I have a feeling that this wonderful collaboration by 3Dom and Epok has been here for a little while, but it is a spot I visit infrequently and so cannot be sure. The wall, underneath Brunel Way is one which I find particularly difficult to photograph, due to the light reflections that encroach from the sides.
3Dom, Brunel Way Bridge, Bristol, March 2019
On the left is a rather large fly by 3Dom with an urban/industrial landscape on its back. The wings are beautifully crafted and the whole insect nicely proportioned…quite what the story is I am not sure.
Epok, Brunel Way Bridge, Bristol, March 2019
The right hand side of the collaboration is a piece of graffiti writing from Epok. I never get tired of his beautifully designed asymmetric writing that seems to combine graphic design and street art so perfectly. This is a fine collaboration from this ASK duo.
My oh my! A couple of weeks ago this utterly remarkable collaboration by Smak and Sled One appeared on the hoardings in Nelson Street which have in recent times been a bit of an ASK playground. It is quite one of the best collaborations I have seen for a long while, and I don’t think that Bristolians, in the main, realise just how privileged we are to have art this good decorating our streets.
Smak, Nelson Street, Bristol, March 2019
On the left of the wall is a magnifcent oriental style leopard in rampant attitude rather menacingly advancing towards a poor unsuspecting child.
Smak, Nelson Street, Bristol, March 2019
This is one of the finest character pieces I have seen by Smak, and it seems that he is planing on doing more, which is great news.
Smak and Sled One, Nelson Street, Bristol, March 2019
The whole collaboration is set on a grey background and shares a general colour palette of greys, reds and yellows.
Sled One, Nelson Street, Bristol, March 2019
To the right of the wall we are spoiled by a magnificent story from Sled One, where a crane is delivering a little baby suspended in a cloth from its beak. It looks like the baby is prepared to take on the leopard as it is armed with a samurai sword and is wearing a mask. Even the red decorations on the grey patches of the piece ooze class.
Sled One, Nelson Street, Bristol, March 2019
This is not the first time that Sled One has incorporated a samurai into his work and is would appear to be a theme he enjoys. This is a world-class collaboration that we in Bristol are lucky to have and I thoroughly recommend that anyone living in Bristol makes a detour to Nelson Street to see it if planning a shopping trip to the centre.
When Cheo and 3Dom get together for a collaboration it is guaranteed to be interesting and of the highest quality, and so it is with this recent piece in Dean Lane.
3Dom and Cheo, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2019
The whole piece is a clever section of a Cheo character, the inside workings of which are by 3Dom. The character is a graffiti artist, complete with baseball cap, backpack and spray-paint can, primed to do his best. The innards of the character and his backpack are altogether a little weird.
3Dom and Cheo, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2019
There is a good chance that the piece may be around for a little while, as both artists are highly respected and the paintwork itself is flawless. Having said that, there are no rules. The final photograph just provides a little context for the wall and its surroundings in the skate park. A treat of a piece.
Here’s one from Soker that nearly got away. Tucked away at one end of the hoardings in Raleigh Road, hoardings I might add that have now gone as the development reaches completion, this is a piece that could easily have been missed.
Soker, Raleigh Road, Bristol, February 2019
This stretch has been a productive one, particularly for members of ASK, but no more, they’ll have to find other walls to keep them busy. I rather like this cheerful and colourful piece, which is completely on point as always.
When these two get together, it is always a recipe for something interesting, rarely missing the mark. Sled One and Smak have collaborated on this wall before at least once and possibly many times, but this is an absolute peach.
Sled One, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2019
The two have used a McDonald’s theme for this collaboration, using the corporate colours of the food giant. I confess that I find it a slightly curious brand to celebrate, but that is my snobby bias coming into play, which I am not particularly proud of. Sled One has incorporated some fries and bubbling cheese into his writing which is utterly sharp and brilliant.
Smak, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2019
Smak takes the fun a little further with a little slogan ‘the big Smak and cheese’… very droll. Again, this is a supreme piece of writing, so sharp and clean. A great coming together of ASK and RAW. I rather like the bicycle, which I had to keep moving out of the way, but it kind of goes well with the yellow of the piece. So good.
There is something about Cheo’s work that oozes class. I think it stems from his great compositions and characters, but most of all his incredibly clean lines. The whole thing looks like it has been painted with fat felt tips rather than spray cans.
Cheo, Norfolk Place, Bristol, April 2017
I love the smoking cat character with his gold chain in the centre of the piece, and I’m not too sure what the white creature on the left is, but he is clearly animated about something.
Cheo, Norfolk Place, Bristol, April 2017
I struggle to read Cheo’s writing, mainly because he doesn’t simply write ‘CHEO’ which would of course make things much easier. Crazy that I’ve only just posted this one.
Somehow this Deamze piece passed me by. Probably because this spot always seems to have one of his pieces in it…he owns the space. It is not a street with much other street art, so trips there are infrequent and therefore any refresh of this wall can be easily missed.
Deamze, King Square Avenue, Bristol, August 2018
The work is not unlike his previous one here (see below) in so much as it is in his sharp and jagged style and has a hog character. So crisp and clean, just another example of the brilliance of this artist. Although I took the picture in August last year, I have only just got round to posting it. Worth the wait.
This is quite an unusual hoarding in the centre of Bristol for a couple of reasons. First, I’m not sure what it is protecting, it certainly doesn’t look like anything is being redeveloped. Second, it seems that graffiti writers from ASK are tolerated. Perhaps it is a curated wall, I don’t know.
Voyder, Nelson Street, Bristol, February 2019
The middle piece of this ASK collaboration is by the brilliant Voyder, and is one that incorporates his clever brush stroke effect. He really is the master of playing with his audience and introducing stunning ideas and effects. Quite an old piece, but I’ve not had my camera when walking past it before.
As long as Soker keeps turning out fabulous graffiti writing, I will keep photographing and sharing them. This one from a few weeks back was part of a wall shared with Dibz, which I have already posted. It is a beautiful chrome piece with blue and black shadows. Showy and subtle both at the same time.
Soker, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2019
It is interesting that when I post his pieces on Instagram, they generally get fewer likes than street art pieces, which leads me to conclude that graffiti writing is more of an acquired taste…that is except for his Upfest 2018 Simpsons piece, which was my all-time most popular Instagram post. I wish I knew how these things worked.
Sled One has absolutely smashed it with this extraordinarily brilliant piece of graffiti writing on the new hoardings at the bottom end of Lower Ashley Road. Sadly, the developers have already placed batten squares all over the hoardings in preparation for advertising posters (I guess). How sad that our world is dominated by consumerism and money. These boards were a creative outlet for Bristol street artists to share their art with fellow citizens. Instead, drivers will have to endure seedy adverts desperately thrusting lifestyle aspirations at us in an attempt to sell their grubby products to swell their shareholders wallets. Capitalism is driving everything towards the lowest common denominator of money. No wonder the world is in a mess.
Sled One, Lower Ashley Road, Bristol, January 2019
Back to the art and the joy it can bring to our hearts. Sled One is one of the artists I rate most highly in Bristol and this piece (which spells out SLED) is a fine example of his work. He had to paint this in two sessions as he was ‘moved on’ I think when he was sketching it out. Thank goodness he had the perseverance to come back and finish it off. I hope the artists find a way of keeping these hoardings alive, but I fear it could be difficult.
Natural adventures 