I have been sitting on this piece for a long time. I think it is because there is something rather enigmatic about it, and I can’t think what I want to say. It is unmistakably by Sean Sepr, but somehow a little different from the custimary expression, both in the artwork and the subject.
Sepr detail, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2016
I feel it is a sad piece – a robot holding a heart – there is a lot of symbolism here. Sepr again has used limited colours – yellow, white and black – which brings out the contrast and shadows.
Sepr, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2016
For me it is a piece that I like, but it is difficult to love…if that makes sense.
There are a great many talented artists out there, I mean really talented, that choose to paint on the walls of our streets from time to time. I guess these people must enjoy it, because the work is often so fleeting, and the footfall of appreciating viewers is small. What I am rather clumsily trying to say is that creating street art, because you can must be very fulfilling, and that is a good thing.
Lemak, Dean Lane skate park, Bristol, June 2016
This incredible piece is by Lemak, and in my view is technically brilliant. However, it is tucked around the back of some skating ramps and will be seen by so few people before it is over-painted. I have my photograph, and I am very happy with that, but a part of me feels sad that all the effort that has gone into this remarkable stencil? work will be lost so soon.
Lemak, Dean Lane skate park, Bristol, June 2016
I have been writing about street art long enough to know that the ephemeral nature of it is understood and accepted by all, but when confronted by a piece such as this I wish it weren’t so. Lemak was the artist who created this beautiful tribute to DJ Derek back in April 2016.
Lemak detail, Dean Lane skate park, Bristol, June 2016
Well, here’s one for the cat lovers. I really don’t like posting street art without knowing a little bit about the artist, but in this instance I simply cannot resist sharing this piece as quickly as I can.
Dose, Stokes Croft, Bristol, June 2016
I spotted the glorious cat when driving my wife to the station this morning, and I guess it must have appeared sometime yesterday. It is fresh, striking, clean and catty. The artist is Dose? about whom I know absolutely nothing and am struggling to track him down on the Interweb. I have seen a couple of images on Instagram of the piece being painted, but there is no accompanying information about Dose.
Dose, Stokes Croft, Bristol, June 2016
There is something about cats and street art, like bananas and chocolate. This cat would be welcome in any alley. Glad to have photographed it in its full glory as I expect the taggers will be all over it by tomorrow. A wonderful wonderful piece. I expect to update this post as I find out more.
Dose and Tom Miller, Stokes Croft, Bristol, June 2016
On my return from a short break away from Bristol a week ago, I was welcomed home with this typically bizarre and busy piece by Tom Miller.
Tom Miller, Stokes Croft, Bristol, June 2016
His works often include details of facial features, and an eye and mouth are the prominent features here. His works are visceral and organic, and you see different details each time you look at them. He talks about his style using the created word ‘imaginite’ which describes what metaphysical imagination would look like in solid form.
Tom Miller detail, Stokes Croft, Bristol, June 2016
His works tend to be much more in the fine art category than ‘street’ but he has been masterful in transitioning between the two. There is something about his pieces that sets the pulse racing…an overload of colour and strangely warped familiarity. Dreamlike.
A few weeks back I took my car in for its MOT and had to wait an hour or two before it was ready. It was too far to walk home, so I decided to explore an area that I hadn’t been to before, as I was nearby.
Deamze detail, M32 cycle path, Bristol, May 2016
I suspected that I would find some graffiti and street art and was not disappointed. This area is an extension of the M32 roundabout, but a little more off the beaten track.
Deamze, M32 cycle path, Bristol, May 2016
This is another wonderful bit of wildstyle writing from Deamze in delicious green and black. It looks like an older piece, but I can’t be sure, I don’t think the turnover is quite as high as in other areas in Bristol. It is a good piece, and there is plenty more to report on from this area.
The High Line is one of the most fantastic urban regeneration projects I have had the pleasure of visiting anywhere in the world. It is a linear park built on a raised railway, that fell into disuse after it was no longer required, in the meat packing area of New York. It has been brought back to life under the direction of the ‘Friends of the High Line‘. If you are visiting, I cannot recommend it highly enough.
Pixel Pancho, 10th Av & 22nd W St, New York, 29 May 2016
On my recent family visit to New York, we started walking the High Line and after a little way decided to drop down to street level to find a bite to eat. This was indeed serendipitous, because as we emerged onto 10th Avenue, I could see a lift truck with a couple of artists on it painting a huge wall above a closed deli.
Pixel Pancho, 10th Av & 22nd W St, New York, 29 May 2016
I instantly recognised the artist as the fabulous Pixel Pancho, whose work is so incredibly distinctive. I felt privileged to watch him and his team at work, and rather lucky to have accidentally stumbled on this. I have tried to convince my wife that this was pure coincidence; I don’t think she bought it…but it was.
Pixel Pancho, 10th Av & 22nd W St, New York, 29 May 2016
Immediately I got snapping while my family checked out the Don Giovanni restaurant two doors away. I couldn’t stay long, and unfortunately I didn’t get to see the completed work, which looks rather good, don’t you think?
Pixel Pancho, 10th Av & 22nd W St, New York, 29 May 2016
This is a beautiful triptych photographed in the West tunnel of the Bearpit back in January 2016. At the time I didn’t know very much about Mr Draws, the artist, and the images disappeared in my ever expanding archive.
Mr Draws, The Bearpit, Bristol, January 2016
Mr Draws appears to be getting more active on the street art side of things and his work is popping up all over the place. The last of his works I featured was in Dean Lane skate park, and you can see his style pulsing through this creature.
Mr Draws, The Bearpit, Bristol, January 2016
This piece is absolutely wonderful, I like to think of it as a fox, but on closer inspection, I’m not too sure what animal it is. Top marks for this lovely work, sadly long since gone.
19When it comes to Deamze pieces, we have come to expect some complex and elaborate wildstyle work. It is not always the case though, and this is an example of a simpler style of piece that he produces from time to time.
Deamze, The Bearpit, Bristol, April 2016
More like a throw up (a rapidly produced and usually spontaneous work), this clean and simple piece demonstrates the full range of talent springing from the incredibly prolific Deamze. Bristol’s greatest writer?
I can keep this relatively short and sweet. The practice hoardings at the Stokes Croft end of Ashley Road tend to have one of the highest turnovers of graffiti art in Bristol. Because of this it is easy to miss new pieces before they are over-painted, but sometimes, if you get the timing right, you will see a beauty like this.
Face F1st, Ashley Road, Bristol, May 2016
It is no secret that I am a big fan of Face F1st, and this is my favourite to date. I really love the the way that PWA (Pirate Wall Art) is incorporated into the hair decoration. The designs in the lettering are becoming more elaborate too.
Face F1st, Ashley Road, Bristol, May 2016
It sounds patronising, and certainly isn’t meant to, but I find this piece really charming. Just beautiful.
It recently occurred to me that I am going to have to work through my backlog of Upfest 2015 pieces, because it will not be too long before they get replaced during the 2016 extravaganza and appear a little out of date. July 23-25 will see an influx of 300 artists showing off their talent, and I have to say I can’t wait. Among them will be Louis Masai, a London based artist who is renowned for his beautiful animal works.
Louis Masai, North Street, Bristol, January 2016
Louis Masai gained an art degree from Falmouth in Cornwall, and has been living in London since 2010. More about him from his own website. This is a beautiful picture of two macaws (I seem to have posted a lot of these lately) and a clear and simple message that they belong in the wild and not in cages. I can go with that. His work is outstanding and his presence in Bristol this year will be a real bonus.
Natural adventures 