I first saw this beautiful work before I really began to look out for street art when visiting Chichester a couple of years ago.
It is unmistakably a Stik mural and was painted during the Chichester Street Art Festival 2013.
Stik is based in London, but has created pieces all over the world. There is a large Stik in Bristol which I will post about when I get a decent picture of it.
I love this.
9/10
Zase v JPS
I don’t yet understand the ground rules or protocols that exist between street artists, but it would seem there is some minor conflict in a small passageway by the Arches on Cheltenham Road, Bristol.
An original mural by Zase adorned the side wall of Wong’s Acupuncture Clinic. This appeared before or during 2011. I only became conscious of the piece last year when I saw a wonderful JPS stencil entitled ‘Insert Punchline’ which covered the lower left hand side of the Zase work. Even at the time I saw it, part of the JPS had been sprayed over. Sometime later somebody added a rat and Banksy signature, but I doubt very much that it is an original.
I took a look at the wall last week, and it would seem that Zase has returned and restored the wall to its former status. It is a pity in a way, but at least I managed to get a picture of the JPS before it disappeared.
Nestled on the intersection between Stokes Croft and Jamaica Street there is a small green space called Turbo Island. Anyone who has lived in Bristol a while will know it as a place where alcoholics and drug addicts used to congregate.
However, things are changing and the ‘People’s Republic of Stokes Croft’ are trying to persuade Bristol City Council to return the space back to the community. One of the aims is to remove the advertising hoarding (not shown – to the left of this picture). It is certainly a better space than it was a few years ago.
During the Stokes Croft Festival of arts 2014, Sepr painted this ‘scarecrow and crows sitting down together’. A great sentiment. The mural is dedicated to Bob, but I don’t know the backstory.
7.5/10
Today was the first time I have stopped to take a look at this mural by Dora, on the edge of Montpelier.
Dora is an illustrator, designer and graffiti painter, based in Bristol. She has a rather good webpage that talks about her influences.
Having looked at her portfolio, I can’t help thinking that only one half of this wall is by her. I am not sure who the other artist might be.
It is always great to find something new.
6/10
The artist of ‘Girl with the Pierced Eardrum’ needs no introduction from me. Banksy’s beautiful work appeared last year. I went to see it two days after it was completed, and already it had been spoiled by someone who had sprayed paint over the bottom left side of the work.
It appears that some restoration has happened since then, but the work was ‘clean’ for such a short while, which is a pity. Some would say it is all vandalism…you live by the sword, you die by the sword. I’m not sure I subscribe to that.
It was great to see it again today, it is beautiful.
Sepr is considered to be one of a number of ‘third generation’ street artists hailing from Bristol.
He has a really distinctive style that has similarities to 1950s design and I sense some cubist influences. His last couple of works appear to incorporate a lot of grey and use of shadows, as well as featuring musicians.
This pair of works are very new (August 2015) and I think, post-date his mural on North Street from this year’s Upfest.
Really easy on the eye.
8/10
A fabulous walk into work today through the People’s Republic of Stokes Croft took me past one of the most eye-catching murals in Bristol.
This artwork is actually a combination of several artists overwriting each other’s work.
The original bare wall on the side of the house was painted in 2008 by Phlegm, an artist from Sheffield, renowned for his works all over the world. There was also a panda under the street name.
This first work was painted over by the MM13 crew who created the magnificent wave. They spared the panda.
Phlegm returned in June 2009 to add the characteristic figures on the left.
The whole thing is stunning; one of the best walls in Bristol.
9/10
I have not come across Dice 67 before. He is an artist from Cheltenham who likes to use a mix of stencils and freehand.
This political anti-austerity piece is slightly hidden away from view, and I am not sure if it is typical of Dice 67’s work. This was created as part of Upfest 2015.
I will be looking out for more of his work in Bristol.
6.5/10
Looking through some archive images, I found another wheatpaste by Kid Crayon (see posts 7 and 11). This image was taken on 25 February 2015.
This one is just as strange as the others, but what fascinates me more is that it is no longer there, emphasising the ephemeral nature of some street art. There is a kind of ‘catch me while you can’ element to it all that I like.
This image was pasted directly above one of my favourite JPS works (see post 2).
Whilst not over keen on this particular work, there is something about the way KC operates in Bristol that works for me. I have revisited this post in April 2016, and must add that Kid Crayon has become one of my favourite Bristol street artists, and the more I look at this pasteup, the more I like it.
Tucked away in Leonard Lane on a white plank of wood is this unusual piece of street art by Wolfskulljack. It would appear from her Facebook page that street art is a bit of a departure from her usual illustrations.
Wolfskulljack interestingly misspelled her name on the signature, which made me doubt its authenticity, but it is definitely hers.
This is the first time I have seen her street work and I suspect, given that she is an illustrator, that there won’t be too much more. She comes from Cheltenham and who knows, maybe if she does get a taste for street art, we’ll see more of it in Bristol.
A mysterious and beautifully detailed drawing
7/10
Natural adventures 