Tag: Bee

848. Raleigh Road, Vector (13)

It has been really interesting to see this ‘Bee-Boy’ come to life. He began as a sketch in Cheo’s black book which he posted on Instagram with the hashtags #cheo, #bee, #sketch and #fart. The sketches became more detailed until he finally sprayed the piece in Raleigh Road.

Cheo, Raleigh Road Bristol, June 2017
Cheo, Raleigh Road Bristol, June 2017

Cheo seems to have had a love-hate relationship with Bee-Boy and it has been interesting to see the development of the character. Even after he had completed the work, he went on to produce a full colour sketch, for which he apologised, and even after that he committed the ‘little twat’ to canvass.

Cheo, Raleigh Road Bristol, June 2017
Cheo, Raleigh Road Bristol, June 2017

Whatever cheo thinks of it, I and many, many others love this little character – edgy, mischievous and comical.

818. Raleigh Road, Vector (12)

These hoardings on Raleigh Road are becoming a favourite spot for Cheo, Soker and Voyder, amongst others. This piece by Cheo contains many of the hallmarks of his work…a bee, a cigar, a gold chain, a crisp design, clearly well prepared and some great writing.

Cheo, Raleigh Road, Bristol, May 2017
SAMSUNG CAMERA PICTURESCheo, Raleigh Road, Bristol, May 2017

I cannot decipher the writing, but Cheo hashtagged the Instagram image of this piece with #nintendope, #piranhaplant, #Nintendo and #Mario, which perhaps gives some insight into the inspiration and subject matter.

Cheo, Raleigh Road, Bristol, May 2017
Cheo, Raleigh Road, Bristol, May 2017

I’m always pleased to see Cheo pieces, especially ones as crisp as this one.

766. North Street Green (7)

This piece from our very own Jody (when I say ‘our’, I mean Bristol’s) was something of a promotional stunt for Huff Post. He had been lined up to do a live spray, during which he unveiled the new Huff Post logo – the video has had more than 200k views…not bad really.

Jody and Cheo, North Street, Bristol, April 2017
Jody and Cheo, North Street, Bristol, April 2017

Not long after the piece was completed and the brouhaha had subsided, the logo was painted out, and then not too long after that, Cheo sprayed a bee on the hand. One in the eye for the corporates.

Jody and Cheo, North Street, Bristol, April 2017
Jody and Cheo, North Street, Bristol, April 2017

This coming together, albeit a bit haphazardly, leaves us with a really rather wonderful piece. The grayscale hand, so beautifully crafted, is the prefect partner for the vibrant and rather cheeky bee. Glad I got to see the completed thing before I knew about the backstory.

713. Raleigh Road, Vector (8)

The relatively recent hoardings (erected about four months ago) in Raleigh Road have provided an opportunity for some great displays of street/graffiti art. The appearance and disappearance of hoardings and the art adorning them is all part of the changing landscape in Bristol. At the time these hoardings appeared, the ones in Old Bread Street were taken down as development of the area began.

Cheo, Raleigh Road, Bristol, March 2017
Cheo, Raleigh Road, Bristol, March 2017

This is a lovely piece by Cheo, who in recent weeks has become very busy indeed on the streets of Bedminster, often spraying with his fellow ASK graffiti artist Soker.

Cheo, Raleigh Road, Bristol, March 2017
Cheo, Raleigh Road, Bristol, March 2017

This piece has a lot of references to street culture in Bristol, although I’m not too sure what the little octopus has to do with anything. A great piece beautifully executed – nice crisp image.

688. Church Road top (1)

Tucked away behind an industrial unit in Church Road is a little lane that I have not visited before. The building is sprayed with permitted pieces all around, and many of them by Cheo. This is a recent piece, and the wall was shared with Soker – see the next post.

Cheo, Church Road, Bristol, March 2017
Cheo, Church Road, Bristol, March 2017

Cheo has been a little quiet in Bristol since Upfest, but seems to have gone on something of a spray spree recently. This is a quality bit of wildstyle work and there is a crispness so typical of Cheo’s style. This is a great piece, and nice to see a return of the bee.

Cheo, Church Road, Bristol, March 2017
Cheo, Church Road, Bristol, March 2017

389. Upfest 2016 (33)

I never made it to Upfest 2015, which might be a blessing, as I would probably still be writing posts about it now if I had. I was struck though by how many ‘treats’ were hidden in the North Street area after the event.

23Magpies, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
23Magpies, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

It was in searching carefully for these ‘treats’ that I started to find some lovely paste ups by 23Magpies, such as this chameleon. Her work is heavily focused on wildlife and the environment, and her feature piece for Upfest was this lovely fox and design.

23Magpies, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
23Magpies, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

I am a big fan of 23Magpies’ work and will be writing about some of the treats she left behind after this year’s festival. On this particular piece, you’ve got to love the detail of the bee on the rim, which the fox appears to be watching. Great stuff.

Where the bee sucks…

 

Interdependent

we and the pollinators

let’s look after them.

 

by Scooj

#beesneeds

Leaf cutter bee

 

Solitary bee

navigating to and fro;

busy nestbuilding.

 

by Scooj

6. @Bristol

A beautiful commission on an outside wall of the excellent @Bristol museum. It is called ‘The Honey Bee’, and highlights the importance and plight of our pollinators.

 

ATM, Millennium Square, Bristol, July 2015
ATM, Millennium Square, Bristol, July 2015

ATM is an artist who went to art school in Sheffield and now lives in London and is famous for his striking pictures of birds. I am drawn by his highly ethical position on the natural world, and his images are reminders of species at risk, that were once abundant. My only criticism, which seems a little harsh, is that his work is not very edgy, and I like a bit of edge.

I understand from his Twitter feed that he painted a mural last weekend at Bristol’s world-famous Upfest. I will seek it out soon.

6.5/10

 

3. Broad Quay

There are two murals that appear to have been commissioned to celebrate the ‘Grand Appeal’, a charity that raises funds for Bristol Children’s Hospital. One of them dates back to 2013 and the Gromit Unleashed trail, the second, and very recent mural, links up with the Shaun in the City trail. They can be seen on Broad Quay next to the Radisson Blu Hotel.

Cheo, Shaun the Sheep, Broad Quay, Bristol, July 2015
Cheo, Shaun the Sheep, Broad Quay, Bristol, July 2015

The murals are by Cheo, a Bristol street artist whose trademark is a cartoon bumblebee that appears on most of his work. Cheo started in earnest in the 1980s and was clearly an emerging talent who won several prizes and awards as a youngster.

Cheo, Broad Quay, Bristol, July 2015
Cheo, Broad Quay, Bristol, July 2015

I am slowly becoming a fan of the cartoon style and admire the work of yet another Bristol-based street artist.

 

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