Big Bang, Big Boom

New (ish) wall-painted animation by Blu. If you don't know about Blu, get to.

BIG BANG BIG BOOM - the new wall-painted animation by BLU from blu on Vimeo.

International Meeting of Styles 2010 - Highbury Studios

The list of artists involved in this monster burn up of Highbury Studios reads like an Interpol wanted list. This was a great event with a wicked mix of people; sick artists; good music and Jerk Chicken - Bang!

Events like this can do a lot of good for the the misinformed about exactly who is doing graffiti in 2010. The answer is - a lot of different people. There were business men who hold down high powered jobs and bomb on the weekends; art students majoring in street art on their MA courses; old school train wreckers turned freelance commercial artists and all sorts (even a girl writer - no lie).

This was definitely the face-washed and church-clothed side of graffiti culture that, in truth, very few people have a problem with. What was interesting about this event was that it allowed the public to talk to writers and hear them defend the crappy tags and bus shelter throw ups that get Daily Mail readers so incensed. One artist, speaking to the parents of a teenage boy who had brought his black book along, advised they encourage him to tag as much as possible to develop his control of the pen or can and to experiment with his own repertoire of lines that are the essence of an artist's style and skill.

These arguments are refreshing to hear and more so when they are articulated by respectable adults who earn a good positive living from decorating and beautifying society for the enjoyment of all who pass by.

Enjoys the pix - peaCe

La Alta is at it again...

New film (yes, I mean FILM) from my Dominican sister La Alta. This piece requires some time to get into but it is worth the endeavour as there are some really beautiful moments.

Props to you girl!

peaCe

Just another case of that old HPA 2.0

This is the other side of the trailer I posted yesterday. I'm not feeling this one so much, especially the dodgy pink outline on the letters but the contrast between the blue and purple wasn't sufficient to read easily and I had a limited palette with me. Still it looks better than it did in white!

peaCe

Just another case of that old HPA

Another HPA piece done today while it was blowing a gale. I ended up with a bit of extra shimmer on my face than I was planning!

Grand Central *New Mixtape* FREENESS

New hype from Mr Drastick and Kinetik aka Grand Central to accompany their new free mixtape. If this track is anything to go by expect a collection of mature, honest and reflective verses weaving through jazzy, yesteryear production. This is a tight outfit (pause) with a heavy sound, check for this.

Download the mixtape God Loves Grinders Vol.I from the Grand Central website here.

New Painting

Here's pics of 3 new paintings I've been working on and some older ones I have recently photographed. The new pieces are a mix of spraypaint, inks and acrylic. The first 2 are actually on opposite sides of the same piece of plywood, so selling them (or even displaying them) would be interesting. The third is a remix of an older painting that I was unhappy with. The orange and pink of the original composition can be seen in the fill of the new lettering. The fourth is painted on a roadworks sign that was knocking about my estate for that bit too long to leave alone. The fifth and sixth pictures are of a piece I did on my old water tank. Originally one of a pair, the other half is installed in a friend's garden near Brighton. Hope you enjoy them and feel free to comment/bid on all of them. peaCe

Quiet Storm.

Lumber.

Invade.

OLDER PIECES

Warning.

Tank #2.

Tank #2.

It's Yours.

Down with HPA?

This is a throw up I did this morning for Hillingdon Play Association. After a bit of a cock-up with them bringing the wrong trailer and a couple of monsoon-esque downpours, I managed to get this piece up. It was not a piece I had planned to do as the trailer was already painted and I was just filling time until the blank trailer arrived. Still it looks pretty tough I reckon, and it's always fun getting paid to paint. More picture soon.

peaCe

Stig Of The Dump - I Got Game - ME TOO!

This track from Stig arrived in my email inbox from a promotions company with the attached message:

I Got Game [CLEAN EDIT] - PLEASE DO NOT BLOG OR BOOTLEG - SUPPORT THE ARTIST and LABEL.

So, if you're really down with hiphop, skip this post or buy the track on itunes and just read the text from this post while listening to your purchased version in your favourite (AppleTM) media player. That's real hiphop love fam...

...or is it? No, it is not. Now, I've met Stig a few times and we have mutual friends in Newcastle so I want to support him as an artist. I know he's got crazy rhyming ability and, in a battle, he will eat you alive (pun intended)!

However, if I'd bought this track without hearing it (like most of my record collection), I'd be whinging about the lack of depth to the production; the predictable subject matter; the lack of battle adrenalin and the general lack of originality I feel this track suffers from. But, as I received this track free to my email, I want to blog it and raise awareness of it in support of a rapper I want to see do well. I mean, it's a decent track. Good lyrics and delivery; tight concept; querky production but enough headnod to get keep you in the groove etc etc etc - the medium is the massage as Marshall McLuhan once banged on about confusingly

See, the nature by which we acquire music and the contract we enter into when purchasing it has been too long abused by record industry executives, managers, promoters, publicists and artists (through their collusion) for anyone to trust a product based solely on its PR.

Supporting artists and supporting labels are not the same thing. Denying public access and trialing of an experiential product such as music cannot be seen as supporting artists. raising public awareness; facilitating healthy debate, constructive critique and honest reviewing may lead to an informed investment in support of an artists creative endeavours.

This public relationship between artist and audience prior to investment could force the hand of the record companies to do the job they have been shirking for too long - to source, develop, produce and release the best music being made. This would hopefully give artists the motivation to lay off on the Autotune and stripper raps and put some creativity into their work. This approach aims at sustaining artists longevity, for your future enjoyment and subsequent re-investment, as well as reinvigorating the development of new talent. To me, that seems more supportive than the average promotions company approach of trying to get as many people to buy one piece of well-marketed shit before everyone buys another piece of equally well-marketed shit instead. We have been there, the only difference is that you don't have to traipse around Soho (or wherever) in the rain to do it. This second approach can only serve the interests of the promotions company eager to secure future trade by wowing label owners and execs with impressive sales figures for their roster of artists with little regard for the sustenance of those artists or their careers after the campaign has ended.

Art? Child's play...

I don't usually involve my kids in my blogging because of the fear of paedophiles drilled into my mind by our tabloid press (joke). However, I was especially pleased with today's creative intervention:

You need:

1 roll of lining paper

squeezy markers

straws

sugar paper (for viewfinders)

camera

Method:

Let the kids go crazy with the squeezy markers to get some good lines going on.

Next, introduce the blowing ink techniques to deal with the puddles of ink that will form.

Stop them before it looks rubbish.

When it is dry, hand out the viewfinders and let them crawl around the paper framing their favourite bits.

Photograph their choices and whizz them through photoshop.

voila - happy summer holidays parents!

peaCe