It’s not every day a Mexican street artist based in Colombia rolls into town but yesterday was one of those days. The man in question is Stinkfish who has been painting and pasting his way around ‘Londres’ since visiting our fair capital to promote and launch the London release of Nuevo Mundo, a book about Latin American street art, at Pictures on Walls. Back in 2010 Brighton son Hutch was one of a handful of Europeans invited to attend the Bogota Stencil Festival and that’s where the two first met. So, in the true spirit of Anglo – Latin American relations it was only proper that Hutch and Wet Paint got Stinkfish down for some seaside action before he continues the next leg of his European tour. This collaboration is in Brighton’s North Laine and Wet Paint have to thank the residents and freeholder Paul Bonett for allowing the artists to get up as well as Cityclean for the go-ahead. We will post a time- lapse film of this soon but in the meantime check out a collaborative print by the two artists. It comes in a couple of colourways and measures 62cm x 52cm on somerset 100% cotton rag. Details of where to buy it will be released soon.
Regular readers of this blog will know that some months ago Wet Paint worked with the tailor Gresham Blake and stencil artists Hutch and Funky Red Dog on some unique tie designs. Well, who would have guessed that David Dimbleby was such a fan of Brighton-based stencil maestro Hutch, and indeed so much of a street art advocate that he felt the need to promote this fact on national televison? No stranger to courting controversy when it comes to the old neck wear (there is even a Facebook group dedicated to his penchant for extravagant ‘Peckham Ryes’) Dimbleby was seen sporting a Hutch/Blake combo in green and pink colourways on the BBC’s Question Time. Unfortunately, one question not put forward by the audience was “where did you get it?” The answer to which is HERE and keep an eye out for upcoming manoeuvres from Hutch who is currently working on a screenprint collaboration with Colombian artist Stinkfish (teaser HERE) and other surprises once he hits UK soil.
A little while back Wet Paint Productions got the opportunity to collaborate with the very talented bespoke Brighton and London – based designer Gresham Blake. Not only does he have a client list that reads like Who’s Who (Nick Cave to Ray Winstone) but in the past he has also worked with other artists such as Banksy, James Cauty and David Samuel to create street-inspired clothing. This time around Wet Paint hooked him up with stencil artists Hutch and Funky Red Dog to produce these amazing ties. We think there are still some left although we have a sneaking suspicion that the Hutch range may have sold out. If you want to add a little street funk to your working day then we advise you to be quick about it. For more on Gresham Blake’s range visit his website HERE but first watch this great film shot and produced by Steve Glazier for Plastic Pictures.
At Wet Paint Productions, we have just about recovered from our latest event, inCANdescent – the centrepiece to Brighton’s 2010 White Night festival. Themed on illumination, the city plays host to amazing installations that light the streets of our fair, funky city which entices shops, galleries, municipal buildings and people to stay up late. Commissioned by Brighton & Hove City Council, with support from art republic and Ink_d gallery, Wet Paint’s idea to illuminate columns in Jubilee Square and have some of Brighton’s best graffiti and street artists paint them using transparent paint went down a storm. Thousands of people turned up to watch the event which started with a dance routine from local street dancers Same Sky, followed by live painting from Mishfit, Req, Pinky, Hutch and Imbue. Lumacoustics (as seen on Dragon’s Den) were also on hand with their digital graffiti wall for the public to create their own art, while local film and documentary makers Snowstorm Media rolled out especially commissioned street art films projected on to Myhotel, throughout the night. Being Brighton, the afternoon had started with a Zombie Walk and the whole city was alive with the walking dead which made for a surreal but amazing vibe. We’ll post some more pictures soon if you can’t wait that long hit HERE for more!
Sometimes posts can be like buses, you wait for ages for one then several come along at once. Well, that’s pretty much how things are at Wet Paint at the moment so excuse the deluge. This latest is a piece from Brighton’s Argus last Saturday showing Req at work on a light column for the White Night festival. Plans are definitely afoot and if you’re anywhere near Brighton on 30th October we strongly recommend you come along. It’s going to be a great night across the city. Joining Req at inCANdescent will be local artists Pinky, Hutch, Snub 23, Mishfit and Imbue.
Wet Paint are really excited to be working with Brighton and London-based bespoke tailor Gresham Blake. We’ve been keeping this one under our fedoras for a while now but can exclusively reveal a sneak preview of the tie swatches designed by Hutch and Funky Red Dog which will be sold in limited edition colour ways. Gresham Blake is one of those designers that comes along once in a generation and has a client list of stars as long as a gorilla’s arm – including Jimmy Page, Norman Cook, Nick Cave, Steve Coogan and Christian Slater. To date he has produced clothing incorporating designs by Banksy, James Cauty, Tracey Emin and David Samual (Rarekind) to name a few. Specialising in Savile Row inspired tailoring with a rock star twist, Gresham Blake epitomises classic British tailoring with a playful, subversive edge and now we have introduced him to two of Brighton’s finest stencil artists. You can expect more designs and a wider range of street art inspired clothing to follow soon. These designs and all of Gresham’s clobber can be bought from his shop in Brighton, London or website.
Brighton graffiti and street art got some well deserved recognition in the way of a centre double page spread in The Argus, on Saturday 14th. Talking about an art revolution in the city they go on to extoll the benefits of graffiti bettering “unloved or monochrome areas”. The article features images of work by Aroe and Heavy Artillery, Req, Rarekind, Hutch and Banksy (we dispute that) to name a few. And although we don’t get a name check, Wet Paint Productions and the artists we work with are responsible for some of it too. That includes Snub 23 and Sinna who are both quoted in the article. To view it big hit HERE.
Yesterday was the first day of Brighton Festival Fringe which has taken over the city and will last throughout May. The first day of the month also saw a few TB&TC artists doing their own things. This included Sinna painting live at Madame Geisha, Hutch painting the outside of Residence – Brighton’s first pop-up restaurant in Whitecross Street – as well as Funky Red Dog and T.WAT’s open house Vehicle Testing Station, 20 Cambridge Grove (venue 13 on the Hove Arts Trail). More from all three of them next weekend.
TB&TC artist T.WAT’s latest work has caught the attention of the national newspapers over the last few days during the countdown to the general election. The latest red top to feature his work is The Daily Star. We know this comes from the heart and despite the Banksy references, T.WAT’s art always projects his beliefs and that sets him aside from other artists’ work. You can see him getting up live over the TB&TC weekend of 8/9 May, by which time the outcome will be determined. So make sure you’re there to see him, Hutch, Hop Louie, Leeks, Stickee and Agent Provocateur get up in Gloucester Road, Brighton. And who knows, by then Brighton may even have the first ever elected Green MP.
