Graffiti News & Blog

Many people have a strong opinion on graffiti. Some believe it is destructive and vulgar, some believe it is a form of political or personal expression and demonstration, and some believe it is art. But most of those people fail to actually understand the basics of graffiti, and the different styles and techniques involved.

Spraying graffiti on to public property is a criminal offence and can lead to prosecution under the Criminal Damage Act 1971, leading to fines of up to 5,000 dependant on the damage caused or even a community service order. The Anti Social Behaviour Act 2003 now states that the graffiti artist can be served an on the spot 50 fine and be made to clean up the damage. It also makes it a criminal offence to sell spray paint to anyone under the age of 16, and a shopkeeper can be fined up to 2,500 if found guilty.

A common and probably the easiest style to work with is the ‘public style’. This term was coined to refer to a style that is read easily by the general public. It will typically integrate straight letters and take on popular font styles such as Arial Black bold. This style is popular for political statements as it does not alienate its audience by being unreadable and also popular among the inexperienced as it is easiest. The blockbuster style is one of the most common straight letter styles. Its key features are simplicity and minimal colour use. It is one of the more legible styles, but is seen as a lesser style by a lot of artists as it limits artistic flair and personal flow.

He began to leave his mark in the subway stations and sometimes even on the inside and outside of the subway cars themselves. He later began to write his tag on the streets of NY that he visited. He was interviewed by The New York Times in 1971, and when the story ran on the front page it sparked a whole new craze among the youths of NY. And thus began graffiti.

Stencils are a good style to use for extremely detailed and complicated pieces, and stencilling is also one of the fastest forms. Even the most intricate pieces can be up in a matter of minutes when stencils are used. The amount of detail achieved in most stencilled pieces could never be achieved with a spray can alone.

Looking for a Banksy t shirt?