Long, long before I knew who sprayed this rabbit, I knew that I liked it and hoped to meet the artist some day. Well I still like the rabbit and all the other ones I have found since, and the artist is of course Hire, who I have encountered several times now, mostly at Dean Lane skate park.
Hire, The Bearpit, Bristol, April 2016
This is a particularly nice rendition of his favourite theme, which includes some decorative wildstyle writing. I can make out an ‘H’, but am not sure what the other letter(s) is…maybe an I. Anyhow, this is a lovely piece from eighteen months ago.
Another quite old one from the archive, this time from Soker. You can see that this was sprayed on an outing with Deamze, on the left and Voyder on the right, all using the same colour palette.
Soker, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2016
This is nice crisp writing from Soker, and really didn’t deserve to be in my archive for so long. Well it is out there now.
Another picture long-lost in my archives and by an artist I have not come across before or since. This striking skull down in The Bearpit is by Wires, whose Instagram profile reads – ‘designer | artist | illustrator | flash painter | skateboarder | Bristol’. I don’t think he takes to the walls too often, which is a pity, as his style is rather unique and interesting.
Wires, The Bearpit, Bristol, February 2016
The piece has a Tattoo design quality about it, even the colours are reminiscent of the shades of the inks used. It would be great to see more of his work in Bristol, but I think I’ll have to keep my eyes peeled.
I think I originally archived this one before I had become familiar with the work of either of these artists. The picture, from January 2016, was taken on one of my earlier and infrequent (at that time) sorties south of the river.
Sled One and Smak, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2016
I like this collaboration between Sled One and Smak, but it is a partnership that I don’t recall seeing too often. The unusual colour palette is shared by both the artists and works well across the whole wall. Obviously I like the Sled One writing, he can do little wrong in my eyes.
Smak, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2016
The Smak piece is interesting in that I suspect it is the first of his pieces that I consciously photographed, even though I was not familiar with the artist. I also noticed that I didn’t do a very good job, cropping the edges off either side. I am becoming more familiar with Smak’s work and like what I see. For some unknown reason I was a late adopter with his work.
I am spending a little time trawling through my archives and posting some pictures that I always intended to post, but just never got round to. It is one of the major problems with writing about street art…there is always too much to cover. Even writing two posts a day only really scratches the surface.
Sweet Toof, Jamaica Street, Bristol, January 2016
This piece by Sweet Toof has been on the high wall by the PRSC outdoor gallery for years – even when I took the picture it was long in the tooth (pun intended). His style is one of the most distinctive of all, and I strongly recommend that you take a look at his Instagram feed which is just brilliant and always entertaining. Sweet Toof is based in London, but seems to spend a lot of time in mainland Europe, he even has his own Wikipedia entry.
I chalk up my sixtieth post from Upfest 2017 with this beautiful design from, Mary Rouncefield, a local Bristol-based artist who is building up a body of work concerned with human rights issues.
Mary Rouncefield, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
The symmetrical central patterns in white are decorated with simple leaves and four bright red humming birds, all set on a black background. I am not sure, but I would guess that there is a lot of symbolism going on here. It is certainly an unusual and striking piece. The artist’s biography notres continue:
‘Exhibitions in the past year have included ‘Alienation’ with Art Number 23 at galleries in New York, Philadelphia and London. I was very pleased to have been awarded Highly Commended by Red Line Art Works, for my art work commenting on the growing prevalence of firearms worldwide in crimes of violence against children attending school. Alongside this though, I have been experimenting with spray paint and produced ‘a series of canvases with a tropical theme.’
I think this piece s one of those with a tropical theme.
Another set of three paste ups from the prolific Jimzina at Upfest this year. The first was the largest I saw and was A2 size roughly. The girl in glasses, clutching a ring doughnut can still be found on North Street just by the hoardings near the Standard.
Jimzina, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
All of Jimzina’s pieces carried the same theme, a young lady presented on the front of a menu or drinks list – very distinctive. The next one looks rather different to most of them, in that the girl doesn’t have black hair, instead she is wearing a pink flower to go with her pink lips.
Jimzina, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
The final one of these three looks a bit like what I would call ‘saucy-sophisticated’. Is that too much of a label seen through the lens of a middle-aged man?
It takes a little while to get to grips with this piece by Pref ID, but it is a really clever piece of writing. A quick look at his website indicates how he likes to disguise slogans by conflating all the words into one, creating something of a letter puzzle.
Pref ID, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
In this piece just off North Street Pref ID has written the words ‘Mind Bending’ – the blue letters say MIND and the white ones BENDING. It is a sophisticated work and has been really skilfully executed. Quite a different kind of piece.
Pref ID, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
My attempt to chat with the artist was not overly successful. I approached him and asked him who he was (a not unreasonable question at a street art festival), to which he replied “who the f*ck are you!” – so I told him who I was. He didn’t speak again. Maybe he was just having a bad hair day, or maybe he just took an instant dislike to me, who knows? It is a first though. I have met cagey artists and exuberant ones, modest ones, happy and sad ones, but this is the first time I have encountered such grumpiness. None of this however detracts from just how good this piece is.
Pref ID, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
I shall be more careful in future if I see Pref ID in town.
I met Falko One in East Street on the Sunday of Upfest. It was early in the morning and showers were threatening. He had already started on the first of three commissioned elephants he was planning to complete in the day, but was doubtful because of the rain. This is a man who likes to paint elephants, and he does it really well.
Falko One, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Falko One it turns out is one of the most well known street artists in South Africa and has been working for almost thirty years inspiring others and growing the graffiti culture there. He is best known for his elephants.
Falko One, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
As with several other pieces at Upfest, it was great to see the artist in action and how he went about creating his piece. I think what you see here is someone very much at ease with the subject. He has a great understanding of the proportions, shape and movement of elephants and can create these amazing pieces in no time at all.
Falko One, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
The colours and shading, also bring a unique aspect to his art. I mean who ever saw a pink elephant before…hic?
On the hoardings in Raleigh Road, there were some really high quality pieces, including this rather posh whale by Boaster. His Upfest profile reads:
‘Hailing from Nottingham,graffiti artist Boaster brings his own style to his quirky, gritty and sometimes macarbe characters. Part of crews The Shrunken Heads(SH) and In Living Colour(ILC), this long standing painter continues to ruin peoples walls up and down the country!!!’
Which all sounds rather fun.
Boaster, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
There is a nice story here of a rather grumpy looking, well-heeled whale, and it is difficult not to admire the pipe, top hat and monocle. I am not familiar at all with Boaster’s work, but you can see more on this Global Street Art page.
Natural adventures 