5241. M32 Cycle path (217)

Laic217, Sako and Zake, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, April 2023
Laic217, Sako and Zake, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, April 2023

Zake has been involved in a lot of collaborations already this year, but this one is a bit unusual, in that it includes Laic217 and Sako (an artist I am not familiar with). The collaboration is one in which the artists share a broad colour scheme, but each piece is discrete.

Laic217, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, April 2023
Laic217, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, April 2023

Starting on the left, Laic217, who is going through a bit of a purple patch, has a rather dark, masked figure suspended over the letters LAIC. There are threads connecting the head and shoulders with the letters in something reminiscent of the Borg from Star Trek.  The head is highlighted with a halo of pink, which adds an extra dimension to the piece. Lovely work from Laic217.

Sako, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, April 2023
Sako, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, April 2023

In the middle is a warehouse landscape by Sako and a fragmented planet earth at the bottom left. I certainly don’t know what this is about, but there must be a meaning in it somewhere. The scene reminds me of the Ikea store bit before the tills… a place I dislike for so many reasons. A great scene created with some atmosphere, which is an achievement given the subject.

Zake, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, April 2023
Zake, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, April 2023

Finally, on the right, Zake continues with his ever-expanding repertoire, giving us his version of a six-armed god – inspired by the multitude of Hindu Goddesses with this characteristic. In Zake’s version, each arm is holding a spray can, of course, getting ready for some speed painting I would think. As usual, the light and shade work is exemplary, and the figure has enormous depth. A bright and rather eclectic collaboration from the three artists.

5231. Cumberland Basin

Laic217, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2023
Laic217, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2023

Laic217 is on fire at the moment, and painting fairly regularly, which is great to see. This portrait piece takes us back to a theme that Laic217 particularly enjoys, which is the distortion and disintegration of the face.

Laic217, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2023
Laic217, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2023

Set on a red background, the skin is melting away to reveal the skull underneath. Of course, a baseball cap with an ‘L’ on it is a required accessory and shows off the artist’s skill with recreating the illusion of fabric and materials. A great example of Laic217’s work, with more to come on Natural Adventures soon.

5194. M32 roundabout J3 (471)

Laic217, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2023
Laic217, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2023

In this piece, part of a recent paint jam on the St Paul’s side of the roundabout, we see Laic217 at his magnificent best. A rather evil looking skeleton is set on a fabulous backdrop of church windows in true horror film style, brandishing a gold medallion with the letter L for Laic.

Laic217, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2023
Laic217, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2023

As with all his pieces, the folds of the fabric of the skeleton’s robe are beautifully painted and convey a texture that many artists struggle to portray. Light and shade play a large part in Laic217’s work, creating depth and perspective. This is an outstanding piece from the master of skeletons.

5173. River Avon (42)

Laic217, River Avon, Bristol, April 2023
Laic217, River Avon, Bristol, April 2023

Laic217 has awoken from a little bit of a winter slumber, and what a joy it is to see his work appearing on the streets again. I must have found this one pretty quickly after he had painted it, because I hadn’t seen it on any social media when I stumbled across it.

Laic217, River Avon, Bristol, April 2023
Laic217, River Avon, Bristol, April 2023

This piece demonstrates the impact of colours against greyscale. We see one of Laic217’s skeleton characters complete with textured clothes, a neck chain and baseball cap all painted in black, greys and white. The portrait piece is brought alive with the addition of rainbow colours on the character’s lightweight sunglasses, changing the whole dynamic of the piece – imagine how it would look without the splash of colour. Clever work from Laic217.

4994. Dean Lane skate park (563)

Laic217, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2023
Laic217, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2023

The waits seem to get longer between finding new Laic217 pieces, which is a real pity. I can only hope that the reason behind his slow down in street activity is that he has other great things going on in his life. It is not uncommon for street artists to go through peaks and troughs in activity, and that is all part of the game.

Laic217, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2023
Laic217, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2023

This is Laic217 at his classic best, a skeleton holding a spray can, wearing a puffer jacket over a hoodie. There is tons of shape and texture in his work, especially on the clothes. Seeing this piece reminds me just how good he is and how much I miss his work.

4893. Greenbank (61)

Laic217, Greenbank, Bristol, December 2022
Laic217, Greenbank, Bristol, December 2022

As the development alongside the Bristol to Bath cycle track reaches its completion, the long hoarding is being dismantled in sections as each new block of the development is finished. We always knew this would be a temporary spot, but it feels rather sad that it is shrinking away and will soon be gone altogether.

Laic217, Greenbank, Bristol, December 2022
Laic217, Greenbank, Bristol, December 2022

One of the regulars here over the last few years has been Laic217, and here he is with another classic piece. This one, along with other recent pieces, reverts back to his rather sinister distorted faces. Distorted and trippy some might call it. All the elements of a Laic217 piece are there, but once again it is his attention to detail in folds in material that really stands out. He has become a master of painting the clothes worn by his skeletal characters. Brilliant stuff from one of my all-time favourite artists

4688. Cumberland Basin

Laic217, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, September 2022
Laic217, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, September 2022

This piece from Laic217 was painted while I was away on my family summer holiday, but I was more than aware of its existence due to the fact that it was all over the Bristol Instagram feeds that I follow. Of course, on my return home, I made a beeline for the spot in Cumberland Basin.

Laic217, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, September 2022
Laic217, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, September 2022

There is something rather striking about the portrait piece, and I have a feeling the background pattern has a lot to do with it. The portrait itself is a classic piece of Laic217 art, disturbing and menacing, with the figure clan in a full mask and goggles. It has a dystopian future feel about it.

4665. Sparke Evans Park (52)

Laic217, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, August 2022
Laic217, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, August 2022

Laic217 is painting roughly every three to four weeks at the moment, which is great as it keeps a constant stream of his work in the limelight, and allows me to publish pretty much every piece I see.

Laic217, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, August 2022
Laic217, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, August 2022

This artistic piece features a chrome Satan Japanese Oni (thank you, Paul) crushing a spray can with his teeth, and some bronze paint/fumes wafting from the can in a rather stylised design. The chrome work is fantastic because it isn’t chrome at all, but looks like it. The colours used are actually black, grey, white and light blue, which used skilfully create an illusion of metal. Brilliant work from Laic217.

4610. Dean Lane skate park (513)

I am not the biggest fan of this bit of wall. There is no easy way of photographing it without a wide-angle lens or similar capability, so you are getting it fence and all, to see what it really looks like, rather than a sanitised version, although I have tried that too.

Laic217, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2022
Laic217, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2022

There is little need for me to say much about Laic217, the artist, as I have said pretty much everything I can in the past. This is another skeletal offering, which although not to everyone’s taste, has artistry that can still be admired. He is doing a lot of greyscale work these days which is not easy, but he manages to generate great depth in his pieces with light and shade and folds etc. This is yet another fine piece in a long series of outstanding work from this excellent artist.

4574. Greenbank (48)

It is so good to see a new Laic217 piece, and this one is a throwback to his melting face period from a few years ago. I guess with the heatwave we are currently enduring this melting face is really rather apt.

Laic217, Greenbank, Bristol, July 2022
Laic217, Greenbank, Bristol, July 2022

The main difference between this and his similar pieces of old is that his skills and touch have improved measurably. Although this piece is rather grotesque, it is also fascinating, and difficult not to look at and study. I particularly like the curve of the cap peak, it is just so well observed. Melty face, melty day.