Winter is Coming

This site has now moved to  http://fionaferretgraffiti.co.uk/

CoLor mega wall, gettin’ trippy with it! Ogosh x Alas really like this.
Trik9 x Kisk X CoLor x Dose,staking a colorful claim to another spot with this awesome collaboration. Quite an old Phlegm this but one I’d never got up close too till now.                          Phlegms’ Green Man, again not new but I hadn’t had chance to make the trip out to it, rather different to his usual style, love it though and the location is fantastic.                                                                                                        Corpse character and a Llama! (?)  Sire x DeapStunner from Jean13 whoever she is 😉Cracking piece from Solo, but who is Ronnie Pickering?                                                  Foundry has been evolving his and Pawskis collaboration, it’s becoming quite organic.                       No idea, sweet though.Bokor, very fruity.Coloquix, lost his vowels, or maybe just changed his name to Clqx!                                     Sour x Marcus Method, so clever it hurts.                                                                                                              Cheeky little character from Xhastexo. Bob the wizard.  Wall by Skint with a dedication to a close friend who passed away recently.                                                    I met Tracy only a couple of times but I will remember her like this. RIP  Tracy x

Goodnight Mr Heathcote

Once upon a time there was a woman who made an amazing discovery ( to her)… 0f an artist called Phlegm… and the rest, as they say, is history…

A very important part of that history evolves around one building A. R.Heathcote…                                                                    my first urbex….. .         my first hidden Phlegm and Rocket01…      my first Fauna…      It could even be Phlegms first painting spot, got to be a very early one anyway.

Teas and Booms (I hadn’t got a clue at the time)

Early Clem Alice

Tekonta Secta, yes really.                                                     Following a partial demolition of the site, the place became a little more airy,but at least it was easier to photograph the ‘Beauty is a Beast’ in all it’s glory 🙂                                                                   The walls were still quite bare, I would visit regularly just to see if anything new had appeared.

Kid Acne was quite a regular visitor too.

But Phlegm was the busiest I think.

More artists began to visit the site, Perms went large.

The Phlegm and Rocket wall was painted over, initially with a Kid Acne x EMA x Drot collab  (there were tears, I can tell you!) and then this appeared by… mmm ..I wonder…

Dscreet painted one of his signature owls, I was quite giddy about this.

  Absolutely loved this, it was ages before I knew who did it, Jay Sharples.

 Mr Wolf, used to be all over the place.

 Kid Acnes’ woolly mammoth looking at home in the snow.

Colourful collaboration from Mila K and Color Art.

  Never knew for sure, but think this was by Misred.

Two Bob

 Mila K

 There was an attempt to shut the site off, Color  registered his disdain, it was open again in no time.

Prone                                                       Mr Wolf                                                 Kaze

Foundry and Fauna Graphic

Xhastexo and Coloquix

 Zoo

Kyle Hughes Odgers x Kid Acne

Petro                                                   Leeks                                                  Bine x Xhastexo                                       Eugene Booms x Tekonta Secta x CoLor x Phes

Eugene booms biggest character piece to date.

Kid Acnes’ touching tribute to Okie Dulo, a local club owner who died suddenly.

? x Miso                                             Ryder

Boaster from Nottingham paid a visit as did many others from out of the Sheffield area.Even though the place was renowned as a crack den, it remained a very popular spot.

 Angry Face

Xhastexo to the left with an unusual portrait of the Moors Murderers by CoLor and Nameless Nat.

KRSN , from Paris.

Color, EMA, Skint and Sour.

Coloquix                                                                       Marcus Method                                                                                                         Nymph x Sico

Eugene Booms

Skint

J Davies Arts

Xhastexo

Ogosh

Skint

FMB boys

Kosh

Simon Kent

  ? x sico x Skint xSuek

CoLor                                                     Bob                                                               

Kresh                                                                              Teml x Rambo                                            Asap, from the North East.

It was a nightmare going through photos for this, my biggest ever post, I’ll be bound to have put someone out and I apologise for that. I have 6 years of photos from this place, literally thousands. I really had a connection with it, rats,crack heads and all, and I am gutted at it’s loss.

  

I haven’t included pics from the boards or the Niche wall, they’re worthy of a post on their own though, if anyone’s interested.

Below is a link that tells you about the industrial history of Heathcotes, includes pre-graffiti pics http://www.28dayslater.co.uk/a-r-heathcote-cutlers-sheffield.t21572

Sleeep well Mr Heathcote, I for one will miss you.

April Splashes!

Mila K, seems to be keeping busy this year, long may it continue.D7606, Hangin’ on the Telephone with Debbie Harry.Face The Strange x Pop Art Is Dead collaboration,funky.Ogosh x Alas, loving these guys work at the moment.Jahoer, not a name I’m familiar with, like the style though.Phlegm, the arty shot. 😉Rate x Monkey See, nice combination of styles.Mars, going large, for a change 😉Corpse doodlings on the back of one of his pasteups that was starting to remove itself from the wall. Bob, I do like Bob.Pawski, fantastic as always but this one is something really special.Dala, pretty flowers, patterns and decorated ladies are starting to appear quite regularly around the city.Zone,really happy to see this master back on it. Xhastexo x Bine, has been altered since this photo was taken, due to some childish shenanigans, but this is the original in in all its glory.Alex Ekins, peddler Raven, sleeping on the job. Rackone x Kode’ banging wall, took me ages to get a decent shot because of cars parked in front of it!Earth x ?, popping up more regularly these days, which can only be a good thing. Dems x Osim(?), spongey floors are not a favourite of mine, but worth the trauma for this..Alan x Teml x Dyson x ? x Riseone x ?, great wall, 6 artists, I bet it was quite a party. Cheeky pair in a nice little spot!          Sheep, having a spliff… It’s been two years since we lost Clem Alice and the pain is still very raw for his friends and family, tributes have appeared marking the anniversary of his death, although the artists that were closest to him, commemorate him on every piece they do.This Clem Alice piece is, I think, where ‘Long Live The Explorer’ first appeared. Sleep well George. x

Whatever The Weather

Along came a Spider, so happy that Phlegm paid us a visit, love this so much, it was worth the brambles and everything. D7606, ready to use wheatpaste, my favourite shade. C3, these ladies are developing nicely,gorgeous.  Eug, got a strange taste in underwear, like the tattoos though. 🙂  Rialto and Earth, getting busy, which is a good thing I think.Brayk Graff  ‘The coldest flame in Sheffield’, know the feeling.J Davies Arts, eye popping letters.007, old piece ( the writer sadly died in 2000) uncovered by clearance of vegetation on railtracks, very well preserved.Mila K, looking good, as always, fun to find, as always… This Alex Ekins Raven wheatpaste is definitely one of my favourites. Stunning Lord of the Rings themed wall from Mace, Surge, Gzos and Shadyone Amp.Evo, Pawski and Shoe,very handsome portrait of a fellow in the middle there 😉Coloquix, seeing double and with the reflection almost double double!! Skint and Sico, way too cool for school. Class of 2015 by CoLor, I’m particularly fond of the little details on this.  Hungry Horace seemed to disappear altogether, but perhaps not,this doesn’t look new but it’s certainly not as old as his other stuff, the plot thickens….

G’day! (Well 2 of them actually)

It’s always great to meet people as passionate about my hobby/ obsession as I am, so imagine how happy I was that one like-minded individual, was not only making the trip over from Australia to the UK (and Europe), but made it as far as Sheffield too! And it was my privilege to show her the sights over the two days she was here. Lady P as some of you may know is a graffaholic and I think it’s fair to say we have a lot in common. We tried to fit in as much as we could, but didn’t make it to all the spots I’d hoped. It was strange to realise how much I no longer notice, just because it’s there. It was good to see each place through another persons’ eyes.

Despite having never been finished the Phlegm piece above is still amazing.

This Mega Production by Kode, Lone, Gzos and Mars was one I’d not seen up close, looks pretty special.Bumped into some of the new crop of artists in the city,was good to put names to pieces, the one above is by Desmond.Lady P caught in action photographing Peachz at work.The latest piece of loveliness from Eugene Booms.Lady P was able to see CoLor Art and Narke creating this fabulous piece, I think she took a few snaps too.I don’t know anything about Anubis, but I really like what he does, this is my favourite so far.Spied a beautiful Coloquix lady.Lady P was quite taken with this wall by H2i.Solo, I hope I got it right this time! Really like it anyway.I’ve not heard of Purpz before, not sure whether he’s local or not, cool piece though.Sico, seems to be all over the place at the moment. 🙂 Rather fond of these little critters by ABC.A horned lady by Casino, love the style of these.Really like this combination of paste up and paint by Dala.Making use of the architectural features, Meth. Another making use of the architecture, can somebody tell me who it is please? I now know it’s Brisk 🙂Robo x Brisk, enjoying watching their styles and skills develop.Dyson consistently good.Paid a visit to the studio where Foundry works with his brother,and found this sexy lady on the wall.Lady P was keen to see as much as she could in her time with us, this piece by Rocket was the next to the last she saw on her trip.

It says a lot for Sheffield that someone like Lady P from so faraway, would be aware of what is going on here and want to come and see it for herself. I think we gave her a pretty grand tour, giving her a proper Yorkshire welcome and introducing her to a traditional English chippy and the questionable delights of dandelion and burdock!

It was a real pleasure to have her here I do hope she enjoyed it as much as I did…….Oh and by the way, she never said g’day once!

City Boredom Breaker

Due to the abjectly miserable weather didn’t venture far on my last wander, still, there’s plenty to see in the centre of town. Seeing this name appearing more and more around the city, Rime.Not sure if this was a deliberate collaboration or an accidental coming together of EMA, Kid Acne and Kent, like it though.My second near death experience of the year,or at least it would have been if I’d been daft enough to get off the makeshift ladder onto the rotten floor. Love this Zinc piece.Wish I knew who this was by, but I don’t. Thanks 😀 I now know it’s Sico.Rayna, a little different from his usual letters.Brisk,another writer becoming more visible in town. Variety is the spice of life and all that, good to have some fresh talent.Ogosh, as in ogosh that’s rather good! Narke, 4 tin burn, wicked colour scheme.A marvellous piece from Dyson, a master of his craft.Popped in to Kid Acnes exhibition, met the man himself, definitely worth a visit.Avoided near death experiences 3 and 4 by keeping my feet firmly on the ground to catch these Eug pieces, I’ll leave the climbing to those younger and fitter than me.Lastly on my little wander I revisited a Phlegm piece that has been ravaged by nature to fantastic effect. I was still pulling thorns out of my legs when I went to bed, but I figured it was worth it 🙂

The End Is Nigh!

I don’t like to get involved in the politics of the scene, but I do feel the vibe in Sheffield is really bad at the moment, it saddens me and it’s taking away much of the pleasure I got from my passion. There is far too much hate on individuals when it’s roots are not necessarily graff related. If you don’t like a style, fair enough but to publicly diss and damage individuals work is pointless. Not everybody likes everything, and why should they? Some ‘acclaimed’ photographers started by only photographing the work of one artist, some have stayed like that. For myself, I try to encompass as much of the scene as I can, and yes I get it that it must be frustrating for certain writers and artists that some of the newcomers to the graff photographic community will ignore many quality pieces to get to a piece by a specific person. But I think all this infighting is missing the point. It’s a good thing that there is a wider interest in graffiti/street art, more interest = more public support and more legal spots, good thing, yes? I think so. It has a down side though. I know there are many who believe that real graff should not be on legal walls, I get that too, the problem, as I see it now is that the areas are being blurred. I’m not getting into the bombing aspect, I mean the less legal sites, in derelict buildings etc. are being treated, by some, as in the public domain, they’re not. They were never meant to be mainstream,discovering and accessing these sites was never supposed to be openly discussed on social networks, it kind of defeats the object. I love the work on legal walls, the more the better, I think it looks amazing and it’s great to see more appearing in the city. But I loved the thrill of finding something unexpected or hidden too, I’ve spent hours and in one case months searching online and walking miles to find that special something, now that’s gone, chances are you’ll have seen a photo of a piece by loads of people within hours of it being done, you’ll have to join the queue to access the site and if you’re lucky, you’ll get there just before somebody’s dogged it! In my opinion this is not a good thing, it’s killed the urbex scene and it’s doing the same to graff. I was reading an interview the other week with an american graff photographer,he said much the same thing, it would appear it’s a problem everywhere. What’s the answer? Buggered if I know, all I hope is that some new fad takes over leaving those of us who like to spend our days sniffing paint fumes dodging syringes and standing in pigeon poo to get on with it. I think it will happen, I just hope the scene hasn’t imploded on itself before it does. We have some fantastic writers and artists in Sheffield, the city is becoming renowned for its graffiti and street art nationwide, even worldwide, long may it continue…. please.

So, rant over, good to see Phlegm back in the city with his Urban Foxes.

 Funny Ideers by CoLor, just a little bit festive.Our friends from the North East, have paid a return visit.D7606,with a cheeky little bit of Marilyn.

Trik 9 with 2 of Santas’ little helpers. I can’t really do this wall justice on here, it has to be seen to be believed. ‘This is Sheffield’ the epic collaboration between Mace, Jaer, Gzos and Pawski.Nice to see Ryak coming out to play.Good to see Black out and about too, don’t see too much of his work.I really like this, Jonas x Meth.

Thanks for your support over the last year it’s much appreciated. I hope your 2013 has been better than mine and that your 2014 is better still. Happy New Year!

Buzzing!

A sign we’ve had some decent weather recently, the pace of work in the city has been frenetic. A recent visitor to Sheffield Rateone, brought a cuddly cyclops with him.Boms and CoLor Art produced this clever collaboration that is  even better in the flesh.

I don’t know who, Krutz perhaps? I like the elephant, blue previously, and the character to the left which is from a computer game, or so I’ve been told.

Xhastexo and Bine, both artists developing rapidly at the moment.

Prone, a favourite of mine, the character on the wall and the man himself.

Emit, another artist going up a notch recently, top stuff.

Coloquix is quietly taking over the city peeping ladies and cats are appearing all over the place.

Lone, on it with a passion this year, good to see.

With some regret the graffiti’d buiding on the Moor, and it would appear that all the boards went with it, have been demolished, it’s a pity nobody thought to save them.

But at least there is new Phlegm work still in progress and appearing in the city, we haven’t lost him to the rest of the world just yet.

 

No Head For Heights

So, after a tip off,  I found myself on a rooftop early one morning before going to work. It’s a pretty good vantage point for the cheeky Narke piece, but imagine my surprise when a security guard arrived to escort me off the roof, I think he thought I was going to jump! To be fair, I was quite happy to see him, I hate heights and was starting to hyperventilate. Still a first though!

Double Bubba!

Dose, lovely letters piece.

Zoo, love the character, especially his little feet!

Xhastexo, missed this little ensemble last time I was here and had to have a return trip.

Phlegm, Tragedy and Comedy, which describes my access to this place, narrowly avoiding tragedy providing huge comedy for my son! This is a place I’d been looking at for a couple of years and was really surprised that this masterpiece was the only piece in here.

A revisit to a place we had been escorted from previously, I liked this a lot.

This was the Rocket01 piece we didn’t get to see on our first visit. Nice to have a more relaxed trip this time and no security guard, although he was a jolly decent chap.

Nearly up to date now, although this keeping up lark is a bit like painting the Forth Bridge, neverending, but I wouldn’t have it any other way

 

 

Trying to catch up…

Mr Marz has done some wonderful pieces his characters are amazing, but I think this is my most favourite…

Although I quite like these two too!

Phlegm finished this wonderful piece at the Millennium Galleries.

This fossil fish appeared quite soon after.

Bob has done a piece with a shout to Clem Alice which is good to see.

Spotted a nice little collaboration between CoLor Art and Xhastexo.

Narke x Alude x Atik colourful wall at Devonshire Green.

Teas x Gzos x Kode x Rack x SEN, part of the magnificent collection at the citys’ newest hotspot.

Ryaks cracking contribution at the bottom end of the spot.

And lastly, not graffiti in the strictest sense but a lovely sight to behold nonetheless, The Snog by artist, singer and local hero Pete Mckee.

I’ve seen a real change in the city over the last few months a lot more people seem to be becoming aware of and appreciating the vibrant streets around them. All good 🙂