Fumeroism Grafstract London Part 3 – Hidden Streets of London
Murals number two and three were female reclining nudes I call anatomical grafstractions. The second mural was organized by Globalstreetart.com and in the Dalston section of London. It was a beautiful sunny and warm day as I made my way across town from Green Lanes down to Abbott Street via my favorite choice of London’s public transportation, the red double decker bus. I got off my stop and went into a little diner spot to enjoy an English breakfast to fuel up for the work ahead. I call this 2nd mural ‘red figure’ because of her fiery red hair. The grafstraction she is reclining on is filled with yellow bubbles and free flowing organic shapes.
My last mural, organized by Hiddenstreetsoflondon.com, was on the Nemesis Tattoo shop in another section of the city called Camden, a very touristy area with heavy foot traffic. The mural is on Stucley Place which is one corner from the train station. This mural was my largest of the four and the most difficult to complete. The difficulty was not in laying down the linear illustration, or anything to do with the mechanics of the painting. The difficulty about working on this mural was due to the rainy weather. The rain began on a Sunday which was the day I began painting Anatomical Grafstract III. The rain halted me in my tracks and forced me to seek shelter inside Nemesis until it paused for a brief interlude. I was able to start painting but not for long as I was forced to stop again and since it was soon to be dark, I packed it up. At least I was able to finish the female figure and lay down the colors for the drapery, but I had a lot more to do and rain was in the forecast for the next day which was my last in London.
The following morning started with a light rain and I had to wait until almost noon to begin painting. The grafstracting took many hours and I was fortunate that the sky was gray but not wet. I added in the head spitting out the freedom of grafstract expressionism like a furious firestorm and filled up the background behind the figure. The historical pose of my reclining nude theme was about connecting art history and in this particular mural I am specifically referencing Louie Jaques-Louis-David’s, “Reclining Nude”(1800) and fumeroizing the “Odalisque”. My faceless contemporary version has braids and the female is not Caucasian. These faceless figures always represent my table series logo characters.
Being that Camden is a tourist attracting neighborhood with a lot of street art, many people came to check out the work while the mural was in progress. I talked to quite a few people and everyone was very personable and friendly.
My trip turned out even better than I anticipated and I want to thank my friends in London for their gracious hospitality and making it possible for me fumeroize four walls in four different areas around the city. The London Tube and bus system conveniently brought me everywhere I needed to go. I am glad I rode the double decker buses because without them I would not have had my only tourist experience, seeing the city from one mural to the next.
London is similar to New York, they both have character in their architecture and neighborhoods. The urban hustle and the outdoor gallery scene is strong there. Londoners showed me a lot of love during my stay and still continue through social media, thank you all.
Special thanks to Global Street Art, Hidden Streets of London and Meeting of Styles for the great experiences and fun times being ‘across the pond’. Also to Street Art London for the hook up to Hidden Streets. From the moment I stepped off the plane at Heathrow, to the moment I got back on the plane to fly home, it was non stop, on the go, grinding and I loved every minute of it. Tony Bennett left his heart in San Francisco, I left my heart, soul and sweat in four murals in London, England.
