I have been falling in love with artists from the Baltimore area lately. While there are many that I could talk about for hours, a particular artist that has been creating a lot of provocative art is Gaia. His art work often shows personified animals – praying, begging, pleading. Gaia believes that “one of the most important responsibilites of artists who consistently get up in the streets is to forge new frontiers for spots. Finding a beautiful setting to apply the work that is in a neighborhood where Street Art is not generally found is important for a few strong reasons.” One reason is the element of surprise, the arresting moment of discovery when the viewer finds the piece. This is a very different approach than neighborhoods like the Mission in San Francisco or Williamsburg in Brooklyn, where the pedestrian anticipates the encounter.

Gaias meticulous thought process is exemplified in the pleading bear piece above. While his pieces are beautiful as prints or works on canvas, their presence on the streets have been particualrly refined to respond to subtle changes in lighting, location and application. The bear piece is informed by the spring shadows at 5:00 pm in that particular location. The piece is located on Ploy Street in Mt. Vernon in Balitmore, Maryland. As Gaia explains “At this time when the sun sets, the image and the shadow of the adjacent garden behind the gate will mirror each other.”

Keep an eye out for our interview with Gaia. You can see more of Gaia’s work on his website at http://www.gaiastreetart.com also check out his flickr at http://www.flickr.com/photos/gaiastreetart/

Dutch artist FAKE From Amsterdam has been doing graffiti half his life.

Growing up in a grey and boring environment, FAKE felt the urge to bring color to his and other people’s lives and brighten things up. After discovering the power of stencils, he was hooked.

FAKE’s work is some of the cleanest stuff around in stencil mania. His clean work has been in shows all around the world; from Holland, Norway, Denmark and the UK until the US and even countries as Iran.

His work always tells a story about FAKE’s own life. One of his most famous work, FAKE love, tells the story of how love can hurt. Seeing his friends around him being heartbroken by women including him self inspired him to make this artwork.

Fake has been working on the streets for many years and only after lots or requests has put his art on canvas. However, this is not holding him back to hit the streets with his art on a regular basis.