Painting The Steel City

Peachzz is a 27-year-old artist who discovered street art in Sheffield. She started painting when she was at Sheffield Hallam University after being influenced by her group of friends.

“We all went out as a little group and none of us had painted before, which was quite special. There were six of us all learning and we did not have advice from anyone, it was like baptism by fire. We painted all the time, and it was just really addictive,” said Peachzz.

Her favourite piece is an owl that she did years ago near Sheffield Hallam University. In the beginning, painting birds was a way for her to learn how to spray paint and to get used to the medium. She acknowledges that many times she felt frustrated and took days to finish one piece.

But being a woman in a male-dominated industry has never been an issue for her. Neither has the illegality of her passion.

“You have to go to these abandoned places to paint and learn because there is no other way. You have to break the law to learn. I am a very ballsy person, but I can imagine that a lot of women would feel very intimidated and would find it more difficult to get into,” stated Peachzz.

Although she has been very fortunate with her work, she thinks that many young females may struggle to get into this industry.

“People tend to forget that this is the case because they see their own female friends succeeding in this industry, but do not recognise the barriers other women will face. Some women said how difficult being a female street artist was, and how they would regularly have men yelling at them,” reveals the artist.

Fem Sorcell grew up in the Lake District and decided to move to Sheffield on a whim. The vibe of the city and it's artsy background were key factors for her, and Faunagraphic’s work was a powerful inspiration.

“I started doing street art at night-time and I would get one of my friends to come out with me. I just liked putting small things in small places to brighten someone's day on their way to work. It is fun to make people laugh and smile,” said Fem Sorcell.

Ms Sorcell has always been very careful about the places where she puts her work. She makes sure not to damage people’s property.

When she is drawing in the streets, she likes to interact with the public and put a bit of their feedback in her pieces.

“You have kind of just got to be tongue in cheek. People like that and it makes them feel like it is their piece as well. If I am painting for the public, I want to talk to them. Street art is a voice for everybody,” explained Ms Sorcell.

What the artist likes about street art is the faceless side of it and how it prevents the artists from putting an ego to their pieces. For her, it is a balance between this aura of mystery, while also feeding the people’s natural curiosity when seeing her work.

Fem Sorcell said her name was created to “add a layer of intrigue” and identity to her work. It came from the word ensorcell which means ‘to inspire’.

Hannah, 21, also discovered street art when she started at Sheffield Hallam University. She was inspired by the work of Kid Acne, another Sheffield-based artist.

“One of the coolest things I have learnt about him is that he has this series called ‘stabby women’. He wanted to create characters in the street art community that were strong women, cool-looking warrior women, rather than the hyper-sexual, boujee, blingy women you usually see in street art,” said Hannah Radcliffe.

This artist has a different approach to the usual way of painting and creates her pieces using a more temporary medium.

“I like wheat pasting especially because it is quite an easy way into the scene. It feels less illegal because it is less permanent, but it still feels like you are making a change to the environment,” explained Ms Radcliffe.

She has helped Jo Peel paint some of her pieces, who she considers an “absolute hero and a legend,” and has also worked with Florence Blanchard. The latter has a different approach to deal with public’s comments during their work on the streets.

“She hires a lady to stop men shouting at her while she is painting. It is such a massive issue to her. Some of them are nice and just ask her questions but some of them are just demanding her time and she is trying to paint this mural and getting paid for it,” revealed Ms Radcliffe.

A true artist is always striving for more. New locations, new designs, new inspiration. That is the case with Aliss Curtis, who has swapped England’s landscapes for new adventures in Australia.

Although she is half the world away, Ms Curtis does not forget where she comes from. After graduating from Liverpool College, she started getting more into street art and had to learn how to deal with criticism and vandalism.

“Painting a mural is such a challenge, the work is instantly public, people will see and judge it. It will also commonly get painted over, so you cannot be protective or precious, which is a good thing to learn as a budding creative, not to take your work too seriously and that everything is ephemeral,” said Ms. Curtis.

For her, Sheffield is about people and incredible art: “I loved the community we created, how going out making art was always an exciting mission. The variety in paint spots was also ace. You could often go off on a little adventure to find a new spot, but I would definitely say it was the people I met while painting in Sheffield that made it”.