I have hung on to this picture for an absolute age. No particular reason. It is by DNT, and it resided in a little side lane off Stokes Croft. I just like it – it is a well crafted piece of writing, and it simply and joyfully says Bristolz.
I have nothing more to write – sometimes writing too much takes attention away from the graffiti. Enjoy.
There is a new artist in town (to me at least), and his works have entered my consciousness since March really. It is possible he has been here all the time, but if this is the case I can only apologise. The artist signs his work with the name J. Dior, and try as I might, I am unable to find out anything about him. I know he is a he, because I did spot him creating a piece around Easter time.
His artwork embraces a naive style and usually features people, colourfully represented often in unusual positions – a touch of Marc Chagall combined with children’s illustrations. This piece doesn’t perhaps portray what I’m saying as well as some of his others. I have a fondness for these works, not because of the quality of the paintwork, but more down to the human story telling that is going on. My father, my mother – what a fine tribute to his parents. I like it, so watch this space for more from J. Dior.
Yet another excellent Face F1st piece, in fine colours and exhibiting yet another beautiful and simple face. The wildstyle outline of the word FACE is becoming more cryptic, and he is really going for the beaded decorations.
I have always loved his work, from the very first one I saw, It just does something for me. Face F1st has taken to spraying a lot recently, and it is difficult to keep up with his faces. There are a couple that I have not published from the subways at this roundabout, which are difficult to photograph on account of the poor lighting and narrow passages. Be assured however that there is more from this quiet artist in the pipeline.
This is the second paste up by qWeRT that I have posted in recent days, and it is right in the middle of The Bearpit, but I’ll wager most people who pass through won’t even have spotted it. Another wonderfully happy piece, with a bug-eyed character holding up uits hands and creating a heart shape. Simple but pleasing.
I really like qWeRT’s work that has started to appear in Bristol. I am guessing that the artist visits from time to time, and lays down a trail of wheatpastes probably in one session – if you get lucky, like I did, you might find several of them in a single linear walk.
A really welcome visitor to the streets of Bristol. You might just be able to see that has been placed in front of the Cheba and SPZero76 pieces.
Mr Penfold is first and foremost a designer, whose work is largely abstract and uses colours and shapes that remind me of a cross between the 1980s and art deco. Clean crisp lines and floating objects.
His graffiti/street art work is very different to anything else found in Bristol and instantly recognisable. Whilst I like to see his pieces appearing around the city, his style does not pull me in as much as some of the other artists in Bristol.
A nicely done stencil in one of the Bearpit subways by Georgie. It has lasted there for a while having been spared by taggers who these days generally don’t wait more than a day before tagging things in The Bearpit.
The piece is titled ‘There’s no budget but it will be great exposure’ and is a stencil piece that I think is a wheatpaste. Certainly Georgie pasted this piece up in Shoreditch last year, and it would appear that the whole poster here is the same. Kinky, and fun this is nice work from Georgie.
This is another piece that has been waiting and waiting in my archive and which I can at last write about, having recently found out who the artist is. The artist has been something of a mystery, and I have posted two of his pieces here before, the sinister cat and scary clown. It is of course Dose, AKA Kin Dose, AKA Nick Harvey.
I found out who he was by accident. I saw a poster advertising an art exhibition in the main street close to where I live, and there was the sinister cat on the poster, so I took a closer look. There was more information that helped me to track down Kin Dose on Instagram. Once on his feed, I looked through his work, and there was this piece…mystery solved.
Kin Dose is clearly extremely talented and versatile. I’ve not yet been to his exhibition (at the time of writing) but hope to get there before it closes.
Last Summer, on a day trip with my family to Weston-super-Mare, I managed to wander off and grab a few moments to get some street art ‘therapy’. I got to see several pieces by JPS, My Dog Sighs and Dan Kitchener amongst others, but this image of a child on the back of a tortoise holding a stick with a slice of pizza stayed with me.
I didn’t know the artist, and I think I have said many times on this blog that I don’t like posting images unless I know who the artist is, although sometimes I break my own rule. In this instance it was the artist herself who broke cover via her Instagram account. It is by Fawn, a local artist and friend of JPS, who helped her with the piece. It is a lovely, playful stencil and just perfect for the location.
A little while ago Frankie Beane posted a piece by Telmo Miel which was absolutely stunning. We had a short exchange of comments, and I looked into whether or not Telmo Miel had been to Bristol for Upfest. It turns out they have been a couple of times before, the last of which was in 2015. It also just so happens that I photographed their shutter piece not knowing who they were, and only now am I able to share it.
Telmo Miel is/are two artists who paint as one. This was the Dutch duo’s biography from the Upfest website:
‘Telmo Pieper and Miel Krutzmann are the names behind Telmo Miel artistic machinery. Telmo Pieper was born in Rotterdam, Netherlands where he graduated from the Willem de Kooning Academy. He is a creator, image maker and a contemporary graffiti artist. Miel Krutzmann also received his degree from the Academy in Rotterdam, and he is a mural painter and illustrator, who started drawing as a child and never stopped. Together, they share a fascination for (sur)realistic imagery and are currently making life-sized wall paintings using spray-paint all over the globe.’
I hope they return soon as their work is actually rather good.
Coming back down to earth from five posts about Upfest pieces I find myself back in the old Bearpit, and confronted by this absolutely brilliant and slightly chilling grayscale piece by Laic217.
The image conjures up so many thoughts and ideas, perhaps of a menacing figure, but also maybe one that needs care and love.I think it captures so brilliantly the judgements we make about others based upon their appearance, location or demeanour. I really love this piece. Yet another from the ever-productive Laic217.
Natural adventures 