At last Cheo has broken cover. He seems to have spent much of the last six months on his studio work and commercial activities and painting walls has taken a back seat. This new piece on the wall outside the Souk Kitchen (a favourite for Upfest) is actually a kind of promotion for an augmented reality piece he has done recently.
Cheo, Raleigh Road, Bristol, August 2020
The crisp piece shows a character fusion with a television set – a proper old one like we grew up with… It is called ‘Retro Flow’ and is the first time Cheo has worked with augmented reality. It is so good to see something on the street from Cheo after such a long break, looking forward to more soon.
I’m not entirely certain I have seen a collaboration between Andy Council and Soker before so this recent piece on North Street is something of a wonderful surprise. The whole thhing is beautifully balanced and the colour selections work perfectly. The Soker burner in the middle is book-ended with the front and back of a dragon with parts of the back running the length of the whole piece for continuity.
Soker, North Street, Bristol, July 2020
I’ll start with the Soker writing, which as ever is top notch with a five colour horizontal fill that works really well and some pink/mauve 3D shading that adds real depth to the lettering. On its own this is remarkable.
Andy Council, North Street, Bristol, July 2020
The front end of the dragon by Andy Council is made up of individual components stitched together with pink looping thread. There is movement and power in this dragon, but its form is a figment of our imaginations. Very clever.
Andy Council, North Street, Bristol, July 2020
The rear end of the dragon is more of the same, but some of the component parts begin to resemble feathers flutteing away, which I am sure is no accident, because Andy Council’s usual preference for dinosaurs woud include scales and primitive feathers (derived from scales). A wonderful collaboration from thes two godfathers of Bristol street art.
Sled One is simply knocking out great pieces at the moment, all of equally high quality and imaginatively pioneering. This sausage on a mobile phone is such a great example of his creativity… a sausage? who’d have thought it?
Sled One, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2020
Of course this is a mash up of writing (SLED) and a character, something that Sled One is a master of. Other writers will often add a character to the side of their work, but they rarely synthesise them into the piece itself. He has a rare talent. It is so good to see Sled One hitting the streets so frequently and it is worth making hay while the sun shines, because he can go quiet for extended periods (work demands probably). Sausages.
This fine piece by Soker was a part of the graffiti writer paint jam from a week or so back. I do think that there is a lot to be said for prepping a wall beforehand for artists of a certain calibre such as Soker, that makes a kind of statement that this work is worth proper treatment – some might view this as taking the edge out of graffiti and I would understand that, but I like it.
Soker, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2020
This piece is on the face of it wonderfully simple, until you take a look at the orange fills with blue drips and the use of five colours graded horizontally in the letters. The purple spots just add something special (Imagine the piece without them). Great work from a graffiti master.
Inkie’s work is consistently outstanding. What a privilege it was to happen upon a paint jam a short while ago at which some of the great and the good of the Bristol and London graffiti writing scene converged on the walls of the M32 roundabout on two consecutive days. A highlight of the year so far.
Inkie, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2020
This piece needs no introduction. Rather I suggest that you simply admire the burning tones and typical ‘fairground’ lettering style that has become representative of the Bristol street art scene. A huge surprise and a red hot piece – happy days.
Armada Place is one of my favourite spots, but over recent years it has become rather quieter than it used to be and the quality of most of the graffiti there seems to have dropped a little. How wonderful it was then to stumble across this lovely piece from Sled One last week.
Sled One, Armada Place, Bristol, July 2020
The piece is yet another surreal and strange piece depicting a figure hoiking out his skull from his face… I know how he feels! While looking at the scene unfold, it would be easy to miss that this is actually a blend of graffiti writing and a character scene… verify clever work. The writing says SLED.
Sled One, Armada Place, Bristol, July 2020
As always with Sled One’s work, the piece is fantastically finished and so easy on the eye. His style of painting and the immense skill and experience he has makes it all look so easy and effortless. Go find it!
This is one of five new pieces on Cattle Market Road on the previously blank hoardings that are on the southern perimeter of the development site behind Templemeads Station that should have been Bristol’s new concert venue. The session from a week ago was co-ordinated by The Hass and the opportunity arose through Out of Hand.
Sled One, Cattle Market Road, Bristol, June 2020
This extraordinary piece is by Sled One and is a welcome return by the artist – I believe this to be his first piece in the city since lock down measures were eased. The outstanding piece tells the story of the site, from a cattle market to the chaotic development site it has become, illustrated by a wrecking ball crashing across the piece on a gold chain. The cow, or more accurately bull, is looking a little crazy and is part of the narrative that recalls that when the place was a cattle holding space a bull escaped and terrorised the locals. As you would expect from the artist, this is an imaginative piece full of movement and wonder. First class (a little reference to the Royal Mail/Parcelforce buildings that were derelict/knocked down to create this development opportunity).
I can’t remember when I last saw a new piece from Ments, but it is quite some time ago. The word I always use to describe his work is ‘organic’ and it most definitely applies to this recent piece on the M32 roundabout.
Ments, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2020
This is a delicate piece that feels rather ephemeral, and is so unlike the work of more conventional graffiti writers. It is quite hard to make out the letters MENTS, but I assure you they are there. This is an accomplished piece painted with great skill, however it isn’t my favourite work by the artist, something feels a little unbalanced about it… I am though, being hyper-critical because it is actually very, very good.
It took me a second trip to this wall in Dean Lane to get some decent photographs. The first effort was marred by a large shadow cast across the left hand side of the piece, and that simply wouldn’t do. The stunning work is a collaboration between 3Dom and Sepr.
3Dom and Sepr, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2020
The easing of restrictions from lock down a couple of weeks back led to an upsurge in high quality pieces, and it has been difficult to keep on top of them, this though is one that is likely to stay for a while. The writing is by 3Dom and the elephant and mouse by Sepr.
3Dom and Sepr, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2020
I have seen similar writing from 3Dom before, there was something very similar on the side of a van I recall. It is easy to forget that he is as talented at graffiti writing as he is at free-form street art. The elephant and mouse is typically humorous and warm from Sepr, who has a talent for telling great stories with his art work. This collaboration is a real gem.
Some pieces are so unexpected and so awesome that when you see them one is met with surprise and a little bit of confusion, and so it was for me when I came across this unbelievable geometric abstract collaboration from Piro and Epok in Dean Lane.
Piro and Epok, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2020
This very classy piece is what I would term a true collaboration, where it is impossible to unpick which bits were done by which artist. The piece is composed of three overlapping large triangles each with a different fill incorporating all sorts of designs, softened with a few circles. This is a really unusual piece for Dean Lane and is something one might expect to see at a street art festival. Perhaps it was created in lieu of Upfest this year. Pure joy.
Natural adventures 