Street art – Page 636 – Natural adventures

1208. Raleigh Road, vector (19)

There is a nice little story behind this piece. I made a special effort to get out to Raleigh Road, because I was aware of a new Soker piece that had been sprayed there the day before (post coming soon). Sitting adjacent to the Soker piece was this fine Boba Fett character piece.

Ulow, Raleigh Road, Bristol, December 2017

I was taking pictures of the piece and thinking that I wasn’t familiar with the artist, when a man walking with his family stopped and asked me if my camera was any good. I thought he might be thinking of buying something similar. I replied that it was just a cheap and cheerful Samsung and that it took reasonable photographs. He then asked if I could send him the pictures I was taking of the Boba Fett piece…I must have looked confused, because he followed up his request by saying that he was the artist, and had finished it late the night before, and his pictures of it were a bit poor.

This is how I met Ulow, a local artist who from time to time sprays character pieces, and in this instance was contacted by Soker to join in. In looking up a little about Ulow I think I have at least two more of his pieces in my archive, and will have to dig them out and post them. I like this Boba Fett a lot, and especially like the way his helmet and body plates have scratches and reflect the light.

Sadly my pictures are nothing to write home about, but I sent him a whole bunch nonetheless.

1207. Dean Lane skate park (94)

A very quick seasonal piece from Biers. I was lucky enough to come across the artist while he was spraying this piece, but all was not well. The walls were damp and the blue paint hadn’t really properly obscured the graffiti behind it, and it wasn’t drying, which made spraying rather difficult.

Biers, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2017

There are a few things going on here – the christmas pudding appears to spell out NFS, which might be short for ‘no frills’ a phrase used by Biers in his works. There is deliberate ambiguity here where the pudding might also spell out ‘Noel’.

Even though Biers was quite unhappy with the whole thing, I rather like it, and it is always nice to see these festive pieces. He told me that it is a shortened version of a larger piece that he has an ambition to do. I won’t spoil the surprise, just on case he ever gets time to do the full thing.

1206. Stokes Croft, the Carriageworks (29)

This is an extraordinary three piece collaboration by Face F1st and Soap from the PWA crew (Pirate Wall Art). I have featured Face F1st many, many times on this blog, and recently Soap has made a reappearance. Now the two have combined to create these three masterful pieces.

Face F1st and Soap, Stokes Croft, Bristol, December 2017

From left to right, the first has a Face F1st face resting atop a soap pair of mouths, which when viewed differently also make the eyes of a skull face. The top face in this piece is very large and the whole thing is clean and has little in the way of detailed work.

The middle piece is more colourful and offers more embelishments and detail. This time the Face F1st part sits beneath the Soap.

The third part of the collaboration is more similar to the middle piece, showing more in the way of detail and decoration. I particularly like the bubbles and patterns in the hair of the Face F1st piece. Another interesting feature is the way that Face F1st has sprayed three circles in the centre of the eyes, those large eyes, which seems to add complexity to the emotion of the face. A lovely collaboration.

1205. Upfest 2017 (115)

I first became aware of PakOne a couple of years back when I found a piece by him that he did for Upfest 2015 in the Steam Crane. Even then I was impressed with the depth he gives to his work through the clever use of shadows and perspective.

This year’s piece is an absolute gem and utterly beautiful, made even more so by the scattered street furniture surrounding it. A floating rock with a tree in full pink blossom, isn’t this what dreams are made of?

I tried striking up a conversation with the artist, but I think his English is about as good as my French, so we exchanged nods and I went on my way. This is an outstanding Upfest piece.

1204. Upfest 2017 (14)

Surely one of the most endearing and sympathetic partnerships is that between Copyright and Gemma Compton. At this year’s Upfest these two produced this beautiful collaboration in the very busy yard behind the Steam Crane.

Gemma Compton and Copyright, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

I met them on the Friday, when they were able to make a really good start before the festival started on the Saturday – I think it ws a wise choice as this pub gets incredibly busy.

In this piece, so typical of their collaborations, Copyright stencilled the female figures and Gemma Compton created the intricate butterfly wings in her favoured blue tones. The piece as a whole fills this slightly awkward space brilliantly and the eye is drawn along from left to right and back, scrutinising the symmetry of the piece.

The couple managed to dodge the showers and the crowds to pull off one of the best pieces of the festival and one that screams out Bristol from every inch. Both of these artists produce wonderful artworks for sale, marginally outside my affordability although I might just have to save up – how great it would be to have some of their originals hanging up at home.

Not only do I like their work, but I like both of the artists. They are always happy to have a chat and don’t appear to mind me bothering them when they are at work. Probably my next interview targets.

1203. Upfest 2017 (113)

I met Mr Sleven for the first time this week. He was spraying something outside the Matchbox Gallery in Stokes Croft. As I approached, I asked him his name. He said why, so I told him that I photograph and write about street art in Bristol. Then I told him not to tell me his name and I guessed. I looked at his work and said that it looked like the work of Mr Sleven, he was suitably impressed that I knew his style. In that moment I realised that I know quite a lot about this stuff, albeit in a rather chaotic and unacademic way.

Anyway that was a digression. This is his piece from upfest, which actually I don’t think I would have been able to identify were it not for the signature. It is a nicely balanced piece and the work of a real street artist…I know what I mean by that even if you don’t.

Stay wild moon child.

1202. Upfest 2017 (112)

This is the official and rather awesome piece by Helen Bur who also left Bristol a little extra gift at the M32 roundabout. HB appears to be equally at home on a sketch pad, on canvass or on a wall, and her website showcases her work magnificently – I recommend watching the video of her piece in Cardiff.

I think Helen Bur’s work is really special and her style lends itself so very well to large walls. It would be great if she came back next year and got one of the larger permanent walls so that we could enjoy it for a year, rather than a few days.

1201. Upfest 2017 (111)

One of the real pleasures of Upfest is the way in which it brings together artists from all different disciplines and from all over the world giving us the opportunity to witness the huge spectrum of talent. Side by side we have graffiti writers and fine artists and graphic designers and illustrators equally respected and admired.

This is a beautiful piece from Cai Burton who is an illustrator and designer and is based in Bristol. You can see more about him and his work on his excellent website. Owls seem to work very well in street art – I’m not sure why, but they crop up reasonably frequently. Note to self – do an Owl special. This was a popular piece at the festival.

1200. M32 roundabout J3 (57)

‘Trick of the eye’ – this is a magnificent piece by one of my favourite Bristol artists, Sled One. In this one piece he has created an extraordinary fantasy world and constructed a brilliant piece of wildstyle writing into the mix as well.

Sled One, M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 2017

The writing says ‘eye’, which is clever enough on its own, but it is the remarkable hand (protruding from the iris of the eye) pulling a rabbit from a magician’s top hat, hence the titlwe of the piece.

In my view, the magician of the piece is Sled One. He really is an extraordinary talent and creates these ‘stories’ like no other artist I have seen. While his story telling is great, it is the beautifully crafted characters that make these pieces. His imagination is allowed to run wild and he produces these surreal cartoon style creatures which are so full of interesting detail and demand to be studied.

This is an absolutely stunning piece of graffiti art that would hold its own on any wall anywhere in the world.

1199. Backfields Lane (3)

I think this is the largest Decay piece I have seen, and I like it. Going large suits his work in my view. When I first saw this wall, there was a large white van obscuring the bottom half, and I was rather fed up. But by the next time I visited, the car park was empty and I got a good unobstructed view.

Decay, Backfields Lane, Bristol, November 2017

Decay has taken to adding some philosophical text next to his pieces recently, and I think mit works quite well. Here he says ‘living in the days of ill soul’ and I kind of get what he’s talking about.

He has worked hard to make it look like the piece is emerging from a hole in the wall and I think to a greater extent it works. On seeing a previous piece by the artist, my wife rather spoiled things by pointing out a phallic undertone…which I hadn’t noticed. Now when I see his pieces I kind of see it again, and especially in this piece. I am not sure if it is deliberate or accidental, but it is difficult to ignore once it has been pointed out. Sorry.

A great piece from Decay.

	hitandrun1964 on Mont Blanc
	paulh121 on 7430. Frome Side (68)
	paulh121 on Mont Blanc
	beth on Mont Blanc
	scooj on Cocoon

	hitandrun1964 on Mont Blanc
	paulh121 on 7430. Frome Side (68)
	paulh121 on Mont Blanc
	beth on Mont Blanc
	scooj on Cocoon

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