NEW ! " Forever Yonge "...from Lake Ontario to Bloor Street

Today I just completed my new mandala entitled " Forever Yonge ", which goes from Lake Ontario to Bloor Street.

It includes buildings from the past and present , such as, the original T. Eaton Company, the proposed Eaton's College Street tower, the Robert Simpson Store and the Imperial Bank of Canada.

Also, I have illustrated various nightclubs, now gone :  The Colonial Tavern, The Friar's Club, The Brown Derby, the Sapphire Tavern and The Golden Nugget.

There are swizzle sticks which I saved from some of these places drawn on the mandala.

Local entertainers such as Rompin' Ronnie Hawkins ( whom I also saw perform in Eaton's where I worked on the 5th floor donut counter during a March break show...he was so handsome ! ), Robbie Lane, and Jackie Shane, whom I saw perform at The Sapphire Tavern. I have also drawn Molly Johnson and have a piano around the circumference for Oscar Peterson.

As the mandala moves north on Yonge Street, you will see Santa Claus and Rudolph, Massey Hall, St. Michael the Archangel from the hospital, the new Dog Fountain in Berczy Park, the Beatles outside Maple Leaf Gardens, and the Allan Gardens Greenhouse, et cetera.

Stores on the mandala are :

The Cat's Cradle

Boot Master

Morningstar

Albert Britnell's Book Store

House of Lords

and others which I will add in the near future.

Elmer the Safety Elephant is there to state an important safety rule.

Just.so.much.more.on.this.mandala !!!

You will have a very busy time finding all the spots from the past and present along this route.

You have to see it !!!

For information, please contact :

torontomandalas@gmail.com

Kensington Market , Parkdale and The Junction with the Junction Triangle Colouring Books now completed !

After a detailed study of these 4 neighbourhoods, I now have my colouring books ready for the World of Toronto !

Each book is based on a mandala theme, with each page having 2 letters of the alphabet depicting the history and present day events beginning with those letters.
On the opposite page of each of those pages is a poem I have written about some of the pictures and events.

At the end of each book are suggested follow-up activities.

These books are available now.

( I am now working on 4 more Neighbourhoods of Toronto Colouring Books ! )

For info please contact :

torontomandalas@gmail.com

Willowdale Mandala Completed !

I have completed my Willowdale Mandala and it is now available.

It goes from York Mills up to Markham ( past the Willowdale border of Steeles ).  And so it also includes Thornhill and Richmond Hill.

From the West it goes from Bathurst over to Bayview.

Heritage buildings are included, such as Gibson House, Heintzman House, and C.W. Jeffries' Home.   Many more have been depicted, as well as our present day happenings are represented.
Mills dot the whole Mandala and Indigenous icons appear throughout.


I have  also completed the Bloor/Spadina/Mink Mile to the Prince Edward Viaduct mandala.
THIS Mandala has a Music-on-Bloor  theme which revives memories of the discos of '60's Yorkville and The Toronto Rock 'n Roll Revival at Varsity Stadium in August 1969 ( which I attended ) as 2 examples.

Stollery's,  the University and Uptown Theatres and the Golden Nugget Tavern are noted memories from the past.

The last 2 Mandalas bring my total Toronto Neighbourhood Mandalas to 41 + 1 New York City Mandala!


for info contact :
torontomandalas@gmail.com

Bloor Street - Spadina to the Prince Edward Viaduct

I have been working on my Bloor Street - Prince Edward Viaduct System and will have it completed  by April 9, 2016.


It includes The ROM, The Bata Shoe Museum, The Park Paza, The Royal Conservatory of Music,
3 churches, Manulife Insurance, Varsity Stadium, Philosopher's Walk, Bemelman's, Toby's Good Eats, The Medical Building, Stollery's, Yorkville, Mr. Bloore ( who founded Yorkville and for whom Bloor Street is named after - the " e" has been dropped ).


I have include much more from the past and present.....a loom of time for you in my mandala.


Also, in process is my Willowdale mandala...hope to complete by April's end.


I have also finished 2 neighbourhood colouring books....will be announced at the end of April....a launch to be happening then

Spadina Avenue/Road Mandala....UPdated November 20, 2015.

....is now completed !
I am so happy to announce that I put the final details on this mandala on
August 30, 2015.
As mentioned in my last post, this mandala starts at Lake Ontario and continues straight up Spadina
, around Spadina Crescent and U of T Art Department Building ( formerly Knox College ) to Forest Hill.
On the way it passes:
Queen's Quay West ( The National Ballet, Yo Yo Ma's Music Garden, Le Centre de Francophone de Toronto ) ; Fort York Blvd.  ( Canoe Landing, The Globe and Mail ) ; King Street ( The Richardson House, TheFashion District with its giant thimble at Adelaide, and sculpture of manufacturing on the streetcar islands ) ; Queen Street ( The Mary Pickford Theatre, The Cameron House with its giant ant sculptures walking all over it, The Hero Sandwich Residence, The Horseshoe Tavern, The extinct Bamboo Club [ Boooooooooooooooooooooooooooo !!! ] and the coal depot kitty corner ) ;  Dundas Street ( The Victory Burlesque Theatre, St. Elizabeth Church...originally an Anglican Church since the mid 1800's [ now Dragon City ] ; College, College, Bloor, Dupont, Davenport, St. Clair, and Eglinton.

******MUCH, much more, soon to be added, is on my mandala.

Many notable landmarks from the past and present are illustrated as your eyes follow Spadina up to Forest Hill. I will add a list of these spots soon.


Baseballs abound all over the mandala, having been home-runs hit by our mighty Blue Jays of 2015, out of Rogers Centre, also known by its previous and beloved Sky Dome name.  Encarnacion, Donaldson, Bautista, Smoak and Goins  are to name a few of the many home runners which have taken place this year.  And I must mention the hat trick by Encarnacion on August 30, 2015 !!!!!
What joy it brought to the city of TO !!!!

U of T is also noted very well with many buildings and symbols od that great Toronto institution.

As you look west from Dundas you will head to Kensington Market with numerous icons of places within.

**** TO BE ADDED SOON

The Denison estate mansion named Bellevue is there.  Bellevue Avenue is all that is left of it.

( I will add more to this blog describing this mandala very soon. )


Article in the Globe and Mail Newspaper by Dave LeBlanc, the Architourist featuring my work,
entitled " Signposts of a New Toronto Cool ":


 http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/home-and-garden/real-estate/signposts-of-a-new-toronto-cool/article1734637/email/

Contact me at : torontomandalas@gmail.com

Spadina Avenue/Road Mandala is on the Way !!!

My Spadina Avenue/Road is on the way.
It is about 2/3 completed and should be finished by Friday, May 29, 2015.
It begins at Spadina and Lake Ontario and continues right up to Forest Hill at at Eglinton.
On the way north you will see new and old buildings, including the firehall on the lake, the Music Garden, the dome home of our Bluejays with bats and balls flying,  the Mary Pickford Theatre at Queen, Canoe Landing.
You will pass by the Victory Burlesque Theatre at Dundas, St. Elizabeth of Hungary Church ( formerly a Methodist Church , which name I will add here soon....now Dragon City )  a Shopsy hot dog and corned beef sandwich at College, a quick shift over to Kensington Market.....and soooooooooooo much more !
I will post again soon as this organic mandala fills up with our Toronto heritage and present day.

You will feel " city rich proud " as you gaze upon my upcoming Spadina Mandala....I guarantee.

Completed !!!!!! Cedarvale/Eglinton/Scarlett Road/St. Clair/Humewood

After weeks and weeks of minute and painstaking research and detail, I have finally signed this mandala as complete.
 Mandala # 38  includes a bird's eye view of Cedarvale down to Humewood and St. Clair / along St. Clair to Scarlett Road/ up to Eglinton and back to Cedarvale.

It also incorporates Oakwood Village, Dufferin Street, Corso Italia, Earlscourt, Keele St., Weston Road, Rogers Road, Jane Street, and others which I will mention later.
This mandala is a compact look at how this area of Toronto has become an example of such continuous diverse change over the last 200 years beginning with First Nations of the New Mississauga Credit.  I hope I have presented to the the viewers an exciting and whimsical tapestry of this side of Toronto's story.
I discovered many interesting Toronto gems along the way, including info about John Scarlett's toll gates, his house called Runnymede, and the former City of York's time capsule to be opened in 2193, which will be Toronto's Quadricentennial.  Can you possibly imagine what Toronto will be like in 2193 ????
 York Memorial Collegiate, Vaughan Road Academy, the palm tree art sculpture at Oakwood and Eglinton, St. Hilda's Church at Dufferin and Eg, Oakwood Collegiate, Wychwood Library, the St. Clair, Mt. Dennis, Oakwood and Nortown movies theatres, and Humewood Public School are a few more of the buildings noted on this mandala.
This mandala depicts all the above...and more !  Tobogganing down the hills in Cedarvale Park, a giant frog,representing the park on Jane Street south of Eglinton, with his golden webbed digits stretched out with a magic touch to the central crystal ball !
And the squirrels and birds and ducks and dogs and cats and ladybugs...oh my !!!!
Many heritage buildings, such as Heyden House ( complete with former cupula ) , building # 9 of the Kodak compound and the little church on Scarlett Road which housed some who sought refuge during Hurricane Hazel in 1954.  I remember it well, as my father had to make sure the very heavy, back, storm door was secured on our little Victorian Style house on a little street in Brockton, so he could protect my mom and us 6 kids from imminent danger.  Oh, the sounds we heard...even our dog " Lady " hid under a bed.
I also remember my dad covering the coal chute to the cellar under the front window ( where many-a-time my job was to count the bags of coal [24] which the delivery man emptied down the chute and quickly report it to my mom or dad for 2 cents reward ) so the basement wouldn't get flooded.  Luckily we survived Hurricane Hazel.  : )))

This mandala is called " Crosstown Toronto " in reference to the future LRT.

If you scroll down a few posts you will find a link to an article about my mandalas published in the Globe and Mail and written by Dave LeBlanc, the Architourist .

torontomandalas@gmail.com