Tag: The Bearpit

1650. The Bearpit (157)

Wowzer…(not a word I use often), what a fabulous piece in The Bearpit from Face 1st. I have to say that I am just loving his development to full body pieces, and that hair…it’s just brilliant.

Face 1st, The Bearpit, Bristol, August 2018
Face 1st, The Bearpit, Bristol, August 2018

Now I happened to get really lucky a few days back and met Face 1st, Soap and Tasha Bee all at once all for the first time while they were collaborating at the M32 roundabout – more about that in another post. It was such a pleasure to meet Face 1st at last, after three years of posting, and it was rather gratifying and humbling that he had read this blog and even shared some posts with his mother. Watching these guys at work simply inspires me to get out there and start spraying – I would love to be able to do what they do as well as they do it. I guess I need to practice…a lot.

I love, love this piece, and have noticed that he is doing more of these and going big – so much to look forward to.

As an aside – this post is scheduled to publish while I am on an aeroplane bound for Italy…the wonders of modern technology.

1649. The Bearpit (156)

These are the characteristic swirling whirling abstract patterns created by Bristol artist Run Z. Although I haven’t seen that many of his pieces, they do seem to crop every now and again and they are instantly recognisable as his work.

Run Z, The Bearpit, Bristol, July 2018
Run Z, The Bearpit, Bristol, July 2018

The works will often follow a colour theme and this one seems to incorporate a green, blue and white palette. There is something of a stained glass window feel to these works and in fact I think the designs would make fabulous windows.

1638. The Bearpit (155)

Well what can I say about Nevla? Well the first thing I can say is that I met him at Upfest and had a good long chat with him…and what a decent fellow he is, just like so many of the street/graff artists in Bristol. I’ll keep my powder dry about our conversation for when I post his Upfest piece.

Nevla, The Bearpit, Bristol, July 2018
Nevla, The Bearpit, Bristol, July 2018

This is a lovely piece, that can be easily missed, on the ramp down into The Bearpit on the north side of the roundabout. The fun cartoon character is accompanied by the words ‘stay fresh’, and I think this piece certainly manages to do this. I am really enjoying witnessing the progress of this artist, who tells me he has been spraying walls for about a year now.

1616. The Bearpit (155)

One of the things I admire about street artists is that they tend to have a distinctive style that they carry through all of their work – this becomes more obvious when you group their works together in galleries, which I have started doing with Aspire, 3Dom, Mr Draws, Andy Council and Deamze.

In this case the work of Daz Cat has such a strong expression that even when his work doesn’t feature a cat or a dog, it is still utterly unmistakable – this is one artist who doesn’t need to sign his work.

Daz Cat, The Bearpit, Bristol, July 2018
Daz Cat, The Bearpit, Bristol, July 2018

This piece ‘Haven’t a clue what’s going on!’ is a little unusual and slightly unsettling, but nicely conceived and very nicely executed. I wonder if the sentiment is expressed about the Council’s stance to restrict the street/graffiti art in The Bearpit…of course it might have nothing to do with that at all. Another nice piece from Daz Cat.

1611. The Bearpit (154)

This bunny by NEVERGIVEUP managed to avoid my eagle eyes and got lost in an archive. Sometimes I think this happens when I photograph a lot of pieces by the same artist in one session and have to spread out posting about them…and then they just get locked out, until I do a bit of an archive dive. Am I making any sense at all?

Nevergiveup, The Bearpit, Bristol, April 2018
Nevergiveup, The Bearpit, Bristol, April 2018

This Rabbit has the tripple treatment, three eyes, three teeth, three belly buttons, three crowns, but oddly four ears. You can look at the ears however as three pairs of ears. It is a nice variation on a theme that shows NGU is capable of mixing things up a bit.

1606. The Bearpit (153)

Run Z is a Bristol abstract artist that I have not yet had the fortune to run in to yet and one about whom I know very little. His pieces are very distinct, using bright colours and organic patterns that swirl across the wall.

RunZ, The Bearpit, Bristol, July 2018
RunZ, The Bearpit, Bristol, July 2018

We are lucky in Bristol to have several specialists in abstract street art like Run Z and I think it all adds to the overall complexion and variety of the Bristol street art scene. I’m on a mission to hunt down more of his work.

1605. The Bearpit (152)

Tireless and irrepressible, words I am sure I have used to describe Mr Draws in the past. His habit must cost him an absolute fortune in paint. Until I had a go myself, I hadn’t realised how much paint one can get through to cover quite a small area of wall.

Mr Draws, The Bearpit, July 2018
Mr Draws, The Bearpit, July 2018

This quick one in the Bearpit has an interesting ‘bleed’ from the shadow into the letters, giving it the effect of degrading in front of our eyes. More to come from Mr Draws, before he moves to Germany.

1592. The Bearpit (151)

A quick one in The Bearpit from Face 1st going back a little. The main reason that I have posted this is because I remember at the time being incenced by the aggressive graffiti cross in the middle of the face with its far right connotations. When I see this kind of disruption, my immediate thought is ‘what kind of idiot would do this?’. I guess I still find myself constantly challenged by this mindless behaviour. I know that pretty much all artists expect this on the street, but it doesn’t necessarily make it right.

Face 1st, The Bearpit, Bristol, January 2018
Face 1st, The Bearpit, Bristol, January 2018

I don’t think I will ever tire of Face 1st’s work, and I get real pleasure out of each and every piece of his that I find.

1584. The Bearpit (151)

I am taking a bit of a punt here, because I want to start posting pieces by this artist (of which I have many) and guessing that from the signature their name is BTW…of course initials on street art can mean a plethora of things, including a crew name or respected fellow artist or tribute, for example. So for now and until I know better I will refer to the artist as BTW.

BTW? The Bearpit, Bristol, June 2018
BTW? The Bearpit, Bristol, June 2018

This is one of the larger pieces that I have seen from the artist and is consistent with the predominantly monotone style, although there is a dash of pink in this one. The character in the Nike hat is a half person which has been chomped below the waiste and I’m not too sure what the other little characters are, but it is a fun piece. I rather like this cartoon style and look forward to posting a few more pieces by BTW.

1570. The Bearpit (150)

I have been looking forward to Nevla ‘going big’ and hitting The Bearpit … and with this joyful piece he has done both. The first time I saw this piece it was covered, rather unhelpfully, in posters. In an Instagram exchange Nevla informed me that the posters had been removed, so I went back again to get some ‘clean’ pictures of the piece.

Nevla, The Bearpit, Bristol, June 2018
Nevla, The Bearpit, Bristol, June 2018

The whole thing is a bit quirky, but I absolutely love it. An old man in a coat and top hat is not the sort of person you expect to be saying ‘I love you‘, it is strange and thought provoking. I love the other text boxes too ‘it’s unusual‘ and ‘smells nice innit‘ – what on earth is that all about?

Nevla, The Bearpit, Bristol, June 2018
Nevla, The Bearpit, Bristol, June 2018

Nevla’s whole piece in cartoon style is in his typical grayscale shades and nicely highlighted with a red surround. I really do like his work and hope that this piece is a gateway to more exposure and bigger and better walls.