Category: 5. Street Art

805. Raleigh Road, Tobacco Factory (7)

I had had a tip-off, via Stephen Quick’s Instagram feed that he and Hannah Adamaszek would be doing a collaboration at the Tobacco Factory, on the weekend of 13-14 May, so I managed to sneak over on the Saturday to see what they were up to.

Stephen Quick and Hannah Adamaszek, Tobacco Factory, Bristol, May 2017
Stephen Quick and Hannah Adamaszek, Tobacco Factory, Bristol, May 2017

What a treat. Stephen had organised for a few established, up and coming and debutant artists to spray the car park bays during what was a bit of a Bedminster festival. This work is really interesting because it brings together two distinct styles into a synthesis that joins them. The subject matter is the same, but the techniques quite different.

Stephen Quick and Hannah Adamaszek, Tobacco Factory, Bristol, May 2017
Stephen Quick and Hannah Adamaszek, Tobacco Factory, Bristol, May 2017

Stephen Quick works mostly with stencils and Hannah with freestyle paints and spray. It was interesting watching them concentrating on their respective halves of the collaboration.

Stephen Quick and Hannah Adamaszek, Tobacco Factory, Bristol, May 2017
Stephen Quick and Hannah Adamaszek, Tobacco Factory, Bristol, May 2017

It is possible to see that some elements of the original piece obviously didn’t work too well for the artists, so they were removed, for example the purple birds in the background.

Stephen Quick and Hannah Adamaszek, Tobacco Factory, Bristol, May 2017
Stephen Quick and Hannah Adamaszek, Tobacco Factory, Bristol, May 2017

I love the work of both of these artists, and I love the way they have collaborated on this piece. Does it work? I am not sure. Has it enhanced their styles or cramped them? On balance, I consider it a triumph, but it brings into sharp perspective the difficulties of working together. A bit like being married I guess…different styles, a collaboration.

Stephen Quick and Hannah Adamaszek, Tobacco Factory, Bristol, May 2017
Stephen Quick and Hannah Adamaszek, Tobacco Factory, Bristol, May 2017

804. Redland Court Road

Well this was a red letter day, oh yes. The day street art arrived in Redland (although we must not forget Cheo’s mural at Redland Station). Big bold and screaming out REDLAND for all to see.

2Keen, Aspire and Ryder, Redland Court Road, Bristol May 2017
2Keen, Aspire and Ryder, Redland Court Road, Bristol May 2017

This is a magnificent collaboration between 2Keen, Ryder and Aspire, and during its creation I have had the fortune to stop and talk to 2Keen on a couple of occasions, seeing as it is not at all far away from where I live.

2Keen, Aspire and Ryder, Redland Court Road, Bristol May 2017
2Keen, Aspire and Ryder, Redland Court Road, Bristol May 2017

What I did not know is that 2Keen is one of the original Bristol graffiti artists and is held in very high esteem indeed by his peers. This is the first piece of his that I have been aware of, although I might have seen others without realising who they were by.

2Keen, Redland Court Road, Bristol, May 2017
2Keen, Redland Court Road, Bristol, May 2017

For those of you not familiar with the geography of Bristol, Redland is a very middle class, aspirational and residential part of the city, and although there is probably widespread appreciation of Bristol’s street art within the local community, it isn’t the sort of thing one expects to see at its heart. I so dearly love it.

2Keen, Aspire and Ryder, Redland Court Road, Bristol May 2017
2Keen, Aspire and Ryder, Redland Court Road, Bristol May 2017

2Keen told me that he had mixed reviews while he was working on it. Some people tried to move him on, some stopped to chat, the police took a look and admired the work, but to the shame of Redland some people spat at him. Well heeled…my arse!

2Keen, Aspire and Ryder, Redland Court Road, Bristol May 2017
2Keen, Aspire and Ryder, Redland Court Road, Bristol May 2017

I believe the writing is by Ryder, the dodo on the right by the magnificent Aspire, fresh from his Stokes Croft pigeon, and the rest of the fabulous Alice in Wonderland work is by 2Keen.

2Keen, Redland Court Road, Bristol, May 2017
2Keen, Redland Court Road, Bristol, May 2017

I’m not sure if it will ever happen, but 2Keen said he’d take me out to spray a wall somewhere and teach me how it all works. I just need to find him again and take him up on the offer. Happy days.

803. M32 Cycle path (8)

For those of you not keen on Laic217’s work, I apologise. I, as you should know by now, am a big fan, and as long as he keeps painting them, and as long as I keep finding them, I will keep posting them.

Laic217, M32 cycle path, Bristol, March 2017
Laic217, M32 cycle path, Bristol, March 2017

This is a quick one from a little while back in a narrow cycling alleyway that runs alongside the M32 between the St Pauls and Eastville junctions.

Laic217, M32 cycle path, Bristol, March 2017
Laic217, M32 cycle path, Bristol, March 2017

A wall, an obscured face, a bucket hat, a tracksuit, letters…it is all here and all so beautifully done. I’m not at all keen on the yellow background, but I am just being a bit picky.

802. M32 roundabout J3 (38)

I haven’t seen much of Epok’s work of late, so it was great to see this trademark piece on the M32 roundabout back in April. His wildstyle writing is always perfectly executed, and the precision and geometry betrays the large amount of care that goes into his works.

Epok, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2017
Epok, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2017

He has made great use of accent colours and patterns in green and white, to make the black and brown lettering stand out. Another high quality piece from one of the best writers in town.

Epok, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2017
Epok, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2017

801. Stokes Croft, the Carriageworks (25)

A couple of weeks back, we were blessed. Aspire made a trip back to Bristol, from his new home in London, and while he was here, he sprayed a couple of pieces, one of which was this magnificent pigeon in one of the Stokes Croft arches.

Aspire, Stokes Croft, Bristol, May 2017
Aspire, Stokes Croft, Bristol, May 2017

Although Aspire himself talked this piece down…’painted with some dregs from a recent job in Bristol this week’, I happen to think it is yet another example of his mastery of his craft.

Aspire, Stokes Croft, Bristol, May 2017
Aspire, Stokes Croft, Bristol, May 2017

The gold background is inspired, and actually draws the piece closer to the breakdancing Jesus by Cosmo Sarson which has gilt paint stretching high on a wall some 50 metres away.

Aspire, Stokes Croft, Bristol, May 2017
Aspire, Stokes Croft, Bristol, May 2017

This was not the only spraying Aspire managed on his short trip, and I will be posting about another piece soon. So glad he could make time to brighten up our streets again.

800. Lower Approach Road (2)

I missed by a week the opportunity of seeing Voyder at work, when he sprayed this excellent paint brush stroke/neon light Bristol welcome just by the side of Temple Meads station.

Voyder, Temple Meads Station, Bristol, May 2017
Voyder, Temple Meads Station, Bristol, May 2017

As I have said in a recent post about Voyder’s work, I think he is really peaking at the moment. Everything he produces is of such a high quality it is difficult to know how he can turn up a gear. Will he plateau or start to move into something new? It matters not really, It is simply a privilege to be able to see his works regularly, and for free on the streets of this great city. Bristol.

Voyder, Temple Meads Station, Bristol, May 2017
Voyder, Temple Meads Station, Bristol, May 2017

799. Upfest 2016 (130)

Recently, I have posted quite a few pieces from the magnificent Georgie (artist), including a wonderful Michael Caine portrait in The Bearpit. However, when I took these pictures back in July 2016, I don’t think I really knew too much about her.

Georgie, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Georgie, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

This is a fabulous stencil, impactful and eye-grabbing. The contrast of the grayscale stencil and the bright and colourful background work really effectively for the subject matter of the piece. I am too lazy to find out what it is called, but it seems many of her works have an obvious name. I like this very much.

798. Upfest 2016 (129)

I met Annika Wilkinson, who paints under the name of Annika Pixie, for the first time a couple of weeks ago at a local festival in Bedminster. She is a lovely, chatty and talented artist who is from Sweden (although I have to confess I thought her accent Scottish) but is now based in Bristol.

Annika Pixie, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Annika Pixie, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

She tends to paint portraits that have a mysticism or dreaminess about them, which I rather like. I have found several of her pieces around Bristol, so it was lovely to finally meet her. Great news is that she will be back at this year’s festival,. which is easy for her, as she lives very locally.

797. Upfest 2016 (128)

This piece was one of the most mysterious and moving of the whole festival. It depicts, in a stained glass window style, a mother and child wrapped in a blanket. On first glance it looks like a Virgin Mary and Jesus depiction, and the mother has a halo effect around her head. Look closer and for a little longer and the horror of the image becomes clear. This is a contemporary study of the terrible refugee crisis of people from many of the world’s most troubled regions desperately crossing the Mediterranean Sea to get to mainland Europe.

Unknown artist, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Unknown artist, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

The child is not dressed in swaddling clothes as one so young should be, but strapped into a life jacket and the pair of them are enveloped in a silver sheet to keep them warm. This is both distressing and compelling, and pretty much my favourite piece of the whole festival. One big hitch…The picture was not there on the second day, and I never got to find out who it was by. I scoured the Interweb but drew a blank. If anyone might know, I’d love to find out. I am still really moved by this piece. Brilliant. Bravo.

796. Upfest 2016 (127)

There is only one downside to Upfest, in my eyes, and that is that there is so much art on display, it can be difficult to take it all in. The senses are bombarded around every corner, and in every green space in Bedminster. Sometimes it takes a while…maybe months…for all the images to bed down. This is a case in point, where it is only now when sifting through all my photographs that I am reminded of it.

Steve Pinchess, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Steve Pinchess, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

The artist Steve Pinchess was born in Leicester and brought up through the care system. He loved his art, and meagre resources led him to use the streets as a canvass (I paraphrase from his biography notes in the Upfest programme). He now lives in Bude in Cornwall (very nice too) and shares a gallery with his wife.

Steve Pinchess, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Steve Pinchess, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

Unfortunately I wasn’t able to get a clean picture of the whole piece, so am unable to commentate too much on it. Maybe I’ll do a better job this year.