Category: 5. Street Art

1546. Dean Lane skate park (134)

In Dean Lane, there is a fence which separates off the skate park from the council swimming pool. The wall here is a bit of a free-for-all and there really are no rules, apart from the fact that it is less legitimate than the main walls of the spot. To access the wall you first of all need to scale the fence…not for the feint-hearted.

Oner, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2018
Oner, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2018

I have not seen any Oner work in Dean Lane before, and this might be one of his first adventures to the site. I like the cartoonish style of this burner and the colours are uplifting. It is neat and tidy and has clean lines. I do like it when he spends a little bit of time on his work – sometimes his burners can be a little rough-and-ready.

1545. Dean Lane skate park (133)

A week or two back it seems Elvs hit the town with at least three pieces of which this was the second. This one was on the long wall at Dean Lane. The subtle and toned-down writing is in marked contrast with the scarlet backwash which brings the whole piece to life. I’m not sure the impact would be the same on a dull background.

Elvs, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2018
Elvs, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2018

Elvs offers another reworking of a successful style and two things stand out for me. First is the vertical graded shading of the piece which is graduated from bottom to top, and second is the central vanishing point which is central to the work of Elvs. A fine piece.

1544. Leonard Lane (16)

I know nothing about Hank. I haven’t seen his stuff before, or at least registered it. This slightly curious piece is in Leonard Lane and I am not too sure if the top and bottom half even belong together. The signature at the top would suggest that they do.

Hank, Leonard Lane, Bristol, June 2018
Hank, Leonard Lane, Bristol, June 2018

I’ll be on the look out to see if there is any more from this elusive artist.

1543. Moon Street (46)

I don’t think  that there has ever been a time when I didn’t enjoy finding a new Laic217 piece and this one is no exception. The work is in one of his favoured spots in Moon Street and fits the frame of the doorway perfectly. There is a sinister element to the piece with the eyes missing and the scarf obscuring the face – I would expect nothing less.

Laic217, Moon Street, Bristol, June 2018
Laic217, Moon Street, Bristol, June 2018

I have mentioned many times before that Laic217 has developed his techniques a great deal over the last few years especially the different materials worn by his characters. In this piece the handkerchief tied around his neck has folds that disrupt the pattern on it, a nice touch.

Laic217, Moon Street, Bristol, June 2018
Laic217, Moon Street, Bristol, June 2018

Three hallmark signs mark this out as a Laic217 piece…The bucket hat, the smiley and the distorted face. They just keep coming.

 

1542. Upfest 2017 (175)

This is one of my favourite stencils from one of my favourite stencil artists (although he has moved more into freehand work), Dice 67. The painting features his daughter Izzy wearing a hoodie, gold skirt and pink wellies. Izzy has her own fine work to the right of the feature image.

Dice67, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Dice67, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

This was not the main Upfest piece from Dice 67, rather it was a bit of a bonus, sprayed on a vacant board from a no-show artist. All good.

Dice67, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Dice67, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Angus with extras from Dice 67, The Bearpit, Bristol, April 2017
Angus with extras from Dice 67, The Bearpit, Bristol, April 2017

1541. Upfest 2017 (174)

The unmistakable face of Johnny Rotten.

When I asked some artists from the RAW crew about who painted this they told me it was by the legendary Turoe (Turo). Now, I have come into this rather late, the last 3-4 years or so, and I find it quite difficult penetrating the street art world that predates my interest. Because of this, there are many gaps in my knowledge and this was the first time I had seen work from the artist.

Turoe (Turo), Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Turoe (Turo), Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

The entry for Turoe in the Upfest programme simply reads “Old school Bristol graffiti legend”. Further reading in the book ‘Children of the Can’ (Bristol graffiti and street art) by Felix Braun confirms his standing as a major player in the Bristol graffiti and hip hop scene.

Turoe (Turo), Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Turoe (Turo), Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

The work itself is beautifully done, which screams punk rock. It is interesting that before the eyes were completed the punk rocker is reasonably generic, but with the eyes it could only be Johnny Rotten. Nice piece.

1540. Upfest 2017 (173)

One of the more academic and mind-blowing pieces at Upfest 2017 was this absolutely stunning classical style piece by Mezla. I managed to catch up with him while he was painting this piece and he said that he was supposed to be using the boards down at Ashton Gate, but that he found the music just a little bit too loud for his liking, so he crossed over the road and found this wall.

Mezla, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Mezla, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

I absolutely love the way he has combined abstract work with some life form, and the subtle shades and colours are perfect. This really is one of my favourites from Upfest 2017 and is so very different from pretty much everything else on display.

Mezla, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Mezla, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

I don’t think I can praise this piece highly enough. His Upfest biography reveals how he started off as a writer but has moved on since.

1539. Upfest 2017 (172)

Well, well, well, the gifts just keep coming. Regular readers will know that I have only recently discovered the wonderful art of Pekoe and I have featured her work a couple of times in the last month. It turns out that while I was going through another batch of pictures from my Upfest 2017 archive, I found this piece by an ‘unknown’ artist who I now know is Pekoe. I love it when this kind of thing happens.

Pekoe, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Pekoe, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

Her Upfest piece was definitely one that caught the eye and is rather more polished than some of her street work – it is a festival after all. She sticks with the female portrait formula that appears to be her preferred subject matter. I am reliably informed by Gary, the art blogger that this wea actually a collaboration piece with Mr Sleven and DNT.

Pekoe, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Pekoe, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

Pekoe is a talented Bristol-based artist whose work I am just getting to grips with and I certainly want to see a whole load more. Looking forward to it. Worth a quick peek at her Linked-in page too.

1538. Upfest 2017 (171)

Wheatpasting is not as popular in Bristol as it is in other parts of the country, so it is a real treat at Upfest, when a (whatever the collective noun for wheatpasters is) descend on the city and cover just about every utility box with paste ups. Foremost among them is Face the Strange.

Face the Strange, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Face the Strange, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

Most of his work has reasonably everyday scenes of people looking like models from a catalogue but with something weird obscuring their face. Face the Strange was going through a fruit phase during Upfest 2018.

Face the Strange, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Face the Strange, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

However he is not a ‘one trick pony’ and this fun piece has a hamburger for a head. I love the Burger King packaging rip-off with his name in the ‘sandwich’. Things are good when FtS is in town.

1537. Dean Lane skate park (132)

One of the great joys of trawling through my archives is finding pieces that were never posted because the artist was unknown to me. Fast forward to the present day and I have since discovered the talent and feel like I know a little more. So it was with this old one from Tash Bee back in July 2017.

Tasha Bee, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2017
Tasha Bee, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2017

I liked the piece enough to photograph it, but then it sat dormant in my archive until now. Liberation. It is signed with a large B, but I didn’t know that was her signature back then. This is another serene piece beautifully put together by an artist who is fast rising up the tables of my Bristol faves. Same about the evening sun and shadow.