Tag: Smak

1924. Wilder Street (25)

Smak is an artist who just keeps on giving. This is yet another perfect example of wildstyle writing at its best. Using the same colour palette chosen by Ments, he spells out SMAK in grey and embellished it with reds, pinks and blues.

Smak, Wilder Street, Bristol, December 2018
Smak, Wilder Street, Bristol, December 2018

Smak, unlike Ments, always keeps his pieces perfectly proportioned and they are easy on the eye. He has also included a little mouse making a rather rude gesture to the right. The gesture is aimed at the central piece of this triptych by Sled One, which will make since when you see it in a couple of days.

Smak, Wilder Street, Bristol, December 2018
Smak, Wilder Street, Bristol, December 2018

1897. M32 roundabout J3 (110)

The penultimate post from this magnificent paint jam in November on the long high wall of the M32 roundabout features this outstanding piece of writing by Smak. I am so full of admiration and awe really when I look at this artist’s work and try to figure out how he arrives at his designs and then carries them out so meticulously.

Smak, M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 20189
Smak, M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 20189

On this wall Smak is in great graffiti writing company, with contributions from Deamze, Hemper and Soker. It really is a feast for the eyes when this lot get together.

1810. M32 roundabout J3 (99)

Smak has really been smashing it lately with some magnificent writing all over Bristol. His colour combinations, lettering and feature details are just getting better and better. This is a fine recent piece from the M32 Roundabout.

Smak, M32 roundabout, Bristol, October 2018
Smak, M32 roundabout, Bristol, October 2018

I love the colour progression from left to right, and the letters while slightly disguised are clearly legible. It is the temple facade in the middle of the piece that really lifts it up to another level and columns and stone too. This is a great piece.

Smak, M32 roundabout, Bristol, October 2018
Smak, M32 roundabout, Bristol, October 2018

1767. M32 roundabout J3 (97)

It seems to me that most street artists have peaks and troughs in the frequency of street work they do. Life, as for each and every one of us, gets in the way. It might be work, family, illness, lack of inspiration or other external forces that put a slow down on wall work.

Smak, M32 roundabout, Bristol, September 2018
Smak, M32 roundabout, Bristol, September 2018

On the flip side though there will be times when the green light is on and artists hit the street with sometimes alarming regularity. It feels to me that Smak at the moment is going through one of those phases where I am seeing a lot of his work, and this one at the M32 is a real beauty.

I find I encounter the same peaks and troughs, and at the moment I am really struggling to photograph as much as I like. Frail in-laws and very busy times at work are conspiring to hold me back from what I most enjoy. I know however that things in time will improve and I have so much to look forward to. Somehow I also have to factor in learning how to spray.

1751. Tower Hill (1)

A colleague alerted me to this hoarding, which is within lunchtime walking distance from my work, so I felt obliged to go and take a look. Sometimes such tip-offs can be a bit of a disappointment, because not all ‘street art’ is worth the trip. This wonderful piece by Smak however was absolutely worth it.

Smak, Tower Hill, Bristol, August 2018
Smak, Tower Hill, Bristol, August 2018

I had kind of been aware of these hoardings but didn’t know that there was anything decent there. In fact there were three notable pieces of which this is the first. Smak is an interesting artist in that he has two personas. This is his ‘graff’ persona, but he also does high-end pieces and commissions under another name – he even painted a large wall at Upfest this year (to follow).

Smak, Tower Hill, Bristol, August 2018
Smak, Tower Hill, Bristol, August 2018

This wildstyle writing is really skilfully done and spells out SMAK. In the middle of the work he had woven in the head of a bird, and there are some feathers in there too. A classy piece.

1722. Ashton Road

As is so often the case with finding new work on the street, I was not looking for this piece. On the contrary I was trying to capture a few more Upfest pieces that I hadn’t yet seen in their completed state and drove past this hoarding. I had to act quickly to pull over into a free parking space and jump out of the car for a quick snap.

Smak, Ashton Road, Bristol, September 2018
Smak, Ashton Road, Bristol, September 2018

This sublime graffiti writing is by the superb Smak, and is outstanding in many ways. The colour palette is beautifully selected and the chrome/grey parts of the lettering in particular have a great 3D effect. The letters spell out SMAK but are quite nicely concealed in this piece. Really great work.

1461. Hepburn Road (6)

Whichever way you look at it, this end of Hepburn Road is one of the dingiest roads in Bristol, but it is a bit of a Mecca for graffiti. Occasionally there are some good pieces that appear here, usually at this top end.

Smak, Hepburn Road, Bristol, March 2018
Smak, Hepburn Road, Bristol, March 2018

This is a quick one from Smak, who is now firmly established as a writer in the pages of this blog. Not as elaborate as some of his work, it is nonetheless clean and tidy and oozes quality.

1424. Moon Street (42)

Moon Street remains one of my favourite street art/graffiti hunting grounds, because it still has that ‘illegal’ wall feel about it. I find the ‘legal wall’ concept a difficult one to get my head round. This is a nice straight forward piece by Smak, certainly nothing fancy like he is capable of, but nonetheless it is clean and tidy.

Smak, Moon Street, Bristol, March 2018
Smak, Moon Street, Bristol, March 2018

When I spoke with him a little while back he told me that he likes to find different walls in new places. I’m not sure this qualifies in that category, but I am pleased he still chooses to return to walls he has sprayed before.

1379. Moon Street (42)

I walk past this shutter most days on my way to work and always take a look at it, but never properly look at it. Part of the problem is that the shutter isn’t very generous with its light, especially to the naked eye – it is quite difficult to properly make the piece out. Strangely, photographs do it far more justice, which is slightly counterintuitive. I took this in 2016.

Sled One and Smak, Moon Street, Bristol, April 2016
Sled One and Smak, Moon Street, Bristol, April 2016

It is a lovely collaboration between Sled One and Smak, who appear to have enjoyed their collaborations in the past. The caveman-like character by Sled One is holding Smak’s writing in front of him…an interesting way of bringing the two styles into one narrative. This piece is really very nice, but I suspect rather overlooked. It even seems to be off the tagger’s radar.

1289. Raleigh Road, vector (21)

Well here we have a fine piece from RAW’s Smak in Raleigh Road. His wildstyle writing realy is out of the top drawer and this work really showcases his skill. set on a blue background, which was probably prepped for this paintjam, his subtle blue lettering is lifted by the yellow and red accents and of course by the cheeky mushroom skull character.

Smak, Raleigh Road, Bristol, January 2018
Smak, Raleigh Road, Bristol, January 2018

I fear that this set of pieces may be some of the last at this site, which has hosted some remarkable work over the last 18 months or so, but the building work is nearing completion and it will not be long before the hoardings come down. We need some new sites to make up for it.