Nikon Small World Competition

Varmland, Sweden (by Kasinphoto) 

Varmland, Sweden - by Jan Bedoire

I’m feeling very nostalgic today. Hope to be visiting this place again in the near future.  

Originally trained as an architect Argentinian artist Francisco Diaz, aka Pastel, started painting on the street in 2001. In an era of increasing concern about the relationship between art and gentrification Pastel is reinterpreting what it means to paint on the street, telling Athens Street Art Festival he sees his work as “urban acupuncture.” “Modern cities are full of ‘Non-places’ because of irregular and not inclusive master-planning. So, paintings are a kick-start for those places, working on the local identity and not acting as a tool of social gentrification.” With work that always attempts to respond to the specific location this large floral composition painted in Säffle, Sweden for “Artscape 2017, Värmland” warms the side of a residential building on the bank of the Byälven River, creating a lush connection between the simple architecture and its idyllic waterside setting.  @pastelfd  @artscape_festival