Banksy

Banksy’s street art first appeared in Bristol in the 1990’s. From the underground art scene of Bristol he expanded his work and is continually sharing his artistic mark all over the world. His satirical street art and subversive epigrams combine dark humour with graffiti executed in a distinctive stenciling technique.

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This particular style is usually recognised easily by people as his trademark. Most of Banksy’s pieces nowadays can be described as bold and striking with the abundance of blacks (and spot colours on occasion). His vibrant murals when he was just a starting freehand graffiti artist are lesser known to the public.
For this day’s article, here’s a selection of Banksy’s earliest works with most works created before he started using stencils.

“Slick” a freehand piece in Bristol, England, 1999

Back in 1999, Banksy was a friend of the then owner of this property who let the artist hand paint his Slick on Brick artwork, depicting a monkey plunging a detonator to blow the door off a safe, on the outside wall of his garage/workshop.
The mural was then covered over in magnolia paint by a disapproving neighbour a year after. Banksy’s work now hidden in layers of paint have been estimated to amount around £400,000 if it is restored in a way that some of his previous works have been, said art experts.

“Slammin’” in Southmead, Bristol, England, 1999

“Crude Oil Jerry” stencil of a cartoon mouse character Jerry on an oil painting, United Kingdom, 2003

“Bird and Grenade” oil and spray enamel on found canvas in London, 2002

“Quakattack” In Bristol, England, in the late 90’s

Print in Leicester, England, mid-90’s

Banksys’ old elephant graffiti with the words “What part of thermo-nuclear war don’t you understand”

“Vote Less” in Brighton, UK, 2006

Early cartoon of Banksy’s “Elephant with Bomb”

“Dog Circle” an early painting

Mural in Carlton Arms Hotel in New York City, 1999

Banksy once stayed and painted at Carlton Arms, a Manhattan hotel that has been a haven for artists seeking lodging. 

Banners by Banksy in Carlton Arms Hotel, New York City, late 90s

Mural in Easton, Bristol, England, late 90s

Work in Bristol, England, late 90s

A freehand piece in Bristol, England, 1999

Mural in Bristol, England, 1997 More

Famous street artist Banksy displays his art on publicly visible surfaces such as walls and self-built physical prop pieces. Banksy no longer sells photographs or reproductions of his street graffiti, but his public “installations” are regularly resold, often even by removing the wall they were painted on.

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When we think of an artist, the first things that comes to mind are their most renowned pieces. So here’s a refreshing way in rediscovering Banksy’s art — a little viewing over some pages of his sketchbook. Scroll below to view some of Banksy’s rare sketches and have a sneak of what goes into his artistic process.

Sketch of policemen together with the subject of Edvard Munch’s The Scream

“Riot Cop Drawing” from Dalston, 2003

This sketch was exhibited at the Vanina Holasek / Bankrobber London show in NYC Dec 2nd-29th 2007. Listed as “Tom Tom” Piece work 2004 (but 2002/3 is more likely).
The drawing shows a window display formulated for a Banksy show at TomTom Gallery in London (Banksys gallery at the time), with ideas for the window graphics/paint/artwork incorporating “Fuck the Police” and Banksy as well as. An early example of his now iconic signature. The show never materialised at TomTom but was to take another much larger form at the infamous “Turf War” show in Dalston (East London) in 2003.

Sketch of a person holding a stereo with the words “Don’t hate the player, hate the game”

Banksy’s sketchbook drawing of his freehand Cat & Dog street piece in Easton, Bristol in the late 90s

Cat & Dog Piece in Easton, late 90’s

Sketch of graffiti with pointing hands

Sketch of a maid with the words “grim spot for it light skin tone”

Banksy’s “Sweep It Under The Carpet Maid” sketch

This is a sketch of one of Banksy’s more famous works “Sweep It Under The Carpet Maid”. Banksy explained the meaning behind the pictures: “In the bad old days, it was only popes and princes who had the money to pay for their portraits to be painted, this is a portrait of a maid called Leanne who cleaned my room in a Los Angeles motel. She was quite a feisty lady.”

Sketch of a person painting

A quote from Banksy

Rat sketch of Banksy

Rats are one of Banksy’s greatest sources of inspiration and one of the most prolific subjects in his work.

Banksy’s sketches and versions of street signs More

Street artist Bansky has been surprising the world since the 90’s. From then on Banksy’s silkscreen prints and stencil paintings were racking up record-breaking sales in storied art auctions such as Sotheby’s and Bonham’s of London. These successful sales marked Banksy’s entry into the commercial art world. For the second part of our series “Discovering Banksy”, we are sharing his “little-known” paintings and prints mostly dating in the 90’s and early 2000’s.

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Scroll down below to view the interesting selection.

Riot Painting from Glasgow, United Kingdom, 1997

Riot Painting features Banksy’s arguably most famous piece the “Flower Thrower”. At first glance it looks like a rioter about to throw a Molotov Cocktail. However this “rioter” is throwing a bouquet of flowers instead.

Police Car Print

Painting on Canvas from Easton, Bristol in 1999

Chicken & Egg Painting on Steel

Early painting of Banksy sold for £10.00 in 1998

Early painting of Banksy sold for £10.00 in 1998 (back of canvas)

“Keep it Real” Painting on Canvas, 2006

Painting from 1999

Rubber Ducky, Painting on Canvas, 2006

Clown on Skate Deck, 2000

Avon and Somerset Constabulary, sold for £96,000 in 2000

“Land in Poop” early print

Bomb Hugger Print, 2002

“Sid Vicious” Canvas Print sold for £82,000 in Bristol, UK, 2007

“Armored Dove” in Bethlehem, 2007

“Barcode Leopard” Print, 2004 More

Over the past decades, Banksy have been one of the biggest (if not the biggest) names in the street art scene. Banksy’s rise to fame and notoriety was born from his controversial and often politically-charged stencilled graffiti works. Originally from England, Banksy’s work grew out from the Bristol underground art scene into a global phenomenon.

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While it is exceedingly difficult to narrow down a handful of works that define his style, we present below a selection of Banksy’s early and obscure street art installations.

Crossing in Dalston

Installation in Hackney, 2004

Brick Lane, London, 2007

Banksy’s Removal van seen in 2004

Banksy’s Removal Van

Water Tank installation in Los Angeles, USA, 2011

Banky’s Painted Elaphant, 2006

Banksy’s painted elephant was a part of the show “Barely Legal” held in an industrial warehouse in Los Angeles, California in 2006. the show was meant to address important issues such as poverty, which is ignored by most people, the animal refers to the metaphor of the elephant in the room.

Banksy Carved Tag

Banksy’s Barcode

Installation in Bournemouth, England, 2004

“Traffic Cones” Installation

Installation in London, 2011

Installation in Bristol, England in the late 90’s

Inside truck view of “Siren of Lambs”

“Sirens of the Lambs” and it features a bunch of cuddly puppet animals peeking out of a truck, squealing (or at least squeaking) with fear. Its purpose was to bring attention to the cruel conditions real animals suffer when being transported from factory farms to slaughterhouses. More