Putting the gent into gentrification

Being the harbingers of gentrification that we (and everyone else) undoubtedly are we thought it was about time to upgrade our id-iom logo to reflect the qualities that stand at the very heart of id-iom’s raison d’etre. So I’m proud to present our new logo with our brand new tagline ‘putting the gent in gentrification’. If this was a glossy PR presentation we’d then end with a photo of our grinning buffoon faces and something along the lines of ‘honest street artists in a dishonest world’. Cue music. Drop curtains. Job done.

Cheers

id-iom

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Lady Garden

Ladies and Gentleman may I present to you this season’s newest debutante – Lady Rosamund Garden of Brixistane. Lady Garden can be seen hanging out at all the finest soirees and elite celebrity events. She’s even been spotted on the catwalk at London Fashion Week.

We haven’t done much outdoor work yet this year so thought it best to remedy that with a quick paint in the yard to acclimatise ourselves to the brutal February conditions. Lady Rosamund Garden is the dubious result. She has poetry in her hair and a little bird that roosts in her elaborate floral headpiece. Whatever will she turn into next?

Cheers

id-iom

Moiety

This picture really does have it all. A classy design, laser cutting, hand painting, crystal resin, silver leaf, variegated blue/green gold leaf, glitter, a word that it turns out most people don’t seem to know and a dymo printed definition of said word. Just to clear things up a bit. Apparently use of the word ‘moiety’ was much more prevalent in the 1800’s. My brain refuses to tell me where it came to my attention but it’s been rattling around in there so I just thought it deserved to be let loose so it can be used a bit more. So here it is in all it’s redesigned id-iom glory. You’ll be hearing it more if I can manage to shoehorn it into a write up…

Cheers

id-iom

Other Peoples Graffiti (Food for Thought update)

Whilst making our way through sunny Streatham we chanced upon the boards we painted for the Streatham Food Festival last year that were still in place. There’s a couple of minor tags and what seems to be a lot of white paint that has been thrown at it. On closer inspection it would seem that the main culprit in defacing our picture is, in fact, the pigeons that live on the guttering above and have deposited their thoughts on the piece from on high. It would indeed seem that everyone is a critic.

Cheers

id-iom

As the crow dies…

As the crow dies…

The years had  passed slowly since the dark times at the Feast of McDonald’s. The war with the gulls was now over – with untold casualties on both sides – but the realm as a whole had survived and had now seen peace for a good while under his rule. Seismic changes were already in motion though as the King of the Corvidae had cawed for the very last time. The gears of war were turning once more. The corvidae needed to appoint a new king who could shoulder the mighty burden set before him.

For most the only real potential successor was Belasko. He had proved his mettle many times before both in battle and in diplomacy but he was getting on a little in age. The majority of his potential subjects didn’t really consider this a problem but he was deeply worried about his suitability for the role. He was a soldier, not a leader, as he kept telling himself and the many worried councillors that were scurrying around him but the more he brought this point up the more eveyone got excited.

He knew in his heart that the Corvidae required another type of leader, one that was not drenched in blood and tied to the past like himself. At the same time he realised the tide of history may just carry him along regardless. This would require some machavellian dexterity he wasn’t sure he still possessed. He would certainly have to ruffle some feathers and didn’t have much time to lose but he had been in this game long enough to know that if he played his cards just right he might just be able to select the right bird for the job…

If you like this then you’ll be glad to know we’ve got previous in the world of crow related art. It is, in fact, a sequel to an earlier piece called King of the Corvidae.

Cheers

id-iom

Owl be alright

Owl be alright

I was walking down through the woods near the studio when to my horror a small owl dropped from its nest ahead of me. To make it worse it fell to the feet of a group teens with murder in their eyes and evil intent for this little avian beauty. After i shooed off the offending youths and  picked up the poor owlet, I held it out on my outstretched arm and asked her name.

“Athena” she replied

“After the goddess of war and wisdom?” I asked

“The one and same”

“Are you OK?” I blurted out to the small owl

” Yes i’m fine, thank you for your help but owl be alright” Athena proclaimed

I stared at her wondering if she had meant to make a joke, and then she winked at me with eyes full of mischief. We chatted for another few minutes on a range of subjects before we said bye to each other. Athena then flew away never for me to see her again although i sometimes get a whatsapp message giving some sage advice after she has seen something stupid i’ve done on Facebook.

Cheers

id-iom

A little old fashioned that’s all – id-iom @ WXSP 2016

She looks much like any other lady you might see swanning around town and to all intents and purposes she is. It would be difficult to distinguish her from a thousand others just like her if you didn’t happen to know her a bit better. And what would distinguish her in this modern world of tinder dating, digital photography and deliveroo would be the fact that she likes to do things the old fashioned way. That isn’t to say she isn’t aware these modern conveniences but just that she prefers the old school, hands-on style experience. And who’s to say she’s wrong…

This was for our fifth visit painting at the Whitecross Street Party and, as usual, we had a great time and the weather was lovely – as it has been every other time we’ve painted too. Which is odd when you consider how unreliable UK weather is. Anyway, it’s always good to chat to the other artists and catch up with old friends whilst attempting to make new ones. At least we managed to keep the beer consumption a bit lower than in previous years…

Also, if you like the piece enough to want to own it she’s available to buy from Curious Duke Gallery (which is at 173 Whitecross St).

Cheers

id-iom

Orca Hawk Preservation Society

We’ve all heard of the terrible plight of the Orca whales at Seaworld but a lesser known avian relative – the Orca Hawk – has recently come under the media spotlight as its Arctic home is threatened by the spectre of global warming. Luckily for humanity it currently only lives in the Arctic and can sustain flight for just 2 minutes so it’s no direct threat for humanity as yet. When the day comes when they either learn to swim or use the crumbling ice shelf to travel south we’re going to be in for a bit of trouble. Currently they are happy preying on seals and polar bears but as any intrepid explorer who has been in that part of the world will tell you these birds are intelligent, predatory and will stop at nothing to have you as a light afternoon snack if they’re feeling a bit peckish. So perhaps the Orca Hawk Preservation Society isn’t the best idea…

Cheers

id-iom

Title: Orca Hawk
Materials: Paint pen, acrylic, ink, charcoal, gold leaf, dymo  and watercolour.
Size: 59 x 31cm

Ornithophobia

Ornithophobia

If you’ve ever seen Hitchcock’s ‘The Birds’ then you’ll probably have some inkling of what ornithophobia is. It’s a type of specific phobia based on an irrational fear of birds. The thing is I don’t have ornithophobia and I don’t even know anyone with it (as sometimes these phobia’s can be learned responses). I put sole responsibility for this picture on the muse…

There I was with a tatty old canvas (that originally had some suitably vile printed picture of a rose on it) when the idea of painting a bird popped in to my abnormally small mammalian brain. And who am I to go against the grain? After looking at said bird the muse changed tact and sent me off trying to write some pithy if not indulgent text for the piece. After some sitting around drinking tea I came up with:

They hop from branch to branch

before they disappear

to see the birds

and hear their song

will always bring me fear

After reading that little ditty I think we can all agree that the Poet Laureate has nothing to worry about…

Cheers

id-iom

Bored & Affectionate

Bored & Affectionate

This young lady has been on leave from work for about 3 weeks now for a small operation she had but don’t worry it wasn’t anything serious. It only took about 10 minutes in surgery and then another 10 minutes to heal yet she has still been signed off work for what seems like an eternity. So long in fact that she has now become quite bored and as a side effect become quite affectionate to any and all of those around her as she hungers for companionship. Her parents live up north, she doesn’t have a boyfriend, the cat’s already fed up of all the attention and to top it off all of her friends are on holiday in Croatia. Needless to say she’s completed the internet and is now itching for something or someone new to do…

Cheers

id-iom

Title: Bored & Affectionate
Materials: Paint pen, acrylic, ink, charcoal, Tipp Ex and spray paint
Size: A2