Category: 5. Street Art

2101. Nelson Street (9)

Kin Dose (part1)

I am struggling to write this post, mainly because I am lost for words at how very good the mural by Kin Dose, just off Nelson Street in the centre of town, is. In my view this is a worldie and we are honoured and privileged to see a wall of such beauty in Bristol.

Kin Dose, Nelson Street, Bristol, March 2019
Kin Dose, Nelson Street, Bristol, March 2019

The whole scene is of a beautiful geisha under the shade of a paper parasol gracefully holding out her hand upon which a splendid kingfisher sits. This is close to street art perfection, and were it not for the bloody wheelie bins, which I attempted to move, it would pretty much be there.

Kin Dose, Nelson Street, Bristol, March 2019
Kin Dose, Nelson Street, Bristol, March 2019

The background to the piece is composed of layers of graffiti and burners blended into a japanese scene of mountains and buildings. There is something similar to the style of PichiAvo in this.

Kin Dose, Nelson Street, Bristol, March 2019
Kin Dose, Nelson Street, Bristol, March 2019

The face of the geisha is absolutely beautiful and not in any way overcomplicated. The flowers cascading from her hair add a real touch of class. The last component of the piece is the kingfisher perching on her hand.

Kin Dose, Nelson Street, Bristol, March 2019
Kin Dose, Nelson Street, Bristol, March 2019

I feel it would be wrong not to point out that the kingfisher is a small bird, and in this piece, ever so slightly out of proportion. But I am nit-picking and I hate myself for it, because this is a truly wonderous piece and really ups the game for the high-end street art talent in this great city. Bravo! Kin Dose.

But it gets even better. Not content with creating one oriental wall on this building, Kin Dose returned to paint a second one a week or so later…see my next post.

2100. The Bearpit (179)

Consistent… a word I would use to describe the work of Decay, and in that I mean consistently good. Of course, this year has seen Decay changing his designs considerably away from his trademark abstract work to writing, and what writing.

Decay, The Bearpit, Bristol, March 2019
Decay, The Bearpit, Bristol, March 2019

This piece is notable for two things: first, it is really neatly done and fits the board perfectly and second, it is something of a rarity in The Bearpit these days and very welcome indeed. A beautifully worked piece with some fabulous attention to detail. Always great to see the instantly recognisable colour palette brightening up the place.

2099. Moon Street (63)

It seems that every artist I write about at the moment is accompanied with the phrase that ‘xxx has been very busy lately’. I don’t quite know what’s going on, but there seems to have been an awakening in Bristol over the last six months or so, and in the four or so years that I have been doing this, I have not quite known a winter so busy. Mr Sleven has also been rather busy and this fine wall in Moon Street is one of several recent pieces.

Mr Sleven, Moon Street, Bristol, March 2019
Mr Sleven, Moon Street, Bristol, March 2019

This is a fine piece of character writing, with the artist’s name interrupted by a girl in a facemask instead of the letter ‘V’. His style is somewhat different from some of the other writers here, who tend to work with much cleaner lines and solid fills, such as Cheo or Soker. Mr Sleven’s work is more organic perhaps, but is no less fantastic for it.

Mr Sleven, Moon Street, Bristol, March 2019
Mr Sleven, Moon Street, Bristol, March 2019

Showing off my ignorance, I’m not too sure what the icon on the woman’s mask is, but it sets the whole thing off nicely. Great to see something like this in Moon Street.

2098. The Bearpit (179)

Right, there is some stuff going on in this piece by Bristol artist HAKA, but I’m not too sure I can enlighten you too much. Obviously there is a Banksy reference here to his flower thrower piece, but instead of flowers there is a baguette. I am assuming that this peaceful rioter is a member of the French movement Gilet Jaune. It is good to see a piece that plays with contemporary cultural influences.

Haka, The Bearpit, Bristol, March 2019
Haka, The Bearpit, Bristol, March 2019

I got lucky when I took these pictures, because there were some council workers doing something with the drain immediately in front of the piece. The man in the picture looks as if he has just stepped out of the wall. He needs to be careful he doesn’t get bonked on the head with a baguette. Nice work from Haka who has been very busy lately.

2097. Queen Charlotte Street (2)

My recent discovery of a Tim Marsh piece, kindly left behind after Upfest 2018, was accompanied by two other pieces of which this is one by Ione, another artist who had visited Bristol for the festival.

Ione, Queen Charlotte Street, Bristol, March 2019
Ione, Queen Charlotte Street, Bristol, March 2019

I have already posted Ione’s official Upfest piece a little while back, a piece that was full of character and an interesting style. This is another in that vein. Looking at it carefully now as I am writing this post, I think that there are two artists involved here, one, Ione, who painted the face and possibly another (Salt?) who painted the vase and skull. I think this might require further investigation.

Ione, Queen Charlotte Street, Bristol, March 2019
Salt?, Queen Charlotte Street, Bristol, March 2019

This brings into sharp focus the difficulty of writing about street art, but in particular writing about visiting artists whose work one is less familiar with and therefore less able to be certain of. I think I tend to be a little too up tight about being accurate and authoritative, when sometimes it would be wiser simply to enjoy the art in front of me.

2096. St Werburghs tunnel (70)

Last night I missed meeting Subtle by a whisker. I was at the opening night of the Cannon Fodder art show at the Loose Cannon cocktail bar just off Millennium Square in Bristol organised by Jimmer Wilmott and Paul Monsters. I saw Kid Crayon and during a break in conversation went to have a chat with him. He was just saying goodbye to an artist that was leaving. I asked him who it was and he told me it was Subtle… well at least I now know what he looks like.

The art show launch was really well attended and the venue is a good one for this kind of show. There were pieces by several Bristol (and beyond) artists including: Kid Crayon, Decay, Chiba, Silent Hobo, Jimmer, Nol, Guts and Paul Monsters. The artwork was a little beyond my price bracket but actually great value. If you are in the area it is well worth popping in although I’m not too sure how long it runs for.

Subtle, St Werburghs, Bristol, March 2019
Subtle, St Werburghs, Bristol, March 2019

Anyhow, this fine piece by Subtle is a reasonably recent one from St Werburghs tunnel and although quite simple carries all the hallmarks of his fine work. The first picture is a little blurred, thanks to my dog pulling his lead at just the wrong time… it was the only front-on picture I have of this piece.

I’m sure I will bump into Subtle before too long.

2095. M32 roundabout J3 (133)

There has been a recent spate of graffiti writing from Corupt in recent weeks and this is a piece from the M32 roundabout is probably the pick of the bunch.  His work is interesting in that it tends to have quite a wide span from quick and dirty throw-ups to rather more considered and well executed pieces like this one.

Corupt, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2019
Corupt, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2019

Corupt is one of those artists who just likes to get out and paint (I guess that is actually a condition of most street artists). One of the things I have noticed about his work is that he often paints high up, which generally means his work hangs around much longer because most overwriting happens lower down the wall. This is a cheerful and sunny piece looking good in the late winter sunshine.

2094. The Bearpit (179)

More cubist doodling from Panskaribas in The Bearpit. In this piece we see one of his characters at a record deck on a magnificent red pink and white swirly background. I really like his work, especially as it is quite original and unlike anything else in Bristol at the moment.

Panskaribas, The Bearpit, Bristol, February 2019
Panskaribas, The Bearpit, Bristol, February 2019

There is a quirkiness and humour in his pieces and a kind of movement too. Because his characters are not instantly obvious, you have to work quite hard to make out the features which keeps your eyes busy dancing around the whole piece to make sense of it. Loving the work of Panskaribas.

2093. Lawrence Hill roundabout (6)

It seems that I have been a bit of a latecomer to the Lawrence Hill roundabout tunnels… well you can’t be everywhere can you? Although most of the graffiti in the tunnels is nothing to write home about, there are a few decent pieces, including this wonderful collaboration between Tasha Bee and Face 1st.

Tasha Bee and Face 1st, Lawrence Hill, Bristol, February 2019
Tasha Bee and Face 1st, Lawrence Hill, Bristol, February 2019

I like it when these two collaborate as their preferred soft-tone colour pallets and line drawings match so very well – there seems to be a good fusion of styles, which can’t be said for all collaborations. Peace and love.

2092. Brunel Way Bridge (13)

What a fabulous piece under Brunel Way by the distinctive Sepr. I love his work, which is so easy on the eye and has a strong retro cartoon feel to it. Part of an ASK paint jam, this piece features a dog in a smart suit performing with a little human glove puppet.

Sepr, Brunel Way bridge, Bristol, March 2019
Sepr, Brunel Way bridge, Bristol, March 2019

Sepr’s work pretty much always raises a smile and is always of such high quality. It is easy to see his tattoo artist roots in his clean lines and original designs. Truly one of Bristol’s very best artists and he keeps on turning out outstanding work.