Tag: Face

2218. Moon Street (68)

Aah… Moon Street, one of the last remaining strongholds for street/graffiti art in the Stokes Croft area. Gentrification has arrived and is accelerating and it won’t be too long before most of these walls are gone and replaced with yet more student accommodations. The entire city is being overrun with these, surely the bubble has to burst at some point.

Anyhow, here we have quite an unusual and rather lovely little piece by Face 1st in one of his favoured spots.

Face 1st, Moon Street, Bristol, May 2019
Face 1st, Moon Street, Bristol, May 2019

I think that this might have been a bit of a practice, because since he painted this apple in Moon Street, I have seen it (on Instagram) as part of a collaboration elsewhere in Bristol… I must hunt it down, one of many that I haven’t yet found. Face 1st’s characteristic girl’s face is incorporated as part of an apple which appears to have been sliced and has ‘stuff’ brains maybe falling out. A slightly macabre scene and unusual for Face 1st who normally paints such charming faces. Nice to see him pushing the boundaries.

2213. Wilder Street (31)

You have no idea how much pleasure Hazard’s work gives me. It always seems to be so uplifting and beautiful and has a purity about it that is unusual in street art. This is a wonderful piece completed perhaps a couple of weeks ago on the hoardings of a development on Wilder Street.

Hazard, Wilder Street, Bristol, May 2019
Hazard, Wilder Street, Bristol, May 2019

I remember that the first Hazard piece I saw was at Upfest 2016 I think, and I remember commenting on how she combines a beautiful portrait with interesting and elaborate hair decorations, and she does the same thing here. The feathers are just an additional delight to ponder.

Hazard, Wilder Street, Bristol, May 2019
Hazard, Wilder Street, Bristol, May 2019

I love the skin tones in this piece which run from tans through to oranges and yellow on the cheeks. A classy work that conveys innocence and mystery combined. Thank you Harriet for brightening up the streets of Bristol, and come back from your travels safely.

2170. Lawrence Hill roundabout (8)

Sandwiched between Soap on the left and Zake on the right is this lovely piece by Tasha Bee. I haven’t seen much of her work recently, so had a little ferret around in my archive to pull this one out from my first and thus far only trip to Lawrence Hill roundabout.

Tasha Bee, Lawrence Hill, Bristol, February 2019
Tasha Bee, Lawrence Hill, Bristol, February 2019

I particularly like the character’s hair in this one, which appears to have symbols from the zodiac although none that I recognise. As with most of her work, there is something calming about this one. Consistently interesting and good.

2127. M32 roundabout J3 (135)

From a couple of weeks ago, this is a fine piece from Zake, whose work has definitely come out into the open after a gestation period in the partial light of the columns at the M32 Spot. I often wonder what his characters would look like with the pupils of their eyes drawn in, their absence gives them a somewhat aloof aura, deliberate of course.

Zake, M32 roundabout, March 2019
Zake, M32 roundabout, March 2019

The happy face, I suspect is about to get a whole load happier judging from the pill on his tongue. I know little of such matters so have to make assumptions. I am really enjoying the evolution and exposure of Zake’s work.

2122. The Nova Scotia

Anyone who can tell me what is going on here (other than the artist himself) deserves a medal, because it is wild and complex. Tom Miller has an exquisite touch and fertile imagination, a potent combination for creating vibrant and sometimes provocative street art.

Tom Miller, The Nova Scotia, Bristol, February 2019
Tom Miller, The Nova Scotia, Bristol, February 2019

Tom Miller left this piece unfinished for quite some time with a little note in the bottom right hand corner saying ‘work in progress’, but I have to say that the only difference I can make out between the unfinished and finished version is his signature.

Tom Miller, The Nova Scotia, Bristol, March 2019
Tom Miller, The Nova Scotia, Bristol, March 2019

The piece is in two very distinct and contrasting halves. On the left are several faces looking a bit like masks and typically distorted in a surreal way that Tom Miller does so well.

Tom Miller, The Nova Scotia, Bristol, March 2019
Tom Miller, The Nova Scotia, Bristol, March 2019

On the right hand side are two large intertwined and rather frightening dog heads and just above them a series of smaller ones. There is real threat and menace here which seems to be at odds with the unsuspecting mask faces to the left. A truly dream-like or even nightmarish piece from Tom Miller, executed with enormous skill.

2114. Moon Street (63)

Not quite as prolific as he has been in the past, but still keeping things ticking over is the brilliant Laic217 painting in one of his favourite spots in Moon Street. I think the dimensions of the wall lends itself to his portraits.

Laic217, Moon Street, Bristol, March 2019
Laic217, Moon Street, Bristol, March 2019

In this piece we see a return to several ideas used in Laic217’s work which link back to a theme of flammability. A melting face, which Laic217 has used to great effect many times,  that spells out his name. Spray can caps for eyes recessed deeply into the eye sockets and a bucket hat which in this case seems to be fashioned out of a spray can.

Laic217, Moon Street, Bristol, March 2019
Laic217, Moon Street, Bristol, March 2019

I will never get bored with his work and if I am honest probably look forward to discovering his work more than any other artist… it is like a game.

2099. Moon Street (63)

It seems that every artist I write about at the moment is accompanied with the phrase that ‘xxx has been very busy lately’. I don’t quite know what’s going on, but there seems to have been an awakening in Bristol over the last six months or so, and in the four or so years that I have been doing this, I have not quite known a winter so busy. Mr Sleven has also been rather busy and this fine wall in Moon Street is one of several recent pieces.

Mr Sleven, Moon Street, Bristol, March 2019
Mr Sleven, Moon Street, Bristol, March 2019

This is a fine piece of character writing, with the artist’s name interrupted by a girl in a facemask instead of the letter ‘V’. His style is somewhat different from some of the other writers here, who tend to work with much cleaner lines and solid fills, such as Cheo or Soker. Mr Sleven’s work is more organic perhaps, but is no less fantastic for it.

Mr Sleven, Moon Street, Bristol, March 2019
Mr Sleven, Moon Street, Bristol, March 2019

Showing off my ignorance, I’m not too sure what the icon on the woman’s mask is, but it sets the whole thing off nicely. Great to see something like this in Moon Street.

2097. Queen Charlotte Street (2)

My recent discovery of a Tim Marsh piece, kindly left behind after Upfest 2018, was accompanied by two other pieces of which this is one by Ione, another artist who had visited Bristol for the festival.

Ione, Queen Charlotte Street, Bristol, March 2019
Ione, Queen Charlotte Street, Bristol, March 2019

I have already posted Ione’s official Upfest piece a little while back, a piece that was full of character and an interesting style. This is another in that vein. Looking at it carefully now as I am writing this post, I think that there are two artists involved here, one, Ione, who painted the face and possibly another (Salt?) who painted the vase and skull. I think this might require further investigation.

Ione, Queen Charlotte Street, Bristol, March 2019
Salt?, Queen Charlotte Street, Bristol, March 2019

This brings into sharp focus the difficulty of writing about street art, but in particular writing about visiting artists whose work one is less familiar with and therefore less able to be certain of. I think I tend to be a little too up tight about being accurate and authoritative, when sometimes it would be wiser simply to enjoy the art in front of me.

2093. Lawrence Hill roundabout (6)

It seems that I have been a bit of a latecomer to the Lawrence Hill roundabout tunnels… well you can’t be everywhere can you? Although most of the graffiti in the tunnels is nothing to write home about, there are a few decent pieces, including this wonderful collaboration between Tasha Bee and Face 1st.

Tasha Bee and Face 1st, Lawrence Hill, Bristol, February 2019
Tasha Bee and Face 1st, Lawrence Hill, Bristol, February 2019

I like it when these two collaborate as their preferred soft-tone colour pallets and line drawings match so very well – there seems to be a good fusion of styles, which can’t be said for all collaborations. Peace and love.

2087. Dean Lane skate park (200)

Regular readers will know how excited I get when visiting artists leave behind a little gift for us to enjoy, and so I thought it fitting to write my 200th Dean Lane post about Italian artist Filippo Mozone.

Mozone, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2019
Mozone, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2019

The piece is so obviously not in the style of any of the Bristol artists I am aware of and for this reason was a real curiosity. The character appears to be painted in the manga style and has a sketch-like quality to it. The large eyes remind me of ‘Marine Boy’ a cartoon I loved as a child. I am quite pleased with myself spotting the Japanese link, because I have just read in Mozone’s website biography that he was ‘was dazzled by Japanese cartoons in the 80’s and graffiti in the early 90’s‘.

Mozone, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2019
Mozone, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2019

This piece was a lovely surprise (and I like surprises) and is one of my favourite pieces of the year so far.