Pnut, (inspired by subway art) This is one of the earliest pieces done in Cardiff, St,Mellons. it was done by my uncle whose tag then was Pnut, this must be 1984-85, this inspired me and many others on the estate to start painting graff, i seen this before subway art infact, anyway it turned up on facebook so props to the guy that had and posted this picture.

it was never touched for years, infact though it faded by the sun, rain etc it was still able to be seen up onto when the council buffed it around 10 years ago. So happy to of found this, it really is graff history in cardiff, just hope more pictures are found and put up, even though i dislike facebook, without it or  the people on it you wouldn't have gems seeing light of day on cyberspace..

classic local old skool graffiti history..

the above picture or piece above was based on kase 2 computer rock, 1985 stylee, i think this was the first permissioned wall in the heart of the estate and maybe the city?
it was sorted by dancer frankie johnson, a minor local celebrity in Cardiff at the time, and was sponsored/funded by the bank, a club in town, this was even featured and published in the local rag, south wales echo. back then graffiti was a new thing, most thought it was a passing fad from the bronx, new york. little did they know its now gaining much more support in the art world, kinda reminds me of the impressionists in paris in the 1860's where monet, renoir, degas, etc they were laughed at by the pretentious art elite, it took around 20 years for these artists to have the last laugh and for people to get into their artwork and start to buy works, making the artists very rich, and setting modern art and the movements that followed after.
This has happened a lot since in the art world, where one critic can make you a star or failure.
i'm not sure if the artworld is good for graffiti though.
also you can't say graffiti is mindless shit, compared to other art movements?
what other artform was born out of poverty by young pissed off youth, that used trains to carry there name around the city.
who risked and still risk, arrest, jail sentences, risk your life for your art, use letters instead of images, an abstract type of art most people like, you hear positive comments by joe public when painting, though you still get the 10% that dislike it, its propaganda by the government's media that turn people away from the positive vibes graffiti bring out in many people that my and younger generations, now as these people age and have the money, though at the moment due to the banks gambling peoples money we have a lack of money around.
hopefully this will turn around in the next 5-10 years. oh ive had positive feedback about the 80's jam being planned, hopefully things will be dope on the day if we go ahead with this jam set for the bank holiday in aug, i'll speak in more detail about that soon, but we've got a place to hold it now, its just seeking funding for paint, boards, dj's, break and street dancers, and with the 80s music policy to go with the day we'll have mc's, and dancers, writers battling etc.
anyway ive more things to post soon, i've been slack on this blog, just with this new laptop, ive not put much artwork on it also my printer.scanner doesn't seem to work with this Windows 8 laptop, i'll sort everything out soon as..
I'm going to do a deal with my neighbour with my last main PC so i'll sort out all the flicks, music i have on that and move it all to an external hard drive and new desktop pc i'm hoping to get soon.
anyway nice one,,, take care,, peace for now....

Full props to Justin Moseley for finding this gem from 87.

Was 27 years ago! 4th July 1987,  when Saturday morning TV show get fresh came to town, stocked with loads of buntlack, lol..
pure vintage!

So good to see again..

This piece was dropped after the show back in St.Mellons, (@ triangle park, as we called it.) with the buntlack they brought, was a great day, Boiling hot, had music playing like old skool hop hop.

Great times.. : ) like many times in this park we had...
Anyway Thanks to Justin, Priceless find, man..
pZ..

Hmmm...Thinking about it, It would be nice to rock another jam like old times at this park, with the Electricty boxe, walls and to put up new MDF panels as this park,
This place was part of the heart beat of Cardiff Graff/& early Hip Hop culture and featured the first legal wall, (and was a mini HOF) back in 1985 that where even featured in the local rag, I did have a copy but lost it gutted....

But a mini Jam, Just an idea atm?,
Be cool to bring some long lost spirit & community to the estate later this year again, with graff, music, B.Boy/Gal's on lino & a beat box...  And what a better day than July 4th? as an anniversary
Just an idea...Any comment let me know..

Not posted for a bit, been a bit unwell, with Tooth problems, and infection, When you have toothache you don't feel like drawing , painting or anything for that matter.
I'm just waiting for the beginning of march so I can be knocked out and operated on up the Hospital..

I thought I'd post a few random images for now though..

 Very old Cest 2  outline i did, on the mainline tracks, must be 1988..

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 S Canvas. 2003

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WIP.

WIP. Tina painting ( drug ref) to methamphetamine..nasty shit..

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Two Bode style pictures

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 Two paintings part of my NYC series.
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And lastly Two Characters by Rmer

'Pimpin aint easy'

DJ Character by Rmer..

Just a few images until I sort my shit together....

Nice one..
pZ..

An old outline from 20 years ago, Says Skroe, It got wet prob with cider and bled, I think its from 1993, It might be older due to the crew names underneath. CSC (Crimnal saints crew), & AAD, (Art after Dark) which goes back to 1991. I wish I looked after my work

 Black widow on found wood,  This was done in 1996 with airbrush at St.Mellons Community education center.
I might get an airbrush so point this year.

This etching was done in 2001 while in uni, while fighting my own demons..against booze etc..

Flick of Mao roughing an outline at Llanrumney.HOF.

 Too, Mao's left side, a blockbuster steel by foe, to Mao's right, spasm by hoxe..

An old flick from 1993 of a little known one man HOF basically with Mao roughing an outline on a piece..
I'm not sure if this place is still there, it was in Llanrumney behind some flats that Hoxe once lived at.
It was perfect because he could paint when he wanted, also the neighbours where cool.
What the story is, We recently had a large shipment of free paint from dupi-colour's paint factory in Stockport, They sent us a palette of damaged, discontinued colours, most of it worked fine, man there was so much paint we never had enough places to put it all.
Though Mr Hoxe was very willing to look after some of the paint lol, and made good use of it too in this spare waste ground behind his flat at the time.
The place was big He painted most of it too, He'd go and do something when he felt like it with coffee only a few yards away..lol..
I don't think we took photos of everything there, which was very typical of us..
Also before digi cameras, you'd forget, loose or not bother taking film photos, I wish we documented all our photos from Bombing buses, I mean they where battered by everyone active in this city, but looked great esp at night with different colour tags on the windows, panels, even floors when there was no room left...
Also, All the chromies as we nicked named them back then on the mainline tracks. a lot of flicks we did snap where took by BTP during the raids, called Operation Anderson, in this City, Bristol, Birmingham , Bath, Exeter, Plymouth, etc. I'd wish to get them pictures again, and the pictures BTP took themselves to gain evidence against us for the case.
I can imagine a retired BTP officer with pound signs in his eye's, waiting on a gold mine of U.K. photos from so many raids and cases, ready to publish in some book, like the NYC vandal squad, did with there book.or some smart arse lawyer able to gain access to the thousands upon 1000's. of flicks stored away in some vault or room?

Nice one..

 Jaze, (Twice-Jazeo-Finaaoutline/Fina 64) and Blue 202. Spar shop, Trowbridge, 1985/6


This dates back to at least 85, It might be 86, but due to the tags, Jazeo, ( Twice-Fina) Blue 202 I'm pretty certain its 85, Anyway its pretty old. I remember when they painted this, The guy who then owed the shop stupidly painted the panels in white gloss, or an oil based paint and spray paint and oil based paints don't mix to well. The paint did not sit well on the gloss, So close up the paint kinda bubbled basically. This was before all the paint made for graffiti, That are taken for granted these days.
It was still a dope piece back then
This was the first piece in Trowbride shops too, Trowbridge shops became an unstated H.O.F in a way, First there was this one.. Then there was a dope illegal piece called "No Crime Graffiti" that magically appeared one morning back in 85 on the church boundary wall, I so wish there where photos of it, ( I'll try to find some for sure has this blog takes shape). I remember the very first time I seen it, after school one day coming home via the shops then Boom!! it hit me for six as I  walked around the corner, I had to sit down and take it in for 15-20mins.That was the appeal back then, just seeing pieces in the flesh you never knew where they sprung up over night.
It was the same with the Pieces in the Subways and flat walls in St.Mellons, and in Trowbridge, waking up and Bam! some dope piece that impacted you like a knock out punch!..Esp if it was a glum drizzling afternoon, in a council estate during Thatchers reign in the 80s.
. These pieces helped make Trowbridge seem legal to paint, (It was never legal to paint there, Just we would turn up on a Sat or Sunday , knowing if police turned up, they couldn't contact and ask the council
Most people assumed it was legal as we where painting during the day, so didn't have much issues, they buffed the walls, but we'd paint on top, A lot of writers around used the same tactics)
But if it wasn't for pieces like No Crime Graffiti by (Twice-Jaze). Things may of been different.I loved that piece.. It was one of them pieces that just hit you Pow in the face,
The mid 80s in the UK always seemed to be dull, dank depressing days, until graffiti came along, and the hip hop scene with break dancers turning there bodys into wildstyle type graffiti letters, DJ's Like Jaffa playing this cool new sound called rap, recording tapes, from John peels radio station, getting tunes from anyway such as the electro lp's in vinyl..
( I'm planing to paint a number of street sounds /Electro canvases, based on the artwork of these vinyl masterpieces of design, as an homage to them. The whole series too)

It all happened so fast, Just amazing days, Its like the shit and glum days of living in a always wet, council estate, which was injected with light, and excitement, from the colour and movement of graffiti,
The moves these B.Boys and B.Girls where doing where just incredible, DJ's before hip hop and up to then, used to play shitty pop and just the cheesiest music/discos,with shite decks in places with names such as the ritzy, There was one in every town where everyone would be wearing stay press, and shoes and suits.
The Light show would be glitzy balls, with small dance floors, and a Ego centric DJ, wishing people happy birthdays while playing records like Abba, or party songs. The Dj's didn't even know what it was to mix one record seamlessly to another.Girls where in high heels 80 styles, This was going on all around the U.K.
Until Hip hop arrived firstly in records like rappers delight, by the time of 83, the gift from New york, had reached our shores in force...
It was incredible. This youth movement that was classed as a fad, came at the right time.
With out graffiti and Hip hop, I'm not sure how my or the lives of my contemporaries would be now.
With out Hip hop, further youth movements like Acid, house, Raves, I'm not sure they would of took place as they did.
anyway You have to check out The skills in Break dancing
Clock these moves here..

Some more moves here too, These guys beat gravity..

Nuit

I've just begun this Blog, then my Internet has gone down, Anyway I thought, I'd post this up today, It was done for my 11th birthday, by my uncle, (Pnut-Coma-Aroe) He, along with (Twice-Fina64) (Blue 202) Where already painting the area, St Mellon's, east side Cardiff back in 1984, There crew at the time was called The Top 3, I would say they started at the end of 83 painting the white flats around the estate, Theres not any photos around from that time, I know some where took, but they've been lost other the years. The first graffiti I seen was due to these guys, Along with a few other heads painting, one guy used to paint Busby, and another guy was painting these breakdance bubble style pieces with a fat puma sneaker on the flat walls.
I'll do some drawings from memory, of some of the first graffiti that I seen, This was before I seen Subway art.
The Piece above was painted in my Bedroom, it was my first tag Nuit, in June 84 I loved it, I remeber a lot of my friends from school asking to see it.
I'll add some posts, and sketches about the good old days, and the people who where involved back then, and are still active in the scene now as I go along with this blog..

first post, just testing

Firstly dont laugh, No..lol.. please do!!!..

Because its my first post in this blog, I'd thought, I'd post an image that nobody has seen from back in 1986, Me (Mabe, one of my tags back then) Mao and a writer called Rak1, ( he didn't have that name for nice letters etc, his tag summed him up perfectly, He was a wizard in the art of racking paint, just one of them types that just does it with no sweat, and would fill up including a ruck sack, then go and stash the paint before returning to grab a shit load, I always remeber when racking paint trying to do it quietly as we could, with out rattling the paint. Rak1 just went for it.
Great artist also. Recently heard from him, so hopefully I'll get to see what he's been doing.
Well this sorry excuse of painting was done back in the day when abstracted styles where in.. This really was painting with scraps of Car-plan, on a bit of wall, I don't think it was anything series. Just testing out effects I guess.
With this blog I'm going to post lots of stuff that's pretty bad, raw, and terrible and just ideas, sketches, all kinds of stuff that would not see light of day, so expect a lot of bad artwork, inspiration i find from other artists, and some dope work by my crew mates,
But my input will be a warts an all, look at all kinds of crap over the years. It might be more about ideas and rough sketches, outlines, and messed up drawings.. I'll just take this as it comes.
Dec 13, 2011.