Tag: Street art

4612. Devon Road (17)

Aspire, Devon Road, Bristol, July 2022
Aspire, Devon Road, Bristol, July 2022

It looks like Aspire made great use of his time in Bristol for Upfest, and left behind this little extra piece in Devon Road, a spot he has painted in before when he lived in the city. I will never tire of Aspire’s beautiful birds and pixelated aberrations, and still feel sad that he left Bristol for London a few years ago.

Aspire, Devon Road, Bristol, July 2022
Aspire, Devon Road, Bristol, July 2022

Although he has painted dozens of different species of bird, he seems to return blue tits most frequently. The bird is stunning, and the incorporation of the street sign inspirational. I don’t have the writing skills to express how much I like Aspire’s work, suffice it to say I think it is awesome.

4611. Moon Street (95)

Many of you will know that Moon Street is one of my absolute favourite street art spots, although that accolade has possibly moved on a little in recent years due to the gentrification of the area. But even now, Face 1st continues to brighten the place up with his inimitable and irrepressible style, making me feel very much at home with this lovely piece.

Face 1st, Moon Street, Bristol, July 2022
Face 1st, Moon Street, Bristol, July 2022

Face 1st was one of the very first street artists I became familiar with, but it was a few years before I got to meet him in person. His work is at the heart of what I care about, and this piece is just so joyful and typical of the atmosphere he creates around his work. The girl with green hair in red dungarees is full of cheek and movement. My eye keeps getting drawn to the underside of her left shoe… it is completely absorbing. A nice piece to start the weekend with.

4610. Dean Lane skate park (513)

I am not the biggest fan of this bit of wall. There is no easy way of photographing it without a wide-angle lens or similar capability, so you are getting it fence and all, to see what it really looks like, rather than a sanitised version, although I have tried that too.

Laic217, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2022
Laic217, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2022

There is little need for me to say much about Laic217, the artist, as I have said pretty much everything I can in the past. This is another skeletal offering, which although not to everyone’s taste, has artistry that can still be admired. He is doing a lot of greyscale work these days which is not easy, but he manages to generate great depth in his pieces with light and shade and folds etc. This is yet another fine piece in a long series of outstanding work from this excellent artist.

4609. Cumberland Basin

From time to time, the street art community is rocked by the death of one of their fold. It might be felt by everyone or by just a few close friends. When it happens, it is common to produce tribute pieces for the departed friend, and some artists keep the tribute alive for days, weeks, months or even years, for example Haka keeping the memory of his friend CKone in our minds in most of his pieces even now.

Stivs, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2022
Stivs, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2022

This is one of several tribute pieces for Sear by Stivs, and there are several other tributes about the place. I haven’t ever really encountered Sear before, but he was a graffiti writer and close friend of Stivs’. This piece is a fine tribute, beautifully structured and proportioned and the colour combinations perfect. A work of love.

4608. Dean Lane skate park (514)

Collaborative walls don’t often get more prestigious than this one, with Soker and Dibz combining in a green buffed wall. There was a time when Soker was painting all the time and Dibz occasionally, over the last couple of years their roles have reversed slightly. It seems I post a couple of Dibz pieces every month, but Soker rather rarely.

Soker, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2022
Soker, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2022

To the left is an absolute belter from Soker, spelling out SOKEM, a variant of his name, simply to give him some variation in lettering. Every element of the piece is technically superb, but I am drawn to the rather special fill, and colour selections from bottom to top. Classy stuff from Soker.

Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2022
Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2022

On the right is a piece from Dibz. Nothing too fussy or big, just some nice black (purple tinged) letters with a cream 3D shadow set on some bursts of orange and red splashes. A nice Example of Dibz’ work and expertise. And great to see these two coupling up.

4607. Dean Lane skate park (513)

It is so obvious that most street artists do what they do because they love doing it. It is as simple as that. This is perfectly demonstrated by a scattering of small pieces by Andy Council recently in the Dean Lane and Brunel Way spots.

Andy Council, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2022
Andy Council, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2022

Andy Council has had a long fascination with prehistoric creatures, he even incorporates an ammonite into his signature. His dinosaurs and other creatures can be found all over the city, but these are small, fleeting, fun pieces painted for the sheer hell of it.

Andy Council, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2022
Andy Council, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2022

I think that the creatures are trilobites or at least related to them and seem to blend in so well in all of the locations selected, it is as if they were always meant to be there in this urban ecosystem.

Andy Council, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2022
Andy Council, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2022

Beautifully observed and nicely painted, these four pieces (there may have been some others that I missed) add colour and interest to our great city. Thank you Andy Council.

4606. M32 roundabout J3 (420)

Arguably the best cartoon character artist in Bristol is Sepr. Nobody else can tell the stories quite as well as he can in the simplest of ways. This is not only excellent art, but it is also a narrative that stimulates thought and curiosity about what is going on.

Sepr, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2022
Sepr, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2022

The piece was created as part of a birthday paint jam for fellow artist Mr Jago, who I know little about (to my shame). In this piece, a rather shady looking ‘Del Boy’ type is flogging ‘merchundoise’ (perhaps an oblique reference to Space Balls, the movie). What Sepr has done so well is bring focus and attention on the items for sale by bringing them to life with tons of ‘brush-stroke’ colour, contrasting so noticeably with the greyscale character and suitcase. A brilliant piece and one of my favourites from Sepr. Mr Jago is indeed honoured.

4605. Brunel Way (166)

Another piece that I winkled out of my archive is this curious portrait from Pura Decadencia. It was the first piece I encountered by the artist, which might account for why I never published it at the time, I had no idea who she was then.

Pura Decadencia, Brunel Way, Bristol, October 2020
Pura Decadencia, Brunel Way, Bristol, October 2020

Unfortunately, I have not yet met this Spanish artist, and, although she spends time between Bristol and Alicante, I think she is in Spain at the moment. This is simply a nice clean vampire piece painted with great technique and finished nicely. I remember thinking at the time, in October 2020, that her work was refreshingly different. I hope she finds the time to come back to Bristol and paint some more pieces for us.

4604. M32 roundabout J3 (419)

In the next couple of posts I have taken a deep dive back into my archive, randomly picking out a year and month and publishing a piece that slipped through the net at the time. This blast from the past is a fine piece of writing from Elvs painted back in April 2020.

Elvs, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2020
Elvs, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2020

There is always so much to admire in Elvs’ work, in particular his ability to replicate these complicated patterns of letters, with apparent ease and consistency, keeping his unique style very much intact. The grey letters on the orange background works exceptionally well, and this is such an eye-catching piece. It is a mystery that I didn’t post it at the time.

4603. Brunel Way (165)

I am flustered and under pressure this morning. I am unbearably busy at work, and my team are on annual leave, so I am doing my normal work and standing in for two others. This might be brief…

Werm, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2022
Werm, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2022

Werm (formerly known as Eman) continues to paint at an extraordinary rate, and my posts of his work do not fairly represent the volume of pieces he produces. He has almost entirely abandoned his character pieces these days and has been concentrating on his writing which has improved over time and become more sophisticated. This piece has some lovely fill transformations and patterns and the 3D shadow and purple border help to lift the piece. The stars do their job well finishing the piece off very nicely indeed.