Here’s another find from the English countryside. It may be genuine — pulled from some school or misguided high street shop manager — but I really hope it’s an artist created bit of cheeky humor. It’s such a nice dry summary celebrating the small and pointless in the face of the large and important. I love it.

Cotswalds, England

A bit surprising to find this graffiti in a small town in the idyllic English countryside, but also refreshing. Turns out there actually still is Anarchy in the UK after all these years. Hopefully, the kid’s have understanding and not just outrage. Hopefully, they know what they’re fighting for and not just what they’re fighting against.

Cotswalds, England

Things are not okay. We all know it. We see it. We hear it. We’re bombarded and we can’t avoid the onslaught. All of which means it’s a good time to ask people, “are you okay?”

There’s a short story going on in this small piece. The look of concern, the flat mouth line, the slouching eyebrow, the sad eyes as one looks away and one looks on. The illustration style reminds me of old Pink Panther cartoons or the Little Ceasers mascot both of which come with fond nostalgia and sit in contrast with the emotion in this brief sketch. I like to think of these two as “D” on the left and “T” on the right. Two characters, close, concerned and unsure.

And so, even if the answer is “no”, even if you don’t have a good reply, now is the time to ask the question. RUOK?

Lower East Side, Manhattan.

I’ve always been a fan of cyan & magenta color combos going back to my early design days learning about four color separations for offset printing. It’s a combo that is so rich, has good contrast and blends fantastically. Top it off with a great positive stencil with custom lettering and this piece is a real winner. It just hit me at the right time too. Sometimes it seems like we can’t do anything, but we can always make art.

Wall Street, Manhattan.

There are simple things we can all do to change the world and this is a wonderful example. Take the existing structure and re-contextualize it to fit a new narrative. Just a printer and some glue. You don’t need to get the colors exact as long as you get the typeface (Helvetica) correct. I love examples like this where art and politics meet to update, but not erase, an existing message. Its subtlety does not lessen its impact. Hidden in plain sight. Many will pass, some will read, and the message will spread. It’s well past time to change our environment, well past time to change the prevailing narrative. Time to subvert.

Midtown, Manhattan.

A wonderful bit of color for a spring day. This is a fantastic example of attention to detail and intelligent decisions from a highly experienced artist. All those little interior lines, the color pairings, the 3D edging — it’s all composed with precision and patience.

Lower East Side, Manhattan.

Following up on the Hey You post, I walked past the location again and lo and behold, more friends have been added! Maybe they heard my plea? There’s plenty more wall available at this spot, so here’s hoping this is just the beginning of a whole army of monster friends.

West Side, Manhattan.