A bustling city filled to the brim with all the conveniences of modern life may sound exciting. But in reality, urban living is highly monotonous where city dwellers engage in their day-to-day, repetitive routine and typical job. In most cities, street art has become increasingly popular as more and more graffiti artists try to enliven the demanding and humdrum way of life in the urban areas. Jamie Paul Scanlon, popularly known as JPS on social media, incorporates creativity and humor into his graffiti hoping to convey positivity and bring smiles to those who see them.
JPS is known for his amusing graffiti featuring pop culture characters often accompanied with clever puns to bring some giggles to everyone. His creations are usually found on walls, sidewalks, public stairs, wall lamps, trash bins, and anywhere that could serve as a canvas for his fun street art. Then he brings his paintings to life by making them appear to interact with their surroundings. There’s Superman lifting an entire house with a single hand, a mountain climber on a sidewalk rock, and the drummer Muppet jamming on a manhole cover drum.
Fun Street Art That Cleverly Interacts With The Surroundings
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Currently based in Bavaria, Germany, JPS was born and raised in Weston-Super-Mare, a seaside town in North Somerset, England. He spent the majority of his early years in Birmingham where he studied graphic design and honed his artistic talent. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to finish the course because government funding for college had stopped.
For a living, he worked as a shoe repairer and key cutter. By this point, he started dabbling in light drugs which eventually led to a crack-cocaine addiction. When two of his closest friends were murdered in separate events, he drowned his misery in alcohol and drugs.
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Just as his life hit rock bottom, his friend named George invited him to visit Banksy’s Bristol museum in 2009. Little did he know that the invitation would change his life for the better. George has been very interested in street art and when he showed him the exhibition of stencil art, it rekindled his passion for the art.
He began cutting stencils and practiced using spray paint. While he had found his way back into arts, he also had to quit his addiction for him to get his life on the right path.
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His road to full recovery wasn’t an easy one, in fact it was quite a rollercoaster ride for him. Penniless and no place to go, he ended up sleeping on the roof of an abandoned building. When he woke up that morning, he found himself standing atop the ledge of the roof, thinking about jumping off. But something within him wasn’t just ready to end it there.
Something inside him wanted to prove that he wasn’t a loser and something great awaits him if he chose to live on. He followed that tiny voice and returned to his mom to seek for help.
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He started weekly counseling sessions with an addiction councilor and group meetings to help him get back on his feet. Simultaneously, he continued mastering his street art and developed his own style and technique that made him famous today. He was able to travel around the world to bring his clever graffiti to other countries including USA, Norway, Spain, and Germany where he is now living as a successful street artist.
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Check out our previous post about this talented street artist here.
Source: Instagram