Fresh off Zohran’s wonderful win in the mayor’s race and the well deserved hype about his campaign branding, I saw this piece rolling the streets on a panel delivery truck. Like the campaign, it’s got it’s roots firmly stuck in the orange and blue of the Mets while nodding to the typography of the Knicks. It’s big and bold. In some ways it reminds me of a candy bar wrapper, the sugar filled Saturday morning cartoon inside joke that only the kids understand. I like to imagine it’s the hand of another famous New York resident, King Kong, who is bringing the knowledge to set the record straight.

Midtown, Manhattan.

A phrase that keeps popping up in the culture from songs, to films, to television and now on the streets of the city. Laid down by a strong hand with confident brush strokes to quickly get the message on concrete. There’s plenty of flair too with the arrow rising out of the”N”. Whether we like it or not, the moon will always have a hold on us. Gravity and imagination together to influence us.

Midtown, Manhattan.

A quick illustration with flair and a signature the gives off a vintage vibe. It’s kind of like a modern day Zorro just happened to walk by, win a duel and then slash his message across this pillar. And it looks like The Feather has done it before. There’s a hint of the old tag erased or painted over. But you can’t stop The Feather! (Ping when the TV series starts. I’m in.)

Cotswalds, England

Another photo from England: this time a stone pillar in an alley between the high street and the back of the shops. Your eye is immediately caught by the storm trooper stencil, but more and more is revealed as you look closer. The caricature at the top is quite striking. There’s a realism and emotion along with a cartoon style. Finally, you start to see the messages scratched into the surface. It seems to be a common post for sounding off on the popular conspiracies of the day. It’s also an example of one of my favorite bits of graffiti in the public square — a dialog.

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

Back from holiday and it seems like Midtown has a new logo. Or a new advertising campaign. One can never be sure these days. It is a very clean stencil though and that’s not easy to do. The monogram is also very nice. It’s an obvious nod to the Yankees monogram which itself has moved well beyond sports identity to a clear New York City logo recognized around the world. It’s even surpassed the state’s I ♥️ NY logo from Milton Glaser. I don’t think this one will rise to the heights of those renown logos, but it is a nice bit of typographic illustration and painting.

Midtown, Manhattan.

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.