This is the second of a pair of pieces by Dabuten Tronko in Easton which I came across recently. The wall had previously had a rather unattractive throw up on it and the improvement brought about by this work is immeasurable.
Dabuten Tronko, Belle Vue Road, Bristol, July 2018
I am very fond of these deconstructed rowing boat pieces by Dabuten Tronko, and it is great that he has visited Bristol on a couple of occasions in the last year – I wonder if he has contacts here as it is quite unusual for visitors to paint in Easton, they tend to go to the more common spots at the M32 or Dean Lane. I hope he returns again before too long.
An eye-catching piece in Dean Lane by Jee See (G.C. – Goshiku Chavu). On a black background, he has worked this neon green seismic piece really well. It reminds me of early green screen computers and video games like Space Invaders.
Jee See, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2018
Jee See is another of those Bristol street artists who consistently turns out great work and furthermore he sprays in spots all around the city. Some artists prefer to stick to their own patch. More to come from Jee See soon.
I always look forward to Kleiner Shames’ visits to Bristol, because every time he leaves behind something to marvel at. This is a miraculous collaboration with Epok, and demonstrates what can be achieved by two street artists at the top of their game.
Kleiner Shames and Epok, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2018
The first thing to notice is the fabulous colour selection, which is very much influenced by Kleiner Shames, as I have seen him use these colours several times before. The genius of the piece is in the letters. Epok always writes EPOK and Kleiner Shames writes FOIS. In this piece I can read both…how do they do that?
Kleiner Shames and Epok, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2018
The highly designed style of the piece works to both of their strengths, but the execution is what makes this piece so good. Clean lines, incredible shapes and some really interesting shadows. It reminds me of so many fine artists of the twentieth century. I love this piece and it is without doubt my favourite writing work so far this year. Bravo boys.
This is another fine crisp clean piece from Slim Pickings, whose work I am really enjoying at the moment. I took these pictures just as he was finishing off the piece and was able to meet him for the first time. I was full of enthusiasm, having just finished my spray session at the Upfest shop on North Street. In the course of our conversation he told me he had been spraying for some 30years, which I found humbling and mildly embarrassing as he had only recently crossed my radar.
Slim Pickings, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2018
I love his clean lines and fills – each one of his pieces striving to be better than the last. Slim Pickings is clearly a man who loves his art and constant search to keep up the high standard. He gave me a few tips, for which I am grateful. Nice piece.
I love the recent spate of wheatpastes from Object… and I think I might actually prefer them to his larger painted pieces, but both are great n my opinion. There is often something disturbing and emotional in Object…’s work with his political passion never too far from the surface.
Object…, M32 Spot, Bristol, July 2018
Outspoken and earnest, Object…’s pieces certainly challenge the viewer to see the world through the eyes of the less fortunate. This piece, while not necessarily falling into that category, certainly carries with it a disturbing nightmarish quality. I happen to love this piece, it is just a shame about the tag across the bottom of it. I hope to find more of these paste ups around the city.
I seem to have posted a lot of work by Daz Cat recently, perhaps he is going through one of those productive phases that street artists seem to go through – perhaps a bit of time on his hands just now.
Daz Cat, M32 Spot, Bristol, July 2018
A cat in a shirt, who’d have thought? I like Das Catz’s work a lot, it always has a bit of edge, and the characters, mostly cats and dogs, often have a little menace about them. In this piece, there is something compelling about the buttons on the shirt, my eyes are drawn to them. The piece simply wouldn’t balance properly without them.
Set against dramatic skies, that I don’t recall being as dramatic as they look in these pictures, is one of the greatest murals in Bristol to date. This is a masterpiece by the utterly brilliant fine artist Andrew Burns Colwill.
Andrew Burns Colwill, Devon Road, Bristol, July 2018
Taking up an entire wall of an end-of-terrace building the mural depicts a fabulous representation of the diverse cultural heritage of Easton. This is a part of Bristol that has embraced multi-culturalism and celebrates it with an annual feast.
Andrew Burns Colwill, Devon Road, Bristol, July 2018
I am not fully acquainted with all the characters that ABC has depicted here but I am pretty sure that they will be well known characters and figureheads from the Easton community.
Andrew Burns Colwill, Devon Road, Bristol, July 2018
I love the feast, I love the celebration, I love the sky and I love Andrew Burns Colwill. I truly believe he is one of the great story tellers of our city and he tells the stories through his vivid paintings. A true gent and a man I admire greatly – Andrew Burns Colwill is one of the outstanding talents of the city and represents much about its outspoken independence, its unique place in the UK, its tolerence, its rage, its compassion and acceptance.
Andrew Burns Colwill, Devon Road, Bristol, July 2018
Oh I just love it when I make new finds when I am actually looking for something completely different and stumble upon something like this. I was driving round Easton hunting down Andrew Burns Colwill’s new mural when I drove up Devon Road – a funny road that has a dog-leg layout, one part of which is a back street and the other a fairly busy main road.
Deamze, Devon Road, Bristol, July 2018
This is of course by Deamze, and I just don’t know how it fell outside my radar, but I am glad I found it nonetheless. Even better is that I know who the character references are which can’t be said for a lot of the 80s and 90s cartoon characters that Deamze uses.
Deamze, Devon Road, Bristol, July 2018
The character is the robot Bender from the TV series by Matt Groening (creator of the Simpsons – who have featured big time at Upfest 2018). It is all very good, and Deamze’s wildstyle writing is exceptional as always. I love the freshness of this piece.
This is not the first piece I have seen by this artist, who I assume is Zake, not Cake or Eake, but it is the first I am posting about them…watch this space for more soon. I know nothing of the artist although I have tried to find out on the Interweb, so will have to confine my writing to what I see, rather than what I know.
Zake, M32 Spot, Bristol, July 2018
A cartoonish portrait or character, with so much charm and personality. It is a piece that is wonderfully crafted and in a particular style with a lot of focus around the eyes. The touches in purple to give a shadow are perfect, and I love a piece that has a discrete shadow underneath (something that Sepr does a lot). I love and rate this small column piece by Zake.
The first time I saw anything by Dabuten Tronko was round about the time of Upfest 2017 and I immediately liked his deconstructed rowing boats. At Upfest, artists tend to come and then go and if you get lucky they come the following year. Well I’m not sure if he planned on being at Upfest 2018, but he did come to Bristol in June and left two fine pieces of which this is the first.
Dabuten Tronko, High Street, Bristol, July 2018
There is something rather compelling about the theme he often chooses for his wall work, with a focus on small wooden rowing boats in a state of disassembly. I wonder if this is symbolic of anything in particular or an unconscious outpouring, but I expect there is quite a lot that lies beneath the surface of this work.
Note the Whysayit YSAE tag at the top of the piece.
Natural adventures 