Tag: Art

215. Stokes Croft, the Carriageworks (8)

You can probably tell by now that I am clearing through my December backlog of images. Here is another one by Mr Klue. Mr Klue (Klue Wone) is a Bristol based designer and illustrator whose work is turning up everywhere at the moment. This is a particularly colourful piece that typifies his excellent selection of colours and shades and presents his swirling patterns with soft angular corners.

Mr Klue, Stokes Croft, Bristol, December 2015
Mr Klue, Stokes Croft, Bristol, December 2015

Mr Klue’s work is so original and distinctive, and it is nice to see some abstract stuff adorning Bristol’s walls. His website is here.

214. Stokes Croft, Slix (3)

This is a picture from Last December, but I believe the stencil is still there and untagged. It would need a ladder to replace it, and taggers cant be bothered with that, although wheelie bins often do the job. This I believe to be a Hoax piece, it has all the hallmarks, a ‘street’ figure with trainers and an obscured face.

Hoax? Stokes Croft, Bristol, December 2015
Hoax? Stokes Croft, Bristol, December 2015

If it is not hoax, I’m not sure who it is by. As with his other pieces, it is curious, and I am sure there is an interesting, but unfathomable, backstory. I think I need to get some interviews under my belt.

213. Stokes Croft, the Carriageworks (7)

Instagram is a wonderful thing. I have only been using it for a couple of weeks, but it is a great way of finding new works by local street artists…getting a ‘tip-off’ if you like.

Yesterday I saw a post by Mr Klue of this fresh new piece. I managed to get some pictures on my way to London for a football match. Had it not been for Instagram, I may not have seen this until next week some time, by which time it will probably be tagged.

Mr Klue, Stokes Croft, Bristol, 30 April 2016
Mr Klue, Stokes Croft, Bristol, 30 April 2016

This is a lovely collaboration between Mr Klue, with his characteristic swirly patterns, and Akarat and Hoax on the top.

Hoax and Akarat, Stokes Croft, Bristol, 30 April 2016
Hoax and Akarat, Stokes Croft, Bristol, 30 April 2016

Akarat and Hoax collaborate a lot, and I find it difficult to know which of them does which part. I think that the stencil work is by Hoax. Either way, this is a wonderful piece.

Hoax, Stokes Croft, Bristol, 30 April 2016
Hoax, Stokes Croft, Bristol, 30 April 2016

I am not sure of the relevance of the number 64, but it was a good year!

212. Dalton Square

This large wall by Sepr gave me enormous pleasure when I eventually found it in Dalton Square on the side of The Bell pub. I had seen images of it on the Interweb, but it took me an eternity to find it. It turns out, it is only a very small detour from my usual walk into work.

Sepr, Dalton Square, Bristol, April 2016
Sepr, Dalton Square, Bristol, April 2016

This is classic Sepr, plenty of things going on and lots of fine detail. It might be considered a little nightmarish, with all the characters inside the main character. It is difficult to figure out what is going on…are they all influences from the past?

Sepr, Dalton Square, Bristol, April 2016
Sepr, Dalton Square, Bristol, April 2016

Common to a lot of his work is wheeled transport, in this case a bicycle. There is also a beautifully crafted ball chain framing the main picture and leading to the two rather wonderful dogs.

Sepr, Dalton Square, Bristol, April 2016
Sepr, Dalton Square, Bristol, April 2016

Sepr signs off the work with an ornate wildstyle signature to the left of the piece. This really is a fabulous work, and the photographs, taken on a dull day, really don’t do it justice. So totally worth a visit.

Sepr, Dalton Square, Bristol, April 2016
Sepr, Dalton Square, Bristol, April 2016

 

210. Nine Tree Hill (3)

Sometimes you can hang on to a photograph for so long that it becomes a bit of an albatross. I took these pictures back in January this year, and I have some that are even older. The reason that I haven’t posted them until now is that although I know who the street artist is – Kleiner shames – who writes FOIS in his pieces, I don’t know anything about him, so I don’t have a lot to say.

Fois, Nine Tree Hill, Bristol, January 2016
Fois, Nine Tree Hill, Bristol, January 2016

I think I have actually photographed him working on a piece in Hill Street, but I’ll save that for another time. Other than that, Kleiner Shames remains a complete enigma. His work is very elaborate wildstyling of his name, with a touch of what I would call art deco influences…I think it is the curves. This work can be found on the corner between Nine Tree Hill and Armada Place, another Stokes Croft hotspot.

The observant viewers might see an iconic Rowdy crocodile on the building behind. More about that in a future post.

209. Mina Road (1)

It has been a little while since I posted anything about Silent Hobo. This is a shopfront commission in the wonderful St Werburghs area of Bristol, slightly north east of St Pauls.

Silent Hobo, Mina Road, Bristol, March 2016
Silent Hobo, Mina Road, Bristol, March 2016

Silent Hobo’s work often depicts a ‘happening vibe’ going on among the subjects in his pictures. Here he has captured the aspects of fun and leisure that cycling offers, and I’m sure it says more about it than some stock corporate photographs of people cycling.

Silent Hobo, Mina Road, Bristol, March 2016
Silent Hobo, Mina Road, Bristol, March 2016

I have never been to the Sportsman Bicycle Shop before as I have several closer to where I live and work. Maybe next time I am ‘snapping’ in the area I’ll pop in. I love the fun the couple are having on their bike, and the detail he includes of a little hedgehog…these days a rare sight.

Silent Hobo, Mina Road, Bristol, March 2016
Silent Hobo, Mina Road, Bristol, March 2016

All in all a really nice commission and one that showcases the best Silent Hobo has to offer.

208. North Street (A38)

In the grubbiest little bit of street on the northern approach to St. James Barton Roundabout and The Bearpit from Stokes Croft, is a building that spans across the main road called 51º02. It is not the most beautiful of buildings. On a side wall is this incredibly well concealed Gregos face.

Gregos, North Street (A38), Bristol, April 2016
Gregos, North Street (A38), Bristol, April 2016

Gregos needs no introduction, but for those new to his work, I point you in the direction of a previous post about a mask he did in the other North Street in Bedminster. This face really has to be hunted down, most people pass by it completely oblivious…this is the joy and mischief of street art.

Gregos, North Street (A38), Bristol, April 2016
Gregos, North Street (A38), Bristol, April 2016

The forlorn face complements well the large metal disk it has been attached to, and indeed the general demeanour of this tatty stretch of road. Another great work from the Frenchman.

207. Stokes Croft, Shambarber

This is just brilliant. A pasteup of Jodie Foster from the 1976 film Taxi Driver up against a hoarding in Stokes Croft. There is something about the subject, the location and the shades that make this…well, as I said before, just brilliant.

Tian, Jodie Foster, Stokes Croft, Bristol April 2016
Tian, Jodie Foster, Stokes Croft, Bristol April 2016

I think Tian’s work taps into our formative years and triggers these iconic memories (‘yes, I remember that’ moments) and presents them as if they are faded by time. It really works for me.

Tian, Jodie Foster, Stokes Croft, Bristol April 2016
Tian, Jodie Foster, Stokes Croft, Bristol April 2016

Better still, Tian has left a trail of wheatpastes all over Stokes Croft and I look forward to sharing them with you, over the coming days.

206. Stokes Croft, Canteen (2)

No self-respecting Bristol street art blogger can ignore what is probably regarded as the most Bristol Banksy of them all. The Mild Mild West still sits proudly on the wall outside the Canteen, and opposite Cosmo Sarson’s Breakdancing Jesus, in spite of attempts to vandalise it (layered irony there).

Banksy, Stokes Croft, Bristol, July 2015
Banksy, Stokes Croft, Bristol, July 2015

This iconic Banksy (and which ones aren’t) tells so many Bristol stories, which are really nicely captured in this 2008 article from the The Telegraph. I see this wall pretty much every day and it is special, really special. The area in which it stands is an area which has played host to several riots, the most recent of which was the ‘boycott Tesco’ riot.

Banksy, Stokes Croft, Bristol, August 2015
Banksy, Stokes Croft, Bristol, August 2015

So established is this piece, that it makes it into the ‘Visit Bristol’ website as a must see attraction. How things have changed from the days of rounding up and arresting Bristol street artists.

This work simply has to be one of my all time favourite pieces in my adopted city.

205. The Bearpit (14)

In the South East tunnel of the Bearpit you may this wonderful and very typical work by Angus (although nothing lasts very long there). It is a fun piece featuring Meg Griffin from the Family Guy, a TV cartoon I don’t watch so can’t explain any more about the work. Over the last few years Angus has burst onto the Bristol graffiti scene, and being a local street artist, he has had many great influences all around him.

Angus, The Bearpit, Bristol, April 2016
Angus, The Bearpit, Bristol, April 2016

If you want to know more about Angus, there is a lovely interview with him on the Best of Bristol website, which I thoroughly recommend reading. I rather hope to bump into him at some time, because he seems like a really decent bloke. I like the familiarity and crispness of his work.

Angus is also a member of The Secret Society of Super Villain Artists (SSOSVA) – you will see more artists from this group in future posts.