751. Upfest 2016 (113)

A really colourful collaboration by Bristol artists, DNT, Akarat and Sheva. It is great that as well as visiting artists from all over the world, space is made for some of the local street/graffiti artists who keep Bristolians happy year-round.

DNT, Akarat and Sheva, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

DNT, Akarat and Sheva, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

In this large piece, the stencils at each end are by Akarat, the writing and little angel at the bottom right hand side by DNT and the rest I assume is by Sheva. Sheva is a Bristol artist I have not posted about before, and although I am familiar with the name, I am not familiar with his work.

DNT, Akarat and Sheva, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
DNT, Akarat and Sheva, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

The whole thing, I think is entitled ‘War Baby’ but I am not too sure what the narrative, if there is one, is.

DNT, Akarat, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
DNT, Akarat, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

This was definitely one of the brightest and most vibrant pieces of last year’s festival.

Akarat, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Akarat, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

664. The Bearpit (44)

This is a really old piece (comparatively speaking for street/graffiti art in the Bearpit) that has been in my ready to publish folder for ages. It is by DNT and I think situated in the north tunnel, the one that heads off towards Stokes Croft. You can tell it is an old piece from the absence of tagging around the framed area.

DNT, The Bearpit, Bristol, January 2016
DNT, The Bearpit, Bristol, January 2016

It is a slightly strange and somewhat threatening piece, although I’m not sure it is meant to be. I don’t know what the M.B.G stands for, but maybe there is someone out there who can enlighten me.

545. Moon Street (17)

This is another piece I have been meaning to post for quite a while now, and it has been stacked behind a whole host of other circling photographs. The robot-like character holding the marker pen is by DNT, a Bristol favourite, and frequent sprayer in the Stokes Croft area. However, I don’t know who Marka? is, but the collaboration works nicely.

DNT, Moon Street, Bristol, January 2016
DNT, Moon Street, Bristol, January 2016
DNT is, I feel, a much underrated street artist, probably because of the modesty of the places he chooses to spray. A little like Face F1st of PWA his works are often to be found on highly tagged walls, with loads of busy graffiti going on around. It is good when he gets a nice clean wall like this one and produces something as good as this. I like his work very much, and like that he is so very local. Still need to find out more about Marka.

Marka, Moon Street, Bristol, January 2016
Marka, Moon Street, Bristol, January 2016

508. Wolseley Road

I have held back from writing about this piece for quite a while because I am not too sure who the artist is. I have a feeling it might be DNT, but it is not signed, and I am not getting a whole lot of insight from the Interweb.

DNT? Wolseley Road, Bristol, February 2016
DNT? Wolseley Road, Bristol, February 2016

It is a rather fun shutter piece on the Wolseley Road garage, and not something you’d necessarily expect to see this far up the Gloucester Road. Street and graffiti art in this part are pretty much on the extreme edge of the more frequented areas. Good to see though.

DNT? Wolseley Road, Bristol, February 2016
DNT? Wolseley Road, Bristol, February 2016

This is what I would consider to be classic shutter street art – a commission with some edge and relevance to the business. Unfortunately one sees quite a lot of dismal shutter art that is created by fine artists, who just don’t quite have the outdoor urban touch. This however is good.

If the artist is not DNT, I would love to know who it is.

399. Nine Tree Hill (4)

It has been a little while since DNT or Akarat graced these pages, so here is a reasonably recent collaboration, or perhaps better, co-location of these two great local graffiti artists. The dragon is by DNT (Bruno Dante) and the fish on the utility box are by Akarat. I didn’t see the fish the first time, which is something of a gaffe for a marine and fisheries biologist who prides himself on observational skills.

DNT and Akarat, Nine Tree Hill, Bristol, August 2016
DNT and Akarat, Nine Tree Hill, Bristol, August 2016

This is a fairly quiet collaboration tucked on a side street just off the main drag of Stokes Croft. I love to see their work, and together with other local artists, they really do keep things fresh. Great dragon, great fish…different styles meeting.

Akarat, Nine Tree Hill, Bristol, August 2016
Akarat, Nine Tree Hill, Bristol, August 2016

339. Stokes Croft, the Carriageworks (15)

This rather unusual piece was sprayed back at the start of June and is by DNT. Rather delightfully entitled ‘RIP corporate bunny’ it taps into the edgy political community that makes Stokes Croft such a creative force in Bristol. I like this work for many reasons…bullet holes in a cuddly bunny character. Disturbing and visually engaging all at once.

DNT, Stokes Croft, Bristol, June 2016
DNT, Stokes Croft, Bristol, June 2016

The piece has been sprayed over the Hoax and AKArat work that I featured in one of my earlier posts this year.

217. Hepburn Road (2)

It is  great how things start to come together. Twelve months ago I could probably have named only two Bristol street artists, and one of them was Banksy! Now that I have been blogging about the amazing street art in Bristol for about a year, I am slowly becoming more familiar with the local artists and their styles. Some still confuse me, but generally I know what I am looking at.

DNT, Mr Klue, Akarat, Hepburn Road, Bristol, January 2016
DNT, Mr Klue, Akarat, Hepburn Road, Bristol, January 2016

This lovely collaboration appeared in January this year in Hepburn Road – a heavily sprayed alleyway, about 20m long. The robot thing on the left is by DNT (Bruno Dante), the swirly abstract is by the wonderful Mr Klue (getting a lot of posts at the moment) and the rat is by Akarat

DNT, Hepburn Road, Bristol, January 2016
DNT, Hepburn Road, Bristol, January 2016

I have struggled to separate the work of Hoax and Akarat, and still do. I now know though that the little squiggle above the rat’s head is Akarat’s signature, which shouyld make things a little easier.

Akarat, Hepburn Road, Bristol, January 2016
Akarat, Hepburn Road, Bristol, January 2016

Sadly this piece is now gone, but I was lucky enough to see and enjoyed passing it many times.

165. Jamaica Street (3)

Jamaica Street is home to the People’s Republic of Stokes Croft (PRSC) outdoor gallery. To anyone who walks around this area, this wall is a regular stop off point.  This wonderful wildstyle burner is by DNT and partners the bear by Mr Sle7en that I featured recently.

DNT, Jamaica Street, Bristol, January 2016
DNT, Jamaica Street, Bristol, January 2016

The whole piece spells out ‘Bristol’ and uses the fabulous colours to bring out the design. This piece always cheered me up in the mornings on my way to work, and supports the theories that say that street art brings about a sense of civic pride and coherence. It is certainly the case in Bristol.

DNT, Jamaica Street, Bristol, January 2016
DNT, Jamaica Street, Bristol, January 2016

The piece has now gone and been replaced by a collaboration between Soker and 3Dom – see my next post.

7/10

141. The Bearpit (5)

Another tricky one today. This amazing piece is the left hand side of a larger piece entitled Lifestyles of the Poor and Dangerous.

Hoax? and Akarat? The Bearpit, Bristol, March 2016
Hoax? and Akarat? The Bearpit, Bristol, March 2016

I managed to track down the artists of this whole wall via DNT’s Instagram feed, and it would appear that it was a collaboration by Akarat, DNT, BS51, Klue and Hoax.

Hoax? The Bearpit, Bristol, March 2016
Hoax? The Bearpit, Bristol, March 2016

The two stencils here I would guess are by Hoax and Akarat. This piece I think was sprayed in mid-February 2016.

Akarat? The Bearpit, Bristol, March 2016
Akarat? The Bearpit, Bristol, March 2016

These stencils are exceptional. Get down to The Bearpit and check them out.

Hoax? Akarat? and DNT Stokes Croft, Bristol, March 2016
Hoax? Akarat? and DNT Stokes Croft, Bristol, March 2016

The stencil of the child with the gun also has recently (March 3 2016) appeared in Stokes Croft at number 37.

8/10