Artist turns city streets into works of fine art
AT 16 years old, Splott-born artist Malcolm Murphy was busy graffitiing every derelict wall he could get his hands on.
Along with a love of hip hop and breakdancing, it was a hobby that led to some close shaves, especially after being caught red-handed by police.
Since then, however, he has changed his style a little bit, and now spends his time turning the everyday streets of Cardiff into fine art.
So far he has painted everything from Adamsdown to Cardiff Bay in his quest to capture the whole city.
For Malcolm, who still lives on the street where he grew up, his aim is to turn the everyday into something beautiful.
Each painting can take up to 40 hours to complete after walking the streets of his home city to find inspiration.
He said: “I want to paint more of Cardiff, as it’s where we all live.
“Everything is there, all the beauty is there, you just have to get it down.
“People are always rushing around with their heads down and not stopping to look about.”
Along with a group of friends, Malcolm was first introduced to the world of art after discovering American graffiti trends as a teenager.
Together they set up their own group named Clash of Styles and would save up pocket and dinner money to travel to Newport Market and buy the traditional aerosol cans not available in shops.
Malcolm, 47, said: “It all started with breakdancing and hip hop when you would see it on TV. Along with the hip hop, graffiti would come with it.
“We would do these top to bottom design walls using the aerosol cans. Generally we would try and copy the American graffiti or put our own twists on it
“We would go out in the early hours of the morning so our parents didn’t know, dressed like ninjas as it was the thing back then.”
However, Malcolm’s career as a graffiti artist was stopped in its tracks after he got caught red-handed by police.
He said: “I got caught by the police. It was a big no-no back then, it was breaking the law.
After joining Penarth company Swift Neon as an apprentice, Malcolm soon fell in love with the craft of traditional sign-writing.
Since then he has painted hundreds of signs across South Wales’ pubs, clubs and shops.
Nowadays, Malcolm spends his time painting rides on traditional fairs, and dabbles with oil paintings in his spare time.
He said: “I’ve always loved the style of the old masters like John Constable and LS Lowry and admired their work.
“I just started copying them in my spare time.”
You can see all of Malcolm’s paintings on his website.