Hey You

March 22, 2025

A spray paint graffiti of a friendly plush blue monster with big eyes and orange and pink spots smiling and pointing to the left.
A sticker of a friendly plush blue monster with big eyes smiling and pointing to the right.

Here’s a little dose of joy for you today. Monster friends! I found the first large painting and then the second small sticker nearby. I love the cartoon style, the clean lines and great color. They’re just what the city needs. More please!

West Side, Manhattan.

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Amen

March 15, 2025

Spray paint graffiti of a bearded god-like figure floating in a cloud with the letters DZEL stacked below the cloud.

Descending from the heavens is this piece from the artist DZEL. The line work is a bit loose, but I love the subject matter, layout and coloring. Plus, doing it all while hanging off the top of the building isn’t easy. Amen, indeed.

West Side, Manhattan.

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Nowhere

November 16, 2024

A stencil spray paint graffiti on the sidewalk in orange reading, "New York or nowhere".

A fresh stencil from the sidewalks of Manhattan. I do love stencils although the cynical side of me thinks this might be part of some advertising campaign. Let’s hope it’s just the exuberance of a local artist instead. A kind of mantra for perseverance.

Midtown, Manhattan.

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Mad Hatter

August 31, 2024

A red silhouette of a man (maybe the Mad Hatter?) wearing a large top hat against a yellow sun surrounded by a light blue glow. Stylized lettering in white with lightening coming out from the bottom is below.

A real unique and beautiful color palette in this large piece. There’s also no fear in just painting over the smoke stain on the wall. I’ve no idea what the lettering says, but using white and having the lightening coming out from below creates an immediate cloud effect in my mind. The silhouette is a bit menacing, but the color choices lift the mood a bit and give it a more magical feel.

West Side, Manhattan.

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We Heart

July 13, 2024

A three color stencil graffiti of a racoon holding sign saying, "We love NYC" using a heart symbol
A three color stencil graffiti of a rat holding a slice of pizza and wearing an apron saying "We love NYC" using a heart symbol.

A couple of lovely stencils found on the sidewalk from @go4tart. Having cut and painted many stencils myself, the detail here is really impressive. Plus anytime you’re using multiple colors, you’re increasing the difficulty in getting a good final image. The character choices and message are also guaranteed to make a New Yorker smile. There are also more stencils in the series for you to seek out.

West Side, Manhattan.

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Blue Skull

January 29, 2022

A large spray painted graffiti of a blue skull

Still mining the archives as the pandemic keeps on going. Here’s a large piece from somewhere in Brooklyn. There’s some nice shading under the eye sockets. The attempt to add a devil lock of hair doesn’t quite work in terms of the perspective, but I still like it. This particular shade of blue isn’t one you see very often either.

Brooklyn, New York

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