Whimsical

Whimsical art is a vibrant and playful style of art that is childlike and carefree. It is characteristically (but not necessarily) bright, colorful, and fun.

  • Along the River During the Qingming Festival

    This is a contemporary mural interpretation of the scroll masterpiece Along the River During the Qingming Festival 清明上河圖. Located in Edmonton’s Chinatown, the mural was commissioned by the McCauley Revitalization.
    Zhang Zeduan painted the original scroll ,also named Qingming Shanghe Tu, 900 years ago. Created during the prosperous Song Dynasty the original scroll shows daily life in the capital city Bianjing (now Kaifeng), one of the most urban areas in the world at the time.

  • Starlight

    Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) “3rd Annual Festival Street” Live Mural Painting “Starlight” in response to the theme “Toronto is the Star”, as part of #StARTatTIFF “Art Walk” Activation, commissioned by Surface Art, StreetARToronto, TIFF, Toronto

  • Perpetual Freedom II

    Mural Facilitator and Muralist for the 3rd Annual Mural on Baldwin Street, in response to the theme “The Future without Oppression”, Kensington Market, Facilitated by StreetARToronto, Friends of Kensington Market [Facilitators: Serena Purdy, Curtia Wright & Jai Smith], Toronto.

  • Summer Evenings

    The designs are themed around the natural beauty of the area (Rouge National Park), the wildlife that inhabits it and childhood nostalgia; being out late into the summer evenings enjoying the weather and summer activities with friends. The tall grasses are a throwback to the meadows. The murals were painted with outdoor exterior acrylic paint for Street Art Toronto as part of their concrete barrier art program.

  • Wild Geese

    STYNA created this mural for the 2022 Nelson International Mural Festival on the roof of Kootenay Lake Hospital’s emergency department. The wall is visible from view street, as well as visible to the patients in the hospital’s palliative care ward.

    “Wild Geese” is inspired by Mary Oliver’s poem “Wild Geese”.

    “Christina Huynh is an illustrator and muralist based in Western Sydney, Australia that paints under the name STYNA. Her art practice involves creating murals, illustrations and picture books from differing mediums of watercolour, ink and pen to acrylic and aerosol.

  • Mother Nature & Friends

    “This mural is inspired by Toronto, Canada and Mother Nature. On the front there is a mountain in the shape of Mother Nature’s face, she is smiling and resting peacefully with flowers and trees all over her. Her hair wraps to the right side, transforming into a flow of lines, swirls and more flowers. Toronto’s famous white squirrel is there as well. She is munching on an acorn and being as cute as she always is. Summer scenario on the front is changing into Autumn, as the mural wraps to the left. There are maple and oak leafs flying through the sky. It moves into a night, where floral design frames a special guest, Racoonie. He is startled to be caught playing with a little yellow duckie, a reference to the World’s largest rubber duck’s appearance in Toronto, 2017. This is a little tribute to it, since it wasn’t able to return to Toronto this year.”

  • Flora & Fauna

    This is my most recent community/public mural. I was happy to participate in the @bellboxmurals program in Etobicoke. My theme was local flora and fauna. It was a joy to create. I finished at a tough lighting time of day with this speckled light through the trees but since I don’t know when I’ll be back in Etobicoke these are the best pics I have for now. Pastels for life.

  • Grimsby Grown

    This Bell Box recalls fruit crates from roadside fruit stands in Grimsby and those that travel to grocery stores throughout Ontario delivering Grimsby fresh produce. It celebrates the history and culture of fruit farming, farming technology and agricultural research that has been such a part of the region for generations and is still alive today.

  • Spring Cardinals

    ‘Spring Cardinals’ depicts three adult northern cardinals, two sitting and one alighting on a pear branch, their bright colours contrasting against a bright blue sky. Pear tree branches span across the surfaces of the box, wrapping and visually connecting all sides. On the branch, flowers are budding while others are bursting forth. Leaves are painted in the bright green of early spring and are in various stages of unfurling in the sunny air.

  • Beauty

    This piece was created by Monica to accompany the beautiful poem by local Barrie poet laureate Victoria Butler, to encourage inclusiveness and empower the community to just ‘BE’ their authentic selves. Commissed by the BE Beauty and Wellness team, this piece is on display in their main foyer and includes a variety of faces from all walks of life; connected in a continuous line to showcase a universal connection we all share. They understand that each person has a unique journey and lived experience, and by sharing this knowledge with one another we can individually and collectively move towards our BEcoming. Community empowerment was the focus for the artist and she was honoured to work alongside a local business and poet to create the mural.

  • Musical Healing

    My piece entitled “Musical Healing” [May 2, 2022] is inspired by the undying magic of music and its good vibrations – it heals the soul in so many ways.

    Commissioned to complete a planter mural in Kensington Market, Toronto by the Kensington Market BIA. Thank you for the opportunity to beautify the community and get an early start on the public art season!

  • Let’s Fly T.O

    This mural is located in the Postcard Restaurant of the Best Western Hotel of the Toronto skyline surrounded by a vibrant sunset. The CN Tower features a light display using RGB strip lights creating a light show for the customers to enjoy.

  • Kind of Blue

    Huge thank you to @kj.bit for putting on an amazing Mentor and Mentee mural jam in Oct 2021.

    This is the garage I got and I immediately saw a piano. I wanted to transform the windows into black keys that glow at night. It is a whimsical play on a jazz pianist.

  • Domov Muj/My Home

    This playful and vibrant piece celebrates the art and culture of Eastern Europeans living in Toronto and Bloorcourt Village, which I’m glad to call my home. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for my father who immigrated from Czech Republic to Canada in 1969, in order to live a better life and for which I’m eternally grateful.

  • All You Need is LOVE

    As part of the The Bentway’s 2021 Community Incubation Program, I facilitated virtual workshops where participants learned basic techniques to prepare for the collaborative window mural. Based on the theme of community love, I created a fun and playful mural design with big, bold letterforms and intersecting shapes. Participants came out to paint and contribute to this massive window mural.

  • Lilies of the Water

    Inspired by the resilience of the natural world, this mural highlights nature’s survival through harsh and changing conditions of our urban environments.

    Like nature, a human life’s journey isn’t always flowing easily towards our hopes and dreams, it often ebbs towards feelings of being lost and confused. This is part of the beauty of life and our perseverance; like a tough water lily thriving in its unique environment. After all, blossoming water lilies have emerged from the mud, evolving over many years to survive.

  • Jungle Boogie

    Inspired by the vibrant, lush plants of tropical climates, this mural brought some much needed warmth to the public during the winter season.

    Painted as part of The Junction BIA’s Window Wonderland, for Antidote Wellness Lab, animated by Mackenzie Bedford. The video animation brought the mural to life with the plants moving about, a magical bird flying into the scene, soaking up the view, and blossoming into a bird of a different colour and flying away again.