Tag: Mural

614. Anchor Road (2)

Well this is the one really, a very very special piece by Andrew Burns Colwill.

In a modest setting behind the Harbourside shops and restaurants stands a container. Painted on the side of the container is one of the best pieces of free street art in Bristol. It is amazing. I have watched as people shuffle past it without looking and then someone will glance at it and recognise what a magnificent work it is. Certainly one of my favourite pieces in Bristol…ever.

Andrew Burns Colwill, Anchor Road, Bristol, January 2017
Andrew Burns Colwill, Anchor Road, Bristol, January 2017

There is an elaborate story unfolding in this picture. In the middle we have two figures sitting at an hourglass table playing a game of chess. One is a modern/future man, the other on the left looks to be ancient Mayan or something like that clutching a scroll. There are remnants of a bridge behind them one side built of wood the other of stone, representing the eras these two characters come from, maybe.

Andrew Burns Colwill, Anchor Road, Bristol, January 2017
Andrew Burns Colwill, Anchor Road, Bristol, January 2017

Then if we zoom out a little we see more of their surroundings. Above them, floating in the air lifted by balloons with faces, is an island with a city – what it represents I am not sure, but some similar motifs were portrayed in Colwill’s Upfest piece from last year. To the right, the ruined stone bridge can be seen in its full glory, and a bomb shell is sticking out of the ground. To the left the bridge becomes closer to its environmental beginnings…more organic, and there are flowers in the foreground.

Andrew Burns Colwill, Anchor Road, Bristol, January 2017
Andrew Burns Colwill, Anchor Road, Bristol, January 2017

Taking another look to the right we observe evidence of civilisation in the form of a stone city on the hill, married with weapons of destruction.

Andrew Burns Colwill, Anchor Road, Bristol, January 2017
Andrew Burns Colwill, Anchor Road, Bristol, January 2017

Further to the right still, soldiers are emerging from a war torn forest – looking like a scene from the Great War.

Andrew Burns Colwill, Anchor Road, Bristol, January 2017
Andrew Burns Colwill, Anchor Road, Bristol, January 2017

To the left hand side we can see pyramids through the mist in the distance, so maybe the red-robed character is ancient Egyptian. On this side too, there are more figures, tribesmen wielding spears lurk in the trees.

Andrew Burns Colwill, Anchor Road, Bristol, January 2017
Andrew Burns Colwill, Anchor Road, Bristol, January 2017

The whole piece would be a fine addition to any art gallery, but here it is for all to see if only they would look. I believe the picture to be about the struggle between the environment and our close connection to it and the consequences of progress. Now I am no expert and I haven’t had the pleasure of talking to Colwill so my description and conclusion are based on what I see. What do you see? Have you looked?

611. Code Street, Shoreditch (2)

The light was fading fast by the time I got to this wall. Had I known of its existence I would probably have tried to get to it earlier and benefit from better light. One of the pitfalls of wandering around aimlessly I suppose. All the pictures have been adjusted to make them less gloomy, but they really don’t convey the magnificence of this collaboration.

Fanakapan and Louis Masai, Code Street, Shoreditch, August 2016
Fanakapan and Louis Masai, Code Street, Shoreditch, August 2016

Louis Masai and Fanakapan, two of the best street artists in the UK right now, collaborated to paint this wall as part of the Meeting of Styles, London event in May 2016.

Fanakapan and Louis Masai, Code Street, Shoreditch, August 2016
Fanakapan and Louis Masai, Code Street, Shoreditch, August 2016

The patchwork style of Louis Masai and the helium balloon chrome style of Fanakapan work surprisingly well together and when the subject matter is wildlife conservation, what it there not to like about this piece?

Fanakapan and Louis Masai, Code Street, Shoreditch, August 2016
Fanakapan and Louis Masai, Code Street, Shoreditch, August 2016

There is a very good piece by London Calling which shows the collaboration at work, in rather sunnier conditions than when I went to visit, which is well worth a gander.

Fanakapan and Louis Masai, Code Street, Shoreditch, August 2016
Fanakapan and Louis Masai, Code Street, Shoreditch, August 2016

The theme for the event was ‘absolute freedom’ and this piece is entitled ‘Freedom?’. This was a pure joy for me at the end of a very long walk in Shoreditch…the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

Fanakapan and Louis Masai, Code Street, Shoreditch, August 2016
Fanakapan and Louis Masai, Code Street, Shoreditch, August 2016
Fanakapan and Louis Masai, Code Street, Shoreditch, August 2016
Fanakapan and Louis Masai, Code Street, Shoreditch, August 2016

608.Sclater Street, Shoreditch (1)

I am enjoying my journey into the world of street/graffiti art and learning about the talented artists who brighten up our urban environments. Not so long ago, I didn’t know about Himbad and images of his work just sat in my archive waiting for a positive ID. Now I know who he is and can recognise his work – that is a good thing.

Himbad, Sclater Street, Shoreditch, August 2016
Himbad, Sclater Street, Shoreditch, August 2016

This piece is rather large and very impressive when looking down the street at it. If you are wondering how it was painted, there is a great explanation on the London Calling blog which has images of the artist in progress. All done with rollers and a very long pole! This is a wonderful piece, full of character.

606. Unity Street (3)

This is a piece going back to June 2016 by the excellent Epok. I thought I had already posted it, but it turns out that I am both forgetful and wrong…very human and real traits for a gent of my age.

Epok, Unity Street, Bristol, June 2016
Epok, Unity Street, Bristol, June 2016

As always Epok stamps his singular style on any wall he sprays – great colour selection and crisp clear geometric lines and shapes creating a whole that is very pleasing. Always spelling out the letters EPOK which once you get your eye in can clearly be seen. It is always good to see work from this ASK member and there is more to come here soon.

605. The Bearpit (36)

A few days back, there was something of a graffiti art fest in The Bearpit, and many of the vacant tagged spots were given a makeover, several artists spraying more than one piece during the event.

Mr Klue, The Bearpit, Bristol, January 2017
Mr Klue, The Bearpit, Bristol, January 2017

This great abstract piece is by the extremely busy Mr Klue and draws the viewer into the mind of the artist – where are those steps leading? A nice quick one from a fine Bristol artist.

603. The Bearpit (35)

I am very excited about this piece. It is a crocodile by the fantastic Rowdy – one of Bristol’s original street artists. I am excited because since I have been blogging about street art, I haven’t come across any new works by him. One feels closer to the artist if you can still smell the paint on the wall.

Rowdy, The Bearpit, Bristol, January 2017
Rowdy, The Bearpit, Bristol, January 2017

This croc is sprayed on the side of one of the staircases into The Bearpit and looks very much at home. It is the kind of piece that should become a bit of a landmark. I would be amazed and disappointed if it gets tagged, like so much of the work in The Bearpit.

Rowdy, The Bearpit, Bristol, January 2017
Rowdy, The Bearpit, Bristol, January 2017

A big thank you from me to Rowdy. This is Bristol through and through.

599. Old Bread Street (10)

This guy just gets better and better. It has been really interesting watching how Laic217’s work has developed over the last eighteen months or so, and being able to pick up on some of his motifs and styles.

Laic217, Old Bread Street, Bristol, January 2017
Laic217, Old Bread Street, Bristol, January 2017

In my view, this is his best piece of wildstyle writing to date, and the purple cat sets it off brilliantly. I love the fish bone logo on his jacket. The inclusion of the brick wall adds texture, and has been used in some of his previous works.

Laic217, Old Bread Street, Bristol, January 2017
Laic217, Old Bread Street, Bristol, January 2017

It looks like Laic217 spent a bit more time on this piece, and the clean finish indicates that it was time well spent. It has been a very busy period for the artist, and I have a couple more recent pieces to post soon. Really great stuff from a rising star.

592. Upfest 2016 (86)

I absolutely love this beautiful work by N4T4, and was lucky enough to visit it several times during its creation at Upfest 2016. It is an outstanding piece by an artist who left his mark so memorably at the previous year’s event.

 

N4T4, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
N4T4, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

It is always a privilege to see a street artist at work, at least that’s how I feel, and of course, when so many are in one place over two days that privilege is filled to the brim, and some. The eyes in the picture above show the evolution of the work…drafted out on the left and near complete on the right.

N4T4, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
N4T4, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

The finished work has something  about it that I really like. It might be as simple as it is really beautiful and easy to look at, it might be the style, with so much going on within the piece itself, I’m not sure, but I know I love it.

N4T4, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
N4T4, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

I haven’t seen any of N4T4s work other than the two pieces at Upfest, so it would be great to see him return next year to lighten up the place.

N4T4, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
N4T4, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

 

591. Upfest 2016 (85)

One of the first pieces I saw at Upfest 2016 was in the back garden area of The Steam Crane pub at the eastern end of North Street. These remarkable pigs are by brothers who paint under the name Id-Iom.

Id-iom, Upfest, Bristol, July2016
Id-iom, Upfest, Bristol, July2016

Their entry in the Upfest programme reads: “In a nutshell? Determined never again to suffer under the yoke of an oppressive employer, this is the ongoing tale of two brothers who are going to take the world by storm or die trying!”. Well you have to admire their ambition.

Id-iom, Upfest, Bristol, July2016
Id-iom, Upfest, Bristol, July2016

Id-Iom have a great WordPress site, and unlike many artists, they keep it very up to date and post their artworks regularly. Well worth a look. I can work out that they might originally be from the Isla of Man, but now operate out of London.

Id-iom, Upfest, Bristol, July2016
Id-iom, Upfest, Bristol, July2016

The pigs in this piece remind me of Animal Farm, but that is probably because it is a book that is very front of mind for me at the moment. It is a brilliantly stencilled wall and a piece that really set the standard for Upfest.

Id-iom, Upfest, Bristol, July2016
Id-iom, Upfest, Bristol, July2016

590. Upfest 2016 (84)

One of the largest pieces of Upfest 2016 is this magnificent mural by Odeith. It is located on the same wall where this Thierry Noir  pair was painted for Upfest 2015 and it shows vividly how different art pieces can change utterly the character of a wall.

Odeith, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Odeith, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

Odeith was one of the festival’s lead artists and one I haven’t written about before, although I think I have seen his work on the Interweb. He is from Damaia in Portugal and has been spraying since the 1980s. Odeith has worked a lot with perspective and shading to create some amazing 3D effect pieces, a style which he called ‘sombre 3D’. This piece, however is something else altogether.

Odeith, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Odeith, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

It is brilliant for so many reasons. Firstly it is an extraordinarily lifelike painting of Benny Hill (anyone not know who he is?) and it is technically excellent. Secondly it is hugely topical and relevant, being a commentary on the Brexit vote in the UK. It openly mocks the vote, implying that UK (Plc) is a clown and viewed as such by the rest of Europe, and probably much of the world. I love this wall and all that it says. It is a constant reminder of our national stupidity. As an aside I ought to say that I always rather liked Benny Hill – especially in the Italian Job and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.