Tag: Stencil

2481. West Street (1)

Six bricks high. What an amazing contrast to the huge version of this same stencil by Dice67 in Cheltenham that I posted yesterday. Dice67 has really dined out on this iconic image of his daughter, but I am not surprised really, it has something very special about it, maybe it is something to do with the little girl’s stance and attitude that we all know so very well (particularly parents).

Dice 67, West Street, Bristol, September 2019
Dice 67, West Street, Bristol, September 2019

I spotted this on West street quite by accident – I really ought to have known it was there on the side of a shop, but it came as a nice surprise to me nonetheless. I suspect it has probably been there for quite some time, but as I have said frequently, I can’t be everywhere all the time and anyhow if I was, there wouldn’t then be any surprises. Gotta love it.

Dice 67, Paint Festival 2018, Cheltenham, September 2019
Dice 67, Paint Festival 2018, Cheltenham, September 2019

2480. Cheltenham 2018 (4)

Anyone who knows Dice67 also knows that his trademark pieces are based on stencils that he made of his daughter when she was about six or seven, wearing a top with stars and pink wellies. This is the largest version I have seen of this particular stencil and was painted of part of the Cheltenham Paint Festival 2018 As you will know, because I have said it before, Dice67 (Andy Davies) has been the driving force behind the Cheltenham Paint Festival since its inception three years ago. I guess he deserves a big wall as organiser-in-chief.

Dice 67, Paint Festival 2018, Cheltenham, September 2019
Dice 67, Paint Festival 2018, Cheltenham, September 2019

This piece is really rather special and along with one or two other amazing pieces it dominates this town centre car park. I wonder if his daughter ever gets to see this picture of her and how she feels about it. There are a lot of them about, in Cheltenham, so I suspect that she is used to it. More from Dice67 imminently.

2471. Back alley, Weston-super-Mare

I don’t know Weston-super-Mare all that well, in fact I think I have only ever been there three times in my whole life. The most recent trip was just me with the dog and a camera. As I looked for street art, I tried to make a note of where I was or take pictures of street names, but this little back alley managed to keep off my radar, so I am calling it back alley.

JPS, Back alley, Weston-super-Mare, August 2019
JPS, Back alley, Weston-super-Mare, August 2019

The rather troubling piece at the end of the alleyway is a leprachaun painted onto a black door by JPS. The stencil is one layer, but most effective in this rather creepy place. I expect that the character is from a horror film, but not being a fan of the genre, I don’t know which one.

2470. North Street, Weston-super-Mare

There is a fascination among street artists with Tim Burton films. Maybe it is because the characters in them lend themselves so well to being copied and spray painted or maybe there is some kind of connection with his slightly macarbre subjects. In the heart of Weston-super-Mare is this superb stencil of Emily from Corpse Bride.

 

PZY, North Street, Weston-super-Mare, August 2019
PZY, North Street, Weston-super-Mare, August 2019

The artist is PZY whose work is often sited near the work of JPS and Fawn – these three seem to be fairly tight, and there seems to belittle room for other artists in town. This multi-layer stencil is beautifully worked and is about half life-size. Some fine work indeed – it would be great to see some of her pieces in Bristol.

2441. Alma Street, Weston-super-Mare

All artists derive their influences from somewhere. Sometimes these influences are overtly acknowledged and deliberately expressed in their work, and this stencil by JPS is one such example. There is more than a simple nod to Banksy in this piece called ‘balloon girl’.

JPS, Alma Street, Weston-super-Mare, August 2019
JPS, Alma Street, Weston-super-Mare, August 2019

There used to be a stencil of balloon girl (with red balloons) in Park Row in Bristol, but I don’t think it is there any more. I think, more than any other artist, Jps’ work is often mistaken for the work of Banksy, and it is not hard to see why. Love this piece.

2440. Meadow Street, Weston-super-Mare

EEEK! What a wonderful anamorphic spider stencil from JPS in Weston-super-Mare. This piece is one of three small stencils adorning a shop front on Meadow Street. The remarkable thing about JPS’ art in WSM is how incredibly fresh most of it looks, and how few of the pieces are tagged.

JPS, Meadow Street, Weston-super-Mare, August 2019
JPS, Meadow Street, Weston-super-Mare, August 2019

The patterns on this spider and the shadows it appears to cast on the wall make this, for me, an outstanding stencil. I am guessing that all the little bristles on the legs were painted by hand, as I don’t think that even JPS would have the patience to cut each of those on the stencil. A seriously classy small piece.

2439. Rear Oxford Street, Weston-super-Mare

I recently took a trip (mainly to give the dog somewhere different to experience) to Weston-super-Mare, and it hadn’t changed much from the last time I visited a couple of years back. What I was able to do however was explore the town for JPS street art, and naturally this is the place to do it.

JPS, Rear Oxford Street, Weston-super-Mare, August 2019
JPS, Rear Oxford Street, Weston-super-Mare, August 2019

In my view, JPS doesn’t come to Bristol nearly enough, but WSM is his manor and that is where so much of his work is. I think this piece of a youing skateboarder is reasonably recent, but I have no real way of knowing. I understand that JPS now lives in Bavaria, but I am sure that he returns now and again to his old stomping ground.

JPS, Rear Oxford Street, Weston-super-Mare, August 2019
JPS, Rear Oxford Street, Weston-super-Mare, August 2019

This piece, like all of his stencils is beautifully intricate and has been specifically placed to give the impression that the child is skating over the street sign. This is just the first of many posts I will be bringing to Natural Adventures over the coming days/months from WSM featuring JPS, Fawn and PZY.

2438. Upfest 2018 (160)

Way back at Upfest 2016, I bee W was the first street artist at a festival that I had the courage to speak to, shortly before I spoke with Dice 67 (who I later went on to conduct my first, and so far only, interview). Turns out that the vast majority of street artists are lovely people and even at festivals make time for a quick chat.

I bee W, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
I bee W, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

I bee W is a stencil artist whose stencils are often placed on carefully crafted or textured backgrounds and so become part of something bigger than the stencil alone. There is a story here, but I’ll be damned if I know what it is. A lady in a bikini bookended by a pair of seahorses. It is a pretty piece albeit slightly surreal. I have a few more of his pieces lurking in my archives, so I’ll have to dig them out.

That rounds off this series of ten Upfest 2018 catch up posts, but I’ll be doing more over the autumn and winter as there are still so many I haven’t yet posted.

2437. Upfest 2018 (159)

This is a magnificent piece by Deeds, so full of movement. Really stylish and classy. Although I am familiar with the name of the artist, he has been spray painting with stencils since the 1980s, I am not very familiar with his work.

Deeds, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Deeds, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

In this piece The stencil of the horse appears to have been done in staggered sections to give it that feeling of movement, and the bright blue strips just seem to emphasise it. In the WIP shot above, you can see that he worked on the piece from the top down on the already prepped red background. A classy piece.

2430. Upfest 2018 (152)

I think that this is the fifth stencil/wheatpaste by About Ponny that I have posted from Upfest 2018 and in my mind every single one of them is a belter. In each it is both the skill of the work and positioning and the extraordinary content that makes these outstanding wheatpastes.

About Ponny, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
About Ponny, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

About Ponny has a knack of portraying human pain and suffering without sentiment or compassion. These are raw pieces which strike at your heart and made even more effective by their low-key sitings. I had not been aware of About Ponny’s work before Upfest 2018, but on the back of these have become a big fan.

About Ponny, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
About Ponny, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
About Ponny, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
About Ponny, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018