If you live in Los Angeles or use Instagram, you have probably seen one of WRDSMTH or Collete Miller’s pieces.
WRDSMTH, a Los Angeles-based artist originally hailing from Chicago, uses stenciling and wheat pasting to craft his images, putting them up from L.A. to Philadelphia and even London and Paris. His staple piece is a typewriter, and almost all of his works include an inspirational quote in a typewriter-esque font.
Shortly after moving to Hollywood in 2013 with hopes of finding a career as a screenwriter, he discovered his passion for street art. Although he sees himself as more of a writer than a painter, he recognizes his prevalence in the street art community. He was named one of The Art of Elysium’s 2014 Emerging Artists and has been featured in countless publications, including Forbes and The Huffington Post.
“I started just wanting to say things to people in Los Angeles that I wish they would’ve said to me when I first moved here. Just positive stuff, motivational stuff,” WRDSMTH said in an interview with Uproxx.
Because his work is street art, a lot of his pieces get painted over by the city or businesses where he left his image. However, he has created larger versions, some of which are on display in art galleries such as The Gabba Gallery in Los Angeles and the Nicole Henry Fine Art Gallery in West Palm Beach, Florida.
“I’m not tagging, I’m not just writing my name. I’m putting up art that I think looks good, that puts a smile on people’s faces. I never expected to make a dime, I just wanted to talk to people and inspire people,” WRDSMTH said in an interview for CMT.
Collete Miller is another well-known street artist, most recognizable for her 2012 creation of the Global Angel Wings Project in Los Angeles. The project involved the painting of wings in public areas in the hopes that people would interact with them and take pictures, thereby becoming part of the art.
Miller’s works have also stretched across the world, and the pictures taken with them have seemed to reach every corner of the internet. Miller moved to Los Angeles in 1999 from her hometown of Richmond, Virginia. She is a visual and performing artist, and was once known as a performer in the heavy metal band Gwar in 1986-1987 before she delved into street art.
Her Global Wings Project meant more to her than just interaction, she wanted to lift people’s spirits and “remind humanity that we are the angels on this Earth,” according to her website. “Los Angeles is the City of Angels, often known for its street art and murals. It’s fitting the interactive street art angel wings project started here,” Miller wrote on her website.
The wings first appeared in Downtown L.A.’s Arts District, but she has since painted them around the world, from Australia to Kenya. Miller selects cities that she believes need some moral uplifting, as “the image of wings as enlightenment, hope, freedom, purity, and flight would be a good thing for people to see and be a part of.”
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