On my way out of The Bearpit earlier this week, I came across this wonderful recent tribute to David Bowie by Cheba, an established Bristol street artist.
This portrait (the first and last by Cheba, according to his twitter feed) takes up a wall in the side of the Premier Inn which overlooks The Bearpit.
Cheba has work all over Bristol, notably the recent piece adorning the whole front facade of the Full Moon pub in Stokes Croft which I will try to feature here soon.
7/10
A little while ago I puzzled over a rather surreal piece that had been painted at the Carriageworks in Stokes Croft. After some internet searches I found out it was by Tom Miller, a young graduate from the University of the West of England (UWE) in Bristol.
He now has two new works in The Bearpit. This one is called ‘Portin‘. Common to all his works, this piece adheres to his style of ‘imaginite’, a word coined by Miller to describe what metaphysical imagination would look like in solid form.
I look forward to seeing more of his work in Bristol, and will look out for his art exhibited in local galleries.
8/10
This is the last of three short blogs about graffiti/street art in Soldeu. I had a little time to kill on our last day before heading home, so I went for a short walk from the top to the bottom of the village. At the lower end I discovered this small work that was more complex than graffiti and appeared to be a an abstract mural. There is nothing else like it in the village.
I like that it has been sprayed on a rather utilitarian electricity building, to brighten it up a little.
On the coach journey to Barcelona Airport I was treated to hundreds of burners under road bridges and on industrial buildings. I will have to return for a weekend break.
4/10
I am going to be clear about this. I want to find more pieces by Face F1st. I love the simplicity of the lines. The sentiment of the faces. The cool colours.
I have not been able to find out much about the artist other than that they belong to the PWA (Pirate Wall Art) crew.
This little side street in Stokes Croft is bursting with street art with a very high turnover. There is a lot more to come from here.
8/10
On previous occasions when I have tried to photograph this Andy Council whale, there have been vehicles parked, on the grass, right up to it. I finally got a clear shot at it during a recent walk to Bedminster.
The style is unmistakable…a natural form created from architectural elements, usually recognisable Bristol landmarks.
This piece was painted during Upfest 2015 and is one of my favourites by Andy Council.
8/10
Back in September I posted a tribute to Mibsy at this exact location.
Recently it would appear that another much loved member of the Bristol graffiti community has passed away, and tribute pieces are popping up everywhere, as tags, burners or full scale walls like this one.
There is little documented information about Mike Buzz, but there is this quote taken from the Bristol Graffiti and Street Art FaceBook site; “one of the nicest guys in the graffiti game. Buzz says love life. Rocking in paradise”
This is a lovely work by Deam, Ames and Skank, and once again reaffirms just how close the graffiti and street art community is in Bristol. It is also good to see that there is a small reference to Mibsy on this new work. There will be more posts on Buzz soon.
8/10
This rather beautiful and unusual piece by The Krah, is hidden away in the dark reaches of Leonard Lane. The Krah is a London-based artist/street artist, who was raised in Greece where he was a prolific graffiti artist during the 1990s.
He has a fabulous website that shows off his work, and is really well presented…well worth checking out. This piece is typical of many of his works and has that designed feel to it that can also be seen in Inkie’s and Zesk’s work.
A lovely and refreshing work.
I pass this mural every week on the way to my daughter’s piano lesson. Every time I see it, I say to my daughter “I must get a picture of that”. She groans, and has become very bored with me repeating myself.
Today I took the pictures. This commissioned piece appears on the side of a shop on the Whiteladies Road. A commission is probably the only way street art is going to make it into this area. It is by Andy Council, and I have posted a couple of his works previously from the Hotwell Road and Nelson street. You will see he has a very distinctive style.
His works often incorporate Bristol landmarks and here he has included the Clifton Suspension Bridge. This is very safe street art, but brightens up the area nonetheless.
6/10
Following on from yesterday’s post I thought I would add another piece by Aspire. This mural is tucked away off the main road at the southern end of Stokes Croft. This beautiful robin is in great company…is that marilyn in the yellow telephone box?
I have no idea who pasted the yellow phone box, I like it…it is quirky and it appears to have changed colour from red (as seen on streetview). I like the robin more though. I’m on a bit of an Aspire streak…maybe more next week.
7.5/10
The pure joy of Bristol street art is that it is so incredibly varied; from the sanitised masterpieces to the illegal spraying. Fine art and burners sit side by side. For those interested in art Bristol is becoming a very large free-to-view canvass.
I have recently become aware of a number of pieces by Aspire, a Bristol-based artist who specialises in portraits of birds, using his spray paint to create pixelated images. More on this in a nice interview with the artist from the Our Autonomous Nature website. I like his work very much and will post more works from around the Stokes Croft area.
7/10
Natural adventures 