Stokes Croft – Natural adventures

1017. Stokes Croft, Blue Mountain

On the day of ‘Boogie Down Bristol’, a mini festival organised by Inkie in the Full Moon pub, a great many graffiti artists converged on this area of Stokes Croft, and RAW (Read and Weep crew) were represented by Ryder and T-Rex who created this magnificent collaboration right next door to the pub.

Ryder and T-Rex, Stokes Croft, Bristol, July 2017

It was something of a miracle that they managed to get anything done, such was the pedestrian traffic stopping to admire the work and have a chat (including me).

I can honestly say that I think this is my favourite Ryder piece, it is in my view brilliant. The letters spell out Read and Weep and each one is individually crafted and filled with vibrant colours and patterns. Something of a masterclass for wannabe writers.

Ryder has a signature element to his style, and that is to put eyes and other features into the holes of the letters, so in this instance the first ‘E’ has eyes and teeth.

I also had the fortune to meet T-Rex for the first time, and having overcome the embarrassement of assuming that she was a male artist, we chatted for a while. Her work on this piece is magnificent also, with dinosaurs ‘bookending’ the writing with balance and skill.

The plants decorating the whole collaboration are also by T-Rex.

Coming across this piece and finding Ryder and T-Rex while they were spraying was hugely fortunate. I had actually come down to the area to visit the It’s All 2 Much gallery which was hosting a Tom Miller exhibition. I suppose in life as well as in taking in the streets, you won’t see anything if you don’t look – a recurring theme on ‘Natural Adventures’.

979. Stokes Croft, the Carriageworks (28)

I hope that by posting this piece I will learn more about it from others who may know about it. I don’t recognise the artist, whose name appears to be ISRA, and no amount of Interweb searches have yeilded anything. What I can say is that this is a stunning piece with an extraordinary colour palette, modest and low key.

ISRA, Stokes Croft, Bristol, August 2017

The protrait is quite incredible, and is complemented beautifully by the abstract colour pattern to its right. This is a rare piece from an unknown artist, but a work of real quality.

These arches at the Carriageworks are on borrowed time, as the building is due to be renovated and turned into flats that nobody from these parts will be able to afford, but wealthy landlords will snap up to make a tidy profit on. Perpetuating the housing crisis and buy-to-let economy which prices the poor out of affordable accomodation. Rant over.

I am determined to enjoy these fine pieces on these arches for as long as I am able. Gentrification happens everywhere and it is not all bad.

945. Stokes Croft, the Carriageworks (27)

The work of Face F1st continues to develop and improve. Recently he has moved much more into pastel shades for much of his work, which gives his pieces an unassuming quality. They blend in more with the walls with modesty.

Face F1st, Stokes Croft, Bristol, July 2017

In this particular piece, Face F1st has become more elaborate with his wildstyle writing, and it is lees obvious that it says ‘face’. Also the face itself has less expression on it that in previous work, giving nothing away to the viewer.

The colours and the paisley patterning make this a really interesting piece. It is one that few stop to look at, even taggers, because, I would assert, of its subtlety. (whoah – slow down on the commas).

935. Stokes Croft, the Carriageworks (26)

Anyone that reads my posts regularly will know that over the last couple of years or so I have been closely following the progress of Tom Miller. A young art student who I believe has recently graduated from UWE in Bristol. He recently held a successful exhibition entitled ‘Paracosm’ at the It’s All 2 Much gallery in Stokes Croft.

Tom Miller, Stokes Croft, Bristol, July 2017

I was driving home not long ago and spotted Tom at work on one of the arches, so I pulled over, and chatted with him while he was taking a break and eating his lunch. He is genuinely such a nice guy and utterly modest about his work. It is great in Bristol that we have quite a few fine artists who cross over into street art, widening the spectrum of what we are fortunate enough to see.

I am not sure if this piece has a name, but it is characteristically effervescent with ideas and thoughts merging with the human body…where physical meets metaphysical in art form.

Nothing demonstrates this meeting of worlds better than a close up of the character’s ‘head’. Needless to say I am a huge admirer of his work, and look forward to his next piece. It is to his credit and the respect in which he is held, that this piece has remained untagged and in pristine condition for at least a fortnight…a rarity in these parts.

917. Moon Street (33)

Still nothing from Upfest 2017 yet…be patient.

It is always great to see new work in Moon Street, it seems to have slowed a little in recent months. There seems to be a general tendency by some artists to move away from the Stokes Croft area because of the density (in all senses of the word) of bombers and taggers. A pity really.

This is a fine quick piece by Boogie, and the second of three street pieces that he left as gifts during his short visit to the city recently.

This really is one of my favourite walls in Bristol, and even though somebody tried to sabotage the artists by screwing two doors to the wall it hasn’t made the blindest bit of difference. Rather it has become part of the texture of the wall. Boogie has obvious talent and class, and I really like the way he makes a feature out of the two Os in his name. A fine piece.

904. Stokes Croft, Full Moon (1)

How often do you get to watch two of Bristol’s best graffiti artists in action? well in my case not too often, but I was lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time to see Soker and Cheo at work.

Soker and Cheo, Stokes Croft, Bristol, July 2017

I had actually been in the area to see the magnificent exhibition of work from Tom Miller at the It’s all 2 Much gallery on the other side of the road, however the whole area was buzzing with street artists spraying every available wall in the immediate vicinity.

Cheo, Stokes Croft, Bristol, July 2017

They were in town for an event organised at the Full Moon pub by Inkie, called Boogie down Bristol. This was an event held within the courtyard of the pub and featured a blend of local and not so local artists.

I chatted for a while with Cheo, who I had not met before, who is very much contained in a world of his own work and was focussed on this piece. A classic Cheo character…I love the rather unpleasant plaster on his chin – great attention to detail.

Soker was busy chatting with chums, but both obviously really friendly, and they do so much great work together. This was only one of several collaborations that were happening on the streets, let alone the curated pieces that were being sprayed in the pub. Fortune favours the brave.

903. Jamaica Street (8)

There was a recent event held in Bristol, organised by Inkie, entitled ‘Boogie down Bristol’ held at the Full Moon pub. In the days either side of the event, a whole ton of graffiti art and street art went up in the Stokes Croft area.

Voyder, Jamaica Street, Bristol, July 2017

The PRSC outdoor gallery was one of the walls sprayed. The middle section here is another high-quality piece from one of the best writers around Voyder.

Every piece he produces, and there have been quite a few recently, is a winner. Clean lines, great colour selections and an incredible eye for shading and shadows. Brilliant as always.

	agogo22 on 1076. The Bearpit (97)
	scooj on Autumn morning, Connecticut
	jazzytower on Autumn morning, Connecticut
	scooj on 1072. Upfest 2017 (78)
	scooj on 1073. Upfest 2017 (79)

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