Tag: Street art

859. New Stadium Road (2)

Pretty much without exception, all of Laic217’s pieces harbour menace to a greater or lesser extent. Even though much of his work is weird, and he specialises in facial distortions, this one is weirder than most.

Laic217, New Stadium Road, Bristol, May 2017
Laic217, New Stadium Road, Bristol, May 2017

The fly is grotesque – a bluebottle of sorts. An interesting thing going on is the ‘fly’ is feeding on what looks like a steaming poo which makes up the numbers 217. I hope this is a joke and not some subconscious self-esteem issue.

Laic217, New Stadium Road, Bristol, May 2017
Laic217, New Stadium Road, Bristol, May 2017

Even though the image is quite disgusting, you really have to admire a creature of horror movie proportions wearing a bucket hat with a smiley on it. Acid wins the day. A trippy piece?

857. St Werburghs tunnel (13)

It seems that street/graffiti artists tend to have peaks and troughs in their activity. I suppose that, like the rest of us, life, jobs, family and so on just get in the way a bit. I introduce this piece with this observation because Sled One, who was extremely productive last year, seems to be a little quieter. This may just be a false perception, and I am not seeing his stuff as much as I used to – I might be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Sled One, St Werburghs Tunnel, Bristol, June 2017
Sled One, St Werburghs Tunnel, Bristol, June 2017

This is of the usual high standard that Sled One attains, it appears, with such ease. This wildstyle writing is so very easy on the eye, like much of his work. I particularly like the ‘accent’ lines he uses to emphasise the letters or that wisp around the piece giving it a sense of animation. I will not tire of his outstanding work.

Sled One, St Werburghs Tunnel, Bristol, June 2017
Sled One, St Werburghs Tunnel, Bristol, June 2017

856. The Bearpit (74)

It is always rather gratifying when a new artist appears on the scene; there is something new to write about and to look out for. NEVERGIVEUP is new to Bristol, and another member of the Polish contingent, so I am led to believe, which includes Hire and Laic217.

NEVERGIVEUP, The Bearpit, Bristol, June 2017
NEVERGIVEUP, The Bearpit, Bristol, June 2017

NEVERGIVEUP seems to specialise in these highly stylised and designed goofy rabbits. The more observant of you might wonder what it is about graffiti artists drawing goofy bunnies (Hire also sprays them) – maybe it is a Bugs Bunny thing. Who knows?

NEVERGIVEUP, The Bearpit, Bristol, June 2017
NEVERGIVEUP, The Bearpit, Bristol, June 2017

This is one of several bunnies that has appeared in The Bearpit over the last few weeks, and although he hasn’t been here long, NEVERGIVEUP is making an impression already.

855. Dean Lane skate park (59)

This is a fun little piece in Dean Lane by Guts, another artist new to these pages. I met him on the same occasion as I met Jimmer Wilson and Lumagro. I have absolutely no idea what the in joke is about, but it made me laugh anyway…”Joe Habgood Rides Scooters”.

Guts, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2017
Guts, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2017

This is the type of childish speech bubble that absolutely encapsulates graffiti, I think. A public space sprayed and a cheeky message. Harmless but subversive. It works for me, probably because I have a tendency to be a bit childish too – just ask Mrs Scooj or the Scoojlings. Great colours and great monster face. I like this…and it is still there some weeks on.

If you want to read more about Guts or several other Bristol artists, then I cannot recommend highly enough Auntie G’s fabulous blog post on a recent Bristol exhibition ‘3 is the Magic Number’ – A superb insight into the Bristol art scene and interesting commentary on the crossover between fine art and street art.

854. New Stadium Road (1)

There was a time when every few posts that I wrote was another work from the productive master of writing – Deamze. He is still as productive as ever, but his pieces are having to compete for space with the dozens and dozens of other Bristol artists that I try to cram into this website.

Deamze, New Stadium Road, Bristol, June 2017
Deamze, New Stadium Road, Bristol, June 2017

This is a piece from under the M32 motorway, not far from the M32 Spot. This is an area that Deamze appears to favour, and there are always several of his pieces nearby. This piece is in his format of a cartoon character accompanying some highly designed wildstyle writing.

Deamze, New Stadium Road, Bristol, June 2017
Deamze, New Stadium Road, Bristol, June 2017

As with so many of his pieces, I am not too sure who the cartoon critter is. I thought at first it might be Wally Gator, but it isn’t…it appears to be a dragon. Any ideas? Another classy piece from the Bristol master

853. Upfest 2016 (140)

I don’t know an awful lot about Pad303, other than I guess he works out of London judging from the amount of work he does in Leake Street Tunnel.. I stopped to chat with him as he was finishing this piece, and what a fun and affable bloke he is.

Pad303, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Pad303, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

This is a fine piece, with a lovely bit of 3D wildstyle writing, and a hooded figure full of motion and energy kicking the lettering. I love it when artists combine styles like this, showing the breadth of their skills. A great Upfest piece.

Pad303, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Pad303, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

852. Upfest 2016 (139)

OG Hush is an artist based in Cambridge who specialises in 3D graff writing, but also works on photorealistic images and abstract work. You can get a feel for his work from his Facebook pages. This particular piece was sited near the North Street Green, and part of a long hoarding containing work from several artists.

OG Hush, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
OG Hush, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

His 3D writing is in the same general style as Zase and Loki, and really stands out from the crowd. The letters are reasonably clear to read, spelling HUSH, and in keeping with much of the rest of this wall has a Chinese feel about it. Great work.

OG Hush, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
OG Hush, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

OG Hush is not on the list of artists for the 2017 festival, so it might be some time before we see his work in Bristol again, which is a pity.

851. Upfest 2016 (138)

I was really pleased to find this delightful small piece by an artist I wrote about way back in February 2016 — Elaine Carr. Her previous piece was of a Bristol landscape painted on a front garden fence. This, as you can see is quite different.

Elaine Carr, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Elaine Carr, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

I am always going to favour any scene with a marine theme, and this fun piece ticks several boxes for me personally. It is the kind of work that I would love to have hanging up at home, although I’m not sure what Mrs Scooj would have to say about that. For the time-being it will hang in my virtual blog. I look forward to seeing her work at Upfest 2017 and hope to be able to say hello.

850. Upfest 2016 (137)

Losthills had a field day with his Jake the dog paste ups and this is a collection of three pieces by way of rounding off his Upfest contribution.

Losthills, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Losthills, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

With each of these wheatpastes, I would have to say ‘who doesn’t love a dog that dresses up?’

Losthills, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Losthills, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

I hope that Losthills will be returning in July because I do love a good paste up, and hunting around for these ‘gifts’.

Losthills, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Losthills, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

849. Upfest 2016 (136)

I don’t know very much about Johnman, the artist who created this wonderful greyscale stencil set on such a colourful background.  I have seen from his Instagram account that the stencil has been used in a piece called ‘Hitching to London’, where the background is a map of London.

Johnman, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Johnman, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

It is funny, but I don’t very well recall this piece from Upfest, but on inspecting it closely now, from the comfort of my desk, I think this is an outstanding work. I look forward to paying a bit more attention this year when he returns for Upfest 2017.