What I am rather shocked by is the sheer number of outstanding pieces I have in my archive, and I guess it just goes to show that the high productivity of great street art in Bristol is pretty much relentless, and people like me struggle to keep on top of it. At least this pause caused by the coronavirus lock down provides me with an opportunity to share pieces like this amazing Deamze one that I had left on the shelf.
Deamze, Raleigh Road, Bristol, November 2016
Although he is now in Hobard, Tasmania, Deamze will be forever a legend in Bristol and is sorely missed. His combination pieces incorpoorating wildstyle writing and a character are out of the top drawer and these technical masterpieces are something we can only reflect on these days.
Deamze, Raleigh Road, Bristol, November 2016
One of the great things about Bristol is that the reputation for street art draws artists to come and stay or live in the city, so that for every great artist that leaves, at least two arrive, so the future is bright. The king is dead… long live the king.
Back to more familiar territory with this absolute stunner from Hemper at the M32 from March 2016. Although it is obvious now to see the letters HEMS, at the time I took these pictures I was less familiar with Bristol artists and in particular the wildstyle writers, so I probably didn’t post this beauty because I didn’t know the artist,
Hemper, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2016
I cannot begin to articulate just how good this piece is. The letter style is outstanding, but it is the horizontally graded fills with drips and dots that makes this piece special for me. A very classy piece from a top Bristol artist.
Strictly speaking, this is not the Star and Garter but the building opposite it, but it is in the general area. This wonderful collaboration was completed shortly before the lock down and is between painting partners Sled One and Ments.
Sled One, Star and Garter, Bristol, March 2020
On the left is a beautifully sprayed pigeon in a style that you would instantly associate with Sled One. The bread thing going on? I’m not sure but it could be a pun on pigeon toast instead of pigeon post, but it might be something else altogether.
Sled One, Star and Garter, Bristol, March 2020
Sled One pieces are often quite mysterious and although there is pretty much always a story going on, understanding it can be tricky. The fabulous colours used and his technique of clever shading to create a 3D effect are of the highest quality in this piece.
Ments, Star and Garter, Bristol, March 2020
Ments, whose work has always had an organic flavour to it, has been experimenting of late with a range of forms and textures, including spheres and metallic objects. This is a really unusual abstract piecem that looks slightly unfinished in the top left hand corner. I will be interested to watch where this new directtion for Ments will take us.
There is no question about it, I have seen a whole ton more work by Hemper in the last six months than I have over the previous five years. He seems to be free to paint more regularly for whatever reason. Unfortunately nobody can escape the Covid-19 lockdown and his productivity might be dented for a little while.
Hemper, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2020
This is an all-round crowd pleaser with nice colours, gently curved letters and some very pretty fills. Clearly this is the work of a highly experienced graffiti artist and there is an ease and self-confidence about it.
At last I have found it and better late than never. Thanks to the lock down restrictions, my driving to street art spots has been replaced by my walking the dog/exercise walks and when you are on foot so many more possibilities are open to you. It is easy to nip down this lane or trundle over to that place without worrying about parking, one way streets etc etc.
I have been aware of this piece by 3Dom for a couple of years now, and without realising it have been agonisingly close to it without ever finding it, that is until last week. I could scarcely hold back my exclamation of joy and sense of relief that it is still in great condition.
3Dom, Brook Hill, Bristol, March 2020
The work itself has an aesthetically pleasing symmetry to it and although there is nothing specifically 3Domish about it, it is instantly recognisable as one of his pieces. My life is now complete (well that might be a bit of an exaggeration but I do feel a tremendous sense of relief).
The strangest thing about walking in Bristol at the moment is the curious juxtaposition of avoiding other people, by walking out into the road or crossing it altogether, and yet saying hello to them by way of an apology for having to avoid them in the first place. These are indeed curious times.
I cannot begin to explain why it has taken me so long to post this outstanding piece by Deamze, especially as I am a lifelong fan of Goscinny and Uderzo’s Asterix the Gaul books. I guess that part of the reason is that my words simply can’t do justice to the genius of this piece, and so I left it, always meaning to come back to it.
Deamze, Waterloo Street, Bristol, October 2018
I rarely use the word genius, but I atcually think that Deamze is the absolute master of his craft and in this work, he has mashed up characters in the correct colour palette from Uderzo’s illustrations to draft out his name in his own style and it is all utterly commensurate with the ethos of the comic books. This is interpretive art at its very, very best.
Deamze, Waterloo Street, Bristol, October 2018
Deamze leaving Bristol for Hobart is surely one of the greatest creative losses for the city, and I am full of jealousy when I see his work from the other side of the world on Instagram. Maybe sometime he’ll pay us all a visit and drop a few pieces while he’s at it. One of my all-time pieces of Bristol street art.
Figuring this one out might be a challenge for those unfamiliar with Bristol artists, because the word VODKA might have little meaning and certainly isn’t a name we see here. Regular readers will all have seen an awful lot of work by this artist in Natural Adventures and so might be familiar with the letter shapes and style.
Soker, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2020
It is of course by Soker and a gentle nod to artist Vodka (@ren_jeffys). It is a beautifully conceived and executed piece down on the M32 roundabout. Soker has been on fire over the last month or so – it will be interesting to see if he continues as the Coronavirus restrictions grow.
From the feature image it is difficult to gauge the significance of this collaborative wall from little more than a week ago in Dean Lane skate park. I gave you a little hint earlier this week with a piece by Rusk which is on the left hand side of this wall behind the fence and which can’t be viewed from this vantage point.
Soker, Inkie and Hemper, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2020
I had decided to take the dog for a walk to Dean Lane and talk about being in the right place at the right time… this was it, and so utterly random that I had chosen to go down there. Not only were Soker, Inkie and Hemper busy doing their thing, but Rusk was also there and watching on were The Agent, Angus, DJ Perks and Tes (Slim Pickings).
Soker and Inkie, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2020
It was a little bit like I had died and gone to graffiti heaven. To see these established writers all at work simultaneously was a rare treat indeed, and that other artists who had been tipped-off were watching on made the whole thing feel extra special.
Inkie and Hemper, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2020
I had met all the artists before with the exception of Hemper who seems to have had something of a renaissance of late, but this wasn’t really the right time to introduce myself, more an opportunity to watch how these guys go about their businness.
Soker, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2020
Soker’s chrome piece on the left is near perfect and spells out Sokem (the R and M are interchangeable in his name). The photographs of the finished pieces were taken a day or two later.
Inkie, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2020
Inkie’s central panel is classic Inkie and whilst also in chrome stands out due to the deep 3D shading in a striking scarlet colour. This is the third Inkie I have seen so far this year which is not bad going especially as there haven’t been any festivals in that time.
Hemper, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2020
I am less well acquainted with Hemper’s work simply because he hasn’t painted as much as the others until relatively recently. Again in chrome, this third panel of the triptych mirrors the colours of Soker’s piece on the left to give some symmetry to the collaborative work. A landmark wall and a red letter day.
Soker, Inkie and Hemper, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2020
I’m not sure I would have known that this ‘Blistolian’ piece was by Soker if I hadn’t seen it tagged on Instagram, although it does have all the hallmarks of a highly accomplished artist and was painted alongside a Hemper pece so was likely to be by one of the big boys of Bristol street art.
Soker, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2020
It seems that Soker has ‘awoken’ from a fairly quiet winter period on the streets, with a couple of new works including this one. It is unusual for Soker to write something other than his name, but it does happen from time to time and the script fot used in this one is an absolute winner.
Woah, what happened here? Thank you Paul H for pointing out that the commentary about this piece was missing. A WordPress glitch I think, and most annoying as I had spent quite some time putting together some words to accompany this advert piece in the tunnel by Inkie. I find that I am always caught in two minds with advert pieces, because they take away the edge from street art and swerve into commercialism. There is nothing wrong with that per se and almost always they are promoting local music, so I suppose I should just get with the programme.
Inkie, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2020
The piece itself is written in classic Inkie font and promotes the album Ease and Squeeze by Kaotik Kartel, a reggae/dancehall/dub band from Bristol/Jamaica. I don’t actually mind too much what Inkie is painting about, it is always great to see his work and this one in the tunnel was a great surprise.
Natural adventures 