Joe Caslin

Waterford Walls 2018

Once again the streets of Waterford became an art gallery as the Waterford Walls festival brought in another 48 works that transformed the look of the city. I had a few days to catch a glimpse of some artists, and enjoyed the completed work when I returned from my trip.

Youri Cansell, aka Mantra (France), is famous for his nature-themed works, but for this festival he painted an image of street artist. What a thoughtful gift! I hope it has a long life – it is already loved here. You see a gentleman in my picture enjoy mimicking the painted artist. The work is sponsored by Ambassador of France in Ireland.

Here are some links to my previous Waterford Walls posts : 2015, 2016, 2017. Ah, and some more 🙂 Now I will take you around our ‘art gallery’.

Kevin Bohan is a full time artist and illustrator based in Dublin ( Kevin Bohan Arts). If you open my 2017 link, there is a picture of his mural, The Love Hearts.

This time, Kevin is painting a Rainbow Serpent, freehand. He says the wall will guide him.

Kevin advises me to come again Sunday and have my hand painted as part of the mural. He explains that the mural is a collaboration project that will include the artworks of two national school students.

I show up Sunday ( wouldn’t miss the chance) and lovely Sarah assists me with the hand painting.

The mural is sponsored by the Australian Embassy in Dublin ( Kevin used the aboriginal painting techniques in this work).

Finished work.

Several mural artists share Stephen street, it is why I like to come here. Toronto/Dubai based artist Fathima Mohiuddin, aka Fats Patrol, is working next to Kevin.

All geared up.

Fats is painting this bold and fearless owl for a reason. It represents female energy and connection between the nature and human spirit. Fats is currently pursuing a diploma in Art Therapy in Toronto.

The finished work.

Irish artist Lisa Murphy.

Shuk, graffiti artist from Ireland. Harsh midday shadows added the silhouette at the bottom of the painting 🙂

RASK (Ireland) and Bo Pedersen (Denmark) teamwork.

While I was hanging around taking pictures, Bo was working away and minding his own business. A disputatious elderly man approached him and started to challenge his knowledge of art and purpose of graffiti. When (quite arrogantly) asked about his education, Bo replied that he actually has a degree in Arts. The man was stunned. “Then you are more educated than I” he exclaimed in disbelief, and left visibly deflated. Graffiti rocks 🙂

The finished wall.

Louise McKenna (Ireland).

Louis Masai is a painter, sculptor, illustrator and street artist based in London. He is best known for his vivid murals of patchwork animals.

The finished work.

Graciela Goncalves Da Silva, aka Animalitoland, Argentina. She is a self taught illustrator and graphic designer, second time painting at the Waterford Walls.

Garreth Joyce, Graphic artist based in Dublin.

Louis Boirdon and Edouard Egea, aka MonkeyBird (France), a street team sharing their self-created mythology (the monkey stands for realism, the bird for dreams). The Castle on the Cliff – a fascinating stencil creation is the duo’s gift to Waterford.

Wandering around the town I came across that guy who was painting over a still presentable mural, the work of the Mexican artist KINMX. He said the wall had been allocated for a new Joe Caslin’s work. I wondered if we were suddenly short of the old walls, but fair enough, the murals don’t live forever, and a quality work of a renowned artist is always a bonus. However, I started to worry about the Birdo’s work in the same location. And I was right to worry. Birdo’s work is no more. No comments.

Joe Caslin is using his murals for social change. I don’t know if you are familiar with his nearly identical mural I couldn’t say No.

The Neon Waves mural by Dan Kitchener, aka DANK, is also painted over the last year’s work by DMC. It looks amazing. People still stop and stare at the neon beauty – rainy Shinjuku, Tokyo.

Another stunner is Eira and the White Tiger by Sonny, British-born artist from South Africa. We already have his Neon Tiger painted last year.

The Stop sign is real!

A few more works in my reach. Spaceship by Shane Sutton Art.

Mr Cenz, based in London. New at Waterford Walls.

Lost Optics (Romania).

Our tour ends at the Waterford Walls HQ where UK based artist Peachzz is trying to set up an Octopus Lair.

The following day.

The other end of the lair. Looks fascinating.

Waterford Walls

The HQ building and the wall by Curtis Hylton. Thank you for visiting Waterford Walls festival!

Well, it was a huge post, hope you were not too tired walking with me. If you still have energy left after our excursion, please visit and enjoy Resa McConaghy’s blog Graffiti Lux and Murals

Have a wonderful weekend!

Waterford Walls 2017 – some more

Dan Leo is one of my favorites. I just love these thick black lines! Unfortunately, I have lost his pictures in an accident, but you can visit his Facebook page. Dan Leo was born in London and moved to Ireland in his youth.

To see more details, you may want to enlarge the pictures by clicking on them.

More birds 🙂 Another favorite from Toronto, Canada. BirdO! You can follow him on Instagram. It is BirdO‘s second time in Waterford, and I am proud that Waterford Walls festival is bringing artists of this caliber to our city.

Just around the corner – Magdalena Karol, Poland. Her girl with the bird house backpack reminds me of Dr. Jack Vallentyne, AKA Johnny Biosphere, whom I met in the 1980s.

ARCY, mural artist from the USA, accepted the invitation to participate in Waterford Walls, and I hope he returns to our city again. He includes a hidden Mickey Mouse head in his works for his two young sons to find, and you are welcome to spot one in this work 🙂

Kelsey Montague, also from the USA. I love her works, especially the Wings anyone can step into. Hope she will paint a pair of wings for Waterford some day.

Talented Spanish artist Lula Goce changed the look of O’Connell street with her gorgeous mural. Working in the rain was challenging, but she did it! 🙂

More in O’Connell street. Australian artist Fintan Magee known for his stunning large-scale murals is working on the highest wall available in Waterford 🙂 It is so cool to have his work in our city.

Amazing constellation of street artists at Waterford Walls this summer. DMC – Dermot McConaghy from Belfast- is back with another beautiful female image.

Dermot and local photographer Patrick Lyons.

Taking a look.

Jess Tobin AKA NOVICE, from Dublin, is working in George’s street. Her previous marriage-equality themed work was vandalised in 2015.

Charming Kathrina Rupit – KINMX – from Mexico lives in Dublin. It is her second Waterford Walls festival.

Her smile is as beautiful as is her mural.

Sadly, the map in my copy of the festival brochure doesn’t exactly help me locate some artists. Hope I will come across their work by accident some day 🙂 Like it happened with this work of Joe Caslin.

Ta-da! The old painting is still there 🙂

Thank you for your interest in Waterford Walls festival. The Harvest Festival is on the way.

You might love to visit Graffiti Lux and Murals blog by Resa McConaghy from Toronto Canada and enjoy the ephemeral art of murals.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Blaa

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

A blaa /blæ/ is a doughy, white bread bun (roll) speciality; particularly associated with Waterford, Ireland... 12,000 blaas are sold each day.

There are four bakeries making blaas, two of them in Waterford city – Hickey’s Bakery, and M & D Bakery. The Waterford blaa has been around three hundred years, since the Huguenot settlers introduced this simple bread to the locals. Never cut a blaa with a knife! It has to be torn apart by hand and eaten with butter or any filling of your choice, like rashers or chicken filet.

A student who preferred to stay anonymous, kindly gave me permission to take a picture of his blaa and rashers.

Blaa has a very special place in the heart of Waterford people.

The graffiti in my opening photograph is not a blaa advertisement though. The other side of the river Suir in Waterford – Ferrybank – mostly belongs to County Kilkenny, and traditionally, some Kilkenny people risking their lives leave teasing graffiti on The Flour Mills or on the high vertical cliff behind the railway station to annoy Waterford folks.

The Flour Mills, as they look in my photograph from 2015, don’t exist anymore. This summer the grain silos were taken down first, and the derelict buildings followed.

There are a few more photographs of the Mills taken in November 2015.

Tall Ship Festival 2005. Russian four-masted barque Kruzenshtern with the Flour Mills in background. Happy days.

The Mills were always there, ruining pictures 🙂

The nine storey building constructed in 1905 and listed in the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage as ‘an imposing building of national importance’, has been preserved.

The rest of the mill will have to go.

There is another ghost on the other side of the river in Waterford City – the Ferrybank Shopping Centre on Kilkenny/Waterford border, that was completed in 2008 and has never opened. Its cost is € 100M.

ferrybank

And one more ghost is hidden behind the Joe Caslin’s mental health artwork – abandoned Ard Rí hotel.

Ta-da! This picture was taken in 2005 with Ard Rí already abandoned five years prior.

But the ghosts are not easy to rid off. Especially in the internet. There still is a booking page for Ard Rí! 🙂

Hope this beautiful Sumac that grows in Ferrybank brightens the story of this less fortunate suburb of Waterford city.

And here is my latest picture of Ferrybank on the other side of the river Suir – with the Supermoon shining through the clouds 🙂 I didn’t have enough enthusiasm to camp by the river and wait for the clouds to clear away.

Thank you for walking around Ferrybank with me! I link this post to Milford Street , Equinoxio and Geezer 94 – the blogs that are often showcasing history and old buildings. Please visit and follow.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Waterford Walls 2016

It is too late to write about this festival, but I wasn’t in the country in August and took my pictures only last week. An artist from Toronto created a mural for this festival, and I am happy to mention one of my favorite blogs Graffiti Lux and Murals that belongs to amazing Resa from Canada. If you want to see breathtaking street art, please visit and follow her blog.

The first two images are the most impressive. Smug One, a Glasgow based artist, created these two photo-realistic works just a block from each other.

Very detailed artwork by AOW, Ireland.

Work by ESTR, Ireland

Blue Tit by Danleo, Ireland, is about to snatch a student 🙂

More works in the New Street Park. I am pretty sure the Fox is created by Brendan Butler, but have no clue who is the author of that Happy Girl mural. Lisa Murphy, may be? Her work was in this exact spot last year.

This is one of my favorite works by Serbian artist Vunik.

Two fantastic murals by London-based artist Louis Masai are dedicated to preservation of wild life. Hammer sharks in Barrack street…

… and Elephants in Barker street.

Around the corner, there is a dreamy work of Kathrina Rupit (KINMX) from Mexico.

Next to it is a surreal piece created by Jerry Rugg (Birdo) from Toronto, Canada (sorry for the obstructed image!).

This work of Joe Caslin is dedicated to mental health. You can see it in the previous image, far in background, because it is on the other side of the river. I shared two of Joe Caslin’s works in my blog last year. In my next blog I will tell you what is hiding under the mural 🙂

I am sorry I didn’t share all the murals scattered around the city centre. There are more, and they are all beautiful. Murals often cover unattractive walls, but some buildings just have to go. We will talk about such buildings in my next blog 🙂

Have a wonderful weekend!