Tag: Street art

1430. The Bearpit (132)

Observant citizens of Bristol might have noticed this little character making a few appearances about the place recently. This little toucan, in the middle of The Bearpit, is by relative newcomer (I think) Touc (Sven Stears).

Touc, The Bearpit, Bristol, April 2018
Touc, The Bearpit, Bristol, April 2018

I always like to see new street artists joining the throng and it is particularly nice to see something rather different. On his Instagram profile, Touc descrbes himself as a performance poet, artist, actor, B-movie hero and probably a lizardman. Im not sure about the last bit, but I look forward to seeing more from Touc in all his guises in the near future.

 

1429. Moon Street (43)

I love, love, love this one from NEVERGIVEUP in Moon Street. Regulars will know that I am very fond of his bunnies, but it is as much to do with the location and environment as it is to do with the artwork that attracts me to this piece.

NEVERGIVEUP, Moon Street, Bristol, April 2018
NEVERGIVEUP, Moon Street, Bristol, April 2018

The door in the wall leads to a derelict old building and gets sprayed regularly, but there is something about this rabbit that just seems to be utterly representative of how a little bit of art can bring a ray of sunshine to a grotty area. It stands out even more because of the way it contrasts with the wall and graffiti either side of it. All good.

1428. Stokes Croft

Right next door to the huge Alex Lucas mural in Stokes Croft is this interesting recent shutter piece by Object… . This is a commission piece from TLD cycles and helps us to understand the boundaries between commissions and free street art.

Object..., Stokes Croft, Bristol, April 2018
Object…, Stokes Croft, Bristol, April 2018

Object… is no stranger to this blog, and much of his work is highly political and outspoken. He is also an artist who needs to make money, just like the rest of us, and producing work like this is how he does it. What I really like about this piece is that is is a really nice rendition of a bicycle gear block which carries the strong signature stule of the artist. The shop could easily have commissioned some sterile corporate artwork, but instead chose a local artist. The shopfront as a result really fits in with the area.

1427. Dean Lane skate park (117)

Ugar is a promising young artist, originally from Budapest but now living in Bristol, whose unique style of writing is getting better and better. It is the organic nature of his letters and the kind of marbelling effect he uses to fill them that stands out in his work.

Ugar, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2018
Ugar, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2018

This piece , which is really rather beautiful, is on the curved wall at Dean Lane and has been well prepped and uses the wall to its full potential – not all work here is afforded the same thoughtful approach. I am enjoying watching Ugar develop.

1426. The Bearpit (131)

Well this rather ‘charming’ installation appeared only a couple of weeks ago in The Bearpit, on the inner wall of the ‘Debenhams’ tunnel. It is of course by Will Coles, whose work often has the capacity to lampoon and also to offend. I don’t think there will be too many people offended by this particular piece.

Will Coles, The Bearpit, Bristol, April 2018
Will Coles, The Bearpit, Bristol, April 2018

President Trumpety Dumpety throwing up the Stars and Stripes laced with warheads pretty much says all it needs to really. Another provocative piece by this interesting artist. Sadly, I visited The Bearpit a few days ago, and somebody had removed the piece in its entirety. May I recommedn stronger glue? Great stuff from Will Coles.

1425. The Bearpit (130)

This is a really terrible picture of a quickie from Decay on the left and trademark ‘SEISMIC’ from Jee See on the right. It is always geat to see work from both of these two artists, whose work is stylistically quite different. I am really enjoying these small character type pieced from Decay at the moment.

Decay, The Bearpit, Bristol, April 2018
Decay, The Bearpit, Bristol, April 2018

This board in The Bearpit has since been prepped and replaced with new work sprayed during a paint jam on 14 April 2018 – more on this to follow.

1424. Moon Street (42)

Moon Street remains one of my favourite street art/graffiti hunting grounds, because it still has that ‘illegal’ wall feel about it. I find the ‘legal wall’ concept a difficult one to get my head round. This is a nice straight forward piece by Smak, certainly nothing fancy like he is capable of, but nonetheless it is clean and tidy.

Smak, Moon Street, Bristol, March 2018
Smak, Moon Street, Bristol, March 2018

When I spoke with him a little while back he told me that he likes to find different walls in new places. I’m not sure this qualifies in that category, but I am pleased he still chooses to return to walls he has sprayed before.

1423. Stokes Croft, the Carriageworks (37)

You can’t turn your back for one minute in Stokes Croft. If you do, you run the risk of missing out on a clean piece of artwork. This wonderful surreal piece by Tom Miller had only been up a day or two before being tagged over. I find it strange that the perpetraters respected the work enough to tag the black surround, but left the central part largely untouched. Either respect the piece or don’t, but this faux politeness is a joke.

Tom Miller, Stokes Croft, Bristol, March 2018
Tom Miller, Stokes Croft, Bristol, March 2018

Once again Tom Miller challenges our conventional world with a burst of colour and a figure whose head appears to be exploding off its body. I think that Miller has an unbelievable talent and extraordinary imagination. Best of all, I like it that he uses the streets as a gallery so that Bristol citizens have free access to his talents.

Tom Miller, Stokes Croft, Bristol, March 2018
Tom Miller, Stokes Croft, Bristol, March 2018

Although his subject matter might not be to everyone’s taste, it is clear that we are witnessing the emergence and development of a very special talent.

1422. Stokes Croft, No111 (2)

Shutter pieces are always difficult to photograph, and I understand they are a devil to paint too. There is always quite a lot of glare from the curves on each panel of the shutter, and they are usually best seen with the naked eye which somehow accommodated for the glare and gives you a better image.

Kin Dose, Stokes Croft, Bristol, March 2018
Kin Dose, Stokes Croft, Bristol, March 2018

The chimp here is a beautiful creation by the versatile Kin Dose. He had a piece on this exact same shutter before, but it had recently been vandalised. I am a big fan of his work, and he produces it infrequently enough to always make you want more.

Kin Dose, Stokes Croft, Bristol, September 2016
Kin Dose, Stokes Croft, Bristol, September 2016

1421. M32 roundabout J3 (73)

You can see that I am having yet another trawl through my archives, bringing out some real gems that have been left behind. Part of the reason is that due to the Easter break and a bereavement, I haven’t been around to take many pictures and so don’t have too much contemporary Bristol street art to show you.

Jaksta, M32, Bristol, March 2016
Jaksta, M32, Bristol, March 2016

This is a wonderful piece by Jaksta, a member of the Read and Weep (RAW) crew (and several other crews too). I seem to remember this piece, at one of the tunnel entrances to the M32 roundabout was there for quite a while.

Jaksta, M32, Bristol, March 2016
Jaksta, M32, Bristol, March 2016

At the time I took the picture, I didn’t know who the artist was which is probably why it ended up in my archive in the first place. I think that this is a really masterful piece, splitting the character into two colours is a fairly radical treatment, but somehow when you look at the piece, you barely notice the colour seprartion and see the character as a whole. Beautifully sprayed…big respect to Jaksta.