Tag: Stencil

377. West Pallant, Chichester

Having only recently posted about JPS in Weston-super-Mare, I was lucky enough to find this wonderful JPS cat while staying with my mother in West Wittering recently.

JPS, West Pallant, Chichester, August 2016
JPS, West Pallant, Chichester, August 2016

I knew the cat was somewhere in Chichester, but wasn’t sure where. I don’t know if you have ever been to Chichester, but its compass layout should be a simple enough plan to map out in your brain. I, however, and I know I am not alone in this, really struggle to know where on earth I am when in one of the four main streets. This cat I hope will help me to navigate better in future, along with the wonderful Stik not too far away.

JPS, West Pallant, Chichester, August 2016
JPS, West Pallant, Chichester, August 2016

This cat by JPS has been stencilled in other places too…another post maybe. It is quite beautiful. The stencil itself is exceptional and the colouring really makes it stand out. If you look carefully you will see the the letters J P S disguised in the cat’s fur. One of my favourite stencils.

JPS, West Pallant, Chichester, August 2016
JPS, West Pallant, Chichester, August 2016

376. Hoxton Square, Shoreditch, London (2)

I couldn’t resist sneaking this wonderful stencil by Unify in during this ‘Upfest lull’. One of my earliest posts was a Unify piece in Bristol, that is as fresh today as the day it was sprayed. I have looked for other pieces by him, but found nothing in Bristol. In London however, his hometown, I have found some of his work.

Unify, Hoxton Square, Shoreditch, London, August 2016
Unify, Hoxton Square, Shoreditch, London, August 2016

This amazing piece that I recall seeing on digital media a little while ago, is obviously a commentary on immigration and probably the Brexit referendum. It is a powerful bit of street art.

Unify, Hoxton Square, Shoreditch, London, August 2016
Unify, Hoxton Square, Shoreditch, London, August 2016

This piece sits quietly next to the wonderful Mr Cenz and Fanakapan pieces that I recently posted here. More to come from Unify soon.

 

 

366. Richmond Street, Weston-super-Mare

Recently my daughter suggested we had a day at the seaside. In Bristol, the seaside generally means Weston-super-Mare, or Weston on the mud. A Victorian seaside town that was very much alive when we visited. It is also the home of one of the great stencil artists in the country, and one of the first artists that inspired me to write about street art in the first place, JPS.

JPS, Richmond Street, Weston-super-Mare, August 2016
JPS, Richmond Street, Weston-super-Mare, August 2016

This is a piece that I have seen numerous times on digital media, but to see it for real was a treat. It is funny and beautifully executed. Furthermore, what none of the pictures reveal is that it is outside the Bear Grills restaurant, adding to the joke.

JPS, Richmond Street, Weston-super-Mare, August 2016
JPS, Richmond Street, Weston-super-Mare, August 2016

This is the first of many of JPS pieces I will write about from the W-s-M ‘gallery’, as they can be found all over the place, and I am sure I missed tons, so a further visit is in the planning.

361. Upfest 2016 (18)

Lemak had said that he was planning something spectacular for Upfest this year and with this piece ‘love’ he surely didn’t disappoint. I have been hugely impressed with Bristol-based Lemak’s stencil work that I have seen, in particular his tribute to DJ Derek and his tattooed girl.

Lemak, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Lemak, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

This piece is an absolute masterclass in stencil work, and I think my favourite piece of Upfest 2016. In addition to the great composition and technical work, Lemak has introduced some innovation to the piece.

Lemak, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Lemak, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

The heart stands proud of the rest of the picture, giving it a 3D aspect. His use of chemical formulae also brings an interesting dimension to the work, but most of all it is telling a story, and the best works usually have a story to tell. I don’t think I can express how good I think this is.

Lemak, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Lemak, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

I returned to this piece several times over the three days, but wasn’t lucky enough to catch up with Lemack…perhaps next time. Utterly brilliant.

351. Upfest (10)

On the Monday of Upfest, everything went a little strange. I had to dash over in my lunch break, so didn’t have much time and was walking pretty fast. What I noticed first was that there were very few people compared to the previous two days, and most of the people I saw were street artists from the weekend leaving a few ‘extras’ for us to admire.

Goin, North Street, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Goin, North Street, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

One such ‘extra’ was this piece by Goin, a French stencil artist with his roots in punk culture (sounding a bit like Tian). I posted about one of his works back in November 2015, but at that point I didn’t know who the artist was. This time I was there just as he sprayed the red writing. I asked who he was, but as this was a ‘naughty’ piece, he didn’t seem too keen to talk to me, and just wanted to get moving quickly. I then spotted this piece on his Instagram account a day or two later. I especially like this because it is witty, beautifully worked, subversive and I was there at its genesis.

347. Upfest 2016 (6)

RIP seemed to have a lot of fun during Upfest this year. His works were not only confined to The Rising Sun (his designated temporary ‘canvass’) but also to the streets and hoardings of North Street.

RIP, Upfest, North Street, Bristol, July 2016
RIP, Upfest, North Street, Bristol, July 2016

The dodo was very low down on a hoarding passageway. Who can resist a dodo eh? There is a lovely Stewy dodo in Leonard Lane…one of my earliest posts. The pun here links to the rather annoying, but very popular Wham! song of the ’80s.

RIP, Upfest, North Street, Bristol, July 2016
RIP, Upfest, North Street, Bristol, July 2016

The philosophical chimp is another winner for me. I really like RIP’s work. It is fast, edgy, raw, humerous and keeps the streets alive for those of us who like to look, see and discover.

RIP, Upfest, North Street, Bristol, July 2016
RIP, Upfest, North Street, Bristol, July 2016

345. Upfest 2016 (4)

I was really taken by this fantastic work by Belgian artist Din Din who describes herself as a ‘one woman artistic movement’.

Din Din, Lime Road, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Din Din, Lime Road, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

On Saturday afternoon, when I watched her working, she was putting down the stencil at the bottom of the piece. I noticed that she used plastic stencils and asked her if she used them because they were stronger (seemed sensible to me), but she answered that with the plastic stencils you can work in the rain…so she came well prepared for a festival in Britain then!

Din Din, Lime Road, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Din Din, Lime Road, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

On her website it looks very much like she did two other stencils in the area during her visit to Bristol, so I will have to hunt these down.

Din Din, Lime Road, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Din Din, Lime Road, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

There is something about the piece that reminds me a little of Tian’s works that he pasted up around Stokes Croft during his ‘tour’ earlier in the year – photographic works with monochrome tones.

Din Din, Lime Road, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Din Din, Lime Road, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

A wonderful piece to see and to get a glimpse of the artist at work.

344. Upfest 2016 (3)

One of the first pieces I saw that had already been completed by the time I arived on Saturday, was this fine and controversial work by Pegasus.

Pegasus, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Pegasus, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

It is highly accomplished stencil work that one expects from Pegasus and the content of his work is often edgy and possibly uncomfortable for some. I imagine that any work representing Mother Teresa (a Saint) is going to be tricky.

Pegasus, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Pegasus, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

I love this piece. It is quite shocking and at the same time so beautifully put together. I think this might be his first visit since his Trump/Hitler conflation in Greville Road, back in April 2016…another controversial one.

334. North Street, 188

This is an absolute gem recently stenciled on a rather obliging white wall by one of Bristol’s finest street artists, Stewy. What make this piece extra special for me is that it is a picture of one of my favourite musicians, Robert Wyatt, whose version of ‘ship building’ is in my top ten personal hit list.

Stewy (Robert Wyatt), North Street, Bristol, July 2016
Stewy (Robert Wyatt), North Street, Bristol, July 2016

Stewy, when he is not stenciling animals, is creating images of well known people. Other works I have posted on include Cary Grant and DJ Derek. I love his work and was really excited to come across this one. I knew he had done it, but just didn’t know where. I expect It’ll get loads of attention at Upfest 2016.

Stewy (Robert Wyatt), North Street, Bristol, July 2016
Stewy (Robert Wyatt), North Street, Bristol, July 2016

327. Raleigh Road, Tobacco Factory (4)

Well this has happened pretty much by accident, two posts by the same artist in a row, and featured only for the first time yesterday.

Stephen Quick, Raleigh Road, Bristol, June 2016
Stephen Quick, Raleigh Road, Bristol, June 2016

This is a lovely tribute piece to two of our great British loved ones who passed away in January 2016. Stephen Quick has combined elements from the working lives of David Bowie and Alan Rickman to create this ‘Severus Sane’ image. Alan Rickman (Severus Snape from the Harry Potter films) and Bowie’s Aladdin Sane Ziggy Stardust are conflated into one fabulous image.

Stephen Quick, Raleigh Road, Bristol, June 2016
Stephen Quick, Raleigh Road, Bristol, June 2016

It is a touching piece and beautifully executed. It sits in the same car park alongside Hannah Adamaszek’s wonderful piece. Writing this makes me feel quite sad still at the loss of two hugely influential talents. It is a good thing to see them remembered in this way.