6357. Dean Lane skate park (748)

Katie Fishlock, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2024
Katie Fishlock, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2024

Katie Fishlock produces small, bold and really impactful pieces, and although she doesn’t create street art work all that often, you certainly know when she has produced a new piece – you generally can’t miss them.

Katie Fishlock, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2024
Katie Fishlock, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2024

This bright piece is on one of the ramps at Dean Lane skate park, a spot she has favoured before. The piece is more of a statement stamp than anything else. It says ‘Thirsty’ and there is a drop of water landing between bright red lips of a horizontal face profile. Impactful and mildly sensual. Great work from Katie Fishlock.

6055. Dean Lane skate park (719)

Fishlock, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2024
Fishlock, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2024

This is another striking piece from Katie Fishlock which I had meant to post back in March, but it simply didn’t happen. Fortunately my regular trawls through my archives allow me to unearth special pieces like this one.

Fishlock, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2024
Fishlock, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2024

Fishlock’s punchy pieces tend to be quite modest in size, but usually make up for it in both attitude and message. These big red lips contain the words ‘self-sabotage is misguided self-love’, which I think I get. Katie Fishlock’s art punches above its weight because of its arresting combination of design and message, and I am a fan.

5996. Cumberland Basin

Fishlock, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, April 2024
Fishlock, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, April 2024

This is a bright and fun piece from Katie Fishlock was painted at the Bristol Mural Collective paint jam back in April. I have featured her work a few times in Natural Adventures, and have several more of her pieces in my archives, but perhaps don’t ‘big her up’ as much as she deserves.

Fishlock, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, April 2024
Fishlock, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, April 2024

Her art studio creative designs translate very well onto walls, which provide a great showcase for her design work. If you’d like to know more about Katie Fishlock, her biography on her website is well worth a read. The portrait piece here plays on the confusion of double sets of eyes, which the brain quickly dismisses and accepts as a normal face, a device used a lot in street art. I rather like the bold statement and way it is presented. Note to self – dig out more of her work from the archive.

5172. Elton Street (22)

Fishlock and Fyona Finn, Elton Street, Bristol, April 2022
Fishlock and Fyona Finn, Elton Street, Bristol, April 2022

Following on immediately from the previous post featuring Katie Fishlock, here is a piece that she painted, in collaboration with Fyona Finn back in April 2022, a year ago. Once again we see a bold statement accompanied by a carefully crafted illustration.

Fishlock and Fyona Finn, Elton Street, Bristol, April 2022
Fishlock and Fyona Finn, Elton Street, Bristol, April 2022

Fishlock’s style seems to be very much about the message and arresting imageryto help drive it home. Some clever wordplay is at work here and the phrase can be read as ‘Love is expansive’ or a rather more pessimistic version ‘Love is expensive’. I suspect both are true statements, and that is the point. I don’t know which artist did which bit of this piece, but as a collaboration it works perfectly. Maybe we’ll have another chapter in April 2024.

5171. Elton Street (21)

Fishhlock, Elton Street, Bristol, April 2023
Fishhlock, Elton Street, Bristol, April 2023

I go to great lengths to try and keep my street art/graffiti posts fresh by mixing up the locations and artists each time I post. Today I am making an exception, posting not only the same artist, Katie Fishlock, in two consecutive posts, but also in the same spot, Elton street.

Fishhlock, Elton Street, Bristol, April 2023
Fishhlock, Elton Street, Bristol, April 2023

I am not particularly familiar with Fishlock’s work, although the next post is a piece by her from last year. I think she is mostly a designer and illustrator working in the studio, who from time to time paints murals. Her messages are usually pretty hard-hitting, and this particular phrase is something she has been working on in her designs. Really eye-catching and interesting. A simple message very tidily delivered.