Stencilling has actually been around for 25 years, even though many people think Banksy contrived it. You can employ cardboard, paper or other types of media (such as plastics) to create templated imagery and text. You simply cut around the shapes from your cardboard/paper/other surface, put then place this surface against a wall (for example), and roll-on paint or spray into the cut-out shapes.

In essence, the process of stencilling involves applying paint across a stencil to form an outline on a surface below. Sometimes multiple layers of stencils are applied on the same image to add colours or give the image some depth.

So why do some people prefer to be a stencil artist? For some, it is a great platform to put across a political point. Other artists treasure the PR that their art can obtain. Some just want their art to be seen. As the stencil stays uniform throughout its use, it is far easier for a stencil artist to promptly repeat what could be an involved piece at a very speedy rate, when compared to other conventional tagging methods, so without question, there is also a persuasive self-promoting reason to prefer stencilling.

Banksy has applied stencilling as a method to put a point across, often rather succinctly, providing the spectator to work out that very point in their head. This is often why people enjoy his artworks so much, as they force the viewer to reflect on the meaning behind the artwork. Banksy artwork is being reprinted on posters, t-shirts and canvas, such is the popularity of Banksy.

This entry was posted on Sunday, May 17th, 2009 at 9:08 pm and is filed under Arts + Artists, Lifestyle Hub, School of Tuition. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.