Results matching “paint”

Amara por Dios is a Stockholm-based street artist who regularly paints in London. She often paints feminine portraits in bright colours with braids. Last month, she painted a new mural on Hanbury Street with a purple female portrait and the trademark green 'braids' or coils. She is also currently looking for more walls in London to paint, so hopefully we will see more of her work.

Previous work by Amara Por Dios on this blog can be seen by visiting the links below:

Street Art by Amara Por Dios Glows in the Dark
Amara por Dios Paints Tribute for International Women's Day
Amara Por Dios and Flesh031 Collaborate on 'Urban Jungle' Mural in Soho
Amara Por Dios: Village Underground Mural and Other Walls
Street Art: Amara, Kef, Cheba, Neoh, Masai, Airborne Mark and others
New Street Art by Artista, Saki and Amara por Dios

I really wanted to get to the Nomadic Community Gardens for this year's Meeting of the Styles. Unfortunately, I've been ill with a bad cold for most of the month of May and I've only just started to feel better. I still wasn't really up for going out on Saturday, but I wanted to get photographs before the street art was replaced as it never lasts long. I was glad that I went because I was really impressed with the big wall in Nomadic Community Gardens this year. This post covers the wall, as I thought it deserved a post of its own, but I will post photographs of the other street art from Meeting of the Styles in another post as there were some wonderful pieces this year.

The big wall is designed to look like Adobe Photoshop application on Microsoft Windows, a program that I am all too familiar with. The street art is presented in several Adobe Photoshop windows with the dialogs arranged to include a series of street art inside them with names of the files becoming the artist's name. There are also cursors, a colour-picker dialog, and "error" alert, and a partially-transparent background with part of street art design on top of it. It's actually a very creative idea.

The bottom of the wall shows the names of the artists who contributed to the wall: Voyder, Jeba, Fanakapan, Jim Vision, Core 246, Aches, Samer, Jay Kaes, and Irony. It also included the date and the sponsors of the "Meeting of the Styles". 

In the above image, the image in the top right dialog is by Jay Kaes, a London-based artist that often paints portraits using dimension and comic style, and I've covered his work many times on this blog.

To the left of that image is work from artist Aches from Dublin. It shows a greyscale grafitti-style tag of the artist's name.

The bottom right image with the alert dialog was created by Irony, which is a photo-realistic portrait in very much in the style that Irony paints. 

The bottom right image shich appears to be a flower is created by artist Samer. To the left of this is a portrait of two men in blue and pink colours, and this was painted by Core 246.

The piece above contains the artists that I have already identified except for the chrome skull, which is by artist Fanakapan, who paints in London often and paints foil balloons, chrome and glass.

From the top left in the above image is a grafitti-style drawing of a blue man by street artist Jeba. To the right of this is artwork by Jim Vision, who is based in London and often paints fantasy-style artwork.

The above photograph artists have been identified except for the top piece, which is by Voyder. It's very eye-catching as it is created with bright neon colours. Not only that, but the artist allowed creativity of the Adobe Photoshop theme here but seeming to erase a part of the background and then add the "transparency" background (the white and grey grid) with the squiggle line painted on the top layer.

Overall, the artwork here and the idea has been done very well, which blends all of the artwork and the different styles together perfectly. To see the wall, make your way to the Nomadic Community Gardens off Brick Lane. The gardens are located under the railway bridge off Pedley Street, and it is opened most of the day on Saturdays and usually later in the week from around noon.

I recently visited Corfe Castle's castle in Dorset, England. The castle is a Norman one that was built from 1086 by William the Conqueror. The castle has been extended throughout the centuries before meeting its end during the Civil War in 1646. Before visiting the castle, I saw its smaller replica (which was constructed to appear as if it were the mid-1600s before it was ruined) during my visit to Corfe Castle Model Village. I've driven past the castle a number of times and have seen it in amazing view and sunsets as there are some beautiful views of the castle, but I had never stopped as I'd never had time to before.

The name 'corfe' means a gap in the hills, and this land was inhabited in the Bronze Age. The castle was modernised by Henry VII for his mother. It was a thriving and important community. It's now just a small village in Dorset. The castle was once very important and was where the crown jewels were stored for a time. It was also a stately home and a prison and was renovated a lot over the years before becoming neglected and then ruined. It contains a dungeon, although this cannot be seen today, and many important people and peasants were prisoned here and died here.

The castle has two ditches to cross via a bridge - one at the entrance and the other inside the castle walls. It contained the castle keep, which is perched on top of the hill. The palace is also on the hill, but not much remains of it. The castle was constructed with Purbeck stone, which is the local stone in the area here along the Jurassic Coast. This part of England is noted for its fossils. The stone here contains fossils. In fact, the polished Purbeck stone appears like marble. The castle was thought to have some of the exterior walls smoothed and polished to give it this shine, but over time, the water eats away at it and it becomes dull again. It must have really looked stunning.

A small hill near the castle was the site of St. Stephen's Seige Castle, which I believe was on the hill in front in the below photograph. This was constructed to help overthrow the castle, which is what happened in the Civil War when this castle was used to do just that.

There are wonderful views from the palace over the town. Additional facts about the castle are that this was one of the first stone keeps (instead of timber). The castle took 8-9 years to build, and the village outside the walls was created (and grew) from the workers who worked on the building. The walls are 3 metres thick. The outside of the keep was white-washed (as a lot of castles were). Sheep currently graze in the castle grounds to keep the grass short.

One of the boards at the castle had another interesting fact. In 2009, restoration work discovered some paint in the ruins of the palace. This paint probably dated from King John's time. The paint was arranged in checkerboard pattern in red, white, and black. Fascinating.

The palace, pictured above, would have been decorated elaborately. The stone carvings around the windows can still be seen today.

At the bottom of the hill inside the castle grounds were a couple of interactive areas that showed how the stonemasons worked and how to construct the windows. New windows are currently being constructed from the stones. It also showed samples of the rock.

Street artist JimmyC has been a regular artist of London's streets and has created several high-profile artworks including pieces for the Olympics, Shakespeare, and the mural of David Bowie in Brixton, which became a tribute area after the singer passed away (covered here). A recent mural is now located at St. Christopher's Place in London just off Oxford Street in an area not really used to being associated with street art. The mural celebrated the Royal Wedding of Prince Harry and American actress Meghan Markle. 

The Royal wedding, one of the most-talked about events happening this year, is tomorrow. Unlike the last time we had a Royal wedding (Prince William), the country is not getting a day off to celebrate. St. Christopher's Place is getting in on the wedding action by commissioning the street art with the hashtag #SCPRoyalWedding.

More artwork by JimmyC that I have posted about in this blog are:

Mick's Hands
'Open the Mind'
JimmyC Redchurch Street Heart
JimmyC Paints Shakespeare on South Bank
Street Artist JimmyC Paints Caledonian Road
RIP David Bowie & An Afternoon in Brixton
New Mural in Ever-Changing Shoreditch by JimmyC
New 'Spring Offering' Mural by Bailon and Sliks (JimmyC, Zadok Sonar Uno)
New JimmyC Mural on Joe's Kid (Cafe), Fashion Street
JimmyC Street Art - New Inn Yard, Brick Lane, Hackney Road
New Street Art by JimmyC
Street Art: JimmyC

I've previously covered the work of London-based street artist Woskerski on this blog in the post Street Art: Woskerski, and he has been painting since 1997. His work has a different perspective and highlights the features in his portraits, and these are really eye-catching and tend to jump off the wall. Woskerski has recently been painting off Brick Lane a lot with a wall near the community gardens becoming a favourite of the artist and continuosuly refreshed time and time again. The latest artwork features the bloke below with turquoise glasses. It's a fun piece in black and white with the yellow and turquoise providing the colour.

His subjects are always pulling a funny pose or expression. To see more of his work, please visit:

Street Art: Woskerski

This is the first of this type of post for me, but I was feeling a little bit nostalgic and wanted to look back to five years ago to see how aspects of my life have changed. Five years ago was the year 2013, and it was a year of change for me. It was a year that started out poorly but ended up being a pretty good year by the end. In fact, it actually does not seem like that long ago! It was a year after the Olympic Games visited London, and everyone was excited about the games. I actually cannot describe 2013 without a background of 2012 as it affected some key decisions and was a big year in the United Kingdom.

Many people will say that 2012 is a hard year to beat. Because of all of the Olympic-related events and games taking place the year before, I am sure that 2013 felt like a downer to many people. I do remember people saying that they had nothing to look forward to in 2013, so I think generally people felt that their lives were missing something. However, 2012 was a dismal year for me. It was the year I was stuck in the UK waiting for my visa, and this made me miss my brother's wedding in December. I started a new role at the end of March that turned out to be not the right fit for me. While 2012 was not all bad, the majority of it was except for a two-week trip to Croatia/Bosnia and an afternoon at the Olympic Park.

In March of 2012, I started a new job outside of London for a shorter commute (which ended up not being a shorter commute) and was promised my ideal role. After six months, the role did not materialising, and I started to question it. Over those months, I did meet some wonderful people there and produced some great work. In October, I nearly handed my notice, but I decided to "sleep on it" and to try to make it work. In retrospect, I should have left because there was nothing that I could do. Sometimes, it just isn't "right", and there isn't anything that can be done. It is a risk, and the risk did not work out that time. By the end of the year, I decided that I needed to take action. So, that leaves me with the beginning of 2013.

I was due a holiday at the beginning of 2013 because I was very unhappy and did not take any time off since May the previous year. I had just missed my brother's January wedding and still did not have my passport. As I had just joined a new company and had so much work to do (I actually put in a lot of overtime that I never got paid for), I also declined to take time off except for the time that I'd booked in May. The office that I was working in shut down over the Christmas break, so I did take a break then. At the beginning of January, I spent a few days in Cornwall (Days Out: Polperro, Cornwall, St. Michael's Mount, Land's End and St. Ives). I had been to Cornwall before but just needed to get away. At Christmas, I had also been given a voucher for a hotel in Derbyshire, so I decided to spend a couple of days in the Peak District before my other plans started. The visit to the Peak District was in deep snow, which did look pretty (Snowy Peak District Part 1, 2, 3 and Bolsover Castle).

Changes happened very quickly, and I'm still reaping the benefits of those changes today. I became a contractor in January of 2013 and started working at a wonderful company and worked with many great colleagues. I loved the team and loved the project. I actually worked there for just over two years and have fond memories of my time there. The company was located on Brick Lane, so I explored and documented the street art during my lunch breaks. The commuting was terrible and social life suffered, but I loved the work and team. Besides the harsh commute, everything fell into place.

At the end of April, I finally received my visa and had my passport returned. The whole process took ten months. 

In the spring of 2013, I enjoyed seeing the Big Egg Hunt in Covent Garden, which was really fun. This was an art sculpture trail that coincided with Easter and it ended up being two consecutive years in London. Over Easter itself, I visited Chester, Frodsham, Nantwich and the Anderson Boat Lift, and Beeston Castle. I would also visit the area and north Wales again in the summer for a long weekend and visit Chester Zoo. I lost most of those awesome photographs, though, when my hard drive failed.

I also visited a couple of different sand sculpture displays. The first one was in Weston-super-Mare (focused on films), and I saw some friends that I used to work with. The second one was in Weymouth (focused on science fiction), and I saw some friends who live near there too.

I also attended one of the most memorable street art events that I have been to in Dulwich, London. Several street artists took over a house and decorated the walls. This was wonderful, and there has not been anything else like it at all. I had a couple of posts about it because there was so much material: 1, 2. Street art was a huge part of my focus in 2013. I even met some of the street artists while seeing them paint around the area during my lunch and breaks at work. This made my day.

And, 2013 kept getting better with a long weekend May holiday to the Orkney Islands in Scotland to see stone circles and prehistoric structures and beautiful scenery (Kirkwall and Italian Chapel, Bursay, Brodgar, etc, Rousay, Skara Brae, and Hoy. This concluded with a visit to Castle Mey and a stop at cairns. 

To top things off, one of my good friends from the states came to visit in June. We spent a few days enjoying the city and taking time out to do the things that I have wanted to do and see without the crowds. I had so much fun and enjoyed showing off the city as it was the first visit for my friend. We did so many fun things that I could easily turn this into a list, but I won't.

July had some fantastic weather, and one of my highlights this year was the first Gromit Unleashed! sculpture trail in Bristol. This meant that I got the chance to go back to Bristol, a city that I worked near a few years previously. I also got to create my own Gromit figure under guidance from one of the Aardman figure-creators. (Part 1, Part 2) I happened to visit during Harbour Festival, and this was an added bonus. In addition to Gromit Unleashed!, I also went on other sculpture trails such as one for rhino in Southampton and also gorillas in Norwich, and that was my first visit to Norwich and a city that I enjoyed as well as enjoying seeing the sculptures.

I also enjoyed trips to Scotney Castle and Hever Castle during a glorious early August day. I did visit a lot of castles and other places this year, despite my long commute.

One of the last memorable events for me was a long weekend visit to Dublin, Ireland. The first day was the visit to the jail, which was the most interesting tour of the trip. I also enjoyed seeing the market and botanical gardens as well as the tour on the immigration boat.

The year also ended on the perfect note as I visited my parents at Christmas and we went to Michigan to Frankenmuth and the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village. We also went on the (Ohio) Amish Country Cookie Tour of Inns, which was lovely and Christmassy, though I had a very bad allergic reaction to hair dye and had to go to the hospital as my head swelled up.

I will say that 2013 has been the best year for me in quite possibly my whole adult life so far with the exception of 2011, which was another good year for me. The year 2013 was a great year with a great balance between work and several short and weekend trips and a longer visit to the states to see my family and friends. I don't think any of the years have quite added up to 2013, which started on a difficult and unknown note but left on a high. I wish that I was able to get the work-life balance in every year. So far, the last three years for me have been greatly skewed with work so it would be nice to get a break soon.

JimmyC (James Cochran) is a street artist from Australia who frequently paints in London and has created some very popular works in the city. Recently, he painted on the side of the Tramshed restaurant in Shoreditch. In March, he painted a collaboration with fellow street artist 'order55', Seb Humphreys. The work features two portraits with swirling brown and turquoise colours in the artist's "dabbed paint" style.

The wall that JimmyC and order55 painted on is the "Nelson's Head" pub near Columbia Road and Hackney Road (between the two roads). It is a very stunning piece, so if you are visiting the flower market at Columbia Road, be sure to check it out. It's only a minute or two walk away from the street.

More artwork by JimmyC that I have posted about in this blog are:

JimmyC Paints 'Open the Mind'
"Mick's Hands" Mural by JimmyC
JimmyC Redchurch Street Heart
JimmyC Paints Shakespeare on South Bank
Street Artist JimmyC Paints Caledonian Road
RIP David Bowie & An Afternoon in Brixton
New Mural in Ever-Changing Shoreditch by JimmyC
New 'Spring Offering' Mural by Bailon and Sliks (JimmyC, Zadok Sonar Uno)
New JimmyC Mural on Joe's Kid (Cafe), Fashion Street
JimmyC Street Art - New Inn Yard, Brick Lane, Hackney Road
New Street Art by JimmyC
Street Art: JimmyC

One of London's popular street artists, Otto Schade (OSch) has painted a new mural on a wall off Brick Lane in one of his usual spots. The artwork has replaced his work "The Believers", which can be seen by visiting the top link at the bottom of this post. The new mural depicts Jack the Ripper, the notorious serial killer who murdered on the streets of Shoreditch and Spitalfields in the mid and late 1800s. In fact, a couple of the murders attributed to him were found in the streets very close to this mural. 

Otto Schade's popular work is in one of a couple of different styles. Famous faces and items are made out of painted ribbons for one style, and the other style features social and political issues. This style shows the item as a silhouette with purple or orange backdrop in a circular image. The "Jack the Ripper 2040" piece is the latter style. It shows the killer who has committed another murder, but many people stand around and photograph or take video of the crime instead of stopping the killer. This is a social message about people being glued to their devices.

I've previously posted about Otto Schade's work in the following posts:

Otto Schade 'The Believers' and 'WTF'
'Bull in a China Shop', 'Osch-car' and 'Flies Around Sh*t'
Otto Schade 'Peace and Love on the Streets'
Street Artist Otto Schade Paints Southampton 'Zany Zebra' for Charity (and other work)
Street Art Round-up: Spring & Summer 2015
Otto Schade's New Street Art (Meerkats, Portraits, & More) in East London
New Street Art from Horror Crew, Swoon, Otto Schade, HIN, and others
Street Art: Otto Schade

It has been a little while since I have seen street art by Airbourne Mark in east London. He was most recently painting the Origami Riots series of street art featuring origami masks. A few of these appeared in Star Yard off Brick Lane last spring and early last summer, and you can read more about them by following the links at the bottom of this post. This new OrigamiRiots mural features "Flowers of Life", a mask that was given to the artist and shipped from Sweden.

For those interested in seeing more form the artist, I previously covered some of Airborne Mark's work, in with a round-up of other artwork in early 2014 here, a round-up in 2015 here and here, in early 2016. In addition, see the below:

Airborne Mark Paints 'African Mask' - Origami Riots
Airborne Mark Paints "Paper Sprite" - Origami Riots
Airbourne Mark Paints "Greek Mask" - Origami Riots

A few months have passed since I have written an "empties" post, although I have managed to empty a few beauty products but not as many as I hoped I would. (I'm working from home a lot, so I am not using products daily.) I was inspired by similar "empties" reviews that I have seen on other blogs to look back on the beauty, make-up, and skin-care items that have been finished up and to decide if I would like to re-purchase any of those items.

Bath & Body Works 'Be Enchanted' luxury bubble bath: This is an American brand (similar to 'The Body Shop'), and I always buy a lot of their products when I visit America. I've had this luxury bubble bath for awhile. It smelled fruity-floral and produced some nice bubbles. Would I buy it again? No, as the UK has other brands of bubble bath products that suit me. (I would buy it if I was living in the states.)

The Body Shop 'Cassis Rose' Eau de Toilette: This is another High Street bath product, and it comes in a range. This perfume smelled like a beautiful rose. I received this many years ago in a gift set. Would I buy it again? No. I love the smell, but there are better rose-smelling perfumes on the market, and the scent lingers for longer. It's not a bad product, but I would not re-purchase it.

The Body Shop 'Glazed Apple' Eau de Toilette: Another product from 'The Body Shop', I purchased a couple of these and then a couple more after the holidays when they were on sale. I absolutely loved the sickly-sweet apple smell, which was perfect for the holidays. Would I buy it again? Maybe. I actually had purchased a few of these and their most recent edition. They change the scent slightly each year. However, there are similar scents on the market where the perfume lingers for longer.

The Body Shop 'Frosted Cranberry' Eau de Toilette: Another product from 'The Body Shop', I purchased with the above product during the holiday season. Would I buy it again? No. I enjoyed the scent, but the scent does not linger.

Sand & Sky Brilliant Skin: This is a skin mask made with pink clay to help purify and sooth tired skin. Would I buy it again? No because I have similar products to use up, and I simply prefer those products.

Klorane dry shampoo: This is a dry shampoo made with oat milk to help soften the hair and reduce the oils produced. It's also a product that can be used on sensitive skin. Would I buy it again? No. It left white residue on my dark hair from use, and a lot of dry shampoo products do this.

Anna Sui 'Secret Wish' hand lotion: I love 'Anna Sui' perfume, but I have not bought any for awhile since I have so much perfume to use up. I am unsure if 'Secret Wish' is even made anymore...and I hope my favourite 'Flight of Fancy' has not been discontinued as it's one of my favourite perfumes ever. This lotion came with a gift set, and it had a grown-up floral scent. Would I buy it again? I would not purchase this product on its own as I don't use a lot of lotion.

Eslor day cream: This day cream promises to rejuvenate and soften skin, and it has a wonderful smell. Would I buy it again? No. I just don't use a lot of creams, and this one did not have a long shelf life as it hardened quickly.

eos melon lip balm: This is the cult lip balm product that made some girls break out from allergies. I'd purchased it awhile before those claims but only just managed to use it up recently. I loved the melon scent. Would I buy it again? No, because I have so many lip balms. I also found that the tubing was difficult to use and prone to dirt becoming trapped into the rim.

Mirenesse mascara: I had a trial size of these with an offer, and I purchased the larger size of this mascara with promises fuller lashes. Would I buy it again? No. The product dried out before much use, and I found it very clumpy. I really disliked the product.

Lacome Genifique eye light-pearl: This product helps to brighten the area around the eye. Would I buy it again? No. The product felt cool on my skin, but I could not really see any benefits.

Jane nail polish and glitter nail polish in purple: I am a magpie, so the glitter nail polish appealed to me, and I paired this with the glossy purple colour to allow me to use as a bottom coat or paint some nails in glitter and some in the gloss with a nice effect. Would I buy it again? No. The nail polish took a little too long to dry.

NakedLips Superfruits lip balm: This lip balm is made with super fruits to help add moisture to lips. It made my lips feel nourished and soft quickly. Would I buy it again? Yes, this was a good product, and I loved the fact that it is 100% natural.

TheBalm Stainiac lip and cheek tint: This product can be used on cheeks or lips to create a pink glow. Would I buy it again? No. I disliked the product because it has an uneven colour. I mainly used it as blush, but there are better products. The design of the product also makes it difficult to use.

SebaMed: This product promised to remove acne and blemishes from the skin, so I was excited to try the product as I suffer from acne sometimes. Would I buy it again? No. It actually made my skin worse and caused break-outs.

Oskia Renaissance Mask: This skin-care mask promises to nourish and transform skin to a youthful glow. Would I buy it again? I'd rate this higher than some masks, so I would consider re-purchasing it.

L'Occitane Precious Cream: This is one of the brand's staple products. It helps to nourish the skin and smells divine. A little does go a long way. Would I buy it again? I am unsure of the benefits that this offered, so I would not repurchase.

L'Occitane Hand Cream: Another divine-smelling product, and a little goes a long way and really does help to make dry hands soft again. Would I buy it again? I would buy this again.