Tag: Nick Walker

2009. Rivington Street, New York (2)

I find it hard to believe that it was October 2017 when I went to NYC with my family. In many ways it feels so recent in others it feels like a lifetime ago. One of the great things about being there was staying in Rivington Street, which was at the heart of a whole bunch of great street art spots, and it wasn’t even me who chose the hotel!

Nick Walker, Rivington Street, New York, October 2017
Nick Walker, Rivington Street, New York, October 2017

I was surprised and delighted to find quite a few pieces by Bristol’s very own Nick Walker, including this one at the top of a hotel in the street. I think this piece is called ‘Raining Love’. I appreciate it isn’t a very good picture, but it was a long way up and I only had my crappy little camera with me on this particular walk. This is the first of a few more posts from that trip.

Little Italy, New York (1)

The afternoon we arrived in New York, my children were very hungry, and we had to hunt down somewhere to eat pretty quickly, because you know what hungry teenagers can be like. The first restaurant we stumbled across was this nice ‘shabby chic’ place called Osteria in Mott Street (311), Little Italy.

Nick Walker, Little Italy, New York, October 2017
Nick Walker, Little Italy, New York, October 2017

Distracted by the children’s needs, I hadn’t properly looked at the piece on the side of the building. Once they had ordered their food, I nipped out to take a look and snap these shots. Of course I recognised the work immediately as being that of Bristol artist Nick Walker. Strange that I should cross the pond, and the first artwork I should see would be someone I have written about extensively. The international nature of street art.

Nick Walker, Little Italy, New York, October 2017
Nick Walker, Little Italy, New York, October 2017

This piece incorporates the pin-striped gentleman creating a heart made up of a mist, but take a closer look and the mist is actually numbers in a font Nick Walker has used before in other works. This was a great start to what turned out to be a wonderful trip.

 

181. Trenchard Street (2)

Tucked away from the main drag in Bristol is this masterpiece by Nick Walker. This amazing stencil which dates back to at least May 2010 blends in so well with the architrave surround and brick wall.

Nick Walker, Trenchard Street, Bristol, September 2015
Nick Walker, Trenchard Street, Bristol, September 2015

The piece can be found just beyond the rear entrance, turning right out of the exit, of Colston’s Hall. It is another of those Walker pieces that have simply become a ‘part of the furniture’ that we in Bristol take for granted. I think that most, if not all of his work remains intact, which is very unusual here.

Nick Walker, Trenchard Street, Bristol, September 2015
Nick Walker, Trenchard Street, Bristol, September 2015

Taking a closer look at the butterflies reveals that they are more sinister than you might originally think. Great work.

177. Deanery Road

It has been a little while since I featured a work by one of Bristol’s finest and most famous street artists, Nick Walker. It took me a little while to find this, despite it being in the road where I work. It is a shutter piece, and the shutters are invariably up when I am at work, and down when I am not. I took this photograph on a Sunday.

Nick Walker, Deanery Road, Bristol, March 2016
Nick Walker, Deanery Road, Bristol, March 2016

The piece is unmistakably by Walker, with its pinstriped character and trademark ‘vandal’ moniker. It is indeed a treat to have so many of his artworks so close to where I spend most of my days.

Nick Walker, Deanery Road, Bristol, March 2016
Nick Walker, Deanery Road, Bristol, March 2016

It is a little neglectful of me not to have found this piece sooner, but better late than never.

63. Anchor Road

This rather threatening Nick Walker stencil from 2013 caused the tiniest storm in a teacup when a Bristol resident complained to the Council about the work, complaining that it was an abuse of childhood. The way the law works is that the owner of the property can choose not to have the graffiti removed if that is what they wish, in in this instance the owner liked it and it has stayed.

Nick Walker, Anchor Road, Bristol, April 2015
Nick Walker, Anchor Road, Bristol, April 2015

The same stencil appeared as part of a commission of Nick Walker’s art in a hotel car park in Indianapolis. How good is that?

Nick Walker, Anchor Road, Bristol, April 2015
Nick Walker, Anchor Road, Bristol, April 2015

There is a final and rather sad end to this blog (updated in March 2016, whilst compressing images) which is that the door was stolen, and it now looks like the picture below. I think that the thief tried to flog it, but couldn’t so handed it into the authorities in the NW of England…or I might be making that bit up.

Nick Walker, Anchor Road, Bristol, December 2015
Nick Walker, Anchor Road, Bristol, December 2015

8/10

48. Charlotte Street, above Vincenzo’s

This mural by Nick Walker probably gets more exposure than most in Bristol, simply by virtue of being visible from Park Street and it’s incredibly high retail foot-fall. However, I am not sure many people register it because, in my experience, most people don’t look up, especially when they are shopping.

Nick Walker, Charlotte Street, Bristol, April 2015
Nick Walker, Charlotte Street, Bristol, April 2015

This work is rather corny if you ask me, a bit of a schoolboy joke, but it does show Nick Walker’s range.

Nick Walker, Charlotte Street, Bristol, April 2015
Nick Walker, Charlotte Street, Bristol, April 2015

 

 

40. Quay Street (1)

This central Bristol location was host to the ‘See no Evil’ event in 2011. One of the most striking murals of the event was the gentleman in a bowler hat dripping paint from  a tin, on the side of one of the many tired grey blocks in the area.

Nick Walker, Quay Street, Bristol, September 2015
Nick Walker, Quay Street, Bristol, September 2015

Due to the event, the area is now something of a gallery for some of Bristol’s and the world’s best street artists. Always ephemeral though, the area is changing rapidly with new blocks replacing the old ones…mostly for student accommodations.

Nick Walker, Quay Street, Bristol, September 2015
Nick Walker, Quay Street, Bristol, September 2015

This is a wonderful Bristol landmark, and a ‘go to’ site for anyone interested in street art.

Quay Street, Nick Walker
Quay Street, Nick Walker

This work is quite different to his Rapunzel in High Kingsdown.

7.5/10

29. High Kingsdown (2)

Nick Walker, Rapunzel
Nick Walker, Rapunzel

Only a stone’s throw away from the new Unify stencil, is a memorable work by one of Bristol’s most celebrated street artists.

Nick Walker was born in 1969 (which makes him almost as old as me) and has become a world famous artist, having emerged from the Bristol graffiti scene in the early 1980s. He tends to use stencils and freehand, and many of his works will be found in more than one place. More about Nick Walker can be found here.

 

Nick Walker, Rapunzel
Nick Walker, Rapunzel
Nick Walker, Rapunzel
Nick Walker, Rapunzel

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This particular mural is known as ‘Rapunzel’ and features a recurring theme in his work of a ‘vandalism’ motif with a heart. It appeared in August 2008.

I will be posting more of his Bristol murals in time.

8/10