Tag: Street art

74. Armada Place (1)

This wonderful stencil depicting how mobile technology is interfering with daily life, is tucked away on a heavily tagged wall and easy to miss. Just off Stokes Croft, it is well worth a visit. To me this is stencil work at its best. Social comment combined with excellent execution and location.

Unknown artist, stencil and graffiti, Armada Place, Bristol, November 2015
Unknown artist, stencil and graffiti, Armada Place, Bristol, November 2015

I’m not too sure what the dynamite is all about (on second inspection I think it is Christmas crackers). Unfortunately I have no idea who the artist is, but will try to find out, and when I do, I will update the post.

UPDATE: I understand the piece is by Goin, a French artist who I belive lives in Bristol.

 

73. Ashley Road (1)

Another huge and vivid mural appeared at the end of September by the Bristol based duo Zase and Dekor. I have seen the mural a few times, and it is truly stunning. It also occupies a fantastic spot, at a three-way road junction, and is seen by huge numbers of people every day.

Zase and Dekor, Ashley Road, Bristol, November 2015
Zase and Dekor, Ashley Road, Bristol, November 2015

The cheerful piece contains all the characteristics you would expect from the pair. Fabulous detail, a dream-like subject matter and Zase’s name taking centre stage. Some great photographs of its creation can be found here.

Zase and Dekor, Ashley Road, Bristol, November 2015
Zase and Dekor, Ashley Road, Bristol, November 2015

The mural is thought to feature Zase’s son, but beyond that Zase suggests that you simply have to make of it what you will.

Zase and Dekor, Ashley Road, Bristol, November 2015
Zase and Dekor, Ashley Road, Bristol, November 2015

Other works by Zase and Dekor appear in Cottrell Street, Claremont Road, Cheltenham Road and York Street.

8.5/10

72. Grosvenor Road (1)

Another clear day and a couple of excursions to find more street art and graffiti. I saw enough artwork to keep me out of mischief for some while.

Sepr, Grosvenor Road, Bristol, November 2015
Sepr, Grosvenor Road, Bristol, November 2015

I have seen this particular Sepr work many times, but always in the car, and parking nearby can be difficult, so I have never stopped to photograph it. Sepr has sprayed numerous shop fronts dotted around Bristol but somehow this one looks perfect for its setting in St Pauls. My only minor observation is the missing apostrophe.

7/10

71. Wilder Street

It has been a beautiful, cold, blue-sky day today, so I set off for St Pauls to discover some of the street art I haven’t yet seen. There is so much in the area and I really only scratched the surface. There appear to be a few crews who work the area, and there is an even spread of commissioned work, permitted work and illegal spraying.

PWA, Wilder Street, Bristol, November 2015
PWA, Wilder Street, Bristol, November 2015

This wall in particular caught the eye. It was painted in early June 2012 by the PWA Crew (Pirate Wall Art). The crew includes Face F1st, Soap, Drest, Sikoh, Luvm and Meta. It will take me a while to work out who paints what in this crew, but the angel face, top left, is by Face F1st and the top right face is by Drest.

Face F1st, PWA, Wilder Street, Bristol, November 2015
Face F1st, PWA, Wilder Street, Bristol, November 2015

What I particularly like about this mural is the beautiful floral patterning that appears on all four elements. I look forward to uncovering more of their stuff.

PWA, Wilder Street, Bristol, November 2015
PWA, Wilder Street, Bristol, November 2015

The PWA crew also have a vibrant Facebook page which is well worth a visit.

PWA, Wilder Street, Bristol, November 2015
PWA, Wilder Street, Bristol, November 2015

7.5/10

70. Picton Lane (4)

More from the wonderful Rowdy in this Montpelier hotspot for street art. This mural is called ‘Lilo’. I am not too sure what it depicts, but it may have a ‘fat cat’ reference there. Who knows? I’d better find Rowdy and ask him.

Rowdy, lilo, Picton Lane, Bristol, November 2015
Rowdy, lilo, Picton Lane, Bristol, November 2015

8/10

69. Picton Lane (3)

Rowdy is best known for his pictures of crocodiles with large triangular teeth (see the trousers?). He is a Bristol artist whose work is very well known locally, but he has painted throughout the country and internationally. He has been spraying for a long time and is well established on the Bristol scene. He has a playful mischief in his work.

Rowdy, Picton Lane, Bristol, November 2015
Rowdy, Picton Lane, Bristol, November 2015

This mural is called ‘Boxing Fox’ and is sprayed on a garage door, only a few yards away from his collaboration with Mau Mau, and another of his pictures called ‘Lilo’ which I will post soon. A Rowdy hot-spot.

Rowdy, Picton Lane, Bristol, November 2015
Rowdy, Picton Lane, Bristol, November 2015

As with a great many of the Bristol artists, there is a respectful nod to Mibsy and to Robbo (King Robbo, a street artist and ‘competitor’ of Banksy’s, who died in August 2014 aged 45).

7.5/10

 

 

68. Nine Tree Hill (1)

What a great name for a street. I try to imagine what it was like before it was developed. Although this rather naive mural is signed by Fung, I can find out nothing about the artist and I would guess it is an early work before a reputation has been developed. I could of course be wrong.

Fung?, Nine Trees Hill, Bristol, September 2015
Fung?, Nine Trees Hill, Bristol, September 2015

This photograph is interesting for another reason, and it can be found on the hoarding that has been left on the ground in front of the pink face, see below:

Fung?, Nine Trees Hill, Bristol, September 2015
Fung?, Nine Trees Hill, Bristol, September 2015

There is a scene drawn with marker pens – rather violent from what I can see – with the heading ‘We be collectin’ body parts of raffers (?) to impress her’. I can only imagine that this is an early work by a youngster as the themes and artwork are quite childish. What I like about it is that someone is giving it a go and developing their art and articulating their thoughts.

5/10

67. Nelson Street (2)

Inkie is a hugely influential artist on the Bristol, and indeed world, street art scene. Originally from Clifton in Bristol he now works in London. His works are celebrated alongside Banksy, Nick Walker and 3D…he even has his own Wikipedia page, so he must be important.

Inkie, Nelson Street, Bristol
Inkie, Nelson Street, Bristol

I walked past three of his works today, but have been puzzled and most intrigued by this one. My first impression and assumption was that it was not completed, but that would seem to be mad…Interweb to the rescue.

The work was completed as one of the central pieces for the ‘See no Evil’ event in 2012, which Inkie himself organised. I have featured several other remaining artworks from the event in previous posts.

image

The ownership of the host building was set to change hands in November 2012 and the departing landlord started to remove the street art prior to selling, but only removed a part of it before leaving it as we see it today. The following link is a news item from the time. The comments at the end make for really interesting reading, and show the spectrum of views about street art in a light that might not at first be obvious.

7/10

66. Nelson Street hoarding (3)

It seems a little ridiculous, but this is the first time I have posted any solo artwork by Silent Hobo. It simply demonstrates the vast number of Bristol artists painting and spraying across the city.

Silent Hobo, Nelson Street, Bristol, October 2015
Silent Hobo, Nelson Street, Bristol, October 2015

Silent Hobo’s work has a similar cartoon style to Cheo, and they are both popular for commissions on public buildings and spaces. Actually I have featured him once, on the collective tribute piece to Mibsy; I think he painted the portrait.

Silent Hobo, Nelson Street, Bristol, October 2015
Silent Hobo, Nelson Street, Bristol, October 2015

Silent Hobo makes a living through his work and has painted not only in Bristol, but across the country, Europe and beyond. He has a pretty decent website here. I will post more Silent Hobo soon. So many artists…so much street art…so little time.

Silent Hobo, Nelson Street, Bristol, October 2015
Silent Hobo, Nelson Street, Bristol, October 2015

7/10

65. Fairfax Street

I have been sorting through a few pictures of Bristol’s street art that I have taken recently, and there really is a lot of the stuff, and such variety. In October, I came across an unusual work by one of Bristol’s most prolific artists, Kid Crayon.

Kid Crayon, Fairfax Street, Bristol, October 2015
Kid Crayon, Fairfax Street, Bristol, October 2015

What is interesting about this mural is that it is a departure from his wheatpaste work, which I have featured many times in my posts.

Kid Crayon, Fairfax Street, Bristol, October 2015
Kid Crayon, Fairfax Street, Bristol, October 2015

It can be quite difficult to get decent shots of this mural because it is on the wall of a small private car park, and there are usually cars parked up against the wall. I really like this mural and will seek out more of his paintings.

Kid Crayon, Fairfax Street, Bristol, October 2015
Kid Crayon, Fairfax Street, Bristol, October 2015