Urban Street Art

With new urban art pieces being installed along the Art Trail in St. Anne’s on the Sea, I thought I would join in and create my own piece. I know Lisca loves street art so I hope she enjoys this post and I would also like to thank Rike who was the first to introduce me to a technique using a straw which inspired part of my design. I’m also pleased to join the lovely Gill who is hosting the “Elegance and Grunge” theme over at Art Journal Journey.

I started by covering the page with Pébéo white gesso using a craft knife to create texture, then while the gesso was drying I added the blue circles by dipping a cardboard tube into Aquamarine water colour paint by Winsor & Newton and applying it to the page. Next came the technique inspired by Rike, I dripped a grey and a blue water colour paint on my page then blew the paint with a straw to create drip lines and starbursts, I really enjoyed doing this, it was great fun.  I repeated all of these techniques a couple more times to build up the paint layers and textures until I got the look I wanted. Then I added some paint splatters using the same water colour paints and a paintbrush. Using black Archival Ink I stamped a frame onto the page and the little girl with her balloon onto a piece of grey paper from a Design Pad, both the stamps and paper are by Craft Sensations. I backed the grey paper image with a piece of card, cut it to match the inside of the stamped frame, edged it with a black Faber-Castell Big Brush marker and stuck it onto the page using a UHU Stic. To finish I added motivational wording which are rub-on transfers by Royal & Langnickel.

The St Anne’s Back West Art Trail is a series of urban street art installations along a back street in St. Anne’s on the Sea and this week we had 4 new additions displayed. The aim for this year is have up to 20 similar art works on display all over the town and there is talk of an Urban Arts Festival too. The photo is of a 12ft x 12ft piece by specialist urban artists Hayley Garner and Joy Gilleard, known together as Nomad Clan; it pays homage to the town’s history as well as the children and dogs that enjoy this seaside town.

The local stores who have access to the back of their buildings in this street also have art installations – my favourite is the bright green arch of Apple Bikes which was stenciled onto the wall itself.

Some storefronts are based on the street too, this pink building is a yoga studio, and features a bear looking out across the mountains.

This new installation of a whale by Nomad Clan is one of my favourites, isn’t it beautiful!

This abstract creation is by Catch-22 Art.

This warrior by Seca One Art looks like a futuristic avenger to me.

We also spotted this tribute to a local band on the bottom of a door.

Thanks for joining me today! If you have any questions or comments, I would love to hear from you.

Here is a list of all the materials used to create this art journal page:

• Pébéo White Gesso
• Winsor & Newton Cotman Water Colours (Ultramarine, Payne’s Gray, Colbalt Blue)
• Craft Sensations (Clear Stamps CRO274/16R)
• Craft Sensations Design Pad (Travel Memories 154898)
• Card
• Royal & Langnickel Rub-on Sentiments (Motivate #ROY-150 Rub-on)
• Cardboard tube
• Straw
• UHU Stic