Tag: Stencil

1114. Upfest 2017 (95)

Agent Provocateur is a bit of a mystery, and like many street artists, doesn’t seem to want to give too much away. This is more than just understandable, it is just how things are in the world of graffiti art. His Upfest profile says:

‘Agent Provocateur […] is […] an […] amazing […] artist *

*edited due to being fake news.’

Agent Provocateur, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Agent Provocateur, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

This piece is a nicely worked stencil with a message of sorts – a pigeon with bombs under its wings. He has uploaded a picture of this onto his website, which offers not a great deal more insight into his world, but has some nice pictures of his artworks.

1113. Upfest 1017 (94)

Woah, hold on there…this is a spectacular stencil by Marvin (or Marlon). Let alone that it is a crazy picture of a dog outside a kennel (Ron’s house) smoking a cigar, it is also a magnificent example of incredibly detailed  and intricate stencil work.

Marvin, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Marvin, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

Marvin (or Marlon) has not crossed my radar before, and I know little about him. The Upfest programme notes say that he has been cutting stencils and spraying for about four years or so, and that he enjoys the fine detail of his stencils which can take up to 60 hours to produce. This is a really great piece.

1105. The Bearpit (103)

Without doubt, this is one of my favourite pieces of recent weeks. Bright and garish, I first saw this when driving around The Bearpit roundabout, and made a mental note to take a closer look next time I walked into work. Fortunately this large wheatpaste was still there, and I was able to look at it more carefully and find out who it was by.

Christian Hooker, The Bearpit, Bristol, October 2017
Christian Hooker, The Bearpit, Bristol, October 2017

The artist is Christian Hooker who judging from his Instagram account handle is from New York (@nychooker). Quite what he was doing here I don’t know but I am really pleased that he visited the city and even more pleased that he left us a couple of gifts.

Christian Hooker, The Bearpit, Bristol, October 2017
Christian Hooker, The Bearpit, Bristol, October 2017

The pasteup itself is mocking Trump (I guess) and he posted it on Instagram under the heading ‘subvertising’ which is a term new to me, but I really rather like it. It is, a little like Lemak’s work, a stencil piece that has been printed off and pasted up. I simply love it. Having just visited NYC, I was a little disappointed not to see any of his work. Maybe next time.

1090. Stokes Croft

I have had this piece sitting on my ready to publish file for several months, but just never got round to posting about it. It has long since gone now, but was on this door, next to the Matchbox Gallery for quite some time. It is by Drew Copus, an artist who lives in Hastings, Sussex. It would seem that he has visited Bristol on a few occasions, and I have more of his art somewhere in my files.

Drew Copus, Stokes Croft, Bristol, May 2016
Drew Copus, Stokes Croft, Bristol, May 2016

Although this piece might not be everyone’s cup of tea, I have to say I rather like it. It is cheeky and rude and has three random cockroaches, which kind of appeals to me. It has a bit of edge to it, and I like the way the eyes of the lady are obscured deliberately by the tagging. More from Drew, when I can find it.

1068. Moon Street (37)

Moon Street has an ecclectic hotchpotch of tags, throw ups, stencils, tiles, paste ups and pieces, which is probably why I like it so much. Sometimes you have to look quite hard for things and this is a good example of that. This tile by RIP is secured quite high up on a wall, and could be easily missed.

RIP, Moon Street, Bristol, September 2017
RIP, Moon Street, Bristol, September 2017

The tile is of a stencil piece of a woman’s face looking like she is from the 1920s or 1930s. Unfortunately there is a bit of light reflection on the tile, but it is a fun piece nonetheless. I think the tile went up around the time of Upfest, when RIP was in town.

1063. Upfest 2017 (75)

These are two really beautiful pieces that I wish I’d spent more time looking at during my walk around North Street Green at Upfest. Each of them is calming and serene, and they make a fine pair. I am not sure if the co-location was by accident or by design, but it works very well.

Paintily, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Paintily, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

The left hand side is by Paintily, a Bristol-based artist originally from Brighton. There is something about this stencil that I like a lot, and the stripes on the face of the girl finish the piece off beautifully. I have not seen any of her work before, but would love to see her take her work to the streets.

Taina, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Taina, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

The right hand side is by Taina, and has the feel of a children’s book illustration. Such a simple idea and so beautifully painted, there is a whole story unfolding here, and one I want to know more about.  Taina is a Swiss-Finnish artist based in Zurich whose work I think I could very well fall in love with. A quick look at this website might give you an insight as to why I like her work so much. I definitely want her to return next year.

Paintily and Taina, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Paintily and Taina, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

1057. Bristol Museum

For a short while, this incredible piece by Banksy, could be viewed in Bristol Museum. For a shorter time still (hours) it could be viewed in Clement Street, on a door where it was sprayed. The ownership of the work was hotly disputed between Bristol City Council and Broad Plains Boys’ Club and the furore that it caused (see this BBC news story), not uncommon with Banksy pieces, somewhat overshadowed the utter brilliance of the the work, entitled ‘Mobile Lovers’.

Banksy, Bristol Museum, Bristol, May 2014
Banksy, Bristol Museum, Bristol, May 2014

I saw this piece in the museum sometime before I started posting about street art, and sadly I only have this single iPhone image (is there something ironic there?). The title has a double meaning and the piece, not only brilliantly executed, is a fabulous commentary on our modern lifestyle and love-affair with mobile technology. This is absolutely one of my favourite pieces by Banksy, and it is such a pity that it now sits on the wall of somebody who can afford it. I firmly believe street art is for all, but when it carries such a high value as Banksy pieces do, this is what happens.

1053. The Bearpit (94)

I am really enjoying the direction that Lemak is taking his work in at the moment, and even better, he is pasting up his fragmented stencils in The Bearpit. I am not sure exactly how he produces these works, but I think they start with stencil work followed by a printing process before finally being pasted up.

Lemak, The Bearpit, Bristol, September 2017
Lemak, The Bearpit, Bristol, September 2017

This particular magnificent piece can be found on one of the staircases leading down into The Bearpit from the northern side. It is a sophisticated portrait of a girl wearing a native North American headdress, part in sepia and part in colour. The segments are arranged on the wall, and our brain fills in the gaps so that we see the full piece when we look at it.

Lemak, The Bearpit, Bristol, September 2017
Lemak, The Bearpit, Bristol, September 2017

I cannot really express how much I like this piece and the original art Lemak is turning out at the moment. Well worth a trip to The Bearpit.

1049. Upfest 2017 (67)

RTC is a stencil artist who is based in Cheltenham, so not a million miles away from Bristol…in street art terms, he is pretty much a local. This is a fine multi-layered stencil featuring Guardians of the Galaxy characters Groot and Rocket Raccoon. It is a clever technical piece from this self-taught artist…there is hope for uas all.

RTC, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
RTC, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

This piece has a photorealistic appearance which is amll the more remarkable for being a stencil. I have not seen any of RTC’s wortk before, but will be looking out for him in the future.

1042. Upfest 2017 (65)

Pahnl were the selected festival artists for Upfest 2017, which meant that they had to work twice as hard as any of the other artists. They provided the visuals for the programme, map and other publicity material and they produced two stencils to advertise the upcoming event, previously covered in this blog.

Pahnl, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Pahnl, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

Their work consists of beautifully designed stylized figures, looking a bit like they have marched off a corporate logo portfolio, set in various, often witty scenes. The work is very time consuming, as each element is stencilled onto the overall scene.

Pahnl, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Pahnl, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

The effect is a world of colourful small designs interacting with each other and the viewer. Something about the figures reminds me a bit of Play Mobil figures.

Pahnl, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Pahnl, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

This wall, alongside the ‘Hen and Chicken’ was the first of two ambitious pieces by Pahnl which at various times saw them valiantly spraying under plastic sheeting cowering from the rain. There are loads of individual pirate stories going on here involving these little people.

Pahnl, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Pahnl, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017