Tag: PWA

1512. Norrisville Road (2)

It feels like the PWA crew are really waking up at the moment. Face 1st and Soap have become more active on Instagram, and on the streets they seem to be busy, not only individually but also collaborating. This is a great thing to witness, and I hope this rich streak of form continues.

Soap, Norrisville Road, Bristol, May 2018
Soap, Norrisville Road, Bristol, May 2018

This collaboration is a little unusual for me, because I haven’t seen writing from Soap before (look carefully to see SOAP), being much more used to his large mouthed characters. The piece is tucked away down a side road on the St Pauls/Montpelier border, on a wall that had been getting a bit tatty with graff and tags.

Face 1st, Norrisville Road, Bristol, May 2018
Face 1st, Norrisville Road, Bristol, May 2018

Face 1st is of course a favourite of mine and in this work we see his familiar tear drop designs (almost paisley pattern-like) and a face with large appealing eyes.

Face 1st and Soap, Norrisville Road, Bristol, May 2018
Face 1st and Soap, Norrisville Road, Bristol, May 2018

This is quite an unusual collaboration in quite an unusual place, but a most welcome find when not really looking for it. It is a pity about the green car parked in front of the piece, which prevented me getting a decent front on photograph, but cars are out there and dodging them is part of the experience.

1453. Dean Lane skate park (119)

Ooh, what a lovely collaboration between Dibz and Sikoh from a couple of weeks back on 20 April 2018. This collaboration has a wonderful nighttime quality about it, set on a dark blue ‘sky’ background.

Dibz and Sikoh, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2018
Dibz and Sikoh, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2018

I have posted several pieces by Dibz on this site in the past and commensurate with those, this one is clean and sharp and offers lovely complex lettering. It was great to be there when he started the piece to see how he goes about his work.

Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2018
Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2018

As wildstyle burners go, you would have to hunt high and low to find more tidy works, he really is meticulous in his execution. What I like about this is that the deep borders have a vanishing point somewhere below the piece, which is technically more difficult than having a shadow going in the same direction.

Sikoh, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2018
Sikoh, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2018

Now Sikoh I have heard of before, but I haven’t knowingly seen any of his work before. Judging from this awesome piece and equally awesome Instagram feed he is an artist of the highest callibre. This piece is called ‘Plague Doctor’ and probably presses every possible button I have. A perfect piece in pretty much every way.

Sikoh, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2018
Sikoh, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2018

He doesn’t give away too much on his social media profiles, but I tracked down his profile from the 2017 Upfest programme, although in my pictures I haven’t yet found his piece…time to search harder (just done some homework…I don’t have it, he sprayed his piece at the Hare pub). His profile is as follows:

‘Sikoh is a graffiti writer from Glastonbury with a preference for sharp, flowing 3D letters and semi- Bboy characters. One part of IGK- an international crew, local Bristol crew- PWA and one quarter of Glastonbury’s MOA. Sikoh has been painting since 2013. Much of his commissioned works have been within the UK hiphop scene, for artists such as- Leaf Dog, Smellington Piff and Jack Jetson.’

1432. Moon Street (45)

I do like Face F1st’s work, a lot, he is so typically ‘Bristol’. It is difficult to explain what I mean by that, but I know what I mean, so that is ok. This is just a small piece in Moon Street, but it is wonderfully expressive.

FaceF1st, Moon Street, Bristol, April 2018
FaceF1st, Moon Street, Bristol, April 2018

There is not too much more to say about this little gem other than to take a look and enjoy it.

1407. M32 Roundabout J3 (72)

He keeps on painting them and I just keep on writing about them – this is another nice piece at the M32 by Face F1st. My first impression about this piece though it that it looks a little hurried…the lines are not very clean and the white surround looks like the work of a bomber.

Face F1st, M32, Bristol, March 2018
Face F1st, M32, Bristol, March 2018

The face, as with all his pieces, is simple and charming and provides the focal point for the rest of the decoration. Normally, the surrounding patterns spell out FACE, but I can’t see it in this piece. Not his best work, but worth including, I felt. I snapped up two more of his pieces on my way to work this morning.

1281. Stokes Croft corner wall (5)

The space underneath the iconic stinkfish portrait of a girl has been occupied by a Deamze piece for a long while, up until a couple of weeks ago when this wonderful PWA collaboration appeared in this well known spot.

Face F1st and Unknown, Stokes Croft, Bristol, January 2018
Face F1st and Unknown, Stokes Croft, Bristol, January 2018

I like this piece a lot – there is just something about it. Face F1st has provided bookends to another artist, unknown to me, who produced the central part. This is a lovely clean piece and the colour pallette is very easy on the eye, and in stark contrast with the yellow and black above.

Unknown from PWA, Stokes Croft, Bristol, January 2018
Unknown from PWA, Stokes Croft, Bristol, January 2018

Sadly, this piece lasted less than two weeks, so I am really pleased that I captured it. I wonder if in creating this, the artists inadvertently opened up the wall for business, where before, when Deamze occupied the space, it was respectfully left alone. Rules and no rules…it is too confusing.

1244. Stokes Croft, the Carriageworks (32)

I see an awful lot of Face F1st’s work dotted around the Stokes Croft area and at the M32 roundabout, but this is the first piece I have seen where he has a message for us all. And the message is quite clear – ‘no ads on free walls’. What he is referring to is the increase in street art in this area that is advertising events in the local area. I have to say I have quite a lot of sympathy with him.

Face F1st, Stokes Croft, Bristol, November 2017
Face F1st, Stokes Croft, Bristol, November 2017

The face is angry, which again is quite unusual for this artist. The rest of the piece is colourful and bright and the word Face can be made out in the writing. An artist whose work I continue to enjoy, especially when it has this bit of edge to it.

1206. Stokes Croft, the Carriageworks (29)

This is an extraordinary three piece collaboration by Face F1st and Soap from the PWA crew (Pirate Wall Art). I have featured Face F1st many, many times on this blog, and recently Soap has made a reappearance. Now the two have combined to create these three masterful pieces.

Face F1st and Soap, Stokes Croft, Bristol, December 2017
Face F1st and Soap, Stokes Croft, Bristol, December 2017

From left to right, the first has a Face F1st face resting atop a soap pair of mouths, which when viewed differently also make the eyes of a skull face. The top face in this piece is very large and the whole thing is clean and has little in the way of detailed work.

Face F1st and Soap, Stokes Croft, Bristol, December 2017
Face F1st and Soap, Stokes Croft, Bristol, December 2017

The middle piece is more colourful and offers more embelishments and detail. This time the Face F1st part sits beneath the Soap.

Face F1st and Soap, Stokes Croft, Bristol, December 2017
Face F1st and Soap, Stokes Croft, Bristol, December 2017

The third part of the collaboration is more similar to the middle piece, showing more in the way of detail and decoration. I particularly like the bubbles and patterns in the hair of the Face F1st piece. Another interesting feature is the way that Face F1st has sprayed three circles in the centre of the eyes, those large eyes, which seems to add complexity to the emotion of the face. A lovely collaboration.

1190. M32 roundabout J3 (56)

It has been a very long time since I last saw a piece by PWA’s Soap, and this wonderful piece was alongside a piece by his crew pal Face F1st. As I write this, I believe that a couple of new collaborations between the two have just been sprayed at the Carriageworks and I can’t wait to get some pictures.

Soap, M32 roundabout, Bristol, September 2017
Soap, M32 roundabout, Bristol, September 2017

I am a little stumped by what the writing on this piece says, but am so pleased to see those mouths once again…it has been such a long time. The photographs are not great, it was a bright day, and the sun was behind the wall, with the light being very troublesome.

Soap, M32 roundabout, Bristol, September 2017
Soap, M32 roundabout, Bristol, September 2017

It would seem that Soap is becoming a little more active again. I do hope so.

945. Stokes Croft, the Carriageworks (27)

The work of Face F1st continues to develop and improve. Recently he has moved much more into pastel shades for much of his work, which gives his pieces an unassuming quality. They blend in more with the walls with modesty.

Face F1st, Stokes Croft, Bristol, July 2017
Face F1st, Stokes Croft, Bristol, July 2017
In this particular piece, Face F1st has become more elaborate with his wildstyle writing, and it is lees obvious that it says ‘face’. Also the face itself has less expression on it that in previous work, giving nothing away to the viewer.

Face F1st, Stokes Croft, Bristol, July 2017
Face F1st, Stokes Croft, Bristol, July 2017
The colours and the paisley patterning make this a really interesting piece. It is one that few stop to look at, even taggers, because, I would assert, of its subtlety. (whoah – slow down on the commas).

679. Moon Street (25)

Face F1st seems to have upped his game recently, producing pieces all over the city, and continuing to develop his style. Together with Laic217, he seems to be ‘in the groove’ at the moment.

Face F1st, Moon Street, Bristol, March 2017
Face F1st, Moon Street, Bristol, March 2017

This piece is on a famous wall with pieces from several Bristol artists on it including a piece by Mr Sleven (the three-eyed characters). I really like this piece by Face F1st, it feels like more time and effort has gone into its production and the face is simple and also wonderfully expressive.

Face F1st, Moon Street, Bristol, March 2017
Face F1st, Moon Street, Bristol, March 2017

I have more pieces by Face F1st in my pending folders, but I think this is the best so far.