Street Art

[booze and cake]

Street Art. Free displays of artistic talent or vandalism and a load of rubbish?

The canvas is huge and ever changing, its mischievous with a history of rebellion, I've had my jaw drop open in amazement and laughed out loud. Its a constantly evolving free exhibition and treasure hunt that's best viewed by bike. I'm a fan!

Over the past few months in my spare time I've cycled hundreds of miles across London and discovered some real gems, so its time to share the best ones I've got so far and hopefully others will post their good finds too. Cyclists get about so we should be able to amass a great collection. Extra points for bikes in photos as it acts as a constant reminder cycling is the best way to see them, and for scale purposes obviously

If people are interested in coming on a bike ride to see some of them, I am happy to help arrange a ride or series of rides in September and October. If so just declare your interest here and if some peeps come forward I will set up a separate thread for us to agree dates, draw up a shortlist of pieces to visit, agree route, food and drink stops etc. @RedRider and @Nigel182 had previously hinted at interest but all are welcome.

Right that's enough jabbering, unleash the spray cans....

...and lets see those neglected, unloved, blank walls given some colour

Art is often inspired by nature. I thought London wildlife was mostly pigeons, crows, rats and foxes, but when I started really looking I realised London has a still life safari park. I noticed a few bird drawings across town and after some interwebbing discovered they were by someone called ATM who did drawings of endangered or recently extinct UK birds:https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2014/mar/22/warning-signs-street-artist-atm-birds
So I set off trying to find some. Chaffinch in Loughborough Junction
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A school grounds in Acton has a Goldfinch and a Jay

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A bullfinch in Turnpike Lane
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A lapwing, also in Turnpike Lane
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A goshawk in Walthamstow
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The now extinct in UK Great Bustard in Whitechapel
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Kingfisher in Dulwich
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Curlew in Mile End
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Snipe in Walthamstow
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Barn owl in Acton
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The head is all that remains of this Bittern in Bethnal Green

And there is a whole flock in Coppermill Lane Walthamstow
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Big thanks to my friend in Wales,Jez Evans who identified the birds I could'nt.

 

[booze and cake]

Birds are very popular, I've also come across some by Aspire, these are easy, you know these right? This in Croydon

Penge

Chalk Farm Estate
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Mile End
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Camden
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[booze and cake]

Here's a gannet and a shag in Acton, artist unknown
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Toucan on Chalk Farm Estate
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Here's some birds in the Egyptian hieroglyphics style in Croydon
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I saw these hummingbirds on some building hoardings in Wood St,Walthamstow
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[booze and cake]

This Starling is by Irony and Boe just off West Green Road, Tottenham
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I've come across a few parrots on my travels, this one in Tooting
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This in Brixton

and I really like these ones just off Caledonian Road, by Louis Masai.
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And what about a giant budgie rummaging in a skip? Seen here in Hackney Wick, done by Louis Masai and Bailon
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A white breasted parakeet in Mile End by Faunagraphic
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[booze and cake]

This is Faith47's 'Europa and the bull' on Consort Road, inspired by Guido Reni's 17th century painting
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I'm not sure what this bird is, I think its an angry bird

, just off Brick Lane
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Near Broadway Market in Hackney is this crow by Irony and Boe #sickrhymes
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In Brixton there's a raven complete with Edgar Allen Poe poem of the same name, done by James Cochran.
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And lets not forget the pigeon, this in Tottenham
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All those birds makes me think of Alfred Hitchcock, seen here in Dulwich, but the knife and ketchup reference obviously refer to his film Psycho, not The Birds
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[booze and cake]

Considering such a large part of the internet is taken up by cats, I've seen surprisingly few cat art works, which probably explains why there's so many birds above

I did see this one in Croydon
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There's a cat keeping an eye on a few birds in this, in Linden Gardens
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I think the person that did this one did some LSD and spent the next 9 hours staring into the face of their cat
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And this tiger in Brockley by Louis Masai
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[booze and cake]

Louis Masai has also done a series of works on endangered animals, I've found these so far, a Brazilian Greater Otter in Brixton
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Rhino and Blue Whale in Mile End
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He also did a Marlin in Tooting but due to new building work it was gone when I visited. He also did this Red Shanked Douc in Lancaster Road, Walthamstow
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And this epic bat one in front of a very batish location, hidden away in Sydenham Woods., alas partially painted over

Louis was also involved in a project a few years ago painting bees to raise awareness of Colony Collapse Disorder, I've found a few. These in Mile End
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These off Hackney Road
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He also did this coral scene in Mile End
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[booze and cake]

And a few other creatures from deep, off Hackney Road
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These next two are by the same person, Spitalfields
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And Bethnal Green
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And this fish is in Clapton

 

[booze and cake]

An artist called Otto Schade does a series of ribbon drawn figures, including some animals, here's his rhino in Camden
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Some fish on Brick Lane
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And a new one of his appeared this week in Shoreditch
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In a similar style is this, don't know artist but I really like it, almost missed it because its so subtle. It appears to be a cheetah and a scuba diver, Dereham Place Shoreditch
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[booze and cake]

In the Peperami category (the remains of an animal) I think these two were done by the same person, this in Brixton
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And this in Croydon

These are by artist called Shok-1, this in Walthamstow
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This off Brick Lane
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They also did this strange bug in Borough
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[booze and cake]

Rather slim pickings on the creepy crawlies front, artist Fanakapan did these spider balloons in Camden
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Fanakapan also did these in Trinity Buoy Wharf

There's a dragonfly in Dulwich
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I really like this Lily Mixe one off Hackney Road
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This is the bug winner in my book, by JXC, in Croydon
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[booze and cake]

There's animal origami, these by Origami Riot, can you guess what they are?
Ardlui Road, West Norwood
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Croydon
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Brick Lane
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And this one is called 'cash cow', on Maple Rd, Penge

 

[booze and cake]

There's that common London scene of a girl with mouse, fish and cockerel, on Clerkenwell road
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I saw this in Wandsworth last week
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Of course you'd expect to find a cocky, gobby rabbit in London. Correct, this one out the back of the Imperial War Museum in Waterloo, alongside a fat chap who appears to have a really bad nut allergy or similar allergic reaction, he seems pretty chipper about it tho.
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A polar bear in Mile End by Jim Vision
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[booze and cake]

There's elephants, which a number of years ago my young niece Sofia declared is what she wanted to be when she grew up, so these are for her. Turnpike Lane
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And this one on the Chalk Farm Estate
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And these all by someone called Roaming Elephant, this in Mile End
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And this in Camden
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This AT-AT city-scape type elephant by Andy Council in Mile End
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[booze and cake]

In the shadow of the huge mast at Crystal Palace we have a King Kong climbing a mast
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And just off Whitecross St, Islington we have baboons taking bottom selfies
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Orangutan in Mile End by Fiyas
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Here's a piece called 'lost monkeys' on Brick Lane, I think the artist is Lewis Campbell
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Code St Hackney even has a chess playing chimp....
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....and Croydon has a space chimp.....
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...who could both easily outwit this chump, Trump, found off Brick Lane