Toward the end of last year, I posted about London-based artist Dreph and his work around east London. I happened to see him painting the wall on Fashion Street with a portrait of musician and grafitti artist Bunny Bread. I also show-cased quite a few of his murals as he'd been busy painting the area, and I had not featured his work before. (My post about Dreph can be read here.) When I came back from holiday in early January, I discovered that Dreph had refreshed his wall on Fashion Street; he has also recently refreshed his walls on Commercial Road and Star Yard (off Brick Lane).
Dreph's work is inspired by 1980s comics and Renaissance painters. His subject is portraits, and he primarily paints black British men and women. Using his style, they become eye-catching works of art and become elevated to great importance. Colour, light, and shadow are the techniques used to create these masterpieces.
On Commercial Road, Dreph painted Marcus Barnes. The figure is standing in front of a brightly-lit background of yellow, red, and purple tones. Marcus Barnes is a writer, grafitti artist, and DJ. He wrote for "Keep the Faith Grafitti Magazine" and was the first person to be tried for criminal damages based on grafitti; he was eventually cleared.
In December, this portrait of Abe Odedina appeared on Fashion Street. Abe Odedina is an architect and painter. His painting style is influenced by African art and story-telling.
On Star Yard off Brick Lane, Dreph painted Nana Yaa Sakyibea. She is also known as Mary, and she is a fashion and furniture designer based in Ghana. Her muted-tone portrait is painted in striking detail on a red, purple, and yellow background.
The attention is drawn to the face and the beautiful detail of the feather necklace and the chain ear-ring (pictured below).
More posts about Dreph's work on my blog can be found here:
For more information about the artist, visit his Instagram page where he often discusses the subjects of his work: https://www.instagram.com/dreph_/?hl=en. Also, InspiringCity blog has a nice post and write-up about the artist: https://inspiringcity.com/2017/01/21/dreph-street-art-portraits-appear-all-over-the-east-end/
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