I’m really proud of this one: It’s a collabo with I AM.

this is what it looked like before we painted!

In the above pics, you can see the view of it from the ground, and also from the Williamsburg bridge- It’s such a fantastic spot!

I’m a wannabe. A never-will-be.

Like the vast majority of people who have EVER strived to be a part of graffiti culture, like anyone who has ever tried to carve out a place, to earn a rep and make something out of their name- I wasn’t born in the right place or time to be a part of the first, great movement. Like the majority, I was too late and somewhere else.

We graffiti pilgrims still travel to our mecca, our holy city, but even if I went to NY now to bomb the city, it wouldn’t be like it was. It’s not like the pictures in Subway Art or the shots of Style Wars. That’s all history.

And yes, that doesn’t mean I can’t be a part of the resilient scene happening now in NY, to say nothing of the great, powerful scene happening right here and now in my hometown of Toronto.

But, to be honest, I don’t think I’ll ever really achieve either. I’ve realized that I don’t have the extraordinary level of dedication to the graff lifestyle- or the willingness to potentially sacrifice everything else in my life- that’s needed to be a king.

So I’m a wannabe. I’m not a writer. I don’t have enough style. I’m not a bomber, I don’t have enough ups. Yeah, I make a new work for every weekday, but that’s nothing compared to what a bomber might produce. They might do my monthly output in one night- easy. I’ll never go all city or have a throw up or tag on every other street, alley, or rooftop. And yeah, I’ve tagged -I still do- but I’m not even truly a tagger. Only police (or people from outside the culture) would ever really call me a tagger.

Don’t get it twisted, though. I’m no toy.

Just a wannabe.

These are a wannabe way for me to “get up” big in New York. To see a bit of my dream “realized”.

I’m calling these wannabe windows. Mirrors are a supposed to be a reflection of the soul, a window into the souls desires, no?

I really like them.

They are like a real-world, real-time photoshop you achieve by shifting your perception slightly.

Extra paint…
Ships losed from their moorings capsize and then they’re gone

sailors with no captains watch a while and then move on

and an agent crests the shadows- and I head in her direction

all roads lead toward the same blocked intersection.

I am coming home to you,

with my own blood in my mouth

and I am comning home to you,

if its the last thing that I do.

HEY SHIT

It’s another Memorial Monday!

Norman James Breakey was born on this day -February 25- in 1891.

He was a Torontonian inventor- that should have been rich and famous.

He invented the paint roller, for pete’s sake. Before him everyone used brushes! Can you imagine?

His invention was one of those absolutely brilliant inventions that was just waiting- almost needing to happen. Unfortunately, he became a victim of his ideas brilliance when everyone else eagerly ripped it off, and he didn’t have the money to defend his patent.

He died without fame or fortune.

What more fitting tribute to him than a roller graff of his name in the city where he lived?