Tag: Graffiti

212. Dalton Square

This large wall by Sepr gave me enormous pleasure when I eventually found it in Dalton Square on the side of The Bell pub. I had seen images of it on the Interweb, but it took me an eternity to find it. It turns out, it is only a very small detour from my usual walk into work.

Sepr, Dalton Square, Bristol, April 2016
Sepr, Dalton Square, Bristol, April 2016

This is classic Sepr, plenty of things going on and lots of fine detail. It might be considered a little nightmarish, with all the characters inside the main character. It is difficult to figure out what is going on…are they all influences from the past?

Sepr, Dalton Square, Bristol, April 2016
Sepr, Dalton Square, Bristol, April 2016

Common to a lot of his work is wheeled transport, in this case a bicycle. There is also a beautifully crafted ball chain framing the main picture and leading to the two rather wonderful dogs.

Sepr, Dalton Square, Bristol, April 2016
Sepr, Dalton Square, Bristol, April 2016

Sepr signs off the work with an ornate wildstyle signature to the left of the piece. This really is a fabulous work, and the photographs, taken on a dull day, really don’t do it justice. So totally worth a visit.

Sepr, Dalton Square, Bristol, April 2016
Sepr, Dalton Square, Bristol, April 2016

 

211. Johnny Ball Lane

For many people reading this, the name Johnny Ball conjurs up images of a children’s TV presenter, and it is difficult to wipe that image. This lane I presume is named after a different Johnny Ball. Some time ago I snapped this unusual Kid Crayon wheatpaste, before I knew who he was. There is something simple and charming about it and it declares his presence on the street art map.

Kid Crayon, Johnny Ball Lane, Bristol, August 2015
Kid Crayon, Johnny Ball Lane, Bristol, August 2015

Unlike other works he has done, there is no portrait, but the different coloured eyes are there. I really do like his work, it is unusual, there is nobody else who does it quite like this. The poster has long since gone.

210. Nine Tree Hill (3)

Sometimes you can hang on to a photograph for so long that it becomes a bit of an albatross. I took these pictures back in January this year, and I have some that are even older. The reason that I haven’t posted them until now is that although I know who the street artist is – Kleiner shames – who writes FOIS in his pieces, I don’t know anything about him, so I don’t have a lot to say.

Fois, Nine Tree Hill, Bristol, January 2016
Fois, Nine Tree Hill, Bristol, January 2016

I think I have actually photographed him working on a piece in Hill Street, but I’ll save that for another time. Other than that, Kleiner Shames remains a complete enigma. His work is very elaborate wildstyling of his name, with a touch of what I would call art deco influences…I think it is the curves. This work can be found on the corner between Nine Tree Hill and Armada Place, another Stokes Croft hotspot.

The observant viewers might see an iconic Rowdy crocodile on the building behind. More about that in a future post.

209. Mina Road (1)

It has been a little while since I posted anything about Silent Hobo. This is a shopfront commission in the wonderful St Werburghs area of Bristol, slightly north east of St Pauls.

Silent Hobo, Mina Road, Bristol, March 2016
Silent Hobo, Mina Road, Bristol, March 2016

Silent Hobo’s work often depicts a ‘happening vibe’ going on among the subjects in his pictures. Here he has captured the aspects of fun and leisure that cycling offers, and I’m sure it says more about it than some stock corporate photographs of people cycling.

Silent Hobo, Mina Road, Bristol, March 2016
Silent Hobo, Mina Road, Bristol, March 2016

I have never been to the Sportsman Bicycle Shop before as I have several closer to where I live and work. Maybe next time I am ‘snapping’ in the area I’ll pop in. I love the fun the couple are having on their bike, and the detail he includes of a little hedgehog…these days a rare sight.

Silent Hobo, Mina Road, Bristol, March 2016
Silent Hobo, Mina Road, Bristol, March 2016

All in all a really nice commission and one that showcases the best Silent Hobo has to offer.

208. North Street (A38)

In the grubbiest little bit of street on the northern approach to St. James Barton Roundabout and The Bearpit from Stokes Croft, is a building that spans across the main road called 51º02. It is not the most beautiful of buildings. On a side wall is this incredibly well concealed Gregos face.

Gregos, North Street (A38), Bristol, April 2016
Gregos, North Street (A38), Bristol, April 2016

Gregos needs no introduction, but for those new to his work, I point you in the direction of a previous post about a mask he did in the other North Street in Bedminster. This face really has to be hunted down, most people pass by it completely oblivious…this is the joy and mischief of street art.

Gregos, North Street (A38), Bristol, April 2016
Gregos, North Street (A38), Bristol, April 2016

The forlorn face complements well the large metal disk it has been attached to, and indeed the general demeanour of this tatty stretch of road. Another great work from the Frenchman.

207. Stokes Croft, Shambarber

This is just brilliant. A pasteup of Jodie Foster from the 1976 film Taxi Driver up against a hoarding in Stokes Croft. There is something about the subject, the location and the shades that make this…well, as I said before, just brilliant.

Tian, Jodie Foster, Stokes Croft, Bristol April 2016
Tian, Jodie Foster, Stokes Croft, Bristol April 2016

I think Tian’s work taps into our formative years and triggers these iconic memories (‘yes, I remember that’ moments) and presents them as if they are faded by time. It really works for me.

Tian, Jodie Foster, Stokes Croft, Bristol April 2016
Tian, Jodie Foster, Stokes Croft, Bristol April 2016

Better still, Tian has left a trail of wheatpastes all over Stokes Croft and I look forward to sharing them with you, over the coming days.

206. Stokes Croft, Canteen (2)

No self-respecting Bristol street art blogger can ignore what is probably regarded as the most Bristol Banksy of them all. The Mild Mild West still sits proudly on the wall outside the Canteen, and opposite Cosmo Sarson’s Breakdancing Jesus, in spite of attempts to vandalise it (layered irony there).

Banksy, Stokes Croft, Bristol, July 2015
Banksy, Stokes Croft, Bristol, July 2015

This iconic Banksy (and which ones aren’t) tells so many Bristol stories, which are really nicely captured in this 2008 article from the The Telegraph. I see this wall pretty much every day and it is special, really special. The area in which it stands is an area which has played host to several riots, the most recent of which was the ‘boycott Tesco’ riot.

Banksy, Stokes Croft, Bristol, August 2015
Banksy, Stokes Croft, Bristol, August 2015

So established is this piece, that it makes it into the ‘Visit Bristol’ website as a must see attraction. How things have changed from the days of rounding up and arresting Bristol street artists.

This work simply has to be one of my all time favourite pieces in my adopted city.

205. The Bearpit (14)

In the South East tunnel of the Bearpit you may this wonderful and very typical work by Angus (although nothing lasts very long there). It is a fun piece featuring Meg Griffin from the Family Guy, a TV cartoon I don’t watch so can’t explain any more about the work. Over the last few years Angus has burst onto the Bristol graffiti scene, and being a local street artist, he has had many great influences all around him.

Angus, The Bearpit, Bristol, April 2016
Angus, The Bearpit, Bristol, April 2016

If you want to know more about Angus, there is a lovely interview with him on the Best of Bristol website, which I thoroughly recommend reading. I rather hope to bump into him at some time, because he seems like a really decent bloke. I like the familiarity and crispness of his work.

Angus is also a member of The Secret Society of Super Villain Artists (SSOSVA) – you will see more artists from this group in future posts.

204. Cheltenham Road, Metropolis hoardings

These hoardings rarely have decent works sprayed on them because they get painted off almost immediately…it may be that the owners of the site don’t want the hoardings to become a practice wall. The result is that the hoardings are heavily tagged instead. In among the useless tagging, there was this gem however – an anonymous tribute to DJ Derek. As is is a stencil, I would expect to see it popping up around the place. Simple and touching.

Anonymous stencil, DJ Derek, Cheltenham Road, Bristol, April 2016
Anonymous stencil, DJ Derek, Cheltenham Road, Bristol, April 2016

DJ Derek’s funeral took place last week, and there has been no more news about the circumstances of his death. I do not believe they were in any way suspicious.

203. Brunswick Square hut

Brunswick Square is a reasonably recent discovery for me, which is why it has taken me so long to find this work by Dan. I posted another of his works in Hillgrove Street back in October 2015, but I really struggle to find out much about him at all. I know the piece was sprayed in 2009.

Dan, Brunswick Square, Bristol, March 2016
Dan, Brunswick Square, Bristol, March 2016

I have lifted he backstory quote from Dan to this wonderful work from the Wooster Collective website and it is as follows:

“After the opening of a new multi-million pounds mall in the city centre of Bristol. All the areas around have been proclaimed “no street drinking zone” giving the homeless people and the local street drinkers no choices but to leave the area. As a result of this, the number of street drinkers is considerably increased in deprived areas where the drinking ban is not so strictly enforced.”

Special Brew, the drink pictured,  is a strong lager favoured by heavy drinkers.