181. Trenchard Street (2)

Tucked away from the main drag in Bristol is this masterpiece by Nick Walker. This amazing stencil which dates back to at least May 2010 blends in so well with the architrave surround and brick wall.

Nick Walker, Trenchard Street, Bristol, September 2015
Nick Walker, Trenchard Street, Bristol, September 2015

The piece can be found just beyond the rear entrance, turning right out of the exit, of Colston’s Hall. It is another of those Walker pieces that have simply become a ‘part of the furniture’ that we in Bristol take for granted. I think that most, if not all of his work remains intact, which is very unusual here.

Nick Walker, Trenchard Street, Bristol, September 2015
Nick Walker, Trenchard Street, Bristol, September 2015

Taking a closer look at the butterflies reveals that they are more sinister than you might originally think. Great work.

Dawn chorus

Compensation for

an early start; sweet singing

and unfettered joy.

by Scooj

180. M32 J3 Roundabout (4)

This is one of several lovely fresh wildstyle burners on the infrastructure of the M32 roundabout. The artist is Sled One who was also the genius behind one of my very best hoardings in Bristol, posted back on 1 March 2016.

Sled One, M32 Roundabout, Bristol, March 2016
Sled One, M32 Roundabout, Bristol, March 2016

This colourful piece spells out ASK, which stands for ‘After School Klub’ one of the dominant Bristol crews. I am never quite sure who the crew is made up of, there seem to be a lot of them. Associated with ASK is the KTF acronym which stands for ‘Keeping things Fresh’. You will see KTF and ASK dotted on many of the works in Bristol.

Sled One, detail, M32 Roundabout, Bristol, March 2016
Sled One, detail, M32 Roundabout, Bristol, March 2016

I particularly like the eye in the A of ASK. Little details like this show the care and thought that goes into these wildstyle pieces.

179. Hotwell Road, Esso Garage (2)

An emergency fuel situation led me to fill the car up at this garage in Hotwell Road recently. I might have annoyed queuing customers a little, because I hadn’t seen the mural before and snapped a couple of quick photographs. I was a little saddened that it had replaced one of my favourite Andy Council pieces that I posted about in August 2015.

45 RPM, Hotwell Road, Bristol, August 2015
45 RPM, Hotwell Road, Bristol, August 2015

This environmental piece is by 45 RPM, a Bristol artist, and was commissioned by the Body Shop as part of their ‘Enrich not Exploit‘ campaign. Three other street artists were also commissioned to create works in Brighton, Birmingham and Manchester.

I am always a little suspicious of business campaign commissions like this one, but I think the Body Shop is one company that has strong ethical and sustainable values that I can live with. This is not greenwash, it is more like influencing.

It is an unusual piece, but I am really beginning to like it.

Modern Green Man

 

Shaped from the earth and

hiding in a suburban

garden; I saw you.

 

by Scooj

IMG_3100

178. Hillgrove Street (5)

Remember this naughty fox?

Mau Mau, Moon Street, Bristol, March 2016
Mau Mau, Moon Street, Bristol, March 2016

Well Mau Mau has returned with a topical piece (when he sprayed it), cleverly conflating an urban fox with R2D2 from Star Wars.

MauMau, Hillgrove Street, Bristol, April 2016
MauMau, Hillgrove Street, Bristol, April 2016

Always witty and often quite acerbic, Mau Mau rarely disappoints. I only wish I had found this gem before it had been tagged. Maybe someone was offended by the language (I think not).

MauMau, Hillgrove Street, Bristol, April 2016
MauMau, Hillgrove Street, Bristol, April 2016

I look forward to more foxes in the Stokes Croft area.

Lifer

 

Job in the balance

twenty six years of service

counts for nothing now.

 

by Scooj

177. Deanery Road

It has been a little while since I featured a work by one of Bristol’s finest and most famous street artists, Nick Walker. It took me a little while to find this, despite it being in the road where I work. It is a shutter piece, and the shutters are invariably up when I am at work, and down when I am not. I took this photograph on a Sunday.

Nick Walker, Deanery Road, Bristol, March 2016
Nick Walker, Deanery Road, Bristol, March 2016

The piece is unmistakably by Walker, with its pinstriped character and trademark ‘vandal’ moniker. It is indeed a treat to have so many of his artworks so close to where I spend most of my days.

Nick Walker, Deanery Road, Bristol, March 2016
Nick Walker, Deanery Road, Bristol, March 2016

It is a little neglectful of me not to have found this piece sooner, but better late than never.

Back to School

 

Tears are shed, Easter

holidays are over and

routines are restored.

 

by Scooj

176. M32 roundabout Junction 3 (3)

Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant. I have been keeping my powder dry with this one, although I don’t quite know why. When I see a great piece of street art, I really ought to share it straight away.

3Dom, M32 Roundabout, Bristol, March 2016
3Dom, M32 Roundabout, Bristol, March 2016

3Dom is one of the most creative and imaginative of the Bristol street/graffiti artists. His works nearly all have a surreal feel to them and contain unique blends of shapes and colours that are rarely seen elsewhere. His imagination runs riot with this piece and he introduces different textures and shadings in this character. I love the green body and arm, that resemble a close-up of a spider’s leg.

3Dom, M32 Roundabout, Bristol, March 2016
3Dom, M32 Roundabout, Bristol, March 2016

The piece can be dated as having been sprayed post-Bowie’s death, as there is a mention of him and Buzz. What is pleasing about this is it is so clean, and as yet untagged. One of my absolute favourite pieces this year (so far).