777. Upfest 2016 (121)

This piece is tucked away in one of the parking bays in the Tobacco Factory car park, and is by Fats. Fats is an artist, so her Upfest biography goes, who is based between Dubai and Toronto and whose heavy black line work is in part influenced by Inuit art and Arabic calligraphy resulting in a hybrid style reflecting her own cultural confusion and ambiguity.

Fats, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Fats, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

You can see more of her excellent work on her Instagram feed, and she also has an active Facebook page. It looks like she’ll be paying us another visit for the 2017 Upfest event, according to the Upfest artists page. Something to look forward to.

Fats, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Fats, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

Based on this one piece, I think that I rather like her work. More so when I have checked out her stuff online. The colours, of course, are familiar to me through Decay’s fabulous work, and the abstract style is not too different either. Perhaps the two should collaborate…that could be pretty fun.

755. Dean Lane skate park (45)

How on earth I stumbled on identifying this piece I genuinely can’t remember, but I am pleased to have done so as it has been in my archive for some while. It is a really nice piece of writing by Cokestd, an artist from Budapest in Hungary which he created in November 2016 while on a trip to the UK.

Cokestd, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2016
Cokestd, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2016

I do like it when visitors come and leave their mark in our city, especially when it is with a piece such as this – I like to think of Bristol as a welcoming place where we embrace our overseas friends with open arms. The piece itself is a beauty, nicely proportioned with great lines and colours.

743. The Bearpit (61)

A stunning piece by Decay for the ‘paint Jam’ on the 8 April, organised by Georgie and advertised at very short notice through social media. This is a favourite wall for Decay, and he has had several other pieces here before.

Decay, The Bearpit, Bristol, April 2017
Decay, The Bearpit, Bristol, April 2017

I was fortunate enough to be there while he was just finishing off the piece. I love the way the young boy is looking back at his work. So very few people stop to take a look (such a British behaviour) perhaps for fear of interrupting the artist, or worse still striking up a conversation.

Decay, The Bearpit, Bristol, April 2017
Decay, The Bearpit, Bristol, April 2017

All the very best features of a Decay piece are here: the abstract form of concentric rays emanating from a central face. The piece is directly adjacent to a large pink work I featured by Decay not so very long ago.

Decay, The Bearpit, Bristol, April 2017
Decay, The Bearpit, Bristol, April 2017

He is a busy man, and shortly after completing this piece he drifted over to Wilder street to do a piece on the nicely prepped walls…to follow in a little while.

730. Dean Lane skate park (41)

This is one of the more unusual pieces I have posted in quite a while. I think it is just a crazy abstract expression, but I can’t be certain. The artist Jee See has featured in this blog several times with his ‘seismic’ pictures and girl in a military hat (freestyled not stencilled as I had implied in an earlier post). This piece is unlike anything I have seen before.

Jee See, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2017
Jee See, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2017

I really can’t quite make out what it is or represents – maybe it is a starship exploding, but what are those window frames on the left of the picture. What are the building shaped objects at the top of the piece, and are they even part of the whole work? The weird thing is that I actually rather like it, even though I can’t fathom out a story…or anything at all.

715. Dean Lane skatepark (38)

Oh my goodness – they are everywhere. It seems that now I am so much more aware of the work of Shab, I am seeing it everywhere. This is a piece that appeared…and disappeared pretty quickly from Dean Lane. It is a wonderful small abstract piece that is rather subtle, and could be missed or overlooked.

Shab, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2017
Shab, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2017

It is however the work of a very accomplished and practised artist whose creations are very easy on the eye, but also seem to ask questions or challenge in some way – I’m not sure if I have explained that very well, but they kind of leave you thinking. This is a lovely piece and of course we have another fabulous eye.

Shab, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2017
Shab, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2017

711. The Bearpit (54)

It is always nice to see fresh new pieces before they get dogged or tagged, and in The Bearpit, you need to be quick. DBK (Dirty Bristol Kids) will not let work hang around too long before tagging over it. Some pieces are left alone, and I would love to know the criteria they use behind which they tag and which they leave.

Decay, The Bearpit, Bristol, March 2017
Decay, The Bearpit, Bristol, March 2017

This is a really nice abstract piece by Decay set on a pink background. The piece is a masterclass in drips, you’ll not get them much better than this. To those of you who don’t get to see a lot of street art, there is a ‘thing’ going on about drips. They are a deliberate part of the work and take a lot of skill to do.

Decay, The Bearpit, Bristol, March 2017
Decay, The Bearpit, Bristol, March 2017

This is, I think, a really great piece from Decay, and worth a trip down to the Bearpit…if it is still there.

Decay, The Bearpit, Bristol, March 2017
Decay, The Bearpit, Bristol, March 2017

700. North Street, loft conversions

Sometimes collaborations really work well, and this beauty between Decay and John D’oh is quite a beauty. Half way along North Street, I first saw it during Upfest (it was a weekend and the shutters were down) although I don’t think it was sprayed for the festival.

Decay and John D'oh, North Street, Bristol, July 2016
Decay and John D’oh, North Street, Bristol, July 2016

It is a striking shutter piece and John D’oh’s stencil is rather special. I am not sure who it is of, but it works so well with the colours favoured by Decay. For me this is a special Bristol piece to be treasured.

663. Magdalene Place (3)

This is another small piece by Shab that I photographed before I knew who it was by. Fortunately I keep a good archive of pictures that I regularly revisit, which is why some of my posts are a little out of date.

Shab, Magdalene Place, Bristol, June 2016
Shab, Magdalene Place, Bristol, June 2016

In this piece we see Shab’s trademark triangular patterns and a rather fetching brown eye. I think the top half of the hoarding is by another artist, but I can’t recognise who. The adjacent piece is by Mr Klue, featured in a post from some while back. Magdalene Place is a little back lane in St Pauls which often has some rather good street art, even if it is a bit out of the way.

661. Dean Lane skate park (32)

Now that I know that OHMS is Thelocknessmonster what should I call him in my posts? I think I will continue with OHMS, just because that is what I am used to. This was a wonderful fresh piece down at Dean Lane a couple of weeks back. Distinctively OHMS, but this time no obvious lettering.

OHMS, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2017
OHMS, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2017

This is a colourful abstract piece that really stands out, probably because of the palette selection. I’m not sure what the references to Emz, Egotist and Eric are other than they might be other members of The Splab Gang crew. I’m still really enjoying his work.

658. Moon Street (23)

Moon street is a favourite haunt for Mr Klue, and since one of the best walls has had two doors screwed onto it, presumably in an effort to stop sprayers, he has simply switched to an adjacent wall.

Mr Klue, Moon Street, Bristol, February 2017
Mr Klue, Moon Street, Bristol, February 2017

This is yet another lovely abstract piece in the unique style of this Bristol graffiti artist. I noticed, at the time of writing, from an Instagram picture that it has now been tagged. Glad to have a nice clean shot of it.

Mr Klue, Moon Street, Bristol, February 2017
Mr Klue, Moon Street, Bristol, February 2017

A nice close up of the work.