Category: 5. Street Art

499. The Bearpit (28)

Every now and again you come across something quite different. Something that stands out from the crowd. This lovely colourful piece was at the end of one of the pedestrian tunnels at The Bearpit. It is by an artist I know nothing about, and I haven’t seen her work before. Her name is Georgie or Georgieartist as she signs herself and I think she comes from the West of England somewhere.

Georgie, The Bearpit, Bristol, April 2016
Georgie, The Bearpit, Bristol, April 2016

Her Facebook page demonstrates some of her work and how she creates it, it is well worth a good look. She has strong political convictions and I like that in a street artist, however this piece seems to be simply full of Bristolian joy. I love it. ‘Lush’ is a very Bristolian word which kind of means great or brilliant, but is usually used in the familiar vernacular. ‘That’s gert lush that is’.

498. Bolton Road (2)

Bolton road is a small alleyway branching off the Gloucester Road in the St Andrews area of Bristol. This always seems an unlikely place to find street art, but this is Bristol, and you never seem to be too far away from something a bit special.

Epok, Bolton Road, Bristol, February 2016
Epok, Bolton Road, Bristol, February 2016
This is a nice piece by Epok with all the usual traits of his work, that is, the angular and distorted letters, highly designed look and wonderfully complementary colour scheme. I am puzzled though by the space lady in the picture, and I am not surre if there was a collaborator or whether this is Epok’s work too. There are no other obvious signatures and I have exhausted searches on the interweb.

Epok, Bolton Road, Bristol, February 2016
Epok, Bolton Road, Bristol, February 2016
The lane is very difficult to take decent pictures in because it is so narrow, and sometimes there are awkward shadows cast across the walls. I have had these images a while, and ought to venture back to see if the piece is still there.

Epok, Bolton Road, Bristol, February 2016
Epok, Bolton Road, Bristol, February 2016

497. The Bearpit (27)

Tucked over to one side of the Bearpit, near the Premier Inn Hotel, I found this rather nice collaboration between Jee See and Mr Klue. In this piece we see the typical styles of each of these street artists. Mr Klue treats us to his swirling patterns in rich purples and lilacs, while Jee See offers a stencil of a girl with a revolutionary Castro look about her – a stencil I have seen repeatedly about Bristol.

Mr Klue and Jee See, The Bearpit, Bristol, February 2016
Mr Klue and Jee See, The Bearpit, Bristol, February 2016
I’m not sure if this piece is still there as I took the picture some time ago, and it is in a bit of The Bearpit I rarely visit. More from both to follow in time.

Mr Klue and Jee See, The Bearpit, Bristol, February 2016
Mr Klue and Jee See, The Bearpit, Bristol, February 2016

496. Dean Lane skate park (26)

This wonderful scene was created back in October by Sled One, in conjunction with a piece by Ments which I wrote about a little while back. It seems that Sled One has an endless energy and talent for conceiving and executing some of the most imaginative street art in Bristol. His style is quite cartoony and injected with humour, and as I have said before, there always seems to be a story going on in his pieces.

Sled One, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2016
Sled One, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2016

I’m not sure what the story is, but it includes one of those really irritating toy clockwork monkeys with clashing cymbals which is beautifully portrayed. In addition, the wisps of steam from the cup of tea are masterfully painted. There is some real quality about this piece. Sled One never seems to disappoint. This is in my view exceptional street art.

Sled One, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2016
Sled One, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2016

495. The Bearpit (26)

On the 15th October 2016 The Bearpit played host to an international exhibition entitled ‘Resiste’. The exhibition featured the works of the Assembly of Revolutionary Artists of Oaxaco, Mexico. I will cover this exhibition in more detail in a forthcoming post, but today I will focus on the participation in the exhibition by Bristol’s magnificent Aspire.

Aspire, The Bearpit, Bristol, October 2016
Aspire, The Bearpit, Bristol, October 2016
Aspire has sprayed many birds in The Bearpit, but perhaps none so eye catching and appropriate to the immediate context as these two beautiful humming birds. The Bearpit is awash with Mexican protest street art, but these humming birds bring some tranquility to the overall atmosphere.

Aspire, The Bearpit, Bristol, October 2016
Aspire, The Bearpit, Bristol, October 2016
Yet another example of Bristol street art at its best, working alongside other cultures, movements and politics. The Bearpit is such an interesting cultural space, often rather controversial and edgy, but never boring.

Aspire, The Bearpit, Bristol, October 2016
Aspire, The Bearpit, Bristol, October 2016

494. Stokes Croft, the Carriageworks (19)

This is a small piece by the wonderful Bristol street artist Face F1st whose works are always centered on a styalised face each one with a different decorative feature. In this one he has placed a small octopus on the face’s head. This is a political anti-Brexit piece which is articulated clearly, and the octopus represents the Brexit narrative ‘brainwashing’, which appears to be stifling any intellectual debate about what kind of Brexit British citizens might want (in particular the 48% who voted against).

Face F1st, Stokes Croft, Bristol, October 201
Face F1st, Stokes Croft, Bristol, October 2016
I like all of Face F1st’s work and enjoy spotting them, they always feel slightly understated and he tends to select untidy walls to spray. Face Fist belongs to the PWA crew, Pirate Wall Art which includes Soap. Looking forward to more from PWA and Face F1st.

493. Dighton Street (2)

At one end of Dighton Street there are two small walls which look like they had once been rather fancy gateways and which have since been filled in. They offer street artists an opportunity to spray a pair of related works should they wish to do so, as the spots come as a pair and are separated by a stone wall of about 20 feet.

Deamze, Dighton Street, Bristol, October 2016
Deamze, Dighton Street, Bristol, October 2016
Deamze is the latest Bristol-based street artist to occupy these walls with his recognisable vertically elongated Deam Ask style of burner. His colour selections are once again striking and emphasise his clever use of shadowing the lettering.

Deamze, Dighton Street, Bristol, October 2016
Deamze, Dighton Street, Bristol, October 2016
The previous pieces here had been sprayed by Sepr, and were a couple of my favourite works of last year. I will miss them, but turnover on this wall has been very slow, and they had a long run out. Now it is the turn of Deamze.

492. Stokes Croft, the Carriageworks (18)

A week or so before Haloween, this scary clown appeared in Stokes Croft. Now I am the first to say that I am not a big fan of the scary clown thing that seems to be sweeping the nation at the moment, but I really like this piece.

Dose?, Stokes Croft, Bristol, October 2016
Dose?, Stokes Croft, Bristol, October 2016

The artist is unknown to me, and I can’t find out anything about him anywhere. He signs himself ‘Dose’ or ‘Dase’ and was responsible for this fabulous ghost cat a few months ago, in exactly the same spot.

Dose?, Stokes Croft, Bristol, October 2016
Dose?, Stokes Croft, Bristol, October 2016

His works are so clean and beautifully executed…really fine work, but they also have some menace, some edge, which for me is one of the things I love about street art. I wish I could find out something about him (I know it is a he, because I have seen images of him painting the cat on the internet, but the photographer/blogger also didn’t know who he is).

Dose?, Stokes Croft, Bristol, October 2016
Dose?, Stokes Croft, Bristol, October 2016

If anyone reading this can put me out of my misery and knows who the artist is, please leave a comment at the end of this post. Scary clowns…they really are scary.

491. Upfest 2016 (65)

This is one of the most beautiful and sensitive pieces that I saw at Upfest this year. The artist, Sokar Uno has created something really touching and outstanding. This is without doubt one of my favourite pieces from this year’s festival.

Sokar Uno, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Sokar Uno, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

Sokar Uno is a young German artist who has been painting and illustrating since he was twelve. Clearly he is very talented.

Sokar Uno, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Sokar Uno, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

There is a wonderful explanation of the approach he takes to his art on his excellent website which is really worth a visit.

Sokar Uno, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Sokar Uno, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

I am thoroughly taken with his ‘classical’ style and would really love to see more of his work. I fear I might have to travel to Berlin to see it though. It is a real privilege to see him at work in Bristol.

Sokar Uno, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Sokar Uno, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

490. Upfest 2016 (64)

This is one of the slightly more bonkers pieces from Upfest this year. Surreal and vivid, it absolutely makes me smile every time I look at it. Unfortunately I never got to see the finished work, but I was pleased to get some pictures of the artist at work.

Jimmy Duggan, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Jimmy Duggan, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Jimmy Duggan is from the Isle of Man, and is the only Manx artist I have come across so far. He has an interesting Facebook page for his art work, which gives you a real feel for his expressive and creative work. I would dearly like to see more of his stuff in Bristol, but I think it unlikely. Maybe next Upfest?

Jimmy Duggan, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Jimmy Duggan, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016