Tag: Stencil

1211. The Bearpit (111)

I have said it before recently, that John D’oh has been busy stencilling this autumn/winter, with much of his work appearing in The Bearpit. He has also done some other highly satirical Banksy tributes in Cheltenham, but I haven’t yet seen them.

John D'oh, The Bearpit, Bristol, December 2017
John D’oh, The Bearpit, Bristol, December 2017

Always edgy and often political, John D’oh’s work, more than any other artist in Bristol is a target for tagging and dogging. He is clearly not held in the same regard as other artists, but that is the way for political artists…not everyone will agree with them. The Queen stencil has had the eyes sprayed red…which possibly enhances the menace of the piece.

 

John D’oh, The Bearpit, Bristol, December 2017
John D’oh, The Bearpit, Bristol, December 2017

I apologise for the quality of the images, which were rather compromised by the low light levels…I was on my way to do some Christmas shopping and the light was fading fast. I thought I’d include them anyway.

1209. Dean Lane skate park (95)

I would never have expected to see this line up in a collaboration, but this is the great thing about the Bristol scene, you should never expect anything, just get out there and take a look. It is a full wall at Deaners by Hire, Drew Copus and Jee See.

Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2017
Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2017

 

On the left we seen the jaggedy gothic style of writing we expect from Hire. I am not too sure, but I think the symmetrical looking writing says HIRE. The piece almost looks like is has caught fire and on the right it blends into the second part of this collaboration.

Drew Copus, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2017
Drew Copus, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2017

The middle piece is by Drew Copus, who lives near Hastings, but seems to come to Bristol once or twice a year to spray some of his stencils. In this collaboration he has sprayed three bright female stencil figures, each rather peculiar, which is what makes them rather interesting. It would be nice to know a little more about these figures.

Jee See, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2017
Jee See, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2017

On the right hand end of the collaboration is a huge SEISMIC piece from our very own Jee See. It is always great to see his work in Bristol, and I have several pictures of his work sitting in my files waiting to be published. As I said before this seems like quite an unlikely threesome. Maybe they know each other, or maybe they all just turned up in Dean Lane skate park on the same day.

Of course it is all gone now.

1185. Leonard Lane (14)

John d’Oh has been very busy lately on the streets of Bristol, but this is the first time I have seen his work in Leonard Lane. Typical of his work, he takes a strong political line, and in this stencil he celebrates a Corbyn revolution.

John D'Oh, Leonard Lane, Bristol, November 2017
John D’Oh, Leonard Lane, Bristol, November 2017

This is beautifully worked, and of course I particularly like it because of its edge. There are many more pieces by John d’Oh that I have in my archive and I might have to start bunching them together, simply to be able to share them.

1177. Upfest 2016 (157)

It is strange how things come together sometimes. I have only a few days ago posted Hoshiko’s drowned out effort from Upfest 2017, and here I am posting his piece from the previous year. In both cases my photographs don’t really do his work justice – here I have him working but no final picture of the completed board and from 2017, he never actually finished the piece off. Perhaps it’ll be third time lucky if he comes to Upfest 2018.

Hoshiko, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Hoshiko, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

This piece is rather cheerful and light-hearted, with a little monster (utterly unscary) roaring. I think the stencil text at the bottom says ‘I’m a dinosaur’. Some similarities with the work of Miss Wah.

1172. M32 roundabout J3 (55)

It can be very difficult to identify wildstyle writing sometimes, especially when the artist isn’t local or doesn’t spray too often. Having said this, my job is made so much easier when the artist plasters his or her name all over the piece.

Aona, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2017
Aona, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2017

This stylish piece is by Aona.  That gets me so far, but no further. I can’t find much about Aona on the Interweb, so this entry is brief. To the writing itself; it is beautifully clean and crisp and technically excellent and the colour selections really work well. It is uncommon to see wildstyle writing complemented by stencils, but it works rather well. Great to see different artists in town.

1169. Upfest 2017 (108)

This is a wonderful piece by Stephen Quick, a brilliant Bristol stencil artist and, I understand, YouTuber. I have to say that I never got to see this piece in its finished state, which I am really annoyed about, but have seen it on Digital Social Media and it looks spectacular.

Stephen Quick, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Stephen Quick, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

Stephen has a style that mixes and merges ideas and iconic figures to produce blended stencils of the highest quality. Stephen quick has a lot to say about this piece on his website, and to save myself the time I have pinched his text and offer it below:

‘Pop Girl’ is my modern day mash up, pop culture heroine. My idea being if my recent generation get a call to arms we will arm ourselves with items from our pop upbringing, Inspired by Tank Girl, she wears a R2D2 helmet, armed with the Sword of Omen from Thundercats, with good luck charms from Harry Potter and The Legend of Zelda, she is ready to take on the world!

Stephen Quick, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Stephen Quick, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

In my pictures, the Harry Postter charms are missing. and background not completed, but I didn’t want to leave it out of my Upfest updates. I do like his work very much.

1157. The Bearpit (108)

Sometimes it’s a case of blink and you’ll miss it, and so it is with street art. This gorgeous wheatpaste by Lemak didn’t last too long in one of the tunnels of The Bearpit, but the subtle colours and dim lighting meant that it was easy to walk past without stopping to take a look. Big mistake…it is a real beauty from this talented artist, and pushes his experimental approach in a satisfying direction.

Lemak, The Bearpit, Bristol, October 2017
Lemak, The Bearpit, Bristol, October 2017

The golden eagle is hand painted and pasted together in a collage effect, a technique that Lemak has used quite a lot recently and one that I admire. There is a lot to enjoy in this piece, and the hard work I know he puts in is all definitely worth it.

1144. Camden Town, London

Anyone familiar with Bladerunner (the original) will be familiar with the Tyrell quote: ‘The light that burns twice as bright burns half as long – and you have burned so very, very brightly, Roy’.

Pegasus, Camden Town, London, November 2017
Pegasus, Camden Town, London, November 2017

This quote could equally well be applied to the extraordinary vocalist Amy Winehouse who died of a drugs overdose in July 2011. In the UK, and especially in North London there is a terrific fondness for this amazingly talented young woman whose moment in the spotlight was so short and fragmented. This wonderful stencil, by Pegasus, is a fine tribute to the singer.

Pegasus, Camden Town, London, November 2017
Pegasus, Camden Town, London, November 2017

I have featured a couple of Pegasus pieces in previous posts, this one of Mother Teresa from last year’s upfest, and this one of Donald Trump. Pegasus is fond of creating works of iconic public figures and is not afraid of controversy.

1127. Camden Town, London.

Somewhat reminiscent of Banksy’s work or Unify or JPS, this lovely piece by Dotmaster Is just about perfect for this wall. Situated under a camden council sign stating ‘bill stickers will be prosecuted’. The corny old joke suggests that graffiti under the sign should read ‘Bill Stickers is innocent’ but the joke is a hundred years old.

Dotmaster, Camden Town, London, September 2016
Dotmaster, Camden Town, London, September 2016

This beautifully executed piece presents us with a naughty child spraying that most sacred of images, a heart, on the wall. A picture within a picture. I love this and pretty much everything about it, but I know little or nothing about the artist, but his biography on his website gives you a flavour. I love his comment:

‘There is NO subculture ONLY subversion.‘

1118. Dean Lane skate park (87)

Sometimes when I am out looking for new graffiti/street art, something just catches my attention out of the corner of my eye. This interesting piece was in a corner of a street at the top of Dean Lane skate park, and an area I rarely photograph because it is where wannabe graffiti artists go to practice their skills.

Unknown artist, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2017
Unknown artist, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2017

I have no idea who the artist who sprayed this stencil is, but it is a good piece of work cut from a mocked up photograph (original image:CBS) of James Corden’s car pool karaoke (the rolling stones famously turned down the invitation to take part).

Unknown artist, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2017
Unknown artist, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2017

This large board disappeared within days of me seeing it and was replaced with a new board, so something weird was going on there.

Unknown artist, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2017
Unknown artist, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2017

Although this is a single layer stencil, the subject matter is brilliant and the quality is good. If anyone out there knows who it is by, please just let me know.