1569. M32 roundabout J3 (87)

I love the sunny spell we have been enjoying in Bristol except for two things. The first is that there is a water supply leak on my allotment and the Council have turned off the mains supply. That means no water, which means no vegetables and I am pretty upset about it. The second thing is the shadows cast by trees and buildings, making street art photography really tiresome at some sites.

This side of the M32 is a case in point and on the day and time I visited, several of the excellent pieces were partially obscured by dappled shade from the trees. Cameras don’t like dappled shade. This burner by Soker was only affected at the far right hand edge.

 

Soker consistently turns out incredible work and this colourful writing continues the trend. There is a lot of detail and care that has gone into this piece. Even if you are not a fan of graffiti writing, it is possible to appreciate the technical quality of work like this.

 

1554. Dean Lane skate park (136)

It is simply not, not possible (thank you Manja Mexi Movie) to admire the bravery and talent in the work of Tom Miller. This transformation of a container that is more used to hosting quick burners is quite remarkable. Sadly, it has since reverted, but for a few fleeting moments class had arrived in this Dean Lane spot.

Tom Miller, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2018
Tom Miller, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2018

Unfortunately I arrived a little too early to see this piece completed – there is a little footnote in the bottom right saying ‘Back 2moro’. I think it was almost completed, but when I returned only a few days later it had been over-sprayed. It is part of the game, and all artists know the score, but there is something disrespectfully self-destructive about writing over good art I feel.

Tom Miller, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2018
Tom Miller, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2018

Tom Miller confounds with his surreal explosiveness, connecting a dream world with a tangible one. The colours he has used and the overall effect is like nothing else I have ever seen in Dean Lane. I do like it when highly competent and trained artists take to the streets, it adds to the incredible diversity of free art. Bravo! Tom Miller.

Copper

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Colours of the Spring

copper beech canopy and

copper sulphate sky.

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by Scooj

1307. Shoreditch, London (1)

I went to stay with my sister in London for a night a little while ago, and before getting on the train at Paddington to come home to Bristol, I took a bit of a diversion to Shoreditch. It was on this street art hunting expedition that I dropped and broke my camera, which was incredibly annoying. All good now though as I was covered on our insurance policy and I have a new, slightly better, camera.

Thierry Noir, Shoreditch, London, February 2018
Thierry Noir, Shoreditch, London, February 2018

One of the first pieces I saw (before broken camera) was this wonderful musical character by Thierry Noir. I love the apparent simplicity of his work and the bold colours he uses which add character to the locations he paints. I always think there are elements of a fusion of Picasso and Matisse in his work, but that might just be me. I do like this piece a lot…pity about the car parked right in front of it though!

1133. Upfest 2017 (98)

Rob Wass took a lot of care and attention in producing this piece, and was out on both days, dodging the showers like everyone else. Some of you may remember his beautiful fox from Upfest 2015 which shares the same distinctive characteristics with this beautiful tree.

Rob Wass, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Rob Wass, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

Simplicity splashed with carefully selected colours leaves us with a very pleasing piece that generates a sense of calm and connection with our environment…I think I am a fan of his work.

Rob Wass, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Rob Wass, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

1051. Upfest 2017 (69)

It is unfortunate that sometimes the photographs I take of great works simply don’t do them justice, this is one such example. This is a brilliant portrait by the London-based artist Ant Carver, who has used amazing colour shadings to create a rich and textured appearance on the skin of the subject. It is a really clever technique that adds real depth to the piece

Ant Carver, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Ant Carver, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

By the time I got to photograph this great work, the sun was in completely the wrong place and it looks cold and a bit drab, which it most cerrtainly wasn’t. Ant Carver is an artist whose work chimes for me and I would have liked to have spent a moment or two to chat with him, but he looked a bit busy with finishing off, so I left him to it. Maybe next time.

973. Upfest 2017 (33)

I have recently become well acquainted with the work of Guts, a Bristol artist, and am enjoying it more and more with each exposure. His style has something of a doodler’s look about it, with lots of little characters and shapes filled in with bright colours. There is a real skill here though, because this could just end up as a messy sprawl, but look carefully and there is a story in this piece.

Guts, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Guts, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
There is a skater in the central role with a skateboard showering flames from the black. The skater appears to have lost his head, with a bone sticking out from the neck…a bit weird. Some of this looks like it has been inspired by tyhe comic style (and I mean British comics, not the Marvel-type ones).

Guts, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Guts, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
This is a good colourful piece which adds to the overall breadth of styles meeting at Upfest. Nice one Guts.

607. Rivington Street, Shoreditch (5)

Just to mix things up a bit, I am going to write a few posts about some street art I photographed last Summer/Autumn when I was working two days a week in London. I thought I’d start with this rather eye-catching piece from Thierry Noir at the East end of Rivington Street in the archway by Cargo.

Thierry Noir, Rivington Street, Shoreditch, August 2016
Thierry Noir, Rivington Street, Shoreditch, August 2016

Thierry Noir’s pieces are simple and colourful, almost falling into the category of ‘well I could probably do that’ art. Well I probably couldn’t and the idea and style are his and he executes them brilliantly. The more of his work that I see, the more I like it.

562. Richmond Road (2)

I took a stroll in Montpelier a little while ago and visited some streets I have not been to before, and some others that I haven’t been to for a long while. I was very pleased to find this Tom Miller piece on Richmond Road, and although it has been quite heavily tagged, it still conveys loads of movement and emotion in the world of Miller’s ‘imaginite’.

Tom Miller, Richmond Road, Bristol December 2016
Tom Miller, Richmond Road, Bristol December 2016
It is a pity I didn’t get to see this when it was clean, as I love this fine artist’s street work. I love the way Miller’s works spew out colours in all directions – an enjoyable confusion. As an observation, you can see that one of the tags is by Whysayit, a local graffiti artist.

Tom Miller, Richmond Road, Bristol December 2016
Tom Miller, Richmond Road, Bristol December 2016

Colours

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Blue, gold and silver,

the heavenly hues of a

frosty winter dawn. 

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by Scooj