Tag: Graffiti

2211. Dean Lane skate park (212)

When you see a piece like this in blue tones with a dash of white and it is so incredibly clean and tight, you can only stand back in wonder and admire the extraordinary talent of Bristol’s Cheo.

Cheo, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2019
Cheo, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2019

Cheo usually paints character pieces, and I don’t think there is anyone better at creating this cartoon style anywhere in the country. Every line and shadow is immaculate and skilfully laid down. As always he has marked the piece with his signature bee. This was a lovely surprise piece to find in Dean Lane and is another little reminder of the world class street art scene in Bristol.

Greta

 

A fitting tribute

to the girl who changed the world

a work in progress.

 

by Scooj

2209. Allen Gardens, London (4)

This is the last in this little sequence of Shoreditch pieces from November 2018. I feel I have to post them because they are just too good not to share. Although I have loads of pictures of Thisone’s work in my archives I have never actually posted any of his work before and I hope this will be the first of many.

Thisone, Allen Gardens, London, November 2018
Thisone, Allen Gardens, London, November 2018

This work is larger than his typical pieces but contains some of his key themes, which are the use of black and white paints only, an animal of some kind and beads and jewelry. When I first saw this piece I thought it might be a swan, but on closer inspection the beak is taht of a gull of some kind – maybe an albatross? Whatever it is, the whole thing is very beautiful, and I am pleased to report was still on this wall when I last visited in April.

Play

.

While the cats are out

two hours with a can in hand

I squeak with delight

.

by Scooj

  • On to letter D tonight.

2208. Shoreditch, London (32)

An artist whose work I have long admired is London-based SkyHigh. His work is always immaculate with fabulous clean lines and complex designs. Most commonly he spells out his name using a contrasting style for each letter and somehow bringing the whole thing to life. His pieces almost feel like animations as the styles spill over from one to the next.

SkyHigh, Shoreditch, London, November 2018
SkyHigh, Shoreditch, London, November 2018

This one using pink tones with black is in my view one of the best I have seen, each component skilfully laid down to create a magnificent whole. I particularly like it that roughly once a year SkyHigh makes a trip to Bristol, and one of his pieces has lasted for probably a year or more. Always top class.

2207. Shoreditch, London (31)

My visit to Shoreditch, London, back in November last year reminded me of a significant difference between the London and Bristol street art scenes. In London, there is a strong wheatpaste movement, and in some places there is barely a square inch of a wall that isn’t covered with a paste up. In Bristol on the other hand, wheatpastes are a rarity, and are normally provided by visitors to the city such as Face the Strange, D7606, Tian, Losthills and of course qWeRT. The last frequent Bristol-based wheatpaster was Kid Crayon, but he has moved on to spray-painting now. I think Kedals might be the only one doing it at the moment – room for some new entrants?

qWeRT, Shoreditch, London, November 2018
qWeRT, Shoreditch, London, November 2018

This is a little collection of wonderful googly-eyed paste ups by qWeRT which are dotted all over the place in Shoreditch.

qWeRT, Shoreditch, London, November 2018
qWeRT, Shoreditch, London, November 2018

qWeRT’s pieces are always rather cute (a word I rarely use) and endearing, like this one holding up a banner saying simply ‘need more love’.

qWeRT, Shoreditch, London, November 2018
qWeRT, Shoreditch, London, November 2018

I have always liked this form of street art and qWeRT’s work in particular.

2206. Allen Gardens, London (3)

Sometimes it is just too difficult to talk about how good a piece really is, because the words used are clumsy and don’t really do the artist justice. This is a case in point. It is a zombie piece (not to everyone’s taste) by JXC, an artist I have come across a couple of times at Upfest.

JXC, Allen Gardens, London, November 2018
JXC, Allen Gardens, London, November 2018

Everything about this is good – an arresting subject, incredible precision and artwork, great colour selection and a level of detail rarely seen on the street. As an observer, sometimes it is just so hard to comprehend how these guys do this with spray cans, I am left in awe. As you can see, I rather like this piece which I photographed in London back in November last year.

JXC, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
JXC, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
JXC, Upfest, Bristol July 2016
JXC, Upfest, Bristol July 2016
JXC, Upfest, Bristol July 2016
JXC, Upfest, Bristol July 2016

2205. St Werburghs tunnel (81)

Diced Mango is an artist reasonably new to me, having only been aware of his street pieces for about six months or so. He has become rather busy lately and his letters are appearing in various spots around the city.

Diced Mango, St Werburghs, Bristol, January 2019
Diced Mango, St Werburghs, Bristol, January 2019

This piece, from January this year was in St Werburghs tunnel and shows how the artist plays with shapes and shadings to make the letters look like they are twisted a little. Clever stuff and it gives me ideas for things that I can try out at home. Several more to come from Diced Mango soon.

2204. M32 roundabout J3 (143)

Yet another wonderful, happy piece from Soap which I have uncovered from my January archive… it must have been a busy month to overlook this piece. Without question these are happy mouths, and in recent times have softened.

Soap, M32 roundabout, Bristol, January 2019
Soap, M32 roundabout, Bristol, January 2019

The colours are magnificent and I think the way that Soap has laid them down is rather clever and beautifully done. In my mind I am trying to work out the layering and sequence that the colours were laid down in. What I can say is this is an accomplished piece, and another belter from Soap.

2203. St Werburghs tunnel (80)

It is not often that you see a nicely painted van in Bristol, even though there are a great many vans with spray paint on them… sadly most of these are fairly rubbish throw ups or tags that frankly are untidy.

Rusk, St Werburghs, Bristol, April 2019
Rusk, St Werburghs, Bristol, April 2019

This is a lovely piece of 3D writing from Rusk which appeared near the entrance of St Werburghs tunnel recently. Since I took this picture, the other side has been sprayed by Soker, so this is one classy van. I have not seen writing like this from Rusk before, nor have I seen any kind of scenery work like this, so this is a bit of a collector’s item. Nice to witness the versatility of this great Bristol writer.