2588. Queen Charlotte Street (3)

Only a matter of a few days ago I posted a fine piece by Kedals at the Cheltenham Paint Festival, then on rifling through some old folders in my archive, I came across these two fabulous wheatpastes in March this year. Kedals has such a unique style that comes through in his larger murals as well as his wheatpastes.

Kedals, Queen Charlotte Street, Bristol, March 2019
Kedals, Queen Charlotte Street, Bristol, March 2019

The first of this pair of striking posters features a portrait of a rather portly man sporting what looks like a straw or canvas hat and smoking a rather large cigar. The whole thing is decorated with bright colours and shapes and is st for the eyes.

Kedals, Queen Charlotte Street, Bristol, March 2019
Kedals, Queen Charlotte Street, Bristol, March 2019

The second of these portraits looks like it might be called ‘booze cruise’ although with a Kedals piece who knows what the title or sub-text is? There is a lady smoking (smoking seems to be a bit of a theme) puff, puff, looking up at a vintage car with the words ‘gear 4 gas’. Curious and compelling stuff. I’ll keep looking out for the work of this unusual Bristol artist.

2097. Queen Charlotte Street (2)

My recent discovery of a Tim Marsh piece, kindly left behind after Upfest 2018, was accompanied by two other pieces of which this is one by Ione, another artist who had visited Bristol for the festival.

Ione, Queen Charlotte Street, Bristol, March 2019
Ione, Queen Charlotte Street, Bristol, March 2019

I have already posted Ione’s official Upfest piece a little while back, a piece that was full of character and an interesting style. This is another in that vein. Looking at it carefully now as I am writing this post, I think that there are two artists involved here, one, Ione, who painted the face and possibly another (Salt?) who painted the vase and skull. I think this might require further investigation.

Ione, Queen Charlotte Street, Bristol, March 2019
Salt?, Queen Charlotte Street, Bristol, March 2019

This brings into sharp focus the difficulty of writing about street art, but in particular writing about visiting artists whose work one is less familiar with and therefore less able to be certain of. I think I tend to be a little too up tight about being accurate and authoritative, when sometimes it would be wiser simply to enjoy the art in front of me.

2090. Queen Charlotte Street (1)

The rewards for wandering around without a plan can be enormous, and after a long while of knowing about this piece I eventually found it quite by accident when I decided to walk down a street I rarely visit.

Tim Marsh, Queen Charlotte Street, Bristol, March 2019
Tim Marsh, Queen Charlotte Street, Bristol, March 2019

It is by the magnificent Tim Marsh, who I think lives in Barcelona, and who was a visitor to Upfest 2018. As with many artists who come to Bristol for the festival, Tim Marsh gave the city with this little ‘present’, and very kind of him to do so too. This piece looks like it might be the Queen wearing a kind of colourful Banksy mask… it could of course be something else completely. Typical of his work are the colourful geometric patterns that fill the space around his subjects. Thank you Tim.