Don’t see a lot of $10 billion dollar bank notes?! Well. You weren’t in Zimbabwe in the 2006-2007 time frame then! Not understanding the basics of how economy works, they just kept on printing bills with higher and higher denominations. The bills are more collectable as souvenirs, and an upstart artist from Norway used them as little mini canvases to showcase his stencil and spray paint skills. They can be hard to display due to their diminutive size, but speak to the financial impact shark hunting has on the fragile ecology of our ocean systems. (I have a $50 trillion dollar bill somewhere, too!)

You may have see a couple other works I have posted from this artist. This paining, about 28” x 28” is all created with intricate hand-cut stencil and spray paint. He is known as one of the greatest stencil-masters in Japan. Lucky to have this special piece on my bedroom wall.

Proving that simple can still be complex, emotional, and poignant. Otto Schade is an England-based street artist in muralist. The simple, but powerful, image is beautiful and moving. It is an original stencil and spray paint on canvas painting that adorns my office wall.

This post is a pivot away from sports collectibles and more of focus on art. If you’ve seen my previous posts, you know that I’m an avid urban art collector. I have a number of art prints, but I’m really trying to consolidate my collection into original paintings and pieces of art. This particular piece is from an artist in the UK named Opie. He does a lot of stencil and spray work, but also buys old paintings and up cycles them by adding his own elements. In this painting, a beautiful sailboat is in the background and being whitewash over. This is a very meta-inspired piece as most graffiti and artwork, despite being beautiful, in England is quickly painted over by the city government. This particular piece has even more personal interest as Tampa Bay is known for a large pirate themed festival called Gasparilla. Think: pirate theme Mardi Gras. This probably hangs up in my office at work.