Graffiti artist gets honorary award in the can

An award-winning graffiti artist is in really good temper after being awarded an honorary degree by the University of Wolverhampton. 

Award-winning graffiti artist and aerosolic visionary Arron Bird, aka Temper, has been recognised for his commitment and contribution to art and for his phenomenal success across the globe working with major brands, galleries and creatives. 

Temper began his career in the mid-80s, influenced by Hip Hop music and B-Boy Culture. He did not have a classic art education and academia at school remained challenging with undiagnosed Dyslexia. He concentrated his creative efforts on break dancing, sketching and painting walls. 

Temper’s big break came in 1991 where he was invited to create a commission piece for global super brand Nike. This was the turning point for a young Temper and his creative genius had been recognised by a global business. A commission from Coca Cola quickly followed, where Temper’s design and tag appeared on 100 million Sprite cans across Europe, taking the lemonade market by storm and securing Sprite to the leading sales brand in that sector. Temper and graffiti as an art form was now being accepted by major brands, opening the door for other artists to develop a career and income from aerosol painting. 

Temper moved on from walls to canvas with invites to commercial galleries. Another first for the art form, he remains the only graffiti artist ever to exhibit in a Royal Palace, Whitehall Palace, London.