Tag: Shutter

1116. North Street No. 76

Alex Lucas is everywhere in Bristol, a street art celebrity. Even if people in the city don’t know her by name, they will almost certainly have seen her work, and will recollect it if you describe it to them.

Alex Lucas, North Street, Bristol, October 2017
Alex Lucas, North Street, Bristol, October 2017

This is a recent piece that I was lucky enough to see as the shutters were down when I happened to be passing by – something that doesn’t seem to work out for me too often because I do most of my walking and photographing during daylight hours.

Alex Lucas, North Street, Bristol, October 2017
Alex Lucas, North Street, Bristol, October 2017

What a great advert these beautiful butterflies are for the Independent Desigh Collective which sets out to feature and promote designers and makers from the local area. Maybe one day I’ll come knocking on their door/shutters.

1029. Upfest 2017 (57)

I met Falko One in East Street on the Sunday of Upfest. It was early in the morning and showers were threatening. He had already started on the first of three commissioned elephants he was planning to complete in the day, but was doubtful because of the rain. This is a man who likes to paint elephants, and he does it really well.

Falko One, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Falko One, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

Falko One it turns out is one of the most well known street artists in South Africa and has been working for almost thirty years inspiring others and growing the graffiti culture there. He is best known for his elephants.

Falko One, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Falko One, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

As with several other pieces at Upfest, it was great to see the artist in action and how he went about creating his piece. I think what you see here is someone very much at ease with the subject. He has a great understanding of the proportions, shape and movement of elephants and can create these amazing pieces in no time at all.

Falko One, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Falko One, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

The colours and shading, also bring a unique aspect to his art. I mean who ever saw a pink elephant before…hic?

941. Upfest 2017 (15)

Oze Arv was a very busy man during his short stay in Bristol for Upfest. This Portuguese artist from Lisbon uses patterns to mix expression and graphics. His style is instantly recognisable, as you will see as I post all of the work he left behind for Bristolians.

Oze Arv, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Oze Arv, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

This is a lovely shutter piece on North Street, one of two ‘official’ pieces he sprayed for Upfest. Shutters are always hard, but he has been smart with this one, laying down a white background, which lifts the whole piece really well. I think most of his work tends to include the natural world.

Oze Arv, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Oze Arv, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

I like the combination of the abstract and natural, I think it works well. I caught up with him for a few minutes, and he seemed like a really nice guy, happy to chat about his work. Lots more to come.

785. Stokes Croft, No.111

This is another piece that has been waiting and waiting in my archive and which I can at last write about, having recently found out who the artist is. The artist has been something of a mystery, and I have posted two of his pieces here before, the sinister cat and scary clown. It is of course Dose, AKA Kin Dose, AKA Nick Harvey.

Kin Dose, Stokes Croft, Bristol, September 2016
Kin Dose, Stokes Croft, Bristol, September 2016

I found out who he was by accident. I saw a poster advertising an art exhibition in the main street close to where I live, and there was the sinister cat on the poster, so I took a closer look. There was more information that helped me to track down Kin Dose on Instagram. Once on his feed, I looked through his work, and there was this piece…mystery solved.

Kin Dose, Stokes Croft, Bristol, September 2016
Kin Dose, Stokes Croft, Bristol, September 2016

Kin Dose is clearly extremely talented and versatile. I’ve not yet been to his exhibition (at the time of writing) but hope to get there before it closes.

783 North Street Savana (1)

A little while ago Frankie Beane posted a piece by Telmo Miel which was absolutely stunning. We had a short exchange of comments, and I looked into whether or not Telmo Miel had been to Bristol for Upfest. It turns out they have been a couple of times before, the last of which was in 2015. It also just so happens that I photographed their shutter piece not knowing who they were, and only now am I able to share it.

Talmo and Miel, North Street, Bristol, June 2016
Talmo and Miel, North Street, Bristol, June 2016

Telmo Miel is/are two artists who paint as one. This was the Dutch duo’s biography from the Upfest website:

‘Telmo Pieper and Miel Krutzmann are the names behind Telmo Miel artistic machinery. Telmo Pieper was born in Rotterdam, Netherlands where he graduated from the Willem de Kooning Academy. He is a creator, image maker and a contemporary graffiti artist. Miel Krutzmann also received his degree from the Academy in Rotterdam, and he is a mural painter and illustrator, who started drawing as a child and never stopped. Together, they share a fascination for (sur)realistic imagery and are currently making life-sized wall paintings using spray-paint all over the globe.’

I hope they return soon as their work is actually rather good.

 

 

700. North Street, loft conversions

Sometimes collaborations really work well, and this beauty between Decay and John D’oh is quite a beauty. Half way along North Street, I first saw it during Upfest (it was a weekend and the shutters were down) although I don’t think it was sprayed for the festival.

Decay and John D'oh, North Street, Bristol, July 2016
Decay and John D’oh, North Street, Bristol, July 2016

It is a striking shutter piece and John D’oh’s stencil is rather special. I am not sure who it is of, but it works so well with the colours favoured by Decay. For me this is a special Bristol piece to be treasured.

674. Upfest 2016 (101)

There was an underlying theme to Upfest 2016 and that was the emergence of ‘Mr Graff’. This was a playful idea where Cheo was asked to create Mr Graff in the style of Roger Hargreaves ‘Mr Men’. Other artists were encouraged to play with the idea, and several did exactly that.

Loch Ness, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Loch Ness, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

This piece ‘Mr Impossible’, is by the colourful and talented Loch Ness who specialises in psychedelic and surreal imagery. His pieces often have a host of playful characters sprayed in a multitude of great colours. Loch Ness also sprayed another piece at the school during the festival, but I don’t have a picture of the completed work, which was still behind scaffolding when I caught up with him for a chat. His work brightens up the dullness around us.

673. North Street, In Recovery

I took this picture during Upfest 2016, and was going to enter it as one of the pieces from the event. What a mistake that would have been. The piece is a collaboration between Copyright and Gemma Compton and was sprayed some years ago.

Copyright and Gemma Compton, North Street, Bristol, July 2016
Copyright and Gemma Compton, North Street, Bristol, July 2016

Of course I never usually get to see shutter pieces, because they tend to be up during the times I am out on the streets taking pictures. The work of these two artists works so well in combination; they both like bold colours, reds and blues, and both usually include female subjects. Gemma in particular likes to incorporate natural motifs setting the pieces off nicely.

Copyright and Gemma Compton, North Street, Bristol, July 2016
Copyright and Gemma Compton, North Street, Bristol, July 2016

This is a striking and enduring collaboration from this couple.

 

 

508. Wolseley Road

I have held back from writing about this piece for quite a while because I am not too sure who the artist is. I have a feeling it might be DNT, but it is not signed, and I am not getting a whole lot of insight from the Interweb.

DNT? Wolseley Road, Bristol, February 2016
DNT? Wolseley Road, Bristol, February 2016

It is a rather fun shutter piece on the Wolseley Road garage, and not something you’d necessarily expect to see this far up the Gloucester Road. Street and graffiti art in this part are pretty much on the extreme edge of the more frequented areas. Good to see though.

DNT? Wolseley Road, Bristol, February 2016
DNT? Wolseley Road, Bristol, February 2016

This is what I would consider to be classic shutter street art – a commission with some edge and relevance to the business. Unfortunately one sees quite a lot of dismal shutter art that is created by fine artists, who just don’t quite have the outdoor urban touch. This however is good.

If the artist is not DNT, I would love to know who it is.

410. Backfields Lane (1)

It has been quite some time since I last featured a piece by Decay, but I came upon this one quite by accident recently whilst seeking out a large mural by Kleiner Shames.

Decay, Backfields Lane, Bristol, September 2016
Decay, Backfields Lane, Bristol, September 2016

I love the radiating geometry and colours that Decay uses in his work and love it that nearly always the pieces are uplifting and fun. Sometimes edgy and political, but always good to look at.

Decay, Backfields Lane, Bristol, September 2016
Decay, Backfields Lane, Bristol, September 2016

Since moving to Bristol about a year ago, Decay has really made his mark on the graffiti art scene. He is now part of the furniture here, and that is a good thing.