Here we are taking a look at an absolutely stunning addition to Penge by artist Aspire who has previously painted a number of works around town over the last couple of years, but we have to say this one is by far our favourite that he has left in SE20 to date. The work in question makes for 12 paintings dropped around the area over the last two years from Aspire and his largest one to date, with an absolutely stunning depiction of a Barn Owl in a work entitled ‘In a Silent Way’ – a nod to how Barn Owls can fly silently due to the uniquely designed leading edges of their primary feathers. When most birds fly, turbulence, created when air gushes over the surface of their wings, causes noise.

The magnificent design makes lovely use of the space keeping the grey background flowing around the rest of the house, creating a more natural and harmonious dynamic between the space and the artwork. Not only does the scene feature a striking dominant Barn Owl set in front of a captivating dreamy purple night sky and set perched on a tree stump which features elements from all four seasons. A great painting for all year round. One last little detail about this work is that it marks 200 artworks placed around SE20 in the last three years and big thanks to Aspire for marking the occasion with the addition of a conservation tag with a serial number of 200. Truly a captivating scene set in that delicate soft effect that defines Aspire’s own style of ethereal realism which exudes so much life and warmth through his exquisite and vibrant creations.

We would of course like to say a big thank you to the lovely owners of this wall who not only donated the space to project but also looked after Aspire and ourselves so well why took up residency in the garden for the best part of a week. Thanks guys for the support in helping us get Aspire to add something so interesting, beautiful and thought-provoking for the community to enjoy. Thank you to Kevin for all the help with this spot, and shout out to Street Art Atlas & Colossive Press for swinging by while the work was going up. We also of course would like to offer a massive thank you to Aspire for again coming down to Penge to leave some more of his beautiful artwork. This stunning work can be found in Ash Grove, Penge and was placed up with a little support from us London Calling Blog for SprayExhibition20.

The lovely blank canvas awaiting transformation.

Aspire at work.

Aspire at work.

Aspire at work under the stalking eye of the resident Velociraptor.

Aspire at work.

Work-in-progress and a time out with the neighbours cat who enjoyed us hanging around for the best part of a a week.

Aspire at work.

Aspire at work.

Aspire at work.

Aspire at work.

3 years and 1 week to hit up 200 artworks around SE20. Big thank you to Aspire for the superbly placed acknowledgement of the fact.

A night-view of the striking work.