Tag: Graffiti Alley Toronto

Funky Town

On By ResaIn Faces, Graffiti Alley, Street Art137 Comments

feat. Lipps

It took several trips to get this piece.

The first time it was like- YAY fresh graf! Then it was what the….?

There were 2 separate metal grill works, no idea what they are for, covering the art. You can see in the pic, I tried to slide one over. It was dead heavy, and the bit you see took me about 5 minutes of grunt work to slide.

I couldn’t just plop it to the ground, as there was a car parked.

Obsessed, I returned every several days, until there were no parked cars. The grills were still there, so I plopped them to the ground.

Jailed – Free

The art had been freed from its jail!

I returned the grills to the upright position prior to departing.

Jailed Reflection

Pics taken by Resa – October 15 & 28, 2024

Toronto, Canada

The Artist:

Graffiti Alley is my Funky Town.

Skart

On By ResaIn Graffiti Alley229 Comments

Skateboard & art = Skart

I was almost out of Graffiti Alley..

.. when I noticed these small bits of art.

Faces over abstract, on what appeared to be the toe end of skateboards,

were screwed to poles and posts.

It was in the Grarten! Graffiti & Art & Garden = Grarten.

Love it in the Grarten, where art grows like wild flowers, so I went back and found more.

The Silver Lining


Clad in dirty shoes and shorts
his face streaked with dirt,
he swoops past like a bird in flight
thrilled with disaster to flirt.
***
Like nothing you’ve ever seen before
the skateboard on which he rides,
a platform piled high with recyclables
no one his wild recklessness chides.
***
A pair of dark eyes, wild and bright
glow beneath his unkempt crop,
he takes a sharp corner rather wide
there is no-one to make him stop.
***
We find our pleasures in different ways
it’s human nature to laugh and enjoy,
he’s found a way to make the most of life
treating his load like a favourite toy.

                            Roberta Eton Cheadle

Robbie, who wrote The Silver Lining is a fabulous writer, artist and photographer.

You can skateboard virtually to either of her 2 blog sites. ROBBIE’S INSPIRATION

OR ROBERTA WRITES

Some of the pieces had a cool red and white sticker on them.

I saved my fave piece for last. It was the only face on what looked like a … breadboard?

Now, I think- the heel end of a skateboard?

Pics taken by Resa – September 17, 2024

Toronto, Canada

The Artist: Chris Dyer

Click on pic! Go to website!

Neo Adonis

On By ResaIn Alley Gallery175 Comments

It looks like a painting of a classic sculpture on a stucco wall.

However if you look at the last 3 shots, you will see the left corner peeling. It reveals brick.

Is the medium really thick pealing paint, or an incredibly well done paste-up?

Adonis, the god of beauty and attraction is the male counterpart for Aphrodite.

He looks even prettier surrounded by the tags and mayhem of Graffiti Alley.

This piece sings for a neo-classic music composition. I have chosen fellow blogger Trent McDonald’s “Piano Sonata in g minor lll: Scherzo” done on a Garritan virtual Steinway software piano.

Pics taken by Resa – July 19, 2023

Toronto, Canada

Artist – unknown

“A few years back I decided to compose a “classical style” piano sonata. By “classical style”, I am talking late 18th/early 19th century. More specifically, I was thinking Beethoven. I had already composed a sonatina that is very Clementi in style, so it was time for the Big B.

This was the Scherzo, which was a “little joke”. Deep down there is an almost minuet hidden, but you’d have to dig deep to find it. No, “little joke” describes it much better. I always really like it, almost as much as the scherzo to my sonata in c# minor, which is what I use for my phone’s ringtone. ”  

 

En Masse

On By ResaIn Alley Gallery, Murals111 Comments

Graffiti Alley is changing.

Old buildings are being torn down. New ones are going up.

Still, it seems to be embracing street art, but will the hardcore graffiti disappear?

This En Masse mural is in the parking entrance to a new building.

Above, a Poser Bunny welcomes us. Poser’s Bunnies go way back, and are an old fave of mine.

Lots to cover in this one. Here are some of my faves.

The ceiling is a work of craziness.

I put the rest in a slideshow for my hardcore street art pals.

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Pics taken by Resa – March 28, 2023

Toronto, Canada

The Artists: Birdo, Poser, Ness Lee, Blackburn & more

There was a second floor of fun mayhem, but I couldn’t get up there, yet.

Make Art Not War

On By ResaIn Alley Gallery, Black Lives Matter50 Comments

More art from Toronto’s Graffiti Alley’s artists’ peaceful protest.

The straw that broke the camel’s back.

I believe this black panther is by Nick Sweetman.

There is LOTS of writing in the alley. I couldn’t capture it all. Sometimes the lane was too, narrow. Also, there was a portrait of MLK JR. coming up & I was running out of battery.

James Baldwin – “Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.”

Smaller bits from the alley.

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Pics taken by Resa – June 15, 2020

Toronto, Canada

Some of the artists:

I can’t breathe

Paste-Up Power

On By ResaIn Paste-Ups, Street Art60 Comments

On my walk to Graffiti Alley, I spotted this beauteous paste-up in a window.

Pasted on the inside, you can see the glue around the edges.

I adore all of the rich details.

Lo and behold, there was the beauty, again, in Graffiti Alley. I had just finished shooting what I posted yesterday.

Again, pasted-up, this time on what seems a mud cloth pattern.

There’s more art along this wall, but I’m skipping to the end of the alley. I make a  right turn, into a scaffold tunnel. It’s mostly filled with writing, and there’s not enough space to back up and photo each piece.

In this narrow tunnel, I find the beauty, again. However, this time it’s a totally new version of the paste-up.

I squished in some angled shots, as there was no room to back up for a dead on.

The details are fantastic.

Pics taken by Resa – June 15, 2020

Toronto, Canada

The Artist:

Artists Paint Graffiti Alley in Support – #Black Lives Matter

On By ResaIn Alley Gallery, Black Lives Matter49 Comments

 Someone painted George Floyd. Someone painted Jamal Francique. Someone painted Zianna Oliphant. Many painted “I can’t breathe”. I wanted to start this series with a portrait of Martin Luther King Jr. In the end I decided  to reveal my experience from the beginning, as I discovered this multitude of art and messages.

I entered Graffiti Alley from the west end. I was greeted by a mural of Malcom X.

“You don’t have to be a man to fight for freedom. All you have to do is to be an intelligent human being.”

After having basked in this fabulous mural for a long time, I head east into the alley.

“Breonna Taylor – Say Her Name”

This is Part One (There’s just way too, much for 1 post!)

Pics taken by Resa – June 15, 2020

Toronto,Canada

Malcolm X Artist: