Cabbagetown Morning Light and meeting the Mayor

I'm very thrilled that my painting "Cabbagetown Morning Light" was nominated as a finalist for the Mayor's Purchase Award and has been acquired by the City of Toronto for their fine art collection.

Each year the city works with a modest $5000 budget to acquire pieces reflective of Toronto life. The collection first began in the mid 1800’s and includes works by the Group of Seven and Norval Morrisseau.

More about the city of Toronto’s fine art collection:
https://globalnews.ca/news/9992755/look-inside-toronto-city-art-collection/

Cabbagetown Morning Light, 48x36”, Spray paint on wood panel

More mini paintings of Toronto

Mini 6x6 canvases on display at Worth Gallery Dec 7-24

6x6 mini canvases

These are some painting I have going in a small works show at Worth Gallery. They are little snapshots/memories of places I’ve come across while exploring Toronto.

Conlins Road Bicycle Barrier Mural

Had a blast painting this mural as part of the street art Toronto’s concrete barrier program on Conlin’s Road. It was tricky dimensions to work with so I tried to squeeze in a napping giant reading amongst the trees.

Finished mural of a napping lady

Napping lady reading a book amongst the trees original sketch.

Napping lady sketch, coloured digitally.

Kensington Market Toronto Mural Artwork

This was a double mural I recently completed in Toronto showing two scenes in Kensignton Market. The first scenes is at Sam’s Convenience parking lot at night time, the second scene is a sunny afternoon in Bellevue park.

Garage door mural by Colin Tea

Garage door mural of Bellevue Park in Kensignton market.

Mural artwork of a night-time scene in Toronto

Chirico Style Mural Details

These are some details from a mural I painted the other week in the style of Giorgio de Chirico, an 20th century Italian surrealist painter.

Chirico style toronto mural

The RL Hearn smokestack featured in the back of the mural.

Westcoast killer whale mural

I painted the mural a few weeks ago, its a impressionist (group of seven inspired) landscape with a beautiful sunset and a jumping killer whale. The whale was a new element for me and the splash was a bit challenging. I really enjoyed painting the tree and background which you may be able to tell from all the detailed pictures I’ve share below!

Toronto mural of a killer whale, west coast vibes!

Colin Tea Toronto mural details of the impressionist tree.

Mural details of the sunset. Having never been to the westcoast this was inspired from by a trip up to Lake Superior.

Details of the tree branch

Canadian Landscape Mural

Very proud of this “Mirage on the Portage” mural I completed last week. The idea is a canadian landscape mural inspired by the paintings of the group of seven with a surrealist twist. When you are on a long portage and you’re dreaming of dropping into the convenience store for a cold drink. See the full finished mural below:

Mirage on the Portage mural by Toronto mural artist Colin Tea.

Mirage on the Portage mural by Toronto mural artist Colin Tea.

Here are some detail shots from the finished mural:

These are some shots of the mural as it was being painted:

Georgian Bay Canadian Landscape Backyard Mural

I had a great time painting this backyard mural last weekend in Toronto. After spending 2 weeks camping and painting canvases in northern Ontario last summer I was very excited to have a chance to paint a Canadian shield mural and try to capture the beauty of the landscape. Also a great chance to feel like I’m in the group of seven!

Group of Seven Canadian Landscape backyard mural by Colin Tea

Group of Seven Canadian Landscape backyard mural by Colin Tea

Colin Tea Toronto backyard mural in progress

Colin Tea Toronto backyard mural in progress

This was the sketch I used going into the mural.

This was the sketch I used going into the mural.

Toronto Raccoon Mural Part 2

This is part two of the Toronto Raccoon mural series. This garage door mural painting in little Italy shows the struggle between the homeowner putting out their trash and the pesky raccoons. Had a ton of fun painting this mural and once again celebrating my favourite animal!

Toronto Raccoon mural artwork by Colin Tea.

Toronto Raccoon mural artwork by Colin Tea.

Toronto street scene mural details

Toronto street scene mural details

Garage door mural details by Colin Tea

Garage door mural details by Colin Tea

Had fun painting this giant raccoon playing around with the trash bins

Had fun painting this giant raccoon playing around with the trash bins

Mural details of the Toronto streetlights and trees

Mural details of the Toronto streetlights and trees

Toronto Raccoon Mural Part 1

This is a mural I painted in Kensington market last week of a giant raccoon walking past Oxford Fruits.

Giant raccoon walking down Augusta street.

Giant raccoon walking down Augusta street.

Painting details of the raccoon.

Painting details of the raccoon.

Oxford fruit sign detail from the mural.

Oxford fruit sign detail from the mural.

Me posing with the finished mural. That’s a big raccoon!

Me posing with the finished mural. That’s a big raccoon!

First mural of 2021 - Miss Toronto Cruise Ship

I painted my first mural of 2021 yesterday on the covering on the Miss Toronto cruise ship. The concept played off the name “Miss Toronto” and also the daydreaming about summertime and the lake. The Toronto Sun featured the mural in an article about how the industry has been struggling during covid.

Close up of the Miss Toronto mural by Queen’s Quay

Close up of the Miss Toronto mural by Queen’s Quay

Full Mural

Full Mural

And this is the article by the Toronto Sun

toronto sun colin tea mural.PNG

And the response from twitter (haha!):

twitter response haha.PNG

Portrait of Virginia

This is a commissioned portrait I painted for a lady named Virginia who I never met before. She left me a very sweet voicemail for me after receiving the portrait as a gift, very rewarding. Hopefully I’ll get a chance to meet her after the lockdowns are over.

acrylic portrait of virginia.jpg