Tag: Street art

2550. Cheltenham 2019 (16)

One of the first pieces to be completed at this year’s Cheltenham Paint Festival was this homage to Nadiya Hussain, the Great British Bake Off winner and now celebrity chef, by RJ77 who I believe might be quite local but I’m not sure why I think that.

RJ77, Paint Festival 2019, Cheltenham, September 2019
RJ77, Paint Festival 2019, Cheltenham, September 2019

RJ77 has stuck well to the theme of the festival and his book is Nadiya Hussain’s ‘Time to Eat’ cookery book. He is a very talented stencil artist and this greyscale piece looks like it has maybe eight or nine layers – gotta love those drips too. He painted a lovely piece at Upfest 2018 which I posted a little while back. I’d love to see more of his stuff, but might have to wait for more festivals to see it.

RJ77, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
RJ77, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

2549. North Street

This is a lovely new shutter piece by The Hass on North Street. Unfortunately there is a bit missing on the left hand side which rolls down over the door, but shutters are difficult to get at the best of times so I was pleased to get this shot. The Hass paints under another name in Bristol, but those that know, know and those that don’t, don’t need to.

The Hass, North Street, Bristol, October 2019
The Hass, North Street, Bristol, October 2019

As a marine biologist I need little encouragement to marvel at this wonderful marlin swimming in waters close to a paradise island, looking a little bit like the island set in the Disney Pixar film The Incredibles. This time though the gorgeous waters are polluted with plastic bottles in amongst the fish. Nice piece combining abstract elements with realism and a great story.

2548. L Dub (8)

I only make occasional trips to L Dub, which is OK, because the turnover isn’t quite up to the same level as it is in places like Dean Lane for example. Those rare visits though are totally worth it, and the dog rather enjoys the trip too.

Smak, L Dub, Bristol, October 2019
Smak, L Dub, Bristol, October 2019

This lovely piece of writing by Smak was alongside the Sled One mermaid which I posted a little while back, and the subtle colour selections work so well placed on the cloudy sky background. I am a fan of clouds, and since I started playing around with spray paint I have been looking at clouds a whole load more to make sure I don’t make silly mistakes (for example clouds that are darker on the top than on the bottom – it just doesn’t happen). Nice to see this Smak piece, it feels like a while since his last one.

2547. M32 Cycle path (35)

How fantastic to see these two PWA artists hooking up again after what feels like way too long. Soap and Face 1st have been painting buddies for a long time, but lately have been doing their own thing. I was beginning to think that they might have fallen out and may maybe they had, so it was with some relief  that I came across this fine collaboration on the M32 cycle path.

Soap and Face 1st, M32 cycle path, Bristol, October 2019
Soap and Face 1st, M32 cycle path, Bristol, October 2019

The collaboration itself is a lovely crisp piece, which is tapping into Face 1st’s recent theme of a crying face, which I interpret as a metaphor for the desperate state of our nation. This collaboration is really tight and one of my favourites that this pair have produced. The yellow boundary contains the two elements into a ‘proper’ collaboration of shared paint and merged ideas rather than the loose collaboration of when artists paint different things together.

2546. St Werburghs tunnel (108)

Another day, another Fiva piece in St Werburghs tunnel. This piece is perhaps a little less elaborate than some we have seen recently and there is no accompanying character, but it retains all the great hallmarks of Fiva’s fabulous work.

Five, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2019
Five, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2019

Brick walls in street art are something of a ‘thing’ and are painted as a backdrop by many Bristol (and other) artist to great effect. Fiva’s large full caps letters stand out from the brick background and are beautifully filled with a graded colour scheme and spots. All in all a lovely addition to this artist’s growing catalogue of pieces.

2545. North Street

I’m on a roll now with another wheatpaste to share with you, this one from a session about a month ago is by Jimmer Willmott who went out on a spree with Kid Crayon. Jimmer’s surreal style is instantly recognisable and obviously influenced by great artists such as Magritte.

Jimmer Wilmott, North Street, Bristol, October 2019
Jimmer Wilmott, North Street, Bristol, October 2019

I think that this might be an original hand drawing that he has pasted up, rather than a print which is what many wheatpasters do. If it is, it makes the piece all the more valuable to me at least. Earlier on in the year at a small art event I remember talking to Jimmer Willmott and Kid Crayon expressing my thoughts that there was not enough wheatpaste work in Bristol and that it was a bit of a neglected art. I would like to think that in my small way I might have in part influenced this paste up session. I probably didn’t though.

2544. Dean Lane skate park (261)

Recently there has been a little bit of an increase in the number and variety of wheatpastes that have been appearing in Bristol from a few different artists. This, of course, pleases me because I am very fond of this form of street art.

Georgie, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2019
Georgie, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2019

This couple of paste ups by Georgie are quite small and hidden away and could easily be overlooked, but they are little gems. The print shows a heart being set upon by a group of ants, set on a dotted background. One in in pink base colours, the other in blue.

Georgie, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2019
Georgie, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2019

Georgie is a wonderfully talented artist who works in a range of different media and is equally happy with studio or street work. There are more paste ups from Georgie to come soon, so watch this space. Great stuff, and fun to find.

2543. M32 roundabout J3 (175)

There is something about Morny’s naive style of street art that I find really appealing and it reminds me a little of an artist we had in Bristol a year or two back called J. Dior. These pieces are not clean or sharp but nor are they contrived, they simply tell stories that we can relate to.

Morny, M32 roundabout, Bristol, October 2019
Morny, M32 roundabout, Bristol, October 2019

In this piece, Morny has a policeman or perhaps I should say cop with his arm out saying ‘stop that’. We could read a hundred different meanings into this, but my immediate conclusion is this is an anti-graff cop. Whatever the story, I like the piece very much. It is vibrant and fun and that works for me.

J. Dior, The Bearpit, Bristol, May 2017
J. Dior, The Bearpit, Bristol, May 2017

2542. Dean Lane skate park (260)

Slim Pickings (a name for this artist I got from I know not where) or Tes has consistently turned out pieces (most of them in Dean Lane) this year each to a really high standard as one would expect from this perfectionist. Over the year there have been subtle changes to his general design that keep his work interesting and alive.

Slim Pickings, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2019
Slim Pickings, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2019

These letters have been painted over another piece which sadly I missed, as it looks rather unusual with Mc Scrooge or whatever his name is sitting in an arm chair. Slim Pickings’ piece once again demonstrates his great talent for finding the right colour combinations to bring out the best in his work. I’ll be interested to see how much he changes his standard letters over time.

 

 

2541. St Werburghs tunnel (107)

One of the great things about Kleiner Shames is that he keeps coming back to Bristol and when he does he usually drops one of his stunning pieces which are always most welcome. The light in St Werburghs tunnel really doesn’t do the piece justice and it would be nice to see his next piece somewhere with more natural light.

Kleiner Shames, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2019
Kleiner Shames, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2019

Kleiner Shames was one of the first writers that I really appreciated and his work led me gently into the world of graffiti writing, which I had previously not engaged with much. It is definitely an acquired taste and takes some getting used to, but it requires as much skill and technique as other forms of street art. Kleiner Shames is a master of introducing a mature designed feel into his street work. Such a shame he doesn’t still live in Bristol.