I am Stephen. I live in Bristol, UK. I decided to shorten my profile...to this: Wildlife, haiku, travel, streetart, psychogeography and my family. Not necessarily in that order.
Well, he’s on fire really isn’t he? Each time I do my rounds of well known street art spots there seems to be a Smak piece lurking there somewhere. This relatively recent one is bang in the middle of St Werburghs tunnel. I am quite pleased that the photograph has come out reasonably well considering the dire light conditions there.
Smak, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2020
This has all the elements of a typically technically brilliant Smak piece. Sensational design and lines, clean and tidy, wonderful 3D and fill work. I’m not sure he ever has a ‘bad hair day’ and if he does, I’ve yet to see it.
This beauty is the second recent collaboration from Dasco and Oseque. I know that Dasco is Bristol-based, but haven’t seen any of Oseque’s work before now, and have kind of assumed that he is not from these parts. I have done a little checking on the Interweb, and as far as I can make out, Dasco is from the Canary Islands and Oseque (José Castillo) is from Granada, but also seems to have a connection with Bristol. Either way, I hope we get to see more from this pairing.
Dasco and Oseque, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2020
The piece itself is a beautifully merged collaboration with the character portrait rising out of the letters. The colours are quite dulled and although really impressive as it is, give the whole thing a low-key feel. Oseque has a way of making his portraits look like they are drawn into a sketchbook rather than sprayed on a wall. Really nice work.
Here he is again, this time half way up a fire escape on the recently disused building at Dean Lane. I speak of yet another rabbit from Nevergiveup (@followmyrabbits), this particular one is painted as a balloon drifting up into the sky.
Nevergiveup, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2020
I think that the artist’s name is a self-fulfilling prophesy. I just wonder if he will ever tire of painting these things. When he first came to Bristol, he used to paint monsters but he seems to have given up on them now. Naturally, many more to come from my archives.
At first glance this picture appears to show only mussels, but take a longer closer look. There are at least six different species in the picture and they break up the regular pattern and dominance of the mussels to create a less threatening and stark ecology. A metaphor perhaps?
Modest and understated, Pekoe just goes about her business from time to time. No fanfare, no fuss and she turns out pieces like this beauty behind the railings on the swimming pool wall at Dean Lane.
Pekoe, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2020
This is the second piece by Pekoe that I am aware of this year, the other was down by the M32. Typically, Pekoe has painted a portrait, this one in three quarter view, with characteristic big hair decrated with rain drops, stars and an unhappy ‘smiley’. Many of her pieces are tinged with sadness which I hope is not indicative of her own state. It is always a pleasure to find her work.
Finding a piece like this magnificent collaboration from PWA artists Soap and Face 1st gives me such tremendous pleasure and confirms for me that the time I spend finding, photographing and writing about street art is time very well spent. These two are capable of creating some magical images and there is a real sense of fun and mischief about these ones.
Soap, M32 Spot, Bristol, February 2020
First up is a sword–swallowing act from Soap in which his mouth character lends itself to a different take on visualising this dangerous act. There are many things to admire here, such as the garland of flowers and the carefully thought out use of blue tones, I particularly like the swirl patterns in the shading.
Joining the two elements of the collaboration is a lovely splat pattern, but it is difficult to be sure which of these two painted it.
Face 1st, M32 Spot, Bristol, February 2020
On the right is one of my favourite Face 1st pieces ever, and that is a very high bar. There is something so joyful about these two giggling girls mischievously spraying each other with paint and there is a balance to it reminiscent of yin and yang. What Face 1st lacks in sharp, crisp lines he more than makes up for in heart and soul. His work speaks to me.
Soap and Face 1st, M32 Spot, Bristol, February 2020
On the one-way top end of Stapleton Road, it would be nice to think that drivers would glance to their right and admire this free art to cheer up their lives, but I bet most wouldn’t even notice it.
One of the most stunning collaborations of Upfest 2018 was this magnificent piece by Nuno Viegas and Tymon De Laat on the side of the Coopers Arms, where the polar bear piece by Andrew Burns Colwill was painted the year before.
Nuno Viegas and Tymon De Laat, Upfest, Bristol, September 2018
This piece was painted in two halves separated by a horizontal strip, a feature of the wall which was put to good use by the artists. The bottom half which features the gloved hand of the character tossing a spray can fat cap is by Nuno Viegas. The detail in the latex glove with paint on it is simply breathtaking.
Tymon De Laat, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
The top half of the collaboration is by Tymon De Laat and presents us with one of his superb trademark portraits, where the face is divided up into different shaded areas in a symmetrical pattern almost as if the subject is wearing face paint. This is such a strong design idea and makes his work istantly recognisable.
Tymon De Laat, Upfest, Bristol, September 2018
This was truly one of the best pieces of the whole festival, and if you don’t believe me go down and take a look while you still have a chance and check out the detail.
Dibz is a Bristol graffiti writer whose work is always first class and beautifully tight. It is unusual to see his writing outside the confines of Dean Lane skate park, but at Upfest 2018 he ventured a little further afield and sprayed the side of the mock railway carriage with one of his beguiling pieces.
Dibz, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Dibz tends to keep quite a low profile with his work, which is often unannounced, and hey presto he works his magic. This upfest piece, by his high standards, I would say is not his best work and I suspect it might have been somewhat comprimised by the changeable weather experienced during the festival. It is however a great piece.
In some of the older commercial buildings in the city there are cellars, and the quickest access to these cellars was from the roadside via doors that opened directly onto the pavement. Perhaps we are most familiar with these cellar doors outside pubs, where the barrels of beer are still delivered through them.
This is just a little selection of these doors, and another little door thrown in for good measure… a little extra if you like.
Here we go:
Cellar doors with the addition of a metal strip and a tag by tagger Pi who seems to have tagged every street in Bristol, November 2019
This first door is the same one as the feature image, photographed a few months afterwards. Spot the difference?
When old meets new cellar doors, Bristol, December 2019No getting away from ‘street furniture’. Cellar doors nicely keyed-in with the stone pavement, Bristol, December 2019Cellar doors including pavement doors for deliveries, Bristol, December 2019Heavy-duty cellar doors, Bristol, July 2019Old wooden and less old metal cellar doors, Bristol, December 2019Old and probably no longer used cellar doors, Bristol, December 2019
And finally a little bonus door, with the emphasis on little.
Small door to under stairs store, Bristol, December 2019
So my friendly doorsters, that’s it for another week. Have a great weekend whatever you get up to.
If you have made it this far, you probably like doors and you ought to take a look at the Norm 2.0 blog – the originator of Thursday Doors where there are links to yet more doors in the comments section at the end.
