Tag: Stewy

1567. North Street

There is a small wall on North Street that Stewy seems to have made his own. Back in July 2016 he had a fabulous stencil of the great musician Robert Wyatt on this wall, which was a particular favourite of mine, because I like his music.

Stewy, North Street, Bristol, June 2018
Stewy, North Street, Bristol, June 2018

This beautiful stencil, sprayed around the time of last year’s Upfest is a reproduction of a Bristol Pounds five pound note (yes we have our own currency here in Bristol) which depicts a number of Bristol heroes including Isembard Kingdom Brunel, DJ Derek and Robert Wyatt. To get a decent look at it you need to look at it sideways.

907. Beaconsfield Road

Anthony Wedgwood Benn, or Tony Benn, will be forever remembered as the Bristol South East Labour MP who ruffled the feathers of the establishment with his hard left wing views. An adopted son of Bristol and much loved MP. This is a lovely tribute to Tony Benn by Stewy.

Stewy, Beaconsfield Road, Bristol, July 2017
Stewy, Beaconsfield Road, Bristol, July 2017

I think I a several years late in posting this fabulous stencil, and it has faded a little over time, but I have only just discovered it, and felt it write to post it as soon as I was able. Stewy has a great track record of creating stencils of important popular figures from Bristol, some of which are recorded previously in the blog. I like his work very much, and this particular piece feels so very right.

584. Richmond Road (3)

I was actually looking for something else when I found this goat stencil by Stewy. I have known about it for sometime, but had no idea where it was. Finding it was the reward for my curiosity in seeking out some graffiti nearby.

Stewy, Richmond Road, Bristol, January 2017
Stewy, Richmond Road, Bristol, January 2017

Stewy has produced some wonderful stencils around the city, including this Robert Wyatt piece posted last year. Animals and well known people are the areas Stewy specialises in and his stencils are distinctive in that they are nearly all two tone.

When I first photographed the goat, the sun played havoc, with half the goat in sun and half in shade. I tried making a shadow with my body, but it looked, frankly, a bit crap, so these pictures are a second attempt ion a flat-light day, and not great pictures either.

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

318. Leonard Lane (8)

A trip down memory/Leonard Lane. Some of my earliest posts were from this incredible little alleyway that defines the boundary line of the old City. It is full of little treasures, and this is one of them. A beautiful bear by Stewy. This bear has suffered the indignity of having several additions scribbled on it, but thankfully was given a bit of a makeover a couple of months ago. It is not in pristine condition, but then again very little of the street art in Leonard Lane is.

Stewy, Leonard Lane, Bristol, September 2015
Stewy, Leonard Lane, Bristol, September 2015

Stewy is a master stencil artist who specialises in creating stencils of well known people, and in this street is a work he did of DJ Derek before he went missing and passed away. The lane is also strewn with a menagerie of Stewy animals, perched and placed along its length.

116. Gloucester Road, No 212

Room 212 is an art shop that promotes and sells the works of local artists, on the Gloucester Road about half way between Bishopston and Horfield. To my shame I have not yet visited the shop, but having looked at their website, I will make a visit soon, if only to buy a Stewy print.

Above the shop front is a fabulous stencil of Cary Grant sitting cross legged and waving to passers by.

Cary Grant by Stewy, Gloucester Road, Bristol
Cary Grant by Stewy, Gloucester Road, Bristol

Stewy specialises in artworks of iconic people and tends to spray them close to where they live/once lived. In this case, Cary Grant (Archibald Leach) lived very nearby, and went to the local primary school in Bishop Road before heading out to the USA. Locals are very proud of their world famous son.

This is a typically understated stencil by Stewy, and hits the mark perfectly.

8.5/10

37. Leonard Lane (4)

The fourth work from Leonard Lane, but certainly not the last. It really is a goldmine of environment related street art.

Stewy, Leonard Lane, Bristol, September 2015
Stewy, Leonard Lane, Bristol, September 2015

This is another lovely mural by Stewy which accompanies his Dodo and DJ Derek in the same street. I admire street art that incorporates its surroundings, like the window bars here.

31. Leonard Lane (3)

This is a rather topical stencil which is by Stewy, whose dodo can also be found in Leonard Lane.

Stewy (DJ Derek), Leonard Lane, Bristol, August 2015
Stewy (DJ Derek), Leonard Lane, Bristol, August 2015

Stewy’s work includes stencils of iconic figures, and this one is of a well known celebrity in Bristol. DJ Derek is a 73 year-old disc jockey who plays sets in pubs and clubs in the Bristol area, and has also played at Glastonbury.

He went missing on 23 July this year, and has still not been found. Many fear the worst.

This stencil was produced before DJ Derek went missing, and the added graffiti makes sense when you understand the back-story.

7/10

14. Leonard Lane (1)

I have found a very rich seam of fabulous wildlife street art in a tiny little lane in the centre of Bristol. I stumbled upon this by accident, and only now on searching the interweb, have found out that it is a very recent initiative organised by Human Nature.

This will be the first of several posts from Leonard Lane.

One of the most striking images in the lane is a beautiful stencil of a dodo by Stewy, another Bristol street artist, who works in Bristol, London, Brighton and Manchester amongst other cities.

Stewy, Dodo, Leonard Lane, Bristol, August 2015
Stewy, Dodo, Leonard Lane, Bristol, August 2015

There are strong influences from Banksy in his work, and I particularly like the choice of site for the work. there is another of his stencils in the lane which I will come back to in another post.

This is a perfect storm for me… a street full of wildlife street art.

8/10