Tag: Laic217

792. Dean Lane skate park (47)

This is not the first time that I have seen a collaboration wall between these two. Some time ago I posted a piece by Laic217 from Moon Street, but left the Cort piece out, which was on reflection a bit unnecessary. This time I have kept Cort’s half. I know little about Cort apart from these two pieces mentioned.

Laic217 and Cort, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2017
Laic217 and Cort, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2017

Laic217 again seems to be experimenting with his grayscale work, with just a touch of accent colour in his signature. I have noticed too that in shared walls like this one, Laic217 always seems to occupy the left hand side – is this a thing for street artists? is it like having a preferred side of the bed?

Laic217 and Cort, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2017
Laic217 and Cort, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2017

I like this collaboration a lot, and am pleased to have got a clean photograph of it, something that is getting more and more difficult to do in Bristol.

The missing Cort photos from March 2016 are below…

Laic217 and Cort, Moon Street, Bristol, March 2016
Laic217 and Cort, Moon Street, Bristol, March 2016
Cort, Moon Street, Bristol, March 2016
Cort, Moon Street, Bristol, March 2016

782. The Bearpit (68)

Coming back down to earth from five posts about Upfest pieces I find myself back in the old Bearpit, and confronted by this absolutely brilliant and slightly chilling grayscale piece by Laic217.

Laic217, The Bearpit, Bristol, May2017
Laic217, The Bearpit, Bristol, May2017

The image conjures up so many thoughts and ideas, perhaps of a menacing figure, but also maybe one that needs care and love.I think it captures so brilliantly the judgements we make about others based upon their appearance, location or demeanour. I really love this piece. Yet another from the ever-productive Laic217.

Laic217, The Bearpit, Bristol, May2017
Laic217, The Bearpit, Bristol, May2017

 

 

771. M32 roundabout, J3 (36)

I was in two minds about posting about this Laic217 piece, because it is so unlike anything I have seen from him before, and something of a departure from the trajectory he has been on recently. I am not too sure also that I like it very much…it might be something to do with the insipid colours. But hey this blog isn’t just about what I like, it is about what I see.

Laic217, M32 Roundabout, Bristol, April 2017
Laic217, M32 Roundabout, Bristol, April 2017

Actually, now that I am scrutinising it a little more thoroughly, there is quite a lot here to like. The animal, the alien in a spaceship over eyes and the customary brick wall. I guess the monochrome approach is something I’ve not seen before from this artist (spoiler alert…but I have seen since).

Laic217, M32 Roundabout, Bristol, April 2017
Laic217, M32 Roundabout, Bristol, April 2017

Not the best, but still something rather compelling about his work, and how much has he improved over the last year?

758. Armada Place (10)

Well this is a bright wall from Laic217 and Hire. Regular readers will be familiar with the work of Laic217, as I tend to feature a piece by him almost every week, however this is the first work by Hire that I have posted.

Laic217, Armada Place, Bristol, April 2017
Laic217, Armada Place, Bristol, April 2017

I think that this is another of those painting together walls rather than a collaboration per se. There is an element of sequence between the two pieces, but the main link is the background wash selected, and the skeleton spraying on the Hire piece.

Laic217, Armada Place, Bristol, April 2017
Laic217, Armada Place, Bristol, April 2017

No major surprises from Laic217, but consistent with his progress over the last year, the quality of his pieces improves with each work.

Hire, Armada Place, Bristol, April 2017
Hire, Armada Place, Bristol, April 2017

I know very little about Hire, except that I am certain I have pictures of other work he has done in my archive. I will try and dig some out if I can. This is a lovely wildstyle piece, with some similarities to the style used by Dibz. A great combination.

Sorry to say that I returned a few days later and the whole thing has been obliterated with this:

Throw up over Laic217 and Hire, Armada Place, Bristol, April 2017
Throw up over Laic217 and Hire, Armada Place, Bristol, April 2017

744. Moon Street (29)

Quite by chance I came across Laic217 spraying over one of his old pieces in Moon Street on my way to the ‘paint jam’ on 8 April. This was indeed a bit of a red-letter day for me, and I hadn’t even arrived at The Bearpit yet.

Laic 217, Moon Street, Bristol, April 2017
Laic 217, Moon Street, Bristol, April 2017

I have been really wanting to meet Laic217 for some time, because his work is so different and distinctive and he is so incredibly prolific at the moment. Now was my chance to say hello and ask him a few questions.

Laic 217, Moon Street, Bristol, April 2017
Laic 217, Moon Street, Bristol, April 2017

He seemed to know who I was (probably from my Instagram account), so I didn’t need to explain too much why I was interested in his work. He implied that he tries not to be influenced by other artists or what people write about him, preferring instead to plough his own furrow. He tends to spray alone and does not belong to any local crew. I picked up an accent which to my untrained ear sounded German.

Laic 217, Moon Street, Bristol, April 2017
Laic 217, Moon Street, Bristol, April 2017

When I asked him how can he be so prolific, he stated what I suppose is obvious, he said “It is what I do and I love to do it”. This is another skull face and bucket hat combo (I was glad to see he sports such a hat) with a gold tooth, joint, brick wall behind sun glasses and shattered smiley. It is all there and all absolutely wonderful.

Laic 217, Moon Street, Bristol, April 2017
Laic 217, Moon Street, Bristol, April 2017

729. St Werburghs tunnel (12)

I’ll let you into a little secret. I tend to write my posts in batches, and usually in advance by about a week, which is why there is always a bit of a time delay between the appearance of a recent piece and my posting of it. I do this out of necessity, because of my full time job and finding pockets of ‘me time’ to do some writing. I mention this because yesterday (my realtime – Sunday 9 April) I met Laic217 in Moon Street, working on a piece that I will post in a week or two. He is as enigmatic in person as he is in his street art.

Laic217, St Werburghs, Bristol, March 2017
Laic217, St Werburghs, Bristol, March 2017

This piece appeared a few weeks back in St Werburghs tunnel alongside the great work of Silent Hobo. An alien face, bucket hat and gold chain with a planet pendant mark this out as an obvious Laic217 piece, irrespective of the fact that he has signed it Laic on the arm.

Laic217, St Werburghs, Bristol, March 2017
Laic217, St Werburghs, Bristol, March 2017

I am still enjoying finding and writing about Laic217’s work, it almost feels like a game of hide and seek. I would point out that he is a better painter than I am a writer and he is more prolific than I could ever be. On to the next one.

721. The Bearpit (58)

A week wouldn’t feel like a week without posting a piece by Laic217, and his productivity shown no signs of slowing down.

Laic217, The Bearpit, Bristol, March 2017
Laic217, The Bearpit, Bristol, March 2017

This piece is from about a month ago and was situated on the West underpass into The Bearpit. Several of Laic217’s favourite motifs are present in this work;the bucket hat, an alien, weed, smileys and a face distorted, this time in watery reflections. A nice piece from the master of freehand graffiti art.

712. The Bearpit (55)

It is funny how you can miss things. This is a piece in The Bearpit by Laic217 that he did a little while back, but which I hadn’t seen because it is on a different approach than the one I normally use.

Laic217, The Bearpit, Bristol, March 2017
Laic217, The Bearpit, Bristol, March 2017

It is an interesting piece because it is overtly critical of stencil art. It is quite unusual to see this kind of commentary about artists by artists, but obviously it is something Laic 217 feels strongly about. On his Instagram feed he says he hates stencil graffiti, and when pressed says that in his opinion it is cheating and being lazy. Only free hand for Laic217. It is not a sentiment I necessarily agree with.

Laic217, The Bearpit, Bristol, March 2017
Laic217, The Bearpit, Bristol, March 2017

The piece itself is a bit surreal and menacing…I guess that is the intention. Laic217 does like the use of skulls in his pieces and has a dark side to many of his pieces. It is possible that he is trying to be humorous in this piece, but I don’t think it quite makes the mark. Nonetheless, I like the artwork from this very busy artist.

 

701. St Werburghs tunnel (11)

Well here is another weekly dose of Laic217. This piece is from a short while back and can be found at the city farm end of the St Werburghs tunnel, although turnover there is so rapid that it might have gone by now.

Laic217, St Werburghs tunnel, Bristol, March 2017
Laic217, St Werburghs tunnel, Bristol, March 2017

This piece bears some resemblance to his larger work in the Dean Lane skate park, and has something of the grotesque about it. Drug culture seems to play a large part in Laic217’s pieces and it looks like this pink individual is smoking weed. Not the most beautiful piece you will see, but all part of the broad and imaginative portfolio of this artist.

Laic217, St Werburghs tunnel, Bristol, March 2017
Laic217, St Werburghs tunnel, Bristol, March 2017

684. M32 roundabout J3 (34)

No prizes at all for guessing who this is by. Hardly a week goes by without posting something by Laic217. This piece is a bit of a throwback to his format of spelling his name and incorporating a feature piece into it. Most of his recent works have been distorted portraits.

Laic217, M32 junction, Bristol, February 2017
Laic217, M32 junction, Bristol, February 2017

Looking back at some of his similar pieces from about a year back, it is easy to see how his work is constantly and consistently improving. The fiery flame work is nicely done in this piece, and he really does seem to enjoy his skulls.

Laic217, M32 junction, Bristol, February 2017
Laic217, M32 junction, Bristol, February 2017