Tag: Cheo

1843. Upfest 2018 (84)

I think I might have said this last year, but somehow Upfest wouldn’t feel like Upfest without a presence from Cheo. One of Bristol’s most established graffiti writers and character street artists, his work is always of the highest quality. Judging from his Instagram account, I think he prepares these pictures on his computer and then recreates scaled up versions, which lends itself to his very clean style with solid fills.

Cheo, Upfest, Bristol, October 2018
Cheo, Upfest, Bristol, October 2018

I have seen these characters a few times before. I never quite know what they are, frogs? toothless crocs? monsters? your guess is as good as mine. The writing has a feel of Japanese script to it and from time to time Cheo uses this. I really don’t know what it says, but would guess at CHEO, although I can’t see it myself. He finishes the whole thing off, of course, with one of his signature bees. All good.

1723. Raleigh Road vector (25)

Yet another fine collaboration between Cheo and Soker – these two seem to be on something of a roll at the moment, producing countless pieces all over the city of Bristol. This one perfectly fills the space on the hoardings in front of a new development.

Cheo, Raleigh Road, Bristol, September 2018
Cheo, Raleigh Road, Bristol, September 2018

The piece is bookended by a pair of mischievous spray can characters painted by Cheo, and in the middle of all of this is a dazzling piece of writing by Soker which spells out SUMOE. I guess I should know what sumoe is all about, but alas I have no idea. There is a whole bunch of #sumoe graffiti Instagram, most of it in the USA.

Cheo, Raleigh Road, Bristol, September 2018
Cheo, Raleigh Road, Bristol, September 2018

Cheo has pretty much nailed it with his bookends as he seems to with pretty much everything he does. With their dark furry eyebrows, there is something of the Muppets in his characters. Of course we are also graced with the presence of one of his signature bees.

Soker, Raleigh Road, Bristol, September 2018
Soker, Raleigh Road, Bristol, September 2018

Soker’s writing is composed primarily of four horizontal layers ranging from light blue at the top through to light purple at the bottom, each layer smattered with accents or decoration. He has also worked quite an unusual double 3D shadow cast by the letters. This is a great collaboration from this ASK duo, and well worth the trip to Raleigh Road.

1701. Dean Lane skate park (160)

It is always nice to go to a regular haunt, in this case Dean Lane, and find something completely unexpected. It feels like getting a present or something like that and on this occasion the treat was from Cheo. I especially like this because Cheo can pretty much choose any wall he likes but will still come back to Deaner and slap up a high quality piece.

Cheo, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2018
Cheo, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2018

All the elements you would expect from Cheo – crystal clean lines, solid fills and clever shadows on a character brandishing a spracan all topped off with a trademark bee. A nice treat on a lunchtime walk.

1667. Upfest 2018 (18)

Cheo is a Bristol (and beyond) street art legend, and his involvement in Upfest is always eagerly anticipated. In the last few years Cheo has been quite dominant at the festival, so this year’s rather modest participation came as a bit of a surprise, his piece however reached all the high standards you expect to see from him.

Cheo, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Cheo, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

Are we supposed to guess at who is hidden under the paper bag? My immediate assumption, given the Simpsons theme of the festival is that it is the mischievious Bart, but I may be wide of the mark and there may be another story going on here.

Cheo, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Cheo, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

Somehow Upfest simply wouldn’t feel like Upfest without some contribution from Cheo, and it is great to see his work on a wall that he obviously enjoys, as he has had several pieces on this wall outside the Bristol Standard, in the past. Great stuff.

1575. Dean Lane skate park (140)

This is what you get when you pair up two of Bristol’s finest writers and character artists, Dibz and Cheo.THis is a supreme collaboration with Dibz supplying the writing and Cheo paint

Dibz and Cheo, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2018
Dibz and Cheo, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2018

 

The whole piece is extra sharp and just amazingly well painted and I love the way thet Goofy almost seems to lean out of the wall, a hip hop goofy at that fully kitted out with medallion and baseball cap.

Dibz and Cheo, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2018
Dibz and Cheo, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2018

I managed to get down to see this piece quite quickly, but the margins had already been tagged – I think that might be a naughty Oner tag in the top left. Typical Bristol brilliance for all to see.

 

1490. West Street (3)

This is a lovely mural by Cheo, especially if you happen to be a Bristol City fan. The team are known as the Robins, and Cheo has incorporated this into his tribute to the football club. I’m not entirely sure how long this piece has been here, but I suspect it is several years.

Cheo, West Street, Bristol, April 2018
Cheo, West Street, Bristol, April 2018

One of the surprising things perhaps, or maybe I am just too cynical, is that it hasn’t been vandalised in any way by supporters of the rival Bristol club, Bristol Rovers. I do like it when two of my passions converge like this, but it doesn’t happen as often as one might think (now planning to search my archive for football-related street art). As an Arsenal fan, I have no allegiance to either of the Bristol teams and always want both to do well for the sake of the city.

1439. Old Bread Street (14)

A fine trio of artists, Soker, Cheo and Hemper came together in 2016 and painted this fine collaboration. All three are at the top of their game and this formula – wildstyle, character, wildstyle – is one that works well. There is a balance and symmetry to the whole thing.

Soker, Old Bread Street, Bristol, September 2016
Soker, Old Bread Street, Bristol, September 2016

The chrome writing on the left is by Soker, and the letters SOKEM are easy to pick out. The lines are very clean and sharp and a careful look at the detail reveals incredible attention in each and every intricate shape. Magnificent.

Cheo, Old Bread Street, Bristol, September 2016
Cheo, Old Bread Street, Bristol, September 2016

In the middle, the character piece is by Cheo, who else, and looks like a man who enjoys his music. I love the way his glasses change the colour of everything behind them, and the same with the goggles. beautifully done.

Hemper, Old Bread Street, Bristol, September 2016
Hemper, Old Bread Street, Bristol, September 2016

Finally on the right some more writing in chrome, this time from Hemper. Of the three, he is the one I know least about. I think that these days, he is not as active as the others. The letters spell ‘HEMP’ and they have a slightly more forgiving and organic feel to them than those of Soker.

Cheo, Old Bread Street, Bristol, September 2016
Cheo, Old Bread Street, Bristol, September 2016

The whole thing is utterly lovely and I am puzzled why it hasn’t made it out of my archives until now. Some mistake surely. Damn that water droplet.

1377. Raleigh Road (5)

This is another old one from 2016 on a wall that is no longer accessible, but was once a choice wall for the ASK crew. This is a fine piece by Cheo, which I have been looking at for ages, but still can’t make out the writing. ‘Equips’? As ever, great character and beautiful crisp lines.

Cheo, Raleigh Road, Bristol, April 2016
Cheo, Raleigh Road, Bristol, April 2016

I enjoy looking through my archive pictures as it affords me to look at people’s work through a different lens, one which has a better understanding of the artists and their art.

1370. Upfest 2017 (149)

What a brilliant piece this is from Cheo, the largest of several walls from the artist at Upfest featurig the animation character Morph. In this piece Morph is joined by his erstwhile partner in crime Chas.

Cheo, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Cheo, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

My favourite part of this wall though is not the two characters in the foreground, but the gallery of bristol artists behind them. Morph originated on a television programme for children called Vision On, and one section of the show was dedicated to ‘the gallery’ which showed paintings that had been sent in by children, accompanied by great music, that all children of my generation would recognise instantly.

Cheo, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Cheo, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

Cheo’s hilarious take on the Vision On gallery features several well known Bristol street artists with his take on their entries, knowing what he knows about their styles now. very funny.

Cheo, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Cheo, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

In the piece he honours Andy Council (dinosaur), Soker ( a little girl), Voyder (a unicorn), 45RPM (an owl), 3Dom (a castle), Inkie (a Wallace and Gromit), Cheo (a bee) and Chelway (a whale). Poking fun at his mates.

1155. Dean Lane skate park (91)

A wonderful recent piece on the long wall at Dean Lane by three of Bristol’s very best street/graffiti artists, 3Dom, Soker and Cheo from the ASK stable. I think that this might have been another Halloween collaboration – they have been very popular this year.

3Dom, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2017
3Dom, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2017

First off, on the left is a curious surreal house/shed/kennel with something swirly going on in the middle. 3Dom always has this dream like imagination that presents the familiar combined with the bizarre. The dripping house and shadow underneath are very nice touches to this piece. Great to see 3Dom being more visible on the streets again after a gap of several months.

Soker, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2017
Soker, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2017

I suspect that regular readers will be very familiar by now with the writing of Soker (text says SOKEM) or at least if you are not, where have you been? His writing is always of a high quality and I have rarely been disappointed.

Cheo, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2017
Cheo, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2017

Finally, rounding off the collaboration is a wonderful homage to ‘Freddy Krueger’ by Cheo, complete with razor fingers, stripy t-shirt and a pumpkin face. This is a fun piece that really stands out…it is a pity that there is a bit of glare on the photograph. Most annoying.

3Dom, Soker, Cheo, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2017
3Dom, Soker, Cheo, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2017

All in all this was a nice halloween surprise for me in this spot which I regularly visit. Great work from the boys.