I recently saw this fabulous piece by Decay in The Bearpit only a few days after I stumbled across an identical one in Shoreditch a few days earlier. I think that this is all part of a new approach to his work in 2018, and one which will be interesting to observe.
I am accustomed to seeing his abstract concentric rings in shades of red, grey, white and black with a small face at the centre, which I love, but I await with eagerness the direction his liberation will take.
Since Kleiner Shames moved to London I have really missed his extraordinary pieces. It would appear that he recently visited his hometown, and this is the second of his new pieces that I have found. I particularly like this one.
The writing as always spellls out FOIS, but it is the cowboy hat and eyes, giving character to the S that really grabs me. I have two of his pictures hangng in my home, which perhaps indicates how much I like his work.
Situated at the end of one of The Bearpit tunnels is a nice wall, which recently has been a bit of a mess. Because of this, it is easy to miss this small piece in one corner of the wall. It is a rather nice stencil of a panda carrying a boogie box (does that date me?) on his shoulder by Bristol-based artist J. West.
I have not seen an awful lot of his work on the streets, but what little I have seen I like. I have said it many times before, but it is so worth keeping your eyes open and seeing what is around you…you never know you might just come across a boogie box panda.
A wonderful new collaboration between Ryder and T-Rex which was part of an informal paint jam organised by Smak. Unfortunately many of the pieces sprayed on the Saturday were sprayed over by the Sunday. I think this one remains.
This is quite a common format for this pair, with Ryder spelling out his name in the centre, and dinosaurs book-ending the writing. The orange and blue combination work nicely, especially on such a dull day. Ryder often inserts eyes and teeth into his letters to give them a bit more character.
T-Rex’s T-rexs are always fun to see, and can be found all over the city. The one on the left has been painted running down the hill towards the letters, making really good use of the site.
Finally the dinosaur on the right is emerging from the bushes making a stealthy attack. Altogether this is a nicely executed and fun collaboration.
Laic217 is, as regular readers will know, one of my absolute favourite Bristol artists, and his work has been going from strength to strength over the last few years. One of the things that has really improved is how he creates textures on the clothes of his characters.
In this piece the skeleton looks like he is wearing a fleece hoodie, with gentle folds and creases. The colour is outstanding, and lifts the whole thing…it’s in your face.
Skeletons clutching spray cans is a speciality of Laic217 and although he does a lot of them, they are all quite different and it is difficult to tire of them. I think it is the combinations of colours that sets this piece apart from others.
I first saw this piece piece in Instagram but couldn’t work out where it was. The cycle track that runs alongside the M32 has been closed off while construction work is going on, and this particular spot has become a bit of a cul-de-sac, which I only occasionally visit. I had to ask another photographer where it was…something I don’t like doing too much…it is a pride thing.
I said in a recent post that Biers has been busy recently, and this is a second piece of his from Dean Lane in a very short space of time, and he has done at least one more somewhere else since
I am not sure who the character in this piece is, ought I to know? Biers has gone for a large one here, taking up much of the long wall at Dean Lane, of course it is gone now, but I was pleased to be able to catch it. In my view this is one of the best pieces I have seen from Biers, the colours and contrasts are good and he has lovely clean lines around the piece.
I think one of the things I really like about his work is the style of his lettering, there is something unique about it, the B and the S being particularly special. I can’t really pretend to know too much about such things, but I know that I like this work. Now who is that gorilla-like character.
Doing a little bit of a Google search has led me to the character probably being from the Nintendo Wii game ‘Punch-out’. Not one I ever played. Glad I sorted that out because it was beginning to bug me. No Frills.
There is quite a story behind this Mr Draws piece at The Bearpit and it offers a little insight into the goings on between artists. This particular spot is a favourite for Mr Draws and he sprays here often. The stripy piece below was another fun piece from this happy-go-lucky artist.
A day or two later the piece was sprayed over, but with nothing in particular, by an artist who had previously sprayed a piece here (another artist who I admire). I have to say though that this is poor form; to deface another artist’s work is disrespectful and not really in the spirit of the street art scene…it is the sort of thing that taggers do.
Anyhow, Mr Draws cleverly incorporated the ‘new background’ into another piece by reinstating the original black outline and included a peace symbol for good measure. Unfortunately, a day or two later the piece was once again defaced.
I will not judge what lies behind this difference of opinion between the two artists, but I am sure there are better ways to deal with it. For me, I got two Mr Draws pieces for the price of one, so it’s not all bad.
What a nice surprise this was. I had been told there were some new pieces down by the M32, but nobody had said there was a new SkyHigh piece and that it was really good. I have featured SkyHigh a few times in this blog, posting pieces in Bristol and in London, but I think that this is my favourite so far.
He spacialises in combining different designed letter block fonts spelling out the word SKYHIGH, and as a whole it becomes an interesting form of wildstyle writing. It is not so much cryptic as it is creative and technically attractive.i love this piece and I think the colour scheme works perfectly in this site. Top marks.
I don’t visit this spot very often as it is slightly out of the way and I need to find time to get there, park up etc in my very busy family schedule. Often I find that going to the recycling centre (tip) is a good excuse for taking a bit of time out, but on this occasion my wife had to do some shopping locally and offered to drop me off…never one to pass up an opportunity I accepted the offer.
Lucky that I took a look, because I found this rather nice pairing of Whyasyit and Kleiner Shames who used to spray a lot together until KS moved to London a little over a year ago. Both artists have such unique styles which once you get your eye in are easy to identify.
I like it when two or more artists use common colours and background and do their thing. Kleiner shames always write FOIS, and for a long time I thought it was the artist’s name…early posts refer to him as Fois. His lines ans designs have what I would call an ’80s deco feel about them (I know what I mean by this, but you might not).
Whysayit seems to be forever busy on the streets writing YSAE with similar ‘handwriting’ but always with creative and imaginative backgrounds and fills. Two great writers who work well together.
I took a rather more extensive walk than I usually do around the M32 Spot recently, and found some walls and artwork I have not been aware of before, which goes to show that it is always worth looking round that next corner or through that next underpass.
This is a lovely stencil piece from Kin Dose, whose work occasionally appears on the streets of Bristol and never fails to grab your attention. His owl is on one of the columns under the M32, and probably goes unnoticed by many who are marching head down crossing from one side of the motorway to the other.
Other amazing work by Kin Dose includes a scary clown and cat, both of which were painted at the Carriageworks in Stokes Croft.
Natural adventures 