti, devil is holding a hand written paper that says sometimes a deal with the devil is better than no deal at all

gold letter text street art with a picture of a woman in broad rimmed hat and purple and orange sunglasses

coloured lines, abstract, street art painting

below: A knight in no armour but a helmet spearing open a spray paint can.

street art painting, man on horse with long lance, or sword, on horse back, horse rearing up on hind legs,

text street art in an alley in Collingwood Melbourne

street art picture of a blue spray paint can being held by a blue hand, can has mouth wide open showing white teeth and red tongue.

below: I’m not sure it’s “street art” but it was too cute not to include here.

a row of stuffies behind a rusty metal grille in front of a window.

below: A closer look.

close up of three stuffies behind a rusty metal grille in front of a window.

looking into a back yard from an alley, drawing on white door, an old chair in front of the door.

below: Two pasteups on a pole

a row of spoons drawn on a piece of paper then used as a pasteup on a pole

black and white pasteup on a pole, outisde, with some red spray paint covering parts of it.

below: Oh! It looks like I was spotted!

man on a balcony above a garage is looking down into the alley, another garage door has street art sprayed onto it

door in a fence in an alley covered with street art, textual

If you walk to the end of the lanes, you’ll find yourself on Bedford Street where there is another mural by Lingerid.

large painting of a man's head on the exterior wall, surrounded by grey words

more Denver street art

Posted on March 1, 2018 by Mary C

More Denver street art from this past summer.

below: A blue astronaut

an astronaut dressed in blue sitting on a kids swing, mural, two storeys high, helmet,

mural of a chicken standing in a window. sitting on the ground beside the window is a young man in brown pants and blue t-shirt with a chicken mask covering his face

a large mural of a grey rabbit sitting on a green turtle

gate, painted with mural, large blue face, eyes, nose and cheeks, light green highlights,

mural of peace symbol with the angle lines (2) in red paint, a large blue featherin the center, the words #nobannowall

mural on grey wood fence of a very large insect from the side, pincer claws, six little light blue legs and a tail that curves upward, pink body, yellow tail,

mural on a garage door of a large octopus with its legs all tied up in knots.

large painting by @blvdart of a yellow bird with black and white head

mural in bright colours and abstract shapes, one wringly face, an eye and a nose, some squares,

picture of a man in black and white, mount on a wall, weathered, some writing around the edges

we the people poster featuring a young black woman with long dreadlocks and a red t-shirt

faded poster on an exterior wall, picture of young woman with flower in her hair and the words we the people

a metal enclosed trailer is in a parking lot, the back has a portrait of Prince painted on it.

a small mural on an upper storey wall of a small person, naked, sitting with knees up, wearing a large white animal mask

a mural on an upper level of a building, two characters, one white and one green,

large woman's face covering the front of a two storey house, rectangle front, flat, cubist like style

light green mural, black line drawing of an airplane? or a gun?

two metal boxes outside and a meter box, all covered with stickers

genfit store or gym, characters on outside wall in gym or exercise clothes, cartoonish characters

people on Bristol streets

Posted on January 7, 2018 by Mary C

People in murals and other street art seen in Bristol earlier in 2017.

below: A mural in shades of yellow by tattoo and street artist Sepr (instagram) . These aren’t blackbirds baked in a pie, instead they are blackbirds in a cup and saucer. Let’s have tea!

mural, yellow and grey on black background, car parked in front. Mural is a man holding a tea cup in one hand and a small plate in the other. Two blackbirds in the cup and one on the plate.

below: Jesus Break Dance by Cosmo Sarson

large mural of a man upside down on one hand, only a loincloth on, no other clothes

below: A large mural of a woman’s face in yellow and black, by Stinkfish, Stokes Croft, 2012

large mural of a yellow woman's face, long black hair, on the side of a building, blue and red text graffiti along the bottom

below: The Coat of Arms by Nick Walker

mural on a wall, figure with many arms, wrds that say the coat of arms

below: On the left is ‘Afrika en la casa’ by Feo Flip (Basura Visual) and on the right is a cracked face by LAIC.

two large faces, one man , one woman, with a door covered with posters between them

below: Another piece by LAIC. Most of his street art involves distorted faces,

below: Street art by Dr. Love from Tbilisi Georgia, love holds you up. Girl on swing. Red balloons.

street art piece of s girl sitting on a swing that is being held up by two red balloons

below: Welcome to St. Pauls mural

mural on a wall, city scene

street art, 3 pieces,painting of woman's head in grey and purple, graffiti in pink and green shapes, plus drawing on a door in the middle

below: Alice in Wasteland.

stencil graffiti

below: A little line drawing wonderfully placed around the chain.

small drawing on a wall, man with scowling face, large head and small body,

below: Boxing dog-faced men with bright red gloves.

mural of naked men with red boxing gloves

below: DENX ’09

street art painting of a man with blue face, black hat and jacket and green pants

mural of a witch with wizard hat on blue with yellow stars

under a barred window, a painting of two faces on blue background

resist graffiti words

parking meter man as a monkey, sneering, and pointing, beside a sign that says no parking, words on street art say put the oney in the meter

words that say think local boycott tesco, picture of a man holding a protest sign and a megaphone

on Tallinn walls

Posted on June 7, 2017 by Mary C

Tallinn is the capital city of the small Baltic country Estonia. I was only there for a short time but I did find some street art in the old town and in Kalamaja.

below: The young person on the right is the work of @minaJaLydia. I you look closely, there are two tiny faces to the right of the knees.

street art by MinaJaLydia on a concrete wall, two pieces, a pasteup of an elaborate abstract drawing of a face and hands as well as mushrooms and other plant life. the other is a young person sitting on a chair, with 4 legs hanging from the chair.

below: I am calling this one, The Warrior and his Social Media Hedgehog. They are the work of Edward von Longus

a large muscular partially clad man with a weapon over his shoulder, on a grey brick wall, a small hedgehog is working on a laptop beside him. graffiti

below: Close up of the hedgehog. It needs time in the limelight too.

graffiti, a small grey and white hedgehog is working on a laptop

below: Whatever he was writing on the wall is long gone. This is another work by Edward von Longus.

painting of a blond boy with a red T shirt and blue jeans is facing a wall and drawing on it.

below: A green and blue planet Earth between two animals (a cat and a ?), by multistab

street art by multistab. A blue and green small plaet earth in between two large black and white creatures. One looks like a grinning cat, the other might be a cat but migh be something else

below: A couple of couples by Linna Sokk but with the theme of domestic violence.

two poster pasteups by #koos Both are of a couple, in one they are kissing

below: Something’s stuck to his forehead… looks like a sheep to me.

a large sticker with a realistic picture of a skull on it, on a small electrical box beside a building

below: Not your average Easter Bunny!

painting of a large agressive stylized rabbit in grey top and white shirts, a carrot in its mouth, running on two legs, one arm upraised.

below: A multi talented, multi handed, multi tasking elephant!

an elephant with 4 arms and two legs, bare feet, spray paint cans in its hands,

below: This wall is difficult to see because of the fence – it is part of the old fortress/prison that is no longer open to visitors.

street art on a wall that is hard to see because it is behind a fence

below: The next two are by the same artist, Lume, of LDK crew who is from Naples Italy.

stylized flowers and leaves in pastel colours, line drawings, on a pale yellow wall

stylized flowers and leaves in pastel colours, line drawings, on a salmon coloured wall

below: In case you can’t read it, the sign that Darth Vader is holding says: “Help me. I need $$$ to build a death star.”

a few small piece of graffiti, a yellow face, a black stencil of a man's head and shoulders, a stencil of Darth Vader, and some scribbles,

on a wall beside w window, two line drawings of animal creatures, on dinosaur like and the other a small round thing

a big bee on a yellow wall, street sign that says Salme

two drawings, one is Jerry the cartoon mouse and the other is

three stencils on a wall, an orange womans face, a blue diamond and a purple man with sunglasses on

a paste up of a person's head wrapped in an old fashioned bandage that ties under the chin

doorway shaped and sized line drawing graffiti in purple with turquoise highlights, a man's head and neck

sprayed on the sidewalks of LA

Posted on February 9, 2017 by Mary C

As you walk around the Arts District in Los Angeles, watch where your feet are going.
You’ll see many stencils that have been spray painted underfoot.

This first one, women in head scarves, is obviously a political statement.
It was also the only stencil that was in two colours.

below: Dangerous insects, with scoped rifles for wings.

below: … and a dragonfly too. Weaponized terrorist bugs.
No wait, they’re Homeland Security agents in disguise.

below: No money, No honey.

below: Social media is selling your shit. Apparently there is a third one that says “Seeking your applause, your digital mirage” but I didn’t see it.