On North Street some hoardings have recently been erected around a tower block, which is either due to be renovated or demolished, I am not too sure which. Anyhow the hoardings look like they will be staying for a while, and Upfest are curating them, which means that they will probably remain in reasonably good condition and be reserved for selected artists.
Sepr, North Street, Bristol, May 2019
This piece is by the fabulous Sepr and features a lady with a cat and some mischievous looking mice. The grayscale piece is punctuated with a little pink on the cat and the woman’s mouth… I have no idea what is going on with the pink but it looks good. I admire greatly Sepr’s clean retro style and never tire of the humorous scenes he creates.
In my view, Sled One is the most inventive and creative artist working on the streets of Bristol at the moment, and this piece is an absolute master class. Sandwiched between writing from SMAK and Ments, this character piece acts as a focal point for this curated wall.
Sled One, Wilder Street, Bristol, December 2018
Many of Sled One’s pieces feature cat and mouse antics, and this one is a great example. The cat, a Samurai cat, is wearing a most glorious helmet onto which a mouse is clinging for dear life. I don’t know what it all means, but it is a visual marvel and so beautifully painted.
Smak, Sled One and Ments, Wilder Street, Bristol, December 2018
I love seeing Sled One’s work, but sadly it seems to be quite a rare occurrence these days. So, so good.
Smak is an artist who just keeps on giving. This is yet another perfect example of wildstyle writing at its best. Using the same colour palette chosen by Ments, he spells out SMAK in grey and embellished it with reds, pinks and blues.
Smak, Wilder Street, Bristol, December 2018
Smak, unlike Ments, always keeps his pieces perfectly proportioned and they are easy on the eye. He has also included a little mouse making a rather rude gesture to the right. The gesture is aimed at the central piece of this triptych by Sled One, which will make since when you see it in a couple of days.
I was looking for the Andrew Burns Colwill piece (to follow soon) which I knew was a little off the beaten track for Upfest 2018 and spotted this brilliant little stencil by John D’oh on the wall of The Black Cat pub on the corner of West Street and Westbourne Grove.
John D’oh, Upfest, Bristol, August 2018
When I see small ‘hidden’ gems like this, I wonder how many Upfest visitors might have missed it in their quest for the ‘marquee’ artists – I don’t suppose it matters really, but as a street art hunter, I like to work hard for my trophies, it is what I do. This is a really accomplished little stencil and one that really chimes for me – a great little find – Thank you John D’oh.
This collaboration between Sepr and Daniel Leggs came as a lovely surprise about a week ago while taking a small detour on my way to work. I think the piece had been painted only the day before so it was thankfully free of tags.
Sepr, Armada Place, Bristol, August 2018
I am familiar, as will some readers be, with the work of Sepr who I have written numerous posts about in the past, and whose work I hugely admire. This piece just serves to prolong that admiration as we witness a cat and mouse cartoon where the mouse is looking pretty smug because the cat is trapped, as a footstool, under the man’s legs. Got to love the pink crown too.
Daniel Leggs, Armada Place, Bristol, August 2018
Daniel Leggs is not known to me and his Instagram account reveals little other than that he is a graffiti writer. I haven’t seen his work in Bristol before, so I am guessing he’s not from these parts. I think he might have some connection with the No Frills community, and his writing has some similarities with that of Biers. I love the rather abstract colourful fills he has used around the piece, without which it would not be half as good. Another pink crown. Great work boys.
What a wonderful bit of creative painting that works towards urban regeneration and cohesion. Three drab utility boxes on the M32 roundabout were recently given a makeover by the Sheffield artist Color.
Color, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2017
I met Color when he was spraying some pillars in East Street for Upfest and we had a chat about the work he does with incorporating the surrounding street furniture into his work and transforming the ‘drab’ into the ‘vibrant’ and the social benefits this brings about. I can say with some certainty that these cheese houses and mouse have brought a smile to many faces in an area that can at times be quite intimidating. Upfest work to follow sometime soon…I hope.
This is an absolutely wonderful piece by Dibz, featuring a character from the animated television series ‘Pinky and the Brain’. This is actually ‘the Brain’ as Pinky is somewhat skinnier and more stupid looking. Lots more from the excellent Wikipedia page on this cartoon.
Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2017
What I like about this work is just how fantastically sharp and clear all Dibz’s lines are, it is a really strong technical piece. He spends a lot of time perfecting his designs before committing them to a wall, and his black book is well worth looking at on his Instagram feed.
Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2017
Care has been taken, even providing a neutral grey background to help the lime green and pink stand out on this piece. One of the best on this wall for a while. Incidentally, and quite by accident, it is on the exact same space as the previous post from Inkie.
This is a fabulous collaborative wall by Deamze (on the left) and Sepr (on the right). I found the wall quite by chance on my wanderings and it is always so rewarding when you come across something as impressive as this. There is also a moment of anguish and doubt that questions your knowledge of the street/graffiti art spots in your patch.
Deamze, Cowmead Walk, Bristol, December 2016
I don’t quite know why I haven’t posted it before. Probably because I have a backlog the size of a small planet and this one just got stuck there for a while.
Deamze, Cowmead Walk, Bristol, December 2016
On the December day that I took these pictures, there was a gentleman with several little dogs that kept running backwards and forwards in front of me. I hope they don’t distract too much. The Deamze wildstyle piece is of the high standard turned out by the artist, and the pink colour selection stands out really well against the green background.
Sepr, Cowmead Walk, Bristol, December 2016
The Sepr end of the piece is an entertaining scene, which looks to be of mice cleaning the component parts of a head. This is a theme I have seen before from Sepr, and he has mastered the stretching out and dissection of the head really well. The shadows add a perspective to the whole piece too.
Sepr, Cowmead Walk, Bristol, December 2016
Although the two halves of the piece do not tell the same story, they are coordinated and complement each other well. Great work from two of Bristol’s finest.
Natural adventures 