David Shillinglaw takes you about London for: Banksy, Bast, Anthony Lister, Remi/Rough, Word-to-Mother, Charlie Isoe, and more. The summer has landed. You gotta love London in the summer time. Longer evenings and eating outside. There is a shift in the air. With the fat cats tightening their belts, it seems the world and his wife are waking up to the simple pleasures in life. Art still remains something we can enjoy without spending any money. In fact you usually get free beer. The financial climate is sticky, people are sweating with the fear global melt downs, and yet somewhere between struggling to pay bills and put food in our bellies, we still find time to look, to admire and celebrate, the human touch, the hand made, the arts.

1st stop: Brick Lane. Famous for its culture clashing, multi-ethnic diversity, the heart of the east end never sleeps, and hosts a mass of galleries and studios, high-art, Lo-art, its all there for the picking. 196 Brick Lane is the home of The BrickLane gallery. This month the show boasted works by Banksy, Faile, Bast and Jamie Hewlett to name a few, it's a small space, but always a friendly crowd.

Banksy:

Bast

Faile

A few shops up from the Brick Lane gallery is the bagel shop. Famously open 24hours a day, selling hot salt-beef and English mustard bagels, guaranteed to put hairs on your chest and a fire in your belly. I always have to get one, even if I'm not hungry; it's like a kind of tradition or sport. I got there just as they had made a fresh batch of bagels, they are so sweet you can eat them like doughnuts.

Pure Evil: at 108 Leonard st, Mymo celebrated her 'Junkyard and Rainbows'. Check Mymo Out at www.mymonstersworld.com, I love her work, and she is a great gal. Check her out.

Across the road, round the corner you can find the Urban Angel Gallery. This month saw Remi/Rough do his thing with 'Lost Colours and Alibis'. Visit the gallery on Redchurch Street, or visit www.urbanangel.com. Remi also has a new book out. The book is beautifully designed and well worth a look. You can see the book and order copies from www.agents-of-change.co.uk.

For more Remi/Rough-isms visit www.roughe.com... Here's a Remi/Rough wall piece outside the gallery plus other random London tagging.

Remi/Rough installation at UrbanAngel.

Towards central London: The NancyVistor basement Gallery makes a great home to 'The Pocket Show': new works by Jaybo/Monk. Visit the gallery: www.nancyvictor.com. I loved the drift wood beverage paintings.

Don't forget to look up. Walking through the city is a gallery in its own right. This Lister piece is too cool, especially as the building he'd been standing on has been demolished.

I love this piece by Word-to-Mother at the Bar-B-Q cafe spot in the Old Truman Brewery. www.trumanbrewery.com Always lots going on at the Brewery, Good burgers too.

More unknown eye-catching street stuff:

A few weeks back I bumped into Charlie Isoe, I caught up with him as he was leaving town. His work is amazing and currently up at Lazarides gallery. Go feast your eyes on his work at www.charlieisoe.com. The man and his work are off the hook. Makes me think Egon Schiele and Jean-Michel Basquiat had a baby and called it Charlie Isoe.

Charlie Isoe window display at Lazarides gallery (www.lazinc.com)

There is always a stack of great art on the laz walls, they have a new space on Rathbone-place, and the shop on Greek Street. You gotta love these collages by jonathan-yeo (www.jonathanyeo.com)

My gallery, NowhereNorth, had the pleasure of hosting the launch exhibition for 'Curious Fiend' magazine. The magazine features some incredible artists, photographers and illustrators. Find out more about the Curious Fiend by visiting curiousfiend.blogspot.com. The magazines are beautiful, hand bound and limited edition, so buy one, and support a great independent publication. The exhibition was fun to be a part of, and the private view ended with lots of drinking and dancing in equal measures.

My work for the exhibition.

My work on the gallery wall.

Last month I was part of the Visionaries exhibition at Wall Space on the London Wall. It was an amazing show with work from the likes of Billy Childish, The Chapman Brothers/Goya and Adam Neate. The exhibition was inside a church next to part of the original Roman wall that once surrounded London, Crazy cool. I painted outside at the opening. For more pictures of my work and the rest of the show visit: davidshillinglaw.co.uk/visionaries.htm

The show included beautiful work from Adam Neate. see more of his work at Elms Lester: www.elmslesters.co.uk/index.php?pid=13&subid=26

This painting by Peter Howson blew my mind. The photo does no justice to its scale and detail. A true master. (www.peterhowson.co.uk)

Back at home at Nowhere North gallery the staircase is hidden with a mass of Cherry Blossom.

To make the most of the delicious sunshine, my brother and I have started growing our own vegetables. Everybody should be doing this. Then everybody should be trading vegetables with everybody else. We are currently growing tomatoes, Courgettes, Jalapeños and baby sweet corn. Do it. Grow your own food, its cheap, easy and you get to eat it.

The View from my studio is the best show in town. Sunset is my favourite time of the day, like a half hour performance, the suns slow retreat, and with the summer making the days longer there is all the more reason to take that half an hour to kick back and do as little as possible, just sit back and watch the day turn into the night. I recommend doing this from a high place while listening to John Martyn. Who is John Martyn?

So long from London. And if you are feeling uninspired watch this video and remember what the human condition is capable of. Happy days.

words and photos: David Shillinglaw - NowhereNorth {moscomment}

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