Tag: Sled One

2899. M32 cycle path (57)

Aah, it is so easy to forget how bright and shiny (or shite and briney as an old colleague of mine used to say) this collaboration was when it was painted. Its quality has stood the test of time and it remained untouched for a very long spell – I think it has finally been painted over.

Dot Rotten, M32 cycle path, Bristol, May 2018
Dot Rotten, M32 cycle path, Bristol, May 2018

The collaboration on the M32 cycle path from 2018 was painted by Dot Rotten (SPOILT), Sled One and Smak. Dot Rotten is an artist Idon’t think I have posted before, but while I have been going through my archive recently I have spotted quite a few of his pieces, so expect more in the coming days/weeks.

Sled One, M32 cycle path, Bristol, May 2018
Sled One, M32 cycle path, Bristol, May 2018

Sled One has done here what Sled One does everywhere and that is turned out a high-quality character piece with great panache and style. The skull s beautifully drafted and has an animated humour about it. A nice touch to have an ASK speech bubble coming out of the cigarette.

Smak, M32 cycle path, Bristol, May 2018
Smak, M32 cycle path, Bristol, May 2018

On the right hand side of the collaboration is a clean, crisp and straight forward Smak piece which stands out from the wall thanks to the yellow outline and bright highlight spots. The whole collaboration has been painted on a shared background and colour selections and was a welcoming sight on this stretch of cycle path.

2851. Star and Garter (4)

Strictly speaking, this is not the Star and Garter but the building opposite it, but it is in the general area. This wonderful collaboration was completed shortly before the lock down and is between painting partners Sled One and Ments.

Sled One, Star and Garter, Bristol, March 2020
Sled One, Star and Garter, Bristol, March 2020

On the left is a beautifully sprayed pigeon in a style that you would instantly associate with Sled One. The bread thing going on? I’m not sure but it could be a pun on pigeon toast instead of pigeon post, but it might be something else altogether.

Sled One, Star and Garter, Bristol, March 2020
Sled One, Star and Garter, Bristol, March 2020

Sled One pieces are often quite mysterious and although there is pretty much always a story going on, understanding it can be tricky. The fabulous colours used and his technique of clever shading to create a 3D effect are of the highest quality in this piece.

Ments, Star and Garter, Bristol, March 2020
Ments, Star and Garter, Bristol, March 2020

Ments, whose work has always had an organic flavour to it, has been experimenting of late with a range of forms and textures, including spheres and metallic objects. This is a really unusual abstract piecem that looks slightly unfinished in the top left hand corner. I will be interested to watch where this new directtion for Ments will take us.

2742. Turbo Island

Oh my goodness, Sled One is literally (almost, figuratively too sort of) on fire at the moment, or at least painting fire, with this bright character toasting a cartoon marshmallow over a hot flame.

Sled One, Turbo Island, Bristol, February 2020
Sled One, Turbo Island, Bristol, February 2020

This piece is more contrived than might at first be apparent. The subject is a direct nod to the bonfires that are regularly started on the little ‘green’ on Turbo Island usually by revellers, homeless people or addicts of one sort or another. I think that this is a remarkable piece by Sled One in so many ways. Technically it is brilliant, but equally brilliant is the little story that is unfolding in front of us.

Sled One, Turbo Island, Bristol, February 2020
Sled One, Turbo Island, Bristol, February 2020

I don’t really know how it is even possible, but I think this young artist is just getting better and better and I’m not sure he is even close to peaking yet. I hope this purple patch we are seeing from Sled One continues well into the year.

2732. Armada Place (17)

There seems to be no stopping Sled One at the moment, he is knocking out some outstanding pieces on such a regular basis in Bristol and beyond. This ‘booze hound’ is a beautifully surreal little character, being a fusion of dog parts and a bottle that looks like a poison vessel.

Sled One, Armada Place, Bristol, January 2020
Sled One, Armada Place, Bristol, January 2020

I don’t know how he does it, especially using spray cans, but his pieces include so much detail and seem to tell such remarkable stories. This little fella could easily be a character illustration from a children’s book. Everything about the piece oozes class and a self-confidence. Mind-boggling really. More recent pieces in the can being lined up for future posts. The coolest.

Sled One, Armada Place, Bristol, January 2020
Sled One, Armada Place, Bristol, January 2020

2692. St Werburghs tunnel (130)

Wow, I love it when Sled One just pitches up unannounced and then modestly produces his magic like he did in this most recent example in St Werburghs tunnel. The piece features an octopus (what is it about street art and octopi?) sporting a bucket hat and fondly embracing an umbrella, possibly a little too fondly.

Sled One, St Werburghs, Bristol, January 2020
Sled One, St Werburghs, Bristol, January 2020

There is a lot of perspective and movement in the piece, something that Sled One does so well, and he is a master at creating textures and depth with the use of shading. This is yet another crazy (in a good way) piece from the artist, and made all the more remarkable by the fact that he had a fractured wrist and ankle at the time of painting this, a week or so ago. Just brilliant.

2559. Upper York Street (17)

Sled One is hitting a bit of a purple patch just at the moment, and his Instagram feed is overflowing with recent pieces from all over the country. This is a reasonably recent collaboration with Ments and is located on a wall that both artists are familiar with.

Sled One, Upper York Street, Bristol, October 2019
Sled One, Upper York Street, Bristol, October 2019

Whether it is graffiti writing or character pieces, Sled One simply knocks it out of the park every time, and his writing in particular seems to embrace so many different styles and techniques. Although you can pretty much always identify the work as his, he has a very broad range of letter shapes and styles and no two pieces are remotely the same, unlike some artists who use the same essential building blocks for every piece. A master at the top of his game.

2557. Wilder Street (37)

I can’t think of a time when Sled One hasn’t been on fire. His work is always of such an exceptionally high standard and not only is it technically brilliant, but he combines that excellence with a fertile imagination and interesting concepts.

Sled One, Wilder Street, Bristol, October 2019
Sled One, Wilder Street, Bristol, October 2019

This piece on the ‘Where the Wall’ curated area is a beautiful (belated) birthday work for his frequent painting buddy Smak. It gives me a warm feeling to know that these guys pay tribute to each other in this kind of way and reassures me that the street art community is built on friendship and decency. The piece itself is a creative spelling of SMAK and is painted with a fabulous colour palette underpinned by a deep red and a scarlet. What a nice birthday present to get.

P.S. it is my birthday in January… any chance…?

2525. L Dub (5)

It takes the fertile imagination and immense skill of an artist like Sled One to re-imagine a mermaid the wrong way round. I don’t think that too many sailors would fall in love with this beast.

Sled One, L Dub, Bristol, October 2019
Sled One, L Dub, Bristol, October 2019

The underpass at Lawrence Weston (L Dub) has a rather different and more select band of regular artists than those we are used to in town, for example, Sled One, Smak, DJ Perks, Dun Some, DFC and a selection of DBK bombers seem particularly fond of the old place.

Sled One, L Dub, Bristol, October 2019
Sled One, L Dub, Bristol, October 2019

When I finally get round to doing my first piece in public, I think it will be here because it is out of the way and quiet. Probably not until the Spring though. In the mean time it is probably just best to enjoy brilliant work like this from the masters.

2455. Dean Lane skate park (247)

When you see some street art that is a little weird and creative in Bristol, it is likely to be the work of 3Dom or Sled One and if you are particularly lucky it might be a collaborative effort from both of them. This is one such collaboration and weird and creative it is too.

3 Dom and Sled One, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2019
3 Dom and Sled One, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2019

The mash up of Mr Potato Head and a balloon is not the sort of image that comes readily to mind, but seems to come with such ease from these two. I think that the division of labour of the work was 3Dom on the left and Sled One on the right, and maybe a couple of other bits shared out equally.

3 Dom and Sled One, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2019
3 Dom and Sled One, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2019

This piece, together with a whole bunch of other ones was all part of a late birthday jam for 3Dom, and looking at his Instagram feed, it looks like they all had a really great day – lucky for us really.

2380. M32 roundabout J3 (159)

This is yet another piece that I had to visit more than once to get a half-decent shot of it because the first time it was hiding under dappled shade and was partially obscured – one of the hazards of summer time. If I were even more nerdy than I am, I’d probably make note of the best time of day to visit each graffiti spot, but frankly I can’t be bothered and don’t really have the luxury of choosing when to go out ‘hunting’ in any case.

Sled One, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2019
Sled One, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2019

The piece is a nicely crafted ASK by Sled One, with just a hint of a menacing eye in the middle of the A. I imagine Sled One just rolled up and painted this without a plan or draft, a gift that he posesses and is a rare thing indeed. Nice clean lines, great colours and imaginative and creative fills and shapes. Even a quick piece like this oozes class.