Storm and Scratch

October 12, 2025

A stone pillar with two stencils in black spray paint: a portrait of a man and a Star Wars storm trooper helmet. There are also several messages scratched into the tan and green surface of the pillar including one that says, "Bush did 9/11" and another that says, "Epstein didn't kill himself".

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

Midtown

August 16, 2025

A stencil in black spray paint showing a monogram of M and T with the words "midtown new york" underneath.

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.

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.

Star

September 21, 2024

A pixelated star with eyes stenciled in white paint on the sidewalk.

A little star of pixelated art on the sidewalk. No reference that I can recall, but it does feel quite familiar. Maybe it’s just a Space Invaders flashback. I do love pixel art, so it’s nice to see it show up on the streets. It also reminds me of the Moonites from one of my favorite cartoons: Aqua Teen Hunger Force — but friendly and not as arrogant.

Midtown, Manhattan.

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.