‘Pete the Street’ has made numerous trips to Glasgow since Banksy’s 2023 exhibit Cut and Run, and creates his artworks in the moment, and in all weathers too.
West George Street in the city centre(Image: Pete Brown)
A Bath-based artist who is currently going round Glasgow painting some of its streets after being inspired by a Banksy-themed trip up to the city. Well-known street scape artist Pete Brown (aka Pete the Street) has been back and forth to Glasgow countless times now (with more visits planned) as part of a series which captures life across the city.
The 58-year-old artist doesn’t use photographs for his paintings, meaning everything that goes onto the canvas has been painted from his street set-up, no matter what the weather. After painting streets in other big cities, such as New York, London, and Bristol, Pete revealed that it was an interaction with world-famous (and anonymous) artist Banksy which sparked his love for the city.
Pete was asked by Banksy’s team to paint the aftermath of one of his pieces, Valentine’s Day Mascara, which sprang up in Margate in February 2023. His series of paintings of Banksy’s work then appeared at his Cut and Run exhibition in the city’s Gallery of Modern Art (GoMA) later that year.
Pete, from Bath, is painting Glasgow’s streets(Image: Artur Lesniak/Reach)
And it was when visiting the exhibit, and painting the GoMA building, that Pete’s affection for Glasgow began. He told Glasgow Live: “I love painting streets and cities and I’ve been doing it for 30 years – that’s where Pete the Street comes from.
“I just fall in love with places, and I’ve painted a lot of Bath and London and New York last year, but Glasgow I’ve been painting since Cut and Run – it’s what got me up there and got me going.
“I wanted to paint as much as I can, but things got in the way, but now I’m back on it and every other week and I bloody love it, Glasgow is an amazing place.
“I’d been in Glasgow before the exhibit during the pandemic when I persuaded the kids to go on holiday in Glasgow, and I was picking my son up from the station in Glasgow, and I remember being really impressed, which put it in my head.
Newlands Road in the west end(Image: Pete Brown)
“And when the Cut and Run exhibition came along I did some painting in the central area and thought ‘this is a really good city’.
“I did it with Bristol, covering as much of the city, stumbling around and seeing things. I ended up doing a book there and I’ll be doing another one for Glasgow – it’ll be me stumbling around going ‘I want to paint that’.
“I just like coming across places that are interesting, where we live our lives and it’s a real treat.”
So far in his Glasgow series, Pete has gone through multiple southside and west end streets, as he looks to capture the city authentically with his brush, aiming to end at the Barrowlands, creating 50 paintings along the way so far.
He admits though, that he sticks out a little as with his pavement setup, and therefore has attracted attention from locals. However, he’s been blown away by the friendliness, as well at the bluntness, from locals, saying he’s “ever been offered” so many hot drinks by passers by in his career, as he battles the traditional wet west of Scotland weather.
Dalhousie Street to Douglas Street(Image: Pete Brown)
Pete added: “Whatever the weather, the weather is good. I can do ice, I love snow and rain, sun is great but wind is a nightmare.
“Strong wind is the only thing that really stops me, but it’s all about the weather – it can completely change a painting.
“That’s part of the fun. It’s really brilliant going out and people speaking to you.
“On the whole, people are nice and they chat. I’m a bit of a target, I’m at an aisle and I can’t just walk away, but if people ignored me it would be depressing.
“I’ve found in Glasgow people are more likely to talk, which is nice. Amazingly generous too, I get so many cups of tea. And when I was painting at Glasgow Cross I found £4 on my Aisle – people maybe think I’m busking or begging.
“Glasgow has a ridiculously bad reputation, considering how friendly the people are. The ‘People Make Glasgow’ may be a little corny, but that is a good strapline, and I think it’s pretty much true.
“The architecture is stunning, but it’s the people.”
Pete’s latest venture north saw him cover the west end, with his most recent paintings covering the likes of Great Western Road near Kelvin Bridge and Dumbarton Road in Partick.
And despite covering large areas of the city, Pete is yet to pin down a single favourite part of the city.
Glasgow Cross(Image: Pete Brown)
He added: “It was really nice going south of the centre. I loved the Celtic pub in the Gorbals (The Brazen Head), I like that, under the railway line, quite gritty. I like those libraries in old swimming pool buildings, like in Govanhill.
“I like the railway stations too, and even the names of places like Crossmyloof, and high streets too. One of the paintings I enjoyed doing is of a disused primary school in Govan (Broomloan Road Primary School).
“One of the things was the smashed windows and decay can be interesting to paint. It’s a beautiful building and you can still see the boys and girls entrance and it’s very much of the time, and it was once Sir Alex Ferguson’s school.
“Right now it’s sad, but I’m sure one day it’ll become flats, but it’s still a beautiful building. That’s some of the things as a painter you find interesting.”
The individual paintings are all for sale on his website, however, Pete is also creating a book which will feature some of his favourite pieces from across the city.
You can view his Glasgow collection in full online here, and also find out more about his book, which is due to be released later this year, online here.