I was grateful to work on the latest restoration of the Rainbow Tunnel in Moccasin Trail Park in Toronto. You may have walked through this iconic tunnel, or seen it while driving along the Don Valley Parkway near Don Mills and Lawrence.

"One of Toronto’s biggest landmarks, the “Rainbow Tunnel” was first produced by B.C. Johnson in 1971 on the east side of the Don Valley Parkway, approaching Lawrence Avenue East. He decided to paint it in memory of a friend who had passed a year prior in an unfortunate incident involving a fiery crash on the DVP. For Johnson, this was a memorial that marked the one-year anniversary of his friend’s passing." - https://muralroutes.ca/mural/rainbow-tunnel/

This mural has long been one of my favourite parts of the city. It's so magical, especially when you come upon it at twilight. Unfortunately, it also attracts a steady stream of taggers who see the rainbow as a canvas for their graffiti, and so it has needed to be repainted many times over the years. It felt good to be part of keeping it alive.

Working with a team of four other artists from Mural Routes, we scrubbed off about five years of dirt and algae, scraped old flaking paint, primed over graffiti and repainted the beautiful rainbow stripes. Rob Matejka, who has mentored many muralists over the years, spear-headed the effort, making sure everyone was well-supported and enjoying the work, and pointing out the little trails in the algae left by snails who had been happily snacking their way across the walls. It will be a while before they are able to feed here again as we took all their food away! Working at the top of an eighteen foot ladder was a little nerve-wracking, but as working muralists, we all have training in working at heights that we refresh every three years to stay on top of regulations and keep best practices sharp in our minds. Safety first! Painting in a park by a river with only the distant sound of cars passing on the highway was a nice change from working downtown, and I got to meet and work with some very talented artists whose work I now see all over the city.