SSOSVA – Natural adventures

3219. Cheltenham 2020 (8)

The Agent is well known in Bristol not only for his Minion stencils, but also for being the father of another significant street artist in Bristol, Angus. At the Cheltenham Paint Festival this September he knocked himself out with this sequence of stencils on the inner panels of an iron railway bridge, along the course of the old Honeybourne Line.

The Agent, Paint Festival 2020 Cheltenham, September 2020

In his single layered stencils The Agent appears to get most of his inspiration from TV or movie cartoons. There don’t appear to be any hidden messages or politics in his pieces, just a whole lot of fun.

Even creating these ‘simple’ stencils is not quite as easy as it might seem, and taking that step from ‘I could do that’ to actually doing it is the key to achieving many things in life. I am not preaching, far from it, I am perhaps reminding myself to pull my finger out and do stuff.

No The Agent wall would be complete without a minions piece, and here he delights us with a fine ‘bananas’ piece. And finally a rainbow flag…

1008. Upfest 2017 (46)

At Upfest, I am always rather fond of these small square boards that give artists the opportunity to showcase their work. I am guessing that they might also be able to sell these small pieces, but I am not sure. This witty piece is by Mr Bear, who produced this lovely Baloo work at last year’s festival.

There are quite a few fun things going on here, although I really don’t know what the word ‘bacon’ is doing in the ‘Hello my name is’ badge. This is a really goos multi-layered stencil from that nice Mr Bear. Would be great to see him return again next time.

885. Upfest 2016 (152)

You rarely meet anyone who doesn’t have a fondness for Baloo and his ‘the bear necessities’ song from the Disney adaptation of Kiplings’ the Jungle Book. It was the film I saw most frequently as a child – six times – in the days before videos. I had the LP, and pretty much know the entire film word for word, even now.

A digression. This is a fine stencil from Bristol born and bred Mr Bear. I must confess to not knowing much at all about this artist, and I haven’t come across his work, or at least, not knowingly. He is a member of SSOSVA and started painting in 1997 under the moniker ‘Bas’.

760. Upfest 2016 (117)

You really know you are at a street art festival, when the bins that are provided for used spray cans are themselves sprayed. In this case by the talented and humorous The Agent. These minions were sprayed on bins around the Upfest site and added to the overall spectacle.

I met The Agent a day or two after Upfest, when Inkie was finishing off his piece on Dean Lane. He corrected me about the post I wrote about a Bearpit piece on the 12 July, a short time before the festival. He most definitely is from Bristol, and indeed I have a recent piece by him lined up for posting soon. All good fun.

550. The Bearpit (31)

The Bearpit has not had very much new work since it was taken over by the Mexican exhibition in the early Autumn, which feels strange as I am used to such a high turn over of ‘quickies’ there. This one has slipped through the net though. Another nice simple stencil from RIP, who might as well just come and live in Bristol, as it would save a lot on travel.

RIP, The Bearpit, Bristol, December 2016

I would guess it is called ‘beard envy’, and what a beard. This is a nicely worked stencil, and I particularly like the shadows on the block letters. Classy graff art.

539. The Bearpit (30)

The Bearpit is a great place for graffiti/street artists to do quick pieces. A place where graffiti is tolerated, perhaps even encouraged, and with plenty of nooks and crannies to leave mark.

This is a piece by RIP that I photographed back in August 2016. I am not sure who the subject of the stencil is, so I must confess that it is slightly lost on me, but it is another fine piece from this urban guerilla whose regular visits to Bristol are always welcome.

I am informed by Duncan that it is Kurt Cobain – thank you.

530. Gathorne Road (1)

Some of the most satisfying graffiti art is often the simplest. RIP is a great example of an artist who is highly accomplished at producing multi-layer stencil canvas pieces, but is equally at home with sharp, witty street stencils like this one. RIP is from Staffordshire, but a regular visitor to Bristol where he works with other SSOSVA artists.

There are actually two RIP stencils, the lower one of which I have seen in several other places. It would appear from the writing above this work that stencils are not to everyone’s taste. I like this picture because it speaks loudly of the way street art is and the sense of anarchy (albeit benign) that surrounds it.

460. North Street

On a shop front in North Street, there is this tiny micro-stencil by John D’oh. It is really beautiful, and something of a departure from his more political art. Saucy, and I love it.

John D'oh, North Street, Bristol, July 2016 — John D’oh, North Street, Bristol, July 2016

391. Upfest 2016 (35)

At the far west end of North Street in the Rising Sun pub garden there was a host of SSOSVA (Secret Society of Super Villain Artists) gathered under a covered area. There was a real party atmosphere going on, some very loud music and clearly all the artists were having a ball.

RIP is a stencil artist I have come across many times before although I am only familiar with his small single layer witty stencils. This piece was something of a pleasant surprise for me, to see a multi layer stencil, and a really rather classy one at that.

It is interesting that the more that you see of an artist, the more depth you get to discover. The range of styles and techniques can be incredibly broad from studio to street…just another aspect I love about the whole street art/graffiti scene.

319. North Street, Coop Pharmacy

This is the first of many posts I will be making from an artist known as RIP. This is a ‘cheeky little one’ that RIP seems to be very fond of. He is a stencil artist based in Stoke-on-Trent, but obviously a frequent visitor to Bristol, and in particular North Street. The stencils are often, but not always, political and are sprayed in the ‘tolerated’ illegal spots.

RIP, North Street, Bristol, January 2016

RIP is an active member of SSOSVA (the Secret Society of Super Villain Artists) (or not so secret now…) an international collective of artists founded in 1921 by Silent Bill – or so it says on their website. Other members I have featured include Dice 67 and John D’oh.

I don’t know why I haven’t posted RIP’s work before because there is a lot of it around. Don’t be surprised to see a rash of posts in the coming weeks.

	scooj on Thursday doors – 22 Apri…
	scooj on Thursday doors – 22 Apri…
	Pastor Cathy on Thursday doors – 22 Apri…
	scooj on 3623. M32 roundabout J3 (…
	scooj on Thursday doors – 22 Apri…

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