I love this. Here we see John D’oh at his most hard-hitting, exposing two of the easiest targets on earth and keeping the debate alive. Never one to hide from political comment, he produces topical pieces with alarming speed, unlike me who seems to take an eternity to publish posts.
These single layer stencils are part of the furniture in The Bearpit and in other parts of Bristol, and John D’oh a permanent presence, reminding us to search our conscience and get fired up. So much more to come.
Jee See produces work that is very different from much of what I see in Bristol. His (non-seismic) pieces seem to tell stories or are representative of the workings of his mind. Could this be a suggestion that radio signals and maybe other waves are penetrating our heads in a sinister way? His work is quite organic and doesn’t appear to follow any kind of style convention. A little bit like the work of Object… .
It is interesting that this piece has been up in one of the tunnels of The Bearpit since November and hasn’t been tagged (in a very taggy area). I walk past it most days on my way to work…it is comforting to see it there each time.
Back in October 2017, John D’oh had a lot of fun spraying a whole load of stencils in The Bearpit. This was one that he seemed to be particularly fond of.
It would appear to be a homage to ‘Where the Wall’, a Bristol company that offers street art tours, wall curation and graffiti experiences. This would seem to be a genuine tribute, but with a history of cynicism towards and lampooning of the establishment, one can never be too sure with John D’oh.
As a group, these stencils take on quite a dynamic colourful feel and it is interesting to see how different they look on different backgrounds. John D’oh has been very busy this winter and long may it continue.
A quick one from NEVERGIVEUP in The Bearpit from a little while back. This is one of his urban rabbits, before he moved on to monsters. Clean and simple and pleasing on the eye.
Although NEVERGIVEUP was incredibly busy on the streets during the year, he appears to have slowed down a little – maybe he has a new job or some other distraction, or maybe he has simply filled all those spaces that needed filling.
I have said it before recently, that John D’oh has been busy stencilling this autumn/winter, with much of his work appearing in The Bearpit. He has also done some other highly satirical Banksy tributes in Cheltenham, but I haven’t yet seen them.
Always edgy and often political, John D’oh’s work, more than any other artist in Bristol is a target for tagging and dogging. He is clearly not held in the same regard as other artists, but that is the way for political artists…not everyone will agree with them. The Queen stencil has had the eyes sprayed red…which possibly enhances the menace of the piece.
I apologise for the quality of the images, which were rather compromised by the low light levels…I was on my way to do some Christmas shopping and the light was fading fast. I thought I’d include them anyway.
I don’t have to say too much about this piece other than that it is by the fantastic Mr Draws, it is on the South steps into The Bearpit and the picture was taken in the failing light.
There are some familiar themes, the word DRAW of course and the letters filled with a marbling effect which links to his mountains that he paints. Nice simple piece.
Let me introduce you to an artist realtively new to the Bristol scene, who has worked in collaboration with Kid Crayon to produce this rather fun piece in The Bearpit. His name is Ugar and he comes from Budapest, Hungary.
I first became aware of Ugar about three months ago, when I saw some of his lettering in Dean Lane, and then was lucky enough to meet him there a couple of weeks ago on one of my lunchtime walks. He told me he wasn’t very pleased with this piece (he did the dog on the right hand side) but that he really enjoyed working with Kid Crayon.
I rather like this collaboration and I certainly look forward to seeing more from this pairing.
A little trip down memory lane, this is a nice colourful quick one from Mr Draws down in The Bearpit. Always playing with the order and orientation of his letters, Mr Draws brings a bit of life and vibrancy to the spots he chooses.
I took this back in April and am posting it now, because it just feels like I haven’t done anything by him for ages. Mr Draws is definitely an artist who produces street work in pulses, and once he gets going he becomes extremely prolific.
Sometimes it’s a case of blink and you’ll miss it, and so it is with street art. This gorgeous wheatpaste by Lemak didn’t last too long in one of the tunnels of The Bearpit, but the subtle colours and dim lighting meant that it was easy to walk past without stopping to take a look. Big mistake…it is a real beauty from this talented artist, and pushes his experimental approach in a satisfying direction.
The golden eagle is hand painted and pasted together in a collage effect, a technique that Lemak has used quite a lot recently and one that I admire. There is a lot to enjoy in this piece, and the hard work I know he puts in is all definitely worth it.
The weather, and time of day can be a real pain in the backside when taking pictures of street art. I always feel I have to take pictures, even if the light conditions are a bit crap, just in case the piece I am photographing isn’t there the next time I pass by…a very real possibility in Bristol. I am saying all this as a bit of an elaborate excuse for a rather poor picture of a beautiful recent piece by Decay.
This Halloween piece is notable because it is one of those rare examples of Decay’s work that departs from his customary reds, greys and blacks. I really love this piece, and love the way he has ‘respectfully’ sprayed around the sign that says ‘exhibition in progress, please respect’. It made me smile. Something different and yet so familiar from Decay.
Natural adventures 