I take way too many pictures, so sometimes things pile up in desktop file folders. Occasionally, I'll gloss over a trip altogether. While I talked about New Orleans, I didn't share nearly enough street art. Let's change that. Today, I'm keeping the text brief to make room for more pics.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
June 2010: Thiago Hattnher in São Paulo
While my South African World Cup dreams never materialized this year, I'm dreaming big and I've got good feelings about 2014. If on the off-chance I do make it to Brazil, I'll have a whole lot of street art hunting to do in between the matches. Perhaps Thiago Hattnher will be kind enough to show me around. He's currently studying fine art in the classroom, but he still makes time to paint in the street. He writes:
"I first started doing street art when I was very young. My first contact with graffiti was when I was about ten years old. I was with a friend of my family called Juny KP who was a graffiti writer at the time. He used to take me to some graffiti events to see him painting and he began my contact with that culture."
"Although my first contact was when I was very young, of course I didn't start painting in the streets at that age. I remember when, in my first experiences with spray cans, I didn't have enough strength to press the cap for a long time. After a few years, when I was about 13 years old, I began painting in the streets with a group of friends."
"Nowadays, I'm 19 years old and I'm living in São Paulo studying fine arts. I'm not in the streets anymore very much anymore. I'm more focused on drawings and painting canvases. When I'm painting in the streets of São Paulo, I'm rarely by myself; I'm always with a few friends. For me, the best place to paint is in São José do Rio Preto, my hometown. Unfortunately, I don't go there too often to paint, but it is always good for me and for my production to be there. So far, apart from the usual encounters with the police, nothing really crazy has happened to me while painting in the streets." 
"I developed my style studying a lot of artists and different works. I was also practicing, painting and experimenting a lot. Although I'm happy with my style now, I think my work is always changing and in development, and that is the way I think it has to be. You can't let things get automatic in your production."
Thanks, Thiago! For more photos of his ladies, check out his Flickr.
Monday, June 7, 2010
In The Headlines
Where were the tornadoes that were supposed to roll through this weekend? The raging thunderstorms? I'm okay with the lack of stormage, but I'm still waiting for a front to come through.
Uno put up some new stencils recently.
Upfest rocked Bristol this past weekend. You can still see the results of the festival through July 17.
If you weren't in Atlanta to catch Artlantis this past Saturday, you can still meet up with the guys from Beep Beep Gallery all summer long.
Ken Foster a.k.a. SKOR tags the hell out of Vancouver.
Martha Cooper is the bomb. Period.
Friday, June 4, 2010
Friday ProFile: Seacreative
Back in the day, Italian artist Seacreative tagged up Milan like it was his job. “Sea was my tag when I was just a writer,” he says. “A name of three letters only that sounds and looks nice together. I’ve just kept on using them ever since.” Traveling across Italy and Europe, Seacreative isn’t afraid to pick favorites. “I’ve painted in Italy and Europe,” he says. “Valencia is the one I prefer, especially for people and atmosphere. In Valencia, people are allowed to paint everywhere, even in the city centre. I think that is great!”
Trips to the beach inspired Seacreative to start painting.“When I was a kid, we used to go to the seaside in a place full of graffiti,” he says. “In that place, there was a fantastic hall of fame and you know, all those vibrant colors and tags aroused my enthusiasm. At first, I started copying other writers lettering just like everyone but then I found my own way to graffiti. I preferred brushes and stencils instead of lettering.”
Over time, Seacreative moved from tags to characters. “In 2001, I found my way,” he explains. “I evolved my painting and gave more emphasis to my characters and the use of brushes. I prefer brushes because they help me express myself much better.”
While he may dabble in canvas works, Seacreative believes working outdoors is the best. “The streets are the best gallery you can find,” he insists. “You don’t have to be invited. No one makes you explain the works. There’s no selection, you know. Out there, you can make art for everyone and everyone can judge you. I think it’s a big challenge.”
Sometimes, stuff gets crazy in the street. “On a Sunday afternoon, my friends and I arrived in an abandoned factory,” he recalls. “We chose a wall and started painting. After 20 minutes, we heard some noises, but you know those kind of factories always have a lot of strange noises, so we didn’t care about it. We were painting when suddenly, a bunch of people surrounded us with guns and rifles, everything a soldier could handle. They were watching us just saying nothing. I tell you, we were scared to death! Later on, we found out they were air-soft players.”
On occasion, Seacreative works with friends. He enjoys painting with pals like Vine, Refreshink, and Borse. They work under the name Spruzzer and mix their individual styles into cohesive pieces. “Sometimes, we use sprays, some paint, and some 3D works. Other times, we pass from realistic to graphic. We have fun mixing everything together. Sometimes, we have four different ideas, but the result is always worth the effort.” Thanks, Seacreative! For more photos, stop by his website. That's all for now. After a killer week of training, I'm looking forward to not moving all weekend. See you Monday!
Thursday, June 3, 2010
May 2010: Baltimore Love Project
Jess, Lindsay, and Hui-Chen are already in Baltimore and more folks are moving this summer (yes, Crockett, that's you). Therefore, I'm already working on a trip down this fall. When I'm there, I'll be sure to keep an eye out for Michael Owen's Baltimore Love Project. He writes:
"Street art and I met in Baltimore, in 2003, while I was attending MICA. The first date was a two-story wall on the front of a community center. We courted through my senior year, as my thesis focused on murals throughout the city and have been in a committed relationship over those last 7 years, though I am married. I just finished a 6 month adventure down in Miami, but am now back in Baltimore. While in Miami, I did a 6 story mural on a hotel, among other things. Baltimore has been the focal city of my portfolio with about 40 murals, interior and exterior, throughout the area. There have been some great pieces, but for me, The Baltimore Love Project is the crowning jewel."
"My work can be hammered out pretty fast, so I usually work alone. That said, I did a quarter-mile project last year, one of the longest murals in the country. I had an assistant with me most of the time on that one, due to the sheer volume of paint that needed to be thrown up. I have also worked with kids in the community on a few projects. My artistic style is, in part, a product of my understanding of and connection with minimalism. I want my art to engage and relate with the most people as possible, especially the pieces on the street. I strip down the imagery to this point where you know what's going on, but the details are questionable. Over the last year, I have experimented with some of the more loose and gestural brushstrokes found more in my studio/gallery work, while maintaining a very straight-forward and graphic approach."
"I often like to paint in very public places, during busy times. I have my audience in mind throughout my concept and design stages, so I enjoy hearing what people think (usually). My studio work is my break from the chaos and a nice quiet balance to the more communal process of street art. Oh and being on a sunny wall is great too. "
"My 'experiences' are more humorous than crazy. For example:A shady car pulls up while I'm painting a mural. The man cracks the window and asks 'Do you paint murals?' As I look around at the quarter-mile project I am about to complete, I reply, 'Uh, yes'. 'My boss wants a mural,' he states in his thick Eastern European accent. A card is passed through the window opening and drives off. The card is shiny and gold in color, much classier than the car. Then again, it was for a Larry Flint Hustler Club. I just laughed."
"I am currently knee deep in the Baltimore Love Project, a self initiated, city-wide project consisting of 20 identical, love-themed murals. I am also about to show with Dirty Pilot, put a mural up in Seattle this summer, working on a cloab in NYC later in the fall, and showing at various fairs during Art Basel Miami in the winter. I'm also futilely working on maintaining my tan, now that I'm back in Baltimore."Thanks, Michael! I'm excited to see these murals in person sometime soon. To get involved with the project, visit his website.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
May 2010: Phlegm in Sheffield
Phlegm doesn't limit himself to exclusively urban areas. Sometimes, a wooded area seems like a great place to paint, too. Today, he shows us some of his characters from the city and beyond. He writes:
"I did a few things in the street when I was in my late teens using rollers but I didn't use cans until 2005. I'm a cartoonist foremost; I write self published comics and zines. It was when I first started toying around with the comic work on walls that I really started to get busy."
"I'm from Sheffield in the UK. I tend to do most of my work here because I'm constantly broke due to my paint costs. I travel about sometimes when I get a chance but I'm more focused on doing lots of work at the moment, rather than getting involved more. I want a few nice quiet years of working really hard."
"Drawing and painting every day tends to develop my style. I switched to black and white last year so I have to paint more like I draw comics. I find if I keep the two close, then they both help improve the other."
"I'm pretty tame to be fair. I painted a big boarded up window without asking once and the neighbor came out and gave me a tray of tea and biscuits. That's about as rock and roll as I get."
"I've been drawing a whole comic on walls for about a year and a half. Each wall I paint is a frame in a story. I'm about half way through painting it. It's been a way to keep involved in the work rather than getting stuck in a rut or getting absorbed into the art scenes. I want to look back at a huge body of work and ideas when I'm older. What I don't want is to look back at a string of dull work, a load of bad art shows and a custom shoe."Tuesday, June 1, 2010
May 2010: Grems in London
While I'm sad that Mawena and Padric may be moving to London in the fall, I take comfort in knowing I'll see great street art if I visit. If I'm lucky, I might be able to catch up with Grems. Today, he shares a few past projects and hints at what's to come in the future. He writes:

"I started doing graffiti 13 years ago. Back then, I tagged as Cherie."
"I live in London and I travel all the time. I painted absolutely everywhere: in the street, among people, and in the galleries."
"I often work very very alone, but I know several groups like Supakitch TT crew, Jack Factory, Polka Rekm, and Captain Rouget & Bunk. It's hard to paint with other people."
"I learned most of my techniques by practicing graffiti. I did graffiti research for seven years! Then one day, I found my own style. I blend prehistoric painting, Indian art, Cubism, everything! I love painting in the south of France because there are many great walls there. I also like painting people in their living rooms."
"One time, I painted a wall with 3ttman, Remedies and Zbiok. I love this wall because it is a perfect blend of our different cultures: a mix between graffiti, new style, and contemporary painting."
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