Spray Paint – How To Make Your Mark
You know how they say nothing in life is free? Well, that’s not true. Graffiti art can be. All city-dwellers have to do is keep their eyes open to enjoy it. Graffiti art has been around since ancient times, with examples dating back to Ancient Greece and the Roman Empire. But today, we are going to focus on more recent history. Namely, the history of spray paint.
The first spray paint patent was filed in 1949 by Edward Seymour. Seymour’s patent was for a “spray coating device” that used compressed gas to atomize paint particles on whatever surface it was used on. Seymour would go on to sell his invention to a small company named Binks Manufacturing Co., who used Seymour’s idea to create a more durable spray gun for car companies looking for a cheaper way to paint cars than were available at the time. They called their invention the “Binks Model 77 Spray Gun.”
In 1963, Krylon released their first spray paint product, known as “Cover All,” which promised better coverage and faster drying time than competing products. In 1968, Krylon released one of their most popular
In a time before he was the Rod Stewart we all know and love, Rod was a busker. He had been in The Ray Davies Quartet and Steampacket, and after their breakup he started busking on the streets of Paris.
He would play for long hours, and usually made enough to get by. When asked about his busking days, Rod said this in a 1984 interview with High Fidelity Magazine: “I used to play [busking] when I was young, when I used to go out with Long John Baldry. We went to Paris for three months and we used to play on the Champs Elysees. I just loved it. Then I went back in ninety-one and did it again.”
This blog is dedicated to all those who have spray painted their mark.
For over 75 years, the most important tool in a graffiti artist’s arsenal has been their spray paint. From the cans used by the first graffiti artists to tag New York City subways and bridges in the late 1960s to today’s high-tech graffiti art, spray paint has always been a key element of graffiti art. Rod Stewart is a blogger and writer who has written about graffiti art history since 2009. In this blog post, he discusses the history of spray paint and how it was used by early graffiti artists. He also discusses how the technology behind spray paint has changed over time
Rod Stewart was a busker on the London Underground in the early 1960s. Rod Stewart, busker.
I’d like to see that.
Rod Stewart in his trademark tartan shirt, singing with his trademark raspy voice into the microphone of a tape recorder. I’d like to see him with his guitar, strumming and singing “Oh! You pretty things” or “Boom boom.” Rod Stewart as he begins his 50-year career of making rock music, before he is ever signed by a label.
Rod Stewart, Rod Stewart, Rod Stewart. Rod Stewart. Rod Stewart and his friends. Rod Stewart doesn’t know what he wants to do with his life. He’s 16 years old, just out of high school and working as a busker on the streets of London. “I was sort of running around London, living rough and sleeping in hostels,” he tells me over the phone from LA. “It was pretty much a complete mess.”
If you’re rich or famous, there are certain mistakes you can make during your teenage years that will be quickly forgotten by the time you enter adulthood. Badly applied haircuts, regrettable clothes choices, a few broken hearts – these things become funny stories at dinner parties with other rich or famous people. But for everyone else, growing up is a more precarious process. Many people still carry around the deep imprints made by their teenage selves long after their teenage bodies have been swapped for adult ones; those three or four years in which we’re figuring out who we are can have an outsize impact on the rest of our lives.”
Rod Stewart’s first band, the Dimensions, was a busking outfit. They only ever played one gig – walking down the street playing as they went.
“We used to hang around the station at night and play ‘What Do You Want To Make Those Eyes At Me For’,” said Stewart, “and we’d go up to people and ask them for money.”
Stewart played in several bands – Shotgun Express, Steampacket, Jeff Beck Group – before becoming a global star with The Faces. He recorded his first solo album, An Old Raincoat Won’t Ever Let You Down, in 1969.
“The busker is the first rung on the ladder of stardom.”
This is Rod Stewart’s opinion, an opinion that was formed during his early days as an amateur. He began performing in public at fifteen, and continued to do so until he was twenty-three. At the start of this period he sang on a regular basis at Eel Pie Island, a riverside pub in Twickenham.
He was never a professional busker, but his fame has brought him back to the streets several times. In 1980 he performed for half an hour outside Piccadilly Circus tube station, playing guitar with a couple of friends. The resulting publicity enabled him to raise £15,000 for charity.