It’s a bit like waiting for a bus…nothing for ages and then three turn up all at once. Well it is a bit like that with this third piece in as many weeks from Laic217.
The consistent themes for Laic217’s work seem to be his name decorated, but easily legible, bright carefully selected colour schemes and a character embellishing one of the letters. It is a formula I like, and one that is very distinct.
I look forward to stumbling on more of his works, now that I know where to look for them.
Tucked away from the main drag in Bristol is this masterpiece by Nick Walker. This amazing stencil which dates back to at least May 2010 blends in so well with the architrave surround and brick wall.
The piece can be found just beyond the rear entrance, turning right out of the exit, of Colston’s Hall. It is another of those Walker pieces that have simply become a ‘part of the furniture’ that we in Bristol take for granted. I think that most, if not all of his work remains intact, which is very unusual here.
Taking a closer look at the butterflies reveals that they are more sinister than you might originally think. Great work.
This is one of several lovely fresh wildstyle burners on the infrastructure of the M32 roundabout. The artist is Sled One who was also the genius behind one of my very best hoardings in Bristol, posted back on 1 March 2016.
This colourful piece spells out ASK, which stands for ‘After School Klub’ one of the dominant Bristol crews. I am never quite sure who the crew is made up of, there seem to be a lot of them. Associated with ASK is the KTF acronym which stands for ‘Keeping things Fresh’. You will see KTF and ASK dotted on many of the works in Bristol.
I particularly like the eye in the A of ASK. Little details like this show the care and thought that goes into these wildstyle pieces.
An emergency fuel situation led me to fill the car up at this garage in Hotwell Road recently. I might have annoyed queuing customers a little, because I hadn’t seen the mural before and snapped a couple of quick photographs. I was a little saddened that it had replaced one of my favourite Andy Council pieces that I posted about in August 2015.
This environmental piece is by 45 RPM, a Bristol artist, and was commissioned by the Body Shop as part of their ‘Enrich not Exploit‘ campaign. Three other street artists were also commissioned to create works in Brighton, Birmingham and Manchester.
I am always a little suspicious of business campaign commissions like this one, but I think the Body Shop is one company that has strong ethical and sustainable values that I can live with. This is not greenwash, it is more like influencing.
It is an unusual piece, but I am really beginning to like it.
Remember this naughty fox?
Well Mau Mau has returned with a topical piece (when he sprayed it), cleverly conflating an urban fox with R2D2 from Star Wars.
Always witty and often quite acerbic, Mau Mau rarely disappoints. I only wish I had found this gem before it had been tagged. Maybe someone was offended by the language (I think not).
I look forward to more foxes in the Stokes Croft area.
It has been a little while since I featured a work by one of Bristol’s finest and most famous street artists, Nick Walker. It took me a little while to find this, despite it being in the road where I work. It is a shutter piece, and the shutters are invariably up when I am at work, and down when I am not. I took this photograph on a Sunday.
The piece is unmistakably by Walker, with its pinstriped character and trademark ‘vandal’ moniker. It is indeed a treat to have so many of his artworks so close to where I spend most of my days.
It is a little neglectful of me not to have found this piece sooner, but better late than never.
Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant. I have been keeping my powder dry with this one, although I don’t quite know why. When I see a great piece of street art, I really ought to share it straight away.
3Dom is one of the most creative and imaginative of the Bristol street/graffiti artists. His works nearly all have a surreal feel to them and contain unique blends of shapes and colours that are rarely seen elsewhere. His imagination runs riot with this piece and he introduces different textures and shadings in this character. I love the green body and arm, that resemble a close-up of a spider’s leg.
The piece can be dated as having been sprayed post-Bowie’s death, as there is a mention of him and Buzz. What is pleasing about this is it is so clean, and as yet untagged. One of my absolute favourite pieces this year (so far).
I found this lovely tribute to DJ Derek, the first of many I suspect, along the Cheltenham Road at the back end of last week. It is by Lemak and I believe was completed on 3 April 2016.
Lemak originally comes from Fleetwood but is currently based in Bristol.He was originally inspired by stencil artists and first took to spraying in 2011. I think this work is very accomplished, and the stencil portrait of DJ Derek is a fine and fitting tribute.
DJ Derek, was a locally well known septuagenarian disc jockey who played at clubs all around Bristol and beyond. He mysteriously went missing in July and his body was found in March this year. More on this in my posts 31. Leonard Lane (3) and 146. The Bearpit (6).
This picture was taken in October 2015, and the wall has since been refreshed by Deamze, and featured here a few weeks ago. It has taken me a while to work out who this fine triptych was by; I think I have it now.
The face in the centre is by Voyder, a sensationally good street artist in Bristol, and it really draws the viewer in. It looks like the left hand side wildstyle is by Soker, although I cannot be certain.
The right hand side is by Deamze I think. The three elements together have a lovely symmetry, but for me the face wearing ski goggles? wins the day for me. I’m glad I captured it before it disappeared.
It was an accident of fate that took me to this encounter yesterday. I spent my lunch break walking to the Post Office in the Galleries, and then nipped into M&S for sandwiches…a treat I don’t usually afford myself. I intended to return to work, but thought I was so close to The Bearpit, I would just see if there was anything new.
Better than that…a graffiti artist was spraying in one of the tunnels. The colours of paint on his trousers pretty much gave him away – red, grey, white and black – I approached him and asked “excuse me, but are you Decay“. Not a phrase I use often. It was, and we struck up a conversation.
Decay has only recently moved to Bristol, but it would explain the proliferation of his work around the place. I asked if he would be at Upfest 2016, and indeed he will. I will look him out. Finally I asked if he would mind if I took some pictures, and he said it was fine, but not the face. The whole experience was a bit ‘Exit through the Gift Shop’, a Banksy film I thoroughly recommend.
My first real contact with an artist in action. A good day, which only got better, as on my way home I spotted Alex Lucas working on a commission, and chatted with her too…more on that in a future post.
Happy.
Natural adventures 