Nick Sweetman Featured Mural Artist
I’ve been following Nick for a few years now. Every time I see his work I am in awe. He just gets better as time goes by. Nick has got to be one of the hardest working artists in the city.
I’ll let him describe himself in his own words from his personal website:
“Nick Sweetman is an independent, multidisciplinary artist from Toronto. He has gone on to lead and contribute to numerous mural projects around the city from East to West. He is interested in drawing attention to physical and conceptual sites of fracture and intersection between natural forces and human-designed objects and spaces. By this he hopes to encourage consideration of our relationship with the planet and its non-human inhabitants.”
Nick Sweetman
I can’t keep up with him. There’s still a few of his projects that I have yet to see. And I have seen a lot of his work over the last 5 years. I’ll add to this post as I check them out.
These aren’t in any order.. mostly when I came discovered the artwork or when I posted it.
Patch Project Panel Mural
This is the first mural by Nick Sweetman that I came across. This vacant lot used to be a gas station and they are developing a condo in this spot. The developers have to wait several years before construction can begin. In the meantime there is a garden on the site and Nick’s artwork is attached to the fence.
Unfortunately, a couple of years ago a bus hit the mural. After that it became a target for taggers.
The first time I saw it I was blown away. All of the details were incredible to see. Also this particular area is what they describe as an ‘At Risk’ neighbourhood so Nick’s art is a much needed dash of color.
Toronto Street Art Graffiti Found Here:
Grasshopper Mural
This is section of a large mural jam with about 6 street artist in total. Nick Sweetman did the grasshopper and Eliscer Elliott did the art on the right. The wall is outside a tattoo shop.
Toronto Street Art Graffiti Found Here:
Dr. Strange Garage Door Mural
Back in 2016 Nick Sweetman was commissioned to do this mural of Dr Strange which is a Marvel comics character. He did this just before the Benedict Cumberbatch movie came out.
Toronto Street Art Graffiti Found Here:
Kraken Wall Mural
This was Nick Sweetman’s first time putting together a group collaboration project. This is on the wall outside of a school and he had several artists come out and paint. Nick did this section of a Kraken on the far right. I had to look up Kraken on Wiki:
“The kraken (/ˈkrɑːkən/)[1] is a legendary cephalopod-like sea monster of gigantic size in Scandinavian folklore.”
Wiki
Toronto Street Art Graffiti Found Here:
Butterfly Laneway 2017
in 2017 Nick Sweetman put together the first Butterfly Lane Way project for the David Suzuki foundation. Not only did he organize it he also did this garage door mural.
Toronto Street Art Graffiti Found Here:
Bee Harbord Street
This smaller bee was done by Nick Sweetman outside of a business on Harbord St. I walked by this several times before I noticed it one day when I turned around.
Toronto Street Art Graffiti Found Here:
Mike Kennedy Tribute Mural
In November of 2017 Nick Sweetman worked with several street artists to create this tribute to Mike Kennedy (aka Wuns) who passed away earlier that year.
They included his dog in the mural. Sad but touching tribute and it remains in Graffiti Alley to this day.
Toronto Street Art Graffiti Found Here:
Bear & Bee Mural
For some reason I never managed to see Nick Sweetman working on this Bear and Bee mural on Harbord. I seemed to have missed him every time. That wall is very difficult to paint because of the brick texture.
Toronto Street Art Graffiti Found Here:
Bee Bloor Street Mural
June 2016 and this was the first time I saw Nick Sweetman in person. Obviously I couldn’t chat with him because he was on the scissor lift ! This mural with a bee took him about 10 days to finish. It was put together with help from StartArt and it was to recognize Toronto as a Bee City.
Toronto Street Art Graffiti Found Here:
Sick Kids Murals
Omen514 was in charge of the Sick Kids mural project during in the fall of 2017.
Nick Sweetman was one of the artists that worked on a 10 wall campaign.
Toronto Street Art Graffiti Found Here:
Poser ABM Collaboration
Working with PoserABM Nick Sweetman created the butterfly as a holiday gift.
Toronto Street Art Graffiti Found Here:
Spudbomb Collaboration
Nick Sweetman and Spudbomb worked on this mural of a minotaur in the summer of 2015. Again, that brick wall texture is very difficult to paint on.
Toronto Street Art Graffiti Found Here:
Lion Fish Mural
Outside of a drugstore in Chinatown Nick Sweetman painted different types of fish with Mr Tensoe.
Toronto Street Art Graffiti Found Here:
Piranhas Wall Mural
May of 2015 Nick Sweetman painted these piranhas on this wall with a group of other artists.
It’s hard to photograph because of the space…
this is a genius idea.
Toronto Street Art Graffiti Found Here:
Traffic Box Artwork
For ‘Outside the Box’ Nick Sweetman painted this bee on a traffic signal box. ‘Outside the Box’ is the City of Toronto’s program to promote street artists and prevent graffiti.
Toronto Street Art Graffiti Found Here:
Light Up Lane Way Mural
This project was put together by KJBit and titled “Light Up Lane Way”. Nick Sweetman did a collab with Christina Mazzulla and Alex Bacon.
Toronto Street Art Graffiti Found Here:
Hashtag Gallery Munny Show
Although this isn’t street art I am including this canvas and Munny by Nick Sweetman. Hashtag Gallery asked several street artists to paint a Munny along with a canvas.
Toronto Street Art Graffiti Found Here:
Koi Graffiti Alley Mural
In April of 2018 Nick Sweetman did this Koi in the middle of Graffiti Alley. It’s still there tag free.
Toronto Street Art Graffiti Found Here:
Whale Shark Mural
For Wall Expressions 2017 Nick Sweetman created this mural of a Whale Shark.
Toronto Street Art Graffiti Found Here:
Street Car Garage Door
I found this mural of a street car by Nick. It was a commission piece for the homeowner.
Toronto Street Art Graffiti Found Here:
Curb Mural
I don’t know how to describe this small long mural is on a sidewalk by a school. It’s amazing to see all the details that must have taken him forever. I walked by one day and stopped in by tracks when I realized it was by Nick Sweetman.
He has gone on to do those same characters on a massive scale.
Toronto Street Art Graffiti Found Here:
Bee Hotel Mural
The rooftop of a downtown hotel has a patio and beehives! Nick Sweetman painted the bees in this mural along with Scieter and Eliscer Elliott.
Toronto Street Art Graffiti Found Here:
Butterfly LaneWay Project 2019
Not only did Nick Sweetman organize the Butterfly LaneWay Project for the David Suzuki Foundation in 2019 he created this huge mural with Christina Mazzulla.
Toronto Street Art Graffiti Found Here:
Underpass Park Mural
Another collab that Nick Sweetman did with Fiya Bruxa in 2015. I just went there a couple of months ago. It’s worth checking out !
Toronto Street Art Graffiti Found Here:
Wall Expressions 2015 Mural
Nick Sweeetman did two murals on this wall for Wall Expressions 2015.
Toronto Street Art Graffiti Found Here:
Bee Queen St East Mural
This was second huge bee mural that Nick Sweetman did in 2016.
Quote from his Instagram post:
“I was asked to paint pollinators and also to pay homage to the building’s history as a clockmaker’s workshop – the clockmaker who actually started Riverside BIA. I thought the theme of time was appropriate for a mural depicting pollinators because, on the one hand, the clock is ticking on this issue – if we don’t put a stop to the use of neonicotinoid pesticides we may be looking at the eleventh hour for honey bees and wild pollinators. On the other hand, like a clockmaker tucked away in his workshop, tinkering with tiny pieces that all fit together to produce a great effect, pollinators are working tirelessly all over the place, moving pollen from one plant to another, little movements that combine to have a major, crucial role in the growth and reproduction of our crops and the natural world.
Nick Sweetman
“A Time for Pollinators”
Toronto Street Art Graffiti Found Here:
Wellesley Street Mural
This was another mural that Nick did for the Patch Project. It’s basically artwork that covers up construction sites and deters graffiti at the same time.
Toronto Street Art Graffiti Found Here:
Ontario Place Mural
Back in 2017 Nick Sweetman did this piece for a music festival. I was looking out for it and ended up stumbling upon it almost a year later.
Toronto Street Art Graffiti Found Here:
Butterfly Laneway 2018
In 2018 Nick Sweetman organized his second Butterfly Laneway for David Suzuki Foundation.
He did this butterfly mural.
And this mural of a dog for the homeowner.
Toronto Street Art Graffiti Found Here:
Alexander Park Mural
Another collaboration with Scieter and Mr Tensoe in Alexander Park.
Another quote from his Instagram post:
“Huge thanks to my team @mr_tensoe2 and @scieter for helping me transform these two shipping containers into a gigantic production for Scadding Court Community Centre. The one you see in the first picture has been turned into a greenhouse and is operated by the urban agriculture crew at Scadding Court. Inside is a living lab with micro-green grow-op and aquaponics system, which uses tilapia fish to help their plants grow (hence my tilapia character on the other side). “
Nick Sweetman
Toronto Street Art Graffiti Found Here:
Kensington Market Murals
Nick Sweetman has two murals down this alley in Kensington Market.
The Raptor was to celebrate the Toronto Raptors winning the championship in 2019.
He even put it on a t-shirt for sale.
A year earlier Nick did this DragonFly as apart of a collab.
Toronto Street Art Graffiti Found Here:
30th St Underpass Mural
I’ll finish with this huge underpass mural by Nick Sweetman and Philipe Cote. It’s massive and stunning and there really are no words to describe. It’s best to be seen in person !
Toronto Street Art Graffiti Found Here:
This has turned out to be one of my longest posts and there are still more that I could add. Like I said at the beginning Nick is an incredibly talent guy. His art brings color to the dreary landscape of a big busy city. Nick is the real deal and his passion for his art and the environment have truly inspired me.
Phenomenal is probably the best word I could to describe Nick Sweetman !
