Tag: Tizer

3243. St Werburghs tunnel (196)

What a lovely surprise to come across this Tizer piece so soon after his last visit to Bristol. I rather hope that this is going to become a bit of a ‘thing’. This one was painted alongside Inkie and is in the expected writing/character format that Tizer favours.

Tizer, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2020
Tizer, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2020

The colours are a little comprimised due to the lighting in the tunnel, particularly on the left side of the piece where the yellow tones start to dominate. Consistent with his way of working, I suspect that the piece is freestyled, which gives the letters a freedom that some rather more formulaic writers might struggle with. The multi-coloured fills are superbly well done and the female character on the left is sporting a fine pair of specs. More please.

3114. M32 roundabout J3 (248)

This ‘ice dragons’ piece was the second painted by Tizer on his lightening visit to Bristol about a month ago. I was lucky enough to watch him for a while painting both pieces on consecutive days, and while he painted this one I had a chance to chat with him for quite a long time. Tizer likes to talk and is a really friendly guy. He also self-discloses without apology and in just a few minutes I learned a lot about his childhood and what motivated him to pick up a can.

Tizer, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2020
Tizer, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2020

One of the most remarkable things about the two pieces in Bristol is that he paints freestyle, which means that the idea is in  his head, but he doesn’t follow a draft drawing or plan. The way he works is to sketch out the fills in different colours before adding hard edges in black, like reverse colouring in. You should be able to make out the letters TIZER so beautifully written.

Tizer, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2020
Tizer, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2020

It is interesting to note also that Tizer seems to work from left to right in a systematic way, when many other artists will approach their work from all sides at once or by colour selection. This is a man who knows what he wants to do and just goes ahead and does it. A giant of a man with a giant heart.

3068. M32 roundabout J3 (235)

Fortune favours the brave. I took a lunchtime walk last week and decided to take the dog to the M32 roundabout. I could have gone to any of the other spots, but decided on that one and lucky I did. I arrived to find an ‘A list’ of graffiti writers prepping for and starting a paint jam. Included in this extraordinary line up were Soker, Minto and Tizer from London, Rusk, Inkie, Hemper and Stivs.

Tizer, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2020
Tizer, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2020

Because of my working hours and limited ability to get out I rarely see artists at work, so this was a real treat, and the first piece I am sharing from this paint jam is by Tizer, who is a graffiti writing legend.

Tizer, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2020
Tizer, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2020

I learned two things when I chatted with Tizer the next day (another whole story), the first is that he freestyles all his pieces, which is incredible really – no drafts or prompts, just what’s in his head. The second is that he turned to spray painting and skateboarding as a youngster to escape the gangs where he grew up in Brixton.

Tizer, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2020
Tizer, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2020

It was really interesting to see how Tizer works. From what I saw he drafts an outline and then works on the colour fills from left to right. When that is done he paints on the black outlines and details ending up with a stained-glass window effect. Wonderful to watch and what an amazing finished piece. Of course the whole thing spells out Tizer.

2881. Shoreditch, London

In a small way, the lack of new art being sprayed in Bristol due to coronavirus lock down, has enabled me to dip into my archives and share with you some pieces that I simply didn’t have space for at the timw I took the pictures. The next three posts are from a trip to Shoreditch, London in August 2016.

Tizer, Shoreditch, London, August 2016
Tizer, Shoreditch, London, August 2016

This amazing piece of widlstyle writing is by Tizer who I understand is generally considered to be one of the best graffiti writers in the old smoke. Spelling out TIZER, the green,yellow and gold metallic-looking fill is given depth by the cleverly lined 3D shadow. Nice too be able to share this one from Tizer, an artist that when I originally saw this was completely off my radar (living in the provices as I do).

2519. Shoreditch, London (33)

Tizer is possibly the best known and most respected graffiti writer in London. Quite a claim I know, but that is how it looks from the outside. This picture was taken earlier in the year on one of my visits to London, but has remained in my archive for far too long.

Tizer, Shoreditch, London, April 2019
Tizer, Shoreditch, London, April 2019

Tizer is one of those graffiti writers who is gifted both in his letters and in his characters too and there is so much to admire in his work. This piece just has a feel of effortlessness about it, but there is quite a lot of complexity there too. There is an obvious ‘TIZER’ making up the piece but along the bottom half I can see ‘EXODUS’ – now I might be seeing things or making it up but that is what it looks like to me. Whatever it says (if anything) this is a cracking piece.

2183. Allen Gardens, London (2)

It was great to be able to show my sister this wall back in April, because pretty much the entire length of it was  being actively sprayed. It is not often that you happen to be in the right place at the right time to witness a paint jam in progress, especially when Tizer is involved.

Bapsta and Tizer, Allen Gardens, London, April 2019
Bapsta and Tizer, Allen Gardens, London, April 2019

I believe the artist in the picture is Bapsta and that Tizer was probably wandering around, because even though the artists were doing their finishing touches, I don’t think they had started to disperse. If I had been here alone I expect I would have spoken to a few of them because I really don’t know much about the London scene.

It was a privilege and a bit of luck to see these guys in action.

2065. Shoreditch, London (24)

Back to some more incredible work from Shoreditch. I am still only a fraction of the way through posting some great pieces from my November trip to the ‘Big Smoke’ – I love the Bristol scene, but it is great to get out and see what else is out there. This is a beautiful character and writing combo from the highly respected and accomplished artist Tizer. Although I have heard of him and seen a few of his pieces, I know little about him, until I read this spectacular interview on the Bombing Science website. If you do nothing else today, you really ought to dig this out and give it a quick read, he is an amazing guy.

Tizer, Shoreditch, London, November 2018
Tizer, Shoreditch, London, November 2018

This vibrant piece is so full of class and is clearly the work of a highly experienced writer. The lettering is quite organic but beautifully proportioned and the character looks like a throwback to the ’70s or ’80s. A tidy piece. Now go and read that interview.