A Toronto street artist has paid tribute to the city’s Deer Park neighbourhood in a big way, erecting a 10-storey mural at the intersection of Yonge Street and St. Clair Avenue East.

The piece features a larger-than-life image of a deer, in playful reference to the neighbourhood’s name. At 483 square metres, it starts on the second floor of 1 St. Clair Ave. E. and extends to just below the roof.

It is part of a series of new street art commissions through the StreetARToronto Monumental Program, which provides opportunities for street artists to partner with property owners to create murals throughout the city. StreetARToronto partnered with Slate Asset Management to bring this and another mural to the north Toronto neighbourhood.

“Working with (StreetARToronto) and Slate has been a great experience, and I’m thrilled with the opportunity to leave my mark on a neighbourhood that means so much to me,” said birdO, whose real name is Jerry Rugg.

“As an artist … my intention is to brighten street corners and make you scratch your head.”

The mural showcases birdO’s tradition of highlighting animals, mixing in pops of colour and playing with perspective to trick the viewer’s eye. birdO has lived in Toronto for 20 years and although his work has been commissioned around the world, he said he especially loves working here.

“I moved to Toronto when I was 18 years old and the first place I landed was at Yonge and St. Clair,” he said. “It’s a special moment in my career to return to the area and paint the largest mural I’ve ever done.”