Category: 5. Street Art

1392. M32 Spot (17)

I posted my first piece by Nevla about a week ago, and this is the second. Fortunately, I have a whole bunch more I can share, now that I know who the artist is.

Nevla, M32 Spot, Bristol, February 2018
Nevla, M32 Spot, Bristol, February 2018

His cartoon style is something quite different and refreshing in Bristol as well as being really distinctive. His characters are usually framed by a red or blue border and tend to be black and white, almost as if he has drawn the cartoon using a flip chart and thick black marker pen. It is a pity that he favours tunnels, because the light is always poor and photographs dishonest.

1391. M32 roundabout J3 (71)

A nice quick one from Mr Draws, which was to mark the arrival of storm Emma, one of a couple of snow events that hit the UK and Bristol during March this year.

Mr Draws, M32, Bristol, March 2018
Mr Draws, M32, Bristol, March 2018

I like this piece, it is modest and unassuming, but contains some lovely little details inside the dull chrome letters. As ever, always good to see Mr Draws’ work.

1390. M32 roundabout J3 (70)

A few weeks back there was a bit of an informal paint jam at the M32, with artists from Swansea, Cardiff, Tiverton and Taunton all represented. I managed to be there at the right time and photograph the artists at work. The interesting thing for me was that most of these artists/graff writers were completely new to me.

Amoe, M32, Bristol, February 2018
Amoe, M32, Bristol, February 2018

This is a lovely piece by Karm Amoe from Cardiff. He has a website, but it doesn’t say too much and appears to be incomplete, so I really don’t have too much information on the artist.

Amoe, M32, Bristol, March 2018
Amoe, M32, Bristol, March 2018

There is something very pleasing about the form of his letters, and the colours he has selected are outstanding. The swirly pattern at the base of the piece and white at the top adds some real class. Nice to be able to see something new (to me).

1389. Dean Lane skate park (116)

Another Laic217 piece, this time on the long wall at Dean Lane which was sprayed at the same time as the NEVERGIVEUP piece just to the left. Both artists are part of the vibrant community of Polish street artists in Bristol, which also includes Hire and Skor85. It is nice when they work together.

Laic217, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2018
Laic217, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2018

This is only a small piece, but what a fabulous piece it is. I particularly like the folds in the leather (PVC?) jacket the skeleton is wearing. Laic217 has been improving so much over the last couple of years, but it is his understanding of materials that has really developed…his skeletons parading an extensive wardrobe. I look forward to seeing one wearing a fur coat…a challenge.

Laic217, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2018
Laic217, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2018

Laic217 has been busy lately, which is always a good thing in my book.

1388. The Bearpit (126)

Going back just a little, I found this unusual collaboration between Decay and Dirtystreetart. QI know a lot about the former and have posted a lot of his work here, the latter though is new to me, and I am guessing that he was visiting Bristol.

Decay and Dirtystreetart, The Bearpit, Bristol, November 2017
Decay and Dirtystreetart, The Bearpit, Bristol, November 2017

I think this collaboration works really well, Decay adding some green to his usual red white and black abstract work fusing brilliantly with the photorealistic ant in the middle of the piece by Dirtystreetart.

Decay and Dirtystreetart, The Bearpit, Bristol, November 2017
Decay and Dirtystreetart, The Bearpit, Bristol, November 2017

I was pleased to get this shot of the piece, because it didn’t get to hang around for too long before getting sprayed over. I’m not sure if these two have collaborated before, but I think this works well, and I would certainly like to see more from the pair.

Decay and Dirtystreetart, The Bearpit, Bristol, November 2017
Decay and Dirtystreetart, The Bearpit, Bristol, November 2017

Having just checked out Dirtystreetart on the Interweb, it turns out he comes from Cheltenham, as does Decay, before he made his home in Bristol, which would go some way to explaining this collaboration.

 

1387. Allen Street, New York (3)

Perching high above the bustle and noise of Allen Street is this magnificent and regal lion by Sonny. It really is an outstanding piece and one of my favourites from my trip to New York.

Sonny, Allen Street, New York, October 2017
Sonny, Allen Street, New York, October 2017

This is the second piece by Sonny I have featured from this trip, the first was a tiger in SoHo. His work in both these pieces has woven in patterns and colour to a quarter of the portrait that looks so natural and part of the animal itself.

Sonny, Allen Street, New York, October 2017
Sonny, Allen Street, New York, October 2017

This piece, and indeed this street, should be on any street art hunter’s wish list.

1386. Mulberry Street, New York

Oooh, I love New York, and so it seems does Invader. Deep in the heart of Little Italy in SoHo this magnificent pixelated mosaic by the great French artist resides above a clam restaurant. The piece was given a helping hand by the LISA (Little Italy Street Art) project.

Invader, Mulberry Street, New York, October 2017
Invader, Mulberry Street, New York, October 2017

I have only ever seen a handful of Invader pieces in the flesh, and this one is quite the largest. A magnificent present for those who like to keep their eyes open.

Invader, Mulberry Street, New York, October 2017
Invader, Mulberry Street, New York, October 2017

1385. Bowery, New York (2)

Very close to where we were staying in New York was this large and imposing piece by the fabulous Shepard Fairey. The style is austere and seems to bear a resemblance to totalitarian state propaganda branding or dystopian future movie motifs such as in ‘the hunger games. The sentiment though is for the people.

Shepard Fairey, Bowery, New York, October 2018
Shepard Fairey, Bowery, New York, October 2018

I rather like this highly designed corporate look, and it certainly is a striking piece that yells out at passers by.

1384. Dean Lane skate park (115)

Getting back into the groove with some more contemporary work. This is a recent piece by Laic217 on the curved wall in Dean Lane skate park. He did a similar black and white piece here in July last year, just before Upfest.

Laic217, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2018
Laic217, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2018

This time his skeleton character, rather than holding a spray can is shouldering a ghetto blaster (which I recently called a boogie box in a previous post)  – booming out the lyrics ‘ice ice baby’ by Vanilla Ice. Seeing this, I just had to go onto YouTube to remind myself of the video, which features a lot of graffiti in it. The video is terribly dated (already) and the song itself so incredibly reliant on a great riff from Queen underpinning the whole thing. It is a catchy tune though.

Laic217, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2018
Laic217, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2018

I don’t think I will ever tire of Laic217’s work – it somehow feels representative of the whole Bristol scene – an overseas artist who has settled here and is really becoming part of Bristol’s new wave which is vibrant and exciting, but sits comfortably alongside the longer established street/graffiti artists. There is room for everyone here.

Laic217, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2017
Laic217, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2017

1382. St Werburghs tunnel (18)

Photograps taken in St Werburghs tunnel are a real challenge. The colours are yellowed out if you don’t use a flash, and when you do use a flash (a non-sophisticated one like I use) you get horrible reflections obscuring the art. This piece by Fiver (Fiva) looks a bit dreary, but it was far from that in the flesh.

Fiva, St Werburghs tunnel, Bristol, June 2016
Fiva, St Werburghs tunnel, Bristol, June 2016

Fiver is an artist I have featured a couple of times this winter, having not seen much from him for quite a long while. This is an old one, full of charm. I believe the character is Donkey Kong of Nintendo fame. A fun piece.