Olek – got to say I am pretty torn

Now this is a twat bike... forget the baskets and fixies

I have seen your brightly coloured knit wear pieces across the Eastend and initially I thought it was a rather amusing thing, you see us East Londoners are ribbed for our quaint ways such as riding Dickensian bikes, dressing like dandys and endulging in rather out dated pursuits such as lawn bowls and knitting. So to see Street Art in the form of knitting did make me chuckle.

Then after seeing a few more pieces and deciding it was actually a bit of an eyesore that might have, in the times of the Klaxons been suitable for aural consumption when we thought new rave was rather amusing.

Now you are getting these rather fetching banning orders and threats of fines.

Knit Art is banned

Here is my quandary, artists should not be fined for their art, I would never agree with that, but at the same time I just plain don’t get this flouro sensory dust up, so this might result in them being removed.

Spotted on Londonist

Banksy book – If ya’l interested?

Banksy book

Banksy divides opinion but one thing you have to admit is that he is the most well known of our street arting chums. He clearly has made a fortune as everyone from Brangelina to your nan has a print from our undercover Bristolian. Another book is out now from Paul Gough called the Bristol Legacy, I wonder if Banksy gets a cut…

I like some of the stuff he has done but sometimes it does feel like he is using political statements for the sake of it, it feels a little diluted. I get he wants to say something but he can try and retain a little bit of perspective and sense of humour.

Also to be honest the whole Robbo vs Banksy thing started of as mildly interesting if a little disrespectful and now it just seems like a stunt that has gone badly wrong.

Things I’ve seen…

It is the final day of my little break from work and therefore the amount of galleries and mooching I can achieve will be much less. From here on in guys I am working for a living again, with that in mind I thought I’d sign off with a few images I took today.

Just off Mare St.

Corp...

Love this, mix of freehand, stencil and even print outs I think. I have not got a head for heights so not going to climb in order to find out

Along the canal

Urban redevelopment - face the facts

You can tell the Olympics is just around the corner, even the empty flats in the Eastend have been given a lil make-over, we wouldn’t want our touristy friends to see un-used boarded up eyesores. Bravo Hackney council

Just propped up in the Eastend

It's only a door dear

I’ve said it before, Street Art does not need to be beautiful in the classic sense, I’d take a nice and simple piece of humour over some of the staid stuff you can see… this is very cute

Another Stik…

Stik & A N Other

Think it is a new one as I have not noticed this before, it is pretty big and in a fairly clear place off Old Street. I think this might be the start of the piece, and that there is more to follow as we have seen before, Stik likes to re-visit his pieces in the future.

Below is a great piece as well, huge head, not sure who that is, any thoughts ya’l?

Sweet Toof – Prolific

Mobile toof

Another piece in East London, it seems every corner you turn there is another piece, maybe he should try another part of London or even jump on the train and head to Manchester, they could do with a little help.

Just off Mare St and London Fields, well hidden mind…

 

 

Things I’ve seen….

Mooching around London, spying what I can spy, taking a few pics and showing you lot…

This piece I would like to name Golden Showers.

I think the name is rather apt....

This is a massage parlour on Great Eastern St, I have not noticed the graf before, it used to just look quite dull and seedy… now it looks rather alluring and I am wondering what ‘Canary Flavour’ is, still not sure I’ll be going in there mind

Happy finish?

Possibly the most photographed in East London? Possibly. Always being tweaked and added to, nice addition with the ‘Home Sweet, Home Less’ script.

Ain't that the truth

Sweet Toof – from blank canvas to finished article

Featured a lot of Sweet Toof recently, because he is bloody everywhere, the guy must have just finished his day job because he is everywhere.

On Tuesday I was wondering home and spotted someone just starting off a piece, I saw the outline of some gnashers so slyly took a pic and scuttled off.

In the beginning....

Today I returned and it is finished, here it is in all it’s glory

Ta daaaaa

Clean Toof

Given the location away now...

All I’ll say is it is Off Hackney Road, very simple to find

Graffiti Graveyard – East London’s best kept secret

Graffiti Graveyard

Today I found a gem, an absolute gem in the East End. I have never seen it before on any other website or been told about it…. surely others have spied it?!

Bang-up, back-up

I have named it Graffiti Graveyard because it is a wasteground, a dead area which may have formally been to be a basketball or football court, now it is littered with rubbish, beer cans, spray cans, bins, wood and general crap. But on each and every wall of this enclosure there are bright, vibrant sometimes poignant pieces of street art. There is a tribute from Team Robbo to their fallen leader and various other RIP pieces and tributes, therefore the Graffiti Graveyard feels spot on.

King Robbo

Jobzy

Now for any regular readers you will know I am conflicted when it comes to giving away the exact location of pieces of street art, personally, and it is only my opinion, I think it should be discovered and not advertised explicitly. So all I will say is that it is in the Broadway / London Fields area of London.

Unknown

Access Play

Toast anyone?

Plus there is a naked man….

Nice beard, small dick though

It’s a 50:50 French affair

Choose your side of the bed

Spotted this online this morning and loved it, clean and crisp lines on one side then hectic graf and tagging on the other. French collective Tilt from France have detailed it from the bed and pillows, down to a market and ornament on the vanity table, actually check out Tober, I think they carried it on to him too.

It is called Panic Room and is one of the rooms created by artists for a hotel in Marseille called Au Vieux Panier personally I’d love to sleep in a work of art, but imagine waking on one side for a moment, dozing off and then waking to the other. Brilliantly confused.

Like...

Spied on The Big Addict

Manchester – Street Art

Frank Sidebottom... with added knob

Well these are the few examples I saw in an admittedly flying visit when I was able to go out and avoid the rain. Jesus it rains non-stop there.

So like these pieces as they have a nice little bit of humour, even if technically they are not very complex, that is a good thing sometimes. These were around the Northern Quarter and whilst there were other examples I either did not get any good shots because of the fecking weather or I thought the pieces were not that great.

Storm Tropper taking a wee break

Storm Trooper channeling Travolta

I would have liked to have had more time to search the city for different and better examples, any Manc natives know some good areas to check out then please drop me a line.

We did end up having butlers in the buff serving us drinks… I can provide those pics if you really want but then again….