Tag: Slakarts

4724. Elton Street (11)

Slakarts, Elton Street, Bristol, September 2022
Slakarts, Elton Street, Bristol, September 2022

It was a genuine pleasure to see this lovely piece from Slakarts, because I haven’t seen much of his work lately. I am hoping that his absence from the streets is an indication that his work is going well. Balancing work and pleasure can be a challenge, but you’ve got to keep those shekels coming in.

Slakarts, Elton Street, Bristol, September 2022
Slakarts, Elton Street, Bristol, September 2022

Adopting the same colour scheme as the other pieces in this collection of Elton Street pieces, Slakarts has painted a rather special mural, with a lot more content than his customary stylised portrait. There is a semi-rural landscape, some high rise flats and flowers, accompanying the character. On-point and very clean, this is a wonderful piece from Slakarts.

4370. M32 roundabout J3 (404)

Slakarts isn’t painting quite as much as I would like to see, but in this piece on the roundabout he has turned out an absolute beauty. It is almost like he has applied the Picasso cubist treatment on his stylised face, and the result is something rather special.

Slakarts, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2022
Slakarts, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2022

I am not the biggest fan of chrome, as I think it tends to dominate a piece – great for throw ups and bubble writing, but difficult to pull off with tidier pieces. Slakarts has more than pulled this off, he has smashed it with the interactions between chrome blues and white and the overall effect is stunning. Beautifully conceived and executed, this is a magnificent specimen from Slakarts.

4292. Mina Road (10)

With this post, you can see the kind of time backlog I work to (roughly two weeks). I tend to prepare a pipeline of photographs that I will post onto Natural Adventures, which makes the whole process a little bit more organised than it might be if I left it to last minute posting.

Slakarts, Mina Road, Bristol, February 2022
Slakarts, Mina Road, Bristol, February 2022

This is the first anti-war piece that references the horrendous invasion of Ukraine by the odious and deranged dictator Putin (it would be comforting to think that Russian intelligence might be scanning the Interweb for anti-Russian sentiment, and stumble upon this post). Slakarts has painted one of his trademark stylised portraits with the message ‘No War’ incorporated, a sentiment that all but the utterly deluded would agree with, I’m sure.

4278. Peel Street Green (5)

I can’t believe it took me so long to find this spot, however, there is no point crying over spilt milk, is there? It is actually a nice spot to visit, because the dog likes the walk alongside the river, and there is a reasonable amount of turnover, so there is usually something new to see.

Nugmoose, Peel Street Green, Bristol, February 2022
Nugmoose, Peel Street Green, Bristol, February 2022

Nugmoose and Slakarts often paint together, one with his alien curiosities and the other with his stylised faces. Their styles are different, but there is a chemistry between the two, l would think sealed by their friendship. On the left is nugmoose’s alien, complete with mushrooms and spherical objects, and of course some alien writing.

Slakarts, Peel Street Green, Bristol, February 2022
Slakarts, Peel Street Green, Bristol, February 2022

On the right hand side is a classic Slakarts face, in bright and shiny chrome. I feel a gallery coming on for Nugmoose, and an updated gallery for Slakarts. The S Lover letters above the alien is a reference to Saturday Lover, a loose ‘crew’ approach to painting on Saturdays. You see it quite a lot about the place.

4217. M32 roundabout (381)

I have a feeling that (at the time of writing this post) three of the entrances to the tunnels under the M32 roundabout feature pieces by Slakarts. I haven’t checked the fourth for a little while and maybe he has gone for the full set, I don’t know. This one is on the St Werburghs side and is rather a charming little piece.

Slakarts,M32 roundabout, Bristol, January 2022
Slakarts,M32 roundabout, Bristol, January 2022

It is a privilege to have watched Slakarts evolve and develop his trademark character  over the last few years into a much more sophisticated base element which he has been experimenting with. This piece is the new basic model, but it is so much stronger than it was, say a year ago. The thick neat black lines remain, but the features have improved. I am really enjoying the new directions and improvements Slakarts is adding to his work.

4154. M32 roundabout J3 (374)

In the last few months, Slakarts has had a bit of a renaissance and what fun it has been. His familiar portrait pieces have been given more body and depth and are all the better for it.

Slakarts, M32 roundabout, Bristol, December 2021
Slakarts, M32 roundabout, Bristol, December 2021

This is a perfect example of his newer work, where the character is lifted off the wall rather than being flat. Depth is an important development in street art work, and Slakarts is achieving it in bucket loads at the moment. An all round lovely piece.

4121. M32 Cycle path (151)

It feels to me like Slakarts is taking his art to a new level and his recent pieces have shown real dynamism and creativity. This recent piece from the M32 cycle path, works on his stylised character portrait, but presents it in an entirely new way.

Slakarts, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, December 2021
Slakarts, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, December 2021

The piece is made up of two portraits facing one another in subdues grey colours, with some lighter highlights that express freedom and confidence in his work. Contrast this with one of his recent colourful pieces and you see an artist whose range is wide and skills are of the highest order. A lovely ephemeral piece.

Slakarts, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, November 2021
Slakarts, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, November 2021

4100. M32 Cycle path (150)

I think that this might be one of my favourite Slakarts pieces to date. The slightly more sophisticated overall design and inclusion of great colours (reminiscent of Kleiner Shames’ preferred palette) delivers a truly pleasing work. Perhaps he was inspired while painting alongside Decay… and who wouldn’t be?

Slakarts, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, November 2021
Slakarts, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, November 2021

The stylised portrait has been painted with great care, and the lines are sharp and fills solid. There are some clever elements and some fabulous fragmentation of elements, creating something of a cubist look to the piece. A beautiful piece beautifully finished.

4081. Cumbrland Basin

Ooh! Creative, imaginative and lots of fun, this wonderful piece from Slakarts down in Cumberland Basin is an elaborate expansion on his regular face template. In this piece, Slakarts is telling much more of a story than simply painting up his mega-tag that we see quite a lot of in the city.

Slakarts, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, September 2021
Slakarts, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, September 2021

A man, a flower and a dog are the subjects of this lovely piece, and the confidence and boldness ooze out of the wall. Slakarts’ work is typified by the thick outlines and solid fills that present as clean and tidy work. There are some similarities in this work and that of Roo, which is a compliment indeed. More sophisticated stuff from Slakarts to come.

4074. M32 roundabout J3 (360)

It is too easy to forget that nearly all of the artists who decorate the streets of Bristol have jobs, and that they have to fit in the painting around their work and families etc. For this reason, many artists will have peaks and troughs in activity. Slakarts, it would seem has recently emerged from one of those troughs and is firing on all cylinders with some marvellous work.

Slakarts, M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 2021
Slakarts, M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 2021

This piece on the M32 is a beautiful example of his work and is full of life and dynamism. Slakarts likes to work with big bold shapes and strong solid fills, and in this piece he has sprinkled in some additional decorative circles and dots. A lovely confident piece and another in his superb portfolio of work. More on the way.