Recently in art Category

Each year, the restaurants and shops in the Chelsea area of London puts on floral displays to coincide with the annual Chelsea Flower Show. This event attracts thousands of visitors to this part of London for the week in order to see the free floral displays. This year's theme is "Out of This World" and features planets, astrology, mythology, spirituality, Earth, and space. In addition to the shopfronts and restaurants decorating, the area has also created a few displays in central locations. One of them features planet Earth and is a tribute to nature lover and speaker David Attenborough's 100th birthday this month.

One of the central creations was a UFO with aliens.

Mars and Venus, as the god and goddess of mythology

Rockets

The hotel at 11 Cadogan Gardens always does a lovely display.

Tarot cards, suns and moons, unicorns, mythical creatures....

One of the other big central sculptures was a giant inflatable moon and astronaut.

The planet Earth tribute to David Attenborough is located on King's Road.

Plantary ice creams

The Ivy restaurant had a wonderful display with planets, aliens, and astronauts.

Ziggy Stardust, David Bowie, also made the theme.

And mermaids, why not.

Carrots shaped like rockets and other fruit and vegetables in planet forms.

This pink rocket looks a little like something else a little naughty.

A dragon was one of the other central displays.

Pegasus was the also a central display.

The Zodiac with all of the symbols appeared in Sloane Square, but this was impossible to photograph.

Pink sumo wrestlers

A cow abduction

A dragon battle

Two colourful parrots

I loved the daisy flowers.

Medusa

Another dragon

For previous posts on this blog about the Chelsea in Bloom, see below.

<li><a href="http://almostafternoon.com/blog/2025/05/chelsea-in-bloom-2025.html">Chelsea in Bloom 2025</a>: Flowers in Fashion</li>
<li><a href="http://almostafternoon.com/blog/2016/05/chelsea-bloom-2016.html">Chelsea in Bloom 2016</a></li>
<li><a href="http://almostafternoon.com/blog/2022/05/chelsea-in-bloom-british-icons.html">Chelsea in Bloom 2022: British Icons</a></li>
<li><a href="http://almostafternoon.com/blog/2023/05/chelsea-in-bloom-2023-flowers-.html">Chelsea in Bloom 2023: Flowers in Film</a></li>
<li><a href="http://almostafternoon.com/blog/2024/05/chelsea-in-bloom-2024.html">Chelsea in Bloom 2024: Floral Feasts</a></li>

Conor Harrington is a street artist who creates large-scale murals with a nod to the classic style or painting but with figures and settings shown in conflict or poses that can tell a story. A couple of years ago when I went to Greenwich, I photographed a mural that the artist had created a few years earlier for London Mural Festival. The work shows a figure blinded and hidden behind a Union Jack flag. The title of the work is "The Blind Exit" and is about the Brexit Referendum in which the UK left the EU.

The Union Jack flag is completely covering the subject, who is dressed in old-style dress and has a European Union flag and empty globe in the background. 

More work by Conor Harrington on this blog can be seen here:

<p><a href="http://almostafternoon.com/blog/2026/01/conor-harrington-the-duel-of-b.html">Conor Harrington: The Duel of Bristol</a><a href="http://almostafternoon.com/blog/2022/03/conor-harrington-2022.html"><br />Conor Harrington's Second Mural Off Brick Lane</a><a href="http://almostafternoon.com/blog/2022/02/new-mural-by-conor-harrington-.html" rel="bookmark"><br />New Mural by Conor Harrington Off Brick Lane<br /></a><a href="http://almostafternoon.com/blog/2013/09/street-art-conor-harrington.html" rel="bookmark">Street Art: Conor Harrington</a><br /><a href="http://almostafternoon.com/blog/2013/06/baroque-the-streets-dulwich-st.html" rel="bookmark">Baroque the Streets: Dulwich Street Art<br /></a><a href="http://almostafternoon.com/blog/2014/02/dublin-street-art.html" rel="bookmark">Dublin Street Art<br /></a><a href="http://almostafternoon.com/blog/2014/07/street-art-on-whitecross-stree.html" rel="bookmark">Street Art on Whitecross Street<br /></a><a href="http://almostafternoon.com/blog/2014/09/new-street-art-by-conor-harrin.html" rel="bookmark">New Street Art by Conor Harrington<br /></a><a href="http://almostafternoon.com/blog/2014/10/belfast-street-art.html" rel="bookmark">Belfast Street Art<br /></a><a href="http://almostafternoon.com/blog/2014/03/recent-street-art-in-early-spr.html" rel="bookmark">Street Art Round-up in Early Spring 2014<br /></a><a href="http://almostafternoon.com/blog/2019/03/street-art-tour-of-walthamstow.html" rel="bookmark">Street Art Tour of Walthamstow</a></p>

A new sculpture by Banksy has appeared at Waterloo Place in central London, which is between the mall and Regent Street (Saint James' end). The sculpture is a political message, such as many of Banksy's works. It shows a marching figure holding a flag, but the flag has blown into the face of the marcher to blind them as they appear to step off of the plinth. I visited it today.

I captured another photograph of Banksy's signature.

Paul "Don" Smith, who is known for the "banker" or "tap man" stencil has also made a mark on the plinth.

At the moment, there isn't any calls to move the sculpture, so please go and visit it. 

Earlier this spring, Elephant Parade, part of Elephant Family, hosted a new elephant sculpture trail at Battersea Power Station to coincide with the Easter break. The train took place during from the end of March until the end of April, and I went to have a look last month. Elephant Family raises awareness of the elephant and ensuring that their habitats and wildlife is protected. The sculptures raise awareness and charity for these causes.

There were over twenty designs of elephants on display. This isn't the first time that they had a trail in London as there had been several in the past.

All of the elephants were easy to access around and inside the power station, although with the multiple levels in Battersea Power Station, it did take some time to locate the ones inside. It is a good day out to explore Battersea Power Station, and I also saw the Sunday market during my visit.

Miguel H. Cuar is a Spanish artist who has painted some walls in London with a unique style focused on illustration and elements of graphic design and comic books. The artist uses bright colours and abstract shapes. I captured the below artwork in London a few years ago.

Street artist Paul Don Smith would often paint his stencil work across east London, but for the past several years, he seems to have concentrated his efforts only in and around Soho. I discovered a few new pieces, and they feature characters from action and science fiction films and comics. 

One other work I discovered near Primrose Hill was of Captain Tom Moore who was one hundred years old and passed away in 2021. He raised a lot of money for the NHS during the Covid Pandemic.

Previous work by Paul Don Smith on this blog:

<p><a href="http://almostafternoon.com/blog/2021/04/paul-don-smith-paints-the-joke.html">Paul Don Smith "The Joker" in Soho</a><a href="http://almostafternoon.com/blog/2019/08/new-street-art-by-paul-don-smi.html"><br />New Sreet Art by Paul Don Smith in Soho</a><a href="http://almostafternoon.com/blog/2015/09/paul-don-smith-hanbury-street.html"><br />Paul Don Smith Paints 'Legend' Mural on Hanbury Street &amp; Other Work from the Summer<br /></a><a href="http://almostafternoon.com/blog/2015/04/don-paul-smiths-new-street-art.html">Paul 'Don' Smith's New Street Art: Spock, Heath Ledger, Loki, and More</a><a href="http://almostafternoon.com/blog/2015/09/paul-don-smith-hanbury-street.html"><br /></a><a href="http://almostafternoon.com/blog/2015/03/don-paul-smith-2014-end.html">Don "Paul" Smith's New Street Art: Elvis, Mad Max, Hulk, Bob Marley, and more<br /></a><a href="http://almostafternoon.com/blog/2014/10/2014-paul-don-smith.html">New Summer 2014 Street Art by Paul 'Don' Smith (the Banker)<br /></a><a href="http://almostafternoon.com/blog/2014/08/whitecross-street-party-2014.html">Whitecross Street Party 2014</a><a href="http://almostafternoon.com/blog/2014/10/2014-paul-don-smith.html"><br /></a><a href="http://almostafternoon.com/blog/2014/07/street-art-on-whitecross-stree.html">Street Art on Whitecross Street</a><a href="http://almostafternoon.com/blog/2014/10/2014-paul-don-smith.html"><br /></a><a href="http://almostafternoon.com/blog/2014/04/new-street-art-by-c215-and-pau.html">New Street Art by C215 and Paul 'Don' Smith</a><a href="http://almostafternoon.com/blog/2014/10/2014-paul-don-smith.html"><br /></a><a href="http://almostafternoon.com/blog/2014/03/recent-street-art-2014.html">Recent Street Art in Early 2014</a><a href="http://almostafternoon.com/blog/2014/10/2014-paul-don-smith.html"><br /></a><a href="http://almostafternoon.com/blog/2013/11/new-street-art-from-don-paul-s.html">New Street Art from Don 'Paul' Smith, including pieces from Whitecross Street</a><a href="http://almostafternoon.com/blog/2014/10/2014-paul-don-smith.html"><br /></a><a href="http://almostafternoon.com/blog/2013/08/new-street-art-and-a-meeting-w.html">New Street Art and a Meeting with Paul Don Smith (the Banker)</a><a href="http://almostafternoon.com/blog/2014/10/2014-paul-don-smith.html"><br /></a><a href="http://almostafternoon.com/blog/2013/04/don-smith.html">Street Art: Don Smith</a></p>

At the end of last year, Louis Masai painted street art of a turkey on Hanbury Street (just off of Brick Lane). The turkey is painted using his patchwork style with different patterns. The street art promotes vegetarianism / veganism and comes just before the Christmas holidays where turkey makes most of the dinners for the day in the United Kingdom. The street art reads that "a turkey is not just for Christmas".

I captured a couple of other older artworks from the artist using his older style around east London.

Other posts on this blog that feature Louis Masai are included below:

<p><a href="http://almostafternoon.com/blog/2023/02/louis-masai-paints-cavendish-b.html">Louis Masai "Cavndish Banana" in Penge</a><a href="http://almostafternoon.com/blog/2018/08/louis-masai-paints-for-upfest-.html"><br />Louis Masai Paints for Upfest 2018</a><a href="http://almostafternoon.com/blog/2017/05/tower-hamlets-cemetery-park-en.html"><br />Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park Environmental Street Art </a><br /><a href="http://almostafternoon.com/blog/2016/09/louis-masai-and-birdo-collabor.html">Louis Masai and Birdo Collaboration @ Bethnal Green<br /></a><a href="http://almostafternoon.com/blog/2016/06/louis-masai-and-fanakapan-coll.html">Louis Masai and Fanakapan Collaborate on 'Freedom?' Street Art</a><a href="http://almostafternoon.com/blog/2016/09/louis-masai-and-birdo-collabor.html"><br /></a><a href="http://almostafternoon.com/blog/2016/04/humannature-endangered13-stree.html">HumanNature Endangered13 Street Art Paint Jam, Day 2</a><a href="http://almostafternoon.com/blog/2016/09/louis-masai-and-birdo-collabor.html"><br /></a><a href="http://almostafternoon.com/blog/2016/04/street-art-endangered13.html">HumanNature Endangered13 Street Art Paint Jam<br /></a><a href="http://almostafternoon.com/blog/2015/11/masai-londonlovescorals.html">Masai's #LondonLovesCorals SynchronicityEarth Mural</a></p>

Mr. Cenz is a London-based street artist who paints in futuristic style using bright colours and geometric shapes and designs. His subjects usually feature female portraits, and he uses the bright colours to bring them to life, and the design patterns appear futuristic in his use of colour and shape. The artist has been painting across London for many years now, and this post features some of his most recent work across east London.

For more street art by Mr. Cenz, see the below posts:

<li><a href="http://almostafternoon.com/blog/2023/03/street-art-by-mr-cenz-across-l.html">Mr. Cenz Street Art in Penge, Camden, and East London</a></li>
<li><a href="http://almostafternoon.com/blog/2022/12/bankside-frost-fair.html">Mr. Cenz - Frost Fair</a></li>
<li><a href="http://almostafternoon.com/blog/2022/05/mr-cenzs-recent-street-art-acr.html">Mr. Cenz Recent Street Art in London</a></li>
<li><a href="http://almostafternoon.com/blog/2019/02/mr-cenz-paints-hanbury-street-.html">Mr. Cenz Paints Hanbury Street Wall</a></li>
<li><a href="http://almostafternoon.com/blog/2018/10/mr-cenz-paints-connectivity-ma.html">Mr. Cenz Paints "Connectivity Matters" Wall</a></li>
<li><a href="http://almostafternoon.com/blog/2018/02/mr-cenz-winter-2018.html">Recent Street Art By Mr. Cenz in Winter 2018</a></li>
<li><a href="http://almostafternoon.com/blog/2017/08/mr-cenz-paints-tribute-to-usai.html">Mr. Cenz Paints Tribute to Usain Bolt</a></li>
<li><a href="http://almostafternoon.com/blog/2017/03/mr-cenz-fashion.html">Mr. Cenz Refreshes Fashion Street Mural</a></li>
<li><a href="http://almostafternoon.com/blog/2016/09/mr-cenz-paints-hanbury-street.html">Mr. Cenz Paints Hanbury Street</a></li>
<li><a href="http://almostafternoon.com/blog/2016/02/mr-cenz-2015-2016.html">New Street Art by Mr. Cenz</a></li>
<li><a href="http://almostafternoon.com/blog/2015/05/mr-cenz.html">Street Art: Mr. Cenz</a></li>

Street artist Jelly is a grafitti artist who paints portraits with an inspiration on fashion and strong/carefree characters. She paints in London and focuses on themes of positivity, love, and humanity. Many of the portraits feature women. I captured a few of the artist's work across east London.

Dan Kitchener (DANK) is a street artist that creates street scene art with neon signs and iconography from Asia, portraits of Asian women, and night-time street settings with lights or raindrops. The artist often paints on a couple of walls in London near and on Brick Lane. One is on Brick Lane, and the other one is located on Commercial Road. I enjoy seeing new artwork by this artist.

One of the most recent pieces this summer was titled "LOST", which was pasted up after someone had damaged the artwork. The paste-up shows the original face of the figure in the street art that was painted over and with the word "LOST" across the face.

For more work by Dan Kitchener (DANK) featured in this blog, please read the following links:

<p><a href="http://almostafternoon.com/blog/2024/03/street-art-from-dank-in-east-l.html">Street Art From Dank in East London</a><a href="http://almostafternoon.com/blog/2022/11/dan-kitchener-street-art-arcad.html"><br />Dank Kitchener 'Arcade' Street Art on Commercial Street</a><a href="http://almostafternoon.com/blog/2022/04/dan-kitchener-tokyo-dreams-mur.html" rel="bookmark"><br />Dan Kitchener "Tokyo Dreams" Murals in Evelina Road, Penge</a><br /><a href="http://almostafternoon.com/blog/2022/03/dan-kitchener-2022-1.html" rel="bookmark">Round-up of Dan Kitchener Street Art in East London and Camden</a><br /><a href="http://almostafternoon.com/blog/2021/07/dan-kitchener-addition-to-east.html" rel="bookmark">Dan Kitchener Paints "London Colours" at NYX Hotel Holborn, Southampton Row<br />Dan Kitchener Addition to "East London Geisha" on Commercial Road</a><br /><a href="http://almostafternoon.com/blog/2020/10/2020-dan-kitchener.html" title="Dan Kitchener Paints &quot;Midnight Drive&quot; on Hanbury Street">Dan Kitchener Paints "Midnight Drive" on Hanbury Street<br />Street art by Dan Kitchener in Summer 2020</a><a href="http://almostafternoon.com/blog/2020/03/dan-kitchener-tokyo-graffiti.html" rel="bookmark"><br />Dan Kitchen Returns to Clifton Street with "Tokyo Graffiti" Mural<br /></a><a href="http://almostafternoon.com/blog/2019/06/latest-street-art-by-dan-kitch.html">Latest Street Art by Dan Kitchener</a><br /><a href="http://almostafternoon.com/blog/2019/01/dan-kitchener-ghost-cities-pedley.html">Dan Kitchener Paints 'Ghost Cities' on Pedley Street</a><a href="http://almostafternoon.com/blog/2018/09/dank-upfest-2018.html"><br />Dank Paints 'Ghost Cities - Bristol' for Upfest 2018</a><a href="http://almostafternoon.com/blog/2018/07/dan-kitchener-meeting-of-syles.html"><br />Dan Kitchener Paints "Meeting of Styles"</a><br /><a href="http://almostafternoon.com/blog/2018/03/dan-kitchener---future-tokyo.html">'Future Tokyo and Tokyo Ghosts'</a><a href="http://almostafternoon.com/blog/2016/06/dan-kitchener-dank-london-rush.html"><br />Dank "London Rush"<br /></a><a href="http://almostafternoon.com/blog/2015/05/dan-kitcheners-new-art-on-scla.html">Dan Kitchener's Street Art on Sclater Street and More<br /></a><a href="http://almostafternoon.com/blog/2013/07/street-art-dan-kitchener.html">Street Art: Dan Kitchener</a><br /><a href="http://almostafternoon.com/blog/2016/01/downtown-mural-by-dan-kitchene.html">"Downtown" Mural by Dan Kitchener</a><br /><a href="http://almostafternoon.com/blog/2017/03/dan-kitchener-on-goswell-road.html">Goswell Road</a></p>