As I have a new photo book about graffiti out, The writings on the wall, I decided it was high time I didn't just stop at photographing graffiti but actually donned a hoody, picked up a can of spray paint and tagged a wall or two!
In the 70s graffiti started emerging in major cities across the USA. It gradually increased in style and took off in a big way when spray paint became more widely available. By the 80s graffiti was commonplace worldwide. In the 90s it was even more detailed and tagged (name or logo of the artist.) It played a huge part in hip hop culture as hip hop musicians often started out as graffiti artists. Now we even have graffiti celebrities - Banksy, King Robbo, Blek Le Rat, Space invader, Mr Brainwash, Tox etc and there have been many public graffiti battles with artists painting over each others work - the ultimate disrespect. The downside of course has always been that some people consider it mindless vandalism and not an art form at all. Local authorities remove it, but thankfully now we have designated graffiti areas and galleries often exhibit some of this amazing work.
Having recently photographed the artistically adorned tunnels in London's Leake Street under Waterloo station, I discovered budding Banksy's were everywhere. Some of it was absolutely stunning; I walked round not once, but three times in order to fully appreciate it all. I wanted to find out more about it so I tracked down Andy Seize, a respected London graffiti artist who founded 'Graffiti lessons' due to the huge interest in street art. After working on creative projects for companies like Disney, Vogue and Red Bull, Andy wanted to pass on his wealth of experience by teaching graffiti to others, which is where I came in. I'd always wanted to spray paint a blank wall; well it's just so irresistible isn't it. But making it look like something, well that's the hard part. I can draw a bit and paint a bit, but a large expanse of wall is something quite err...large.
I have the Banksy film, Exit through the gift shop, and must have watched it a hundred times. Some people think I have a bit of a Banksy obsession, ok so I admit I have Banksy place mats and coasters and fridge magnets and t shirts and books and prints - doesn't everyone? Well anyway, I digress; I went through the list of requirements for the lessons. No experience was needed, cans of spray paint and disposable masks are provided; I just needed to wear old clothes i.e. jeans and a long sleeved top. It was then it occurred to me that I don't have any old clothes. My old clothes get sent to the charity shop which meant I would have to buy some new old clothes. I wasn't going to be seen covered in paint and looking unstylish, oh no, my new old clothes had to be cool! I also figured there are no female graffiti artists, or at least none that I heard of, so I needed a cool graffiti name. My helpful friends came up with Jeanesky or Trendy (original), Crypto, Ms Packman and Skully - I'll keep thinking about that one but I'm leaning towards Skully at the moment!
So it was on a bright and sunny September morning I donned my street-wear and joined Andy and a happy crew of similar graffiti obsessed individuals to learn how to create a positive art form. People of all ages and from all walks of life were keen to give it a go; there are even separate classes for children. Every one is equal with a spray can!
Introductions over, our first lesson was in putting all the equipment together, shaking loads of spray cans and fitting the nozzles on them correctly. Andy then explained the different effects we could achieve as well as highlighting, outlining and blending colours. Everyone was dying to get spraying so without further delay Andy marked out a section of the wall for us and we were each assigned two letters to interpret as we wanted. The great thing was colouring outside the box was allowed and positively encouraged! The only downside is the paint fumes but we wore masks and were working outside. I have always thought graffiti was an amazing art form but what I came to realise was that it isn't easy. You have to keep shaking the cans to stop the paint from dripping, the nozzles often get blocked and it takes time to cover large areas. A can equals approx two medium sized letters so you are looking at a lot of paint for a large wall. After a while all that spraying does make your hands and arms ache. That aside, there is something amazing about having no limitations, that's what graffiti is all about. Andy left us pretty much to our own devices but was always on hand to offer help and advice if we got stuck. There was no question of are we having fun yet? We were! There was constant laughter and stopping to inspect each others work and comment on a cool effect or interesting addition. Once we had finished our letters we swapped places to add extra finishing details. Everyone was happy with what they had achieved personally as well as the end product. Andy was a great teacher as well as a gifted artist, he made learning fun, it wasn't like being back at school. There were no teachers pets, everyone was treated the same regardless of their abilities and positively encouraged to get the most out of their day.
Ironically not one single person said they thought I was mad when I told them what I was doing, everyone I spoke to thought it was great and wanted to know more about it. A few are even considering giving it a go themselves. Would I do it again? Absolutely. Just make sure I'm not near any blank walls in the near future!
. I'll keep you posted as to how I get on.
I was sure I saw you lurking during all that blanket TV coverage .....but no no couldnt be..no
We were having a laugh as a lot of graffiti artists hide their identities. 
