I was very excited when I saw this paste up by Lemak, and exceptionally talented Bristol stencil artist. Excited because I had seen a short video of him creating it on his Instagram feed only the day before. So this really was hot off the press.
Lemak, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2017
I passed by the wall last Friday and it has been badly tagged, so it was fairly short lived, which is a pity. Whenever I see great pieces that are dogged or ruined I am reminded of the fantastic line in Bladerunner – ‘the light that burns twice as bright burns half as long‘ and so it often is with great street art.
Lemak, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2017
I love the crisp collage effect with the graff all around – some similarities with the work of PichiAvo?
I am fully aware that today is the second day of Upfest, and that you might be expecting a post from the wonderful Bristol street art festival. I’m afraid It’s not going to happen for a while. I will have an enormous amount of work to do with photographs and getting to grips with artists before I can start to publish. If you want instant gratification, then follow #upfest2017 in instagram, it’ll be smoking!
For now I will post this characterful piece on one of the pillars under the M32 by Deamze. The faces on this work are quite unusual, and not something that I would ordinarily associate with Deamze.
Deamze, M32 Spot, Bristol, July 2017
There is a figure on each of the four sides of the pillar, each striking a different pose. I have only posted three of them, because the fourth is impossible to photograph due to the light conditions.
Deamze, M32 Spot, Bristol, July 2017
If you want to see the fourth side, you’ll just have to get down to the M32 Spot and check it out. I rather like this piece, and love the jeans and pink shirt, and the burger looks almost good enough to eat.
I met Hire the day he was just finishing off this piece. I told him how much I liked his rabbits as well as his writing, and he told me the back story to this particular piece. So, here’s a thing, even when a bit of graffiti or street art appears to look like nothing out of the ordinary, there are nearly always stories sitting behind them. Sometimes these stories are overt, other times covert.
Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2017
Interestingly, another polish street artist, NEVERGIVEUP, was just around the corner sizing up some tarmac on the skate park for a piece he was going to work on that afternoon. Neither seemed to know each other, but both are polish and spray rabbits. Very different styles, but some commonality. Both really nice people too.
Another fine skeleton and flame piece from the inexhaustible Laic217. This time in cooler blues and less of the fiery furnace approach. This is a nice spot, and perfect for the kinds of works that Laic217 likes to do.
Laic, Bedminster, Bristol, July 2017
The tracksuit is rather special, and I guess representative of things that the artist is familiar and comfortable with. I wonder if setting fire to spray paint is something that people actually do for a bit of a laugh, but it looks rather dangerous to me.
Laic, Bedminster, Bristol, July 2017
Laic217 is certainly becoming more and more expert at producing an expressive skull, giving it a plasticity that allows expressions and maybe even emotions. The eyes here are rather good too. A nice piece.
I’ve noticed that Ryder’s work just seems to be getting better and better lately. His use of colours and textures in his writing has gone on to a new level in recent months and this is a prime example of a classy piece.
Ryder, Upper York Street, Bristol, June 2017
This is a more complex design than some of his previous work and it is only just possible to make out the letters in this wildstyle piece. both the top blue and bottom yellow portions go through a colour/shade gradient vertically which creates an impressive effect. I am liking =his work more and more. Expect further posts.
There is a big reveal to come here. I met T Rex for the first time a couple of weeks back and felt very stupid indeed. Nothing too sinister, just that I have been making that terrible mistake of assuming gender, before knowing it. T Rex is a woman, and not a man as I had thought. I apologised accordingly, and she was fine about it, or so she seemed. I however, being a sensitive soul about such things, cringe with embarrassment still.
T Rex, Upper York Street, Bristol, June 2017
Oh well you learn each day. One of the things I am learning is just how much I love Bristol street/graffiti artists. All have been so kind and chatty and indulge me in my rather boring conversation, often trying to learn a little bit more about what makes them do what they do.
This is a rather fun piece in a neat little alcove on Upper York Street. I believe the previous piece there was by Whysayit. Just to the left of her dinosaur is a piece by her great buddy Ryder.
This is the first interview I have posted on Natural Adventures and I couldn’t have hoped for a better start. I have long admired the work of Dice 67, and have featured several of his Bristol street pieces on this blog over the last two years. This interview was an idea hatched at Upfest 2016 when I met Dice 67 for the first time. Several emails have been exchanged and a year has passed – good things come to those who wait.
Who are you and where are you from?
Andy ‘Dice’ Davies aka Dice 67 / Dice Sixtyseven
Can you remember your first piece of street art? where was it? how did you feel?
I was working for a college for 16-24 yr olds with learning difficulties and, as the board of the qualification I taught changed, the new one had furniture upcycling in. The students all wanted to do Banksy style stencils on there pieces and it went from there.
A couple of years later and a student asked to do a local bus stop in Nailsworth which was a complete mess. We planned the wall and I learnt to go bigger. Part of the wall had a space on it and I put the stencil of my daughter on it as a kind of guardian. The picture of her when she first saw it (wearing the same clothes) got put on Reddit and it got half a million views and voted on by 40,000! This was quite some introduction and people started to contact me asking to buy copies of it, be in magazines etc.
Izzy. Picture courtesy of Dice 67
What techniques do you use and what is your favourite way of working?
Although I started out with stencils I have always wanted to try new techniques and have painted with acrylics, sometimes using brushes and often just using my hands! I have used an air brush on some paintings and done some completely free hand spray pieces now.
Freehand is definitely the most satisfying when it comes off but can be quite frustrating when it doesn’t! I’m still a newbie to it so still have a lot to learn, and can be a bit of a perfectionist, so find getting the fine details on portraits very difficult but its the way I want to go so Ill be doing a lot more.
Making your mistakes and learning in front of people can be quite daunting too! There will always be a place for stencils though – I love the cleanness of the lines and detail in smaller pieces so doubt Ill give them up completely.
Dice 67, The Bearpit, Bristol, April 2016
Why do you do street art, especially when you know it might be tagged or over-painted as soon as you turn your back?
Essentially because I love doing it! Having a creative outlet is a blessing and I love having the opportunity to paint. I was made redundant from the college last year and have now taken it up full-time which has been fantastic. I’m getting a lot of very diverse jobs in and each one is a new challenge.
I’ve turned a lamp post into a cobra, painted a shipping container for the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra’s Virtual Reality headsets for the Cheltenham Music Festival, painted a 30x10ft magazine cover and am also making a sculpture for the Tour of Britain cycle race as well as running workshops and doing murals for schools, library projects and festivals so I am pretty busy but loving every minute right now.
I’m also running the first Cheltenham Paint Festival where I shall be having around 70 artists coming and painting around 14 locations around the town so life’s pretty hectic at the minute!
It’s nice when your work stays up and is there for a time but getting painted over is the nature of the beast and keeps everything fresh. You’re constantly pushed to come up with something new and that’s an exciting prospect.
Dice 67, The Bearpit, Bristol, June 2016
Who are your artistic or life inspirations?
As I’m sure you’re aware my kids appear in a lot of my paintings and they’re definitely a big inspiration for me. I don’t like painting famous people and don’t like using other peoples photographs without permission so I guess its my way of saving on models fees!
As for artistic inspirations I just try to do my own thing – I love realism in street art, anamorphic styles and admire the form and colours of the writers but also love Da Vinci’s drawings, surrealism and abstraction. I’m a big fan of good sculpture and installation pieces too so my inspirations are pretty diverse!
Dice 67, The Bearpit, Bristol, March 2017
Whose work do you admire?
My favourites are undoubtedly Pichi and Avo. I love their mix of new and traditional styles. It was something I thought about doing myself a few years ago but when I did a google search and found a couple of their early pieces, I realised I was nowhere near their level and it would probably take me a lifetime to achieve where they already were so went back to the drawing board!
Other favourites are Smug, Kazland, Id:iom, Odeith and I love Carlos Martin Burgos’ drawings.
What makes you tick?
Leaving something for my kids to look back on and seeing that I stood up for kindness and social responsibility.
Dice 67, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
What would you be doing (do you do) when you are not creating your art?
Trying to make my kids laugh or teach them something.
Do you have a ‘stand out’ piece that you are most proud of? what is it? is it still there?
I’ll always love my original Izzy piece as its taken me to where I am today. I often think if she had worn a different top or boots I might not be on the path I am now and would still be teaching. I find it crazy that the random choice of a 4 yr old has had such a huge impact on my career path! Yes the original is still up in Nailsworth as far as I know and is now four years old!
Angus with extras from Dice 67, The Bearpit, Bristol, April 2017
My recent SMILE piece is also a favourite as it forced me to go freehand due to time constraints and it came off and fitted the triple gatefold magazine cover! It was my goal to go freehand this year and this gave me the kick up the arse to do it. Its still there as we speak.
Smile. Picture courtesy of Dice 67
Do you have plans for your art? what will you be working on in the coming months?
Just to keep doing whatever opportunities come my way and finding some time for my own stuff in between! The paint festival is huge for me and I have a budget from the council to run 6 smaller festivals over the next three years so being able to paint the town is a huge honour and one I hope I can make people proud of.
Do you have any questions for me?
Would you like to buy a painting? 🙂
Nothing would give me more pleasure than owning a Dice 67 piece…a few more years down the mine earning shekels ought to do it. Many thanks to Dice 67 for giving us a window into his world.
Natural adventures 