Category: 5. Street Art

1298. Raleigh Road, vector (21)

I have said it before (and I have said that before too), but I will say it again – I am really enjoying the work of Elvs. Having only comparatively recently established who he was, I seem to be finding a lot of his work, either contemporary or in my archives.

Elvs, Raleigh Road, Bristol, January 2018
Elvs, Raleigh Road, Bristol, January 2018

This is a recent piece in Raleigh Road that really stands out. The fade of shading through the piece is masterful and I rather like the yellow frame and green patterning that his letters ‘ELVS’ are sitting on. The pink and black accents lift the edges of his letters expertly. A fine piece of writing.

1297. The Bearpit (118).

It is great to see the reappearance of these bunny rabbits in The Bearpit. Having spent a while populating Bristol with monsters, NEVERGIVEUP has returned to his rabbits, which were the first pieces of his that I became aware of last year.

NEVERGIVEUP, The Bearpit, Bristol, January 2018
NEVERGIVEUP, The Bearpit, Bristol, January 2018

These stylised rabbits are clean and characterful and always add a litlle bit of fun to The Bearpit.

It is becoming increasingly clear that The Bearpit is suffering once again from a drug and drink problem, with quite a sizeable community of homeless people gathering here with the cold weather. By no means are all homeless people drug addicts or alcoholics, but The Bearpit is a bit of a honeypot for both, which creates a slightly uneasy atmosphere at times. The long term solution has to be to do something about the housing crisis and providing these homeless people with a roof over their head and some dignity. From there they can try to stitch their lives back together. Sadly they will be persecuted as being the reason places like The Bearpit are ‘no-go’ areas rather than being a symptom of far greater problems created by extreme austerity.

The rabbits bring a little happiness.

1296. Upfest 2017 (130)

John.Dot.S comes from Romania and sprays these figures dressed in aluminium. Often he includes an environmental theme, or encourages the viewer to see the piece and live in the moment. CCTV cameras are a popular motif or emblem for street artists and often represents a healthy dislike of overbearing societies, of ‘big brother’ states.

John.Dot.S, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
John.Dot.S, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

This is a beautifully executed work which I believe is a stencil in greyscale. It is rekarkable how many greyscale pieces there were at this year’s festival. A fine fine piece from an artist I have not seen before. It would be good to see a return visit from him this year.

1295. Upfest 2017 (129)

Unmistakable, this piece is from our very own street art mega-star, Inkie. In Bristol, he is pretty much a household name and is recognised not only for his amazing street art work, but also for the stunning designs he produces in his studio. Many of his prints hang on the walls of Bristol homes.

Inkie, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Inkie, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

At Upfest, Inkie was supposed to have a different wall, but for some reason he didn’t take it, and Dzia did an extra piece (the robin) instead. This was where Inkie ended up, in a back yard that is fenced off. A few intrepid visitors found it and went round the back of the yard, and saw that the gate was open (probably for the festival only). There have not been many images of this piece, even though it is still there. A beautiful example of his work, so clean and an example of wildstyle writing at its best.

 

 

1294. Upfest 2017 (128)

There is no way that these photographs do this extraordinary multi-layer stencil justice. The subtle layering and shading in the piece are so skilfully prepared and executed. This is a technical marvel by a lovely artist called P0G0 who produced one of the most memorable pieces of Upfest 2017.

P0G0, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
P0G0, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

The greyscale piece is offset by the scarlet fingernails of the subject and to finish the piece off P0G0 has added some hexagons in pastel shades…again in contrast with the rest of the piece.

P0G0, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
P0G0, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

P0G0 is one of the true gentlemen of the street art world, a warm and humble fellow who was happy to chat for a long while and who agreed to do an interview with me. Because his written English is not too good, he said he would be happier to do a face-to-face interview, but the logistics of doing so are tricky. So maybe a telephone interview would be best or perhaps I can grab him for half an hour if he makes it to Upfest 2018. A memorable piece and artist.

1293. Upfest 2017 (127)

This is a gorgeous piece by Majilina that if I am honest I don’t recall very well from the festival itself, but have had time to scrutinise from the luxury of my PC. The two killer whales or orcas are beautifully framed in a decorative circle and black background, with the purples lifting them off the surface. There is something here that reminds me of 23Magpie’s work.

Majilina, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Majilina, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

Rather than interpret her biography I offer her profile from the Upfest website:

The artist majilina was born in South Tyrol, Italy. Her art circles around lively and colorful portraits of different types of animals. During her training as a visual designer her skills in craftwork and painting began to blossom and she got introduced to urban art. Currently, she focuses on painting big scale murals, always refining her techniques and gaining new levels of expressiveness. As one of the only known female deaf artists in mural art her paintings are a true inspiration for all of us and especially for other deaf people to have the courage for big life time goals.

 

1292. Upfest 2017 (126)

This was an Upfest piece that seemed to divide opinion…a bit of a ‘marmite’ work, you either love it or hate it. It is an installation piece by Id-Iom which contains several 3D elements protruding from the work.

id-iom, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
id-iom, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

While photographing the piece during its creation I noticed that the trees in the background created brilliant hairstyles for the faces…an unintended addition which I think added to the overall piece. When I pointed it out to the artists, they didn’t seem to see the funny side, and just got on with the work.

id-iom, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
id-iom, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

Looking at the equipment that they brought along, there would seem to have been an immense amount of thought and preparation that went into this piece. I can’t say that it was my favourite at Upfest, but it was one of the more stimulating works that attracted more thought than most. These two are unconventional and like to push the boundaries.

1291. Bristol, various

I don’t often post work by people I don’t know and I rarely write about taggers, so this might come as a bit of a rare surprise. I have seen tags by this graffiti doodler all over Bristol, and love the simple style and expressions – I have pictures of dozens of tags.

Unknown tagger, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2018
Unknown tagger, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2018

What was special about these three tags is that they all seemed to appear in one night in different parts of the city, each on a route that I took at some time the following day. Of course the tagger might have sprayed other ones that weren’t on my usual beat, but obviously they had a busy night.

Unknown tagger, Prince Street, Bristol, December 2018
Unknown tagger, Prince Street, Bristol, December 2018

Generally I am not particularly interested in tags, other than that I can identify a few of them, but there is something more to these ones. Not so much tags as little characters. All three have since been painted over.

1290. Small Street (1)

On my walks to Leonard Lane in the city centre, the walks I really enjoy, I usually come face to face with this hairdresser’s shop as I get spat out of the lane and into Small Street. Every time I go there I forget to take a picture, but not this time.

Mr Penfold, Small Street, Bristol, January 2018
Mr Penfold, Small Street, Bristol, January 2018

The shop front is by Bristol designer Mr Penfold, who does quite a few design commissions in and around the city. Every now and again he also does a street art piece, but that seems to be a bit of a rarity these days. This is typical of his modern, fresh design work and certainly brings some colour to this rather unexceptional frontage.

1289. Raleigh Road, vector (21)

Well here we have a fine piece from RAW’s Smak in Raleigh Road. His wildstyle writing realy is out of the top drawer and this work really showcases his skill. set on a blue background, which was probably prepped for this paintjam, his subtle blue lettering is lifted by the yellow and red accents and of course by the cheeky mushroom skull character.

Smak, Raleigh Road, Bristol, January 2018
Smak, Raleigh Road, Bristol, January 2018

I fear that this set of pieces may be some of the last at this site, which has hosted some remarkable work over the last 18 months or so, but the building work is nearing completion and it will not be long before the hoardings come down. We need some new sites to make up for it.