Tag Archives: stencils

Stornara murals – Stramurales

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Stramurales curated by the Stornara Life association. Since I visited the city in February 2024, many more murals have been painted on Stornara’s walls. Even though this is my eighth blog post showing Stornara murals, there are many that you will have to go to see for yourself! …. or of course you could check out the Stornara Life website.

below: Graffmatt painted this child with a leaf among the bags of trash, all in blues. It’s title in “Desperate World”

street art mural by Graffmatt of a child holding a large blue leaf that hides most of the face, many bags of garbage surround the child

below: “No Looking Back” by Zabou. In case you can’t see it, the title of the book is, “Unione Europea, Repubblica Italiana”

street art mural in Stornara by Zabou, of a young man with baseball cap on backwards, a backpack on his back, a book in hand, and a white bird on his shoulder. man has slight mustache and beard, painted on a building with 6 windows, some with shutters that are closed.

below: Liberami da tutto il male (= Deliver me from all evil) by Brazilian artist Alex Senna; his murals are almost always in shades of gray.

in shades of grey, a mural by Alex Senna of a young boy kneeling by a large heart shape on the ground made of lit candles

below: “Love overcomes death”, by JDL (aka Judith de Leeuw). The same woman in three different, but similar, positions.

residential street with street art murals in Stornara, side of houses, the nearest one is by JDL, also known as Judith de Leeuw, which shows a woman in three similar poses combined into one person, middle one is holding a red flower

below: Only the flower has color.

street art mural by JDL, also known as Judith de Leeuw, which shows a woman in three similar poses combined into one person, middle one is holding a red flower

below: Caratoes painted this portrait, titled “La Ragazza Meccanica”. This translates to The Mechanical Girl. A machine, or robot, with a mask to make her look human.

street art mural on side of residential building in Stornara, by Caratoes, robot women lying on back, neck and head only

below: Both of these pieces are by No Chance (or No Chance Crew), Mona Lisa with her Anonymous mask, and the elderly couple in “Eternal Love”

2 pieces of street art, one is Mona Lisa holding up an anonymous mask and the other is an elderly couple hugging.

below: Someone has left a drink for Ghost

in a niche in a cement wall, wood frame, someone has left behind a white paper up, also the word ghost has been written there along with a little drawing of a skull with a white hat

below: Zip is the artist who created this little piece – a barefoot girl and a teddy bear.

below; A plain brick wall has been transformed – this mural by Vesod looks so real! The 3-D effect is so well done!

mural, three dimensional effect, mathematical instrument with rotating circles seems to come out of a brick wall , street art mural by Vesod

below: A field of red poppies and a blue head scarf in another Zabou mural, “Girl Lying Among the Poppies”

mural by Zabou of a young woman with long black hair and a blue head scarf, lying in a field of red poppies

below: “Positive Light” by Alaniz – a mural with bats and a white dove that seems to glow.

a mural by Alaniz of a woman holding out her hand to a white dove that seems to glow with light

below: Your dream, dreaming as you drive, by Antonio Giuliani – but the needed context is that this was painted in August 2020 so she is dreaming of freedom after the COVID lockdowns of 2020.

mural with text, your dream, woman driving a car, moon and planets and swirly clouds outside the window, wraps around the corner of a house

mural with text, your dream, woman driving a car, moon and planets and swirly clouds outside the window

below: A bit creepy, this skeleton is trying to kiss the girl (or it could be the other way around?). It was a collaboration between Diamond and Solo (Flavio) and is titled “Sommernacht” which is German for Summer Night.

murals on the side of a residential building in Stornara, as well as on the concrete fences beside the sidewalk, cars parked on the street, mural is of a skeleton trying to kiss a woman with long orange hair

below: “It’s Too Late for Revolution” by Lucione Samoa

mural by Lucione Samoa on a concrete wall, fence, beside sidewalk with parked cars

below: “One of my Friend” (with a pug looking on), by Artez

murals on fence beside street as well as on the wall of the building,

below: This mural is a collaboration between Zabou and Bifido.

street art mural on side of residential building in Stornara, zabou and bifido collaboration, girl in orange top

street art mural on side of residential building in Stornara,

below: Another piece by No Chance; this one is called “Giovanna Darkness”.

two women standing on a street corner talking to each other, one of the buildings beside them has a street art portrait

below: The first of at least two Dale Grimshaw paintings in Stornara is this one in blue.

Dale Grimshaw mural, portrait in blue, young man in hoodie, naked people on his forehead and under his chin
naked people in a Dale Grimshaw mural

below: The second Dale Grimshaw portrait is also a male, but this time it is a Papuasian holy man.

two small cars parked on street in stornara, with one building covered with street art murals including one by dale grimshaw

below: “Two Ancient Faces”, one male and one female combined, in a mural by Aero.

in a residential area of stornara, side of apartment building covered by mural by aero, large mural in shades of reds and orange, a face made of two elderly halves, on side male and the other side female, with 5 birds flying around
large mural in shades of reds and orange, a face made of two elderly halves, on side male and the other side female, with 5 birds flying around

below: A little mouse with a magic wand stands beside a bright pink pair of running shoes, or sneakers, with matching pink laces. This was painted by Aurora Agrestini.

pair of pink running shoes with laces, mural painted by Aurora Agrestini, on a wall, with two windows

below: The monkey, or ape, is a mural by Smok with a great title, “OMG Humans”.

two murals on two walls of the same building, an ape on one side, a pair of pink running shoes on the other

below: “The White Tiger” by Martina Pesce.

a white tiger with black stripes, mura on the side of a building in stornara, laundry hanging from balcony in other building,

below: Pooh Bear but oh! This is not the Winnie the Pooh you thought you knew. This Winnie, painted by Kris Rizek, seems to be getting ready to be up to no good! A gas mask? cans of spray paint? and what’s in that green bottle?

street art mural of Winnie the Pooh

graffiti on a stone wall, drawn in black marker, the words super, meh, pop, and wow, as well as a cat's head

below: Celebrating an event from 16 April 1519.

on the side of a two storey residential building, with balcones and laundry, street art mural in Stornara of two men dressed in old fashioned clothes, text written on the grass in the middle of the mural
street art mural in Stornara of two men dressed in old fashioned clothes, text written on the grass in the middle of the mural
“Noi Giovanna e Carlo … da parte del magnifico Signore Paolo Antonio Puderico nobile napoletana fedele nostro diletto… nel presente ha, tiene e possiede … il feudo della Stornara inabitato … per se suoi eredi e successori .. per legittima successione in perpetuo con tutti i suoi diretti entrate e ragioni ….confermiamo, accettiamo, omdoghiamo, lodiamo e ratifichiamo… Anno sedicesimo Navarra quinto Aragonese delle due Sicile e Gerusalemme… Dato nella citta di Barcellona il 16 aprile anna dalla nativita di nostro Signore 1519. “
translation: We, Giovanna and Carlo… on behalf of the magnificent Lord Paolo Antonio Puderico, a Neapolitan nobleman, our faithful beloved… currently has, holds and possesses… the uninhabited fiefdom of Stornara… for himself, his heirs and successors… by legitimate succession in perpetuity with all its direct income and rights…we confirm, accept, commend, praise and ratify… Sixteenth year Navarre, fifth Aragonese of the two Sicilies and Jerusalem… Given in the city of Barcelona on the 16th of April after the birth of our Lord 1519

below: Stornara Life. As I walked around the town, a local woman who spoke no English (and I can’t speak much Italian) made sure that I understood that it was the people at Stornara Life who brought the artists and their work to Stornara.

door of building for stornara life organization, with some small pieces of street art on it, a boy in a blue hoodie, part of a man's face in black and white, a girl with feathers and a bow and arrow

below: The last mural for this post is “The Crowd of Fools” painted by Gods in Love. It covers two sides of a building. I don’t have a photo of the whole mural – instead I will leave you with a few bits and pieces.

part of a mural in stornara italy by artists gods in love, title of crowd of fools, misshapen characters sometimes with multiple pairs of eyes, pointy fingers, strange shaped heads, etc
part of a mural in stornara italy by artists gods in love, title of crowd of fools, misshapen characters sometimes with multiple pairs of eyes, pointy fingers, strange shaped heads, etc

part of a mural in stornara italy by artists gods in love, title of crowd of fools, misshapen characters sometimes with multiple pairs of eyes, pointy fingers, strange shaped heads, etc

Photos taken February 2024

Stornara posts on this blog

  1. A Stornara wall, one of many
  2. Another Stornara selection
  3. Blues over Stornara
  4. one corner, two women
  5. riding turtles and reading cats
  6. Stornara murals – Stramurales [this post – see above]
  7. the world is changing
  8. utopia and smiling faces

on the sidewalks of LA

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Look down.

Sidewalk graffiti; sidewalk stencils.

All photos taken in the Arts District of Los Angeles

below: “Catch your life” on a Pokemon ball

black paint with stencil graffiti on a sidewalk

below: Life, and metamorphosis

black paint with stencil graffiti on a sidewalk - a person with large butterfly wings and the word "life"

below: Stikman is in LA too!

black paint with stencil graffiti on a sidewalk - stickman (or maybe stikman)

below: Not me? and a little moneybags mouse

black paint with stencil graffiti on a sidewalk - two creatures, one a big blob man-like creature with the words 'not me' written on his chest, the other a small black hatted man carrying a large moneybag

below: “Paint here and here”

black paint with stencil graffiti on a sidewalk - words that say 'paint here and here' but there is a large space between each word

below: Say Yes!

black paint with stencil graffiti on a sidewalk - large block letters that say "say yes'

below: Smile for the ego

black paint with stencil graffiti on a sidewalk - a female robot holding a cameraphone and taking a selfie. The words say 'smile for your ego'

below: Buy the Lie

black paint with stencil graffiti on a sidewalk - person with long hair, a cowboy hat, sunglasses and a bandana covering face from nose down.

Photos taken in 2015

Whitehart Lane

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… a small lane in central Melbourne with lots of street art.

below: A very round face, a mysterious face. Is he sticking out his tongue? Where is his other eye? What happened to his neck? And then you could ask why his hand is drawn that way.

street art in whitehart Lane, round mosaic face floating on top of a black and white painted body

street art in whitehart Lane, round mosaic face floating on top of a black and white painted body that ends at waist, one hand over chest, one hand hanging downwards

below: A very realistic drawing of a person with black hair, seated, with hands together wrapped around a glass jar. This wheatpaste piece of art has probably been strategically placed behind window bars. Unfortunately, the signature for this piece is also behind the bars.

coloured paper wheatpaste of a youg person seated, wearing sweater with geometric patterns, pasted on old window, behind bars

below: Balloon and frying pan behind bars, by Tweet

graffiti and street art on boarded up window, behind metal bars, white sciblles, a small sticker, and a paper poster wheatpaste of a yellow balloon and a frying pan, drawn on reused paper with chinese characters on it
old brick buildings in whitehart lane in melbourne, with street art on them

below: Spread Love, not the Virus, a message brought to you by Mickey Mouse in a black Covid mask.

spread love not the virus, on a poster with mickey mouse in a black covid mask holding a red rose

street art, urban art, in whitehart lane in melbourne

below: Raccoon by MyCuteCreatures on the top and a little guy with skull head and little black bat wings on his back.

slaps on a pole in an alley, cute little black and white drawing of a raccoon, by my cute creatures. Bottom slap is black skull on top of black caped body with small bat wings

below: The top one is probably a head.

graffiti

below: Hairy purple creatures lurk in the lane.

below: White birds in flight behind the garbage bins.

urban art painted on a brick wall, birds in flight

below: Looking down Whitehart Lane

below: Paintings by Aki Yaguchi (female), floating girls and stars

mural in Whitehart Lane, young girls faces, stars

mural in Whitehart Lane, young girls faces, stars

below: More graffiti (or maybe one is an advert)

slaps on an alley wall, top one is intricate drawing of a monkey like creature but there s more than one pair of eyes

urban art and other posters in Whitehart Lane

Photos taken March 2025

around and behind Ossington

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Ossington Avenue is an interesting street to walk with it’s numerous stores, restaurants and coffee shops.  But there is another fascinating world hiding behind the main street in the numerous lanes and alleys in the area.

on Ossington Ave., older buildings that are now stores. one is painted olive green, another is white, and third is red brick. at the end, is a building with large yellow and blue vertical stripes, a bench is on the sidewalk

For this blog post, I have assembled more of the photographs that I have taken around Ossington since January of this year.  It gets a bit long because I decided not to chop it into smaller pieces, so grab a seat and let’s get started!

a bench beside a green wall in a snow covered parking lot, door beside bench has love U! written on it

below: A whimsical Uber5000 painting on a garage door.

uber 5000 mural, green biplane with 3 yellow birdies, including one standing on a bomb. dog standing on one of the airplane wings

below: Hearts on fire, burning love, and the fireman that is trying to extinguish the flames – in a mural created by D. Terra Stencils.

stencil,ural by D. Terra stencils, a crouching fireman holds a hose and shoots water upward towards a big red heart

below: One of the cutest raccoons that I have ever seen, also painted by D.Terra Stencils.

mural by D. Terra stencils, of a young raccoon, green leafy background

below: Some more cute raccoons of a different sort go camping in a mural by Emily May Rose

Emily May Rose raccoons go camping, with a grey and orange trailer, a yellow umbrella, and a folding chair too

two grey Emily May Rose raccoons play in a pile of dirt, while drinking canned drinks

below: … and some more raccoons!

Emily May Rose raccoons in a painting on a fence in an alley

below: …. and even more!

in an allley, wall and door, raccoons by Emily May Rose and text graffiti too
toronto alley near ossington with street art on fences and garages

below: Smaller black stencil graffiti on a white garage door – an iconic image of Marilyn Monroe as well as a Kung fu Panda.  The other woman gets a splash of bright red.

black stencil graffiti on a white garage door, portrait of Marilyn Monroe, and kung fu panda image, as well as another woman's head and face

below: A trumpet player and a gun fight.

black stencil graffiti on a white garage door, a man playing a trumpet, also two men in a gun fight with one standing over the other who is lying on the ground.

below: Bikes on the stairs with a colourful bird keeping a watchful eye.

in an alley, exterior stairs to a small balcony, bike parked on stairs, mural of a bird painted on wall beside the stairs

Moooo…. Hey there good looking!…  Here’s looking at you!  This was painted by Poser.  Usually he does bunny rabbits but I think that he’s pretty good at painting cows too!

street art mural of a black and white cow looking at you, on a garage

below: An old square brick building, garages and fences with graffiti, old trees, and a row of houses at the end of the lane – this captures the look of a typical Toronto lane.

looking down an alley, garages with graffiti on the right, fence on the left, at the end, a semi divided house that is different on either side, also at end of alley, on right, a larger red brick building (old)

below: Home patio, outdoor living urban style.

exterior of building, concrete block painted a dark yellow,, white door, and black window, with 2 small chairs and a table, and a stool, immediately outside the building

below: “Stop and enjoy”.  I like how the poster below the stop sign says “mediocrity” which makes the overall message, “Stop and enjoy mediocrity”.  A bit snarky.

stop sign on a pole in an alley, beside a garage door with street art on it. text graffiti on the stop sign so that it says stop and enjoy

in a laneway with street art murals on all the garage doors

part of a larger mural, a face in the sun, eyes closed, some vines are growing over the face

older drawing on garage, man's face, coconut tree with palm leaves,

below: The tail end of a fishy mural.

a small alley near Ossington, cars parked in alley, one side has building with mural on it, the other is a house with grey siding cladding

below: This aquatic themed mural dates from 2016 when a group of artists painted many murals in the area, all with the Great Lakes as their theme. They were part of Pangeaseed Foundation’s Seawalls for Oceans project. Some artworks have survived better than others. Love letters in paint is a post (off site, in my Toronto blog) from 2016 that show most of them in their original form.

fish mural by shalak attack

below: The Swiss army knife was also a Pangeaseed mural

street art mural with a big red swiss army knife in the center

below: Where possible, Jimmy’s Coffee shops have exterior walls painted with images of famous Jimmys including the one on Ossington. Jimmy Carter, James Dean, the guitar of Jimmy Hendrix and two muppets representing Jim Henson Gonzo and Elmo

images of famous Jimmys on the side of Jimmys coffee shop on Ossington, Jimmy Carter, James Dean, the guitar of Jimmy Hendrix and two muppets representing Jim Henson gonzo and elmo

black and white image of Jimmy Hendrix singing and playing guitar, pink background, mural

below: A Jimmy of a different kind, a fantastic cacaphony of colours and shapes in a mural by Jimmy Chiale

mural of abstract shapes and colours by j. chiale

below: Close up of part of a mural, a young man wearing a black mask over his eyes.

close up of a street art painting, a young man in a black mask over his eyes

photo taken in a snowy parking lot, of the backs of some houses, fences, backyards,

below: Rowell Soller

rowell soller mural on a garage door

below: Two paintings on two different garages that look like they were done by the same artist.  The signature appears to be Soul R. and the top painting is from 2017.

mural of a turtle swimming in the water, in light shades of brown, blue garage

mural of a turtle swimming in the water, in a wall in an alley, with a pile of empty boxes and containers on the ground in front of it

below: 2022 Christina Mazzulla, for the Golden Turtle Restaurant.

mural, pink flowers, a fish, and a sea turtle

on the side wall of a house in an alley, mural, pink flowers, a fish, and a sea turtle

below: “You are stroger than you think”

a house being renovated, plywood over downstairs window with graffiti on it

below: Nick Sweetman has used shades of blue and purple to create this wonderful northern scene with a bear and moose combo.

a large bear and a moose, in a mural on a garage door in an alley, painted by bruno smoky or shalak attack

below: Totally blue.   The other colours have faded?  Or were never there in the first place?

gate in alley, double wide, at the end of a driveway, all in blue

below: More garage doors painted by D.Terra Stencils

alley near Ossington with lots of garage doors covered with murals, street art, urban art

below: On a bright yellow background, an image of Jean Michel Basquiat, one of the original creators present-day street art.

garage door painted yellow, then a portrait of Jean Michel Basquiat often considered the founder of street art

below: .. and beside Basquiat, a levitating woman

mural on an alley garage door by D.TErra stencils, a levitating woman, lying on her back up in the air, long hair hanging down.

below: Written in Portuguese is “Nem às paredes confesso” which translates to “I don’t even confess to the walls”.

mural on red background, musicians, one singer and one instrument player

below: Portuguese words, and nearby a Portuguese flag

street art painting of the Portuguese (Portugal) flag

mural, portrait of a man on a purple background

below: Boxers – Muhammad Ali and an opponent

boxing mural

below: The last D. Terra Stencils is this rendition of Ren and Stimpy

ren and stimpy from Nickelodeon TV in the 1990s, in a mural

trimming trees in an alley, man in lift above the lane, truck, some garages with graffiti and street art

little bits of metal on a wood utility pole

exterior door in an alley, covered with street art

part of a larger painting, a small character peaks its head out from the middle of a puffy orange letter O

below: The next four images are of the same mural in a snowy laneway parking lot…  starting with DAM DOG ketchup bottle

parking lot, in winter, box with street art on it beside a wall with more painting

parrt of a mural, smiling skull with a chain through one eye socket, and slightly yellow bottom teeth,

below: Parking for Animals

from a larger mural, young man in multi colour sunglasses, with a can of spray paint in his hand

close up of part of a mural, finger on the top of a spray paint can

below: These little ceramic animals have been walking in this alley for at least ten years.

little flat ceramic animal shapes, a turtle a small dinosaur, glued to a wall in an alley, beige with green and pink dots,

below: T-bonez stands alone, maybe waiting for the light to turn green?

t bonex sticker on a yellow box (for crossing signal). urban ninja squadron, visual noise,

T bonez sticker from visual noise and urban ninja squadron

close up of an old turquoise section of street art on wood fence, with red spray paint circle and double cross

on a wall painted very deep but bright red, outside in an alley, torn bits of paper remain where posters have been partially torn off

box on a wall, covered with stickers that are mostly in black and white, with red spray paint tag on top of it all.

below: And what’s this? Even more raccoons?! Toronto’s “beloved” trash pandas are everywhere!

raccoons in an alley mural, one sitting on a trash can, drinking, raccoons are trash pandas

part of a mural, painted by Emily May Rose, of a greenish grey raccoon, or trash panda, sitting of the top of a metal garbage can, holding a bottle with an XXX label.

below: Six lit matches ready to go.  This crazy cat is up to something no good…

mural on a fence, a grey cat with matches in his mouth, playing with a bottle

below: An early Birdo piece, although the scroll names or street artists too.  The first street art in this alley directly behind Ossington (on the east side) dates from 2012 when a group of artists painted some of the garages here.

older mural by birdo, two creatures standing together on a rusty garage door in an alley

below: A pink rose between two women.

pink rose sprayed painted on green wood, beside a figure dressed in white paste up

below: Another oldie – this purple guy has been blowing a gust of wind for many years.

old graffiti on a wall

below: Vintage Spud bombs, some cheerful and some menacing.

spud bombs street art, little grey bombs with cheery faces, on a wall in an alley behind ossington avenue

below: A funny looking green creature with big white eyes and lots of skinny legs.

street art mural

below: A couple, together in the stream, in a mural by Elicser Elliott with the title “Swim”

street art mural by elicser elliott of two people, man and woman, in purple stream, title is swim

below: Geometric shapes with a touch of rainbow colour, by Peru

on a garage in an alley, painting by artist called peru,

part of a street art mural, man that looks ancient greek or roman sitting, holding a large pot, wearing a toga and sandals

below: Large pink and white swirls and curls cover a wall. Any time that you see swirls like these, think Flips because that’s sure to be the artist that painted them.

pink and white swirls and curls, mural in alley

below: Only a small portion of this moose painting by Aaron Li-Hill remains.  I don’t usually show the original works but I am going to make an exception here.  See next image.

old street art painting of a moose partially covered with pywood

below: This is what it looked like back in 2012 or 2013.

old street art mural by aaron li-hill of a moose with full antler rack, open mouth,

below: A newer Catchoo sticker.

little daisy sticker by catchoo on a metal pipe in an alley

below: A couple of faces taken from many faces around a garage.

below: Part of a Troy Lovegates mural (as are the next three images)

part of a Troy Lovegates mural in an alley behind Ossington, two merged heads with necks that come out of the same hole in the red and blue sweater that they are wearing. One face is yellow and the other face is half grey and half purple

part of a Troy Lovegates mural in an alley behind Ossington Avenue in Toronto. In the middle is a framed recessed box in the wall with 3 egg shapes in it

part of a Troy Lovegates mural in an alley behind Ossington Avenue in Toronto

part of a Troy Lovegates mural in an alley behind Ossington

below: The closest garage on the right has a mural painted by Spud.

alley, with garages on one side, mural on the wall of a building on the left

below: Durothethird paints peanut butter & (probably) chocolate

street art on a garage door in an alley, peanut butter,

below: Horus, “Well and good”

street art on a garage door in an alley by horus

garages covered with street art and graffiti, in alley on west side of ossington avenue in toronto, just north of queen street west
street art on a garage door in an alley pink polka dots on red

buildings in alley covered with graffiti and street art

small part of a larger painting, street art, on side of garage in an alley, three fuzzy balls, each with one eye. Balls are yellow, and a red, and one blue.
weathered street art and graffiti on a wood garage in an alley

below: A tribute mural celebrating Canadian Black designers.

mural in an ossington alley, black background, text that says Designers of Canada, with three portraits, on the lower level of a three storey red brick building

below: Writing on black and purple

white line drawing on black line drawing of a man with glasses and a beard, mural in an alley

below: Portrait of George Sully, Canadian designer

portrait of a young black man, with a triangle behind his head, in a mural in an alley

below: Love yourself, over and over again, and in many different colours!

on a black wall in an alley, in cursive writing, the words love yourself written in many colours, many times

below: An old stikman in a frame, weathered but still there.

weathered street art paint on wood, with a tiny wood frame, inside frame is an old stikman graffiti piece
alley behind ossington, on the west side, garages covered in street art and graffiti
garage in alley covered with paintings of bright flowers

below: And lastly…  Too extraterrestrial, which someone seems to love

black wall, with graffiti, hand drawn character with words too extra terrestrial,

between West Lodge and Lansdowne

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In Toronto, running west off of West Lodge Ave., there is an alley behind Queen Street West on the north side.  The upper part of this long, low building was painted blue a number of years ago.  Since then it has been tagged and used as a place to spray, stick, or paste graffiti.

alley, long low building on right hand side, painted blue, with windows,

below: T-bonez from Urban Ninja Squadron practises yoga positions.

below: A bright red door that has unfortunately been scrawled on.  Beside it is a black figure that seems to be diving backwards while holding a bunch of colourful balloons.

below: Once it was a pink cat with green whiskers

below: Holding tight to that red rose.

stencil on a wall in an alley, a fist holding a red rose

Continuing west towards Lansdowne ….

below: Faces in the alley, with a bit too much gold

below: Chubby cheeks and big fat lips…. and how many eyes?

below: Faces, many faces with their eyes closed and their hair swirling around.  Mural painted by Carol Ann Apilado

below: “Tell me its all going to be okay?  Not sure if I can do that buddy…..

graffiti on a black garage, white drawing of a person with fingers in peace sign, with text Tell me it's all going to be okay?

below: Patterns and shapes on fence, by Hello Kirsten

murals on a fence in an alley including one by hello kirsten, design patterns, also a woman in purple,

murals in an alley, a garage painted all orange, paintings on fence, face and cacti painted in side a car port under an apartment

motorcycle parked in front of blue fence, beside a garage in a lane, near Queen Street West and Lansdowne

mini cooper car parked in an alley beside a garage with street art and graffiti on it

green spray paint and black drippy paint graffiti on red brick wall

alley views

below: Enough!  Although once upon a time it said more than that…..

close up of painting on a wood fence, abstract shapes and colours, with texture

Hosier hearts

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

below: Frida Kahlo too

Painting of Frida Kahlo, graffiti, behind bars, in an alley, with many hearts painted beside it

spray painted street art hearts in Hosier Lane

spray painted street art hearts in Hosier Lane

spray painted street art hearts in Hosier Lane

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

spray painted street art hearts in Hosier Lane along with a pasteup from the complimentary nuts

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

graffiti poster of a man holding an anatomically correct heart in his hand. Written over it in black marker, "Do I know you?"

spray painted street art hearts in Hosier Lane, along with a pink mouse sticker

spray painted street art hearts in Hosier Lane, in many colours

below: Pink Panther

Pink panther painting in an alley

small graffiti of a woman's portrait, with spray painted hearts by it

graffiti spray painted hearts

graffiti spray painted hearts

many graffiti spray painted hearts with some hand drawn small hearts with happy faces

spray painted street art hearts in Hosier Lane, along with an image of a skeleton wearing heart shaped sunglasses

graffiti spray painted hearts, beside a painted portrait of a woman

graffiti spray painted hearts covering window frame and wall, with stickers covering the window

spray painted street art hearts in Hosier Lane

spray painted street art hearts in Hosier Lane

stand with ukraine yellow and blue sticker, graffiti

people walking in an alley, with many spray painted street art hearts, Hosier Lane

spray painted street art hearts in Hosier Lane

Photos taken March 2025

panda, dragon, and a foxy lady

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

a section of yellow wall in an alley with a number of different paste up graffiti pieces

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

cartoon like drawing of a blond young man carrying a woman in pink skirt and purple top,

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

fine drawing of woman's portrait, woman with long hair, on white paper, pasted on yellow wall,

below: Two simple but cute puppies selling their wares.

graffiti paste up, black drawing on white, bicycle food cart

below: Two Marilyns

paste up pf Marilyn Munroe wearing a t shirt with a large face of marilyn manson on it

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.

two slaps, a panda bear paste up and a graffiti piece featuring t bonez of urban ninja squadron riding on motorcycle of

below: A little dragon creature, by stenandoli

graffiti, little gragon-like character with big orange head, little wings as arms that are red and blue striped, big yellow eyes, 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?

three paste ups on a yellow wall, a cat, a bird that is an australian white ibis, and a sad grey man character by stenandoli

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

graffiti poster, by susi foxy art, woman with fox fur including tail, corset in orange and black, fox coloured hair, fishnet stockings,

below: Carried away by a yellow balloon…..

little painting on old paper with chinese characters, a pink shoe being carried upward 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?

3 paste ups on an alley wall, a man holding a big fish, text says don't be a dick, and third also with text that says trans phobia is rooted in white supremacy

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

two slaps on an alley wall, one is a blaistoise pokemon character in blue, the other is a drawing of little animals in a greenhouse, a house made of glass

black and white graffiti, small, of a woman turning to look at viewer.

below: Think!

sticker says think in decorated capital letters, sticker is a style wars sticker, someone has written in ink, sounds like capitalism

Photos taken February 2025

First 2025 visit to Graffiti Alley, Toronto

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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.

Graffiti Alley street art paintings, many, including uber 5000 walking dog and singing,

below: Profile portrait by TheHalfDecent

Graffiti Alley street art painting, profile portrait of woman in black and purple, car parked in front of it

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.

pasteup by 33wallflower33, a black and white vintage photo of a woman, cut to oval shape, on a red surface. graffiti alley, a mural by nick sweetman is in the background, a blue bird in flight

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

street art mural, calligraphy in grey tones is the background, man's portrait with red skin, purple hat, metal frame glasses, the bottom part of the face is either washing away or melting.

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.

Graffiti Alley street art painting, 2 men wearing caps, King Reign and Son of Soul tribute mural, also a uber5000 little yellow bird with a tea cup in his hand

part of King Reign and Son of Soul tribute mural by Elicser Elliott and Omen 514, with newer abstract mural covering the bottom part

below: Graffiti Alley in the snow.

graffiti alley in the snow

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

in an alley, exterior stairs to upper level balcony in alcove with two sides painted with murals, including one by sun of aquarius

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

Graffiti Alley street art painting, on wall, pole in front of wall that is covered with knit squares, also a pasteup of urban ninja squadron, t bonez

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

mr myl street art painting in graffiti alley, on bright pink background, an orange and yellow dog with log snout and orange teeth, small ears, sitting position

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”.

mr myl street art painting in graffiti alley, on bright pink background, an orange and yellow dog with log snout and orange teeth, small ears, sitting position, beside a portrait of a woman holding a large calla lily, with text

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.

grey car parked in parking lot at end of alley, murals painted on the walls, stickers cover the signs

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!

street art on a wall by stairs, pink panther, uber 5000 yellow bird, tags, also uber 5000 complaints about photographers

below:  Poser bunny in red

street art, red poser bunny

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

a young person with short dark hair, and a yellow t shirt, mural in graffiti alley

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

street art painting 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.

graffiti on a wall, yellow bird from uber5000, red and turquoise character with devil horns and furry hair

graffiti alley in the winter, snowing, some snow on the ground

below: Good Luck!

street art painting, green background, a red apple sitting on 2 books, an arrow runs through the apple

graffiti alley mural, guitar player, red guitar, also an elicser elliott piece of a person wearing a rabbit hat

below: Another 33wallflower33 vintage woman.

graffiti on a wall including woman in bikini by 33 wallflower 33.

below: Chubby purple cheeks gives a thumbs up

street art painting of a large purple monster face

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

old telephone booth in graffiti alley

street art mural, asian woman with purple hair tied up on top of her head with glowing lantern

graffiti on a wall including a red heart with J + J written in the middle

Photos taken January 2025

skateboard portraits

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Toronto’s Graffiti Alley is still an interesting place to explore.  Unlike some street art locations that have succumbed to the scrawls and tags of the less well-intentioned, good art and ideas can still be found here.  At present, adding to the eclectic nature of the graffiti in Graffiti Alley are a few interesting portraits done on half skateboards (or at least on wood in the shape of a skateboard).  All are screwed onto wooden utility poles.

below: One on natural wood colour and the other in vibrant red.  The sticker says Positive Creations.

two men's portraits painted each on half of a skateboard, attached to a pole in graffiti alley. one is black line drawing on natural wood colour, and the other is very red

two women's portraits on a skateboard. Top one is turquoise and the bottom one is pink

below: A man with a mustache

man's portrait painted on half of a skateboard, attached to a pole in graffiti alley

below: Three on the same pole in Graffiti Alley – A red person with shaggy hair and light blue glasses as well someone with very long orange hair.

portraits painted on half skateboards, 3 different men, one in red, one in orange, and one in pink, all on the same pole in graffiti alley, work of positive creations

man's portrait painted on half of a skateboard, in red, shaggy hair, and wearing light blue glasses, attached to a pole in graffiti alley

below: At the bottom, a quizzical look on a pink face.

pink man's portrait painted on half of a skateboard, attached to a pole in graffiti alleyPhotos taken January 2025

beside Straat’s door

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Amsterdam has a large museum/gallery dedicated to street art. It is located on the grounds of an old shipyard, a short ferry ride away from the central part of the city. Some of the murals are outside, along with a lot of graffiti that has been added over time. The works that I have included in this blogpost are what I saw around the outside of the entrance to STRAAT, the indoor gallery

below: A large metal door or gate that various people have left their mark on.

below: Top of the box, two portrait pasteups by Jeremy Novy, as well as two white hands.

below: Just smile on the frame of what once was a mirror. This was contributed to the space by navarriky.

below: A black and white image that is starting to peel.

below: On the other side of the entrance, is a wall that has served as a canvas for a few artists.

below: “The Asseastant” by FALCO, A nude but athletic thrower of life rings. Saving someone? On FALCO’s instagram page there is this description of the work: “”THE ASSEASTANT“ is a message of hope, altruism and activism. It highlights the media absence of hundreds of thousands of human beings who perish braving the seas to escape war, famine or misery vs 5 rich passengers on a touristic submarine cruise.”

below: A head of a large red heart, love, with a halo, the work of Faben,

below: Little girl destruction, a black and white by Dutch artist N888K

below: Barbie and the riot police. She gracefully dances in her tutu as they haul her away. Graffiti on tiles.

below: Hello Flynn and an ice cream cone with a very long tongue

below:words