This is the second No Frills collaboration in Dean Lane in a month or so from Slim Pickings and Biers, which is nicely set on a black background with a Day-Glo green/yellow ‘cloud’.
Biers, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2019
On the left is the Biers piece that features a cartoon scientist, whose test tube is bubbling over with the luminous green/yellow stuff. After a little Googling I found out that the scientist is Professor Utonium from the Powerpuff Girls – a cartoon series that completely passed me by. I’m not sure what the writing in this one says, he seems to write something different each time now, which is great.
Slim Pickings, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2019
Slim Pickings on the other hand remains utterly consistent with his design and the letters TES. I guess that for him he seeks to perfect something he is familiar with, and although the design remains the same, the colour selections and one or two little inclusions vary it and continue to hold interest. Another great collabortaion from these two.
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.
Such a beautiful piece of wildstyle writing from Bristol legend 3Dom. This was part of a recent collaboration with fellow ASK artist Sepr on a wall in Wilder Street curated by Where the Wall.
3Dom, Wilder Street, Bristol, April 2019
The colour palette is rather unusual, although I do remember a piece by 3Dom some years ago that had some similar colours, but it was a character piece rather than writing. Always such high-quality work fromn this brilliant Bristol street/graffiti artist.
Back to Bristol now, after a short excursion to London, and a more familiar street art scene altogether. This is the second of two recent finds by John D’oh in Horfield skate park. I suppose it is possible that they were produced around the same time.
John D’oh, Horfield skate park, Bristol, April 2019
This stencil features Batman and a quote from John D’oh that reads ‘I son’t want Michael Gove as Prime Minister I want Batman AKA Jeremy Corbyn’. This is in reference to a televised speech made by Michael Gove in which the automated subtitles said Batman instead of ‘that man’ when he was talking about the leader of the opposition. Very funny really, and great work from John D’oh to capture it in this way. I think we’d all prefer Batman to any of the potential candidates in the Tory party right now. What an utter shower of toxic right-wingers.
I am often caught in two minds about the ‘high-end’ street art that is much more common in London than in Bristol, because it can appear to forget where its roots are sometimes. This is a fairly weak observation, because actually I pretty much love the entire street/graffiti art spectrum, but what I particularly love about Dale Grimshaw’s work is that for me it bridges the gap between the street and the posh stuff so very well.
Dale Grimshaw, Hanbury Street, London, April 2019
This amazing piece is typical of Dale Grimshaw’s work and was painted a day or two before I took this picture, so I tyhink I got really lucky. Here’s what he had to say abou it on Instagram:
Latest wall piece in London. Imagery from PNG but highlighting the occupation & atrocities in West Papua by Indonesia.
Sometimes you need to be eagle-eyed. Many of you will be familiar with the work of French artist C215 (Christian Guemy) and will have seen pieces by him in Paris or London, or indeed all over Europe. It is his cats in particular that he is really well known for and here is a rather old looking and very small C215 cat in Brick Lane.
C215, Brick Lane, London, April 2019
This one was so very well ‘camouflaged’ by all the other busy scrawls on the door that if I had blinked I would have missed it. His work has such a deft touch that brings his pieces to life. I am amazed that in such a small two-tone piece, the character of the cat comes shining through. A brilliantly talented artist.
It was great to be able to show my sister this wall back in April, because pretty much the entire length of it was being actively sprayed. It is not often that you happen to be in the right place at the right time to witness a paint jam in progress, especially when Tizer is involved.
Bapsta and Tizer, Allen Gardens, London, April 2019
I believe the artist in the picture is Bapsta and that Tizer was probably wandering around, because even though the artists were doing their finishing touches, I don’t think they had started to disperse. If I had been here alone I expect I would have spoken to a few of them because I really don’t know much about the London scene.
It was a privilege and a bit of luck to see these guys in action.
One of the refreshing things about visiting Shoreditch or Camden Town is that every piece I see is a new discovery. What I mean by that is I don’t really follow London street art on social media, so when I see a piece ‘in the flesh’ it is usually the first time I have seen it or even know of it. In Bristol, I will have seen the majority of street/graffiti art works on Instagram before I ‘find’ them and photograph them. What this also means is that I know relatively little about the London artists, and for my own sanity probably need to keep it that way.
Cokyone, Allen Gardens, London, April 2019
When I visited Allen Gardens in April I think that this piece by Cockyone was relatively new, it certainly looked incredibly fresh. When it comes to birds I think that kingfishers are a real crowd-pleaser, because of their beauty and character, and they frequently feature in street art. I think this is a wonderful piece, skilfully blending abstract grayscale patterns with the vibrant colours of the bird and the crown tops the whole thing off nicely.
This is a wild, weird and wonderfully executed piece at the entrance of the Nomadic Community Garden just off Brick Lane by the London-based artist Woskerski. I know that skulls are not everyone’s cup of tea, but they play a hugely important part in the street art scene… don’t ask me why, they just do.
Woskerski, Nomadic Community Garden, London, April 2019
Now any skull has a rather dark look about it, but this one is both dark and slightly crazy. There is something disconcerting about that eye floating in its socket and the X in the other socket. What I love about the piece though is the textures and lines and shading that give the piece definition and depth. A masterful work.
This doorway (if you care to look on streetview, which is a little out of date now) used to be reasonably clean, and only the little squirrel stencil (bottom right) by Bristol’s Stewy occupied the space. Things move fast in the street art/graff world and I have seen dozens of wheatpastes and larger pieces on the doors. This one I think has to be the pick of the bunch.
Nether410, Rivington Street, London, April 2019
Although I had been aware of this beautiful piece by Nether410 from my trip to Shoreditch last November, it wasn’t until I visited in April this year that I actually found it. There is a big story unfolding, which touches on incarceration and freedom, humanity and nature. A stunning and thoughtful piece. Skylark security can piss off though. (My apologies).
Natural adventures 