Tag: Graffiti

1194. Bowery, New York (1)

Wandering around the East Village and SoHo districts of New York was such a pleasure. I had no destination in mind and just went where my instincts led me. How exciting then to come across this magnificent Blondie tribute piece by Shepard Fairey.

Shepard Fairey, Bowery, New York, October 2017
Shepard Fairey, Bowery, New York, October 2017

In have not seen a Shepard Fairey street art piece before and the style and colours of this one are captivating. I am aware of his ultra famous ‘HOPE’ portrait of Barack Obama. I understand that the piece was created to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Blondie’s first album which was debuted at the CBGB’s club opposite. The wall was curated by the LISA project.

Many thanks to Sarah Sansom, street art hunter and contributor to Street Art Cities.

1193. East Village, New York.

One of the things I was most hoping to see during my trip in October to New York was some wheatpastes by Phoebe New York, and I was not disappointed. There were plenty to find in the area around our hotel in Rivington Street.

Phoebe New York, East Village, New York, October 2017
Phoebe New York, East Village, New York, October 2017

I first came across her work at Upfest 2016, when I found two or three of her pasteups carefully placed in strategic positions along North Street. After that, I found some of her characters in London during my six month spell when I worked two days a week there. I have followed her on Instagram, and strongly recommend her original and quirky feed.

Phoebe New York, East Village, New York, October 2017
Phoebe New York, East Village, New York, October 2017

The two pieces shown here are the first of several that I found during our four-day excursion to the Big Apple. The first is on a plain white wall and picks out the little Phoebe perfectly – have a beautiful day.

Phoebe New York, East Village, New York, October 2017
Phoebe New York, East Village, New York, October 2017

The second pasteup is on an altogether different background with loads of flaking pieces of paper from previous wheatpastes and an interesting face for company. I love the placement of the piece, and especially love the dress. Perfect.

1192. Raleigh Road vector (18)

A throwback to earlier this year when we were lucky enough to have Boogie in Bristol for the ‘Boogie down Bristol’ event organised by Inkie. Of the three Boogie pieces that I photographed at that time, I think this one in Raleigh Road is probably the best.

Boogie, Raleigh Road, Bristol, July 2017
Boogie, Raleigh Road, Bristol, July 2017

I very much like the way that he makes a feature of the ‘oo’ in his name, and indeed when toying with ‘Scooj’ I have noticed how much the ‘oo”s lend themselves to all sorts of options.

Boogie, Raleigh Road, Bristol, July 2017
Boogie, Raleigh Road, Bristol, July 2017

Boogie is recognised as a master of his craft, and from this piece you can see why. Great colours, beautiful design and clean lines throughout the piece. I don’t know why, but all his pieces remind me a little bit of bubble gum…that’s probably just me though.

1191. Moon Street (39)

This gorgeous piece went up earlier in the year in Moon Street, and it is ridiculous that it has taken me so long to post about it. It is by Rezwonk, a Bristol artist, but one that I am struggling to find any information. Sometimes it just is that way – not all street artists are busy on digital media and why should they be?

Rezwonk, Moon Street, Bristol, July 2017
Rezwonk, Moon Street, Bristol, July 2017

Technically this is a clever piece and the writing is designed to confuse, much of it being backwards. If you look carefully on the bottom line, you might make out the letters (written backwards) KNOW… spelling out WONK. I don’t have the patience to work out what the whole piece says, but I’m sure Rezwonk was happy with it. Since spraying this, he has created another piece a few yards away which I will post soon.

1190. M32 roundabout J3 (56)

It has been a very long time since I last saw a piece by PWA’s Soap, and this wonderful piece was alongside a piece by his crew pal Face F1st. As I write this, I believe that a couple of new collaborations between the two have just been sprayed at the Carriageworks and I can’t wait to get some pictures.

Soap, M32 roundabout, Bristol, September 2017
Soap, M32 roundabout, Bristol, September 2017

I am a little stumped by what the writing on this piece says, but am so pleased to see those mouths once again…it has been such a long time. The photographs are not great, it was a bright day, and the sun was behind the wall, with the light being very troublesome.

Soap, M32 roundabout, Bristol, September 2017
Soap, M32 roundabout, Bristol, September 2017

It would seem that Soap is becoming a little more active again. I do hope so.

1189. M32 cycle path (10)

There is quite a lot of development work going on around this spot, and the cycle path has been diverted. As a result, this spot has become a bit of a backwater recently, but it is always worth taking a quick look.

Smak, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, October 2017
Smak, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, October 2017

On one of my visites, I came across thuis wonderful Smak piece, that personally I think is really classy. I know that wildstyle writing is a fairly acquired taste, but the more you look at it and the more examples you find, the more absorbed you become. The skill needed to create pieces like this I think is vastly underestimated by the casual passer-by, indeed, many consider it messy and unartistic. I do not count myself amongst those people. I love this piece.

1188. Dean Lane skate park (93)

Now that I have recently broken the ice with Ugar I feel I can post another of his works, which pre-dates his collaboration with Kid Crayon. This is a large piece which he sprayed alongside NEVERGIVEUP back in October.

Ugar, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2017
Ugar, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2017

It is a piece of two sections. On the left is his name UGAR bookended with a cat? and a dog and on the right a little scene being sprayed by the dog. I have noticed that Ugar likes to fill his lettering with a marbled effect, which works well and is unusual and organic.

Ugar, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2017
Ugar, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2017

The scene in green shades on the right is mysterious and dreamy and quite unlike his writing to the left of it. The green skulls add a slightly dark tone to this lighthearted piece, but they are contiguous with the other green clouds surrounding the whole piece.

Ugar, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2017
Ugar, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2017

Finally, Ugar has thrown in a whole bunch of fish bones filling the empty spaces…I’m not sure what that is all about.  There is a story in this piece somewhere. On the far right he has sprayed what looks like ‘I love cats’, but it might be something else. I am guessing he is being mischievous.

1187. Anchor Road (3)

I was very fond of the Andrew Burns Colwill piece that was previously on this container in Anchor Road, but I have to say that this vibrant ‘Welcome to Bristol’ mural by SPZero76 is an absolute gem.

SPZero76, Anchor Road, Bristol, October 2017
SPZero76, Anchor Road, Bristol, October 2017

What a lovely welcome, and I guess the topic might have something to do with the location of the Bristol tour bus that runs from nearby. The artwork shows a rather pimped boat surging through the mine-infested waters of Bristol harbour, with the M Shed and distinctive cranes in the background.

SPZero76, Anchor Road, Bristol, October 2017
SPZero76, Anchor Road, Bristol, October 2017

Of course no SPZero76 piece would be complete without his lovable and slightly unhinged dog, or in this case two dogs. The execution of the piece is absolutely first class, so clean and tidy, but what makes the whole thing is the frenetic humour and little details to study. A tip top piece.

SPZero76, Anchor Road, Bristol, October 2017
SPZero76, Anchor Road, Bristol, October 2017

 

 

1186. Brunel Way bridge (3)

This is the third piece I have posted from the ASK halloween paint jam at Brunel Way bridge, the others were by Inkie and Feek. This is yet another masterful work from the resurgent Sepr – there seems to be no stopping him at the moment.

Sepr, Brunel Way, Bristol, November 2017
Sepr, Brunel Way, Bristol, November 2017

Sepr has created a fabulous depiction of Count Dracula drinking what appears to be a rather nice glass of wine, but take a closer look in the bottle and you will notice a heart. The humour extends to Dracula’s footwear, which if I am not mistaken, appear to be slippers.

Sepr, Brunel Way, Bristol, November 2017
Sepr, Brunel Way, Bristol, November 2017

The whole piece is beautifully sprayed right down to the shadows at the bottom of the piece…but then, I thought Count Dracula had no shadow…am I right?

1185. Leonard Lane (14)

John d’Oh has been very busy lately on the streets of Bristol, but this is the first time I have seen his work in Leonard Lane. Typical of his work, he takes a strong political line, and in this stencil he celebrates a Corbyn revolution.

John D'Oh, Leonard Lane, Bristol, November 2017
John D’Oh, Leonard Lane, Bristol, November 2017

This is beautifully worked, and of course I particularly like it because of its edge. There are many more pieces by John d’Oh that I have in my archive and I might have to start bunching them together, simply to be able to share them.