Scottish artist Angela Thouless’ passion for urban art was sparked during her first trip to Amsterdam in 2012. In the neighborhood of Spuistraat, home to a community of creative types, she took countless pictures of decaying buildings and graffiti, traveling there almost every year to renew her repertoire. What attracted her was the impromptu and transient nature of street art as well as its multiculturalism, as many artists would come from outside the country to make murals. Her series of spray can tribal mask paintings was inspired by a workshop Thouless led in her home town of Aberdeen, during which she painted on old spray cans. The suite is an exotic and luxuriant array of tribal masks incorporating elements from African, Asian, and South American traditions. The masks are depicted on spray cans and surrounded by lush patterns of plants and animals. The series has a distinct metropolitan feel and celebrates diversity through a message of unity: we are one species and one tribe.
Thouless earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Drawing and Painting and Master’s Degree and Postgraduate Diploma in Art and Design from Robert Gordon University’s Gray’s School Of Art in Aberdeen, Scotland. She exhibited widely in the UK as well as all over Europe and North America. She is the owner of TribeAll, which designs t-shirt collections of tribal masks from all over the world. As a designer, Thouless participated in the Aberdeen and Milan Fashion Weeks. Her work appeared in publications such as Elle Decor, Red Magazine, and House & Garden.
ANGELA THOULESS ON
African Spraycan 1, 2022
Acrylic on Canvas
16” x 12”
Boruca Costa Rican Spraycan, 2022
Acrylic on Canvas
16” x 12”
Boruca Snake Spraycan, 2021
Acrylic on Canvas
12” x 10.5”
Costa Rica Spraycan 1, 2021
Acrylic on Canvas
16” x 12”
Owl Boruca Spraycan, 2023
Acrylic on Canvas
16” x 12”
Panther Boruca Spraycan, 2022
Acrylic on Canvas
16” x 12”
My work draws inspiration from the urban environments and street art of European cities. My spray can painting series incorporates the vibrant palette and compositional elements of graffiti with the aesthetic of tribal masks from various parts of the world. With this, I wish to celebrate the wonderful diversity there is in this world, while promoting a sense of togetherness. Despite our many differences, we are all one beautiful tribe.
ORIGINAL ANGELA THOULESS ARTWORKS ON
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