1208. Raleigh Road, vector (19)

There is a nice little story behind this piece. I made a special effort to get out to Raleigh Road, because I was aware of a new Soker piece that had been sprayed there the day before (post coming soon). Sitting adjacent to the Soker piece was this fine Boba Fett character piece.

Ulow, Raleigh Road, Bristol, December 2017
Ulow, Raleigh Road, Bristol, December 2017

I was taking pictures of the piece and thinking that I wasn’t familiar with the artist, when a man walking with his family stopped and asked me if my camera was any good. I thought he might be thinking of buying something similar. I replied that it was just a cheap and cheerful Samsung and that it took reasonable photographs. He then asked if I could send him the pictures I was taking of the Boba Fett piece…I must have looked confused, because he followed up his request by saying that he was the artist, and had finished it late the night before, and his pictures of it were a bit poor.

Ulow, Raleigh Road, Bristol, December 2017
Ulow, Raleigh Road, Bristol, December 2017

This is how I met Ulow, a local artist who from time to time sprays character pieces, and in this instance was contacted by Soker to join in. In looking up a little about Ulow I think I have at least two more of his pieces in my archive, and will have to dig them out and post them. I like this Boba Fett a lot, and especially like the way his helmet and body plates have scratches and reflect the light.

Sadly my pictures are nothing to write home about, but I sent him a whole bunch nonetheless.

1192. Raleigh Road vector (18)

A throwback to earlier this year when we were lucky enough to have Boogie in Bristol for the ‘Boogie down Bristol’ event organised by Inkie. Of the three Boogie pieces that I photographed at that time, I think this one in Raleigh Road is probably the best.

Boogie, Raleigh Road, Bristol, July 2017
Boogie, Raleigh Road, Bristol, July 2017

I very much like the way that he makes a feature of the ‘oo’ in his name, and indeed when toying with ‘Scooj’ I have noticed how much the ‘oo”s lend themselves to all sorts of options.

Boogie, Raleigh Road, Bristol, July 2017
Boogie, Raleigh Road, Bristol, July 2017

Boogie is recognised as a master of his craft, and from this piece you can see why. Great colours, beautiful design and clean lines throughout the piece. I don’t know why, but all his pieces remind me a little bit of bubble gum…that’s probably just me though.

1141. Raleigh Road, Vector (17)

The hoarding in Raleigh Road has become a popular spot with Cheo, Soker, Voyder and Deamze in particular, and between them they keep refreshing it with some great work. This is a great piece from Cheo featuring a couple of spraying characters and his signature bee.

Cheo, Raleigh Road, Bristol, October 2017
Cheo, Raleigh Road, Bristol, October 2017

This piece is fresh and clean, and looks as tidy as if it were still in his black book. I’m not quite certsin what the characters actually are, but they are both dressed in hoody and baseball cap respectively. Very street.

Cheo, Raleigh Road, Bristol, October 2017
Cheo, Raleigh Road, Bristol, October 2017

So many more of his pieces in my archive…more time needed.

1115. Raleigh Road, Vector (16)

It is all too easy to become a bit blasé about Voyder’s incredible writing as everything he does is of such a high standard and in a class of its own. One expects perfection and usually that is what he gives. This piece, in one of his favourite haunts is so crisp and clean and beautifully set off by the neon green flash.

Voyder, Raleigh Road, Bristol, October 2017
Voyder, Raleigh Road, Bristol, October 2017

Unfortunately, the true colours of the piece haven’t really come across very well as I took the pictures on a bright day, but the wall was in the shade. Nonetheless the quality of the piece shines through.

Voyder, Raleigh Road, Bristol, October 2017
Voyder, Raleigh Road, Bristol, October 2017

I really like the clever way he seems to be able to lift the neon squiggle from the writing by giving it a shadow that drops below the lettering, giving it a stunning 3D effect. Do I like this piece? Do you need to ask?

1103. Raleigh Road, Vector (15)

This was a truly sublime piece that went up in Raleigh Road back in July this year, a little while before Upfest. It is always great to see dog street art, and this piece is a real treat. It is by Nilko White, a french artist from Paris, who I guess was taking a trip to the UK and teamed up with some local artists, maybe Hempster (the writing to the right of the dog) and found this hoarding to decorate.

Nilko White, Raleigh Road, Bristol, July 2017
Nilko White, Raleigh Road, Bristol, July 2017

It is a really great piece and quite different from much of the stuff we see in Bristol. It took me a while to find out who the artist was but Instagram (as is so often the case) came to the rescue. I’m not too sure what the Staffordshire terrier is about, but there is a story here. Maybe these are dogs the artist knows. A refreshing piece.

1028. Upfest 2017 (56)

On the hoardings in Raleigh Road, there were some really high quality pieces, including this rather posh whale by Boaster. His Upfest profile reads:

‘Hailing from Nottingham,graffiti artist Boaster brings his own style to his quirky, gritty and sometimes macarbe characters. Part of crews The Shrunken Heads(SH) and In Living Colour(ILC), this long standing painter continues to ruin peoples walls up and down the country!!!’

Which all sounds rather fun.

Boaster, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Boaster, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

There is a nice story here of a rather grumpy looking, well-heeled whale, and it is difficult not to admire the pipe, top hat and monocle. I am not familiar at all with Boaster’s work, but you can see more on this Global Street Art page.

Boaster, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Boaster, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

 

971. Upfest 2017 (31)

This is a wonderful compisite piece stitched together perfectly by Kid 30 on the hoardings in Raleigh Road. Kid 30 is an artist based in the midlands and member of the highly regarded Oxygen Thievez, of which Deamze is one too. His style is always clean and bold, and this piece is pretty awesome really.

Kid 30, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Kid 30, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

The dogs I can identify are Snoopy, Pluto, Scooby and Slinky…I think. This piece was favourite of many who attended the festival. You’ve got to love a dog, of four.

936. Raleigh Road, Vector (14)

There is rarely a Voyder piece that I look at and think…that’s not much good. In fact I can think only of one, and I am not going to share which one here. This is another stunning piece from a little while before Upfest 2017, when Boogie was in town, whose piece can be seen just to the right of this picture (to follow).

Voyder, Raleigh Road, Bristol, July 2017
Voyder, Raleigh Road, Bristol, July 2017

This time Voyder has gone for a copper coloured design which carries a really nice 3D quality about it emphasised by the white shading and stars. Appearing to lie behind the writing is a rainbow, interestingly in reverse order from convention, which would normally start with red on the left.

Voyder, Raleigh Road, Bristol, July 2017
Voyder, Raleigh Road, Bristol, July 2017

I have several more Voyder pieces in my files – I just need more time to get them all out.

870. Raleigh Road, Tobacco Factory (10)

It is always great to see artists emerge from their studios and create wonderful public pieces like this one. In this case the young artist is Liz Clayton, a graduate artist from University College Falmouth who is now living and working in Bristol.

Liz Clayton, Raleigh Road, Tobacco Factory, Bristol, June 2017
Liz Clayton, Raleigh Road, Tobacco Factory, Bristol, June 2017

I have heard great things about University College Falmouth and I believe Louis Masai went there too. I have a niece studying there now and she seems to rate it very highly, and what a gorgeous part of the country to be a student in.

Liz Clayton, Raleigh Road, Tobacco Factory, Bristol, June 2017
Liz Clayton, Raleigh Road, Tobacco Factory, Bristol, June 2017

This is a striking piece and reminiscent of Mexican art celebrating Dia de Muertos (Day of the Dead), which I am sure is entirely deliberate. This is a great stencil piece by Liz, and it is fortunate to have pictured her while she was working on it. I hope to see more of her public work.

Liz Clayton, Raleigh Road, Tobacco Factory, Bristol, June 2017
Liz Clayton, Raleigh Road, Tobacco Factory, Bristol, June 2017

 

 

848. Raleigh Road, Vector (13)

It has been really interesting to see this ‘Bee-Boy’ come to life. He began as a sketch in Cheo’s black book which he posted on Instagram with the hashtags #cheo, #bee, #sketch and #fart. The sketches became more detailed until he finally sprayed the piece in Raleigh Road.

Cheo, Raleigh Road Bristol, June 2017
Cheo, Raleigh Road Bristol, June 2017

Cheo seems to have had a love-hate relationship with Bee-Boy and it has been interesting to see the development of the character. Even after he had completed the work, he went on to produce a full colour sketch, for which he apologised, and even after that he committed the ‘little twat’ to canvass.

Cheo, Raleigh Road Bristol, June 2017
Cheo, Raleigh Road Bristol, June 2017

Whatever cheo thinks of it, I and many, many others love this little character – edgy, mischievous and comical.