Regular readers will have seen an awful lot of this little fella in recent months and I make no apologies for that. Of all the bunnies that NEVERGIVEUP has painted around the city of Bristol I think that this one is my favourite to date.
NEVERGIVEUP, River Avon, Bristol, July 2018
It can be found on a random bit of brick wall, probably a derelict store room or something, on the footpath between Ashton Avenue Bridge and Brunel Way bridge alongsite the River Avon. I love it when Graffiti (a rather urban concept) blends in so perfectly with a rural setting. This is just brilliant.
I have said many times before that I like artists from out of town coming to visit and leaving behind little gifts. I haven’t seen any new work from qWeRT in quite a while in Bristol, so it was great to stumble upon this one in Stokes croft last week.
qWeRT, Stokes Croft, Bristol, June 2018
These cute wheatpastes feature a goggle-eyed character, in this instance assuming the shape of a broom with its fingers creating a heart shape. It is difficult not to like these paste ups. I only wish qWeRT would make the trip from London more often.
I took a recent walk down to the Cumberland Basin recently and came across this standalone piece from Epok, which is really rather good. It is less angular than his usual work with soft, almost cartoon-like curves.
Epok, Brunel Way bridge, Bristol, June 2018
The wall is very busy with previous pieces on it, andf it all looks a bit fragmented. I think this piece would have benefitted from having a slightly larger backwash, especially to the right, but it is a tedious process. Nice gold and silver burner.
This is a fine three-way collaboration on the long wall at Dean Lane between ‘No Frills’ stablemates, Slimpickings, Biers and Howl. Whatever your views on writing, this is an incredibly neat and tidy collaboration which is really easy on the eye.
Slimpickings, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2018
I don’t know much at all about Slimpickings, but have seen quite a lot of his work around the place recently (to follow). I haven’t seen enough of his work or had the opportunity to meet him to be able to decypher his writing. I think it says TEB, but I am not confident.
Biers, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2018
Biers I have featured a fair bit in this blog and I continue to enjoy his style immensely. There is something about the design of his letters that really chimes for me, I don’t know if there is a retro thing going on or what, but it feels comfortable.
Howl, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2018
Finally, the right hand side of this collaboration is by Howl, and he is another artist with a very distinctive style, that often incorporates a dog, as in this example. This one is a real cutie with an orange swirl on his tummy.
All in all this is a cracking example of a top writing collaboration. Great work from No Frills.
Hurrah, another Laic217 piece containing all the things I love about the artist, but this time there is a significant shift in the style and application of the spray paint.
Laic217, M32, Bristol, May 2018
The whole feel of the piece is much lighter touch from his usual deeply coloured and thickly layerd pieces. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but it has a watercoloury kind of effect, which I think works really well.
Laic217, M32, Bristol, May 2018
As this artist develops, we are witnessing an amazing versatility emerge, and the more I see, the closer I am to thinking about creating a new category for the blog, along the lines of a gallery featuring all the work of a specific artist on one post. I’ll give it some more thought.
Laic217, M32, Bristol, May 2018
Inb the meantime just feast your eyes on this talented artist’s letters and skeletons.
Adjacent to the M32 roundabout is a little side road where I like to park when I photograph street art in the area. There are always one or two caravans parked up here too, generally occupied by homeless people. Actually this is becoming quite a big issue in Bristol at the moment, as there are an awful lot of these old caravans appearing all over the city being used as temporary homes. The homeless suituation in the UK is reaching crisis point and austerity continues to hit the marginalised hardest.
Ryder and T-Rex, M32, Bristol, May 2018
On the upside, the caravans are used as canvases for many of the street artists as the ‘owners’ really don’t seem to mind the decoration. On this one we have a rather nice quick collaboration from T-Rex and Ryder. There is real movement in that dinosaur.
Oooh, I love this one from Face 1st, tucked around a corner in City Road, where I only periodically take a squint at the walls there that don’t change all that often. I’m glad I made the effort as this is Face 1st just how I like him.
Face 1st, City Road, Bristol, May 2018
Great colour selection, and I will never tire of his basic easy-on-the-eye premise of spelling out FACE with his swirls and a white face incorporated somewhere along the way. One of Bristol’s most prolific street artists.
I originally had this piece down as ‘unknown’ artist, but managed to find out a bit from the signature ‘Pekoe’, which at first I thought was an unrelated tag. Pekoe is a Bristol-based artist originally from Wolverhampton, who describes herself as a self-employed illustrator and painter. In her linked-in profile she reveals:
I regularly paint walls around Bristol, usually with fellow crew members, as well as doodle constantly to keep honing my skills. I’m influenced by a wide range of artists, whether graffiti or modern, and also take inspiration from the worlds of pin up, tattoos, sneakers and hiphop.
Pekoe, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2018
It seems strange that she has only just entered my consciousness, but having found this, I have since found another and realise that one of my ‘Upfest unknowns’ is by her…both to follow soon.
Her interisting illustrative style really stands out from the crowd of burners and character pieces and feels like a spray sketch. It reminds me in style a little of Ant Carver who uses similar squiggle shadings in his portraits. Really looking forward to seeing more of her work about the place.
This is a not-quite-finished piece from the magnificent Sled One, and it was his contribution to the ASK paint jam at the M32 roundabout. He was actually a day late, because he had had a hangover the day of the paint jam and didn’t feel like painting – so these guys are human after all.
Sled One, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2018
I am always completely amazed at how Sled One seems to be so at ease with his cans, he seems to create his work with the minimum of fuss and is able to put ehat is in hes head onto a wall. He is comfortable with both writing and creating fantastical characters, and is a real asset to The Paintsmiths, who he works for.
Sled One, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2018
This piece, even incomplete, looks stunning and I will have to go back to get a finished picture.
Last week I was cutting the lower branches and shoots off a lime tree that lines the road where I live – the council used to do it but have no money for such things any more – so that I could park the car without smearing it with aphids and get out of it without walking into a jungle. Anyhow, I digress, while I was pruning, I looked up and saw Sled One. We stopped for a chat, and it turns out he lives only a few doors up from me…I can’t believe that we haven’t bumped into each other before.
Object…is tireless in his campaigning to keep The Bearpit open as an available space for all…including artists. It seems that Bristol City Council are determined to clamp down on the amount of spraying that goes on in the Bearpit, and new graffiti is routinely painted over, leaving an ugly landscape of patchwork walls where the paint doesn’t quite match. Also, by painting blank walls, the Council are simply inviting the less savoury elements of the graffiti scene to make their mark with tags and throw ups.
Object…,The Bearpit, Bristol, May 2018
This piece contains a quote from Tom Flemming Creative Consultancy, who I assume have been doing some work for BCC. It is a nice quote and one that I can relate to. The messy and the marginal – it works for me. The artwork from Object… is actually really good and contains many things I associate with the artist – feathers and wings joined to slightly contorted hand and of course the strong political message. I like the #BearpitIsBeautiful too. I doff my cap to Object… whose passion drive him and others forward.
Natural adventures 