Tag: Street art

2227. M32 roundabout J3 (145)

This is one of my favourite Smak pieces of the year so far, and my goodness there are a lot to choose from. This is another of his ‘double vision’ pieces where he has written SMAK twice and in this instance has played around with fonts and styles reminiscent of another brilliant graffiti writer, SkyHigh.

Smak, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2019
Smak, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2019

Often when photographing street art, I am confounded by parked cars or wheely bins that wind me up a treat. It is funny how I am somehow much more forgiving of a tree obscuring the art, although being a naturalist at heart it shouldn’t be a surprise. Wonderful piece by Smak on a great wall.

2226. Dean Lane skate park (212)

Earlier on this month, this fabulous Disney Robin Hood piece appeared in Dean Lane. I would have posted it sooner because it is a really classy work, but it has taken me a little while to uncover the artist. I would guess that I could probably identify about half of all the street/graffiti art I see in Bristol, which sounds good until you turn it around… I struggle with about half of it. Instagram and Google searches are my most valuable tools in finding out more about ‘unknown’ pieces, and in fact one of the reasons I started doing these posts is to help others facing the same difficulties and who simply want to know more. This I can confidently say is by Warp.

Warp, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2019
Warp, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2019

Warp, also known as Sam Giles Art and Design, is an artist whose work I haven’t consciously registered before, but whose name I am familiar with through Facebook. He works in Devon and Bristol and is a self-taught graffiti artist and designer. I think the letters here spell out SEBA and the whole piece is nicely executed with King John and Sir Hiss bookending the whole thing. Nice fun piece – I look forward to seeing more.

2225. Chapter Street (2)

Other than promotional hoardings outside the Full Moon pub in Stokes Croft, I don’t think I have seen an Inkie piece since Upfest last July, so it was great to see this one on a Construction site deep in St Pauls. As one of the godfathers of Bristol street art, it is a pity that we don’t get to see as much of his work as we would probably like to, but I suppose the old maxim ‘treat em mean to keep em keen’ might apply here.

Inkie, Chapter Street, Bristol, May 2019
Inkie, Chapter Street, Bristol, May 2019

This piece is a blaze of colour, spelling out INKIE. Interestingly there isn’t any 3D effect on the lettering, which I would usually asssociate with his writing. I don’t think that this is the best piece I have seen from Inkie, but the bar is so very high, and I imagine that this was probably a ‘quick one’. Always great to find anything by this celebrated artist.

2224. Raleigh Road (7)

Another stunning piece for Upfest Summer Editions (in lieu of no festival this year) is this beautiful tiger by Bex Glover. Located on Raleigh Road on the wall of the Souk Kitchen and opposite the Tobacco Factory, this spot is highly sought after and one of the highlight walls for Upfest, so it is great to see Bex Glover having a presence here.

Bex Glover, Raleigh Road, Bristol, May 2019
Bex Glover, Raleigh Road, Bristol, May 2019

You may recall a recent piece she did near the Arches on Cheltenham Road, and if so you will recognise her distinctive style. Everything I have seen by her has a wildlife theme, and this one is no different, with a spectacular tiger set on a turquoise background with trees, foliage and birds. I particularly like the yin yang motif on the rear quarter of the tiger, if fact, I pretty much particularly like everything about this mural. There is a sense of peace and dignity in the work. Beautiful.

2223. Wilder Street (32)

I got very lucky last weekend when I took the dog out for a ‘street art walk’ to Wilder Street and found Laic217 and Nightwayss painting together. The dog accompanies me quite a lot these days, poor thing, but is most patient when I stop to talk to the artists.

Nightwayss and Laic217, Wilder Street, Bristol, May 2019
Nightwayss and Laic217, Wilder Street, Bristol, May 2019

This is an absolutely fabulous piece by Laic217 who, in five years of writing about Bristol street art, I have only met once before. I stopped to ask him for a few tips about controlling the spray pressure coming from a can and other control techniques, and he was very kind with showing me a trick or two.

Laic217, Wilder Street, Bristol, May 2019
Laic217, Wilder Street, Bristol, May 2019

The completed piece is an upbeat summer special, complete with a beautiful pink shirt emblazoned with smiley faces. Unmistakably a Laic217 work with many of his trademark themes. So good, and so good to watch him at work.

2222. Moon Street (70)

Rezwonk is another street artist who seems to have found an extraordinary energy level this year, developing his writing in spots all over Bristol. This time he has produced a rather nice solo piece, but in recent weeks he has painted a lot in collaboration with Decay.

Rezwonk, Moon Street, Bristol, May 2019
Rezwonk, Moon Street, Bristol, May 2019

Here he spells out REZER, an obvious shortening of his ‘name’. It is an interesting moniker because the letters are quite harsh in capital form, lots of straight lines, in contrast for example with my own SCOOJ, which is much more curvy. I wonder if the names are directly or indirectly responsible for the development of a style… very probably.

This is a nice piece of writing, which sets me up nicely for a new piece of his that I photographed yesterday in Dean Lane that is outstanding, and which I will post in due course.

2221. Moon Street (69)

I don’t know much about DNT, and have met him only the one time, but recently he has been very busy on the streets indeed and this is just one of several new pieces decorating the Stokes Croft area. DNT appears to be a creature of habit and rarely seems to paint in some of the other popular spots around the city, instead seeming to prefer his own neighbourhood.

DNT, Moon Street, Bristol, May 2019
DNT, Moon Street, Bristol, May 2019

This face is in typical DNT style. Highly colourful, and the whole piece being made up of elements or segments which on their own don’t appear to be recognisable, but when presented as a whole make up a fine picture. I really rather like this piece which has plenty of interest, but also has something mysterious or even absent, if that makes any sense at all.

2220. North Street

Decay is totally excelling at the moment, and it seems to me that each new piece he produces is better than the last. In the last year he has entered into a world of colour selections that might at one time have been unimaginable. This new piece is on the hoardings in North Street, curated by Upfest.

Decay, North Street, Bristol, May 2019
Decay, North Street, Bristol, May 2019

Not the easiest piece in the world to photograph and looking at the hazards around it, probably not the easiest to paint either. I truly believe Decay has found a new level in his work, but he needs to slow down… I’m having difficulty keeping up!

2219. Sandbed Road

There is a rather fun thing going on in Bristol at the moment, and it is the rise of Reseau, a loose crew with Panskaribas at its heart. Reseau pulls together several artists who enjoy painting together, but each time the composition of the collaboration seems to shift around a little.

Stupid Stupid Meathole and Panskaribas, Sandbed Road, Bristol, May 2019
Stupid Stupid Meathole and Panskaribas, Sandbed Road, Bristol, May 2019

This collaboration is full of fun and positivity and on the left is a Stupid Stupid Meathole sandwich with a Panskaribas filling. The Panskaribas character holding a flower appears to be dancing and really ticks all my boxes, and the worms by Stupid Stupid Meathole have a rather cuddly and bemused appearance.

Stupid Stupid Meathole and Soap, Sandbed Road, Bristol, May 2019
Stupid Stupid Meathole and Soap, Sandbed Road, Bristol, May 2019

On the right is a sensational Soap character with a beautifully intricate patterning, so beautifully done. I am really enjoying the freshness that Reseau is bringing.

Thursday doors – 23 May 2019

Doors 72 – Doors from Camden Town from November 2017

I am now scraping the residues from a very deep and rather empty door barrel. I had a choice… not to post any doors today, or get something old out of the door quickly and efficiently…I went with the latter.

Here are three doors from a street art hunting trip to Camden Town, London back in November 2017:

Thursday Door, Camden Town, November 2017
Thursday Door, Camden Town, November 2017
Wheatpasted door, Face the Strange (top) and CodeFC (bottom), Camden Town, November 2017
Wheatpasted door, Face the Strange (top) and CodeFC (bottom), Camden Town, November 2017
A rather plain and neglected door, Camden Town, November 2017
A rather plain and neglected door, Camden Town, November 2017

So there you are. I’ll leave you to decide whether this post was worth it. I am (in case you hadn’t noticed) a bit of a creature of habit, so to do this was more comfortable than missing a week.

Maybe I’ll have time to do something a little more imaginative next week.

For more doors take a good look at the Norm 2.0 blog – the brains behind Thursday Doors where there are links to yet more doors in the comments section at the end.

 

by Scooj