Tag: Graffiti

317. Leake Street tunnel, London (2)

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
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.

316. M32 J3 Roundabout (14)

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
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.

315. Leake Street tunnel, London (1)

Serendipity.

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
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
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.

Gnasher, Leake Street, London, 4 July 2016
Gnasher, Leake Street, London, 4 July 2016

314, North Street, Standard (2)

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
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
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.

313. Dean Lane skate park (12)

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
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
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
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.

Zase and Dekor, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2016
Zase and Dekor, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2016

312. North Street Upfest shop

Upfest have chosen Gemma Compton as their promotional ‘face’ of upfest 2016, and what a very fine choice indeed. Her work is used on their twitter account profile and on the main website homepage. On an altogether larger scale, she painted the outside of the Upfest shop on North Street. The work was completed on about 11 June, and really brightens up the shopfront.

Gemma Compton, North Street, Bristol, June 2016
Gemma Compton, North Street, Bristol, June 2016

All of the work she has done for Upfest 2016 uses these wonderful ‘Spode’ colours and contain her signature motifs of birds, butterflies and flowers. It says in her Upfest artist profile that her inspirations have come from an upbringing in the Cotswold’s and her love of nature.

Gemma Compton, North Street, Bristol, June 2016
Gemma Compton, North Street, Bristol, June 2016

I love all the work she has done for the Upfest ‘brand’ this year, and am really looking forward to seeing her working at this year’s festival.

311. Brunswick Square hoardings (3)

The piece I posted by 45RPM recently of the anteater seemed to be very popular, so I am posting another of his works, this time from the magnificent Brunswick Square hoardings. This piece features the RPM lettering and a rather angry looking bulldog squeezing his way into the picture.

45RPM, Brunswick Square, Bristol, March 2016
45RPM, Brunswick Square, Bristol, March 2016

I have to say that I think 45RPM’s work is quite an acquired taste, or maybe that is just me, but every new piece of his that I see, the more I seem to enjoy them, and now, going back through my files, I am finding more of them and liking them better on this ‘second viewing’ than on the first. There is more to come on and from this fine street artist.

45RPM, Brunswick Square, Bristol, March 2016
45RPM, Brunswick Square, Bristol, March 2016

310, Raleigh Road, Tobacco Factory (2)

Behind the Tobacco Factory there is a car park, and on the wall of each of the stalls there is a piece of art by a different street artist. I am not sure if this is just an Upfest thing, but I have a feeling that they do change from time to time, and not just during the festival.

Hannah Adamaszek, the Tobacco Factory, Bristol, June 2016
Hannah Adamaszek, the Tobacco Factory, Bristol, June 2016

These pieces are a challenge to photograph, because, being a car park, there are usually cars parked in front of them and that was the case with this beautiful, calming piece by Hannah Adamaszek. Hannah appeared on my radar back in June, and I have to say I really like her work. It balances out all the other work that I see and is refreshingly different. It is all part of the spectrum of art that Bristol has to offer.

Hannah Adamaszek, the Tobacco Factory, Bristol, June 2016
Hannah Adamaszek, the Tobacco Factory, Bristol, June 2016

I am really fond of this piece, which is weird, because I wouldn’t naturally like this kind of thing, but seeing it up close there is just something about it that attracts me. More please Hannah.

 

309. Albert Park Place (3)

This is a rather cheerful and witty work that has been sitting in my ‘pending folder’ for rather a long time now. It has been there because I have no idea who painted it. It looks to me like the work of someone who doesn’t paint often, and while nicely executed, it has a certain naivety to it.

Unknown artist, Albert Park Place, Bristol, March 2016
Unknown artist, Albert Park Place, Bristol, March 2016

I don’t think I have seen any other work by this artist, but I could easily be wrong…it happens quite a lot in my posts. The cat has the fine privilege of overlooking my favourite Sepr piece of the year so far.

Sit back and enjoy the pun and celebrate the fact that anyone can be a street artist.

308. Upper York Street

This is a wonderful work by Epok, and it sits next to a lovely piece by Deamze that I featured recently. Like all of his works, this has beautifully clean edges and the letters EPOK are on a slant in a geometric style.

Epok, Upper York Street, Bristol, June 2016
Epok, Upper York Street, Bristol, June 2016

Particularly notable about this piece is the green and blue effect over the top of the lettering. Epok’s work is always a pleasure to look at and admire. Distinctive, clean and memorable.

Epok, Upper York Street, Bristol, June 2016
Epok, Upper York Street, Bristol, June 2016