Celebrating the 1 year anniversary of Banksy’s Great British Spraycation 2021 - I’ve created two new original paintings.
So what’s the inspiration and the story behind these original paintings?
Banksy highlighted many political, economic and social problems in his spray paintings of 2021 along the Norfolk & Suffolk coast. However many of us got caught up in the mystery behind who was responsible for these artworks rather than focusing on the issues they highlighted. So when Banksy officially confirmed he was responsible on the 10th august 2021 it lead many of us to end our questioning. But there are still many unanswered questions surrounding the problems that Banksy highlighted. One key question (on a personal level) is; How do we manage to remain positive and optimistic in our mindset when we live in a world where the newsfeed constantly updates us on the next devastating headline? The answer I believe is mindset, this may sound naive and over simplistic - but hear me out……
If we learn to foster a positive mindset we learn to look at problems as temporary challenges, we learn to look for the lessons to learn from setbacks or gain perspective by understanding conflicting sides of an argument. I am not saying we should ignore our problems, but I am saying we should be careful not to fixate on them. It is a fact that people who start their day by watching the news each morning are 27% more likely to feel negative and bleak about their future, this means we start our everyday feeling defeated and pessimistic. Mindset is important because when we are faced with our problems and a questioning on what to do, we have 2 choices - we either march forward optimistically searching for the possible solutions, or we fixate on how difficult life is and we give up on seeking solutions entirely. Remaining optimistic means we see a future ahead of us that is worth chasing after.
This series of events in the last year since Banksy’s 2021 Spraycation has inspired the painting below where initially the focus of the painting centres on the mystery of Banksy himself. But when we step back and learn to see the bigger picture (stepping back physically from the graffit on the sea wall, to then see a moon over a town (Cromer) which represents the wider world around us), there are bigger questions that we still need to find the answers to. In the process of finding those answers, a healthy mindset can contribute greatly - something many of us have adopted since the shake up of 2020. To summerise, what has changed in a year, not much in terms of the unrelenting political problems that show up, however what’s changed and what can have a fundamental lasting effect on our futures is an improved mindset that we all learn to adopt. The questions remain, but what’s changed is how we go about finding the answers.
This painting (above) is titled: ‘Golden Banksy’ and shows the specific spot where Banksy made his graffiti statement on the sea wall of Cromer.
This (above) is the second painting and it is titled ‘Illusion’. It’s all about the importance of wanting in life. Firstly it is inspired by the view from where Banksy created his own graffiti on the Cromer sea wall, but I have taken one of Banksy’s most celebrated pieces ‘The girl with the Balloon’ and brought her to Cromer! The painting is inspired by the following philosophy….
Happiness itself can evade us if we try and chase after it directly. I recently learnt that being happy is a bi-product of man’s quest of working hard to make other people happy. That we feel truly alive and fulfilled when we are growing, giving and pushing hard towards the things that we truly desire. Even if our dreams and desires feel as if they are just out of our reach (symbolised here with the girl reaching for the balloon) - that is what keeps us persevering. Rarely in life do we get all that we desire but life is also about what we learn to give and contribute along the way rather than being fixated on what we are getting.
We all have big dreams, hopes and aspirations but often they can feel like they are slipping away from us. And it can feel impossible to hold onto such wild dreams when we’re caught up in the daily reality and monotonity of life itself. Life is a careful balance between juggling our duties and reaching towards our desires. We cannot really live a fulfilled life without the two elements working together because we need the struggle and the challenge in working towards what we desire. It is often the case that our dreams need to feel like they are just out of reach in order to keep us preserving towards them.
When we do occasionaly manifest those dreams we have been chasing after, it is the pain and the struggle that contributes towards how much we value and appreciate the reward. That is the philosophy that inspires this original painting.
The artworks are available
The artworks are being released in the following formats:
The original paintings are available. ‘Golden Banksy’ is 100 X 100 cm, Acrylic and gold leaf on deep boxed canvas, ready to hang.
There is a super-exclusive hand finished limited edition print available (edition size 1/10). This artwork is a printed canvas with each one uniquely hand finished with painting highlights, neon paint, gold leaf and varnish. Presented on deep boxed canvas within a black wooden surround giving the style and appearance of the original painting but at a more affordable price. These are sized at 90 X 90cm. £995.
A limited edition paper print (Edition size 195) presented within a white mount. Individually titled, numbered and signed by the artist. These start from £195