Buy 'Banksy' Art Online - Urban Graffiti and Banksy Art on Canvas

"Banksy' is the pseudonym of the now world famous UK born graffiti artist. Nobody knows the real identity of the infamous urban artist Banksy, or at least those who do aren't sharing. Believed to hale from Yate, South Gloucestershire, near Bristol, Banksy received worldwide notoriety for his often satirical graffiti art based around the themes of politics, culture and ethics, some of his most famous pieces include 'The Flower Chucker' and 'One Nation Under CCTV'.

Banksy's art is a mix of traditional graffiti styles and stencilling techniques that were born within the Bristol underground scene, featuring striking and often humorous characters mixed with political slogans and the like Banksy's artwork is now much admired and sought after the world around.

The Flower Chucker - Banksy

The Flower Chucker - Banksy

One of Banksy's most instantly recognizable pieces of art has to be 'The Flower Chucker', the image of a man dressed very much like a protester reaching back as if to launch a molotov or perhaps a brick, most likely towards a group of advancing police officers dressed in riot gear. However in place of such a deadly projectile the lone protester prepares to launch a beautiful bouquet of flowers into the fray, replacing violence with beauty.

It is generally believed that Banksy's 'The Flower Chucker' is symbolic of calling for peace. Much like the ideology of 'Make love not war' popularized in the sixties The Flower Chucker demonstrates the power of positive action over those more violent, and perhaps is representative of Banksy's art in general, which uses a dark brooding beauty of its own to attack unjust systems, and those who might seek to control us.

Balloon Girl - Banksy

Mild Mild West - Banksy

The Balloon Girl - Banksy

Another easily recognisable piece of Banksy art is 'The Balloon Girl', featuring the image of a small girl reaching out after a red heart shaped balloon that is seemingly drifting away from her grasp. As with all good art the interpretation is left to those viewing, but what (if anything) does the Banksy girl with a balloon symbolize?

Perhaps it serves as a warning to us all that love is easy to lose, and that if not grasped tightly, it can easily drift out of your grasp. Perhaps the young girl has not accidentally let go of the balloon, but has deliberately turned it loose, as in 'if you love somebody, set them free', is it possible that the balloon girl is not actually reaching after 'love' but is instead waving love goodbye? Or just possibly on a more upbeat note, the balloon (despite the angle of the trailing string) is not drifting away from her grasp, but is floating towards her, and into her outstretched waiting hand.

The Mild Mild West - Banksy

My own personal favorite piece of Banksy art has to be the piece known as 'Mild Mild West', not just because of it's darkly comic cast and striking style, but also because I used to walk past this every morning on a very long walk to work, and it never failed to bring a smile to my face on an otherwise event-less and dreary trek, it just never got boring. Winner of the Bristol alternative landmark vote Mild Mild west features the image of a large teddy bear preparing to launch a flaming Molotov cocktail (no flowers this time) at a group of English bobbies ducking down behind riot shields.

Perhaps Bristols most loved piece of Banksy art Mild Mild West located in Stokes Croft was recently vandalized and defaced with large amounts of red paint thrown across it, an anti-graffiti group known as 'Associated Media' claim to be responsible for vandalizing the piece. Mild Mild West has grown to be a popular tourist attraction in its own right over the last ten years, and I for one hope that this mindless destruction is not irreversible, so that future generations of weary walkers may experience the same brief feeling of elation I felt years ago, as they plod onwards slowly towards jobs they hate, and another day lost, slaving for the man.