Theresa's Mixed Nuts: Artistic Treasure - Graffiti Alley

Wednesday, January 25, 2017

Artistic Treasure - Graffiti Alley

Can you believe that I am still editing my photos from our trip to Canada last summer? In addition to home organization, one of my goals for this year is to get all of my photos organized and edited, and finally get my favorites framed. It doesn't sound like a big task, but I'm one who will take a thousand photos because I subscribe to the "I'd rather have too many than not enough" theory. And, you can never have enough photographic memories, can you? No. No you can't.

Anyway, I have a bone to pick with my Canadian friends. When we decided on our summer vacation destination, I reached out to my friendly neighbors up north for suggestions on places that were a must see. I received some lovely tips, but felt a little disappointed that not one suggested Graffiti Alley in Toronto. Shame on you guys! It was actually recommended by one of Jason's co-workers as a must see attraction, and once Jason mentioned it to me, I knew that it was definitely going on our travel itinerary. 

Graffiti Alley

I am one who loves street art, and actually don't mind getting stopped at the railroad crossing because I like to spot the graffiti on the rail cars. I'm always amazed by what people can create with a simple can of spray paint.

Graffiti Alley
Graffiti Alley
Graffiti Alley

Through a series of alleyways, there are so many artistic treasures to explore. 

Graffiti Alley
Graffiti Alley
Graffiti Alley
Graffiti Alley

Allison was thrilled to spot her favorite cartoon characters, Tom & Jerry!

Graffiti Alley

But I think my favorite was this super colorful under the sea mural that covered an entire wall.

Graffiti Alley
Graffiti Alley

Nothing seemed to be off limits within the confines of the alleyways. Even the trashcans received a touch of graffiti.

Graffiti Alley
Graffiti Alley
 
I even spotted an amateur graffiti artist putting his own mark on display.

Graffiti Alley

Residents must start their kids out early on learning graffiti, as shown by this colorful sidewalk chalk rainbow :)

Graffiti Alley

I guess not everybody feels the same way that I do about graffiti...

Graffiti Alley
 
The only downfall was there was a lot of trash littering the entire area, but I guess you can expect that in any alley across the world. 

Graffiti Alley

Jason did have a moment where he thought we might be in the "seedy" part of town, but I felt perfectly safe walking the area. I mean, who wouldn't run from these neighborhood watch guys?

Graffiti Alley

Would you take a stroll down Graffiti Alley or skip the attraction altogether?



43 comments:

  1. Take your time with editing them, deary, at least you're not shoving hundreds of them into our throats with no selection like some do over at Facebook with their vacation photos :)
    I'm generally not a fan of graffiti, especially if they're violate public space, only when they're done to brighten up some sad walls or when they're in the form of optical illusions and such things.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hear ya! When someone puts their entire camera roll up, I admit I only look at the first couple then move on. There should be a rule to only sharing the highlights, not every blurry photo you feel the need to post lol.
      That's why I liked Graffiti Alley. They neighborhood looked really run down, so all the art really punched up the view. I still don't get the massive appeal of Tim Horton's to the Canadians. I swear, you couldn't walk 10 feet without seeing one of their cups laying on the ground. I was slightly offended by the massive amounts of litter in the area.

      Delete
  2. That is crazy cool! I have a major fascination for street art. I love all of this.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Me too! I always have to stop and admire a colorfully painted wall when I come across one.

      Delete
  3. That is amazing. I've always been fascinated by street art. I think it's an amazing art form.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Graffiti is absolutely one of my favorite forms of art. There's an edginess about it that I just love. It has the poppy, bold look.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree. I can't even evenly spray paint a jar, so to see this kind of talent is mind boggling to me!

      Delete
  5. What a fun walk! And of course you're still editing pictures. Don't you know in this digital age people snap 100 photos for every 1 they actually look at? Good luck getting through all that...

    ReplyDelete
  6. First off - fantastic photos. The colors are amazing! Funny we have the same goals....home organization and photo organization. I have a lot of photos that I never organized...I mean real photos, not digital. I am not sure how to tackle that one!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I did the real photo organization a few years back. I bought some of those cardboard storage bins from Michael's that they usually put on sale 7 for $10 and spent about a week going through and getting everything filed away. Now, when my girls go through the pics, I give strict instructions to put everything back in the order I had them in. I don't want to go through that mess again!

      Delete
  7. That would be neat to see as long as Mario jumped on any seedy types haha good to get photos organized, as then you know what you have.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I think graffiti alley looks like a really cool place to visit. I like the under the sea mural the best too.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I love all of it. Graffiti is certainly an art form. I love the crazy looking bunnies. Tom and Jerry are fun too. Mica loves Tom and Jerry!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You would have loved the sea otters, but someone painted a pornographic wiener over one, so I didn't think it would be appropriate to share it here. It's still one of my favorites though, even with the lewd marking.

      Delete
  10. These are all fantastic! The very colorful ones are absolutely gorgeous! Thanks for sharing this beauty with us today!!

    ReplyDelete
  11. These artists are so talented, I only wish they have their works recognized and placed in an appropriate medium. They could pretty much earn a descent wage with that talent!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree. I've seen some amazing spray paint graffiti artwork on some of those Facebook videos and am always blown away by the talent. I bet they can fetch a nice price for some of their pieces.

      Delete
  12. That is so beautiful. I would love to do some photography out there.

    ReplyDelete
  13. These are just amazing! Such talented artists!

    ReplyDelete
  14. I would definitely take a stroll down graffiti alley! Those are some talented people that created this art!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Wow, that's some crazy talent! I'd consider it an attraction. I don't believe someone should deface property but I think the people who are gifted in the art of grafitti could spruce up buildings and areas by displaying their art (with permission, of course).

    ReplyDelete
  16. This street art looks so colorful.
    It is amazing.

    ReplyDelete
  17. my brother is a graffiti expert. (not really, tho he likes it) sometimes he is being hired by some shop that is soon to open, he do the graffiti thing design. it looks nice anyway!

    - Our Family World

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's so cool that you no a real life graffiti artist! I bet you are proud to see his designs on the buildings that he's commissioned to work on!

      Delete
  18. I love all the colours. I am a huge fan of this kind of art, these people who do them are SO talented. They are so gorgeous to look at! - Jeanine

    ReplyDelete
  19. I honestly love street art! It's a great way to see how talented artists are and they're so nice to look at as well. I love the different graffitis that you featured but I would have to agree with you, I love the under the sea one!

    ReplyDelete
  20. very artistic! i like it ! this is a pure talent! I hop i have that kind of talent too! lol. ive been liking graffiti since im 16. it is very intersting

    ReplyDelete
  21. I am a total street art fanatic, so this entire post just made my day. It looks like I have another destination to add to my travel bucket list.

    ReplyDelete
  22. This is totally something we would take time and check out. We love quirky off the beaten path stuff. Amazing talent there in that alley!

    ReplyDelete
  23. That's really cool - I would definitely take a trip to see the alleys. It's fascinating that someone can do that, but I can't help but wonder with all that creativity what their day job is? Very curious. I do not like to see grafiti in public places such as parks or defacing monuments, but when it's somewhere to liven up an otherwise dreary area, bring it on!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I get upset when I see it on playground equipment and blatant vandalism, except for on the train cars. I know, I shouldn't pick and choose, but I do love to watch it stroll by while I'm waiting for the train to pass. It makes the wait a little more tolerable.

      Delete
  24. Beautiful pictures! I can believe it! I've got photos still chilling on my computer from years ago. Just no time!

    ReplyDelete
  25. Funny how much talent these people have

    ReplyDelete
  26. Wow. It is hard to articulate how beautiful all the street art is! Not only would I take a walk down graffiti alley but I would take a million photos as well!

    ReplyDelete
  27. Oh wow these are all very interesting images! We have an entire wall of similar artwork along our city's riverfront. I take the kids every now and then to check out the newest additions. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  28. My daughter loves graffiti. When we went to Rome there was graffiti everywhere, even on the touristy places you would NOT want to find it. I found that disconcerting. But here...all in one place? That's pretty awesome!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's too bad that the touristy areas were trashed up like that :( I always think of Rome as one beautiful, clean place. Makes me sad that's not the case with the graffiti mucking up the area.

      Delete
  29. I have to say I love watching the decorated trains go by too. Not the tagged ones, but the ones with artwork on them. Pretty cool alley to visit but you missed the best part of Canada, the Rocky Mountains. Alberta and BC are definitely worth seeing. Mostly just the mountain areas of course. Although Vancouver is a beautiful city with its Stanley Park right on the ocean. We try to get there every few years.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We were on the completely opposite side of the country :( I would LOVE to explore the Rocky Mountains. I am thinking I'll get there some day with just the hubs, though I did enjoy hiking through the Smoky Mountains with the girls a few years back. Vancouver is definitely on my bucket list too. I'll have to make sure we hit up Stanley Park when we get that way.

      Delete
  30. Such interesting street art!!

    You know, there are so many holidays I've yet to write about.. and usually when I wait long enough I just won't bother hahah

    Ai @ Sakura Haruka

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for your comments! I appreciate every one of them :) Except promotional posts with added links. Those will be deleted.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...