In one of my alley wanderings I came upon this fabulous mural, albeit unfinished.
I kept returning. It remained unfinished, but the scaffolding (in slideshow below) kept moving.
On one visit, I met the business owners next door. From them, I learned that the mural had been started about a year and a half earlier, but the artist had been in an accident.
His injuries required lengthy healing, and he had just recently returned to work on the mural.
Finally one day in November, it was finished. I shot over a hundred pics. Unfortunately, I had to return in December.
I told Trent the day had been dark with black clouds, and the pics came out really warm. I would return on a brighter day.
Confession; like an idiot I accidentally had the camera on a warm setting.
All in all I must have returned to the site 8 times.
Returning to the unfinished mural had become like reading a great book, and I was sad when it was finished.
I love intricate murals, as there is so much detail to take pics of.
The slideshow on the right, presents the details I languished in.
I was going to pick a fave, but I kept changing my mind.
At some point I realized it was the back door to the Schevchenko Museum. The sign was always there, but I ignored it because it was all about the mural, for me.
About the Schevchenko Museum
Taras Schevchenko (1814 – 1861) Ukrainian artist, poet & thinker. Once imprisoned by Russia for his views, his rich creative legacy remembers him.
I was dazed by the collection of images and history on the website. I’ll be visiting over the winter months.
Left: Self portrait – click on portrait to visit museum website.
There were always cars parked on the site.
Sometimes they were clean (ish), and I was able to get some cool reflections.
The greenish one at the end is actually reflecting next door artwork.
Thank You to Trent for this Song!
A Million Miles Away
V1
He said, “You’re a threat”
As his tanks gathered on the borderline
He said, “You must be stopped!”
As his missiles started flying
He shook his fist
And his countrymen fell in line
“It’s us or them”
And our babies started dying
Chorus
V2
Another town, another city
Turned to rubble over night
In darken cellars the children
With each bomb blast, shake in fright
Refugees and wounded
Walk and crawl the road of flight
Is anybody out there
To listen to our plight?
Chorus
It’s a million miles away
CHORUS
How’s your work?
And how’s the weather?
How’s your mom and dad?
The traffic sucks
It started raining
So things have been real bad (1)
So things are really bad (2)
My pickup’s dirty
The dog’s on the couch
Tik Tok has been a bore
The football game
On my 80-inch TV
Was postponed for some stupid war
A million miles away
About the Song in Trent’s Words
Another new song, and, yes, another dark one. The four-note motif that runs through the verse might remind you of “Carol of the Bells”. I was thinking of the music that that carol was based on, Shchedryk, a Ukrainian New Years song arranged by composer Mykola Leontovych. Those four notes, though, are thought to be ancient, going back to before Christianity was introduced to Ukraine.
By this motif you may guess that the “he” in the first verse is “Putin” and the country being invaded is “Ukraine”. You are partially right – it is inspired by that war, but the idea is any war, particularly a war where a dominant power invades a lesser one, and how people here can care less about the lives lost. Anyway, I will let the song speak for itself, except that I want to say I think I did a pretty good job channeling my inner “Bob” on the first chorus…
Pics taken by Resa – July – December, 2024
Toronto, Canada
The Artist:
Alley Location Images
Graffiti Lux Art & More 
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