When we're out and about in Sheffield I photograph street art that I find interesting or attractive and it's just as well I have a record of it in my photo archive as sadly this form of art is transient, sometimes due to vandalism. An artist tries to restore his/her creations or if this isn't possible the whole mural is painted over and the image lost forever.
Many of the street artists are well known beyond Sheffield, have done commissioned work nationally or internationally and each style is different.
Here are some of the murals seen in and around the city:-
Sarah Yates's (aka Faunagraphic's) commissioned work is influenced by nature, particularly birds.
She also painted the above mural on a site overlooking the train station and near Sheffield Hallam University. The subject is Harry Brearley, the inventor of stainless steel. When it was vandalised beyond restoration another artist, Jo Peel, recently painted another. Jo's work is also instantly recognisable to locals.
Jo's mural on the same building.
Jo's murals are urban landscapes usually painted in black and white, turquoise and orange. This one is at the old Henderson's Relish factory building. Henderson's Relish is made to a secret recipe and is also part of the Sheffield scene. Many a cupboard contains a bottle of this sauce, including mine.
Rob Lee's murals often consist of brightly painted lines. The one above also near Hallam University area is fairly new.
Sheffield Dog Rescue Centre
This one was painted to celebrate the Grand Départ in Yorkshire which was part of the Tour De France which started in the county in 2015 and passed through Sheffield and surrounding countryside.
Another well known artist is Pete McKee. Born in Sheffield his art celebrates the everyday life of the north of England. The above is 'Muriel' with her shopping trolley. We have some of his framed paintings in our dental centre - probably put there to make us smile as we wait and even a tram has window decorations to celebrate this local talent.
Sheffield is called 'The City of Sanctuary' as it welcomes people from all over the world especially refugees. If you look closely at this work done by 'CoLoR' you can see positive and negative images to illustrate this. The Art House is just one of the places in the city where craft and art workshops are happening in a welcoming environment.
Cafés are pleasant meeting places and also reflect the city's interest in art.