Made Moon Blog

Stencil graffiti, made famous by Banksy over the last few years, has actually been a form of street art for 25 years. You can apply cardboard, paper or other types of surfaces (such as plastics) to create templated graphics and text. You simply cut around the design from your paper/cardboard/other surface, put said surface onto a wall (example), then spray or roll-on paint.

The basic principle of stencilling is producing outlines via cutting shapes, and spraying paint within these cutout shapes – creating clear-cut images on the surface underneath. It’s also possible to employ multiple layers of stencils to produce an illusion of depth or even add colours.

So why do some people choose to be a stencil artist? For some, it is a great platform to produce a political point. Many artists treasure the PR that their art can receive. Some merely want their art to be viewed. Since the stencil remains unchanged during its use, it is easier for a stencil artist to speedily duplicate what could be an involved piece at a very speedy rate, when compared to other conventional tagging methods, so without doubt, there is also a persuasive promotional reason to get involved with stencilling.

Banksy has used stencilling as a means to make a point, often rather succinctly, providing the witness to get the message themselves. This is oftentimes why people love his artworks so much, as they make the viewer think. The graffiti artwork of Banksy is being reprinted on canvas, t-shirts and posters, such is the popularity of the street artist.