Urban Art Association

Really big stencils, another approach (TIPS), by thebleedingedge on Jun 21, 2008 2:55:02 GMT 1, I know this might not have occurred to some stencil heads out there but I thought I'd let you know about another approach to putting REALLY large stencils up. I have done this on three occassions, it's a good method and I'll try explain why at the end.

The usual approach to really large stencil pieces is to join lots of smaller ones together. That is a good approach but you lose some of the efficiency (and appeal) of the stencil because you have to take lots of stencils with you, which means stashing the stencils you aren't working with and having to run back and forth with stencils all night. It also means you have to use a smaller area than your stencil medium so that you can have a border to prevent overspray and maybe allow for reference cuts.

That's all good but there is a simpler way... wheatpaste. We all know cutting paper is 1000 times easier than cutting foamcore/lino/cardboard etc. And we all know that you can get away with wheatpasting posters 1000 times easier than anything to do with traditional tools of graffiti (like spraypaint) because it is seen as less of a nuisance. The idea is simple, you cut your stencil on paper, large rolls of paper (you should know where you can get some of that), you walk to a wall and you simply paste your stencil up. Anyone seeing you do this will assume one of two things, that you are wheatpasting a poster of somekind or you are masking the wall off for something that is probably legal (timing and location are important factors if you want to look legit).

Paste the stencil material up, slide it into position, if you have a joiner then it will take a bit of practise, I recommend having the borders overlap for obvious reasons. Once your stencil is up, you look at the areas that are not covered with wheatpaste and you take a brush and water and give em a bit of a light clean, just to make sure the excess wheatpaste is removed, this is especially true with spraypaint (make sure you have a nice all weather paint that can handle a bit of moisture) as bright clean colours might get a bit dirty after the wheatpaste dries and by that time you are long gone. The cool thing about this is that you can use normal paint and a roller to get the job done, which does look a lot more legit to passers by than some kid spray painting, just don't be too rough with it as the stencil can be slid out of position, if you can't figure it out just roller the innermost bits and spray to the border.

Now for the magic bit, and I really shouldn't be doing your job for you here by telling you this, but we all have to start somewhere, this is flat out fucking perfect for a late night hit on a billboard. You get a £2 high vis vest, you cut a smaller clear channel stencil and spray it on the back of the vest and then you go stand out at your billboard and paste your stencil up, roller the rest of the paint on and simply tear down the stencil material when you are done (don't bother saving it but don't dispose of it at the scene). Make sure it isn't a billboard they are changing that night and you should be alright. You can take your time and unless you have done something silly, police won't bother you (if you use a roller you just don't look suspicious, if you use paint then you just look suspicious for about 3% of the total time spent at the location).

Remember roller paint takes longer to dry and be careful when tearing the stencil material down if the paint is wet, strategic joiners make this an easy problem to overcome.