There are many hazards and obstacles to taking street art picures. This was in fact the second visit I had made to photograph this lovely eye by My Dog Sighs (his second Summer Editions piece for Upfest). On the first visit, there was a shadow cast right across the middle of the piece, and in this one I managed to capture a customer at the North Street Standard, and being alone he obviously had to be texting someone to give the illusion that he wasn’t in fact alone… but he was, so there.
My Dog Sighs, North Street, Bristol, July 2019
The eye is everything you might expect from My Dog Sighs, and is beautifully presented. It would be easy to fall in to the trap of saying that he is a one-trick pony and indeed I know some people who think that, I happen to disagree with that particular assertion. He has certainly nailed his technique for painting eyes, but it doesn’t stop there, he still works on the background and the silhouette in the eye and creates an atmosphere or story individual to each piece. Here he has used some stencils with Japanese characters falling like a digital rain around the eye.
You might spot a slight ‘blemish’ on the eye which is caused by a little vent pipe in the wall – My Dog Sighs has concealed it brilliantly. Well done Upfest for organising yet another triumphant Summer Editions piece.
I love this little piece in one of the tunnels of the M32 roundabout. It is by Face 1st, and although completely recognisable as his work, it is a shift away from his usual belle, and one that I love. It is characteristic of his branching out and exploring new ways to present his art.
Face 1st, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2019
It is the eyes that are the clue to the artist, they seem to have an anime appearance about them and are always most appealing. Although it is small and hidden I can’t help feeling that this is representative of the significant shift happening in Face 1st’s work right now.
Shutters are the pits. I must have walked past this beautiful piece by Shab hundreds of times, but only when the shutter was up, so have never seen it before. I understand it has been there for some years, but I only saw it early on a Sunday morning a couple of weeks ago.
Shab, North Street, Bristol, June 2019
I haven’t seen anything from Shab in absolutely ages, so to find this was actually most gratifying. I have always loved his outlined abstract figures and his trademark eyes are always so beautifully done. There were some other shutter pieces here on the front of the North Street restaurant and I will post these in due course. This was like meeting an old friend.
I know that some of you will have been waiting for me to post this, as it is an internationally high-profile collaboration by My Dog Sighs and Curtis Hylton and is already deeply embedded in the ‘datasphere’. Nonetheless I wanted to give you my own perspective of this wondrous Bristol piece.
My Dog Sighs and Curtis Hylton, Windmill Hill, Bristol, April 2019
Firstly, props to Upfest for organising this special event. This year Upfest are taking a rest, a fallow year, from the Summer street art festival. Instead they are going to be orchestrating a few large and significant walls like this one, which will continue to keep Bristol firmly on the street art map.
My Dog Sighs and Curtis Hylton, Windmill Hill, Bristol, April 2019
While I am certainly familiar with the work of My Dog Sighs, I don’t think I have come across Curtis Hylton before, but he is an artist/muralist based in Hampshire, which is probably why he teamed up with MDS who lives in Portsmouth. Curtis painted the amazing artwork surrounding the eyes by MDS. The blue feathers on the left hand side, I believe are of a kingfisher, and in a WIP shot I saw from Paul121 showed some orange feathers, which were subsequently replaced with blue.
My Dog Sighs and Curtis Hylton, Windmill Hill, Bristol, April 2019
Eyes are one of the things that MDS specialises in and this one shows a very Bristol scene… the windmill is from Windmill Hill, the balloons from the Bristol balloon fiesta (one of the largest in Europe) and the Clifton suspension bridge. The silhouette runs through the middle of the eye with an extraordinary orange below and stunning sky scene and reflected eyelashes above. Just amazing.
My Dog Sighs and Curtis Hylton, Windmill Hill, Bristol, April 2019
The eye on the right hand side of the piece shows the same scene… it would look very odd if it didn’t.
My Dog Sighs and Curtis Hylton, Windmill Hill, Bristol, April 2019
Surrounding this his eye is a different scene altogether. Beautiful cream roses and rose petals, together with some other flowers just below the eye. Taken as a whole the collaboration is beyond impressive, and one of the best to be seen in Bristol for a long time.
My Dog Sighs and Curtis Hylton, Windmill Hill, Bristol, April 2019
Just to the right of the piece, the artists completed the wall with further decorations that on their own world be worth the trip, let alone the main work. MDS has really nailed the water drops here. I am going to try and see if I can copy them this weekend, if I get a chance to practice in the garden. Not holding my breath though.
Great to have this world-class piece in Bristol. Bravo My Dog Sighs and Curtis Hilton.
A beautiful quick one by Sled One in Wilder Street. He has the incredible ability to animate whatever it is he paints, and in this case he has brought alive the word ASK (from the crew After School Klub, to which he belongs).
Sled One, Wilder Street, Bristol, April 2019
Great colours and patterns. At the time of writing this, I am aware of two more new pieces on this wall , curated by Where the Wall, which have appeared subsequently by other ASK crew members Sepr and 3Dom. Expect to see them here soon.
Just opposite the Tobacco Factory in Raleigh Road Justinks painted this captivating tiger with an interesting twist. He describes his art as surrealism and biorealism, and although I think the latter might be a made up word, it certainly works when explaining this piece.
Justinks, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Justinks is based in Malta and works as a tattoo artist (the crossover between the two disciplines is remarkable), but since 2011 he made the decision to go big and create some large street art pieces – a great decision in my mind. It is difficult to know what to make of the subject of this piece due to its distortion of the familiar, there is no doubting the talent of the artist though. Great work.
There were a great many fabulous paintings of eyes at this year’s Upfest, but I think that this one was probably the finest. It is by an artist called Justinks who gives little away about himself in the programme notes other than to say this:
‘I’m into movemental detailed artwork, I always put the wind element into my pieces and cold colors to show the power of nature.’
Justinks, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
I was lucky enough to photograph the artist in action, probably on the Saturday, before the cold colours he speaks of were added. This is a fine work executed brilliantly. I’ll certainly be looking out for Justinks in the future.
Jimmer Wilmott is one of the warmest and most welcoming artists I have met. On the two occasions I have been fortunate enough to cross paths with him he has exuded enthusiasm from every pore, and his rather quirky and fun-loving personality is reflected in his pop surrealist art.
Jimmer Willmott, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
It was great to see him at work at Upfest and to witness one of his ‘canvasses’ come to life – I have seen many of them on Instagram, but none ‘in the flesh’. Seeing the layers and the brush work during its genesis and then the final painting was a privilege. The last time I saw him he had created an eyeball using spray cans at Dean Lane skate park.
Jimmer Willmott, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
I think he got a bit carried away during our conversation and was inviting me to go with him to the Cheltenham street art Festival and paint with him. I had to remind him that I have no artistic talent and a total of 2 hours spraying experience. I am however tempted.
One of the things I admire about street artists is that they tend to have a distinctive style that they carry through all of their work – this becomes more obvious when you group their works together in galleries, which I have started doing with Aspire, 3Dom, Mr Draws, Andy Council and Deamze.
In this case the work of Daz Cat has such a strong expression that even when his work doesn’t feature a cat or a dog, it is still utterly unmistakable – this is one artist who doesn’t need to sign his work.
Daz Cat, The Bearpit, Bristol, July 2018
This piece ‘Haven’t a clue what’s going on!’ is a little unusual and slightly unsettling, but nicely conceived and very nicely executed. I wonder if the sentiment is expressed about the Council’s stance to restrict the street/graffiti art in The Bearpit…of course it might have nothing to do with that at all. Another nice piece from Daz Cat.
Once you get your eye in for a particular artist, it seems that you see their work absolutely everywhere, and so it is with Pekoe. Her work was, until recently, off my radar until I saw a piece at the M32 roundabout. Since then I have found three more pieces dotted about the place, including this one and an Upfest piece.
Pekoe, Stokes Croft, Bristol, January 2018
This interesting work was painted as part of a collaboration which included Mr Sleven and one other. Pekoe appears to be fond of the third eye and its symbolism, as it appears in other work. I am still learning about her work and style, and really look forward to discovering more.
Natural adventures 