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.
I said that there would be more from Decay, and by gum I am a man of my word. It feels like he is enjoying a new lease of life, and not only with writing letters, but also with his colour selections – less so perhaps in this piece but generally he appears to be using more colours in his work.
Decay, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2019
I think I might have to approach him and ask if he would be prepared to do an interview, because I think his story is likely a very interesting one. Note to self – get of arse and message Decay. More still to come from Decay.
There was a time, and it wasn’t too long ago, when I thought that Soap only ever produced his mushroom-shaped mouths, in a variety of different styles and colours. However, over the last year or so, he has really branched out a whole lot and is doing a lot of writing – it seems many bristol artists are currently doing the same (Decay, Kid Crayon and Tasha Bee has just started too)
In this piece Soap has incorporated his mouths into a rather clever and intricate word SOAP. I love the two triangles that kind of hold the whole thing together and add interest. It reminds me a little of a mint choc-chip…it’s a colour thing.
Another supreme example of gothic graffiti writing from Hire, who seems to have a real soft spot for this left-hand end of wall in Dean Lane. He has sprayed several other pieces here before. Hire used to work quite a lot in The Bearpit, but I haven’t seen anything of his there for an age.
Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2019
This is a bright, confident and strong piece that is impossible to ignore. It screams out at the passer-by ‘look at me’. The letters I think spell out HIRE – I can see it whether it is there or not. He has also written quite cryptically ‘The BF One’ along the base of some of his letters. I have seen BF written before, in fact Hire’s Instagram handle is #hireonebf, but I don’t know what it relates to. He is a man of few words. I’ll have to ask him next time I see him.
Together with Zake (see previous post), Panskaribas is emerging as one of my favourite new(ish) arrivals on the Bristol scene. Both artists are becoming more bold with their wall selections as their confidence grows and it is a great thing to witness. I would continue to describe Panskaribas’s work as cubist doodles in spray-paint with a dash of surrealism thrown in.
Panskaribas, Moon Street, Bristol, March 2019
One can see all sorts of references to various modern art movements in his work, but his skill has been ion blending these and coming up with something quite unique and really unusual in street art. An acquired taste perhaps, but so worth spending time to look at what is going on in these paintings – do I spot some Matisse in here?
From a couple of weeks ago, this is a fine piece from Zake, whose work has definitely come out into the open after a gestation period in the partial light of the columns at the M32 Spot. I often wonder what his characters would look like with the pupils of their eyes drawn in, their absence gives them a somewhat aloof aura, deliberate of course.
Zake, M32 roundabout, March 2019
The happy face, I suspect is about to get a whole load happier judging from the pill on his tongue. I know little of such matters so have to make assumptions. I am really enjoying the evolution and exposure of Zake’s work.
The day I found Banksy’s ‘Rose Trap’ turned out to be rather special for another reason. I had taken a detour from my normal route in to work , and rather than try to return to my normal route, I decided to just meander a little in the right direction. It was a great deceision because only 100 meters or so from the Banksy was this stunning piece by ATM.
ATM, Spring Hill, Bristol, March 2019
I have known about this lynx for some time, which I think it was actually painted in November 2016, but I never managed to find it. Sometimes life just catches up with you, and good intentions fly out of the window. In a way, finding a piece like this without intent is somehow extra rewarding… it is like receiving a gift that you weren’t expecting.
ATM, Spring Hill, Bristol, March 2019
The sensational piece is nestled at the bottom of a very steep and narrow cobbled lane that leads up to Cotham. On his twitter feed at the time, ATM wrote:
This tweet I think tells you how much ATM cares about wildlife, and he uses his art to raise awareness and get people thinking about the world around them.
It is unfortunate that the patches (presumably covering up tags) weren’t properly colour-matched with background, but great that someone cares enough to keep this piece in great condition. Let’s hear it for the lynx.
Natural adventures 