On my return from a short break away from Bristol a week ago, I was welcomed home with this typically bizarre and busy piece by Tom Miller.
Tom Miller, Stokes Croft, Bristol, June 2016
His works often include details of facial features, and an eye and mouth are the prominent features here. His works are visceral and organic, and you see different details each time you look at them. He talks about his style using the created word ‘imaginite’ which describes what metaphysical imagination would look like in solid form.
Tom Miller detail, Stokes Croft, Bristol, June 2016
His works tend to be much more in the fine art category than ‘street’ but he has been masterful in transitioning between the two. There is something about his pieces that sets the pulse racing…an overload of colour and strangely warped familiarity. Dreamlike.
I can keep this relatively short and sweet. The practice hoardings at the Stokes Croft end of Ashley Road tend to have one of the highest turnovers of graffiti art in Bristol. Because of this it is easy to miss new pieces before they are over-painted, but sometimes, if you get the timing right, you will see a beauty like this.
Face F1st, Ashley Road, Bristol, May 2016
It is no secret that I am a big fan of Face F1st, and this is my favourite to date. I really love the the way that PWA (Pirate Wall Art) is incorporated into the hair decoration. The designs in the lettering are becoming more elaborate too.
Face F1st, Ashley Road, Bristol, May 2016
It sounds patronising, and certainly isn’t meant to, but I find this piece really charming. Just beautiful.
This is a collaboration, or at least two pieces that were completed simultaneously, between Kid Crayon and Subtle. I have posted a great deal of Kid Crayon’s works, and once again he appears to have dispensed with his trademark crayon in favour of a spray can.
Kid Crayon and Subtle, Moon Street, Bristol, April 2016
I know little about Subtle, and can’t think that I have seen his stuff before, or if I have, I haven’t registered it. This is a decent wildstyle burner. Both pieces have been in place for a month, and thus far respected by taggers. This seems to happen a lot with Kid Crayon’s work, it is rarely defaced.
Subtle, Moon Street, Bristol, April 2016
As a combination these work well. I am a big fan of Kid Crayon, so these get a big ‘high-five’ from me.
With one month to go before the referendum to decide on whether Great Britain should stay in the European Union, things are hotting up. This is an extraordinary commission from a group who are encouraging voters to remain in the EU. The wall is where the Bruno Smoky ‘burning house‘ piece was.
Felix Braun, Donald and Boris, Stokes Croft, Bristol, 23 May 2016
I was lucky enough to see the artist working on this piece on my way to work yesterday morning. I stopped and chatted with him, while he painted. He is Felix (FLX) Braun, one of the original Bristol street artists and author of ‘children of the can‘ a seminal book cataloging the birth and growth of Bristol street art. Felix is one half of the Paintsmiths who created this tribute to Mibsy.
Felix Braun, Donald and Boris, Stokes Croft, Bristol, 23 May 2016
We had a great discussion about the tagging that seems to be everywhere in Bristol at the moment, and he views it very much as part of the development of the whole graffiti art scene. He does a lot of work with youth groups, often from difficult backgrounds, and teaches them to spray and develop their skills. I believe he also works with art students at the University of the West of England in Bristol.
Felix Braun, Donald and Boris, Stokes Croft, Bristol, 23 May 2016
The piece itself is a deliberately provocative and grotesque image of Donald Trump and Boris Johnson kissing…so much crazy hair! The intention is for the image, and others like it, to go viral, thus reaching and encouraging young voters to register and vote on the day of the referendum. It is known that younger people are much more pro EU than people over 60, but are less likely to vote.
Felix Braun, Donald and Boris, Stokes Croft, Bristol, 23 May 2016
I will be playing my part by using the limited means I have on digital media to reach as many people as possible with this message.
Felix Braun, Donald and Boris, Stokes Croft, Bristol, 23 May 2016
Technically this is a great piece by a great artist, and although a commission, has all the hallmarks of the ‘Bristol thing’ about it. I love it.
This little side street just off Stokes Croft is a very popular spot with DNT and his friends, one of whom is Mr Klue. We are used to seeing rather more abstract pieces from Mr Klue, so this seated figure with a hat would have to go down as one of the more unusual pieces by him.
Mr Klue, Hepburn Road, Bristol, May 2016
I really like the calmness of the work and it’s distinctive style. He is an artist I am really enjoying at the moment.
Just to make a point I guess, I thought I’d post another Deamze burner in exactly the same place as the one in the previous post. As mentioned, these pieces are all very similar in structure and style, but each time the colour selection seems to be faultless.
Deamze, King Square Avenue, Bristol, April 2016
There are more of these in my backlog of Bristol street art, but I will give you a break for the time being.
There was one final gift for Bristolians that Shalak Attack and Bruno Smoky (Clandestinos) left behind on their recent trip to Bristol…this brilliantly colourful masked face. This was another surprise for me in Wilder Street, an area which is now firmly on my routine street art patrols.
Clandestinos, Shalak Attack and Bruno Smoky, Wilder Street, Bristol, May 2016
There is something of acarnival feel to this piece, and it has an unmistakably South American touch.
Clandestinos, Shalak Attack and Bruno Smoky, Wilder Street, Bristol, May 2016
I still feel privileged that Clandestinos came to Bristol and left these remarkable pieces, however the story is not all good I’m afraid. The piece I wrote about by Shalak Attack in Stokes Croft has been tagged with a rather poor ‘throw up’.
Shalak Attack, Stokes Croft, Bristol, May 2016
The great piece next to it by SPZero76 and Mr Wigz has similarly been defaced. For less than a week, all five arches of the Carriageworks had clean untagged pieces in them…a first since I have been writing these posts. No longer. It is the nature of the beast I’m afraid, but disappointing nonetheless.
SPZero76 and Mr Wigz, Stokes Croft, Bristol, May 2016
This is the second part of my marvelous Monday discovery. This is a piece by Bruno Smoky who is the husband of Shalak Attack and member of the Clandestinos Crew. I understand from his Instagram feed that Inkie was their host/guide over the weekend in Bristol, and who better to show them the best walls. I love the way the graffiti world hangs together.
Bruno Smoky, Stokes Croft, Bristol, 9 May 2016
This house on fire is a really breathtaking piece, and with the Shalak Attack work in the adjacent archway, the pair have really set the bar very high for the Carriageworks space. I hope the taggers stay clear and respect our visitors’ work. I like his nod to Buzz in the top left corner – respecting a little of our local thing.
Bruno Smoky, Stokes Croft, Bristol, 9 May 2016
Bruno Smoky grew up in Brasilandia, a neighbourhood in Sao Paolo, Brazil. He is now internationally recognised and has created works all over the world. I love this quote, lifted from his website:
“I do not neglect my roots, my greatest pleasure is to paint in communities, bringing art and culture to otherwise forgotten and precarious neighborhoods. I use Graffiti in the context of creating a space to exhibit my art to society, my themes are full of colors and forms of protest … ”
Bruno Smoky, Stokes Croft, Bristol, 9 May 2016
I feel genuinely privileged that they visited and painted in Bristol outside of any kind of art festival, such as Upfest.
Every now and then, life throws wonderful surprises at you. On such days it is hard to contain one’s joy and enthusiasm. I am having one of those ‘red letter days’ that my grandmother used to talk about.
Shalak Attack, Clandestinos Collective, Stokes Croft, Bristol, 9 May 2016
My walk to work on a Monday via Stokes Croft always gives me a bit of a thrill, because the graffiti artists tend to spray over the weekend, especially when the weather is nice, and many walls in the area get a facelift. This morning I was greeted with a double surprise on the archways of the Carriageworks. Two spanking new, clean pieces by internationally famous artists.
Shalak Attack, Clandestinos Collective, Stokes Croft, Bristol, 9 May 2016
This husband and wife team come under the combined name of the ‘Clandestinos Collective’ and are ‘Shalak Attack’ and ‘Bruno Smoky’. This stunning colourful portrait is by Shalak Attack and is one of the most beautiful pieces I have seen in Stokes Croft.
Shalak Attack, Clandestinos Collective, Stokes Croft, Bristol, 9 May 2016
Shalak Attack, Clandestinos Collective, Stokes Croft, Bristol, 9 May 2016
Shalak Attack is a Canadian-Chilean artist who has been spraying urban murals across the world for over a decade. She and her husband are currently in the UK (London) with an exhibition ‘In the Raw’ of their work. What I love about this piece is that of all the places in the UK that they might have gone for the weekend, they chose Bristol and Stokes Croft…getting in some recreational spraying. How cool is that? I will post the second half of this happy event very soon.
I am often left wondering how street artists manage to do pieces which can only be accessed from a roof. Do they have permission? Do they jump up a ladder? Do they find some other way to get up? I guess it depends. Anyhow, this appeared a month of two back (I think) above a bar in Stokes Croft.
Akarat and Hoax, Stokes Croft, Bristol, March 2016
The piece is by Akarat and Hoax. I think that the birds on the left are by Akarat and the stencil is by Hoax. This is a tribute piece to Buzz, and you will see all the little Buzz words all around the piece.
Akarat and Hoax, Stokes Croft, Bristol, March 2016
I think I can also see a bit of a Mr Klue mural to the left. This is strange as it can’t really be seen from the road, but I suppose a wall is a wall. As we have come to expect from Akarat and Hoax, this piece is full of symbolism, but what it means…?
Natural adventures 