On September 24, 1974, Charles was sent to the Toronto Zoo, where he has lived ever since. His name was given to him because his particularly round face reminded the staff at the zoo of Charlie Brown. When Charles was first brought to the zoo, he was considered rather unattractive because he was missing part of his hair and had lesions and/or sores that bespeckled his body.

Charles, along with Amanda, Barney, Caroline, Josephine, Julia and Samantha, were part of the Toronto Zoo's first acquisition of a group of wild-caught gorillas for the newly opened zoo. The Toronto Zoo opened its doors in August 1974 and since then some 33 million visitors have seen the zoo's gorillas (a figure which grows by about a million people each year). This group of seven gorillas has conceived over 33 children and are represented by more than 23 living offspring, comprising three generations. As of 2016, Charles has sired 15 children, of which ten still survive today.[1]

The Zoo is divided into seven zoogeographic regions: Indo-Malaya, Africa, the Americas, Australasia, Eurasia, Canadian Domain and the Tundra Trek. Animals are displayed indoors in tropical pavilions and outdoors in naturalistic environments, with viewing at many levels. 

One of five murals commissioned by the Chinatown BIA located at 484 Dundas Street West. Toronto, Ontario.

19' X 75'' , acrylic paint on primed, brick and mortar surface.

Journey to the West is a Chinese novel published in the 16th century during the Ming dynasty and attributed to Wu Cheng'en. It is one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. In English-speaking countries, Monkey, Arthur Waley's popular abridged translation, is most commonly read.

The novel is an extended account of the legendary pilgrimage of the Tang dynasty Buddhist monk Xuanzang who traveled to the "Western Regions", that is, Central Asia and India, to obtain Buddhist sacred texts (sūtras) and returned after many trials and much suffering. It retains the broad outline of Xuanzang's own account, Great Tang Records on the Western Regions, but the Ming dynasty novel adds elements from folk tales and the author's invention, that is, that Gautama Buddha gave this task to the monk (referred to as Tang Sanzang in the novel) and provided him with three protectors who agree to help him as an atonement for their sins. These disciples are Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing, together with a dragon prince who acts as Tang Sanzang's steed, a white horse.

Giant Panda Exhibiti   2014

The Great Wall mural  was painted for the Chinatown B.I.A. in 2013.

Located at 421 Dundas Street West, Toronto, Ontario

With permission from the original artist's estate and representatives  BlincStudios was commissioned by the University of Toronto Faculty Club to create a series of banners for their outdoor patio area. Blinc Studios replicated sections of paintings that are held in the Faculty Clubs art collection.  

The Canadian Artist's  

Fredrick Varley

Doris McCarthy

Lawren Harris

David Milne

A.J. Casson

The Department of Canadian Heritage’s World War Commemorations Community Fund awarded the Boys & Girls Clubs of Kawartha Lakes funds for their community-based commemorative and educational mural project entitled “The Home Front”.  A series of five murals were conceived and designed narrating some of the stories and lives of the Kawartha Lakes community during the years of the two world war.

The objective being to foster a greater awareness and understanding among the Kawartha Lakes communities of the importance of the world wars and their communities roles they played during the conflicts and some of their experiences during those historical years of Canada’s history.  

…..appreciation of its impact on the Canada we know today and develop an increased sense of identity and pride.

Mural artists Allan Bender and John Nobrega of Blinc Studios were commissioned to design and paint the murals and students from the local district high schools took part in several workshops to research their communities, identify themes and gather stories and photographs for the murals.  High School art students participated in the commencement blocking in stage of painting the murals. 

The murals serve as an educational tool for Club staff to teach children and youth about historical Canadian accomplishments. Other partners in the planning and implementation of the project are the Royal Canadian Legion Sir Sam Hughes Branch 67, local historian

18' X 72' , acrylic paint on primed,  concrete surface.

The Giraffe exhibit originally was the Toronto Zoo's elephants exhibit prior to 2013.

Toka, Thika and Iringa, the three female elephants that remained at the Toronto Zoo years were sent halfway across the continent and have found a new lease on life roaming the hills of a northern California sanctuary. 

HISTORIC BACKGROUND

­From the early 1920’s through to 1940  Pickering College adopted a policy of providing young promising artists free room and board in exchange for teaching in the art studies programs as the artist in residence.

Harold Haydon, friend of Taylor Statten and employee of Taylor Statten camp was the resident artist at Pickering College for the academic years of 1933-34.

While in residence Harold Haydon was encouraged by the Athletic Director C.R. “Blackie” Blackstock.to produce a mural for the Pickering College gymnasium.

Blackie was an admirer and strong proponent of the works and accomplishments of Tait McKenzie and introduced the young Harold Haydon to McKenzie’s works and philosophies.

Mr. Mackenzie was a Canadian born sculptor, scout, scholar-athlete, surgeon, soldier, and physical educator. He believed that physical education and health activities had a beneficial relationship with the academic program in higher education. He taught that exercise kept human beings well, serving as a preventative measure to illness.

A childhood friend of McKenzie's and classmate at McGill University was  James Naismith,  well known as the inventor of basketball. It was Naismith who kindled McKenzie's interest in gymnastic activities and physical education. 

 “Blackie”allotted Haydon a 16’X 44’ end wall in the gymnasium. This was to be Haydon’s first mural as well as his first commission  as a professional artist.

Designing and Painting of the Original Mural 

In early April of 1934 the Headmaster Joseph McCulley and Board of Trustees approved his 2' x 5' watercolor drawing.  By late April he commenced and the mural was completed for a December 8, 1934 unveiling

The following is excerpts from Harold Haydon’s website  and best describes Haydon’s approach to designing and painting the Pickering College mural.

“The mural in the gymnasium of Pickering College has as its theme "the supreme expression of physical energy through art".

It depicts "the function of a gymnasium and of physical education in this energy-made world (which) is to sublimate the release of physical energy to the level of art and to help it serve the needs of a cooperative community." Its borders incorporate the evolution of both plant and animal life while the main portion shows on the right the development of physical education and the ideal of a society "inspired by concepts of brotherhood and cooperation." On the left is the role of physical activity in North American daily life from its necessity in early pioneering days to its transformation into leisure time activities in the modern commercial world. Coupled with this history is depicted the ever present warning of how force and oppression can over-shadow and degenerate a healthy society.”

There was excellent reference for repairing and restoring Mr.Hayden’s mural in the form of his original painted study (or cartoon). This would not only serve as his presentation to Pickering College for final approval of his design but as his reference for composition, colours, size and replicating of his imagery to the 4’X 8’ masonite panels. 

A common practice but not confirmed is creating a grid pattern on the study and then drawing a large scale grid on each of the panels.  He did use his cartoon study as his primary reference and each panel was painted as an exact scaled up replication taken from the cartoon.

The mural was  painted with oil on a series of  twenty 4’X8’ masonite panels and eight 18”X8’ masonite panels. All panels were originally fastened to the wall using concrete nails.

The myth of the Herd-Boy and the Weaver-Girl

21' X 64' , acrylic paint on a primed brick and mortar surface.

Chinatown BIA  mural 2017.  449 Dundas Street West Toronto,Ont

The Herd-Boy and the Weaver-Girl

This story, of which there are many versions, goes back to the sixth century BC and can be found in the first known book of Chinese poetry, The Book of Songs (Shijing 诗经). 

A very long time ago, when the King of the Sky created the heavens, he decorated it with stars and asked his beautiful daughter to help him by weaving the clouds and mists. It was a long task and when the king noticed his daughter looking tired and drawn, he ordered her to take a break and go out to play among the stars. The princess headed down towards the Milky Way to bathe, whereupon she came across a handsome herd-boy grazing his water buffalo by the banks of the stream. Distracted by the boy the princess lost track of time and returned home to her work long after the curfew her father had set. The King, upon discovering the reason for her late return was very angry and forbade her to visit the boy again. In case she disobeyed him, the King poured thousands more stars into the Milky Way until it was no longer a stream but a flowing river that the princess and the herd-boy could not cross. Without a bridge, the two were stranded on opposite sides of the Milky Way forever more. The Princess, who had fallen in love with the herd-boy, was distraught, and cried until her father relented. The King and his daughter reached an agreement that he would allow her to spend one day of each year with her herd-boy if she worked hard all year round. To this day, on the seventh day of the seventh month of every year the King sends a flock of magpies over the Milky Way to form a bridge. The weather must be clear on this evening or the lovers cannot cross the celestial river to meet each other. If it rains the pair must wait another year. On a clear night you can see their two bright stars together in the sky. If it rains it is said that the drops falling to earth are the tears of the Weaver-Girl Princess.

In the 1940's Pickering College commissioned Group of Seven artist Franz Johnston to paint a series of banners for each of the provinces in existence at the time.  

BlincStudios was commissioned to design and paint three more banners for the provinces t not yet officially instated at the time Mr. Johnston painted the original works. 

They were painted in the same style, with similar oil based paints on prepared linen stretchers.

The Chinese Dragon mural  was painted for the Chinatown B.I.A. in 2016.

22' X 89' , acrylic paint on primed, corrugated metal surface.

Located at 493 Dundas Street West, Toronto, Ontario

The Department of Canadian Heritage’s World War Commemorations Community Fund awarded the Boys & Girls Clubs of Kawartha Lakes funds for their community-based commemorative and educational mural project entitled “The Home Front”.  A series of five murals were conceived and designed narrating some of the stories and lives of the Kawartha Lakes community during the years of the two world war.

The objective being to foster a greater awareness and understanding among the Kawartha Lakes communities of the importance of the world wars and their communities roles they played during the conflicts and some of their experiences during those historical years of Canada’s history.  

Mural artists Allan Bender and John Nobrega of Blinc Studios were commissioned to design and paint the murals and students from the local district high schools took part in several workshops to research their communities, identify themes and gather stories and photographs for the murals.  High School art students participated in the commencement blocking in stage of painting the murals. 

The murals serve as an educational tool for Club staff to teach children and youth about historical Canadian accomplishments. Other partners in the planning and implementation of the project are the Royal Canadian Legion Sir Sam Hughes Branch 67, local historian

Blinc was hired by Astound Group an award-winning design & fabrication company to provide painting expertise in prepping and painting fibreglass constructed sculptures commisioned by their client, McDonald's Canada to be displayed in front of their hospitality suite at the 2014 Olympic Games held in Sochi, Russia . 

Cliffside Pharmacy Onondaga Schooner Mural

2340 Kingston Rd,

Scarborough, ON M1N 1V2

With the removal of the Robert E. Lee statue and advent of the 2017 riots in Charlettesville, Virginia,  O'Charley's Restaurant engaged Blinc Studios to remove and replace a portrait of Robert E. Lee in one of their murals in Richmond Virginia.