Tag: Abstract

2592. Upfest 2018 (163)

I had a horrible panic that I hadn’t taken a picture of this magnificent abstract piece by Paris in its final form, but on thorough inspection of my Upfest archive I found this one. I know it isn’t perfect, but it is virtually impossible to get pictures of this wall without cars parked in front of it. This wall has since been overpainted by Kin Dose and his Summer Editions piece.

Paris, Upfest, Bristol, July 2019
Paris, Upfest, Bristol, July 2019

I did however manage to get plenty of shots of the work in progress and had a nice chat with Paris on the Friday before the crowds gathered. This work is so rich in depth and colour and has something of a cosmic feel to it. The style is quite unique and probably the only other artist I know who does similar cosmic-scapes is Cheba, but they tend to be much more dark space pieces.

Paris, Upfest, Bristol, July 2019
Paris, Upfest, Bristol, July 2019

Because Paris finished the piece quite early, it was one of the few scaffolded walls to be revealed actually during the festival (from recollection). Great to see this lovely and refreshingly different piece by Paris

2524. St Werburghs tunnel (104)

It tends to be fits and starts with Mr Klue’s street pieces these days. You can wait for an age for something new, and then suddenly there is a rush of them – let’s hope tghat this is the beginning of such a rush.

Mr Klue, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2019
Mr Klue, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2019

In one of his favoured spots at the Farm end of St Werburghs tunnel, this abstract street artist has given us another of his magical pieces of writing, which usually spell out KLUE, but I am not sdo sure about this one. He has used colours that I would most associate with Mr Klue, that is, purple with white accents and a touch of green. Great to see a new piece from him.

2509. Hillgrove Street (8)

Right in the heart of the Stokes Croft area, on the crossing of Jamaica Street and Hillgrove Street is this amazing new bright and shiny abstract piece by Emma Jayne Holloway and e5 Creatives. Using techniques and angular shapes in the style of artists like Annatomix or Paul Monsters.

e5 Creatives and Emma Jayne Holloway, Hillgrove Street, Bristol, September 2019
e5 Creatives and Emma Jayne Holloway, Hillgrove Street, Bristol, September 2019

The whole thing, I think, but don’t know, was designed by Emma Jayne Holloway and has this extraordinary effect which makes it look like it is standing out from the wall. It is not only the geometric shapes that make this piece so special, but also the butterfly and heart on the gold-painted utility box which make the piece complete. It is great to see new names and extra great to see a business, in this case e5 Creatives, getting involved in brightening up our streets.

2417. M32 Spot (48)

In my archives I have some other pieces by this artist, Slakarts, but for some reason have not posted any of them until now. I would say that this piece is not typical of the other pictures I have by the artist.

Slakarts, M32 Spot, Bristol, August 2019
Slakarts, M32 Spot, Bristol, August 2019

The column piece is beautifully thought out, with a queue of stylised figures, each holding the one in front like they are doing a conga. I will make my own narrative up for this one preferring the idea that they are in an orderly line to tell Boris Johnson what ann utter **** he is… just saying. Look out for more from this artist (archive stuff) on Natural Adventures.

2371. St Werburghs tunnel (90)

This was a quick one from Mr Klue in St Werburghs, and on his Instagram feed he said he was using up old paints… certainly this piece is much more explosively colourful than many of his pieces which tend to be colour-themed.

Mr Klue, St Werburghs, Bristol, July 2019
Mr Klue, St Werburghs, Bristol, July 2019

Already the piece has gone, painted over by a viting artist from Liverpool (to follow), and was only on view for a week or so. I haven’t seen much of his work for a month or more, so it was nice to see this one, and I missed photographing his other recent piece at Turbo Island before it got horribly tagged.

2332. Wilder Street (35)

I’m completely bemused by how on earth I can have missed this amazing piece by 3Dom for so long. It is in the mid-section of Wilder Street and I think I have only visited the ends of the street, but nonetheless it is most negligent of me. Paul H tells me it has been there for quite some time.

3Dom, Wilder Street, Bristol, July 2019
3Dom, Wilder Street, Bristol, July 2019

The style of the piece is similar to ones he did at the other end of Wilder Street, in Frogmore Street and in Montpelier, and I think it was a phase he was going through. It is what I would describe as organic abstract piece, so very easy on the eye, with a pleasing symmetry. Love it a lot.

2303. North Street Standard

Shutters are the pits. I must have walked past this beautiful piece by Shab hundreds of times, but only when the shutter was up, so have never seen it before. I understand it has been there for some years, but I only saw it early on a Sunday morning a couple of weeks ago.

Shab, North Street, Bristol, June 2019
Shab, North Street, Bristol, June 2019

I haven’t seen anything from Shab in absolutely ages, so to find this was actually most gratifying. I have always loved his outlined abstract figures and his trademark eyes are always so beautifully done. There were some other shutter pieces here on the front of the North Street restaurant and I will post these in due course. This was like meeting an old friend.

2244. Upfest 2018 (146)

The joy of Upfest is that as a visitor, you are guaranteed to see a huge spectrum of amazing street art, and in my view one of the most inspiring artists in 2018 was Piet Rodriguez. This is the second piece by the artist that I have posted, the first one being on the front of a shop on North Street, next door to the Standard. Unfortunately (for us) the shop has changed hands and has been renovated, which means that the wooden frontage (a yard gate) that boasted Piet Rodriguez’s other work is now freshly painted in gray.

Piet Rodriguez, Upfest, Bristol, May 2018
Piet Rodriguez, Upfest, Bristol, May 2018

His style and content is really interesting, combining a classical representation of sculpture and adding some modern abstract elements to it, not unlike the work of PichiAvo. Brilliant execution and a shining star at Upfest 2018.

Piet Rodriguez, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Piet Rodriguez, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

2182. Allen Gardens, London (1)

One of the refreshing things about visiting Shoreditch or Camden Town is that every piece I see is a new discovery. What I mean by that is I don’t really follow London street art on social media, so when I see a piece ‘in the flesh’ it is usually the first time I have seen it or even know of it. In Bristol, I will have seen the majority of street/graffiti art works on Instagram before I ‘find’ them and photograph them. What this also means is that I know relatively little about the London artists, and for my own sanity probably need to keep it that way.

Cokyone, Allen Gardens, London, April 2019
Cokyone, Allen Gardens, London, April 2019

When I visited Allen Gardens in April I think that this piece by Cockyone was relatively new, it certainly looked incredibly fresh. When it comes to birds I think that kingfishers are a real crowd-pleaser, because of their beauty and character, and they frequently feature in street art. I think this is a wonderful piece, skilfully blending abstract grayscale patterns with the vibrant colours of the bird and the crown tops the whole thing off nicely.

2171. St Werburghs tunnel (76)

It is funny how some artists seem to favour walls, such as Laic217 in Moon Street and Hire in Dean Lane, and this spot at the north end of St Werburghs tunnel is often occupied by Mr Klue.

Mr Klue, St Werburghs, Bristol, April 2019
Mr Klue, St Werburghs, Bristol, April 2019

In fine deep colours, this piece looks like it is a bit of a tribute to Hoax. Both artists belong to the COM64 crew which I think also includes DNT, Akarat and Mr Sleven. Often the word KLUE is hidden in his works, but here it is quite clear that he has written HOAX. A nice friendly piece.