A few weekends back saw Street Artist Ant Carver out in Dalston creating his latest mural, with one of his beautiful and colourful portraits placed up on the outside wall of the Tina We Salute You Cafe along King Henry’s Walk, Dalston. Ant Carver’s style is very distinct, comprising the colourful background taking an abstract form, constructed from an elaborate process of being built up with spray paint and then deconstructed with smudges and even partly phased out with primer. It is on this platform that Ant sets to paint the detailed portraiture by brush with acrylic paints on the street. His grey-scale realistic portraits sit so well on the fluid and colourful base he composes, creating that striking effect of the beauty to be seen among the chaos. What we love most is how with many of the pieces, the eyes on the subject appear to be looking directly at you as you stand before the work, creating that sense of connection between viewer and subject.

Ant Carver at work.

The striking finished piece.