Results matching “paint”

Artist Alex Chinneck has constructed a building that resembles a part of the London Covent Garden market that seems to flat in mid-air. The installation took 500 hours to paint, and over 100 people were involved in its construction. The piece, titled "Take My Lighting But Don't Steal My Thunder", is on show until October 24.

The artwork is made from foam and is actually held-up by a counterweight designed like a market kiosk, which is located on one of the sides of the installation. The artwork had attracted a lot of attention when I visited it on Saturday morning.

Street artist My Dog Sighs visited London earlier this summer to paint on some walls. Unfortunately, one of these did not last very long at all, but a large mural consisting of several eyes managed to remain for awhile on Blackall Street in east London. The artist originally visited London at the end of last year, and several paste-ups were created in collaboration with Midge (originally covered here: http://almostafternoon.com/blog/2014/01/street-art-midge-and-my-dog-sighs.html).

In addition to the wall, these paste-ups also appeared, but there was not as many of these as the last time.

The building that the painting was painted on is in the process of being demolished. The wall opposite, where the paste-ups were located, has had a clean. It is sad that this popular space for street art will soon be no more.

Ben Eine was in London this summer and left behind some nice murals (Street Art: Ben Eine). The artist moved from London about a year ago, so not much has been added to London's streets since he left, although traces of his work can be seen on shutters and opposite Shoreditch High Street station. One of my favourite pieces is the new one below, which also appears almost opposite Shoreditch High Street and is called "Old London".

The word "Create" was painted near Old Street and City Road on boards near the busy street.

The Olympic Park piece was painted early in the summer and is titled "The Review", based on the Victoria and Albert Museum's review of the Olympics. The piece was hard to photograph because it is so large! I only captured a very little bit of it from a distance. "History", "Connections", and "Storytelling" were a few of the words painted across the large boards in the middle of the Olympic Park. 

For more information about the piece, you can read about it at the following website (Inspiring City), and they also have a lot of photographs with some of the words: http://inspiringcity.com/2014/06/30/street-artist-ben-eine-creates-the-review-a-massive-mural-in-the-heart-of-londons-olympic-park/ 

Paul "Don" Smith, also known as "the Banker" (previously written and published articles and photographs here) with his popular use of the banker-tap stencil image, was busy painting the walls in east London over the summer. I snapped all of the pieces that I discovered but have been quite busy that I am only just getting around to posting them here. 

Miles Davis and Zoxanne Shante feature.

Royall Mayall 

William S. Burrough

Stallone and Cara

The famous banker tap stencil appears across east London.

"Mother Earth"

Ronnie Biggs and Royall Mayall

Jim Morrison from the Doors.

"Let Sway"

Paul Don Smith

Australian street artist JimmyC recently painted a few walls in east London. More of his work can be seen at Street Art: JimmyC and New Street Art by JimmyC. The artwork appeared toward the end of the summer and was painted in prominent locations in east London. 

The first is a portrait of a woman, which was painted on a wall in New Inn Yard, off Great Eastern Street.

The most recent mural was painted just off of Hackney Road and features a bearded man with towering buildings above his head.

JimmyC with Mr. Cenz

A car park just off of Brick Lane features another piece, and the artist does sometimes return to this location to paint on the walls. Throughout the spring and summer, there has been a theme going on with portraits. Some of the other artists features include Borondo and Edwin.

I enjoy seeing the artist's work as his painting style is so unique and made up of small splatches or dots of paint.

Artist Otto Schade is a regular stencil street art painter in London, and this summer brought some new work to the streets which I am only just now getting around to publishing on my blog. I originally posted about the artist here: Street Art: Otto Schade. This summer, new works included colourful fishes, political/social pieces, and a nice mural of ET on the bike riding across a purple moon. Enjoy.

Otto Schade - fishes

Otto Schade - gun fishing

Otto Schade - ET

 
Otto Schade - Evolution

 
Otto Schade - butterfly and skull

Otto Schade 

Normally, good street art in London lasts a little while. This new piece by Conor Harrington (originally covered in my post Street Art: Conor Harrington), painted only a couple of weeks ago, did not last long at all. I am unsure as to why it was covered, but it possibly has something to do with violence; sadly, a lot of violence is going on in the world at the moment. The artist's work uses this theme quite often in his work, showing motion and old-style costume. The piece is titled "Once Were Warriors". It currently looks like the piece below, but it has more recently been tagged over. 

Before the piece was covered with too much white paint, it looked like the image below. (Image courtesy of StreetArtNews.net.)

This wall/door has contained work by Conor Harrington for a long while now. I do hope that the artist comes back to London and paints something else here.

In July, I subscribed to a beauty subscription box 'Glossybox'. Basically, I get a sample of approximately five or six beauty-related items to try each month. The items can range from skincare, haircare, or makeup. I try each item before I provide a rating for it, and sometimes I find a nice product. (You may have read my previous post about Birchbox.) 

So far, I have received three boxes. My first box was received in July, and I got my most recent box just last week. I have decided to rate the items between 1 (awful) to 5 (awesome). Of course, these are just my own opinions on the product.

September - Karen Millen

This month's box was designed by Karen Millen, and I love the watercolour-esque London skyline buildings. I have subscribed to Glossybox for three months now, and unfortunately, this box was my least favourite of the three:

Skin Pep Brightening Peeling Gel (x2): (4/5) This product removed dead skin cells. The sample came in a small sachet, and it's the most expensive item in the pack when considering how much a full-size product costs. The gel is massaged into the skin and then taken off after a couple of minutes (or longer, depending on how oily your skin is). I could feel the product making my skin firmer, and it also had a slight sting to it. My face does feel cleaner after using it.  

Skin Pep Dark Circle Eraser (x1): (1/5) This sample also came in a sachet, and it is meant to be massaged under the eyes to rid dark circles. I am not really a fan of eye creams, and although I used this, I did not see any results. I am not sold on this type of product. Perhaps a difference can be seen over time.

Nails Inc Matte Polish Topcoat: (5/5) This full-size product does exactly what it says it does. The product (matte) is to be used on the top coat of your polish, and it replaces glossy nail polish with matte nail polish. I tried this using the "Glossy Seal" nail polish that I received in the July box, and I compared the result. I am amazed. However, I would not really use glossy nail polish if I wanted a matte finish, unless I really liked the colour but did not want the glossy option. 

L'Oreal Mythic Oil Masque: (4/5) This hair masque provides conditioning to the hair. It did make my hair extremely soft and tangle-free. I have fine hair, and it tangles easily. The product did not make my hair look or feel greasy like some products have, but the product is costly. 

ModelCo More Brows (medium/dark): (3/5) This eyelash definer makes only a subtle difference, but I did really like the application brush. The brush is angled slightly and smaller, so it is much easier to apply to lashes. The larger application brushes are always a nuissance for me because getting the angles needed to cover all lashes is a pain. I liked this for the brush.

Vichy Laboratories Day and Night Cream: (1/5) I received two small sample-sized products of skin day and night cream. I have so much of these, and I'm not really a fan, but this product claims to defeat acne, which I do sometimes get. Unfortunately, after using the products for three days/nights, I got acne where I was using the product. This is a disappointment.

September Glossybox

August - Glossybox's Birthday Box

The August Glossybox celebrated Glossybox's birthday. Here are the contents of the August box that I received:

Kryolan for Glossybox (Highlighter in Cashmere): (4/5) This highlighter should be applied to the cheekbones or browbone to give a natural glow. The texture is creamy, but don't make the same mistake as I did when I first tried it and over-massage it into your skin. The highligher does brighten up, and I used it just above my eyelid.

Figs & Rouge Mini Hand Cream: (4/5) The shea butter hand cream absorbed into my skin without feeling greasy at all. I love the light sweet scent, and it reminded me of sweets/candy. I also loved the bright and colourful package design, which I'll describe as modern vintage.

Yves Rocher Nail Polish in rose: (3/5) This bottle of nail polish is the birthday bonus item. The colour is 'rose', and the colour is a pale shade of pink. The polish dries quickly, and it took between two and three coats to cover my nails. I believe that this colour would look best on darkly-tanned skin, and my opinion is that it does not really suit my colouring.

Philip Kingsley Elasticizer: (2/5) This is a pre-shampoo treatment, but it is a product that should not be used in a hurry as the instructions recommend keeping this on your damp hair for 20 minutes or more before resuming shampoo and conditioning. On my first trial, it had the opposite affect on my hair and made my hair look greasy and go "limp".   

Lalique L'Amour perfume: (5/5) This perfume has a soft floral scent, and I like the smell. I like perfume, and I cannot fault this product.

SkinPep Hydra Sun Defence SPF30 Day Cream: (1/5) This is a skin protector cream. I seem to get a new one of these with every beauty subscription box that I receive, and I am not really keen on this type of product. I was also not impressed with the product design as it looks "cheap".

August Glossybox

July - Stars and Stripes

This was my first ever box from Glossybox. The box celebrates all things American and came decorated with USA 'stars and stripes'. Here are the contents of the box that I received:

Tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes Mascara: (4/5) This comes in a cute plastic case with a snakeskin effect. I could always use another mascara as I do not own a lot, and this seemed to do the trick. At the moment, I am quite partial to Mary Kay mascara.

Bellapierre Mineral Lipstick (in Manderina colour): (2/5) The lipstick is soft and glides right on. I am not really sure about the colour with my pale skin. 

Absolute New York Perfecting Eyeshadow Primer: (4/5) I have never used an eyeshadow primer before. The idea is that this is put onto the eyelid before eyeshadow. The primer acts like a highlighter when used on the crease above the eyelid, and the colour of the eyeshadow did seem to hold better when I used the product as a base, and it did seem to hold the eyeshadow better.

Color Club Nail Varnish (in Glossy Seal colour): (5/5) The colour of this polish is a bright blue and leaves a glossy finish. Only one coat was needed to paint my nails. The colour is bright, and I've had polish that takes at least two coats of a similar bold colour. The product smelled a little wrong to me, but I guess I did not get the strong 'nail polish' smell. It is a good product.

Carmex Lip Balm: (5/5) I have seen this product around before, but I have never tried it. It did make my lips feel soft and moisturised, and it has a minty taste. I have been using this product a lot and enjoy it.

July Glossybox

Do you subscribe to Glossybox? What do you think? What is your favourite item?

Can you imagine England without its national beverage - tea? Tea first became popular after King Charles II's wife brought it with her from her home country of Spain in the mid 1600s. In 1669, the East India Company broguht its first shipment of tea from China, and in 1706, the first tea room in London opened. By the 1830s, teas are then shipped from India for the first time. The tea trade is actually what brought about an important part of history of the ship 'Cutty Sark', which was known as a 'tea clipper'. 

'Cutty Sark' below deck

In late 1869, the 'Cutty Sark' was launched. The ship was named after the cutty sark, the Scottish name for a short night dress that women used to wear. It was also said to be inspired by a poem written by Tom O'Shanter about a witch named Nannie who was wearing a cutty sark. The figurehead on the ship is supposed to represent the witch.

The ship made eight voyages to China. The quickest time to Shanghai in China was 89 days. The ship would usually stay about a month in China, so the ship would be on its voyage for about ten months. 

Tea was shipped in exotic and colourful boxes with Chinese writing on them. Replica tea boxes were located on the ship so it appeared that they were stacked in the ship and visitors could walk over them. How the tea was packed onto the ship was also illustrated.

As the ship is very old, a lot of restorative work has been done to her, including building on her steel frame. To inform people about which parts of the ship are new materials (and which are original), the original ship's metalwork has been painted white. In the photograph below, the evidence of the wear and tear of the ship is obvious.

Below deck are interactive exhibits and artefacts from the ship, including a star of India and the ship's bell. The exhibit also describes other items that were shipped on the boat, in addition to tea. These included other goods and items from the far east, sheep, and furniture. 

One of the interactive exhibits was to 'pilot' your own 'Cutty Sark' electronically using a mock ship's wheel and a map that detailed the currents of the ocean, and the objective was to get the ship back to its London destination in the quickest time that the 'Cutty Sark' achieved in reality (and without being ship-wrecked)!

The 'Cutty Sark' did not have too long of a career as steam-powered boats started to be in use to collect tea shortly after the ship was built. The Suez Canal was opened, and this cut the number of days it took to reach the east from Europe. The 'Cutty Sark' then turned to other trade, such as sheep and other goods and luxuries that were shown in the exhibition below the deck.

The top decks could also be explored, and these included living quarters, the captain's room, and other areas for the crew and captain. Cards next to the equipment on the deck told what the item was.

There are also some nice views from the top of the deck, and we were fortunate to have a beautiful sunny day. Canary Wharf could be seen from the deck. It is amazing that this ship is here, after its fate led it to different countries and places in the world as a working and tourism ship for some time, before eventually coming back to London to be displayed as a museum.

The shape of the hull is what made the ship so quick. It was plated with copper. In fact, the ship resting on the ground and gravity was beginning to warp the shape of the hull, so a lot of time and money was spent on suspending the ship in mid-air so that it does not rest directly onto the ground. This is why there's a large steel structure with buttresses around the ship so that visitors can walk underneath it. On this level is the ship's longest wooden plank. It is part of the original ship and is shown in its fragile condition. Burn marks can also be seen on this piece of wood from the fire that happened a few years ago. (After a large restoration project, the ship was finally reopened to the public in 2012.) 

The scale and length of the 'Cutty Sark' is evident below. There is a restaurant here, and there's also a few more exhibitions, including how the alcoholic drink 'Cutty Sark' got its name; it was, of course, inspired by press about the famous ship. One of the most interesting exhibits on this level is the figurehead collection, known as the Long John Silvers Collection. This is the largest collection of ship figureheads in the world and was given to 'Cutty Sark' by Captain Long John Silvers (Sydney Cumbers). This collection and the 'Cutty Sark' is dedicated to the Merchant Navy. 

Figurehead collection

A plaque is located in the area to identify each figurehead; some of them are modeled after famous people. One was Abraham Lincoln. Figureheads were regarded as important, and the crew would always keep them clean and look after them as they believed that the ship's soul was embodied in its figurehead. Not all of the figureheads are human.

After our exploration of the 'Cutty Sark' ship, we went across the street to the Gipsy Moth pub, which we could see from the top deck of the ship. The restaurant/pub was busy, and all of the seats outside in the garden were taken, but we were lucky to grab a table and enjoyed our lunch. I had the chicken pie, and everything tasted nice.

Have you visited 'Cutty Sark'? What did you think? Leave me a comment.

Earlier this month, Bicicleta Sem Freio painted on one of London's most famous walls for street art. Bicicleta Sem Freio are a group of artists and graphic designers. Their work features bright colours with dark outlines. The work was painted on Pedley Street, just off Brick Lane.  

Earlier this summer, the group painted a wall further down on Hanbury Street. It's a little off the beaten track and features bright orange, red, green and blue colours with dark outlines and tribal-style patterns. It also features a figure of a woman with flowing hair.

Check these murals out quickly because there's been quite a bit of tagging over street art in east London recently, and they may not last much longer.