Tag: Graffiti

1757. Upfest 2018 (51)

Another fabulous new wall for Upfest 2018 – they have done very well this year with opening up these new walls – by Bristol artist 3rdeye. This is an impressive wall but may not have had the foot-fall of other Upfest venues as it was a little off the beaten track.

3rdeye, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
3rdeye, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

3rdeye is an artist who cut his teeth on the streets as a graffiti artist in the eighties, but has since developed this further into studio work of paintings and illustrations as well as offering workshops. His rather nice website shows the full range of his work and activities.

3rdeye, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
3rdeye, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

This wall plays host to a hoard of friendly monsters set on a vibrant orange background. It is a colourful and child-like piece, and all the better for it, and I am particularly drawn to the little monster launching itself off a column which is actually a real feature of the wall of the house.

3rdeye, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
3rdeye, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

This piece amply demonstrates that street art does not have to be edgy or threatening to be great and that bright child-like ideas have great appeal. Great piece, great wall.

1756. Dean Lane skate park (172)

I just love it when these two get together, which fortunately they seem to manage rather regularly. These Laic217 bookended Cort pieces do tend to follow a formula in terms of presentation, but the characters and writing always offer something visually stimulating.

Cort, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2018
Cort, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2018

Cort’s writing style seems to be quite versatile and he has produces a real gem here, incorporating soft curves and angular shapes all into the same piece. It is an unusual and slightly unconventional style, but that is what makes it stand apart from other writing.

Laic217, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2018
Laic217, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2018

Then on to the Laic217 characters. His skeletons have become such a prominent feature of walls around Bristol that they must have entered the sub-conscious of a great many Bristolians on exposure alone.

Laic217, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2018
Laic217, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2018

Rarely disappointing these figures include many of the things we expect from Laic217 – great clothing, skulls, smiley’s brick walls, bucket hats. I love the bit of fun too with the left hand side character using a roller to spell out the two artist’s names at the top of the piece. Another classic wall.

Laic 217 and Cort, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2018
Laic 217 and Cort, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2018

 

 

1755. City Road (8)

It feels like if I keep my eyes open long enough and scour each inch of Bristol I will keep finding paste ups by qWeRT. This right royal googly-eyed character is in City Road only a few metres away from another paste up by the same artist from last year.

qWeRT, City Road, Bristol, September 2018
qWeRT, City Road, Bristol, September 2018

As well as admiring the original ideas and artwork that qWeRT puts into these wheatpastes I get a great amount of pleasure each time I find one. I think that the artist only visits Bristol about once a year, but it takes me that long to find many of these little characters, and some I never find no matter how hard I look. Come back soon.

1754. Armada Place (13)

Things in the Stokes Croft area have been a bit slow compared with some of the other spots in town, so it was nice to spot this quick collaboration between Ryder and T-Rex. These two nearly always paint together, and their comfortable friendship comes across in all their pieces.

Ryder and T-Rex, Armada Place, Bristol, September 2018
Ryder and T-Rex, Armada Place, Bristol, September 2018

I can’t quite work out where the white lines came from and the writing – I think it says ‘Spray summit innit’, and although it looks slightly incongruous I think it is part of the piece and not a tag. Fun stuff from these two.

1753. Dean Lane skate park (171)

This collaboration is a real treat and raises the bar by quite some margin. It is by Subtle and Rezwonk and is quite the best collaboration I have seen on this wall this year, in fact possible anywhere in Bristol.

Rezwonk and Subtle, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2018
Rezwonk and Subtle, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2018

Rezwonk has provided an incredible background of little white symbols – actually I think they are made up of the letters R E Z W O N K, and in amongst them are some bright green ones randomly spaced. Each of the symbols has been dabbed, probably with a cloth, to give them some texture. This really does provide a perfect backdrop.

Rezwonk and Subtle, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2018
Rezwonk and Subtle, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2018

The writing from Subtle is nothing short of sublime, every single part of it touching on perfect, right down to the hex shading on the S and the T providing texture and interest, but it is the 3D effect that really sets this piece apart. It is hard to look at it and not be fooled into thinking it has been written on a board that stands proud of the wall by a couple of inches. Also some of the accents have picked up the same bright green used by Rezwonk, to provide some read-across between the two.

An utterly outstanding collaboration that takes collaborations to a new level.

1751. Tower Hill (1)

A colleague alerted me to this hoarding, which is within lunchtime walking distance from my work, so I felt obliged to go and take a look. Sometimes such tip-offs can be a bit of a disappointment, because not all ‘street art’ is worth the trip. This wonderful piece by Smak however was absolutely worth it.

Smak, Tower Hill, Bristol, August 2018
Smak, Tower Hill, Bristol, August 2018

I had kind of been aware of these hoardings but didn’t know that there was anything decent there. In fact there were three notable pieces of which this is the first. Smak is an interesting artist in that he has two personas. This is his ‘graff’ persona, but he also does high-end pieces and commissions under another name – he even painted a large wall at Upfest this year (to follow).

Smak, Tower Hill, Bristol, August 2018
Smak, Tower Hill, Bristol, August 2018

This wildstyle writing is really skilfully done and spells out SMAK. In the middle of the work he had woven in the head of a bird, and there are some feathers in there too. A classy piece.

1752. Newfoundland Road

I found this by complete accident. I was driving around town and decided to make a quick trip over to the M32 roundabout to see if there was anything new to photograph there, but on the way I passed this building and caught sight of the bright colours in my peripheral vision. Thank heavens for peripheral vision…eh?

Zase, Newfoundland Road, Bristol, September 2018
Zase, Newfoundland Road, Bristol, September 2018

The piece, on a newly redeveloped site is by Zase and has really made a statement for this otherwise utterly unremarkable building. I often wonder to myself whether great murals add to the value of a property or detract from it. I know my own personal view, but would love to know the view of buyers and sellers of property.

Zase, Newfoundland Road, Bristol, September 2018
Zase, Newfoundland Road, Bristol, September 2018

I’m not sure what the brief was for this mural, but he has incorporated portraits of ordinary people, perhaps reflecting the diversity of the surrounding area. As always he has incorporated his 3D ZASE, which is something of a hallmark on his murals.

Zase, Newfoundland Road, Bristol, September 2018
Zase, Newfoundland Road, Bristol, September 2018

If you can be bothered, it is well worth going onto Google maps and streetview to see what a fantastic improvement has been made to this building by the refurb and the mural togather. This is almost like gentrification but maintaining the spirit of the community, and I am all for it (provided the resulting apartments/offices are truly affordable).

1750. The Bearpit (161)

I have had this piece in my archives for a little while now, and what is amazing is that the piece is still intact in one of the tunnels of The Bearpit, or at least it was last week, and has remained undogged since early August. The piece is by Tommy Fiendish – occasional visitor to Bristol.

Tommy Fiendish, The Bearpit, Bristol, August 2018
Tommy Fiendish, The Bearpit, Bristol, August 2018

Tommy Fiendish has made a little video of a version of this piece, entitled ‘will I take him out now your grace?’ which, if you are a fan of Terry Gilliam should tick your box. I do like his work which tends to have a subversive of humorous streak and is perhaps a little more visually challenging than much of the stuff you see around the place. All good.

1749. Dean Lane skate park (170)

I arrived at this piece a little too late to see it in its original condition. It had been a collaboration between Mr Draws (in the middle) bookended by Tasha Bee. However, before I managed to get to see it, Oner had made a little contribution of his own.

Tasha Bee, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2018
Tasha Bee, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2018

I have to admit that I rather like Oner’s burners. There is a certain honesty about them, unpretentious but nicely turned out and often just a little bit edgy. Tasha Bee has rapidly made it into my group of favourite Bristol artists with her stylised characters and pretty flower motifs.

Tasha Bee, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2018
Tasha Bee, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2018

She is very prolific, and even today on a long walk with the dog I found a couple more of her pieces. There is something rather spiritual about her characters, it might be something to do with the simplicity of the lines or the closed eyes or the little peace and love signs, I’m not sure, but they ooze serenity. It is a pity I didn’t see the Mr Draws bit in the middle, but I can imagine it.

1748. M32 Spot (27)

I have been prompted to publish these wonderful cartoon faces by Zake from my archive because I am aware that he has done some more recently. I was hoping that I could find out a little bit more about the artist in the meantime, but all my searches have been fruitless.

Zake, M32 Spot, Bristol, May 2018
Zake, M32 Spot, Bristol, May 2018

Zake’s faces are wonderfully expressive and in terms of their size and format seem to work very well within the rather tight constraints of the columns under the M32.

Zake, M32 Spot, Bristol, May 2018
Zake, M32 Spot, Bristol, May 2018

Another characteristic of Zake’s work is the selection of brown colours for the faces, which seems to provide a good contrasting base for the features. I love this man with the pens in his shirt pocket. These are great small pieces, and it would be good to see where Zake takes this work.

Zake, M32 Spot, Bristol, May 2018
Zake, M32 Spot, Bristol, May 2018