Tag: Millpond Street

2893. Millpond Street (8)

It was those damn shadows cast across the piece from bright sunlight passing through leafy trees. That is why I never posted this magnificent wall from SPZero76. It is not the first time and it won’t be the last time that I have struggled with this wall. Having said that, I usually manage to get back and take a picture on a dull day, regrettably not on this occasion.

SPZero76, Millpond Street, Bristol, February 2017
SPZero76, Millpond Street, Bristol, February 2017

SPZero76 has an arrangement with the owners of the wall where he decorates it for them and they pay for the paint. Not a bad arrangement really. This piece from 2017 is painted entirely in three or four tones, and looks a lot like the artist’s sketches that he churns out regularly.

SPZero76, Millpond Street, Bristol, February 2017
SPZero76, Millpond Street, Bristol, February 2017

Painted in the pre-EAT era (the collaborative partnership with Kid Crayon) this is a solo piece with all the wonderful detail we expect from SPZero76. The Ancient Egyptian inspired scene includes figures that appear to be a fusion of people with robots, a favourite theme used by SPZero76.

SPZero76, Millpond Street, Bristol, February 2017
SPZero76, Millpond Street, Bristol, February 2017

I am always completely baffled by the fine detail detail that he manages to incorporate into his work and I am happy at last to share it with you after so long under wraps.

2558. Millpond Street (7)

Roughly every six months or so this wall on the side of Domestic Drain Services gets a makeover. It is not a commission as such, more like permission and the cost of the paint thrown in, the payback is that the company get a beautifully sprayed landmark that can just about be seen from this busy motorway junction.

This piece is a collaboration between SPzero76, Squirl and Kid Crayon.

SPZero76, Millpond Street, Bristol, October 2019
SPZero76, Millpond Street, Bristol, October 2019

On the left is the highly detailed work of SPZero76 full of busy action and cartoon capers. The words ‘Lost Eats’ on the side of the rocket is a conflation of two crews, the Lost Souls, which SPZero76 and Squirl belong to and Eats which is the pairing of SPZero76 and Kid Crayon. A nice touch.

Squirl, Millpond Street, Bristol, October 2019
Squirl, Millpond Street, Bristol, October 2019

The central part of the collaboration is a much more tranquil almost abstract space idea going on from Squirl. I have seen a little bit of his work on his occasional visits to Bristol for Upfest so it was nice to see this contribution from him.

Kid Crayon, Millpond Street, Bristol, October 2019
Kid Crayon, Millpond Street, Bristol, October 2019

Finally, on the right is a rather splendid space woman alien kind of thing with the astronaut clad in terrestrial clothes holding the earth with a little space shuttle breaking through the atmosphere. Great, imaginative stuff.

This whole collaboration seems to have the brief of space, but beyond that each artist has absolutely done his own thing, so this is a three-way individual collaboration loosely based on a single idea.

1926. Millpond Street (5)

When Kid Crayon and SPZero76 get together as ‘EAT’ crew, there is almost always a creative explosion that follows. This brilliant piece, which is a kind of quasi commission, they get paid in paint, is on a wall favoured by these two.

Kid Crayon and SPZero76, Millpond Street, Bristol, December 2018
Kid Crayon and SPZero76, Millpond Street, Bristol, December 2018

The theme for the piece highlights plastic in our seas, something that thankfully is front of mind for so many of us at the moment. In Kid Crayon’s side of the piece, the king and queen of the sea look less than impressed with the amount of plastic in their domain, and the fish look pretty troubled too.

Kid Crayon and SPZero76, Millpond Street, Bristol, December 2018
Kid Crayon and SPZero76, Millpond Street, Bristol, December 2018

Although the styles of these two artists are strikingly different, they seem to work well together. SPZero76 gives us a couple of characters, a robot and swimmer in highly protective gear venturing out into the polluted sea for a surf. What is really clever about this piece is that they have incorporated bits of their previous work on this wall, such as the yellow VW Beetle, by leaving them partially exposed, thus becoming part of the pollution in this piece. Really clever work.

Kid Crayon and SPZero76, Millpond Street, Bristol, December 2018
Kid Crayon and SPZero76, Millpond Street, Bristol, December 2018

I always love a piece with a big story.

Update – I have since found out that the ‘special effect’ was not intentional but rather rain damage. The piece has been replaced already by the EAT crew.

 

 

1508. Millpond Street (4)

Here’s another EAT crew (SPZero76 and Kid Crayon) collaboration on the side wall of Domestic Drain Services. Maybe once or twice a year, this company invites artists to paint the walls in return for free paint – or so I understand.

SPzero76 and Kid Crayon, Millpond Street, Bristol, May 2018
SPzero76 and Kid Crayon, Millpond Street, Bristol, May 2018

One wall was painted by Paul Monsters and featured on this blog a little while ago. This wall has been crafted into a comic strip which was described by Keith Hopewell, AKA SPZero76 on his Instagram account as follows:

‘This comic tells the tale of a race to find the Holy Grail in a post apocolyptic giant robot wasteland. Biker woman vs the pigs of doom (and their herder). Who will find the treasure first?’

SPzero76 and Kid Crayon, Millpond Street, Bristol, May 2018
SPzero76 and Kid Crayon, Millpond Street, Bristol, May 2018

The biker woman and robot wasteland are by SPZero76 and the pigs and their hereder by Kid Crayon. I still find this pairing of artists a little unusual, because their styles are so different, but somehow they pull it off every time they work together.

SPzero76 and Kid Crayon, Millpond Street, Bristol, May 2018
SPzero76 and Kid Crayon, Millpond Street, Bristol, May 2018

I particularly like the book end characters – Biker woman and the pig herder who reminds me a little of Woody or Andy his owner from Toy Story. The whole piece is crazy, imaginative and inspiring. I love it when these two get together, you just never know what will happen.

1476. Millpond Street (3)

My understanding is that every now and again, Bristol Drain Services like to give their office building a makeover. They provide the paint and the artists crete something special. This wall which was previously occupied by Kid Crayon and SPZero76 has recently been given an abstract refresh by the fabulous Paul Monsters.

Paul Monsters, Millpond Street, Bristol, May 2018
Paul Monsters, Millpond Street, Bristol, May 2018

His colourful geometric designs are instantly recognisable and can lift any wall, no matter how bland, into the status of artwork. I hope to catch up with Paul in the run up to Upfest 2018, or at the very least at the festival itself, for which he is one of the central organisers.

815. Millpond Street (2)

Aloha! Domestic Drain Services can be found just off the end of Millpond Street. I like the name of the street because it tells us something about the history of the area, I guess it all looked very different here a hundred years ago.

SPZero76, Millpond Street, Bristol, May 2017
SPZero76, Millpond Street, Bristol, May 2017

This is a wonderful collaborative curtain-raiser to Summer by SPZero76 and Kid Crayon of the EAT crew. The left hand side is characteristically SPZero76 and features a fine lady playing a ukulele next to one of his face masks that he paints a lot.

Kid Crayon, Millpond Street, Bristol, May 2017
Kid Crayon, Millpond Street, Bristol, May 2017

On the right hand side we have a fabulous ‘island life’ collection by Kid Crayon. I think the geography of the piece is a little confused however, Hawaii and Easter Island, but who cares about that, it is the cheery welcome and thoughts of Summer that appeal.

SPZero76 and Kid Crayon, Millpond Street, Bristol, May 2017
SPZero76 and Kid Crayon, Millpond Street, Bristol, May 2017

These two artists are working really well together at the moment, and I look forward to seeing more collaborations from the EAT crew.

660. Millpond Street (1)

It seems strange that this is the first time I have posted about a piece on this landmark building…although it is possible I have written something before, but named it under M32. This is a fine collaboration – and not the first on this wall – by SPZero76 and Kid Crayon.

SPZero76 and Kid Crayon, Millpond Street, Bristol, February 2017
SPZero76 and Kid Crayon, Millpond Street, Bristol, February 2017

The building is owned by Domestic Drain Services and runs parallel to the M32. I understand, from speaking to the owners a week or two back that they invite SPZero76 and others to spray the building and in return they will pay for the spray paint.

SPZero76 and Kid Crayon, Millpond Street, Bristol, February 2017
SPZero76 and Kid Crayon, Millpond Street, Bristol, February 2017

The character on the right in the mask is by Kid Crayon and really showcases his development as a spray artist, having been something of a paste up specialist. I’m not sure what the ‘EAT’ reference is all about.

SPZero76 and Kid Crayon, Millpond Street, Bristol, February 2017
SPZero76 and Kid Crayon, Millpond Street, Bristol, February 2017

On the left hand side are a couple of great characters by SPZero76, whose work often features a raccoon and a ‘Pacific Island’ style mask. I would love to know where his influences came from to repeatedly use these motifs. This is a wonderful collaboration, and these two seem to work quite a lot together.