Tag: Skull

1077. The Bearpit (98)

I said in my post about the rather unusual Upfest piece by Will Coles that I would write about more of his work that he left behind in various places in Bristol. This is the first of those.

Will Coles, The Bearpit, Bristol, October 2017
Will Coles, The Bearpit, Bristol, October 2017

The clever thing about this and his other pieces is that they are all disguised or camouflaged in some way and that most passers by will not see them. I only stumbled across this one myself, because I had noticed a new Mr Draws piece on the wall of the Gents, and looked up.

There is something funny about a skull with LOL written on it…I’m not sure what, but it tickled me anyway. More from Will Coles soon.

993. Dean Lane skate park (76)

Going back a bit to before Upfest, Laic217 sprayed this unusual and compelling piece on the curved wall. The black and white piece almost looks like a sketch in a book and he has very cleverly and in an understated way added a little bit of pink and blue to the wall in the character’s glasses giving it that 3D out of focus effect, which he has also applied to his signature.

Laic217, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2017
Laic217, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2017

This is a classy piece and stayed a long while on a wall that gets sprayed over quite frequently. I haven’t seen much in the way of new work from Laic217 – maybe he has gone away for a while, or is taking a graffiti holiday…it happens sometimes.

Laic217, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2017
Laic217, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2017

This piece combines the usual elements we expect to find in a Laic piece. He really has carved out a distinctive and respected style over the last two years or so. More old pieces to come.

947. Upfest (17)

Upfest this year hosted so many talented artists and they produced a plethora of really striking pieces. This one by graffiti artist Sonic Oner is a real eye-catcher, and a quick look at his Facebook page shows you what an extremely talented artist he is.

Sonic Oner, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Sonic Oner, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

It was a real challenge to take good pictures at Upfest this year, because of the very changeable weather conditions, and these pictures just don’t do justice to the amazing contrasts between the black background, the bright green and wispy white.

Sonic Oner, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Sonic Oner, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

This wasn’t the only Upfest piece that Sonic Oner did…he managed to find a permanent wall as well which I will feature in a future post. This really is an outstanding piece.

913. Bedminster

Another fine skeleton and flame piece from the inexhaustible Laic217. This time in cooler blues and less of the fiery furnace approach. This is a nice spot, and perfect for the kinds of works that Laic217 likes to do.

Laic, Bedminster, Bristol, July 2017
Laic, Bedminster, Bristol, July 2017

The tracksuit is rather special, and I guess representative of things that the artist is familiar and comfortable with. I wonder if setting fire to spray paint is something that people actually do for a bit of a laugh, but it looks rather dangerous to me.

Laic, Bedminster, Bristol, July 2017
Laic, Bedminster, Bristol, July 2017

Laic217 is certainly becoming more and more expert at producing an expressive skull, giving it a plasticity that allows expressions and maybe even emotions. The eyes here are rather good too. A nice piece.

895. The Bearpit (78)

So the most prolific Bristol street artist, Laic217, continues to spread his love all over the city. This one is at the bottom of the steps on the north west side of The Bearpit. The story here is not entirely clear, but the bug spray would appear to be killing the bugs inside the skeleton’s head.

Laic217, The Bearpit, Bristol, July 2017
Laic217, The Bearpit, Bristol, July 2017

Laic217 is really perfecting these skull characters, and telling loads of stories on the way. There are emergent themes in his work: skulls and death generally; insects; bucket hats and spray cans. Few of his pieces don’t have two or more of these things.

Laic217, The Bearpit, Bristol, July 2017
Laic217, The Bearpit, Bristol, July 2017

You won’t have to wait long for another Laic217 post – I have several waiting in the wings.

892. Moon Street (32)

Once more we see a pairing of Laic217 and Cort on this hoarding panel in Moon Street. Unfortunately I arrived to photograph it just a little too late, and the Cort half has been dogged with a throw up. This is an all too familiar sight in the Stokes Croft area and can at times be really frustrating, and indeed has driven some artists away from the area, which is a real pity.

Laic217, Moon Street, Bristol, June 2017
Laic217, Moon Street, Bristol, June 2017

The Laic217 half of this collaboration features a rather menacing skull wearing a red bucket had with horns sticking through the top. the word ‘inferno’ stitched into the brim of the hat suggests that this may indeed be Satan.

Laic217 and Cort, Moon Street, Bristol, June 2017
Laic217 and Cort, Moon Street, Bristol, June 2017

Another nice piece from these artists and another weekly (at least) dose of Laic217.

I have just noticed that the shadow on the pavement in the bottom picture looks a little like it could be the shadow cast by Satan.

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

 

 

824. Dean Lane skate park (56)

Well it has been a few days, hasn’t it? this is one of the best Laic217 pieces that I have seen. I think he is moving on to a new level, and he has worked this wall perfectly. As tribute to the quality of this piece, it has remained untagged and intact for at least a fortnight, which shows the respect from other artists.

Laic217, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2017
Laic217, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2017

Although I have seen this theme before (fire from a spray can) from other artists, I think he has excelled with this, in particular I like the way he has shaded the reflected light on the face and head of the skull, grading from white/yellow to purple/black.

Laic217, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2017
Laic217, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2017

I still have many more recent pieces by this most prolific artist in my archives, and I will unapologetically post them all. Really fabulous work.

813. Moon Street (31)

Laic217 seems to enjoy finding new spaces to spray his exceptional works. Moon street is a street familiar to graffiti artists, but I don’t believe these doors have has anything more than tags on before.

Laic 217, Moon Street, Bristol, May 2017
Laic 217, Moon Street, Bristol, May 2017

I particularly like this skull by Laic217 as it incorporates the Clifton suspension bridge, Bristol’s most significant landmark. Note to self…publish a special post containing works with the suspension bridge.

Laic 217, Moon Street, Bristol, May 2017
Laic 217, Moon Street, Bristol, May 2017

The picture is somewhat enhanced, in my view, by the fact that the doors would not close properly, adding another dimension to this piece.

792. Dean Lane skate park (47)

This is not the first time that I have seen a collaboration wall between these two. Some time ago I posted a piece by Laic217 from Moon Street, but left the Cort piece out, which was on reflection a bit unnecessary. This time I have kept Cort’s half. I know little about Cort apart from these two pieces mentioned.

Laic217 and Cort, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2017
Laic217 and Cort, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2017

Laic217 again seems to be experimenting with his grayscale work, with just a touch of accent colour in his signature. I have noticed too that in shared walls like this one, Laic217 always seems to occupy the left hand side – is this a thing for street artists? is it like having a preferred side of the bed?

Laic217 and Cort, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2017
Laic217 and Cort, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2017

I like this collaboration a lot, and am pleased to have got a clean photograph of it, something that is getting more and more difficult to do in Bristol.

The missing Cort photos from March 2016 are below…

Laic217 and Cort, Moon Street, Bristol, March 2016
Laic217 and Cort, Moon Street, Bristol, March 2016
Cort, Moon Street, Bristol, March 2016
Cort, Moon Street, Bristol, March 2016