lesstalkingmoredrawing

[lesstalkingmoredrawing]

Nostalgia

Nostalgia feels like a luxury right now. A half decade into the Covid pandemic and the after effects it has created, and the whole world has shifted and frayed.

We are not doing well. We are not okay.

I took photos of Honest Ed’s for these watercolours around 2009 or so, a few years before it was announced that the historic store that promised more-for-less was to be razed to make way for condos, but the writing had been on the wall for a while.

Mirvish Village and all its artistic history was also on the chopping block, along with the weird little alley under the Honest Ed’s elevated walkway that ran between the labyrinth of shopping above. The alley had hosted The Fringe Festival “Fringe Club” for years. It was a fun little secret space inviting theatre wanderers in with beers and carnival games, funnelling them to the small performance space in the second story of a house behind Ed’s.

To see what Toronto has become in the last ten or fifteen years has been depressing. An unstoppable condo boom has created a city for the wealthy with many small, entrenched community spaces disappearing rapidly.

A city needs to renew… we know this is true. There is no stopping it. But, staring down the barrel of Covid repercussions there doesn’t seem to be much left for the little people… the artists, musicians, authors, creators and other workers that make the city vibrant, interesting and functional.

Toronto, what is going to be left of our city?

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Lady with headphones greyscale portrait

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More greyscale portraits happening in the studio...

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Subway Tracks with Graphite Intervention ink, marker and graphite on paper 2024

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Party Giraffe

Little splash o' colour to head into the week.

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Moustache Man!

Happy Monday. It's cold out. Stay warm...

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Snack Cupboard of the Future.

Yumm!!

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Toronto Beautiful Buildings - Brick walk-up

This is a little brick walk-up apartment building I spotted. It was nestled in a suburban area populated by single family homes. This is the kind of density that keeps small neighbourhoods alive but also adds housing where needed. We had it figured out years ago!!!

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Toronto Beautiful Buildings

Two Toronto storefronts in historic buildings. Say that five times fast...

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Hockey!

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Personal Climate Suit

Now with built in multi-media player... listen to tunes while you float through an environmental apocalypse.

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Ol' Timey Artifact

Seen in a Toronto Subway station.

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Napoleon

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Toronto Beautiful Buildings

This little gem at 126 John Street was originally a carriage manufacturer, but some of you might recognize it as part of CiRCA night club that folded in 2010. It now houses a Marshalls and is a designated heritage building.

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Million Dollar Bag, Baby

Happy?

You will be when you purchase this $ 1 000 000 crocodile skin bag... or at least, that's what they tell me.

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And another Mystery Movie Art

Although, this piece seems like an easy guess if you're a classic film buff.

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Mystery Movie Art

Can you guess what movie this is from?