Ten Of The Best Street Artists In The World

D*Face

D*Face has created his own world, with his own characters. Born and raised in London, the bizarre and twisted mind of D*Face has gained him a massive following, especially in North America and England. Sold out shows to see his classic skeletal images are just the tip of the ice berg.

Dolk

Norwegian stencil artist Dolk started creating street art back in 2003 and was originally seen as a possible pseudonym of Banksy due to their similar styles. Yet Dolk's darker and more humorous style has since drawn a huge following from around the world.

Faile

The instantly recognizable pop culture images of the New York based street art collective known as Faile have been popular since 2002 with a large number of world wide exhibitions and shows. Faile have collaborated with other great street artists such as Swoon and David Ellis

Jef Aerosol

Along with fellow Frenchman Blek Le Rat, Jef Aerosol was among the first street artists to use stencils to create his artwork. He's been stencilling for almost 30 years and you can find his work predominantly in France.

Swoon
Hailing from the streets of New York, Swoon has been big in the street art scene for going on a decade now. Her unique style of wheat pasting life sized images of her family and friends have gained her a huge following around the globe and her work keeps getting better.

Vhils

Stunning crowds at the 2008 Cans Festival with this stunning piece of stencil art. Argentinian artists Alexandre Farto (aka Vhils) chiseled away at a white wall to create this stunning and almost 3D image.

BanksyPossibly the most well known street artist in the world, Banksy has been in the public eye for close to a decade now and his popularity shows just how big street art is in the 21st century. His recent summer show opened in Bristol with 4 hour queue to get through the door.

Blek Le Rat
Blek Le Rat is one of, if not the first major stencil artists of all time. Starting way back in the early 80's. Regarded as many as the "Godfather" of stencil art. Even Banksy showed his respect to the Frenchman with one of the most famous quotes in Street art. "Every time I think I've painted something slightly original, I find out that Blek Le Rat has done it as well, only twenty years earlier"

BluBlu took street art to a new level a few years ago. Instead of keeping it as a flat single image, he combined street art with animation to create a video named Muto. This incredible video spread round the Internet like wild fire and firmly placed Blu as one of the 21st Century's most innovative street artists.

CES53

CES53 has been in the street art game for almost 25 years now and his work keeps getting better and better. Becoming famous for being one of the first to paint on the side of Northern European trains, he's since branched out into paintings and sculptures. In 2005 he joined Dutch street art collective Lastplak.

Triptych Canvas Prints

After something a little different from your art? If your looking to create a center piece to complete an interior, why not consider a multi panel image? Triptychs are the most popular, but not your only option.

So what is a triptych or multi panel image? Well, triptychs are 3 canvas prints with one image covering all 3. When aliened correctly they will form 1 perfect image. Multi panel images are the same, but spread over a variety of panels. We sell basic 2 panel images (Diptych), 3 panel (triptych), quad panel, 5 panel, 6 panel and even 9 panel! The artwork is re-designed specifically for multi panel prints. We overlap the artwork, so when the prints are wrapped to the frame, you'll be left with a seamless image. Then all you need to do is hang them with a 1"-2" gap between each print and you'll have your own stunning piece of wall art.

Able to cover a large are with minimal cost, multi panel canvas art is not only effective, but also stunning to look at. We don't believe in sticking with the norm either, so as well as seeing some standard triptych prints (all three panels are the same size and orientation) you'll also find some prints using different sized panels to form one image.

Hanging these specially configured prints is easy & painless when you go for 3M's ingenious "Command Strip" No holes needed in your wall, just stick your art up to the hooks. When you want to change your art or the position, just pull the strips off, leaving not as much as a mark on your wall. Check out our informative article on how to hang your canvas for more, and no, we do not have shares in 3M as many people have implied.. ;)

Seen one of our images you really like but want it as a multi panel print? No problem, give our studio a call and speak to one of our in house designers. Likewise, if your commissioning us to produce a pop art or custom canvas, we can cut and splice your image to make it into a multi panel image.

How to sell your art (pt4)

Interview with a man in the business

I spoke with Andy Harper, from WHoArtNow, producers of bespoke modern art for some tips and advice:-

What would you advise someone to do if they were looking to promote and sell their art?

Well first thing to do is get a website to showcase your art, a CV of what you can do. I get 20 emails a week from artists and designers who are looking to do business and it amazes me some of them don't have a web page of sorts. If there's a website, I'll always have a look, you never know what you might be missing out on!

Does it matter if its not a website but a portfolio site?

No it doesn't have to be your own website. I'm an active member on DeviantART and FlickR so even if we don't do business, you might find me becoming your friend so I can keep track of your art. I might be a businessman, but my love is still for the art.

Can anyone sell their artwork?

In theory yes, I do think you need to get some feedback off people before you start approaching companies. Plus, look at your work from the point of view of business, is it commercial enough? I see a lot of very good art, but only about 5% of it would be commercially viable enough for our site. Be positive about your work, but accept criticism well. The companies you'd be looking at contacting are busy places, and sometimes emails can slip through the cracks, so follow up with them by phone. Don't over do it though, leave it a week first.

Any other tips?

Yeah, agencies can be brilliant. I worked for Saatchi and Saatchi in London a few years ago and remember seeing these massive files of people's art. They'd be sent in on the hope of getting work, and if they liked your style, they'd keep a record of you. When they got new contracts they'd flick through the files to see if anyone fitted certain criteria and then they'd give them a call.

Conclusion

Art is everywhere these days. Art which once would have been refereed to as non-commercial is now becoming over commercial. Working in the art industry is great, finding new and unheard of artists gives me such a buzz. I love the strange and bizarre art, something which will blow my mind is always good. The thing is, without all the people out there creating this art, marketing this art, I would never find any of it.

Treat your art and your talent as your product. In this world of the Internet, everything is a business, so treat it like one. Never take rejection personally. Have faith, and some confidence. Be patient. The more you put into your art and marketing your art, the more you will get out of it. Most importantly though, love you art, and have fun with your art.

How to hang Your Metal & Perspex Art

As well as our ever growing canvas art section, we recently launched our new metal and perspex art range to great success and we've been busy spraying ever since. We do however keep getting questions about the best way to hang these hand crafted pieces of art on the wall.

To make things as easy as possible for you to hang your new artwork, we've pre-drilled the metal and the perspex with 4 holes, 1 for each corner. Each hole is drilled exactly 1" from either edge. Using these holes, we supply 4 'stand off bolts' to mount the art to the wall.

So what do you need to do? Well, as well as the stand off bolts, you also get 4 screws and 4 raw plugs. You need to drill four holes in the wall, attach the mount bolt base using the screw. Line up the four holes and screw in the end cap. For the metal art (62cm x 55cm) the internal measurements (central point of each hole) measures 58cm x 50.5cm. This is what it should be, but we recommend that you always measure each other the lengths yourself.

The stand off bolts we supply are satin silver 20mm bolts. They have a perfect 20mm gap to the wall so that you have the choice to mount a light source behind the art to really draw attention to it.

If you like the look of the metal and perspex art, but not sure of the current artwork? Why not contact us with any ideas you might have? You can also leave us a note over at our Facebook page! We're working hard on new artwork which we should have up over the summer.

WhoArtNow on Metal

We have been busy beavering away over the last few months working on lots of exciting new ranges of art. We've got the Wall Stickers, as well as the much anticipated range by international artist, BOYD.


So the Metal art has landed after over a year of developing. Part of the successful Plastic Art range that we started this time last year, we are following on with iconic images hand stencilled on high quality stainless steel. The high quality steel is rust proof, and with a coating of clear lacquer, we're able to offer these pieces of hand made art as external art work as well as internal. Mounting the metal on the wall, we are using stand-off bolts to set it 20-40mm off the wall. This means that it has a rock-solid mounting & gives it a slick, contemporary look.

Making a great addition to any interior, we also believe these pieces would look amazing in a garden or courtyard. These exclusive designs are hand-produced, sealed with lacquer and finished with the usual WHoArtNow seal of approval.


To kick the range off, we are launching a range of 12 images, from the Daft Punk, Slash and Darth Vadar you see here, we'll also be adding Scarface, Oasis and R2D2. More will be coming, and as you may have noticed, most of these are unique pieces of art exclusively for out new Metal Art range. If you have any suggestions for some metal art, why not leave us a suggestion in the comments?

There going to be available in 1 size, 62cm by 55cm (24.5" x 21.5") but we hope to offer a selection of sizes for various budgets shortly. The starting price for the 62x55 is going to be £99 (with £11.95 P&P) and that will become our "medium" size.

Sadly these photos don't do the metal art justice. The brushed stainless steel finish looks amazing in the flesh. The black contrasts really well with the soft, yet reflective metal to create a truly stunning piece of modern art.

There is also the possibility of custom "photo2metal" becoming available later in the year depending on demand.

Also watch out for some "exclusive" Metal Art from our resident Stencil Artist Frazier Boyd who's done such a good job on our canvas prints that we're getting him to do more!

Are you on Facebook? If so, why not become out fan? Once you've done that, you can enter our competition to win one of these exclusive pieces of Metal art. All you need to do is answer one simple question. We've opened this competition up to everyone in the world! As long as people outside of Mainland UK understand that a small charge will need to be made to enter. (Roughly £6 Europe and £15 for USA) Good luck!

Also feel free to check out our Plastic Art brochure.

How To Sell Your Art (pt3)

How To Sell Your Art (pt3)

Continuing the article on selling your art, comes the third part in this series. Outlining briefly some of the v2.0 websites that as an artist, you can utilise to get your art out there to achieve notoriety, and even earn you some dollar.

DevinatART

DeviantART is one of the biggest websites on the Internet, they've been going for a little over 8 years and as you maybe able to tell from their name, They specialise in art. Early on in 2008 they rocketed past the 50 Million deviation mark!(currently (October 2008) stand at a little over 66 Million) They regularly receive more than 20 Million Unique visitors each month and have over 7 million registered members. They often appear in Alexa top 100 websites for traffic and more importantly, reach between 0.5% and 1% of ALL Internet users! With traffic like that you can't afford to NOT have an account, after all, its free!

DeviantART also features a Print Shop where you can buy and sell art from the other users. Its a great feature of the site because it gives you an idea of how popular your art may become. The basic print shop account is free with a premium service on offer for a small fee. You do however get a wide range of media to sell on. Canvas prints, glossy photos and matte prints are all available and you can sell your art on any or all of them.

A premium Print account cost $30 (£15) for a year which may seem a lot, but you can make a lot more money. After base costs, you then take 50% of what's left for yourself.

Below is an example of the difference between a standard account and a premium print account.

Wrapped Canvas Image 40" x 30"

Standard account -

Base price - $167.93 (£70)

Cost to Buy - $285.50 (£145)

Your cut - $23.51 (£13)

Premium Account -

Base price - $167.93 (£70)

Cost to Buy - $285.50 (£145)

Difference - £117.57 (£60)

Your cut - $58.75 (£30)

You can't deny there is a huge difference in the amount you earn. There are other advantages to using the premium account, larger upload image for larger files, 3 months DeviantART subscription and the option to buy your own artwork at base costs make it an even better deal. Be cautious though, don't jump straight in with a premium account, start off with the standard account, make some friends, get some fans and watchers and when you get some sales invest in the premium account.

The Saatchi Gallery

The Saatchi gallery is one of the largest websites in the world (October 22nd 13:22 pm GMT – last 24 hours – 72,648,783 – Alexa ranked number 232) Even though its a .co.uk site, its open to all and its also free and very simple to use. There's no way of making money off the site, but its a great place to have an on-line portfolio especially with those kind of traffic figures. There's some very well known artists on there, as well as a large following of students who are trying to get some constructive criticism on their projects.

FlickR

This is another well known art and photography site. Originally designed to share photos around the world. Like the Saatchi Gallery, you can't sell through Flickr, but you can use it as a portfolio site or as an addition to a DeviantART account or your own web page or blog.

There are some great features including a slide show box you can mount on your own sight or blog. This allows the user to interact and scroll through your images easily, without taking up to much room. Flickr, like DeviantART gets on average 20 Million unique views a month so there's plenty of people out there to find your art, appreciate it and hopefully buy it!

Ebay

One of the most well known websites in the world. You can of course sell anything (within reason) on Ebay, its simple to set up and you may already have an account so selling could be really easy! There are of course drawbacks with Ebay.

Its not an art based site, this means that searching 'ART' in Ebay, you end up with over 400,000 individual auctions and obviously your art will get lost in there! You can attract people with more defined and specific key words, but that's a lot of art (and after spending 3 minutes looking, I do use that term "Art" loosely!) There's nothing against selling on Ebay, but if you plan to take this route, set up a portfolio site first, get some fans and find out if anyone would be interested in buying your work. If you get a strong "yes" from your fans, post the auction and let them know about it. If you have people who already know your work looking, the price could go up more than you thought.

This site is great if you already have a lot of one off canvas art work that you want to sell.Use the money from any sale to invest in your own site or more materials and supplies for any future products. You need to treat your art as a business and more often than not, most of the money in a new business goes straight back into the company to help it grow.

Video Games Range Launched - More Retro Art

We've got another new canvas art range for you, fresh from the predominately right sided brains of our resident Artists. This time it's all about classic video games & the amazing CGI invention, the pixel. The range will develop as usual with new Art and designs being added "as and when", but to kick it all off, we've focused on some of the more iconic pixilated hero's that have graced the screens of our arcade machines, TVs and monitors. If you remember the original Atari games consoles, the old skool Namco Arcade machines & the first wave of Nintendo machines to come out of Japan in the late 80's, then this range could be for you. The range has got 80's nostalgia written all over it, after all, these were the icons for a generation. The first wave of kids that would find enjoyment in sitting in front of a screen of hours, playing away contentedly, decades before the Internet was invented and we are now all at it!

The range of canvas designs is not strictly 80's by any stretch, it is moving into the early 1990's with Art like the heavily pixilated"Tetris" design. A Bold spectrum of block colours stretched over a extra long canvas, ideal for injecting a bit of colour into a contemporary room, the length would be well suited to sitting above a sofa in any living space.

In terms of classic video games, the range wouldn't be complete without the original and the best: PacMan himeself. People always seem to forget that it wasn't just Pac-Man, the other pixilated monsters that he did battle with were just as iconic. Which is why we have not just focused on him, and designed ranges on them all - check the "Pac-Man Family" for example. Simplistic, stripped down, and minimal, it seems to make a bigger statement than most designs. Less is more after all. If you are feeling a bit more adventurous, the "Pac-Man Quad" is another option, especially if you like the idea of spreading the art across a few canvases. My personal favourite of the Pac-Man range is this original design which has been produced for us called "Pinky Pac-Man" It's even more minimal, but the simple pink / blue colours just seem to do it for me..

Namco Arcade is a bit of pixataied block colour again, based on a graphic actually taken off an old Namco Arcade machine, Circa 1988. It's been re-drawn and re-designed, and produced on this square box canvas.

To round it off and take us into the 1990's, the range wouldn't be complete without the the Nintendo creation, Mario. This was one of the most successful video game characters ever made, with games still been made today. We have honoured his creation with a serious of carefully sculpted block pixilated designs which do his little pixilated figure justice. There are a few of these designs, we are feeling the Mario Quad, if you are bold enough to split him over a series of four canvases, this could be the one you've been looking for.

So, that's it for now, as I promosied, more designs will follow, probably in 2009 now. If you can't wait until then, and you have to tell us that you need an iconic video game characture on canvas, just let us know, and we'll try and make your wish come true. We're not Jimmy Saville & we are not Father Christmas, but we can knock up a design or two - now that's something that you can believe in(!) You can subscribe to this news blog to stay on top of the art that we are putting out, as usual, get in touch if you need any bespoke work doing.

New Interior Design 09 Art Range

"Timeless" 2009 Interior Design Canvas Art Range

Following the success of the bespoke range of art for the 2008 range Invidia, we have decided to do more range designs tailor made for our Interior Trends predictions.

Timeless is essentially a move on from the hugely successful Invidia 08. You always see it - in fashion and interiors, wherever there are seasons with very successfully trends, you can guarantee that next season will sport a 'move on' from last years top dog. Where Invidia was defined by it's Opulence and OTT nature, the Black on Black with hints of gold and metallics has been replaced by a more subtle Black on white with subtle highlight colours. Over the top Gold stately frames & mirrors have moved on to more discerning chromes, silvers & metallics. Timeless focuses on Baroque style motifs, which are similar to the simple Invidia Vintage Wallpaper designs, but can now be much more complex and focus on detail. The black and white makes a simple, bold statement, and is possibly more commercial in nature than its black on black predecessor.

Black and White is fantastic to work with, there are so many options open to you. I wouldn't say that you can't get it wrong, but Monochrome is somewhat easier to work with in the interior context. Colour-wise, it's not just black and whites here, you want to be looking at some very deep shades of blues or purples for subtle infused colour. Darker shades of grey, like dark slate greys also work well. In terms of accessories and highlights, you should be looking at some metallics. Chrome light switches, even candle stick holders ( Invidia 08 Style) and plug sockets act to highlight the subdued tones of black and whites. Remember, unlike Invidia, you are looking at silvers, not Golds.

To quote us as verbatim, "Timeless is the ultimate contrast both visually & metaphorically. A bold, brash & often bizarre clash of Baroque elegance & contemporary whites and blacks, Timeless is the ultimate bold statement. The intense combination of heavily contrasting colour works well in big rooms with high roofs & plenty of light -preferably natural sunlight to set off the natural wood flooring. "

"Timeless" will give you the chance to mix the weird and wonderful Kitsch & clash it with the ultra modern. (Think 20's Vintage wallpapers with Plasma screens) And why the hell not after all? The more modern and technologically advanced we get, the more eclectic I like to go. After all, you can't have everything modern in a room, or your living area will start to look like the control room on the Starship Enterprise. Mix and match is the way forward, be bold and daring, trust your instincts. You could get down the local car boot, get on the Internet on auction sites, or even better - go along to a local auction house where you will be presented the opportunity to walk away with some real, classic vintage accessories for your abode.

Then, you can mix and match some carefully selected and bespoke, canvas art. On the art route, you could opt for bold art to work with the contrasting background, or even art that actually is the background... Think sections of wallpaper, enlarged and printed on canvas.. The sky is the limit here.

That's about it, if you want more, you can check the full articles on Timeless '09 or have a nosey at our new Timeless bespoke art range. As usual, hit us up if you are interested in any bespoke work, and feel free to subscribe here for loads more news from WHoArtNow.

New Manga Art Range

We are proud to present a brand new Manga Art Range that we have launched, all canvas art & prints are exclusive to WHoArtNow.

Manga, in case you didn't know, are hugely iconic cartoons & comics (They are known as komikku コミック), in Japanese and conforming to the defining & unique style that developed in Japan at the end of the 20th century. If you look back far enough, you can find Manga that date from just after World War II, but have a long & complex history in earlier Japanese Art.

Manga, literally translated, means "whimsical pictures". The word came into usage in the late 18th century with the publication of works like the Santō Kyōden's picturebook "Shiji no yukikai" (1798) & the hugely celebrated Hokusai manga. There a a various different theories about the origination of Manga comics, one of which is that when the US occupied Japan (1945–1952), Manga Art was influenced by U.S. cultural aspect, including U.S. comics brought to Japan by the US Army and by images & themes taken from U.S. television, cartoons & culture, like Disney for example.

The other other school of thought is that Manga is a direct continuity of Japanese cultural & traditions, which has been developing for thousands of years.

Which ever way of thinking is right, and who knows, it might be both, we at WHoArtNow don't really mind. It is great art and we love it - we love all things Japanese and Kitsch in fact. Manga is huge in Japan, enjoyed by people of all ages. It has a certain iconic status in the West too, the USA in particular. Manga are typically printed in black-and-white, although some full-color Manga exist. Our take on Manga Art has a bit of a twist on Modern Art, where we have re-drawn and re-created some sections of our favourite comic strips. Colours are bold, vibrant, and even garish in places. It's that whole Japanese, Full-on colour palette. Think Fluorescent Japanese washing power boxes on acid, and you're about half way there. There's no messing about with subtle colours or black and whites, it's Fluorescent Yellows, cerise pinks, on Black backgrounds like the Cerise design, and if you like it even brighter, check the Fluro Hentai design.

Having said that, there is a more subtly coloured piece of art we slipped in, and it's one of my favourites too. Komikkutu mixes two deep green tones to form the background with a chocolate brown / latte foreground. This wouldn't look out of place in most walls, it's subtly is the key here to a half way commercial piece of art.

As you may have noticed, a few of the designs are a little rude.! This is a certain type of Manga, aimed at adults, & called seijin ("adult," 成人) manga. These designs were able to come into fruition with a relaxation of censorship in Japan after the 90s, where a wide variety of explicitly drawn sexual themes appeared in manga, intended for male readership. And we at WHoArtNow decided to take advantage of this lack of censorship and design some ourselvess! jū hachi kin is just one of these designs. In Japan, sexually explicit material is often called "jū hachi kin" (18禁; prohibited for sale to persons under 18). So please do not try to make a purchase if you are under 18!

So that it for now, more bits of Manga art will be added as and when. As usual what this space by subscribing to this News blog if you want to keep informed on what Art we are putting out, and don't forget to check the new Manga Art range!

Hanging Your Canvas

You've found the perfect piece of canvas art, it has turned up and now of course you want to hang it up and show it off. So what are the options for hanging your Canvas Art? There are many different ways and techniques to hang it, and it is ultimately down to you how you do it. In this short article we will explore the different methods open to you.

1. Wire method. You need to Attach two small screws horizontally on the back of the canvas frame. The wire needs to sit on the top half of the frame. The wire also needs to have some tension in (use long nose pliers to achieve this) so that the screws can hold the weight of the canvas. Then you need to slide the canvas down on at least one screw sticking out from the wall. This is a great way to hang a canvas, especially if there is one screw on the wall or there is no space to add more screws

2. Mirror Plates. These are small brass plates which you can get very cheaply from most hardware stores & there are 2 main methods of using them. The first hides the mirror plates on the inside of the frame. You then screw two screws into the wall the same distance apart as the mirror plates & hook the plates to the screws you have on the wall. The second method to use mirror plates is on the outside of the canvas. If Fix the mirror plates to opposing sides of the canvas and screw them into wall, you have one of the most secure way of fixing your canvas to the wall. This is also the generic way that museums use for displaying art.

The last method is Command Strips. This is something we have been exploring for providing on our website as an accessory. We've been testing the ingenuitive Command Strip from 3M for a while s now and have to admit to being very impressed. It is perfect for people who rent as you don't need to screw into the wall, and the glue strip peels off leaving no marks at all! Admittedly they are the most expensive way of hanging a canvas, but at £5.99 for 6 with the value pack, you can't really go wrong. We have been testing them all over our studio & would recommend the value pack (see photo, left) You will get enough to hang a couple of canvases, and even have a few left over to hang your coats!

We have just written this as an article to sit in with the help section on our site. You can read the full article if you like..

If you like, feel free to subscribe to our News Blog, for all news related to art, design, canvases and all sorts of other interesting news.

New Urban Canvas Art

WHoArtNow

New Art updates [June 2008]

We have some more brand new Urban art for all you lovely people! As we've already produced very successfully, a lot of digital Urban designs, we have decided to expand the whole urban range, and complement the existing designs with some subtle, striking photography.

This time, we've gone for a plenty of black and white "Monochromes" which are right on trend for 08. So expect to see a load of cityscape's and skylines, a fair few elongated canvases too. The highlights are the "Long Dark Tunnel" print, an abstract, almost radial blur of a Tunnel, in black and white. "A long Highway Exposure" Canvas print see a move on to the successful motion blurs of city roads, like the massively popular "Denver Haze"

There are a few delicate and subtle sunsets too. "San Fran Sunset" is a view from 52nd floor, a greyscale photo with a minimal sunset at the top. The "Old Clipper" ship photo is very interesting. Almost inverted in colour, it's striking black and white abstract imagery would look stunning on most walls.

Then we've got some classic British black and white imagery. The old West Pier on Brighton beach, which was lost to a massive fire in 2003. We've got a couple of canvas prints - The first is a classic black and white photograph of Brighton in a rough storm. The other Brighton Pier print has a more tranquil feel, and depicts a view over the beach with a peachy sunset in the background.

Some of the other imagery of note is the
"City Fog" Black & White Canvas, a definitive New York residential scene with the hot air rising. The "Stair Street-Provence" has a less urban feel, more of a French rural setting. The "Cafe Tables" vibe with an abstract look with a similar, cosmopolitan feel. These prints are black and white too, and looking to be classed in brand new section, which focuses on " Monochrome", or black and white imagery. Coming soon to WHoArtNow!!

So, that's it for the Urban artwork updates for now. For the full range of prints, please feel free to visit the Urban pages,
where you will find all these beautiful new designs! Watch this space, loads more art on the way. Expect to find more prints and artwork in the Organic Section, Some NY Graffiti art macro photos, and a few cheeky textured floral prints.

Early Predictions for 2009 Interior Trends

We've just passed the half way point of 2008 and its time to start planning ahead. And for 2009 it looks like nature and the environment are going to play a key part.

Timeless Curves:
Timeless curve is a hybrid mix with some strange yet beautiful ideas. Baroque abstract motifs or artwork work well with whites and blacks. Going elegant and high tech may seem like a strange mix, yet with the slightly kitsch furniture and bold canvas art it can work, if you have the guts. Check out our retro section for a good selection of enlarged, vintage wallpapers & motifs, batik paisleys and all thing timeless and nostalgic.


Oriental Sweetness:
Oriental sweetness take flat or two tone colours with the soft delicate nature of the orient to create some stunning effects. The use of floral images and light colours simplify things and help keep its grace. Look no further than our floral art section, where Japanese & oriental florals have featured prominently for the last 4 years.


Lets Play:
Bold colours and classic folk design work well, add in some contemporary geometric shapes and your there. Can work well in studies/home offices to help keep you creative and relaxed. You can really add personality and humour with Let's Play and is meant to help stir the child in you.


Handmade:
Handmade is an in depth look at everything beautiful about nature. The rustic look works well with soft browns and off whites. Unique textiles to give a more unique touch and smell. Recycled goods are fantastic, and artwork can range from simple photos, all the way to the slightly abstract.

So that's it for the now, we will go into each trend in more detail later on in the year, and try and bring you appropriate art to fit into each trend. Watch this space, feel free to subscribe to this feed for updates when they happen.

New Cult Art Canvas Designs

WHoArtNow

New Art updates [June 2008]

We are just putting the finishing touches to a selection of new canvas art for the site. There will be 85 new pieces of art in total, in a range of categories. Expect to see new Retro, Stencil Street Art, Urban, Organic & Iconic Cult prints in the next couple of weeks. There will be a new selection of ranges too, and not forgetting the long awaited BOYD Street Art range, so watch this space.


So for the new Cult Art selection, we have a new square canvas of Al Pacino, in the Godfather. In classic black and white, on a contemporary red background. On a similar bold and modern background, comes a new Marilyn Monroe, as featured in our Magazine advert for Town and Country Living. Also, a much requested version of the "The Stig", the infamous legend and cult hero, on a deep blue background. You can find this on a limited long and thin box canvas. We've also got a couple of re-works of our classics - a four Piece Hendrix "Quad" and grey scale black and white re-colours of the massive Pulp Fiction canvas. We've also got a brand new two part Coldplay canvas set, in the classic black and white colours.


So, that's it for the Cult art updates for now, if you fancy receiving live updates, feel free to subscribe to the rss feed. It's also an invaluable tool for interior designers or any one in the wholesale and resale industry to keep check of what we are putting out.

Reverse Graffiti: The Future of Urban Art?

As I walked around our city center yesterday, I couldn't help but notice how much street art is appearing on our streets. There is a great mix of wheat pasting and stickering, some fantastic spray work, and some slightly more immature stencils, but whatever the form of art, there is more of it. And local councils are taking note.

There is an alternative however, British artist Paul 'Moose' Curtis is the pioneer of Reverse Graffiti (also known as grime writing,clean taggin or dust tagging) is a simple yet very effective solution.'Go Gently' was a piece Moose carried out in the grime and dirt of a Leeds tunnel. The stencil is applied to the wall and the reverse is cleaned using either a brush and soapy water (and some elbow grease) or for speed, a pressure washer. The resulting images appear as normal stencil or spray graffiti, yet it leaves no permanent marks.

There may seem like there is no down side to reverse graffiti, yet there is. Leeds City Council still class Moose's art as vandalism and as such, in 2004 he was hit with an ASBO (Anti Social Behaviour Order) with some confusion. The problem they have, is all Moose is doing, is selective cleaning, he's not permanently marking anything.

how likely are you to see some reverse graffiti? Well its not as uncommon as you think because a number of advertisers have realised there is market for this type of street advertising. A while back i remember walking through the center of a town and saw a piece of reverse graffiti on the pavement. It was so subtle I wouldn't be surprised if only 10% of people saw it. Its just such a shame it was an advert for male body spray.
This nature inspired stencil in central San Fransisco was completed at night with high powered pressure washers. The mural was a great commission for Moose as it had backing from the local Mayor and Police. Watch the video to see how this amazing artwork was created.

As fans of all things street art, WHoArtNow are currently looking into the possibilities of one off reverse graffiti Canvas Art. We are currently experimenting with removing inks and paints off canvas and metal to create the art. Expect to see updates on here and over at Frazier Boyd's site.

20th Centuary Art Auction

On Friday (6th June 2008), Christies of London hosted the 20th Century Art Auction with a special few paintings hidden within the catalogue.

LS Lowry, the 'matchstick men' painter was featured, including 'An Old Church' (1943) which was estimated as £1m but sadly didn't sell. (See picture right)

Also failing to sell at the auction was Lowrys' 1938 painting 'Manchester City vs Sheffield United' (see picture below). The painting did however sell after the auction to a private collector for an unknown price.

The biggest seller of the day however was 'A Cricket Match' which went for its top of the estimate at £770,000. I also mentioned in my previous blog about this auction that the canvas 'Seascape' was estimated at £250,000 which looked like a better deal than a house. Well it sold for £313,000, still worth the money, and guaranteed to increase in value.

Christies 20th Century Art collection sold for a total of £11.5 million pounds a Christies spokeswoman said in a post auction press release.

We're giving away a canvas...

For all you budding digital photographers out there, Enjoy Warwickshire have launched a competition to find the best photos of Warwickshire & we are giving away a canvas to one of the winners. The competition is split into 4 categories, People and events, Landscapes and countryside, Landmarks and tourism attractions and
Junior/Young persons category.

If you are thinking of entering, there are some great prizes available, and if your the lucky winner of the Junior/Young persons category, your photo will be hand stretched into your own piece of Canvas Art.

The closing date for the competition id September the 30th, and if you'd like more info, head over to the Enjoy Warwickshire website.

Frazier Boyd Goes Live

With the recent success of joining the WHoArtNow team, the subversive stencil artist Frazier Boyd has finally launched his website www.frazierboyd.co.uk. Boyd is constantly working on new ideas and approaches to stencil art and as such is producing images both on and off the street all the time. With his news RSS feed, you can be the first to see whats current in his world, or subscribe to his Flickr Photostream to check his uploads as they occur.

If your a fan of his work and would like any of his images on Canvas, head over to WHoArtNow or if your in the market for something a little more unique, (See the Commissioned Rossi Canvas print above) , contact us to for a commission piece.

As a fan of street art I'm looking forward to seeing what he comes up with in the future. Its a great time for street art, and WHoArtNow are proud to be a part of it.

2008 Interior Design Trends - Optimism

Optimism is not all about white. Its the subtle mix of chalky and milky shades of whites and greys to add depth of layers and texture to a room. Matte and gloss finishes contrast and are a must in this anti-child almost heavenly interior.

Adding to the white feel, the use of soft pinks and yellows add definition to the room, and some subtle abstract canvas art work using the same shades of whites and greys.

This interior scheme is brilliant for almost any type of room or house, small boxy rooms look fantastic because it opens the room up and adds space. Whereas already large rooms with high ceilings and original moulds end up looking vast and commanding. However, invest in the slightly more expensive wipe clean paints to keep the interior looking fresh.


Eclectic furniture is the thing at the moment, and this pallet works brilliantly with all things eclectic, go nuts, just no vivid colours and plenty of texture from textiles and canvas artwork.This soft and delicate trend will stay popular during 2009 because of its easy pallet and simplicity.

New Stencil Art Designs from Frazier Boyd

I've just put the finishing touches to some new stencil art that I am very proud of... We have been working on a load of briefs here at the WHoArtNow studios, recently loads of 1920's style art, and trying to mix up stencil art with what we call "Retro" art. It's Germanesque, it's vibrant, minimal, colour orientated, Kitchsy, call it what you want, we call it art! It's a move on from some of our successful, trademark vector designs like "Soul Sister" and "Technocolour", and an attempt to fuse the 60's, bold, vector driven shapes with the rough and rawness of the street art stuff.

So, as I said, 1920's is prevalent in my new art as I'm really into all the movements and styles of that time. Bauhaus changed the world that we live in, and then you have Art Deco, the highly original 20's fonts, and the whole Flapper imaginary, I just find it so iconic, the classic short black bob cuts and black and white photography also make for some stunning stencils.

So 20's aside, there is plenty of retro style and vintage icons thrown into the mix to create a whole new range of canvas art prints. I've been experimenting a bit with scanned stencils on walls and touching them up a bit with photoshop, there is a bit of new experimentation with the real stencils on metal, something for the "Plastic Art" range for WHoArtNow. So, please watch this space, there are plenty more designs to follow.

So in terms of dates, all of the new designs for canvas are due to be put on the WHoArtNow website very soon, May / June 2008. Some will also also be available as frame mounted prints, which is exciting" If you want a sneak preview, please free to check out my art on Deviant-Art, I've just popped some new designs on there & in the last couple of hours alone I've been inundated with comments and messages of positivity - nice one guys and gals.

New "Plastic Art" Range Launched for WHoArtNow

We are very pleased to an announce a brand new range of unique hand crafted art, produced exclusively for WHoArtnow.co.uk. We have been hard at work for the last 4 months, developing art on diverse materials such as 12” vinyl records, perspex and, Metal and textured aluminum that have a superior look and feel, and are like nothing else being produced out there. Feel free to check out the new Plastic Art range.

We are also proud to introduce our "resident" designers, like Frazier BOYD [see Jimi Hendrix Above] who have played a huge part in putting the Plastic art together.

Plastic Art is a move-on from the digital "giclee" canvas prints that WHoArtNow has been producing since 2004, and we have tried to position the new brand, so that it will not detract from the original product, but compliment it. It has been designed to be for the more discerning person that is looking for something completely different for their abode. The textures and imperfections created by stencilling are really what make these art pieces unique, you just can not re-create these with traditional wide-format / solvent printers, and the hand-crafted element gives it a real sense of uniqueness.


On the reverse of the Plastic Art, comes a hand made fir wood frame, similar to the frames we use for our canvas prints. The frame will sit the 12" Vinyl Art off the well by 1", and comes complete with slotted mirror plates, ready to hang. We are running a competition to win a 6 piece Jimi Hendrix, in a special limited mint green colour. It's worth £159 & all you have to do is sign up to our monthly newsletter, or join us as a fan on our new facebook page, please feel free to visit our competition page for more info.