I have been finally catching up with my backlog of street art that I have taken over the past eighteen months, so I will be featuring more recent pieces earlier than a lot of times in the past, as this also enables me to spot any new pieces and upload them. Last year's treasured finds for me would include meeting Paul "Don" Smith and getting a spray-painted image in my sketch pad (New Street Art and a Meeting with Paul Don Smith (the Banker)) and discovering street artist ALO's work (Street Art: Alo, Part 3). There have been other highlights as well, of course.
Last year was a busy one for street art, and I am hoping that 2014 has a lot more in store. Here are a few that I have managed to capture so far this year, and this includes a few leftover pieces from later in 2013.
Jonesy, (originally blogged about here: Street Art: Jonesy) added new pieces around. I captured this bull with human legs and missing arms high on top of a sign on Brick Lane.
Jonesy
Anna Laurini (Street Art: Anna Laurini) was busy last summer, and I occassionally spot a new piece, such as the one below: "when the birdcatcher comes occupy the sky".
Anna Laurini
Cranio made a big impression on London at the beginning of 2013 (Street Art: Cranio), and there were quite a few of his pieces dotted around. Unfortunately, some of his work was eventually painted over, but he visited London again toward the end of the year and painted a new mural off of Brick Lane and fixed the tagged-over work on Rivington Street as well as work on some collaborations (Street Art: Cranio, Senna, HIN, and Mo) and pieces across London. I only recently discovered his pieces on the inside walls of Juno on Shoreditch High Street, but I assume that these were created during his visit toward the end of last year.
Cranio
Millo, an Italian artist, visited London early in 2013 and left several murals and shutter paintings around east London. He visited London again toward the end of 2013 and collaborated with artist Hunto (Street Art: Hunto) on a piece before completing some crude drawings on the north end of Brick Lane and additional pieces on gates in Shoreditch.
Millo
Millo
Early this year, new colourful mushrooms and some baby mushrooms sprouted up in east London. These are the works of Christiaan Nagel, whom I blogged about here: Street Art: London's Mushrooms and Baroque the Streets: Dulwich Street Art. Nagel's previous mushrooms have slowly disintegrated over the course of the past year, beginning with the colour fade and the top of the mushrooms being broken off slowly due to weathering. Since the old pieces have mainly disappeared, I have been happy to see some new pieces sprouting up. In addition, there are several baby mushrooms in clusters. The first batch was spotted on Rivington Street; it consisted of a cluster of red baby mushrooms with one single hot pink mushroom. Addition mushrooms sprouted in Dalston and on Brick Lane.
Nagel
Nagel
Nathan Bowen created some work at the end of last year, and he's also been pasting up signs with his demon character throughout the summer and later part of last year. Orignally, I blogged about him and his work here: Street Art: Nathan Bowen. Since that post, I've captured a few of his signs. The artist was particularly busy at the end of 2013 with some new pieces appearing on Brick Lane and Sclater Street as well as on the railway bridge above Borough Market.
Nathan Bowen
Nathan Bowen
Nathan Bowen also collaborated with artist Skeleton Cardboard. I remember seeing a couple pieces of his work near Stepney Green at the beginning of last year, but there was nothing major in east London. Skeleton Cardboard's work mainly appeared on Sclater Street with some skeletons appearing on the walls and drawn onto pieces of paper. Additionally, a piece was located at the southern end of Brick Lane, which was a collaboration with Bowen.
Skeleton Cardboard
Dscreet was busy at the end of last year with a large mural painted on the Village Underground (New Street Art by Dscreet at Village Underground). I initially created an entry with some of his work, as there is a lot of it to be seen in east London: Street Art: Dscreet. Earlier in the year, he painted inside the art house in Dulwich. Some of his work was painted over in a popular spot on Bacon Street, and he reclaimed it twice with a new piece. The trademark owl's head appeared off Great Eastern Street.
Dscreet
Additional artwork appeared, including the pieces below.
Eyer
Charlotte Posner
Ben Wilson, an artist who paints bubble gum that has been tracked onto pavements, must have been busy in the autumn in east London. I saw him at work in Dulwich (Open Day at the Street Art House, Dulwich Arts Festival: Part 1), but I had never seen his work on the streets before. I was happy to come across one of his colourful bubblegum pieces on Rivington Street.
Ben Wilson
Ben Slow, famous for realistic portraits, painted a wall of a bakery in Dalston Junction. More of his work can be seen here: Street Art: Ben Slow.
Ben Slow
Artist Paul "Don" Smith painted in a couple of popular places just off of Brick Lane in the new year. One of the highlights of 2013 was seeing the artist painting using stencils and spray paint twice. (For more information about the artist, read New Street Art from Don 'Paul' Smith, including pieces from Whitecross Street). In addition to the artwork prompting visitors to give charity aid, the following figure appeared on Hanbury Street.
Paul "Don" Smith
Two tributes to Ronnie Biggs, from The Great Train Robbery, were located off Shoreditch High Street and on Hanbury Street.
Paul "Don" Smith
I will continue to post new artwork; I hope that 2014 is a great year for some new street art and graffiti pieces in London.
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