(Photos: Marina Chetner)

Brooklyn is certainly an artist enclave and it's always amazing to see the variety of artwork you can see by simply walking down the street.  Writer/blogger Marina Chetner depicted the beauty of Williamsburg street art in her post Williamsburg, Brooklyn: Outdoor Art Gallery and we loved it so much, we just had to get her permission to repost, so check it out.

On any casual stroll around Williamsburg, I always notice pops of street art. And by art, I mean posters, stencil drawings, stickers, logos, and murals as opposed to erratic graffiti that may be perceived as vandalism. Whether it is around a street corner; on a wall of scaffolding that may have presented itself as a blank canvas to an aspiring artist trying to make a political statement; or, right at your feet, on the sidewalk – there’s always a new find that demands a second look.

Despite a recent surge in popularity amongst the Manhattan set as the ‘it’ place to be (especially for Sunday brunch), Williamsburg has experienced exponential growth since the 1990s and continues to be a key influencer on the art community. Its proximity to the City, only a stop away on the L subway, with the added advantage of large loft spaces, lower rent prices and an alternative to Lower Manhattan’s art scene had proven attractive enough for artists, who migrated across the Williamsburg Bridge and revived an otherwise ailing neighborhood some twenty years ago. The area is still home to studios and galleries, and street artists.

That said, I am still in awe of the restraint of Williamsburg’s street art, in that it isn’t overly done, compared with other places in the world such as Berlin, London and even Melbourne, Australia. Until then, I expect to be surprised with stumbling upon the unexpected.

More street art can be found on my previous blog entry: Williamsburg’s Street Art.

Here are some recent finds. Enjoy.