Category: mural

Concrete Barrier for Bike Lanes

I was selected as an artist to paint a mural for a project that is super dear to my heart: a concrete barrier for a bike lane in Toronto!

Bike lanes are a lightening rod for highly divisive and polarizing political discourse in North America but especially in Ontario, where the Premier has passed a Provincial law that will over-ride Municipal autonomy and remove major bike lanes that were installed in the city over the past 10 years.

Working on road safety furniture during this kind of political climate made me want to really spread the message for ALL road users to keep safety top of mind when on the road.

(photo by Kwame Newman-Bremang IG: @symbolikone)

My concrete barrier is installed on Avenue Road, close to Davenport in Toronto.

Outside the Box – Traffic Box Mural

This year my design for the Outside the Box Traffic Box Mural was accepted without me being put on the waitlist (the way I was last year)!!

I continued with my Cosmic Cell theme for my design. And without realizing it, my design ended up being a LOT more complex and detailed than the year before.

Once I got over the fact that I would not be able to meet the irrational goal I placed on myself to finish my traffic box faster than I did last year, I was able to get into the groove of painting and completed my second traffic box mural in a week.

Continuing with my ‘Cosmic Cells‘ theme of my oil paintings, these colourful cells serves as a visual representation of the potential of our cellular evolution—a progression towards a more benevolent human race that unites to alter the course of the climate crisis. It envisions societies built on a foundation of compassion and mutual understanding, both for one another and the environment through the evolution of one little cell at a time.

 

Me painting my traffic box – painting by Alexei N. Malakhov.

The traffic box can be seen at the north-east corner of College St. and Gladstone Ave.

Traffic Box Mural

During the first half of 2023 I was in a pattern of receiving rejection emails after rejection emails and getting a disheartened.

Luckily, a last minute cancellation for this year’s Outside the Box Program created space for another artist and the curators of StreetARToronto sent me a last minute request seeing if I was available to paint during their scheduled painting timeline.

I jumped at the chance and completed my first traffic box mural this year!

My traffic box is at the south east corner of Bremner Blvd & York St, in Toronto.


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As with all new experiences, I learned a lot from a technically and socially. Socially, painting in public was interesting and I had a lot of positive interactions, but I can see how draining or intimidating it can be for introverts.

All in all painting a traffic box mural was a thoroughly enjoyable and satisfying way to spend 4 days outdoors!

Thank you to Michael Cavanaugh, Kseniya Tsoy and the curators of StART and a big thank you to my kind and doting Outside the Box Coordinator, Lula Lumaj.

Vamos Ser Bons Uns Para Os Outros – Garage Door Mural

 

Earlier this year, I created mockups and applied to paint some Bell utility boxes in my nieghbourhood. For both calls for submissions, I was sadly not selected.

So, instead of letting my ideas and designs go to waste, I thought, why not paint my own garage door?

This was my first outdoor painting/mural. Luckily my neighbourhood paint shop, The Paint Department and the staff at The Collective  answered all my newbie questions and set me up to be able to do my best work!

‘Vamos ser bons uns para os outro’ (Let’s be good to each other in Portuguese)

I wanted create a mural that was positive and could possibly uplift a viewer. So with the help of my neighbour Aida Jordao and my friend Chelsea and her mum, I was able to translate my initial ‘Let’s be kind to each other’ into a Portuguese phrase that didn’t sound preachy or awkward.

 

Vamos ser bons uns para os outro: It’s my wish for the world and my homage to my dear neighbours and neighbourhood, of Little Portugal in Toronto.

 

 

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My mural can be seen in the alley north of Dundas St. West, just east of Sheridan Ave.

Murals at When Hounds Fly

 

In 2018 I painted the largest wall to date for When Hounds Fly’s original Dundas/Ossington location.
Using their brand colours, I created a wall that would let students immediately know where to head for classes! For this first mural, I felt I had to use a projector to get my design up on the wall so I could trace the art. But soon realized, I didn’t have to rely on a projector and I could freehand my design onto a wall – I just had to have enough trust in my drawing skills!

And earlier this year I painted this 2nd mural all freehand at When Hounds Fly’s Pape Village location, which sadly has now been expropriated for the upcoming Ontario subway line.