WATERFORD WALLS – NOVEMBER 2018

I said I was going to do something, and I went and did it. Eventually.

Regular readers will know that i’ve frequently commented on Waterford Walls, and how I would to visit Waterford to see it. Well, I did it, a short visit, Wednesday to Friday, doing lots of walking around the city and getting lots of photos of Street Art.

I would be getting a bus to Dublin and then a train to Waterford. That plan hit a bump when my bus was late by 25 minutes causing me to miss my train by 1 minute.

To top this off, my bus journey was on a free ticket I got as compensation for having to repurchase my ticket because the barcode wouldn’t read when I was travelling home from my last visit to Dublin.

I think i’ll avoid Dublin Coach in the future and just put up with hanging around Dublin Airport on Bus Eireann/Translink or Aircoach.

As you will have seen in my previous blog, I used those three hours in Dublin to hunt for some new Street Art that had appeared since my last visit in July.

So, what is Waterford Walls?

It’s a project which aims to transform Waterford into an open air art gallery. They hold an event in August when the pieces are painted, and then you can spend the rest of the year viewing the results.

They hold tours on a Saturday. Obviously, I wouldn’t be there on a Saturday, so I would have to navigate my way around the city myself.

Because of my delayed arrival in Waterford (just after 3pm) meant I didn’t have a lot of daylight to work with on the Wednesday, which made the delay even more frustrating.

So, Wednesday would be spent walking around the city to view the pieces I would be photographing later. A reconnaissance mission for Thursday and Friday, if you will.

I explored Waterford and took a wrong turn to a shopping centre on the periphery of the City Centre and spotted some Street Art. I’m a man, and asking for directions is for wimps.

Eventually, I made it into the City Centre. It’s a lot bigger than I expected, but also very compact and easy to navigate.

To get me started, there was a mural right outside my hotel. By coincidence, it was also featured on their Facebook page during my stay.

So, Thursday morning came, out bright and early, walking around the city, and getting as many photos as possible, as soon as I spot something and sometimes going off course.

I had the usual problems of parked cars in some locations, meaning I had to shoot from some weird angles.

There was even a Doggy Daycare Centre with a mural of dogs.

Regular readers will notice how some of the pieces are similar to those that were/are in Belfast, as they were done by the same artists.

There is also a piece by Joe Caslin which overlooks the city. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get a decent photo of it, but you can see a write-up here.

Friday morning was spent mopping up. The weather was very dull which didn’t make for good photos.

On the Thursday, I also spent time walking along the start of Waterford Greenway. If I visit again, i’ll put some time aside to hire a bike and cycle along it as much as I can.

Despite the delays in arriving, it was an enjoyable trip. It’s a decent City Centre and lots of Street Art, which is all I really asked for.

Photo Album

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DUBLIN STREET ART – NOVEMBER 2018

I recently had a short visit to Dublin. I didn’t intend to, we’ll cover that in the next blog.

So, with three hours to kill, I thought I might as well get the camera out and start photographing some Street Art.

With not a lot of time to work with, I had to be certain where I was going.

So, I headed to the two places I knew would bring results, Smithfield and Temple Bar, and I would not be disappointed.

Having been in Dublin as recently as July, I knew I would be finding some duplicates, so there was no point in photographing what I have already snapped.

Dublin Canvas have been at their work over those four months between my visits to Dublin, and I snapped their new pieces. Seriously, can we have something similar in Belfast?

Another hotspot I visit was the Car Park at Tivoli Theatre. Unfortunately, due to it being a Car Park, there were cars parked in front of the pieces I wanted to snap.

Despite that, it was still a productive use of my spare time in Dublin.

Photo Album

Dublin Street Art July 2018

Dublin Street Art July 2017

Dublin Street Art May 2016

Dublin Street Art June 2015

Dublin Street Art July 2014

Dublin Street Art August 2013

NORTH STREET (AND SURROUNDING AREAS) STREET ART – SEPTEMBER 2018

It has now become a mid September tradition for the walls of Belfast to be given a dash of paint, as Hit The North, running alongside Culture Night, sees artists from around the world visit Belfast to paint the city’s walls.

One of those countries represented was Colombia, returning the favour after artists from Belfast recently visited Colombia to take part in a Street Art Festival.

Even though the festival is advertised as taking place on Thursday and Friday, past experience has seen pieces appear earlier than that, due to the time it takes to paint it.

So it proved, as a piece started to appear in the Car Park at Smithfield, where there was a Two Ronnies mural in 2017, so I headed to get some work in progress photos.

Thursday came, so I was out getting photos on my lunch break, and then again after work.

As I had booked a half day on the Friday for Culture Night, I made the most of my early departure from work to check out the progress so far, and then again on my arrival at Culture Night at teatime.

As is tradition, I was out on my bike on the Sunday morning to get photos of the finished pieces, starting in North Street, heading to Donegall Street and the side of the Telegraph Building. Much to my frustration, there were parked cars meaning I had to shoot from some odd angles.

Worth checking out, across the road, is Buoy Park, just outside the University Of Ulster.

I also checked out pieces at Kent Street, Sunflower Pub and Winetavern Street.

I wanted to get photos of a mural in Commercial Court, but there were binbags dumped in front of it. I’ll try again later.

I also spotted some graffiti in Bank Square so took a photo. It wasn’t part of Hit The North, but it would have been rude not to get a photo.

Also not part of Hit The North but worth checking out is that some of the yellow dots designed to guide people around Belfast due to part of Royal Avenue still being closed due to the fire at Primark have been defaced to look like Pacman.

It’s good to see that some pieces from previous years are still intact, giving Belfast a wide range of art from Hit The North from throughout the years.

Wonder what will be on the city’s walls in 2019?

Work In Progress Photo Album

North Street Art Photo Album

North Street Art 2017

North Street Art 2016

North Street Art 2015

North Street Art 2014

North Street Art 2013

North Street Art 2012

BELFAST PEACE WALL ART – SEPTEMBER 2018

As a new month has begun, the start of September meant that it was time for my every six month visit to the Peace Wall at Cupar Way to document the Street Art there.

To be honest, if somebody asked me for somewhere to go for Street Art in Belfast, there are a lot of other places I would suggest.

Somehow, it remains a popular destination, when I visited this morning, there were plenty of buses and taxis. And as tour buses and taxi specialise in Belfast, they just park where they bloody well like. Right opposite the murals, denying people space to work with if they want to get photos.

That defeats the whole point of taking people somewhere to take a photo if you’re going to block their view.

And it was in a bicycle lane.

If they must park on Cupar Way, surely it makes a lot more sense to park on the other side of the street, to give people more room to work with in order to get photos?

My last couple of visits have seen me get some photos but there was nothing worth blogging about. I saw some new pieces which is why this article is appearing.

If you don’t hear from me in March 2019, it will be safe to assume there was nothing worth blogging about.

Photo Album

Belfast Peace Wall Art July 2017

Belfast Peace Wall Art February 2017

Belfast Peace Wall Art August 2016

Belfast Peace Wall Art August 2015

EDINBURGH STREET ART – AUGUST 2018

Even though it is renowned as an arty city, Edinburgh isn’t really a hotbed for Street Art.

On my recent visits, I have headed to New Street, where there is permanently building work, meaning there are canvasses for Street Artists to work with, but there was nothing whenever I visited.

I covered quite a lot of the city but didn’t see a lot in terms of Street Art.

I spotted some pieces at The Meadows, but the first real spot of note came in the University Area, with some new pieces as part of a Community Project called Southside Murals, done by Kate George.

Not getting into any debate about boundaries, but I also spotted some pieces when I visited Leith.

Photo Album

Edinburgh Street Art 2017

Edinburgh Street Art 2015

Edinburgh Street Art 2014

Edinburgh Street Art 2013

BANGOR IS AN ENERGY

AKA …… Bangor Street Art

Making the most of a football free Saturday a few weeks back, I headed to Bangor for the afternoon to Bangor Vintage Market, held as part of Open House Festival.

This gave me an excuse to check out some Street Art while I was in Bangor.

The one I was most looking for was one of John Lydon by Friz, with the caption “BANGOR IS AN ENERGY”, which if you need explained is a pun on the chant “ANGER IS AN ENERGY” heard during Public Image Limited’s hit Rise, which has recently had prominent airplay on the Top Of The Pops repeats on BBC Four.

Why John Lydon? His band, Public Image Limited, came to Bangor towards the end of the month to perform as part of the festival, and “Bangor is an energy” has become the slogan of the festival.

If you’re looking to see it, it’s beside the Marine Hotel. There was a crowd getting photos when I was there. I overheard a man telling his wife “Oh, it’s Malcolm McLaren”. Close enough.

I also took the opportunity to get a photo of a piece by Visual Waste at the entrance of Abbey Dance Studios.

They were the two main pieces I was looking for, but I did stumble upon two other pieces when walking around the town, in High Street, outside Terry Bradley’s Studio, and one just up the street at a Hair Salon called Georgeous.

Photo Album

DUBLIN STREET ART – JULY 2018

Made a short trip to Dublin over the Holiday Period. I was doing all the usual touristy stuff, but it would have been rude not to go and get some Street Art photos while I was there.

I would usually visit Dublin once a year, so I know where to go in search of Street Art. Despite that, I do enjoy stumbling on pieces.

I got off my bus at Custom House Quay, and immediately spotted some pieces on Tara Street. Unfortunately, there were vehicles parked in font of it, denying me any backlift.

Parked vehicles and smokers loitering about are the two biggest pains in the arse when photographing Street Art, had Dublin had plenty of it.

I then headed to Smithfield, and noticed that the mural of Stormzy has been replaced.

Something that is noticeable is the work of Dublin Canvas, putting paintings on electric boxes. Hopefully, something similar will start to happen in Belfast.

Featured on this are famous people from Dublin such as Ronnie Drew, or Bang Bang, a local character in Dublin in the 1950s and 1960s.

I also visited Tivoli Theatre Car Park and was able to get photos of it, for once, including a 3D piece, which is either a man or a dog, depending on which side of the 3D glasses you view it with.

I also managed to spot a new piece on the lane that leads into one of the entrances to Olympia Theatre, replacing a previous piece.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t get the picture I wanted of it due to a lack of backlift.

While in Temple Bar, I also spotted a mural of Kanye West. That was one of many pieces I spotted in Temple Bar.

Recently, there have been murals of Bob Marley and Phil Lynott appearing at Dalymount Park. There was a game on while I was there, but I didn’t go to it, so I didn’t get photos of it. Obviously.

Saturday was spent mopping up some pieces I missed in Temple Bar, and walking along Custom House Quay and spotting some pieces.

Photo Album

Dublin Street Art July 2017

Dublin Street Art May 2016

Dublin Street Art June 2015

Dublin Street Art July 2014

Dublin Street Art August 2013

LANDMARKS

I walk past this street a lot of times every week on my way to and from work, but somehow I managed to miss it.

As with a lot of Street Art that appears on this blog, you have Bohoman on Twitter to thank for bringing it to my attention.

It’s on McClure Street, which leads onto Cameron Street. If you’re heading into the City Centre from the Ormeau Road, you turn left just before you reach The Arena Building. It is a long road which leads right outside The Empire, if you want to approach it from Botanic.

It is by Kev Largey, regularly featured on this blog, of landmarks of Belfast – The Chronicle Of Narnia, Samson and Goliath, A DeLorean, and The Big Fish.

Photo Album

YORK STREET ART

To clarify, this is Street Art in York Street in Belfast and not Street Art in York in England. Although, there might be a blog about Street Art in York in a few months time.

I’m going to Manchester to see United take on Burnley in January 2019, Tuesday to Thursday. If the match is on a Tuesday, I might head to a city nearby in the North of England such as York or Sheffield. Naturally, I would be keeping an eye out for any Street Art where I visit.

Back on topic, John Luke Gallery, AKA the offices for Arts For All recently had their shutters repainted as part of North Belfast Connumity Festival recently.

I didn’t get photos of it as a work in progress, just the before and after.

If the location looks familiar, it’s because it has been covered on this blog in 2013 with some Street Art on the shutters of the building next door, which is still there, as well as a mural on the side of the wall in 2012, which is also still there.

Photo Album

WARDROBE JAM

Sometimes in life, your plans can change, and sometimes, it can work out for the better.

Originall planned as part of Belfast Arts Weekender in early March, Wardrobe Jam was cancelled because of the snow. It got given a new date for Bank Holiday Monday at the end of May. Thankfully, the weather was a lot better, at the other extreme of the temperature gauge.

The postponement worked out well for me, as I was due to missing as I would be going to a football match that afternoon.

The concept was simple, a group of Street Artists paint some wardrobes on CS Lewis Square. The reason as to why it would be wardrobes on CS Lewis Square is self explanatory.

There would be some murals painted as well on nearby walls. This was to compliment pieces that were painted in East Belfast during March, as well as existing Street Art painted last Summer as part of Hit The East.

The event took place from 2pm to 5pm. I arrived at 3pm. I didn’t think I would have missed much but a lot of the artwork was already advanced. If the event happens again in the future, i’ll make sure i’m there from the start.

Regular readers of this blog will be aware of the work of KVLR, Friz and Emic, who have all feature regularly on this blog.

It shouldn’t be too hard to work out which pieces are done by them, as they were all done in their own individual trademark style.

I left just before 5pm on the Monday, with some of the walls not yet quite finished. I returned on the Tuesday evening to photograph the finished pieces.

Photo Album