Category: 5. Street Art

1806. Hepburn Road (8)

In the little lane that used to be the drug dealing centre of Bristol until a police clampdown some eighteen months ago is this little door and on it a small piece from Nevla. I’ve not seen any of his work for a while now, so it was good to come across this recently.

Nevla, Hepburn Road, Bristol, October 2018
Nevla, Hepburn Road, Bristol, October 2018

I am a big fan of his cartoon characters, nearly always in black and white and set on a solid colour background. There is a simplicity about the pieces and usually a little bit of cheeky humour about them. If you look carefully, you can see another face by Nevla just to the left of the door.

1805. St Werburghs tunnel (47)

The first time I saw this piece, the bright sun was streaming into St Werburghs tunnel from the right hand side, cutting this piece in two. I had to discard the pictures and return a second time. Fortunately the work, by the fabulous Tasha Bee, was exactly as it was previously and untouched by taggers.

Tasha Bee, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2018
Tasha Bee, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2018

It has been so good watching the development of Tasha Bee over the last year or two and this piece demonstrates how far she has come. I am starting to notice a lot more tone and shading coming in to her work, giving her characters a more rounded look. This I believe is one of her finest to date…the colours work really well, especially the yellow which offsets the blues and purples. Looking forward to seeing more and I know I won’t have too long to wait.

1804. New Stadium Road (9)

Top Cat, the most effectual Top Cat…

One of the most enjoyable cartoons of my youth was Top Cat, and seeing this piece by Deamze sent me into a long and deep reminiscence, which culminated in watching quite a bit of Top Cat on the Interweb. I was saddened to see the updated productions, which really weren’t a patch on the originals.

Deamze, New Stadium Road, Bristol, October 2018
Deamze, New Stadium Road, Bristol, October 2018

The chrome sets this piece off really well and the dustbin looks perfect, especially in this rather grubby setting. Deamze’s writing is in his really tight angular style, bookended by the bin and TC himself.

Deamze, New Stadium Road, Bristol, October 2018
Deamze, New Stadium Road, Bristol, October 2018

The character is nicely sprayed, as you would expect, but is difficult to capture on film due to the glare glancing into the tunnel. The pieces in here are always hard to photograph. I guess it is best to come here on an overcast early evening. Great nostalgic piece from Deamze.

1803. The Bearpit (163)

This is just the best, best, best cheeky piece I have seen in ages. Beautifully simple but incredibly engaging. You’d have to have a heart of stone not to have a little smirk on your face seeing this on your way to work in the morning.

Face 1st, The Bearpit, Bristol, October 2018
Face 1st, The Bearpit, Bristol, October 2018

I have said before how much I am enjoying the diversification of Face 1st’s work these days, and this piece has to rank high among my favourites. He told me the day after he painted this (when I was buying a couple of small originals from him) that he started off doing full length figures 18 years ago before conbcentrating on the faces that he paints.

Face 1st, The Bearpit, Bristol, October 2018
Face 1st, The Bearpit, Bristol, October 2018

It is very rare to see any kind of nudity in Bristol street art, which is quite strange really, because it seems to be quite common place in other street art hot spots around the globe.

1802. New Stadium Road (8)

I haven’t seen anything from Run Z for a little while, so it was good to come across this great abstract piece in the little foot tunnel in New Stadium Road. This is a favourite haunt for Deamze, Soke and Voyder, but others come here too.

Run Z, New Stadium Road, Bristol, October 2018
Run Z, New Stadium Road, Bristol, October 2018

Run Z always brings something refreshing in his work as it is unlike most of the rest of the street art in the city. His patterns and exceptional colour choices set his work apart from the writers and character painters. He joins the small band of abstract artists whose work I love to see.

1801. Moon Street (56)

Rezwonk likes this doorway, and is enjoying getting to grips with his letters – R E Z W O N K – which he has been using recently, with particular great effect in his collaboration with Subtle a few weeks back. This work looks particularly time-consuming, but is worth it. This kind of work reminds me a little of the work of LA, a New York graffiti artist, in his collaboration with Stik.

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

I have seen more of this work by Rezwonk scattered about the place and will post it in due course. I think he should use it in collaboration with one or two more artists in Bristol as I think this particular approach really lends itself to it.

1800. City Road (9)

Oh I wish I had got to this piece before it was partially ruined by the chrome throw ups. At least they had the decency to leave the face intact. This is yet another gorgeous piece by Face 1st , whose work is reaching a new level both in terms of quality and quantity. One can barely move for new pieces.

Face 1st, City Road, Bristol, October 2018
Face 1st, City Road, Bristol, October 2018

I particularly like this one for its overall pleasing shape and colours, but it is the attention to detail on the background that I really like in that autumn brown. It is a nice gesture too that he includes a little ‘Happy Birthday Eleanor’ in the top right – I love it when street artists do this.

I met up with Face 1st last Friday and bought three small pieces from him and I am so utterly chuffed with them. I will be giving one to Scoojette for Christmas and I can’t wait. More fantastic work from this lovely artist to come.

1799. St Werburghs tunnel (46)

With his style so unlike anything else in Bristol, it is easy to pick out Object…’s work wherever he places it. This piece in St Werburghs tunnel features a distorted humanoid monster – a thing of nightmares – doing something, although I’m not too sure what. As with all his work Object… has a real sense of physiology and plays with proportions and muscles and limbs – the art of the possible.

Object..., St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2018
Object…, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2018

Themes in his work often reflect the unfairness in our society and he tirelessly represents the rage felt by many at injustice. He is probably the most politically motivated in Bristol and his agonising plays out in his work. Tortured, compassionate, angry and sad, his work carries with it huge emotional investment. All good.

1798. M32 Spot (29)

I can honestly say that the artist who most represents Bristol and its youth culture for me is Silent Hobo. With consummate ease he seems to be able to switch seamlessly between commissions and ‘legal’ walls, between indoor and outdoor work, all the time seeing the good in others.

Silent Hobo, M32 Spot, Bristol, October 2018
Silent Hobo, M32 Spot, Bristol, October 2018

This wonderful column piece is one of a few that he has done at the M32 spot, an area where skaters like to gather when it is raining, and where DIY Bristol have created a great skating area under cover of the motorway. This youth reflects all those who gather here, clutching his beat box (what I would call a boogie box) and sporting a beanie. I love the serenity of the piece.

1797. Moon Street (55)

I like surprises. Perhaps this is why I like photographing and writing about street art, because around every corner there could be another surprise. These days, when I visit Moon Street, I don’t expect to find anything new because turnover has slowed to a very gentle trickle. It was great then to see this rather lovely piece by Epok a couple of weeks back.

Epok, Moon Street, Bristol, October 2018
Epok, Moon Street, Bristol, October 2018

This piece by Epok doesn’t quite conform to his usual angular and geometric style, instead yielding to curvy legible piece of writing. It is always good to observe the range of an artist’s talent, and I think this is a marvelous tangent from his norm. Nice to see a high-quality piece on this wall which has gone slightly to the dogs.