Results matching “paint”

I finally got to visit Bruges, Belgium for a long weekend toward the end of March. Bruges has been on my list of places to visit for awhile, so I finally got to go. It was a quick visit over a long weekend, but the weather was clear and sunny for the majority of it. In the end, I had about a day in a half in Bruges. This post has photographs of my trip, including some of the places to visit and things to do in Bruges. 

The Befort (Bell Tower): First up, we have the bell tower. I have previously covered this here: A Morning Climb Up Bruges' Bell Tower. I recommend visiting early in the morning and on a weekday to avoid the long queues of other visitors. On the way up are bells and information about the mechanics of the bells. The highlight is the amazing view from the top.

Chocolate, souvinirs, and lace: Bruges is a UNESCO World Heritage site, and it attracts many tourists. Because of this, there are many shops selling souvinirs and chocolate. Lace is another popular item for sale, and it can be found in some specialist shops as well as tourist shops. Chocolate shops are virtually everywhere in Bruges, but many of them are not too great. A few of them are chains, such as Neuhaus and Godiva. Neuhaus mass produces chocolates, and these are also sold at the airport. The best shops that I found for really good chocolate are "The Chocolate Line" and "Dumon". Both of these chocolate shops are located in Simon Stevin square to the west of the main market square. "The Chocolate Line" has a little factory where you can see chocolate-making products and chocolates being taken out of moulds. I tried some of the other chocolate from other shops, but it did not live up to expectations.

Cuberdons are jelly triangular items, which you can see the multiple colours of in the foreground of one of the below photographs. They are traditionally a Ghent product, but many of the sweet shops in Bruges sell them. The traditional flavour is raspberry, but there are many other flavours. They do not last long, but they are very much like an American gumdrop (which I am sure was inspired by them or made by Belgians who moved to America) but fresher/sweeter and not as chewy.  

Speculoos are a type of biscuit or cookie that tastes similar to gingerbread. It is similar to shortbread but sweeter and can be sandwiched with cream. They are also popular in the Netherlands. A good shop selling cookies or biscuits is "Juliette Biscuit Shop" on Wollestraat, the road that runs south from the south-eastern part of the main market square.

Burg Square, Town Hall and courthouse: Burg square is a picturesque square just to the east of the main market square. There are a few notable buildings here, along with the Alleyway of the Blind Donkey, which leads to the fishmarket under the archway underneath the medieval buildings. The Church of the Sacred Blood is also on this square in the corner. All are worth a visit.

The Town Hall is a beautiful building with a large room upstairs that can be visited. This massive room is decorated beautifully with stained glass windows, wall paintings, wood carvings and tiles. Visitors can pick up an information page about the different artwork on the walls and read it.

Next door, the building on the left of the square, is the courthouse. The courthouse has a beautiful room with a marble fireplace and wooden carvings.

The Church of the Sacred Blood is a beautiful but rather small church. Its claim to fame is the relic that holds what is claimed to be the blood of Jesus from when he died on the cross. People come from all over to see the relic, and they have it out on display at certain times. One of these times was when I happened to visit the church. A priest was guarding the relic, which contained what looked like blood encased in glass.    

The Fishmarket: The fishmarket is a covered market with granite tables that used to hold fish for sale. A few of these tables now have tourist goods for sale, but there is only one fish seller who remains to sell fresh fish.

Church of Our Lady Bruges: The large cathedral was under renovation when I visited, so I did not get to go inside. However, it is an imposing structure that I managed to get a couple of nice photographs of. Inside the church is a sculpture of Modonna and child by Micheangelo. However, I did not get to see this as the cathedral is under renovations. 

Market Square: The main market square is probably the most photographed and busiest place in Bruges. The Belfort (bell tower) dominates the skyline around the area, so there are several great photographs from the side streets leading to the market square. It is easy to take so many photographs.

One of the other monuments in the square is the statue in the middle.

Historium: The Historium Bruges is one of the museums to visit in the city. It transports you back in time during the medieval ages in Bruges. In this building, you can see a view of the market square also also have a drink in the bar on the first floor while enjoying the view.

Horses: The market square is also the place where visitors can hire a horse and cart to take them around the city of Bruges. The tour by horse and cart is guided with the guide giving out some information about the city during a half-hour dash around with a stop half-way to allow the horse a snack and a drink and a photograph opportunity.

Ice Cream: If you do fancy an ice cream, try Da Vinci ice cream in Bruges. It's not as good as what you can get in Italy, but it was a decent ice cream. I had pistachio. 

Waffles: Waffles are a Belgian treat, and you can buy waffles-on-a-stick with a variety of toppings to be made fresh or pre-made to take away in a small box. These are made to be taken home as souvinirs. Also, a lot of street vendors sell waffles, and I got one of these from a kiosk in front of the train station in Bruges. It was delicious. I dislike the "waffles" they have in the UK, and the ones in Belgian were a little closer to what I am used to in the USA instead of being too sugary/sweet. I also visited Lizzie's Waffles (Lizzie's Wafels (Lizzie's Waffles) in Bruges, Belgium).

Minnewaterpark: A lovely park and viewpoint just south of the city is Minnewaterpark. It has a lake and the canals running through it ans a lot of swans.

Jan van Eyck statue: A statue for the artist and famous Bruges resident Jan van Eyck is located near the canal in the northeastern part of Bruges.

Canal Boat Rides: The canal boats can be boarded at five places along the canal in the centre of the city, and they all cover the same parts of the canal. For more information, see my post here: A Canal Boat Tour of Bruges.

Lover's Bridge: Bruges' smallest bridge is certainly a place for tourists to get photographs, as I found out. It is located not too far from the Groeingemuseum (art gallery).

Groeingemuseum: This art museum contains paintings by Flemish artists, such as Jan Van Eyck. The below is one of the famous paintings by the artist in the gallery. It's a small gallery packed with quite a few nice pieces of artwork.

Small Streets: Also, visiting any city is worth just getting lost down side streets and seeing what can be discovered behind the corners. Sometimes you find a nice shop or a nice view.

What I ate in Bruges (besides what I've covered already): I did not have a bad meal in Belgium. Due to flight delays, I arrived in the evening and in time for dinner. We were given recommendations. The first place we went to was Mojo, south of the Fishmarket. This was a restaurant in a pub. I had red wine chicken, followed by chocolate mousse. Smoked leek and cod soup was provided on the house as a starter. On the first night in Bruges, we went to Poules Moules, which specialises in mussels. I had the soup to start, followed by roast chicken, which had a delicious flavour. I also tried the chocolate mousse, and it was better here than the previous night. Late on one other evening, I went to Ellis Gourmet Burger. I ordered a chicken burger, and again, it has a great flavour and the bread was light and tasted fresh. For desserts, ice cream is also a specialty, and one sundae is common on a lot of the members and translates to "White Lady". It is a vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce.

That concludes my day and a half in Bruges. I hope that you have found it useful. Let me know if I have missed anything that you experienced that you really enjoyed when you visited the city.

Late last year, the world lost a creator of some of the most famous superhero heros and comics, Stan Lee. The superhero film genre has been huge in the film industry, particularly in the past twenty years as it has gained more momentum and mainstream coverage, and only a couple of weeks ago, the latest installation ("Captain Marvel") was released. Each of these new films grabs a larger audience.

Fantasy, action, and science fiction is one of the subjects that London-based street artist Jim Vision often paints. Because of this, it is fitting that he has created a tribute to the man, Stan Lee, himself at the top of Brick Lane. The work features the face of comics, who always made a small cameo in the superhero films, on a backdrop of comic-style illustrations.

I visited the artwork in January, and it was still intact. It can be found on Rhoda Steet at the top of Brick Lane. RIP Stan Lee!

Street artist Zabou is a London-based artist who came from France originally. Some of her work is amongst the best street art in London, and I always enjoy seeing new work from the artist. At the end of last year, Zabou refreshed her wall on The Bell pub near Petticoat Lane Market. It was previously a piece depicting "Alice in Wonderland", which you can see in the links below, but it was refreshed by a tribute to the film, "The Shining". I am a little late posting these works, which are now a few months old.

Zabou has been recently busy again this year, so keep checking back for additional work from the artist.

In late summer, Zabou refreshed her work of Salvador Dali opposite Spitalfields Market. The work has since been tagged over again since I managed to capture it a couple of years ago. Zabou gave Dali a leopard-skinned yellow coat, giving the piece another pop of colour.

More work by Zabou that I featured on my blog is:

Villana and Zabou Collaborate on Amy Winehouse Street Art
Zabou paints Sid Vicious from 'The Sex Pistols'
Zabou Paints Freda #2 at Broadway Market
Zabou Paints Salvador Dali on Commercial Road
Koeone and Zabou Collaborate
"Keep Out!" Street Art by Zabou
Zabou's 'Cabinet of Curiosity' Street Art
Leake Street Tunnels Street Art, Spring 2016
Recent Street Art by Zabou
Street Art: Zabou

A few weeks ago, I visited Walthamstow. I have been wanting to visit this part of London for a few years now in order to see the street art. A few years ago, Wood Street Walls paint jam took place, and this saw a lot of the walls in the area being covered with street art. Some of these have since been painted over with new art, and some of the originals remain. I've photographed what I could locate here. Unfortunately, some of the stunning artwork, such as the large mural from Connor Harrington, is now gone as Walthamstow has seen a lot of rebuilding.

Cam Scale

I started at Walthamstow Central station, walked down St. Mary's Road (there's a couple of pieces of street art just off this road) and then walked up Wood Street where there are a few pieces. From there, I walked past Forest Road to get one piece then back-tracked and walked west on Forest Road to Hoe Street where I discovered a few additional pieces around that area before continuing down Hoe Street to find a few more pieces. The street art that I captured is included below.

Not all who wander are lost - Lilly Lou - off St. Mary's Road

Rammed Earth Elephants are actually dotted around several places in Walthamstow. They were created using a technique of compacted earth, which is a technique used in building. They highlight the dangers of elephant extinction.

Rammed Earth Elephant - various locations including Walthamstow Village, Wood Street, Forest Road

STATIC are a street artist duo who create paintings using stencils; their work usually consists of floral or nature-inspired patterns. I've not actually seen their work before, but there are quite a few pieces in Walthamstow

STATIC off St. Mary's Road

STATIC - Fulbourne Road

STATIC - Wood Street

STATIC - off Hoe Street

This mural features previous local businessman Charles Bracey, who created "God's Own Junkyard"

Remi Rough creates geometrical patterns using bright colours.

Remi Rough - Wood Street

Remi Rough - opposite Hoe Street

The Toaster Crew (also often known as just Toasters) have been painting on the streets for a long time, and their images of toasters have been a common sight. (I originally covered them here: Street Art Toasters in London). They don't often create new pieces, and their older work is much more rare these days.

Toasters off Wood Street

I've covered a lot of Ronzo's (most recent post here: Ronzo's Rainbow Street Art ) street art in the past, though I have not seen him create anything new for the past couple of years now, but his work used to be quite popular. This one features a fox character on a huge wall, "All Good in the Wood".

Ronzo on Wood Street

Frankie Strand is normally known for murals of animals with detailed patterns, so this style with skeletons and a volcano is very different to the usual work.

Frankie Strand - off Wood Street

Australian street artist Cam Scale painted this mural on Wood Street, and it is a portrait of Loretta Lizzio and was painted in 2017.

Cam Scale on Wood Street

Vic Lee paints type and street art to tell the story of history through art. The piece on Wood Street has a lot of information about Walthamstow and the surrounding area. It is a long piece, and with cars and lamp posts and other objects, it wasn't possible to photograph it all.

Vic Lee - Wood Street

Based in Brighton, street artist Eelus uses bright colours and monotone to create stunning murals. I last covered the artist here and in Street Art Round-Up to July 2015. The piece here in Walthamstow is a very stunning one on a large building near Hoe Street and off Forest Road.

Eelus off Forest Road near Hoe Street (Spruce Hills Road)

I have a lot of work by French street artist Invader to post about, but I have not done it yet. Anyway, here's a brilliant piece opposite Hoe Street.

Street artist ATM is probably best known for realistic bird images, and the last street art work I posted was at Mile End (Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park Environmental Street Art ). The below mural is located next to the William Morris Gallery. William Morris was a local resident of Walthamstow who lived in the building that is now a museum, and he was a philantropist and artist, mainly famous for the Arts and Crafts movement and creating floral patterns for use in the home.

ATM - portrait of William Morris next to Willaim Morris Museum

Boe and Irony create large scale and stunning murals that always capture the eye. Their work mainly features animals, and this features two foxes with one fox licking the other one. I recently covered their work at Bristol Upfest 2018, but some more of their work was on Paradise Row in Bethnal Green. I love seeing new pieces by the artists.

Boe & Irony on Hoe Street

London-based street artist Dale Grimshaw is responsible for beautiful realistic portraits. I recently covered his work here: Dale Grimshaw Paints the Village Underground Wall, Part 2. This mural replaced a previous one by the artist which was made for Wood Street Walls. It is opposite Hoe Street on Chingford Road.

Dale Grimshaw - Chingford Road

Unfortunately, not all of the work for the original Wood Street Walls paint jams exist because the building work in Walthamstow has been pretty aggressive and has seen a lot of new buildings being built and walls being removed. But, if you want to see some great examples of street art, head over to this part of London and follow the rough trail that I put together.

Currently located in the courtyard of the Royal Academy of Arts on Piccadilly Street, an red wooden old house that looks as though it has come from a horror film has been placed. The wooden house is the artwork of Cornelia Parker, and the name of the artwork is Transitional Object (PsychoBarn). The artwork depicts a house, which is usually a symbol of comfort and foundation. The style of the house is American colonial, and if the house is familiar, it is the same one that appeared in the Alfred Hitchcock film "Psycho" and was first used in a painting by Edward Hopper "House by a Railroad", painted in 1925.

PsychoBar was first exhibited in New York at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2016. It is nearly 30 feet tall, and it has been constructed from timber from an old American red barn. 

This artwork is on display until 15 March, so if you are planning to see it, you still have a little bit of time to do so before it is removed.

Last year, London-based street artist Dreph painted a series of portraits of women called "Migration Series". This followed the first series from 2017, "You Are Enough". In this new series, Dreph looks at people who have come to London who have established either a sense of community or humanitarian efforts and who have become an inspiration. The third portrait was painted in Soho at the end of May last year. It features Fatima Najm, who founded creativesagainstpoverty.

Fatima was born in Pakistan and raised there and in U.A.E. She currently lives in London and supports communities that have conflict, disaster, and poverty. She tries to help those in conflict areas deal with the frustrations through artistic means and to help prevent additional conflict as well as to put the talents of people to use. She also helps refugees and asylum seekers with obtaining the skills they need to integrate into British society.

Previous posts with Dreph's work that feature on my blog are located below:

Final Dreph "You Are Enough" Mural
Dreph "You Are Enough" (Part 3)
'You Are Enough' (8th edition)
Dreph 'You Are Enough' (6th Edition)
Dreph Paints Holly Oluwo
New Street Art Portraits by Dreph
Street Art: Dreph

Manchester has so much street art, and if you're looking for street art in Manchester, a great place to head is to the Northern Quarter. I took these photographs of street art in Manchester when I visited the city last summer.

AKSE is a French street artist, and a lot of his work was in Manchester as he was based there for a time. His portraits are very realistic. Additional work by AKSE can be seen in the following post:

Akse 19 Paints Tyrion Lannister from "Game of Thrones"
Street Art: Akse, Vhils, Bailon, Sliks, Grud, Drypnz, and Vinz

TankPetrol is a Polish street artist who paints stencil and freehand artwork. He's currently based in Manchester. The bottom also features work by The Hammo.

The Hammo uses bright colours and creates his own characters, brightly-drawn and recognisable. He is a Manchester-based illustrator and graphic designer.

The above pieces are by Jah.

The portrait of the girl is by Stones Throw.

Zadok typically paints birds, and this mural in the edge of Manchester's Northern Quarter is covered with colourful birds. For more information about Zadok and more street art on this blog, see below:

Street Art on ConnectivityMatters Wall
Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park Environmental Street Art
HumanNature Endangered13 Street Art Paint Jam
Cranio - Collaborations with Himbad, Zadok, & Kazz
New 'Spring Offering' Mural by Bailon and Sliks (JimmyC, Zadok Sonar Uno)
Street Art: 2Square, CodeFC, Jim Vision, Mr. Cenz, Peter Drew, Zadok

Mark Whatson's style is using black and white figures with a colour grafitti. This work on Faraday Street shows a man spray-painting a grafitti tree.

A series of humping dogs are located around Manchester, but I am not sure who the artist is.

Lost Hills creates paste-ups, and Jake is one of the most popular subjects. He often blends them with other popular culture, and in the case above, it is Edward Scissorhands. And, the treat is that the above also shows the first painting by the artist that I have seen. I've previously covered his work here: Losthills Jake Paste-Ups Appear in East London

My Dog Sighs is an artist that paints realistic eyes and 'Hug' figures paste-ups. In Manchester, I discovered some of his paste-ups with his 'Hug'. Previous work of his is:

My Dog Sighs on Rivington Street
My Dog Sighs 
My Dog Sighs
Mural in a hidden alley in Blackall Street
Collaborated with street artist Midge

This bumbleebe "The Transformers" with bees mural has since been painted over. It is by JXC.

N4T4 has been painting with spray paint since 1985 and tends to paint portraits of females mainly, and he is inspired by aboriginal influences and uses patterns. I managed to find the above piece on a large wall and a smaller piece that looks older. For more work by N4T4, see Street Art Tour of Birmingham. The above mural is actually by "Subism", a collective of artists which N4T4 is a part. It also contains Deus, Philth, and Ventsa, and the artwork was painted in 2011 and features earth, wind, fire and water. It was commissioned by Red Bull.

The above artwork is by Jungle.

Hyuro painted the above mural for the "Cities of Hope Festival" and it highlights social issue "war children".

Street artist Alice Pasquini has quite a few murals in Manchester, and she often paints portraits. Additional blog posts with her work can be seen here:

Street Artist Alice Pasquini Returns to London
Street Art: Alice Pasquini
Alice Pasquini - New Portraits of Young Women

C215 is a French artist stencil street artist who paints portraits and sometimes cats. Previous blog posts with C215's work in my blog are located here:

C215 Paints New Street Art in London
New Street Art by C215 and Paul 'Don' Smith
Street Art: C215
C215 Uncovered on Blackall Street

Mark Kennedy is a Manchester-based mosaic artist, and the Northern Quarter contains several of his mosaics. The mosaics are all different themes, including popular culture, and made with broken pottery.

Mr. Penfold is from Cambridge, and I've originally covered his work in London on a previous post (Malarky, Mr. Penfold, Billy & Lucas). He paints his characters in bright colours.

Face The Strange is a London-based street art paste-up artist, and I discovered one of the paste-ups in Manchester.

Peg is a London-based street artist that has been around for awhile, and I was surprised to see some of their work in Manchester.

In 2017, Manchester lost twenty-two innocent people due to terrorism at a concert. A couple of months after the incident, street artist Qubek painted a tribute to those lost on the side of Koffee Pot in the Northern Quarter in Manchester. The mural depicts twenty-two bees flying around a heart made of honey with the abbreviation for Manchester in the middle of the heart.

Manchester adopted the bee symbol during the industrial revolution, and the bee is included in the crest of the city's arms. It was used to describe the textile mills being a "hive of activity" in those days, comparing the people of Manchester to bees. After the terrorist attack, the bees represent Manchester's determination and spirit. It is a symbol that you see in many places in Manchester, and some of the offices and restaurants have bee hives on the rooftops.

Street artist Dale Grimshaw painted a mural for the "Cities of Hope Festival" in Manchester's Norther Quarter in 2016. The festival was put together to address social issues, and an issue that Dale Grimshaw has painted a lot of in more recent years is freedom for West Papua in Papua New Guinea and indigenous people. His portraits are beautiful, appearing on a red and gold background. This elevates them to a new level and shows their beauty.

Previous work by Dale Grimshaw featured on this blog can be seen below:

Dale Grimshaw Paints the Village Underground Wall, Part 2
Dale Grimshaw Paints Hanbury Street Ahead of "Pride and Prejudice" Exhibit
Dale Grimshaw Paints the Village Underground Wall
Dale Grimshaw Mural in Support of Papua New Guinea
Street Art: Dale Grimshaw, Icon, Code FC, Low Bros, El Mac and others

Mr. Cenz is a London-based street artist who is known for painting portraits of women using a grafitti style; this style and the bright colours that the artist uses make the subjects appear futuristic. The most recent work by Mr. Cenz is on Hanbury Street on one of the walls at the corner of Brick Lane.

Another new mural appears a short walk away on a wall that always has the artist's work, and he refreshes it every now and again.

The below mural is located on Commercial Road.

More street art by Mr. Cenz on this blog can be seen at the below links:

Mr. Cenz Paints "Connectivity Matters" Wall
Recent Street Art By Mr. Cenz in Winter 2018
Mr. Cenz Paints Tribute to Usain Bolt
Mr. Cenz Refreshes Fashion Street Mural
Mr. Cenz Paints Hanbury Street
New Street Art by Mr. Cenz
Street Art: Mr. Cenz