Advertisement
CHRISTMAS SPECIAL: HALF PRICE Big Issue magazine subscription
SUBSCRIBE
Art

Street Art: Ex-homeless Michael's technicolour dreamstates are surreal

The Big Issue's Street Art page gives talented, marginalised individuals an outlet for creative expression

‘PRESS GANGED’

By Michael Crosswaite

“I like how this picture unfolded slowly,” explains frequent Street Art contributor Michael. “I painted the beach scene, the sky, the water, the sand. Then I popped in the boat, but it needed something else. A couple of deckchairs looked real groovy.”

Once homeless in London and struggling with a drug habit, Michael now lives in his own flat and paints as often as he can. His debut exhibition Technicolour Dreamstate at the Outpost Gallery in Islington has just been extended until the end of February; peterbedford.org.uk/outpost

Michael-Crosswaite-Press-Ganged2

Support our street artists over at The Big Issue Shop.

Advertisement

Change a vendor's life this Christmas

This Christmas, 3.8 million people across the UK will be facing extreme poverty. Thousands of those struggling will turn to selling the Big Issue as a vital source of income - they need your support to earn and lift themselves out of poverty.

Recommended for you

View all
Harry Hill, Opake, Real Hackney Dave and more design Christmas wrapping paper exclusively for Big Issue
Christmas Wrapping paper

Harry Hill, Opake, Real Hackney Dave and more design Christmas wrapping paper exclusively for Big Issue

'Love is the most powerful emotion there is': Artist Opake on homelessness, addiction and Christmas
Opake
Art

'Love is the most powerful emotion there is': Artist Opake on homelessness, addiction and Christmas

Fin DAC: 'As a creator of public murals, I aspire to leave spaces brighter than I found them'
Fin DAC
Fin DAC

Fin DAC: 'As a creator of public murals, I aspire to leave spaces brighter than I found them'

'It's art for people': This one-man kayak project shows the beauty of slowing down
Lying down flat in a kayak offers a rarely seen view of the UK’s waterways
Art

'It's art for people': This one-man kayak project shows the beauty of slowing down

Most Popular

Read All
Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits
Renters: A mortgage lender's window advertising buy-to-let products
1.

Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal
Pound coins on a piece of paper with disability living allowancve
2.

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal

Cost of living payment 2024: Where to get help now the scheme is over
next dwp cost of living payment 2023
3.

Cost of living payment 2024: Where to get help now the scheme is over

Strike dates 2023: From train drivers to NHS doctors, here are the dates to know
4.

Strike dates 2023: From train drivers to NHS doctors, here are the dates to know