Tag: Street art

1493. Horfield skate park (3)

Who’d have thought with all this lovely dry weather we are having that it is ony a couple of months ago that Bristol had its second covering of snow. I took a little trip up the the skate park at Horfield Leisure Centre to pick my daughter up and while I was waiting (I was conveniently early) I took a quick look at the graffiti around the skate park. Usually the standard is not that great, and there is a lot of tagging, but I have noticed a slight upsurge in the quality recently…maybe the reduction in spots in central Bristol is pushing artists out a bit to places like this.

Oner, Horfield skate park, Bristol, March 2018
Oner, Horfield skate park, Bristol, March 2018

Anyhow, this is a nice simple burner from my new friend Oner, possibly the first pictures I have of his work. The shading looks a bit untidy, but if you take a closer look, there is actually a lot of detail in there and it is not a quick fill. The whole piece is nice and crisp (and even). I hope to track down a whole load more of his burners.

1492. Stokes Croft, the Carriageworks (37)

I have been posting about the work of Face 1st for a long time now, and he really is one of my favourite artists in Bristol. His simple formula of combining the word FACE with a face incorporated never ceases to impress me. I have also noticed that he has started to become active on Instagram, which will help me to keep on top of his work and maybe find out a little bit more about him.

Face 1st, The Carriageworks, Bristol, April 2018
Face 1st, The Carriageworks, Bristol, April 2018

This piece on the Carriageworks in Stokes Croft is from a little while ago, but is one of the last few to be sprayed on this building which is now fenced off as the long awaited (decades) development work on the site has begun. The site was a bit grotty, but part of the character of the area will be lost forever once the graffiti and street art are no longer incorporated. Gentrification is gaining pace in the area.

Since I started wrioting posts about Face 1st, I have been calling him Face F1st…uit is a difficult thing to do once you have a habit, but I will from no on refer to him as Face 1st (which will bugger up my archive searches a little but there you go).

1491. Moon Street (43)

I recently found out, via social media, that Rezwonk is a reasonably new citizen of Bristol having originally come from Devon. This would explain why his work has only been on my radar for the last few months. I rather enjoy writing about new artists, because they are not part of the establishment, and everyone else knows as much or as little about them as I do. Sometimes it can feel a little intimidating when reporting on the activities and artwork of some of the more established folk.

Rezwonk, Moon Street, Bristol, April 2018
Rezwonk, Moon Street, Bristol, April 2018

This piece went up about a week or so after his previous piece on this spot, which got bombed almost imediately. I think it demonstrated what a brilliant artist Rezwonk is. His lettering in different fonts is outstanding and he has a real knack for picking out the right background designs, colours and tone to set off the writing. It feels like a very designed approach, but one that works extremely well on the streets. Looking forward to seeing so much more from this fine artist.

Rezwonk, Moon Street, Bristol, April 2018
Rezwonk, Moon Street, Bristol, April 2018
Rezwonk, Moon Street, Bristol, July 2017
Rezwonk, Moon Street, Bristol, July 2017

1490. West Street (3)

This is a lovely mural by Cheo, especially if you happen to be a Bristol City fan. The team are known as the Robins, and Cheo has incorporated this into his tribute to the football club. I’m not entirely sure how long this piece has been here, but I suspect it is several years.

Cheo, West Street, Bristol, April 2018
Cheo, West Street, Bristol, April 2018

One of the surprising things perhaps, or maybe I am just too cynical, is that it hasn’t been vandalised in any way by supporters of the rival Bristol club, Bristol Rovers. I do like it when two of my passions converge like this, but it doesn’t happen as often as one might think (now planning to search my archive for football-related street art). As an Arsenal fan, I have no allegiance to either of the Bristol teams and always want both to do well for the sake of the city.

1489. Dean Lane skate park (125)

There are a couple of Basketball courts next to the Dean Lane skate park, and adjacent to them is this container, which I haven’t really paid much attention to. I decided to take a look and there on the side is a rather nice burner from Soge.

Soge, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2018
Soge, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2018

The uneven surface of the container must make it difficult to work with, but I think he has done a fair job. I am used to seeing something a little more intricate from Soge, so this is a refreshing change. Perhaps not the best burner in the world, but nice to see nonetheless.

1488. M32 roundabout J3 (74)

Biers is fast becoming a favourite writer of mine. His designs are pleasing to the eye and pretty much always spell out BIERS. Looking at this great piece on the M32 wall though, I am reminded about how little I know about the street art scene and the cultural references.

Biers, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2018
Biers, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2018

The character in the middle of the piece is familiar to me, but I don’t know if that is just because I have looked at this picture a lot, or whether it is because it is ‘off of the telly’. Unfortunately the tags IMOK and MCF were added subsequently, taking the edge off the piece a little.

1487. M32 cycle path (13)

It feels like it has been a very long while since I saw anything new from Deamze, so this piece came as a long-awaited pleasure. In one of his favourite spots (I’m not sure anyone else sprays this wall) alongside the M32 he has created one of his most riotously colourful pieces to date.

Deamze, M32 cycle path, Bristol, May 2018
Deamze, M32 cycle path, Bristol, May 2018

On the left hand side we see a fabulously intricate and sophisticated piece of wildstyle writing, spelling out DEAM, and on the right a trademark cartoon from this brilliant artist.

Deamze, M32 cycle path, Bristol, May 2018
Deamze, M32 cycle path, Bristol, May 2018

Often the characters that Deamze recreates are from ’70s to ’90s TV shows, but I just can’t make out who this one is, and there isn’t a lot to go on to ‘Google it’ either. The whole thing is very refreshing and a reminder of just how good some of the Bristol street artists are.

1486. Dean Lane skate park (124)

So this is yet another Bristol street artist new to the pages of this blog. I am certain I have seen some of his work in the past, but only recently found out who he is, which is strange, because his signature (as these things go) is reasonably clear – Kool Hand. He seems to have had a little bit of a blitz in Bristol lately, so expect more to come.

Kool Hand, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2018
Kool Hand, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2018

I very much like the crispness of the piece, a deliberate backwash of white paint and well proportioned orange ape (an orangutan?) with large teeth all topped off with a baseball cap. Somehow it just works. It feels like logo territory, five colours, clean lines…the whole thing lends itself to being printed.

1485. Dean Lane skate park (123)

Another first…there seem to be an awful lot of artists making their debut on my blog recently, I don’t know whether there is a new intake of artists in Bristol or whether I have just started to notice them more (probably a bit of both). Actually this is not the first work I have seen from Stupid Stupid Meathole, but it is the first one since I knew who he was. Keep your eyes peeled for more from the archive.

Stupid Stupid Meathole, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2018
Stupid Stupid Meathole, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2018

Firstly, I love this artist’s name even it if is a little long-winded, secondly, I really like his monsters and his rather unconventional style. This piece I think is called ‘wet fart’ (which makes me chortle in a childish way) and taking a closer look, you can see why. I look forward to more peaces in Dean Lane from Stupid Stupid Meathole.

1484. St Werburghs tunnel (21)

One of the things I love about hunting for and writing about street/graffiti art is when I come across new artists and find out a little bit more about them. I have seen the burner ‘ONER’ for a few months now, but as many readers will know, I don’t like to post about artists until I know a little more about them.

Oner, M32, Bristol, May 2018
Oner, M32, Bristol, May 2018

Well I got lucky recently and met Oner when he was spraying a burner in one of the tunnels of the M32 roundabout (see above). What an incredibly nice man. I started to chat with him, which has become a bit of a thing for me (before I started all this malarkey, I never struck up conversations with complete strangers, least of all spray-can-toting ones) and rarely have I met such an enthisiastic person, and so easy going.

Oner, St Werburghs, Bristol, March 2018
Oner, St Werburghs, Bristol, March 2018

Now he told me where he was from, and I think he said Exeter, but it might have been Taunton, whichever it was (and I really should have listened better) he now lives in Bristol. This piece in St Werburghs tunnel is typical of his work, which is nice and tidy (can you spot the small error at the bottom right?) and colourful. I expect to see a lot more from Oner and look forward to seeing how his work develops.