I think that I happened to be passing by this piece very shortly after it had been completed by Goin, judging from the presence of the scissor lift just below it. This striking piece is yet another remarkable work organised by Upfest as part of their Summer Editions project in lieu of an Upfest festival this year.
Goin, North Street Standard, Bristol, September 2019
Goin is no stranger to Bristol, but his pieces tend to be associated with his visits for Upfest related initiatives. This magnificent and really rather large stencil entitled ‘Add to cart’ is clearly a commentary on consumerism, but I don’t know the original artwork upon which this is an elaboration. Any ideas? I suspect that knowing the root piece would add significance to the story being told. I might have to have a little Google session to see if I can find out. In the meantime, enjoy this excellent work.
During the early part of September I was away quite a lot and I didn’t have much time in Bristol to go to my usual haunts to find street art. This is always a little tricky, because FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) kicks in. Because the turnover of art in some places is so high, you can miss an awful lot of good work over the course of a fortnight. Of course I missed quite a lot, but as soon as I was able, I walked and drove to as many spots as I could, including Stapleton Road. As I was slowly driving along, I became aware of a pinky-purple flash on my left with my peripheral vision, but when I turned to look, I had passed whatever it was. I had a hunch it might be something I would be interested in so pulled into a parking space and walked back. I was rewarded with this magnificent new piece by Tom Miller, which I had seen on social media, but had no idea where it was.
Tom Miller, Stapleton Road, Bristol, September 2019
I have posted many works by Tom Miller and have a gallery of his amazing pieces on Natural Adventures. This piece though has something really special about it. It was painted on a wall that had a few tags on it, but was nothing to write home about. Tom Miller has transformed it into a focal point for this little stretch of Stapleton Road in Easton.
Tom Miller, Stapleton Road, Bristol, September 2019
So, what is going on in this piece? If I am honest I am not too sure. His style is rather surreal and busy and I think there is a lot of symbolism and personal baggage in the piece. The central character’s face has been replaced with enlarged eyes and a house and to the right is a pony or something like that, a toy perhaps. The whole piece is extremely colourful and like many of his works, full of movement. I expect one could spend hours trying to analyse and deconstruct the piece, but that is an academic exercise that might yield utterly incorrect conclusions. Perhaps the best way to understand the piece is to ask the artist himself, which I will do next time I see him. Brilliant and unusual piece.
This is the second piece I am posting from St Mark’s Avenue and it is a rather fun piece by Sepr. Judging from the weathering of the paint on the door, it looks like it has been here for some years. In line with pretty much everything in this alley, there seems to be remarkably little tagging.
Sepr, St Mark’s Avenue, Bristol, September
The piece itself presents a magician pulling a rabbit from a hat although rather than just one rabbit, he is actually pulling two rabbits, in a compromised state from the hat and they don’t look too pleased about it. I have long been a fan of Sepr’s work and I love the retro influences in his style that make his pieces so distinctive. Great piece with a great story beautifully executed, you can’t ask fo much more than that.
I realise that graffiti writing isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, and it is one of the reasons that I try to mix up street art pieces and graffiti writing pieces on Natural Adventures, but I do have a mission to grow an appreciation for writing and writers whose work is often highly technical and commands supreme spray painting skills. This piece by Veks is really out of the top drawer.
Veks, Brunel Way, Bristol, September 2019
Some of the things that make this piece so good include fantastic variations of colours blended nicely through the letters, an outstanding selection of complementary colours bounded by a very tight and sharp yellow border, a fine background and most of all a nicely balanced design, not over-complicated or too fussy. Great work from Veks.
It feels like an absolute age (and it probably is) since I last posted anything from Jee See, and here on one of the ramps at Dean Lane he recently painrted this little collaboration piece with Pekoe. I think it might have been at the rescheduled DLH (Dean Lane Hardcore) event a couple of weekends back.
Jee See, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2019
Jee See has written a rather nice 3D rendition of his moniker which adopts a whole load of very nicely done shadings, hatchings, drips, cracks and colour fades. So good to see him back in action.
Pekoe, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2019
Just to the right of Jee See’s writing is another one of Pekoe’s beautiful ladies in blue, a colour she often favours, and with a little tear beneath her eye – what does this tear tell us about the srtist? Is there some inherent sadness there? There is a clue in the top right of the piece which indicates that it is a tribute to Janet. Tribute pieces are often painted with a little extra love and have a poignancy to them.
Pekoe, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2019
I am so enjoying finding and appreciating Pekoe’s work which just seems to be on a steady improvement.
Life is full of surprises, and earlier this week I took the dog for a road walk because it has been a bit wet and the parks are getting muddy. On the walk I took a few turns down roads I have never been to before. The reward… I discovered St Mark’s Avenue – a little secret in the heart of Easton where there are stunnung pieces by Bristol artists going back several years and quite untouched by taggers. How could I have not been here before and how many other little oases like this are there in Bristol?
Silent Hobo, St Mark’s Avenue, Bristol, September 2019
This piece dates back to 2012 and is by the magnificent Silent Hobo and what’s more remarkable is that it is pretty much in mint condition – only one of the eyes has been goofed up by some idiot. It is a great tribute to the artist that it is still here but it is more than that, it is a yardstick from which to measure his development over the last seven years. It is a beautiful portrait piece painted on a pebble dash wall which in itself is something of an accomplishment. The girl has a soulful look but her eyes are looking straight at you, something that his more recent figures don’t do in the main.
I can’t tell you how exciting it was to find this piece and indeed the whole road, I felt a bit like an archeologist uncovering an ancient tomb. More to come from this gold mine.
I don’t know Weston-super-Mare all that well, in fact I think I have only ever been there three times in my whole life. The most recent trip was just me with the dog and a camera. As I looked for street art, I tried to make a note of where I was or take pictures of street names, but this little back alley managed to keep off my radar, so I am calling it back alley.
JPS, Back alley, Weston-super-Mare, August 2019
The rather troubling piece at the end of the alleyway is a leprachaun painted onto a black door by JPS. The stencil is one layer, but most effective in this rather creepy place. I expect that the character is from a horror film, but not being a fan of the genre, I don’t know which one.
There is a fascination among street artists with Tim Burton films. Maybe it is because the characters in them lend themselves so well to being copied and spray painted or maybe there is some kind of connection with his slightly macarbre subjects. In the heart of Weston-super-Mare is this superb stencil of Emily from Corpse Bride.
PZY, North Street, Weston-super-Mare, August 2019
The artist is PZY whose work is often sited near the work of JPS and Fawn – these three seem to be fairly tight, and there seems to belittle room for other artists in town. This multi-layer stencil is beautifully worked and is about half life-size. Some fine work indeed – it would be great to see some of her pieces in Bristol.
I have been very taken with these delightfully colourful and ephemeral pieces by Eden that appeared on the M32 roundabout a month or so ago. The works appear to be simple in composition, but there is a complexity to them that probably goes unnoticed by most people.
Eden, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2019
Take a closer look at these streaks of paint and you can see a large crowd of people milling round and going about their daily business. Take a closer look still and two of the figures near the bottom have struck up a relationship as indicated by the little lines above their head. Is it a conversation? Are they in love? are they Arguing? Take a look around the piece and you start to see other interactions happening. A lovely and interesting piece from Eden.
A gallery of incredible street art from Bristol’s Nightwayss – can you spot the monkey?
All photographs taken by Scooj
Nightwayss, Brunel Way, Bristol, October 2020Nightwayss, Brunel Way, Bristol, October 2020Nightwayss, Clift House Road, Bristol, October 2020Nightwayss, Clift House Road, Bristol, October 2020Nightways, M32 Spot, Bristol, Setember 2020Nightwayss, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2020Nightwayss, St Werburghs, Bristol, August 2020Nightwayss, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2020Nightwayss, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2020Nightwayss, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2017Nightwayss, St Werburghs, Bristol, March 2020Nightwayss, M32 Spot, Bristol, March 2020Nightwayss, St Werburghs, Bristol February 2020Rezwonk and Nightwayss, St Werburghs, Bristol February 2020Nightwayss, M32 cycle path, Bristol, December 2019Nightwayss, M32 Cycle Path, Bristol, November 2019Nightwayss, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2019Nightwayss, St George, Bristol, September 2019Nightwayss, M32 Spot, Bristol, August 2019Nightwayss, New Stadium Road, Bristol, August 2019Nightwayss, New Stadium Road, Bristol, August 2019Nightwayss, St George, Bristol, August 2019Nightwayss, St George, Bristol, August 2019Nightwayss, St George, Bristol, July 2019Nightwayss, Lawrence Hill, Bristol, July 2019Nightwayss, Devon Road, Bristol, July 2019Nightwayss, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2019Nightwayss, Wilder Street, Bristol, May 2019Nightwayss and Laic217, Wilder Street, Bristol, May 2019Nightwayss, The Bearpit, Bristol, May 2019Nightwayss, Hepburn Road, Bristol, May 2019Nightwayss, M32 cycle path, Bristol, April 2019Nightwayss, M32 cycle path, Bristol, April 2019Nightwayss, The Bearpit, Bristol, December 2018name witheld, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2018
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