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On November 4 and 5, Los Angeles street artist Teachr completed a brightly colored mural consisting of some of his most iconic stencil imagery on the Carlsbad Art Wall (CAW) on the east facing wall of Señor Grubby’s in the Carlsbad Village.
The sun shined surprisingly bright considering the forecast for rain. A few clouds tumbled, but Saturday morning began warm and pleasant.
A large figure stood at the base of the Carlsbad Art Wall staring at the recently buffed canvas. His eyes scanned while his mind mapped out a preliminary composition. Suddenly, as if a schoolyard dare shouted from the bare wall, the visiting artist stepped back and darted to his vehicle.
He returned with a box of spray cans, each as bright as the colors you find sprayed on the roadside asphalt mapping the underbelly of a city.
Teachr instantly grabbed an orange can and began spraying the outline of a giant letter, beginning where the grass-less dirt meets the wall and extending into the apex high overhead.
Working outward from the initial letter in both directions, Teachr continued with additional outlines, ultimately spelling an abbreviated version of his moniker, which is also his plea to local and federal governments to end education budget cuts.
The fresh scent of spraypaint caught the attention of many passersby as Teachr quickly covered the entire wall. The word TEACH became consumed by a vibrant abstraction of over-saturated shapes.
The sloppy white buff paint bled through the top of the wall reminiscent of the many past walls, electrical boxes and billboards Teachr has painted across the urban Los Angeles landscape. Old layers, cracking paint and peeling wheatpastes are the surfaces Teachr frequents—and this aesthetic followed him to Carlsbad.
A large grin found Teachr’s face as his put the final touches of his colorful background. He shared that it is rare for him to paint leisurely, freehand and on a large scale as many of his LA pieces are unsanctioned. Just as soon as Teachr found the tranquility of a permission piece, the shriek of a nearby siren snapped him back on guard.
The first day came to an end with an edgy background completed in a palette of insanely bright letters, shapes and freehand experiments.
Teachr returned to the wall Sunday morning while the early clouds burned off in the awakening sun. Along with the Carlsbad Art Wall mural event, the Carlsbad Street Faire began its early morning setup. 100,000 attendees started to fill the Village streets as the nation’s largest single day faire kicked into gear—the perfect opportunity for Teachr to do what he does best.
Teachr is known for remaining on top of the street art game for many years, being one of the most prolific street artists of our time and for developing a signature stencil technique, but many consider his desire to teach his creative process as his masterpiece. Teachr documents and shares each project on social media teaching aspiring artists all of his tricks. With 100,000 in the Village, Teachr could not pass on the opportunity to share his signature stencil technique with each and every one of them.
A large tarp was placed at the base of the wall. Teachr disappeared, but quickly returned with dozens of old stencils cut over many years, each one preserved through an ingenious stencil and mesh technique.
Rather than limiting himself to the traditional stencil technique of “islands” held in place by “bridges”, Teachr has introduced screen mesh and glue to his stencils allowing him to cut freely while maintaining design. Not only does this technique allow him to cut in more detail, but it preserves the stencil after use and during storage.
On occasion, a stencil artist will go into the archives to bring an old design back to the streets, that is, if the stencil survives the initial spray. Luckily, Teachr’s technique preserves even the most detailed designs.
The ephemeral nature of street art can vanish masterpieces at any moment. Weather, gentrification or urban “beautification” projects usually eliminate art placed in the urban environment. For the Carlsbad Art Wall, Teachr decided to bring back some of his favorite pieces, ultimately creating an urban retrospect mural showcasing designs that once lived in the LA streets.
In addition, Teachr provided an opportunity for the thousands of passersby to experience his creative process and stencil technique. Dozens of stencils hand picked from his archives were placed on the large tarp exhibiting his masterful arsenal. Inquisitive onlookers were given the opportunity to help spray stencils on the wall and others delved into the stacked designs questioning the artist’s inspiration.
A collection of portraits sprayed in black quickly spread across the wall. Teachr sprayed a faint white background behind some portraits, while others let the vibrant colors of the background shine through.
Teachr’s goal is to make his message heard. His passion pushes his talents and the well-being of his young twins motivates him. With a can and stencil in hand, Teachr strives to convince the importance of his messages on the most viewed canvas in the world—the streets.
Click HERE for photos of past CAW murals
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Started in March 2015, Carlsbad Village based artist Bryan Snyder will be bringing a street artists/muralist every 2 months to paint a mural on the east facing wall of Señor Grubby’s in the Carlsbad Village.
Click HERE for photos of Snyder’s street art workshop: August 8
The goal of the Carlsbad Art Wall is to serve as a conduit between aspiring artists and professional artists, to provide a platform to engage and educate the Carlsbad community in the creative act of large scale public painting and to introduce a variety of new art and creative processes to the Carlsbad community.
Directions to the Carlsbad Art Wall located at Señor Grubby’s
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