Tag: Street art

432. Upfest 2016 (48)

C3 is a street artist I admire very much. The distinctive cut out pasteups C3 produces were very much in evidence at Upfest along the hotly contested spots of North Street. There wasn’t a biography of C3 in the Upfest programme, so I am not certain that the works were entirely official, which in my mind makes them all the better.

C3, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
C3, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

The work of C3 will often feature, as in this wheatpaste, a backdrop of newspaper, typically with an image of a woman in black ink and red hair. Instantly recognisable and each telling a story of love or heartbreak. Since seeing C3’s work in Bristol, I have photographed a whole lot more in Shoreditch, which I will share soon. Worth a quick squint at C3’s website too.

431. Upfest 2016 (47)

I know I have said it before and I will say it again. One of the real pleasures at Upfest 2016 was the huge number of wheatpastes that appeared overnight between the Saturday and the Sunday of the festival.

Face the Strange, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Face the Strange, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

This was my first introduction to the crazy world of Face the Strange, a wheatpaster who creates characters with heads substituted for any manner of everyday objects. His pieces are witty and rather stylish – I like them. This works on several levels and the reproduction of naff flying ducks is very funny.

Face the Strange, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Face the Strange, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

Face the Strange has a Facebook page, which is well worth a look. Since this first discovey, I have since found more of his work in Bristol from Upfest, and loads in Shoreditch and Camden Town. More to come from this prolific artist.

430. Upfest 2016 (46)

One of the best things about my personal journey into the world of graffiti art and street art has been the discovery and continuing observation of Tom Miller. Tom is a fine artist who has turned his hand, like many others, to the street and with stunning results.

Tom Miller, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Tom Miller, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

This work was produced for Upfest, and I managed to catch him just as he was signing the piece. Some great shots, but my intrusion came at the expense of a film maker who has been following Tom for a couple of years…I got in the way a bit…oops.

Tom Miller, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Tom Miller, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

All was ok though as we have a mutual interest in Tom,’s work, and my accidental ‘photobomb’ was forgiven.

Tom Miller, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Tom Miller, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

Tom’s work is centered around his construct of ‘imaginite’ which is, I think, the idea of capturing the mind’s thoughts in art. A fabulous concept, and one that draws heavily on the Surrealist movement. I just love his work and this is a beauty.

429. Wilder Street (8)

There are some pieces that you just fall in love with. It is difficult to explain why, it just happens. This is one such piece, and I have been waiting a little while to post it because I wasn’t too sure who the artist was. It is by Acid Collapse, and one of my favourite pieces of the year.

Acid Collapse, Wilder Street, Bristol, June 2016
Acid Collapse, Wilder Street, Bristol, June 2016

I can find out very little about Acid (Juanito) Collapse other than that he is probably from Colombia, that he has a Facebook Page and that he visited Bristol Earlier this year. The rest is a mystery.

Acid Collapse, Wilder Street, Bristol, June 2016
Acid Collapse, Wilder Street, Bristol, June 2016

This piece seems to cross seamlessly from graffiti art to street art and back again. Amazing colour palette, stunning writing and the face is just the best. It would be grate to see him return some time.

 

 

428. Jamaica Street (6)

Directly opposite the Stokes Croft open air gallery is a house which received an unusual makeover by Cheba a few months back. The building was badly tagged and getting a bit grotty, but the unusual pink stellar Cheba work kind of put an end to that.

China Girl Tile, Jamaica Street, Bristol, September 2016
China Girl Tile, Jamaica Street, Bristol, September 2016

I have walked past the mural many times but only very recently become aware of the brightly coloured ceramic pony above the window. It is by China Girl Tile, and so incredibly kitcsh that it is just bloody brilliant. Small and unnoticed by most passers-by it really made me laugh when I saw it.

China Girl Tile and Cheba, Jamaica Street, Bristol, September 2016
China Girl Tile and Cheba, Jamaica Street, Bristol, September 2016

This is almost certainly an ‘extra’ left behind by China Girl Tile after installing her brilliant foxes for Upfest in July. It also works so well with Cheba’s pink ‘number’. So utterly worth seeking out.

427. Stokes Croft, The Full Moon

This large work has been here for well over a year now, but I simply haven’t got round to sharing it until now. Cheba is making something of a name for himself with painting these large scale, full building interstellar galactic murals.

Cheba, Stokes Croft, Bristol, March 2016
Cheba, Stokes Croft, Bristol, March 2016

This particular piece is a bit of a landmark at the centre of a cultural hub in Bristol. Cheba produces these amazing works and he produces them so very well. His technique is recognisable and I would say ‘best in class’ of this king of work.

Cheba, Stokes Croft, Bristol, March 2016
Cheba, Stokes Croft, Bristol, March 2016

I recently saw another large piece by Cheba in Camden Town, not dissimilar to this one. Of course I will write about it one day…maybe in a light year or two.

426. Moon Street (12)

Laic 217 is rather a prolific artist in Bristol and this is one of his pieces from earlier this year. It seems I can hardly look anywhere and not see one of his works. As I write this, I found another of his pieces in St Werberghs Tunnel today which I’ll get round to writing about sometime.

Laic 217, Moon Street, Bristol, March 2016
Laic 217, Moon Street, Bristol, March 2016

Here he has collaborated with Cort, about whom I know absolutely nothing, so if anyone has something to add about him, please let me know. As is often seen with Laic 217’s work, he has sprayed his name and a character alongside. The character bears all the branding and look of acid house.

Laic 217, Moon Street, Bristol, March 2016
Laic 217, Moon Street, Bristol, March 2016

I have said many times in my posts, that this kind of work is what Bristol is all about and Laic 217 is one of those rare artists who seems to spray all around the City…here in Stokes Croft, at Deaners, at the M32 and in St Werberghs. Just gotta like him.

Cort, Moon Street, Bristol, March 2016
Cort, Moon Street, Bristol, March 2016

425. Hanbury Street, Shoreditch(1)

Dale Grimshaw must produce some of the most recognisable street art in the UK. This artist, originally from Lancashire, paints the most incredible faces adorned with face paints, and some additional wildstyle writing alongside the piece.

Dale Grimshaw, Hanbury Street, London, September 2016
Dale Grimshaw, Hanbury Street, London, September 2016

The pieces are haunting and captivating, he is a master of the large mural. In the last few weeks I have photographed a few of his works, but this is the first to make it into the blog.

Dale Grimshaw, Hanbury Street, London, September 2016
Dale Grimshaw, Hanbury Street, London, September 2016

This amazing work, painted on the side kitchen entrance to the Preem restaurant, depicts the face of a West Papua New Guinean. Grimshaw is currently supporting a campaign to free the West PNG people from the grips of Indonesian ‘occupation’. I didn’t know any of this stuff until I started to find out more on various websites, including this great post on Hooked website.

Dale Grimshaw, Hanbury Street, London, September 2016
Dale Grimshaw, Hanbury Street, London, September 2016

I am completely in awe of this amazing work, and I find myself saying ‘I don’t know how he does it’ far too often. Amazing piece.

Dale Grimshaw, Hanbury Street, London, September 2016
Dale Grimshaw, Hanbury Street, London, September 2016

424. Fournier Street, Shoreditch (1)

Working two days a week in London has given me the opportunity to see some incredible street art in and around Shoreditch and Camden Town. It is interesting that the assemblage and style of art is really quite different to that in Bristol. In Shoreditch, for example, there are a lot, and I mean a lot, of paste ups, many more than you would see in Bristol. In London, there are also pieces by artists who would only ever visit Bristol for Upfest, but spray all over the place in their home City. One such artist is the incredible Shok 1 whose unicorn skull in Bristol is a memorable piece.

Shok 1, Fournier Street, Shoreditch, September 2016
Shok 1, Fournier Street, Shoreditch, September 2016

Here in Shoreditch we find a humorous piece by Shok 1. The ‘two fingered salute’ from an x-ray hand is quite brilliant. His style is so unique, that even the most unobservant viewer would be able to recognise his work.

Shok 1, Fournier Street, Shoreditch, September 2016
Shok 1, Fournier Street, Shoreditch, September 2016

Finding this piece was really exciting, especially as I don’t know my way around the Shoreditch ‘hotspots’ the way I do in Bristol, so pretty much everything is an unexpected surprise. To find this was thrilling.

423. Dean Lane skate park (17)

From one of the hot spots for graffiti art in Bristol, I recently found this quick piece in chrome by Soker. Any artist that paints this wall knows that their work will be gone in a matter of days, so knowing that, one can’t help thinking that they do this because they just love doing it.

Soker, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2016
Soker, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2016

What a wonderful way to be. To use one’s creative talents and produce things because you enjoy it. Surely this is what life is about? I think that what street art gives us all is a reminder that creativity is something we all have capacity for and can all celebrate. Even people like me who spend their lives chained to a desk. Street art is liberating and can set us all free if only for a moment. Soker sets me free.

Soker, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2016
Soker, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2016