Monday, December 31, 2012

I Love My Life - Happy MF'n New Year!


Tonight, look at yourself in the mirror and say "I love my life".

If you are lucky, you might have a mirror that says it for you, like this mirror inside Cafe Gratitude in Los Angeles.  With a sticker combo in the background by Senor, 455er, Make One, Thoat, and Bankrupt Slut.

Happy MF'n New Year!


Get Up, Stay Up!


Jaber and Begr catch some crazy fat tags.

Sick work.

The Long View


The long view of graffiti at the Victory Yard.


Hollywood Hooligans


Stencil and spray paint saying 'Hooligans'.  In Hollywood.


***Thanks to M&F contributor John Wellington Ennis for the pic***

Sorry, It Was Already Dissed


A BIG back of a billboard takeover on Lankershim in the Valley.

It is unsigned, but think this piece is from Scom.


Los Angeles is a Silicone City


A sidewalk stencil made up like a star from the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

From New York based collective, Trustocorp.


Oh What Do You See?


Iggy posts up next to an Osisis/Division installation on Melrose, then hunkers down low when she gets spooked by a crow.


Stuck Up


Stickers get stuck up on Melrose.


Teach Up


Teacher gets a Malala tribute stencil up in North Hollywood.


Sorrier than Sorry


Add another o and you are Soorier than sorry.

Graffiti in the Valley.

Sunday, December 30, 2012

Cat Finds a Home on Melrose


Eventually, Iggy did find a place to curl up and get comfortable on Melrose.

Here is Iggy chilling underneath a tree at Fairfax High School.  Notice the street art and graffiti on the front of Sportie LA across the street.


Iggy Ain't Always Nice!


Iggy ain't always nice!

Lol, actually she is.  But she is also kind of blind in the daylight (she can see fine at night), and she has astigmatism.  So here is Iggy hissing at nothing, but she got scared and couldn't see so she hissed.

In front of graffiti bombs from Toms and Bugs.


Sick Soul Style


Sick graffiti style from Soul and Phat SFLO in the Valley.


Pigs & Cats


Hamok, who paints giant pig heads around Los Angeles, catches a tag on Melrose next to Iggy the cutest cat-on-a-leash doing some exploring.


Bling Bling, Bitches


This tag from Neckface and sticker from Bankrupt Slut have been riding at this hard-to-see spot in Hollywood since 2010, and are still up at the onset of 2013.

Not only are they riding, but someone decorated the Bankrupt Slut sticker with some twisted gold metal jewelry.

Bling bling~


Street Art Steez


Cool cartoon character trying to catch up to a graffiti tag with some street art 'steez'.


Get Up, Stay Up!


Street art and graffiti getting up on Beverly.

Pieces from Be, Borat, Chod and more.


Vinyl Toy Forum


Sticker from the Vinyl Toy Forum joining a forum of street stickers on Fairfax.

M&F enjoys vinyl toys but have not yet visited the Vinyl Toy Forum (spending more time on the Kidrobot Vinyl boards  instead).  But check out the Vinyl Toy Forum.

Up with slaps from 455er, Shie, 125er, Krape, Grime Crew, Basr, and more.


Teazin'


Teazin' graffiti from TLZ deep in the Valley.


Saturday, December 29, 2012

Graffiti Like a Lamb to a Sloter



Graffiti artists often play around with fun and unique pronunciations of their names.  Not sure, but imagine this Sloter is pronounced Slaughter.

On a bridge above Lankershim in the Valley.


Snappy


Snaps J4F gets up in the Valley.


Fourteen Bolt


Fourteen Bolt gets stuck up in the Valley.


Iggy the Cutest Street Art Cat-on-a-Leash


Qtip has earned a name for herself as the 'craziest' street art cat on a leash, but when you snooze you lose. Ever since Iggy joined the M&F family, it has been difficult to take both cats down to Melrose at once. (Both cats still go for on-leash walks regularly, just closer to the house.)  However, this day Qtip slept in late, so Iggy made her way down Melrose to experience the wild world of graffiti and street art.

If Qtip is the craziest cat on a leash, Iggy is the 'cutest'.  Iggy is nothing but a sweetheart as she explores the streets.  Iggy is an albino so she has so problems with her eyes.  She is really sound motivated, and all you have to do is call her name and she will come running up to you, like in the shot above.

Click the link to check out more of Iggy checking out Melrose

Snyder - The Evolution of a Mural


Last week the world didn't end as the Mayans predicted.  As people jokingly pointed out, if the Mayans were any good at predicting the future, then there would still be Mayans.

Anyhoo, the day that the world was supposed to end also happened to fall on Snyder's actual birthday.  In honor of this event, Snyder painted a giant self portrait mural entitled 'Happy Birthday Doodle - The Mayans'.

Snyder is a master at utilizing the native environment.  Notice how Snyder incorporated a plant growing at this location into a house plant on the mural.  Dig it~

Snyder documented his full artistic process behind this piece in a post called 'The Evolution of a Mural' over on his website Carlsbad Crawl.  And, Carlsbad Crawl is also hosting a FREE GIVEAWAY for an original Snyder painting.  The contest ends tomorrow, but it is super easy to enter.  Full details HERE.

Keep Livin' and Stay Up!


Prosp Graffiti


Prosp RUH USK PCA paints a piece in the Victory Graffiti Yard in the Valley.


Don't Cut Off Your Nose To Spite Your Face


This mural from entitled 'Happy Holidays' from KH no. 7 got tagged by graffiti letters recently by the SYB Crew.

Well, someone didn't like the graffiti addition, and it looks like they took a pressure cleaner to the wall to get the graffiti off.  The buffing did remove most of the graffiti, but it also took away the mural itself, along with several other layers underneath.  The end result looks like a giant scribble across the lower section of the mural, and the buffing is not an improvement.

No doubt that whoever did this was trying to save the mural.  But this looks like when the city buffs a wall with sloppy unmatching paint.  Sure, the offending mark is gone, but it looks messy and worse than before.  As the saying goes, 'Don't Cut Off Your Nose To Spite Your Face'.

After all that, ironically enough, the SYB tag on the right hand side is still riding.

On an unusually rainy day on Melrose--M&F got caught in a bit of a thunder storm, even with thunder and lightning!


Love Me While You Can


Dumpster tagged saying 'Love Me While You Can'.

Next to some pasters and under a giant tag from Spanto.


Plastic Girls


New paster showing a 'plastic' girl on a rainy morning on Melrose.


Friday, December 28, 2012

M&F Presents - Best of LA Street Art 2012




2012 has been a wild ride on the streets of Los Angeles. Melrose and Fairfax is proud to present 20 of our favorite shots for the Best of Los Angeles Street Art 2012. Enjoy the year in review!
(All photos by Melrose and Fairfax, unless otherwise noted.)




^It has been said that being a street artist is like a kid playing on the streets. This giant mural from Bumblebee captures the spirit of kids playing.



^Street artist Chod paints over a dollar bill. Notice the little features, such as how the middle monkey's nostrils double as George Washington's masked eyes. This modified dollar bill was found glued to a red street curb in Hollywood.



^French street artist JR visited Los Angeles and left some beautifully decorated buildings behind. Like this one on Beverly Blvd.




^Love this piece featuring the stencil of a boy playing with a toy airplane. Unknown artist.




^There was lot of political street art in 2012, like this piece based on the Presidential Election from Bumboy WC.



^Street artist BANKRUPT SLUT makes a slutty case for gender equality with a Lady Gaga themed street piece entitled 'Slut-Its a good thing!'



^Some girls interact with a street piece from Bumboy WC, featuring a life size paster of Chris Brown pulling a punch.



^Action shots of street artist Morley pasting up a life-size street portrait of himself bearing the message, "I love you because we hate the same stuff."



^Beautiful angel with wings painted on a blood red wall in downtown Los Angeles by street artist Drew.




^Graffiti writers are still risking life and limb to find the hottest spots to get up in Los Angeles. This pic captures the death defying heights and 100 foot drop below where these artists had to cling while painting these pieces. Impressive work from FSK and Tuelr.



^This deliciously colorful mural from Brazilian artist Eduardo Kobra has graced La Brea for the better part of 2012.



^Chik-fil-a became a target for progressive activists this year after their so-called family values were revealed to be less about the family and more about supporting anti-gay causes. Subsequently, 2012 saw multiple pieces of street art aimed at the fast food giant for its perceived bigotry. One of the best pieces landed right here in West Hollywood, and the local Chik-fil-a got 'Gay Bombed' with a 3d rocket installation by the street artist Plastic Jesus. (Thanks to Nick Stern for the pic)



^Plastic Jesus strikes again with a piece that surfaced on Melrose during the Holiday shopping season. It is appropriately entitled American Excess. (thanks to Nick Stern for the photo)



^Action shots of street artist Teacher in the midst of a participatory live painting clinic at Fairfax High School. When he was finished, Teacher donated this painting to the school. (Thanks to John Wellington Ennis for the photo)



^Often times, street art will play the role of jester in society, like this piece from street artist Bumboy WC, which utilizes imagery from the Kent State Riots to capture the mayhem surrounding the iPhone 5 being sold out. (Thanks to John Wellington Ennis for the pic)



^4th of July themed portrait from L.A. street artist There She Is.



^Free Humanity paints a whole lotta love into this mural on Sunset entitled 'The Best Thing to Hold Onto in Life is Each Other.'


Dig this shot because it captures the full spectrum of street art in Los Angeles with wheat paste (from BANKRUPT SLUT), graffiti (from Clasi and Chili), stickers (from Damage and Long Live) and a mural (painted by Random Act).


^Action shots of Alec Monopoly getting up and painting a rooftop in Hollywood.


^Sometimes, street art is like fine art on the streets, like with this gorgeous piece from Maggot.


M&F's Best Of LA Street Art 2012 originally published on the Huffington Post.

UCR Graffiti


Some epic pics of this UCR bombed graffiti box in the Valley.


Fish Out of Water


This piece, with the head buffed, looks like one of the signature fish characters from Spanish graffiti artist Pez.