I photographed this piece by 2Keen a long while back, before I knew anything about the artist. To me, the piece looks unfinished, and I know from having met him a few times while he was doing his Redland collaboration that he can take a while to complete a piece.
2Keen, Wilder Street, Bristol, September 2016
This wild smiling character is similar to others that I have seen, and he seems to create them with exaggerated features and a little bit of edge to them. One that I took in passing and have had archived for a long while. I should go back to see if it is still there.
A fine trio of artists, Soker, Cheo and Hemper came together in 2016 and painted this fine collaboration. All three are at the top of their game and this formula – wildstyle, character, wildstyle – is one that works well. There is a balance and symmetry to the whole thing.
Soker, Old Bread Street, Bristol, September 2016
The chrome writing on the left is by Soker, and the letters SOKEM are easy to pick out. The lines are very clean and sharp and a careful look at the detail reveals incredible attention in each and every intricate shape. Magnificent.
Cheo, Old Bread Street, Bristol, September 2016
In the middle, the character piece is by Cheo, who else, and looks like a man who enjoys his music. I love the way his glasses change the colour of everything behind them, and the same with the goggles. beautifully done.
Hemper, Old Bread Street, Bristol, September 2016
Finally on the right some more writing in chrome, this time from Hemper. Of the three, he is the one I know least about. I think that these days, he is not as active as the others. The letters spell ‘HEMP’ and they have a slightly more forgiving and organic feel to them than those of Soker.
Cheo, Old Bread Street, Bristol, September 2016
The whole thing is utterly lovely and I am puzzled why it hasn’t made it out of my archives until now. Some mistake surely. Damn that water droplet.
The boards at Old Bread Street have all but gone now and given way to a large construction site, which I suppose was inevitable. It does seem that there are fewer spots left in Bristol than there were a year ago which means that artists tend to concentrate on the places that remain, and therefore turnover increases.
Biers, Old Bread Street, Bristol, September 2016
Anyhow, this is a little glimpse back a year or two to a piece by Biers, whose beautiful and unique letter styling stands out. This is a nice clean piece that oozes character and playfulness, nothing self-conscious and earnest about this one. Glad I dug it out. Shame about the water droplet on the picture.
I believe this to be the best piece I have seen this year, and one of the best that the artist, Tom Miller, has produced to date. This classy work was painted for a Spring paint jam on 14 April 2018 and dominates all around it.
Tom Miller, The Bearpit, Bristol, April 2018
This most most eye-catching and vibrant of pieces, illuminates the tunnel and brings a touch of fine art to the people who pass through it. So typical of Miller’s work, there is a face, disfigured and distorted by colour stretching out of it. A scene of serenity and torture compressed into one space. His surreal and dream-like pieces never cease to amaze me, but this one really trumps the rest.
Tom Miller, The Bearpit, Bristol, April 2018
Tom Miller has been busy this Spring, a trend which I hope spans into the summer and beyond. This piece is so good.
I haven’t posted much from JPS for a long while, because I haven’t seen any of his recent work, and he doesn’t seem to come to Bristol as much as he used to. I owe my interest in street art to this artist thanks to a small piece near my work in Frogmore Street which he had just restored.
JPS, the Tropicana, Weston-super-Mare, August 2016
This old one in the Tropicana entrance area is a multi-layered stencil of Cain from Robocop. It showcases just how brilliant JPS is at creating these large highly detailed stencils. The broom next to it gives an indication of scale. I am in love with this man’s work.
Going back a little while to the summer of 2016, I managed to find a few moments to hunt down some street art while on a day trip to Weston-super-Mare with the family. I spent a little time in the Tropicana and snapped this nice work by Nol and Edo Rath who paint together as Noodle inc.
Nol and Edo Rath, the Tropicana, Weston-super-Mare, August 2016
The bold colours, clean lines and humorous monsters are typical of their work, which shares some similarities with Buff Monster. After taking this picture, I have since become more familiar with their work and with Nol in particular through Upfest. Always a pleasure to see their creations.
I’m not too sure when Gregos came to Bristol, but I have a feeling it might have been for Upfest 2015. There are only one or two of his face masks that remain in the city. I took this picture in 2016, and to be honest I’ve not checked to see if it is still there.
Gregos, Raleigh Road, Bristol, July 2016
His masks adorn walls all around Europe and beyond, and it is always a pleasure to come across one. These haunting masks retain so much detail from the original mould and you can see wrinkles and eyelashes. His expressions vary from mask to mask, and with all installation artists location is critical. Gregos is the king of this style of street art.
I was very fond of these hoardings in Brunswick Square, but alas, they are long since gone.I still have several pieces that I have not posted, and this is one of them by Dibz. I am more used to seeing his work at Dean Lane or on Instagram, so it is nice to have another location for the collection.
Dibz, Brunswick Square hoardings, Bristol, March 2016
As always his deep shading and complex letter patterns are technically superb, and there is a cleanness of the lines in all his work. The blue line and its glow add something special to a very nice piece indeed.
I do like Face F1st’s work, a lot, he is so typically ‘Bristol’. It is difficult to explain what I mean by that, but I know what I mean, so that is ok. This is just a small piece in Moon Street, but it is wonderfully expressive.
FaceF1st, Moon Street, Bristol, April 2018
There is not too much more to say about this little gem other than to take a look and enjoy it.
There are a great many graffiti artists in Bristol that I don’t feature in the pages of this blog. Some are not up to scratch, some are extremely elusive and some have a bit of an attitude. However, as their work develops over time, it becomes impossible to not start to write about them. Soak is one such case.
Soak, Moon Street, Bristol, April 2018
I have been aware of Soak’s work for a while and have several of his walls in my archive, but this is one that stands out for me as moving up a level. The fill and patterns are sophisticated and a lot of thought has gone into its production. Soak often inverts his ‘A’ but has used other tricks to reverse or invert letters. There is a Soak graffiti artist from Oxford who was jailed for Tagging and drug dealing, but I am not sure if this is the same one. The styles look a little different, so I am guessing this one is not the same. Soak is a member of the DBK crew.
Natural adventures 