Tag: Paste up

2545. North Street

I’m on a roll now with another wheatpaste to share with you, this one from a session about a month ago is by Jimmer Willmott who went out on a spree with Kid Crayon. Jimmer’s surreal style is instantly recognisable and obviously influenced by great artists such as Magritte.

Jimmer Wilmott, North Street, Bristol, October 2019
Jimmer Wilmott, North Street, Bristol, October 2019

I think that this might be an original hand drawing that he has pasted up, rather than a print which is what many wheatpasters do. If it is, it makes the piece all the more valuable to me at least. Earlier on in the year at a small art event I remember talking to Jimmer Willmott and Kid Crayon expressing my thoughts that there was not enough wheatpaste work in Bristol and that it was a bit of a neglected art. I would like to think that in my small way I might have in part influenced this paste up session. I probably didn’t though.

2487. Merrywood Road (1)

Yay! more wheatpaste antics from Kid Crayon, following a quick binge with Jimmer Willmott pasting up sketches around Bedminster. I really appreciate wheatpaste art and in my book its status is as high as spray can art. One of the big advantages for wheatpasters is that they can place their art in all sorts of places where spraying simply isn’t an option because in a matter of minutes the dirty deed is done and there is little chance of being caught. Because of this most wheatpaste art can be placed in illegal spots – having said that, the long-term impacts are far less damaging than spray paint… a bit of tired old paper here and there, that’s all.

Kid Crayon, Merrywood Road, Bristol, September 2019
Kid Crayon, Merrywood Road, Bristol, September 2019

A funny character wearing a silly party hat and a crayon floating in front of his mouth. What could be more fun than that? The crayon thing is part of Kid Crayon’s USP, and used to be the key identifier or signature on his early work, it is not seen so often these days. So pleased that he has had this little retrospective binge.

Kid Crayon, March Street, Bristol, December 2015
Kid Crayon, March Street, Bristol, December 2015

2478. Dean Lane

I have waited a very long time for this, so I will enjoy it while it lasts. It was the wheatpastes of Kid Crayon that first drew me in to the world of Bristol street art some five years ago, but then he moved on to spraying and left his paper days behind him, until a week or so ago. This was a little trip down memory lane with his partner in crime Jimmer Willmott.

Jimmer Willmott, North Street, Bristol, September 2019
Jimmer Willmott, North Street, Bristol, September 2019

These two got together and pasted up some rather fun greyscale pieces. Jimmer Willmott opting for a sketch of one of his figures with a ring doughnut for a head. Surreal, quirky and fun, I could ask for no more.

Kid Crayon, North Street, Bristol, September 2019
Kid Crayon, North Street, Bristol, September 2019

Alongside doughnut head Kid Crayon has pasted a party animal who doesn’t look too much like he is enjoying the party. Great also to see the Crayon making a comeback. Hurrah for this little foray into wheatpasting from these two… more to come from this session. Please don’t leave it quite so long before the next batch.

2430. Upfest 2018 (152)

I think that this is the fifth stencil/wheatpaste by About Ponny that I have posted from Upfest 2018 and in my mind every single one of them is a belter. In each it is both the skill of the work and positioning and the extraordinary content that makes these outstanding wheatpastes.

About Ponny, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
About Ponny, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

About Ponny has a knack of portraying human pain and suffering without sentiment or compassion. These are raw pieces which strike at your heart and made even more effective by their low-key sitings. I had not been aware of About Ponny’s work before Upfest 2018, but on the back of these have become a big fan.

About Ponny, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
About Ponny, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
About Ponny, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
About Ponny, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

2267. Dean Lane skate park (221)

I think that the first piece of street art by Copyright that I became conscious of was a wheatpaste somewhere in the Stokes Croft area a few years ago, I have since seen so much more of his work, and like it very much. It was nice to find this paste up, in Dean Lane skatepark recently, still pretty much in mint condition.

Copyright, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2019
Copyright, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2019

Things have slowed a little on the street art scene in Bristol over the past ten days or so because of the dismal weather we have been having, but it has allowed me to catch up (the tiniest amount) on my posts.

There is something a little sinister in this piece, and I think it might be the lack of pupils in the eyes, and this edgy nature cuts slightly across the grain with the title ‘Love’. The spots read-across really well from the dress and onto the background providing a continuity to the whole. Fabulous to see another Copyright wheatpaste (or anything for that matter… it has been a while).

2266. Stokes Croft

A few more striking wheatpastes from Frenchman Tian on the streets of Stokes Croft. Unfortunately with all the rain we’ve been having, several of these have started to peel off and disapppear, but I guess that is the ephemeral nature of street art.

Tian, Stokes Croft, Bristol, May 2019
Tian, Stokes Croft, Bristol, May 2019

There appear to be two colour variants of this stencil piece of an oriental woman looking so beautiful with flowers in her hair, this blue one, and a slightly less colourful sepia one.

Tian, Stokes Croft, Bristol, May 2019
Tian, Stokes Croft, Bristol, May 2019

I am so full of admiration for the way Tian works his art – first sourcing a great photograph, then creating a stencil from it, then printing off and cutting out paste ups and finally finding the precise and thought-out locations for each of them. He is a true master of his craft and I am an enormous fan.

 

Tian, Stokes Croft, Bristol, May 2019
Tian, Stokes Croft, Bristol, May 2019

2216. Stokes Croft

Wow, just wow, another wonderful paste up from Tian down in Stokes Croft. This one features a boxer, but I fear I don’t know which one. I have Googled Muhammad Ali, it might be him; Apollo Creed, it’s not him; Joe Foreman, it might be him when he had hair; Joe Frazier, I don’t think it’s him. And there my knowledge of boxers dries up… any ideas?

Tian, Stokes Croft, Bristol, May 2019
Tian, Stokes Croft, Bristol, May 2019

The wheatpaste itself is a beautiful stencil using his preferred yellow/sepia tones, I just don’t think I can get enough of his work and rather joyfully I have a whole load more to post over the coming weeks.

2210. Stokes Croft

I can’t express how excited I was to see this last week, but it appears that Tian has been on another tour of Bristol and has left dozens of paste ups in the Stokes Croft area. Although He came for Upfest 2016, his last wheatpasting drop was in April 2016 so it has been some time, but how utterly worth the wait.

Tian, Stokes Croft, Bristol, May 2019
Tian, Stokes Croft, Bristol, May 2019

Over the next few weeks I will post more of his pieces. Once again he presents us with stencil work that has been printed and pasted up and this first design appears to be a Japanese scene with a geisha. If any of his past work is a guide, the piece is probably taken from a famous film, but I don’t know for sure.

Tian, Stokes Croft, Bristol, May 2019
Tian, Stokes Croft, Bristol, May 2019

Unusually for the work of Tian that I have seen, this piece diverges from his normal sepia-toned pieces and in fact if you look carefully there are two different tones of orange used in the versions of this wheatpaste.

Tian, Stokes Croft, Bristol, May 2019
Tian, Stokes Croft, Bristol, May 2019

These four paste ups were from various spots on my way to work… what a walk that was. I seem to remember it was raining quite hard but it simply didn’t matter I was in street art appreciation mode.

Tian, Stokes Croft, Bristol, May 2019
Tian, Stokes Croft, Bristol, May 2019

Loads more to come from this fabulous French artist.

 

 

2207. Shoreditch, London (31)

My visit to Shoreditch, London, back in November last year reminded me of a significant difference between the London and Bristol street art scenes. In London, there is a strong wheatpaste movement, and in some places there is barely a square inch of a wall that isn’t covered with a paste up. In Bristol on the other hand, wheatpastes are a rarity, and are normally provided by visitors to the city such as Face the Strange, D7606, Tian, Losthills and of course qWeRT. The last frequent Bristol-based wheatpaster was Kid Crayon, but he has moved on to spray-painting now. I think Kedals might be the only one doing it at the moment – room for some new entrants?

qWeRT, Shoreditch, London, November 2018
qWeRT, Shoreditch, London, November 2018

This is a little collection of wonderful googly-eyed paste ups by qWeRT which are dotted all over the place in Shoreditch.

qWeRT, Shoreditch, London, November 2018
qWeRT, Shoreditch, London, November 2018

qWeRT’s pieces are always rather cute (a word I rarely use) and endearing, like this one holding up a banner saying simply ‘need more love’.

qWeRT, Shoreditch, London, November 2018
qWeRT, Shoreditch, London, November 2018

I have always liked this form of street art and qWeRT’s work in particular.

2136. Prince Street (2)

A new artist for me, Kedals, is one I know precious little about other than that he is a Bristol-based wheatpaster. This is great news, because not too long ago I was bemoaning the lack of wheatpasting in the city. If you go to other cities, there is much more (sometimes too much), but in Bristol it seems to be limited to visiting artists like Tian or qWeRT or Face the Strange or D7606.

Kedals, Prince Street, Bristol, March 2019
Kedals, Prince Street, Bristol, March 2019

This wonderful duo of paste ups shows that the artist is hard working, in that the base drawing is the same, but the rest of the piece is hand drawn, and each one although similar is unique. I have seen this technique used by other wheatpasters, and I really like it. For me it demonstrates love and attention to every piece that is pasted up, rather than doing a print-run of the same thing and posting it everywhere.

The style is quirky and there is a story going on here. I have seen one or two more pieces by Kedals and will be keeping my eyes peeled from now on. Very nice.