Tag: Laic217

965. Moon Street (34)

I never thought I’d say this, but Laic217 has gone a little quiet of late, which is fine, because I have a bunch of his pieces to catch up on. Here is one from a while back in my favourite spot in Moon Street. This is also one of Laic217’s favoured locations.


This piece features things we would expect to see from his work: bucket hat; smiley; weed; melting face; brick wall. Somehow these all come together in a bold statement about some of the preoccupations the artist might have, as these are repeating motifs in his work…rather like bowler hats and apples in the work of Rene Magritte.


Another nice piece from Laic217.

913. Bedminster

Another fine skeleton and flame piece from the inexhaustible Laic217. This time in cooler blues and less of the fiery furnace approach. This is a nice spot, and perfect for the kinds of works that Laic217 likes to do.

Laic, Bedminster, Bristol, July 2017
Laic, Bedminster, Bristol, July 2017

The tracksuit is rather special, and I guess representative of things that the artist is familiar and comfortable with. I wonder if setting fire to spray paint is something that people actually do for a bit of a laugh, but it looks rather dangerous to me.

Laic, Bedminster, Bristol, July 2017
Laic, Bedminster, Bristol, July 2017

Laic217 is certainly becoming more and more expert at producing an expressive skull, giving it a plasticity that allows expressions and maybe even emotions. The eyes here are rather good too. A nice piece.

895. The Bearpit (78)

So the most prolific Bristol street artist, Laic217, continues to spread his love all over the city. This one is at the bottom of the steps on the north west side of The Bearpit. The story here is not entirely clear, but the bug spray would appear to be killing the bugs inside the skeleton’s head.

Laic217, The Bearpit, Bristol, July 2017
Laic217, The Bearpit, Bristol, July 2017

Laic217 is really perfecting these skull characters, and telling loads of stories on the way. There are emergent themes in his work: skulls and death generally; insects; bucket hats and spray cans. Few of his pieces don’t have two or more of these things.

Laic217, The Bearpit, Bristol, July 2017
Laic217, The Bearpit, Bristol, July 2017

You won’t have to wait long for another Laic217 post – I have several waiting in the wings.

892. Moon Street (32)

Once more we see a pairing of Laic217 and Cort on this hoarding panel in Moon Street. Unfortunately I arrived to photograph it just a little too late, and the Cort half has been dogged with a throw up. This is an all too familiar sight in the Stokes Croft area and can at times be really frustrating, and indeed has driven some artists away from the area, which is a real pity.

Laic217, Moon Street, Bristol, June 2017
Laic217, Moon Street, Bristol, June 2017

The Laic217 half of this collaboration features a rather menacing skull wearing a red bucket had with horns sticking through the top. the word ‘inferno’ stitched into the brim of the hat suggests that this may indeed be Satan.

Laic217 and Cort, Moon Street, Bristol, June 2017
Laic217 and Cort, Moon Street, Bristol, June 2017

Another nice piece from these artists and another weekly (at least) dose of Laic217.

I have just noticed that the shadow on the pavement in the bottom picture looks a little like it could be the shadow cast by Satan.

865. Old Bread Street (11)

Now that construction appears to have begun at this site, the hoardings are much reduced and harder to access, not that this has deterred the amazing Mr Laic217. This is a rather nice piece with the words ‘Aerosoles (sic) addicts’

Laic217, Old Bread Street, Bristol, June 2017
Laic217, Old Bread Street, Bristol, June 2017

This really appeals to me, but I’m not sure why. The grotesque face with blue colouring is not unlike a piece he did at Dean Lane skate park a while back…lots of big teeth.

Laic217, Old Bread Street, Bristol, June 2017
Laic217, Old Bread Street, Bristol, June 2017

In the piece, the blue-faced character is snorting paint, a metaphor for his own addiction to spraying the streets. I’ve not thought about it before, but Laic217’s prolific nature may in some way be a type of addiction. Perhaps spraying walls is what he gets up in the morning for, or so it would seem.

Laic217, Old Bread Street, Bristol, June 2017
Laic217, Old Bread Street, Bristol, June 2017

I love the piece, and I’m sure I’ve seen those eyes in the mirror after a heavy night before.

 

 

859. New Stadium Road (2)

Pretty much without exception, all of Laic217’s pieces harbour menace to a greater or lesser extent. Even though much of his work is weird, and he specialises in facial distortions, this one is weirder than most.

Laic217, New Stadium Road, Bristol, May 2017
Laic217, New Stadium Road, Bristol, May 2017

The fly is grotesque – a bluebottle of sorts. An interesting thing going on is the ‘fly’ is feeding on what looks like a steaming poo which makes up the numbers 217. I hope this is a joke and not some subconscious self-esteem issue.

Laic217, New Stadium Road, Bristol, May 2017
Laic217, New Stadium Road, Bristol, May 2017

Even though the image is quite disgusting, you really have to admire a creature of horror movie proportions wearing a bucket hat with a smiley on it. Acid wins the day. A trippy piece?

847. M32 Roundabout J3 (42)

So here is our weekly dose of Laic217. Reverting back to the format that Laic217 used when I first became aware of his work a couple of years ago. His name and a character . The big difference over the two years is the whole quality of his work, which has improved ten-fold.

Laic217, M32, Bristol, June 2017
Laic217, M32, Bristol, June 2017

His techniques are producing more forgiving textures in the features of the characters, and the clothes are well studied, with beautiful folds and creases. In my view this is an artist who is constantly improving. However, he is sticking to his themes of bucket hats, acid, smileys, flaming spray can and of course facial distortions.

Laic217, M32, Bristol, June 2017
Laic217, M32, Bristol, June 2017

I have just been to the cinema to see The Mummy (Cruise and Crowe…6/10) and although these eyes are stacked vertically, there is something unsettling about multiple eyes. (In the film, the evil character has two pupils and irises in each eye). A digression I know.

Laic217, M32, Bristol, June 2017
Laic217, M32, Bristol, June 2017

824. Dean Lane skate park (56)

Well it has been a few days, hasn’t it? this is one of the best Laic217 pieces that I have seen. I think he is moving on to a new level, and he has worked this wall perfectly. As tribute to the quality of this piece, it has remained untagged and intact for at least a fortnight, which shows the respect from other artists.

Laic217, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2017
Laic217, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2017

Although I have seen this theme before (fire from a spray can) from other artists, I think he has excelled with this, in particular I like the way he has shaded the reflected light on the face and head of the skull, grading from white/yellow to purple/black.

Laic217, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2017
Laic217, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2017

I still have many more recent pieces by this most prolific artist in my archives, and I will unapologetically post them all. Really fabulous work.

813. Moon Street (31)

Laic217 seems to enjoy finding new spaces to spray his exceptional works. Moon street is a street familiar to graffiti artists, but I don’t believe these doors have has anything more than tags on before.

Laic 217, Moon Street, Bristol, May 2017
Laic 217, Moon Street, Bristol, May 2017

I particularly like this skull by Laic217 as it incorporates the Clifton suspension bridge, Bristol’s most significant landmark. Note to self…publish a special post containing works with the suspension bridge.

Laic 217, Moon Street, Bristol, May 2017
Laic 217, Moon Street, Bristol, May 2017

The picture is somewhat enhanced, in my view, by the fact that the doors would not close properly, adding another dimension to this piece.

803. M32 Cycle path (8)

For those of you not keen on Laic217’s work, I apologise. I, as you should know by now, am a big fan, and as long as he keeps painting them, and as long as I keep finding them, I will keep posting them.

Laic217, M32 cycle path, Bristol, March 2017
Laic217, M32 cycle path, Bristol, March 2017

This is a quick one from a little while back in a narrow cycling alleyway that runs alongside the M32 between the St Pauls and Eastville junctions.

Laic217, M32 cycle path, Bristol, March 2017
Laic217, M32 cycle path, Bristol, March 2017

A wall, an obscured face, a bucket hat, a tracksuit, letters…it is all here and all so beautifully done. I’m not at all keen on the yellow background, but I am just being a bit picky.