I’ll be writing more about it in the coming months, the official release date is 27th September – with a launch party in London lined up for the 1st October.

There are so many fantastic artists and their personal stories in this one but I don’t want to give the game away too soon…

But just today I heard news of a piece two of the artists appearing in the book did together. Saner and Sego were two artists I met on my travels in Mexico last year and this book has a Mexican flavour to it with nearly a third of the artist’s coming from all over Mexico.

Painted at the National Museum of Popular Cultures – its an absolutely stunning piece which gives a flavour of what’s coming in this next book. To read more about the project check Saner’s blog. Also check Sego’s blog for more great work and fantastic photos.

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Escif is an artist I was first introduced to in 2006 by Blu, who recommended him for inclusion in the Street Sketchbook book. Since meeting him back then in Barcelona and the publication of Street Sketchbook, Escif’s work has continued to grow and develop. Constantly painting and producing, his techniques have become honed over time to a minimal but elegant style while his ideas have also become stronger – at times surreal, usually very funny, clever and approachable.

Photo above: Escif painting the POW shutters last weekend.

Years later it’s been an pleasure to invite Escif on behalf of Pictures on Walls to create a show at POW’s showroom space. He has been working on the show for the past 5 months so its packed with ideas and very exciting to see it come together this week.

A little background about the artist:- Escif’s home is Valencia where he began painting on the streets since around 1997. Inspired by the Graffiti movement he describes his work as a kind of contemporary mural painting.

Valencia has proved to be the perfect training ground for Escif’s art, as unlike Madrid or Barcelona it’s possible to paint quietly in the city centre without prosecution. The faded walls and abandoned spaces of Valencia’s historical streets also provide the perfect textural backgrounds for Escif’s work.

Around 90% of his street paintings are illegal but he has also organized legal public mural projects with friends and on behalf of the University of Valencia. Escif’s output is prolific, painting pieces each week in his home city and on travels to Morocco, South America, much of Europe and Cuba.

Photo above: Mural Painted in the Truman Brewery courtyard, London 2010

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Thanks to Terence Jones exhibitions officer at Leeds College of Art for organising a show of Choque Cultural prints at the college. He sent me a few snaps of the prints in situ and they look great…

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This post comes a little late - Hugo Kaagman’s book Stencil King was published in November 2009 by Lebowski Publishers. I was honoured to be asked to write the introduction to it. I first got to know Kaagman’s work on an art college trip to Amsterdam in 1986 – I was blown away by what I saw – hundreds of amazing stencils making up a giant mural in Waterlooplein. I guess this is where I first got the bug for Stencil Graffiti. Many years later I was able to invite him to take part in one of the biggest ever stencil art gatherings – Cans Festival underneath Waterloo station. The book is well worth tracking down to see a life in stencils by the stencil kind himself….

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Mayday bank holiday saw the opening of Cans Festival. Behind the scenes this festival of Stencil Art had been in preparation since Feb 08. I was honoured to be given a curatorial role of behalf of POW to invite artists from around the world who I thought to be producing the best in Stencil Art.

With nearly 30,000 visitors over three days and over 50,000 photographs tagged “Cans Festival” now on Flickr – the public and artists thoroughly enjoyed themselves. Perhaps most gratifying was the level of interactivity, with 651 artists from the public registering to paint their own stencils during the event. The main attraction unquestionably was Banksy, with four new large-scale murals, sculptures and anarchic installations, his work brought in a diverse crowd that art galleries can only dream of attracting. Not to be overshadowed, around 50 artists invited from 15 countries also made their mark with a diverse range of styles and subjects. From the well-regarded stencil graffiti hubs of Buenos Aires and Melbourne to the lesser-known hotspots such as Lisbon and Bergen, the cream of the stencil art world was in attendance.

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A number of Brazilian artist friends of mine have been visiting the UK to take part in various gallery shows. To put their spare time to good use I suggested to Mission Print screen printers (who I often work with) that they commission these artists alongside local artists to paint a mural on their buildings in central Birmingham. The results are stunning – many thanks to Missionprint.

Featuring Daniel Melim, Titifreak, Carlos Dias, Milo Tchais, Rodrigo, Zezao and the Ikonoklast crew (Birmingham).

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http://www.streetsketchbook.com/

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Habitat Mugs series. For  around two years I’ve been talking to Habitat about curating and designing a series of mugs with the theme of stencils. Finally they have been made and are in the shops – sporting artwork by Pablo Fiasco and James Dodd. Turned out well!

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I finally have a printed copy of my new book “Street Sketchbook” published by Thames and Hudson, ISBN 978 0500 513620. The book will not reach the shelves for another few weeks yet.

I have to say that its looking fantastic – hard bound, rounded corners, spot varnished cover and 272 pages!
After two years hard work [...]

http://www.streetsketchbook.com/

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