302. North Street, Hennesseys

I have talked before about how street art appears and disappears…it is the ephemeral nature of it that drives me to capture and record it so that it should not be entirely lost forever. There is another aspect to the appearance and disappearance of street art that manifests itself in the shape of shutter art.

One can stroll up and down a street countless times and never see half of the art on offer, unless you do it on a Sunday, late in the evening or when shops are closed for some other reason.

Copyright, North Street, Bristol, May 2016
Copyright, North Street, Bristol, May 2016

This beautiful Copyright piece is a case in point. I cannot think how many times I have walked up and down North Street, but only once have I seen this piece. Of course I photographed it immediately. Street art in most of its forms, is not just about the art itself, but also about place and time, which I guess is part of the fascination.

Copyright, North Street, Bristol, May 2016
Copyright, North Street, Bristol, May 2016

There are similarities between this piece and the collaboration recently featured between Copyright and E. Lee.

185. Stokes Croft, Pop up Shop

This playful commission was painstakingly crafted between the 5th to the 11th of April 2016. It is unmistakably the work of the brilliant Alex Lucas, and adds to the overall wealth of her pieces in the Area. It is great that so many small local businesses commission her work. Her stamp is fast becoming part of the Bristol USP.

Alex Lucas, Stokes Croft, Bristol, April 2016
Alex Lucas, Stokes Croft, Bristol, April 2016

These hares, painted and marked onto shutters, will I’m sure, become a local reference point. Looking carefully, you might also catch a glimpse of Mrs Scooj walking past the triptych with an umbrella.

Alex Lucas, Stokes Croft, Bristol, April 2016
Alex Lucas, Stokes Croft, Bristol, April 2016

I managed to have a quick chat with Alex a couple of times while she was working on this piece, and was struck by how approachable and incredibly nice she was…it must get very tiresome having people interrupt your work and ask inane questions, but at no time did she make me feel unwelcome, in fact completely the opposite.

Alex Lucas, Stokes Croft, Bristol, April 2016
Alex Lucas, Stokes Croft, Bristol, April 2016

Alex did disclose that shutter work is a bit of a pain and rather difficult, but she has done a great job with this. I really look forward to her next commission.

177. Deanery Road

It has been a little while since I featured a work by one of Bristol’s finest and most famous street artists, Nick Walker. It took me a little while to find this, despite it being in the road where I work. It is a shutter piece, and the shutters are invariably up when I am at work, and down when I am not. I took this photograph on a Sunday.

Nick Walker, Deanery Road, Bristol, March 2016
Nick Walker, Deanery Road, Bristol, March 2016

The piece is unmistakably by Walker, with its pinstriped character and trademark ‘vandal’ moniker. It is indeed a treat to have so many of his artworks so close to where I spend most of my days.

Nick Walker, Deanery Road, Bristol, March 2016
Nick Walker, Deanery Road, Bristol, March 2016

It is a little neglectful of me not to have found this piece sooner, but better late than never.

132. Cheltenham Road, Loans 2 go

Another Stokes Croft piece by Sepr on a shop shutter. This has been around for some while and is beginning to fade a little. It is rather difficult to photograph, because there are normally a couple of cars parked in front of the shop.

Sepr, Cheltenham Road, Bristol, January 2016
Sepr, Cheltenham Road, Bristol, January 2016

I like his signature in the number plate, and his “Yo Deams” comment in the top right (Deam is another local street artist). This piece reminds me a lot of the one Sepr did in St Pauls, probably around the same time.

Sepr remains one of my favourite Bristol street artists, but this work is not his best.

Plenty more Sepr pieces to come…

6.5/10

99. Gloucester Road, No.226

Many of the shops on Gloucester Road have commissioned street art on their shutters, which is how some artists have managed to make some money from their craft. This one caught my eye for several reasons.

The sad story is that this family run butcher shop ‘Stutt and Son’ that has been trading since 1919 has recently been closed at short notice due to the ill health of Mr Stutt senior. The hurriedly scrawled note on the shutter is heartbreaking.

Zase, Gloucester Road, Bristol
Zase, Gloucester Road, Bristol

The artwork is by Zase, but is clearly one of his early works as it is unsophisticated and rather raw, compared to some of his more recent pieces, such as the one in Ashley Road. He has come a long way.

As for the Butcher, the shop will be sold and another trader will move in, reinforcing the transient nature of a commercial high street.

5/10