Category: 5. Street Art

2046. Upfest 2016 (164)

A rare treat indeed, getting to see John D’oh in action at Upfest 2016 finishing off his five piece stencil. How on earth can this have languished in my archive for so long? I just don’t understand it. It is great to use this trawl to share it with you now.

John D'oh, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
John D’oh, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

The theme of the piece is getting connected, or at least that is how it comes across. John D’oh tells us in his recent book that the piece features friends of his to whom he pitched the idea of them talking into cans with the string between them spelling out his name. It seems to have worked out well.

John D'oh, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
John D’oh, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

The way that John D’oh frames these pieces makes them look a little bit like a cheesy girl’s comic from the 1970s, like Jackie (I only know this because my sister had a subscription). Kevin Bacon I think is included because of his links to the EE advertising campaign which has been running for a few years now.

John D'oh, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
John D’oh, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

Rounding things off is a sublime stencil of the wonderful Jeff Knight, my local Big Issue seller. An all round excellent Upfest piece.

2045. Upfest 2016 (163)

When I saw this back in 2016 I was still at the early stages of learning about the street art scene in Bristol (in fact I am still learning every day) and I knew little about the RAW crew and the artists constituting it. While it is obvious that the character on the right is by Jaksta (the medallion gives this away) the writing is less obvious.

Jaksta and Ware?, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Jaksta and Ware?, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

It looks like the letters say WARE to me, but here I am showing my ignorance because I don’t know the artist at all. The writing is beautifully executed and I love the musical notes sitting on the midway line on the blue letters. A really nice piece of street art for the festival.

2044. Upfest 2016 (162)

Going back through my pictures from Upfest 2016 I am left a little puzzled by some of the pieces that I failed to post. This work by Diff looks rather like a studio study as much as it does a piece of street art. A silhouetted woman wearing a bowler hat surrounded by pink yellow and white bubbles.

Diff, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Diff, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

Although not necessarily one of Diff’s best pieces, there is an air of grace about it and some care and attention to detail has gone in to the bubbles, especially where they overlap.

2043. Upfest 2016 (161)

The big news for 2019 is that there will be no Upfest this year, the organisers have decided to have a fallow year to regroup and hit 2020 with renewed vigour. What this means is that I might be able to catch up a little on Upfest pieces passim that still need writing up. I am starting this batch of 2016 pieces with work from, I think, Douglas Trodge.

Douglas Trodge, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Douglas Trodge, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

I have looked all over the Interweb, but I cannot find a Douglas Trodge, so am unable to write anything further of any use here. The two cartoon portraits are rather unusual and certainly memorable… way too good to sit in my archive forever.

Douglas Trodge, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Douglas Trodge, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

I might have to do a little more research on this piece.

 

2042. The Bearpit (176)

Street art is a mysterious beast and manages to catch me out consistently. I don’t know how long Panskaribas has been spraying in Bristol, but having not been aware of his work only a few months ago, I now seem to come across it on a really regular basis. Either there has been a mental block or gap on my part, or Panskaribas has only recently moved to Bristol or started spraying walls.

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

Whatever the reason for this heightened presence of Panskaribas, in my view, it is a good thing. I like his characters with faces sketched out in a cartoon doodle style. There is a simplicity to his work that is oddly sophisticated and I am looking forward to learning more.

2041. Dean Lane skate park (195)

It is such a pleasure to come across something new in Bristol, and visiting artists are always very welcome. This is an easy piece to miss, as it is on one of the ramps at Dean Lane skate park which is easy to walk past while focussing on the larger walls behind. The stencil of Kurt Cobain (from a photo shoot for a hat retailer) is by Cartoonneros, an Argentinian artist who appears to reside in London, judging from his Instagram posts.

Cartoonneros, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2018
Cartoonneros, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2018

Although I have pictures of his work from my London trips, I haven’t yet posted anything by him… but finding this one in Bristol recently might be just the prompt I was looking for to post his London stuff. The stencil itself is nicely composed with a basic black outline and areas coloured to bring the whole thing to life.

Cartoonneros, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2018
Cartoonneros, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2018

The style reminds me a little of Bristol’s Hoax, but only a little. I am so pleased with this find, especially as any art sprayed onto skate walls become scuffed very quickly and this still looks relatively fresh. I hope Cartoonneros makes another trim to the west of England again soon.

2040. Moon Street (60)

So very simple, but so very effective. This is a Rezwonk motif that he sprayed back in November last year, and it is still there (or at least it was earlier this week), untagged and just as brilliant as the day he created it.

Rezwonk, Moon Street, Bristol, October 2018
Rezwonk, Moon Street, Bristol, October 2018

Sometimes less is more, and this small piece definitely makes more of this tatty doorway than the amorphous tagging that lies underneath. Great design, striking colours, and enough ambiguity to make it interesting. Nice one.

2039. Dean Lane skate park (194)

Long before Bristol became inundated with Nevergiveup’s jolly bunny rabbits, there were some rather more moody, sinister even, rabbits lurking in dark corners. They were the creation of fellow Polish artist Hire. A little while back, Hire sprayed a few of these at Dean Lane, and this one with those scary eyes was, in my view the pick of the bunch.

Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2018
Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2018

I haven’t seen any of his work for a little while now, but that is the name of the game… artists, just like the rest of us have peaks and troughs in the spare time they have, and maybe Hire is in one of those troughs. I really do like his rabbits, they have an edge to them.

2038. M32 roundabout J3 (127)

On sitting down to write a post about this Elvs piece from the M32 roundabout I have come to realise that I know virtually nothing about the artist. I know about his work and love the intricate lettering which usually has a vanishing point somewhere behind the piece, but I have never met him nor do I even know where he comes from. This secrecy is quite common amongst some street artists and is completely understandable… however it does lead to an awful lot of waffle filling the column inches.

Elvs, M32 roundabout, Bristol, January 2019
Elvs, M32 roundabout, Bristol, January 2019

This particular piece includes some pixels which might be a little nod of recognition to Aspire, but then again it might not. It also looks a little bit like there is a tide line on it, where the bottom third looks a little washed out. This effect is heightened with the wet pathway below the piece. Great work from this DBK artist.

2037. Lawrence Hill roundabout (3)

It would appear that Soap is a happy man these days, or at least his mouth motif has a joyous demeanour which may or may not reflect the artist’s own disposition. It is noticeable though that his recent pieces are all a lot more expressive and smiley than some of his older work.

Soap, Lawrence Hill roundabout, Bristol, February 2019
Soap, Lawrence Hill roundabout, Bristol, February 2019

This is a colourful and nicely embellished piece that screams out laughter and fun and is definitely a welcome addition to the rather drab tunnels at Lawrence Hill roundabout. I really like the squiggle decorations around the piece which might be Soap’s original tag. Good work.