Tag: Graffiti

1621. Moon Street (51)

An old collaboration, the remnants of which can still be seen in Moon Street. The writing on the left obviously belongs to Ryder and the rather scary voodoo-like character is by the elusive 2Keen, both of RAW.

Ryder and 2Keen, Moon Street, Bristol, May 2016
Ryder and 2Keen, Moon Street, Bristol, May 2016

I have always been rather fond of this wall and can’t think why I haven’t posted it before. Ryder’s writing meets the high expectations one expects from his work, and the 2Keen piece is really rather special. His work is quite unlike anyone else’s and has a soft quality to it, almost blurry. A specialist in character teeth. Great at last to publish this one.

Ryder and 2Keen, Moon Street, Bristol, May 2016
Ryder and 2Keen, Moon Street, Bristol, May 2016

1620. North Street Green (12)

A wonderful collaboration between Paul Monsters and Loch Ness that has been hiding away in my archive for such a very long time. Too good to leave there, especially as I owe my debut piece to these two, Paul for all his unvelievable work on Upfest and Loch Ness for giving me my lesson in spray painting.

Paul Monsters and Loch Ness, North Street Green, July 2015
Paul Monsters and Loch Ness, North Street Green, July 2015

It is rare to see a piece by Paul Monsters these days that isn’t some kind of geometric design, and Loch Ness too has developed his technique and is favouring larger pieces these days. The two still collaborate, and I expect to see them both hard at work at Upfest.

I am writing this in advance, but by my estimate this post should be out the day before Upfest begins.

Europe’s largest street art festival begins in Bristol tomorrow, and I am (will be) beside myself with excitement. Time to prep cameras and make sure all batteries are powered up to the max. I’ll start to post images from the festival as soon as I am able, but regular followers will know that it take me about 9 months or so to work through them.

1619. Dean Lane skate park (147)

It is only about three months ago that I first found out about Slim Pickings. Since that time, I have met him, posted about him and found quite a few of his pieces in my archive. This one is rather interesting because it is a mirror image of his usual tag.

Slim Pickings, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2018
Slim Pickings, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2018

I don’t know if this would have been easy for him to do, or a real challenge. I would find it very difficult, because I struggle with mirror image layout. I know this because I live in a semi-detached building which has a mirrored layout on each side. When I have been next door, it does my head in. I can’t transpose the reflection in my head. Slim Pickings has left us with a perfect reflection beautifully sprayed in chrome. More to come from this No Frills artist.

1618. Leonard Lane (17)

Regular readers will know I don’t like to post pieces unless I know the artist, but sometimes it simply isn’t possible. This really unusual piece in Leonard Lane is in a more traditional fine art style, but added to that it incorporates some leaves that have been sprayed with metallic paint which make up the subject’s headdress.

Unknown artist, Leonard Lane, Bristol, January 2018
Unknown artist, Leonard Lane, Bristol, January 2018

When I see pieces like this, I guess that they are by artists wanting to give some outdoor work a go. Leonard Lane is probably the perfect place for this on account of it being a quiet backwater full of graffiti and very few ‘enforcers’. An interesting piece.

1617. St Werburghs tunnel (32)

I am loving this apparent renaissance by PWA’s brilliant Soap. I say apparent because He seems to have become much more busy on the streets in recent months and is posting like crazy on his Instagram feed. Whether this is a real thing or simply my perception is no matter really, he is putting out some great work at the moment.

Soap, St Werberghs, Bristol, July 2018
Soap, St Werberghs, Bristol, July 2018

This is a spectacular piece of writing, spelling out his name and incorporating some of his favourite themes, including the mouth and bones. The colours are perfectly selected and complement each other beautifully. I love the little bone cross decorations. Bravo!

1616. The Bearpit (155)

One of the things I admire about street artists is that they tend to have a distinctive style that they carry through all of their work – this becomes more obvious when you group their works together in galleries, which I have started doing with Aspire, 3Dom, Mr Draws, Andy Council and Deamze.

In this case the work of Daz Cat has such a strong expression that even when his work doesn’t feature a cat or a dog, it is still utterly unmistakable – this is one artist who doesn’t need to sign his work.

Daz Cat, The Bearpit, Bristol, July 2018
Daz Cat, The Bearpit, Bristol, July 2018

This piece ‘Haven’t a clue what’s going on!’ is a little unusual and slightly unsettling, but nicely conceived and very nicely executed. I wonder if the sentiment is expressed about the Council’s stance to restrict the street/graffiti art in The Bearpit…of course it might have nothing to do with that at all. Another nice piece from Daz Cat.

1615. Dean Lane skate park (147)

On the left hand side of the long wall at Dean Lane is this lovely piece of writing from INUK. I have never come across this graffiti artist before, but have been able to find out a little bit about him from the Interweb thing. He comes from London and took his name from the Inuit of Greenland. He chose INUK because he used to get called Eskimo as a boy.

INUK, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2018
INUK, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2018

He seems to be a man on a mission to keep on doing something that he just really enjoys, and takes pride in what he has done. This piece is nicely done – great to have a background and then some real effort put into the letters and fills. There are some similarities with Inkie’s style, possibly the striped 3D fill and thick black outline on the letters. This Londoner is welcome to return any time.

1614. North Street

I have a feeling that this piece was stencilled by John D’oh during last year’s Upfest, but because it is on a shutter, I just haven’t seen it as I’m not usually in Bedminster outside normal working hours. For those not familiar with David Attenborough (is there anyone on this blue planet?) the phrase used by John D’oh is an affectionate ribbing of one of Attenborough’s much used phrases, spoken in whispered tones.

John D'oh, North Street, Bristol, July 2018
John D’oh, North Street, Bristol, July 2018

The stencil is very typical of John D’oh’s work, although in this instance devoid of politics. There is something a little unfortunate about the monkey in the top right glancing down at Attenborough – his face appears to be a graffiti cock and bals, which is what I hought it was the first time I saw it. I’m not sure if this is deliberate or not, but once pointed ut it is difficult not to see it (sorry). Nice work again from John D’oh.

1613. Watercress Road

This is a great example of how a small piece of Street art can really brighten up a place and fit in well with the surroundings. I took the picture a week or so ago and couldn’t remember the name of the street (and what a name!), so I went on to Google maps and found it. I did a little streetview tour and saw that this wall had not been in great repair and certainly wasn’t something that you would take a second look at.

Graft Workshop, Watercress Road, Bristol, July 2018
Graft Workshop, Watercress Road, Bristol, July 2018

So well done to the owner for repairing the wall commissioning the excellent Graft Workshop to create this magnificent piece which faces the St Werburghs City Farm. I guess the goat was chosen to reflect the City Farm. The piece itself is beautifully done and reminds me a little of the work of Oze Arv who came to Bristol for Upfest 2017. I’d like to find more street work from this fine collective.

1612. M32 Spot (23)

I’m really pleased that I photographed this column piece by Kid Crayon when I did, because I returned last week and it has been really badly tagged. It is a great ‘brain dump’ kind of piece with all sorts of themes and ideas going on. Almost like a collage.

Kid Crayon, M32 Spot, Bristol, February 2018
Kid Crayon, M32 Spot, Bristol, February 2018

The identity card is a theme that Kid Crayon has used some years ago on a wheatpaste tucked down a side street – it was one of the first pieces of his that I found. Everything else here seems a little bit surreal and eclectic.

Kid Crayon, M32 Spot, Bristol, February 2018
Kid Crayon, M32 Spot, Bristol, February 2018

I think that rather than try to interpret the work it is far wiser to just look at it and admire it. I’m not sure if it is deliberate or not, but the guy in the red bucket hat looks a lot like KC himself and I wonder if it is a self-portrait. All good from one of my fave artists.