Tag: Street art

376. Hoxton Square, Shoreditch, London (2)

I couldn’t resist sneaking this wonderful stencil by Unify in during this ‘Upfest lull’. One of my earliest posts was a Unify piece in Bristol, that is as fresh today as the day it was sprayed. I have looked for other pieces by him, but found nothing in Bristol. In London however, his hometown, I have found some of his work.

Unify, Hoxton Square, Shoreditch, London, August 2016
Unify, Hoxton Square, Shoreditch, London, August 2016

This amazing piece that I recall seeing on digital media a little while ago, is obviously a commentary on immigration and probably the Brexit referendum. It is a powerful bit of street art.

Unify, Hoxton Square, Shoreditch, London, August 2016
Unify, Hoxton Square, Shoreditch, London, August 2016

This piece sits quietly next to the wonderful Mr Cenz and Fanakapan pieces that I recently posted here. More to come from Unify soon.

 

 

375. M32 roundabout J3 (15)

I am enjoying posting about Upfest, but equally, like taking a break to post some of the more ‘earthy’ or visceral graffiti art that Bristol plays host to. Upfest comes and goes…this stuff is the beating heart of the Bristol scene, without which Upfest would possibly have less meaning or context.

Laic217, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2016
Laic217, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2016

This is a typical piece by Laic217 which I photographed a couple of months ago. The characteristic letters of his name and character piece. There appears to be a bit of symbolism going on here as well, an impenetrable wall, behind which lies a heart. There is a story.

Laic217, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2016
Laic217, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2016

I like Laic217’s work but would say that I prefer his full size faces to his burners, but that is only my personal preference. Nice to write about some local artists again.

374. Upfest 2016 (25)

Anyone who reads this blog regularly will know that I am particularly fond of wheatpastes. First it was Kid Crayon that got me interested and then 23 Magpies. More recently I have discovered the magic of Phoebe New York. Always there though, has been the work of D7606 a recent convert to the world of street art. Take time to read this excellent interview with D7606 by London Graffiti Interviews, in which he explains his name and describes his transition into wheatpasting.

D7606, North Street, Upfest, Bristol, July2016
D7606, North Street, Upfest, Bristol, July2016

When D7606 first pasted up this “Twiggy” post box, there was nothing else there, just a clean red box and his Twiggys. By the time I came to photograph it a day later, it was accompanied by no end of stickers…it would seem that a great many sticker enthusiasts enjoy the freedom that Upfest affords. You will spot also that some horns and glasses have been added to the left hand Twiggy.

D7606, North Street, Upfest, Bristol, July2016
D7606, North Street, Upfest, Bristol, July2016

I really like D7606’s work, and have spotted it all over the place so look out for more posts about him coming soon.

373. Upfest 2016 (24)

Tucked away in the garden of St Francis Church on North Street were a collection of artists who had prepared their works on boards 1.2m x 1.2m. Lurking here in one of the festival ‘backwaters’ were some wonderful treasures.

Swilfa, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Swilfa, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

This magnificent piece by Swilfa, a London artist, captures Bob Marley really beautifully. What is different about his pieces is that they are created using a combination of acrylic paints and old pieces of vinyl records. If you look carefully you will see that the hair is styled from some 40 vinyl records (according to Swilfa’s Facebook page).

372. Upfest 2016 (23)

Dan Doodies is a street artist, designer, illustrator and painter form the Slough/London area. His piece at Upfest 2016 was one of the most memorable of the whole event. There is a rush of colour in this psychadelic piece that has a whiff of the Beatles and in my mind ELO about it.

Dan Doodies, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Dan Doodies, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

I love this bold and striking piece and somehow it seems to represent all that is best about Upfest bringing artists together from all over the country/world to show off their works. I still feel with every passing day, what a privilege it is to live in Bristol and to have such a vibrant street art culture.

371. Upfest 2016 (22)

There was so much street art on offer at Upfest, that if you blinked you could miss something. I am so glad I had my camera with me, although on the day I took this photograph, my camera ran out of battery (aaaaargh what an idiot!) so I had to use my phone camera, and the results don’t really do the art justice. This was one of those pieces that was better ‘in the flesh’ but still looks pretty good in this photograph.

Mutiny, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Mutiny, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

The artist is Mutiny (Jane Laurie), a British, London-based,  wildlife illustrator, fine art painter and street artist. Clearly very talented and driven with a desire to raise awareness about endangered wildlife; she uses the hashtag #lovewildlife and signature anatomical heart on all her street art work. Oh! so much great stuff at Upfest.

370. Upfest 2016 (21)

A lovely cheerful piece by Beep Monkey at Ashton Gate School. Saturday was obviously the day to be at this site, as there was only one artist on the Sunday when I came down, and most of the works were complete.

Beep Monkey, Ashton Gate School, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Beep Monkey, Ashton Gate School, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

I must confess that I didn’t spend too long looking at this when I photographed it, but have had some time to look at it and find out more about the artist. Beep Monkey is new to street art, but has a rich background in illustrative and digital work; you can see the shading under the rabbit’s foot looks like a pen and paper sketch. I look forward to seeing more of his street pieces.

369. Whitby Street, Shoreditch, London (1)

There are few things more satisfying than wandering aimlessly around streets you have never walked down before and revelling in the architecture, bustle, characters and of course the street art. On one such recent walk I found this beauty. A stunning portrait by James Cochran or aka Jimmy C.

AKA Jimmy C, Whitby Street, London, August 2016
AKA Jimmy C, Whitby Street, London, August 2016

Aka Jimmy C grew up in Australia and studied visual arts at the University of South Australia before moving to London where he lives now. His very distinctive aerosol pointillist style reminds me of the post-impressionists like Van Gogh or Seurat.

AKA Jimmy C, Whitby Street, London, August 2016
AKA Jimmy C, Whitby Street, London, August 2016

There is always something very special that happens when fine art and graffiti fuse. Another example might be Bristol’s Tom Miller. This particular piece was painted back in 2011 but still looks so very fresh. A great work.

368. Tropicana, Weston-super-Mare (2)

The last thing I was expecting to see on a day out in W-s-M was a large Dan Kitchener piece.I don’t know how this can have passed me by. It would appear that he was creating this piece a week or two before Upfest 2016 at the Hazy Days Music & Arts Festival.

Dan Kitchener, Tropicana, Weston-super-Mare, August 2016
Dan Kitchener, Tropicana, Weston-super-Mare, August 2016

The following quote from Kitchener’s Instagram feed gives some background to the fabulous mural:

“‘Metropolis’ – Here’s my finished mural from Hazy Days Music & Arts Festival in Weston Super Mare, an amazing event, amazing organisation and a lovely place by the sea! I love being able to paint my more fantasy style illustrations on walls, and this future geisha assassin, looking out over the future Tokyo metropolis was an image I have had for a while and was waiting for the right wall and time to paint it! The geisha is based on my shoots with Ayumi LaNoire. The wall was all freehand spray paint, as usual! No projections or tracing, or stencils, just pure freehand”

Dan Kitchener, Tropicana, Weston-super-Mare, August 2016
Dan Kitchener, Tropicana, Weston-super-Mare, August 2016

Yet another wonderful surprise for me, and  a glimpse at the extraordinary talents of Dan Kitchener. The images he creates are so full of atmosphere and narrative. I am always reminded of ‘Blade Runner’ when I see his works.

367. Tropicana, Weston-super-Mare (1)

On my recent day-trip to Weston-super-Mare, I felt compelled to visit the Tropicana, site of Banksy’s very successful Dismaland. I never made it to the exhibition, which I deeply regret, but read a great many posts and blogs about it and felt quite well acquainted with many of the exhibits. The site now plays host to a temporary fairground, with open entry, so I decided to take a look around. Ironically it all felt rather more dismal than it might have been during the exhibition.

My Dog Sighs, Tropicana, Weston-super-Mare, August 2016
My Dog Sighs, Tropicana, Weston-super-Mare, August 2016

Going in through the entrance lobby, there are several stencils by JPS, Fawn and Pzy, which I will get round to posting soon. Once into the main area, there were several larger murals on the left hand side walls. Unfortunately these were rather obscured by heavy fairground wagons and equipment. Undeterred, I found a way round the back and snapped away. This is a beautiful piece by the excellent My Dog Sighs, and so utterly unmistakable.

My Dog Sighs, Tropicana, Weston-super-Mare, August 2016
My Dog Sighs, Tropicana, Weston-super-Mare, August 2016

The photographs were tricky to take, because I couldn’t get any real distance from the piece. It didn’t matter though. This was another great extra surprise, because I didn’t know there was going to be anything here at all. It all comes down to wandering around, being curious and looking. I got my rewards.