John.Dot.S comes from Romania and sprays these figures dressed in aluminium. Often he includes an environmental theme, or encourages the viewer to see the piece and live in the moment. CCTV cameras are a popular motif or emblem for street artists and often represents a healthy dislike of overbearing societies, of ‘big brother’ states.
John.Dot.S, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
This is a beautifully executed work which I believe is a stencil in greyscale. It is rekarkable how many greyscale pieces there were at this year’s festival. A fine fine piece from an artist I have not seen before. It would be good to see a return visit from him this year.
There is no way that these photographs do this extraordinary multi-layer stencil justice. The subtle layering and shading in the piece are so skilfully prepared and executed. This is a technical marvel by a lovely artist called P0G0 who produced one of the most memorable pieces of Upfest 2017.
P0G0, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
The greyscale piece is offset by the scarlet fingernails of the subject and to finish the piece off P0G0 has added some hexagons in pastel shades…again in contrast with the rest of the piece.
P0G0, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
P0G0 is one of the true gentlemen of the street art world, a warm and humble fellow who was happy to chat for a long while and who agreed to do an interview with me. Because his written English is not too good, he said he would be happier to do a face-to-face interview, but the logistics of doing so are tricky. So maybe a telephone interview would be best or perhaps I can grab him for half an hour if he makes it to Upfest 2018. A memorable piece and artist.
On a trip to Camden Town in November 2017 I took a very long stroll around the area part of which took in this backstreet where market sellers parked up their vans. This being Camden Town I guess it should have come as no surprise that the vans would have been finely decorated by London street artists.
Himbad and Dotmaster, Camden Town, London, November 2017
This van played host to Himbad and Dotmaster whose collaboration works beautifully as Dotmaster’s stencilled children pull back covers to reveal a cutely frightening Himbad monster and host of monster eyes. I really love this piece and would love to see both of these artists make a trip to Bristol. One day maybe.
I love this. Here we see John D’oh at his most hard-hitting, exposing two of the easiest targets on earth and keeping the debate alive. Never one to hide from political comment, he produces topical pieces with alarming speed, unlike me who seems to take an eternity to publish posts.
John D’oh, The Bearpit, Bristol, December 2017
These single layer stencils are part of the furniture in The Bearpit and in other parts of Bristol, and John D’oh a permanent presence, reminding us to search our conscience and get fired up. So much more to come.
Back in October 2017, John D’oh had a lot of fun spraying a whole load of stencils in The Bearpit. This was one that he seemed to be particularly fond of.
John D’oh, The Bearpit, Bristol, October 2017
It would appear to be a homage to ‘Where the Wall’, a Bristol company that offers street art tours, wall curation and graffiti experiences. This would seem to be a genuine tribute, but with a history of cynicism towards and lampooning of the establishment, one can never be too sure with John D’oh.
John D’oh, The Bearpit, Bristol, October 2017
As a group, these stencils take on quite a dynamic colourful feel and it is interesting to see how different they look on different backgrounds. John D’oh has been very busy this winter and long may it continue.
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
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.
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
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
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
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.
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
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.
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
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.
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
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.
Natural adventures 