4126. Greenbank (21)

Laic217 has three or four main themes that he likes to return to. Most of his characters are skeletons, often spraying, but he has also painted a lot of melting faces and face distortions, of which this is a fine example.

Laic217, Greenbank, Bristol, December 2021
Laic217, Greenbank, Bristol, December 2021

This one is a newish piece on the long Greenbank wall, which surely only has a few more months left, as the development behind it seems to be moving with some pace now. The distortion is deliberately unsettling and challenging, especially as it is confined to the face and the hand with a spray can in it. The rest of the character is normal, so there is a lot of confusion and deception going on. I love Laic217’s creativity and mischief, and this piece ticks all my boxes. Beautifully executed too.

4118. M32 roundabout J3 (367)

I would think it would be safe to say that Laic217’s status as a character artist in Bristol is at the highest level, and what is so gratifying about this has been watching his consistent progress over the years. His pieces are so self-assured, and have an ease about them, although the content is sometimes not quite so easy. This is one of at least three recent pieces by Laic217 in Bristol.

Laic217, M32 roundabout, Bristol, December 2021
Laic217, M32 roundabout, Bristol, December 2021

The subtle use of colour in the background is just enough to provide some contrast with the greyscale character, helping to lift it from the wall. The theme is a common one for Laic217, with a skeleton, clad in dark robe material, is busy spraying the wall with cloudy grey paint. The whole thing appears effortless, although that is only because the artist’s expertise has made it do. This is a great and typical example of Laic217’s work.

4065. Catherine Mead Street (1)

This domestic wall was first painted during Upfest 2018, when a few artists clubbed together and had a paint jam on this unofficial space. I believe they had the permission of the owner to do it, and these pieces remained in pretty good condition until fairly recently when they were on the wrong end of quite a lot of tagging. Recently, several artists, including Laic217, Nightwayss, Tack Jucker and Zake, refreshed the wall to great effect, including this fine piece from Laic217.

Laic217, Catherine Mead Street, Bristol, November 2021
Laic217, Catherine Mead Street, Bristol, November 2021

Laic217, as regular readers will know, is a particular favourite of mine and this piece is a reversion to some of the recurring themes seen in his work. The brick wall glasses, the ghetto-blaster, the bucket hat and of course, skeleton, all point towards it being a Laic217 piece. The colours are a good match with the fairly benign purple backdrop helping to lift the gold colours incorporated in the character. 

More to come soon from this wall.

4049. St Werburghs tunnel (265)

I have a feeling that this mask-like face may have been a Halloween piece from Laic217, at least it was certainly painted around that period at the end of October. The piece is far from typical of Laic’s work but contains his recognisable style.

Laic217, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2021
Laic217, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2021

Set on a vibrant pink background the grey scale demon stares out from the wall menacingly. The mask-like structure is rather static and fixed, which is different to most of his other work which tends to be full of animation and movement. Great to see something a little bit different.

4004. Greenbank (17)

Barely a week goes by when I don’t have something to post by Laic217. This piece on the long wall at Greenbank is an absolute gem and is painted in a rather cheerful assemblage of colours, although the subject is inevitably skeleton related.

Laic217, Greenbank, Bristol, September 2021
Laic217, Greenbank, Bristol, September 2021

There are lots of things we expect to see from Laic217, including the bucket hat, fabulously painted folds in the clothing, and the reappearance, after a long pause, of the brickwork glasses. I love the contrast between the grey scale characters and the colourful background. Yet another fine work from this highly talented artist.

3999. Sparke Evans Park (12)

It turns out that Nightwayss’ birthday celebratory paint jam corralled a great number of artists and channelled some extraordinary creativity. It is a long time, for example, since I last saw a piece from Laic217 that didn’t feature a skeleton or emaciated character.

Laic217, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, September 2021
Laic217, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, September 2021

In this wonderful piece, the Laic217 has painted a weed smoking, trippy rat, complete with a bucket hat, hoodie and trainers. This is a wonderful little character and contains a nice call out to Nightwayss too. The ‘Mc Trash’ MacDonalds paper cup in the background is a classy touch that adds a bit of commentary. Great work from the man.

3974. L Dub (31)

It would seem that Laic217 enjoys painting the walls at L Dub (Lawrence Weston) and has once again turned out a typically fine piece painted at or around the time of DJ Perk’s 50th birthday paint jam a few weeks back.

Laic217, L Dub, Bristol, September 2021
Laic217, L Dub, Bristol, September 2021

Dominated by pink and purples, the character is set on a light blue background with PAD (a crew name) and Laic217 scrawled all over it. However, we didn’t come here to admire the background… the smoking character sporting a bucket hat is wearing a magnificent trippy shirt festooned with smiley faces that ripple with every fold of the material, something that Laic217 does so well. It is a clever piece when you consider the limited colour range he has used. More excellent work from one of my faves.

3960. Sparke Evans Park (10)

The long wall at Sparke Evans Park has always been a showcase for some great art, and in recent months, the turnover has increased significantly as has the quality of some of the pieces. It is a top graffiti art spot, but a complete menace to photograph, the dappled sunshine percolating through the adjacent leafy trees has rendered many of my photographs unusable. This is definitely a spot for winter and overcast days.

Laic217, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, September 2021
Laic217, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, September 2021

This is a superb tribute piece by Laic217 for KFAS. I don’t know anything about the backstory and instead have simply focussed on the piece itself. A spray can artist at work with tons of movement (clever use of three hands to create a busy scene), and a massively exaggerated mouth. A characterful and lively piece, and a worthy tribute.

3939. Moon Street (89)

This post contains two things I love about Bristol street art; Moon Street and Laic217. I think that Moon Street was central to my love for street and graffiti art, as it was on my walking route to work, along with The Bearpit. Both are, sadly, spots in decline. The Bearpit has been sanitised and painted with anti-graffiti paint, and Moon Street is on the edge of a huge gentrification development programme in the Stokes Croft area, and fewer artists visit these days, preferring other less disturbed spots.

Laic217, Moon Street, Bristol, August 2021
Laic217, Moon Street, Bristol, August 2021

This nice trippy skeleton piece is by Laic217, and I think I have said enough in previous posts about how much I enjoy his work. Three things stand out for me, the lovely folds in the hoodie material, the pink glasses and the smiley bucket hat. This piece couldn’t possibly be by anyone else.

3928. M32 Cycle path (140)

Ah! Sweet joy – another splendid piece from Bristol’s reliable and faithful Laic217. Of all the artists in Bristol, I think that the one that brings me most pleasure is Laic217, because I have been following his progress closely and watched him develop into a first class graffiti artist.

Laic217, M32 cycle path, Bristol, August 2021
Laic217, M32 cycle path, Bristol, August 2021

This classy piece on the M32 cycle path returns to a melting face theme that Laic217 was rather fond of a few years ago, but it is now embellished with so much more detail and technique. His name is concealed in the melting face, and there is a nod to his crew PAD too. The bucket hat has some slightly peculiar eyes peering through, and I love the way he has painted the ridges in the brim. Another wonderful piece from Laic217.