There are some artists who are so very hard to trace, and that is all part of the game. One such artist is The Agent…or at least that is what I think his name is. Another member of SSOSVA and another stencil artist. The Agent has a liking for dressing up Minions in rather menacing costumes or personas – in this instance a banana toting Frankenstein’s monster.
The Agent, The Bearpit, Bristol, April 2016
I have only seen a couple of his works around the Bristol area, suggesting that he is perhaps a visitor. I will update this post as and when I find out more. Who can’t resist a Minion?
UPDATE – I met The Agent at Upfest 2016, and he is most definitely from Bristol, furthermore, he is the father of another great Bristol street artist. So it just shows how easy it is to get things wrong…and embarrassing at times too. All part of the game.
Just a quick post this time of the very prolific Voyder. This piece was down on the hoardings with pieces by Sepr and Deamze and Sled One, so I guess it was part of an ASK get together.
Voyder, Old Bread Street, Bristol, June 2016
This is so typical of the outstanding pieces Voyder produced in a style that is unmistakably his. Although prolific (I make that assumption from looking at his Instagram stream), I think some of his works are quite inaccessible. He seems to spend a lot of time in large derelict buildings, which are off the beaten track, and certainly not on my radar. I think I have a large enough territory without seeking out new places.
Inspired by this recent post by Frankie Beane, I went in search of some pictures I had in my archive by the same artist. Miss Wah is a street artist and designer from Worcester who loves to doodle (you’d never guess) and who’s art is in the Kawaii style. There is more about the artist on her website.
Miss Wah, Greville Road, Bristol, January 2016
This piece sits in the garden/yard of the Hen and Chicken on Greville Road, and is in the very good company of a piece by My Dog Sighs – a favourite artist of mine. This was not so much a collaboration as a sharing of space at Upfest 2015.
My Dog Sighs, Greville Road, Bristol, January 2016
The day I went photographing these was too bright, and unfortunately the pictures are not very good because of the sun/shade issues. This is part of the reason I hadn’t posted them, but thanks to Frankie Beane, here they are. I would expect this whole area of Greville Road to be repainted in less than two weeks when Upfest 2016 begins.
My Dog Sighs, Greville Road, Bristol, January 2016
This is the first of many posts I will be making from an artist known as RIP. This is a ‘cheeky little one’ that RIP seems to be very fond of. He is a stencil artist based in Stoke-on-Trent, but obviously a frequent visitor to Bristol, and in particular North Street. The stencils are often, but not always, political and are sprayed in the ‘tolerated’ illegal spots.
RIP, North Street, Bristol, January 2016
RIP is an active member of SSOSVA (the Secret Society of Super Villain Artists) (or not so secret now…) an international collective of artists founded in 1921 by Silent Bill – or so it says on their website. Other members I have featured include Dice 67 and John D’oh.
I don’t know why I haven’t posted RIP’s work before because there is a lot of it around. Don’t be surprised to see a rash of posts in the coming weeks.
A trip down memory/Leonard Lane. Some of my earliest posts were from this incredible little alleyway that defines the boundary line of the old City. It is full of little treasures, and this is one of them. A beautiful bear by Stewy. This bear has suffered the indignity of having several additions scribbled on it, but thankfully was given a bit of a makeover a couple of months ago. It is not in pristine condition, but then again very little of the street art in Leonard Lane is.
Stewy, Leonard Lane, Bristol, September 2015
Stewy is a master stencil artist who specialises in creating stencils of well known people, and in this street is a work he did of DJ Derek before he went missing and passed away. The lane is also strewn with a menagerie of Stewy animals, perched and placed along its length.
I think that most of the posts about the pieces I photographed in Leake Street on 4 July 2016 are going to be quite short. I say this because I am having difficulty researching the artists, and it is a world unfamiliar to me. I guess also, because I have a Bristol bias, I am lazier about finding out more about London-based artists. Is that a bad thing?
This rather charmingly grotesque piece is by Woskerski – I would guess a Polish immigrant, who like all Europeans, is most welcome in our country. I cannot express my shame at what our nation has decided to do, and how some sectors of our society think it is ok to behave in the way they have since the referendum. I will always stand shoulder to shoulder with Europe and seek greater integration, collaboration and understanding.
Woskerski, Leake Street tunnel, London, July 2016
The piece was sprayed as part of the #do1cancer campaign to raise awareness and money for Colchester Hospitals Charity.
There is little doubt in my mind that the brightest rising star on the street art scene in Bristol is Sled One. His work, both the wildstyle writing and his freestyle characters are second to none, and yet I feel there is still so much more to come from this extremely talented young artist. My son tells me he is a good skater too, which obviously adds to his credibility as a street phenomenon.
Sled One, M32 Roundabout,Bristol, June 2016
This writing demonstrates his incredible range. His shapes vary from piece to piece. He seems to have an incredible capacity to see what he wants to create and then go and do it. I find this piece really compelling, and just by looking at it you can see the quality shining through.
Fortune favours those who go in pursuit of dreams (or something like that). My new role took me to London Earlier this week, and I spent a night in an hotel in Vauxhall. I don’t know much about the street art scene in London, other than that there is a lot in Shoreditch and in Camden Town. I keep a close eye on the London Calling blog to keep pace with the astonishing stuff that hits the streets of London.
I had heard about a tunnel in Waterloo that had loads of street art in it, so I went off in search of it. It took a while to find, because I didn’t really know what I was looking for, but find it I did, and I was staggered. Here were dozens of works on the walls and ceilings along the entire length of the tunnel. Aladdin’s Cave, no messing.
I was in for even more luck – my trip coincided with a very recent festival that had been held (at the weekend?) in support of raising funds for the #do1cancer graffiti jam. The walls were festooned with fresh pieces with a cancer theme. This is the first of my posts from Monday 4 July. Please read the link above, as it puts this festival into context.
Gnasher, Leake Street, London, 4 July 2016
This extraordinary piece is by Gnasher (David Nash), who uses spray cans to produce hyper-real art – just amazing. This piece looks like an enormous blow up of a photograph. Big respect indeed.
Gnasher, Leake Street, London, 4 July 2016
You can find out more about this incredible artist from his excellent website. Together, the #do1cancer campaign has raised awareness of how cancer can impact on our lives, and is actively raising money through the support of graffiti artists and graffiti enthusiasts. Admirable stuff.
A little while ago, Jody created this beautiful detailed piece, which was very quickly adopted as the Upfest Twitter icon, only recently replaced by Cheo’s design. Jody’s work has an incredible realism and then tosses the realism into a surreal setting.
Jody, North Street, Bristol, April 2016
At last year’s Upfest he produced an incredible work of fingers dripping with oil, and here we have this delicate image of two hands making a heart shape, and encompassing a moth. Full of symbolism? Maybe.
Jody, North Street, Bristol, April 2016
This work is very memorable and located at the heart of North Street, where its predecessor was this Christmas piece by Cheo. I guess the wall will be repainted at this year’s festival, but as I discovered recently with the Inkie piece (Best thing since sliced bread), not all the street art in the area will be over-painted.
I was away in London earlier this week, starting a new job that requires me to work two days a week in ‘the old smoke’. It is my home city, so I feel quite comfortable being back there, but would never swap it for my life in Bristol now. This, however, is a slight digression.
On Monday night in my soulless hotel room, I was fretting about this amazing new Zase and Dekor piece that they slapped up in Bristol on Saturday (and had posted on Instagram).
Zase and Dekor, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2016
The turnover is so high at Dean Lane, I was desperate to get back to Bristol and photograph it before it got tagged or over-painted.
Zase and Dekor, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2016
On Wednesday, my first day back in my Bristol Office, I sprinted over to the skate park in my lunch break (I’ve got the return journey down to about 40 minutes) and was rewarded with this remarkable piece. I have always had huge admiration for the Zase-Dekor collaborations that mostly reside in the North of Bristol.
Zase and Dekor, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2016
Usually they craft huge works, but this one is much smaller and clearly a bit of fun. Many of the hallmarks are there…the cartoon-style character and wildstyle ZASE, and the wonderful crisp lines and clean finish. A small masterpiece.
Natural adventures 