All artists derive their influences from somewhere. Sometimes these influences are overtly acknowledged and deliberately expressed in their work, and this stencil by JPS is one such example. There is more than a simple nod to Banksy in this piece called ‘balloon girl’.
JPS, Alma Street, Weston-super-Mare, August 2019
There used to be a stencil of balloon girl (with red balloons) in Park Row in Bristol, but I don’t think it is there any more. I think, more than any other artist, Jps’ work is often mistaken for the work of Banksy, and it is not hard to see why. Love this piece.
EEEK! What a wonderful anamorphic spider stencil from JPS in Weston-super-Mare. This piece is one of three small stencils adorning a shop front on Meadow Street. The remarkable thing about JPS’ art in WSM is how incredibly fresh most of it looks, and how few of the pieces are tagged.
JPS, Meadow Street, Weston-super-Mare, August 2019
The patterns on this spider and the shadows it appears to cast on the wall make this, for me, an outstanding stencil. I am guessing that all the little bristles on the legs were painted by hand, as I don’t think that even JPS would have the patience to cut each of those on the stencil. A seriously classy small piece.
I recently took a trip (mainly to give the dog somewhere different to experience) to Weston-super-Mare, and it hadn’t changed much from the last time I visited a couple of years back. What I was able to do however was explore the town for JPS street art, and naturally this is the place to do it.
JPS, Rear Oxford Street, Weston-super-Mare, August 2019
In my view, JPS doesn’t come to Bristol nearly enough, but WSM is his manor and that is where so much of his work is. I think this piece of a youing skateboarder is reasonably recent, but I have no real way of knowing. I understand that JPS now lives in Bavaria, but I am sure that he returns now and again to his old stomping ground.
JPS, Rear Oxford Street, Weston-super-Mare, August 2019
This piece, like all of his stencils is beautifully intricate and has been specifically placed to give the impression that the child is skating over the street sign. This is just the first of many posts I will be bringing to Natural Adventures over the coming days/months from WSM featuring JPS, Fawn and PZY.
I love this beautiful stencil by JPS for so many reasons. Firstly, and I make no bones about this, it is bloody brilliant. Secondly, it was the art of JPS (and Kid Crayon) in this area that led me down this path of discovery several years and as a result has brought me a great deal of happiness.
JPS, Frogmore Street, Bristol, August 2019
The cat is on the side of the King’s Shilling in Frogmore Street and is adjacent to his gladiator piece and round the corner from his ‘Big Deal’ stencil… a proper little JPS hotspot. My only complaint is that he doesn’t do nearly enough work in Bristol, and we have to wait literally years for him to come and paint.
JPS, Frogmore Street, Bristol, August 2019
The cat is, as I said at the top, beautiful. So elegant and full of poise, and it could easily be mistaken for a real cat at a glance. The other clever thing I should point out, that once spoken about cannot be taken back (spoiler alert), is that the markings on the cat’s flank spell out JPS.
I know of at least one other JPS cat which is in West Pallant in Chichester, an altogether more colourful cat. I love, love this stencil and am pleased that JPS made a recent visit to Bristol to spray it. It is especially good that it is very close to where I work and I can see it as often as I choose. Thank you JPS.
I haven’t posted much from JPS for a long while, because I haven’t seen any of his recent work, and he doesn’t seem to come to Bristol as much as he used to. I owe my interest in street art to this artist thanks to a small piece near my work in Frogmore Street which he had just restored.
JPS, the Tropicana, Weston-super-Mare, August 2016
This old one in the Tropicana entrance area is a multi-layered stencil of Cain from Robocop. It showcases just how brilliant JPS is at creating these large highly detailed stencils. The broom next to it gives an indication of scale. I am in love with this man’s work.
My trip to Weston-super-Mare last summer was a bit of a treat for me. I managed to grab 20 minutes away from the family who wanted to sit on the beach and eat ice creams, and decided to take a little peek in the Tropicana. The small anteroom, it turns out, is something of a museum honouring JPS and PZY. I’m not so sure how this came about, but there is a lot of their work there.
JPS, Tropicana, Weston-super-Mare, August 2016
This is one of the smaller stencils, highlighting the lateral thinking that JPS often applies to his smaller pieces. A small hole in the wall becomes an object for lifting by two fork lift trucks. It is a witty and fun piece, which offsets some of his darker themes. More to come from this treasure trove.
Weston-super-Mare is the home of the great stencil artist JPS, and the Tropicana is home to many of his pieces. This one is in the lobby area between the street and the open area inside the Tropicana, where Dismaland was hosted.
JPS, Tropicana, Weston-super-Mare, August 2016
This fine piece is of Peter Weller’s Robocop holding a spray can, I mean, why wouldn’t he? The detail in the stencil is incredible, and all the more remarkable when you take a close look at the texture of the wall.
JPS, Tropicana, Weston-super-Mare, August 2016
There were some tourists standing in front of the piece when I was trying to take these pictures, and only reluctantly would they sidle out of the way. their bags however remained. Another classic from the main man.
Even if you haven’t seen the film series – ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street‘ you will almost certainly have seen representations or images of Freddy Krueger, the villain of the piece. If you haven’t, then here he is in all his nightmarish glory. This is a magnificent stencil piece by JPS (who else), that faithfully conveys the Krueger character.
JPS, Tropicana, Weston-super-Mare, August 2016I have written a lot about JPS and how much I admire his work, and it is when you get up close to pieces like this that you really appreciate his incredible skill. His love for the entertainment industry and the characters it creates provides him with plenty of material.
JPS, Tropicana, Weston-super-Mare, August 2016JPS seems to enjoy the horror, sci-fi and adventure genres as well as straying occasionally into cartoon characters. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again…JPS is pretty much responsible for me writing about street art in the first place, so he is in my view, a bit of a hero, an inspiration.
I have held on to this one for a very long time, because although I suspected it, I was never one hundred per cent sure that it was by JPS. Well it is…although I had to check back on his Instagram account to be absolutely certain.
JPS, University Road, Bristol, July 2015
The featured image is the earliest photograph, taken in August 2014, and the cleanest version that I have. The Charlie Brown character has been defaced a couple of times since, and I am fairly sure that the last time I saw it, it was pretty much ruined.
JPS, University Road, Bristol, August 2015
It is one of my top ten stencils and was really the first introduction I had to photographing street art. I think I love everything JPS does, and I have so much more to share.
JPS, University Road, Bristol, August 2015
I seem to have in my mind that I read an article about this piece and that it made reference to Banksy’s successful New York tour, hence the ‘I love NY’ tag. I wish I could recall the article, because I doubt the sharpness of my mind.
For me, the best bit of going to Weston-super-Mare is knowing that it is the home of JPS, and it really doesn’t take very long to find some of his works about the place. It is largely thanks to JPS that I have taken such an interest in street art in the first place. His pieces in Frogmore Street and at the ‘Arches’ on Gloucester Road, were among my first posts.
JPS, York Street, Weston-super-Mare, August 2016
His stencils are witty and often contain wordplay but have their real strength in their technical execution. JPS often references popular culture, TV and films in particular, and here he features a life-size Batman, and wonderful pun. I have seen images of this piece all over digital media, so it was a real pleasure to find it for real. I love it that the wall has been repainted and rendered (?) around this work – big respect.
JPS, York Street, Weston-super-Mare, August 2016
On this particular visit to W-s-M I took many photographs of JPS works and I am mindful that I might have to do a bit of a compilation post, although I really don’t like doing that. I’ll have to have a think.
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