Street Art in Chichester

We (my friend Rachel and I) had a lovely afternoon, walking along the Hunston canal into Chichester and then onwards to view some of the recent street art. A really enjoyable afternoon in the most beautiful, sunny weather. England at its best!

Some of the views on the way there...

The Chichester Cathedral from Hunston bridge

Canal boat

Some rowers with the Cathedral in the background

The canal basin

The Street Art in Chichester

You can find out more about the street art by googling it, but this will give you a taster.

Behind the auction house in Baffins Lane is a large scale depiction of two blue tits. It is by ROA, a street artist from Belgium. It is one of my favourites.

(There is a paint spill under the bird's tail that looks like it had a poop. Teeheehee...)

Just to the left of it is a sweet owl by Dscreet, who is from London. The little owl looks cute but at the same time a bit dangerous (sharp tallons, spikey hair and spooky eyes). I like him too. He is on the gate off Baffins Car Park. Michael Wooley, the ex mayor of Chichester required that his gate be painted as a part of the Street Art Festival as he is a great supporter of the project.

There are 15 (supposed to be - I've only seen 2) Mushrooms in different spots all over the city. They are by Christiaan Nagel, as South African artist currently living in London. I am sorry, but they don't appeal to me...

This one is in South Pallant.

A bit further up the road, in North Pallant, is another of my favourite art pieces. Very minimalistic but so expressive!

This one is by STIK, an artist from London. This is what the brochure says: "Stik, who having spent many years homeless and working on the streets, knows the city from the inside and manage  to reach seemingly superhuman locations to paint these highly stylized pieces. These days Stik exhibits in the West End, liaises at Central Saint Martin's "Graffiti Dialogues" with police and councils and is funded to run graffiti workshops by councils and schools. The artist also works with groups as diverse as Amnesty International, Reclaim the streets, Queeruption, Mutoid Waste Company and British Waterways and yet still regularly paints unauthorised pieces around the capital, underlining Stik's status as a key component of both underground and mainstream art scene." So there.

In North Street, on the side of a house, is a fairy tale-like, reminiscent of Fantastic Mr Fox, painting.

The artist is Hitnes (from Jean Spezial from Paris, according to the brochure).

After a rather dangerous dash across the fire station/Metro House roundabout, there are four more art pieces. Unfortunately they are rather difficult to photograph as they are either obscured by trees or another building.

This one is by Thieery Noir, a Frenchman from Berlin. He painted 18 kms of the Berlin Wall. When the city was divided, anyone who approached the Berlin Wall risked being arrested. Painting on the wall was definitely high risk, but in 1984 Thierry decided to transform the wall into a canvas and cover it in bright, vivid colours. He was the first artist to paint continuously, albeit illegally on the wall from 1984 until it came down in 1989. He is a forerunner of the modern street art movement.

Just above the Noir painting is the second Christiaan Nagel mushroom.

Just to the left on the side of the next building, is a rather surreal painting by Liqen, an artist from Spain.

A few close-ups of detail of the painting.

Rather human-looking rats on a roof

Is that a seagull? Very typical for Chichester. Lol 

A little house hidden amongst the 'nosey' smokestacks.

A demon-like creature climbing up the face of one of the human smokestacks.

I like this quirky chimney collection. I bet that bird's bum is boiling. But at least he is stopping the smoke.

Back to the right and past the Noir mural, we find the very clever 'skeleton' or puppet by Phlegm, who is from Sheffield in the UK. It is very unusual, but I quite like this painting.

I did have a little giggle when I saw the binocular eyes...

And on the wall just to the right is an odd legs-and-arms-on-a-face painting by Run, who is from Italy. It is on the wall of the Old Electric Cinema.

I like this bit - his/her signature

There are more pieces that we did not see and I'll make a plan to go and photograph them soon.

We saw a couple more interesting bit and pieces on our way back...

A lovely cat who reluctantly gave us a 'wild cat pose'

Another view of the Cathedral steeple

Some Roman ruins in the Visitor's Centre

Some thirsty cows

Some curious cows

We finished with a drink and a choc ice at the canal basin. It was a lovely afternoon!

Petworth

Petworth is a short drive away from us, but has an awful lot to offer. It is known as the 'antiques shoppers' paradise' as there are plenty of antique shops around. I am not really into that, but still find it awfully interesting to browse the windows for all sorts of authentic, old-fashioned bits and pieces. A walk around Petworth offers a lot of cute nooks and crannies too

Let's start at the top of the town (well, what I consider the top of the town)... at Petworth House. I have never actually gone inside Petworth House and it is on my to do list. It is a 17th century country house and is set in Petworth Park. The entrance to the park is a short drive away and offers a fabulous (free) walk inside an enormous park, complete with deer. It is supposed to be landscaped by Capability Brown but to me it looks pretty natural. Shows my ignorance, I guess!

Us lot on the park side of Petworth House. I am glad I don't have to keep that house clean!

The park is home to England's largest and oldest herd of fallow deer.

The actual house is just on the outskirts of Petworth, but I've only ever seen the rather imposing gates.

St Mary's Church is on the main road through Petworth, just a litte bit further up. It looks to me like a mish-mash of different building styles, almost like bits of the building were added  at different times. I love the eclectic look of it!

In the graveyard some really gorgeous, old gravestones.

One of the clearest (and cutest) examples of windows tax can be found in a house on Petworth square. If you look at the photograph below, you'll see that some of the windows were blocked but painted to look like the windows are still there! (First and third from left in top row and third from left in middle row, I think)

Another example on a different house that made for a very nice artistic photo.

Other bits and pieces that are good to see...

Collection of different buildings and bricks and stone coming together.

A very tall door!

The Petworth Cottage Museum was once the house of Mrs Cummings, a seamstress at Petworth House. The house is set up as it was in 1910. I have not been inside as it was not open when I was there, but the outside is quaint enough.

The outhouse at the back of the garden.

Arundel Cathedral

The Cathedral in Arundel is a real treasure trove! There are many nooks and crannies to explore and lots of beautiful things to see. One overwhelming thought when in the cathedral is always how dedicated the worshippers must have been to build such a magnificent building!

Let's start on the outside... There is a fabulous view of the castle and the cathedral on either side of the town as you approach Arundel, but unfortunately there is no place to stop and take a photo. The next best view is the one from the castle grounds.

The view of the cathedral from the castle grounds.

Above the entrance, the Rose Window and carved figures (I think it is Jesus and the 12 disciples (5 either side of him plus another figure in the pillar - not visible in the photo).

On the inside, you see the magnificent nave.

If you turn around and look back, you will see the Rose Window and the organ.

(Devirani(

Just inside the door, there is a link to South Africa!

Plaque to Peter Madden, killed in action at Nooitgedacht in South Africa in 1900. (Devirani)

The cathedral is called St Philip Howard and the stained glass windows depict him and his wife. I cannot remember all the details of his life, but it has a lot to do with converting from Protestant to Catholic faith and being thrown into prison for it...

(Retha) 

Confessionals (Retha)

Read more about Arundel.