Leigh984, The creative portfolio of Leigh Spencer

I visited St Margaret`s Underpass in Leicester which in association with GraffHQ, Graffwerk and Leicester City Council has been recently (at time of publication) designated a Legal painting site or "Community Zone"  for artists to create Street Art. In my film I take a look at some of the work on display in the atmospheric location and we see artists like BenZArt working on their pieces as the traffic of the city passes overhead.

I was asked to create a design to feature on a cake and on social media etc celebrating the BBC Radio Leicester Arts show The A Word`s first year on air. The design needed to be simple and easily reproduced with clarity on the icing of the cake so the presenters faces where stylized. The A Word logo created previously by myself was adapted to fit the design and has gained some musical notes to highlight the coverage of new music by local artists that the A Word is also known for.    The end result a cake with my design on top for everyone to enjoy.  Bonus: BBC Presenters. Geeta Pendse And Andy Pierce (AKA: Andy P The Soul Man) hold a card I made wishing the A Word a happy 1st Anniversary on air.

MODS Shaping a generation exhibition at Leicester`s New Walk Museum tells the story of the MOD Scene in 1960`s Leicester & Nottingham including exclusive first-hand eye witness accounts, archive material and unpublished images. The exhibition also celebrates the 40th anniversary of the release of The Who’s cult Mod film, Quadrophenia, and includes items and original 1960’s clothing as seen in the film which has been provided by designer Roger K Burton. My film takes viewers on a tour of the exhibition and some of its highlights, look out for scooters from Leicestershire Alliance Scooter Club and some groovy clothing from the era on the recreated Ready Steady Go stage.

As part of the National Galleries "Coming Home" project well known portraits are "loaned" to the place most linked to the person featured, in this case King Richard III whose remains where famously found under a car park in the city of Leicester in 2012. The (surprisingly small) late 16th century portrait is hung at the New Walk Museum in the city as the centerpiece of an exhibition exploring the story of the King, the discovery of his remains and what these reveal about his life and death. The exhibition in partnership with Leicester Cathedral and The King Richard Visitor Center runs until September 22nd 2019 and is well worth a visit to see this historic portrait in person.

On 16th June Mod scooters and their owners gathered in Leicester`s New Market Square for an event called #Scooterama, The event, which is part of the Revive festival in the city, took visitors back to the 1960`s with a DJ spinning music from the era and all sorts of immaculately polished scooters parked all around the square. Each scooter reflected it`s owners personality and bright colors and chrome mirrors shone in the afternoon sunshine. My film shows a few of the scooters and their owners and attempts to give a feeling of the event.

Designed to advertise an upcoming (at time of writing) Magic show at the Newbold Verdon Library, my poster design uses elements instantly recognizable to fans of stage based magic. the overall design uses the house style I`ve created previously for events at the library with the top hat breaking the border at the bottom to give the design a 3D element. Can you spot the rabbit hiding behind the curtain waiting for his cue !.  UPDATE: The event went very well with the audience entertained by Dave`s comedy and Magic skills a cheese and crackers supper and a magic themed Quiz.     

Now in its 22nd year the Leicester Riverside Festival took place over the weekend of 1st-2nd June, featuring narrow boats traveling along the river, water sports, street food and a wide program of music acts the festival is fun for the whole family. My film features a look around the festival and features the Bill Bailey band on their 'Jazz Boat' an act so synonymous with the festival it would seem strange not to hear their sound in the air during the festival. The rain on the Sunday that I visited did nothing to stop visitors enjoying a day by the riverside.    

A closer look at one of the many artists creating work at Leicesters Bring The Paint street art festival. Insane 51 creates what could be described as 2 in 1 pieces which change depending on which side of RED/BLUE 3D glasses they are viewed through. As part of Bring The Paint the artist created a piece on the GraffHQ building which featured a man firing an arrow and an alternative skeletal X-Ray style version of the same. My video aims to show the clever effect but its thoroughly recommended to witness it in person.