Taunton street artist Sam Gaden amazes town

The giant mural, which features a sneaker-wearing apple holding a can of spraypaint, has won praise from across the town after artist, Sam Gaden, posted the finished piece on Facebook.

The 41-year-old spent days carefully crafting his magnum opus and it seems like Taunton can't say enough good things about it.

It is deserving recognition and a long time coming for a talent who spent his youth running afoul of the law when spraypainting under the Obridge link tunnels in the early Nineties.

"We were always getting in trouble with the police when we were younger," Sam says.

"We had nowhere to paint so we used the tunnels and got picked up by officers all the time. The council never wanted to press charges against us, but strictly speaking it still wasn't okay, it just seemed like a waste of everyone's time."

Sam, who says he had a pencil in his hand by the age of just three, stuck with his passion and has spent much of his adult likfe trying to change people's perceptions of street artwork.

Over the years he has worked with the local council to legitimise the practise and was approached by them to create a subway enhancement project.

He said: "We now have a thriving scene in Taunton and several areas have been legalised. Chip Lane, owned by the late Richard King is one of those places and we got the tunnel down through Lambrook legalised as well.

"A lot of people come from out of town. We have writers (artists) from places like Bristol and Tiverton, but people come from all over the South West and sometimes even further afield. If you go down into the tunnels, the art changes fairly often.

"We try and show respect to one another by only going over pieces that are quite old or something that has been written on. There is a code. It is important to respect one another."

Sam and a handful of artist created the crew, Fresh Rotten Apples, a small collection of writers which has changed over the years, but which has the aim of doing their town proud.

He said: "We do this for Taunton, it was important we had a name that represented our town. It has been brilliant to have had such positive feedback from local people about this latest piece.

"I’ve received so much love from shop owners, and passers by alike.The young are saying 'that’s sick mate', and older generations saying 'proper job we love it'.

"I’m proud to bring something positive to our town.

"Big up all the horn tooters and everyone who stopped by to show the love.

"I'd like to thank The Grove Group which owns the building for their support as well."

Sam now runs his own business called Aerosol Art, which he decided to set up after getting numerous commission requests via Facebook for him to create pieces for childrens' bedrooms.

He said: "It got to the point where I was getting one commission a week so I thought I'd better set a proper business up.

"I travel across the South West delivering business murals and things like that. 

"I never thought my life would turn out this way and that I would be able to do this as a living. I was always told 'you'll never make a career out of art'.

"Now I get to go around and do youth work and projects in schools where I can tell kids that it is possible.

"It means a lot to me to be seen positively in the Taunton community. A lot of people moan about the town and say there's not a lot to do.

"I am trying to promote local events and make people realise what this town has to offer. I want to do my bit to promote it."