“Please bring in some of the art you’ve done at home,” the teacher asks.
That’s going to be a little bit tricky …
Don’t worry, the garage doors were being replaced, and I’m thrilled with my colourful garage interior.
I adore street art. Several years ago Chichester did an amazing street art exhibition. These make a very teenager friendly alternative art tour. Plus I’m always up for a bit of stealth education.
Sadly my favourite, “King of Cats”, was whitewashed over recently by the council following complaints about antisocial behaviour. Personally I’m happy that the Belgian artist, Joachim, has provided a new masterpiece for us to enjoy. The Chichester Observer reported
Joachim’s management said he had been ‘horrified’ to hear his King of Cats mural ‘attracted antisocial behaviour’ within the city of Chichester and took it upon himself to put things right. Knowing that cats can be rather antisocial by nature, Joachim decided to paint ‘The Watchdog’ to watch over the streets and keep the neighbourhood safe.
King of Cats by Belgian artist Joaquim
Back to our budding vandal. It was really no surprise that he wanted a graffiti birthday party. Near Waterloo Station in London is Leake Street Graffiti Tunnel where anyone, armed with a spray can or two, is permitted to make their mark, without getting arrested. The tunnel was originally created by Banksy although his artwork is long gone.
Luckily, his friends are urban cool, and their parents super chilled, so there was barely a raised eyebrow.
The toughest decision was what to paint over, because all the art was amazing, but eventually the spot was chosen and after a tentative start they all got into it.
Leake Street Graffiti Tunnel
Top tips if you’re thinking of taking the kids
- buy the cheapest spray paint you can as they race through it
- painting masks from the DIY store hopefully helped with the fumes, but it was outdoors so it wasn’t too bad
- surgical gloves are a very good idea! I bought a box of 100 from the local chemist.
The other artists working on the same day were super friendly and showed the kids how they used stencils in their designs.
There are official “street art” walking tours in various towns if you’re interested in exploring but unsure where to start. I was looking at the Shoreditch Street Art tour which I haven’t done but it’s on the list.
And since this is also a book blog, here’s a little bit of bookish news
Purely by coincidence, I just finished reading Revenge on the Rye by Alice Castle about the murder of a street artist, which I highly recommend. I blogged about this a few weeks ago.
Lexi Rees, author 
This sounds fun and I would love to have ago, some street art is stunning. It is such a shame the cat was whitewashed.
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Honestly you should! Our garage floor is now a masterpiece. You can find somewhere to try!
I hope the watchdog stays.
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So do I – he looks great though still prefer the cat
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Oooh a cats vs dogs debate!!!
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Absolutely love your new look website Lexi, how did I not see this before? I am a fan of legal street art and am writing a piece myself, thank you for sharing your findings. Jen x
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Thanks – I only updated the site recently – it had been on my to do list for ages.
Look forward to your graffiti blog. with geocaching and graffiti we are turning into activity twins!
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Haha… we must be on trend 😉 x
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Thanks. I’m really pleased with the new look site.
We are twins aren’t we! Geocaching and street art. I wonder what else?
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I have seen some wonderful street art. Unfortunately a lot of people associate graffiti with tagging when there are some truly artistic wonders around. I think that the council should encourage something like graffiti classes on underpasses etc.. They can turn grey concrete walls into areas that are a pleasure to walk through.
I know that around my area there is some wonderful street art about and designated areas where people can express themselves through that artistic medium.
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That’s a good point – big difference between graffiti tags and street art
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I LOVE street art! I live in Richmond, VA and it is everywhere! I don’t know if anywhere we can just go and do authorized graffiti though…I wish there was!
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Hence the inside of our garage! The floor, walls and doors!
It is a nice urban art project though to have a designated tunnel.
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I wish I had such skillz – I’m a muggle in every way!
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Did you watch the video? It was the free flow and speed that I was amazed by 🙂
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This sounds like such a fun time! My kids already draw on everything so they’d love this LOL 🙂
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Haha yes sounds perfect!
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Your blog looks amazing, great colours and scheme. I think some graffiti is absolutely azing, such a shame the cat was whitewashed! I’m not a fan of ‘tagging’ but think some of the art people create with spray paint is amazing
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Thanks so much – I only updated my site recently after much agonising over the design. I’m really glad you like it.
And agreed “tagging” isn’t art
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