OK, so I’ve got a bit of an Elvs thing going on at the moment, but that is alright isn’t it? I mean it is my blog after all, and if I rather like something I feel it is the right thing to do to share it. Elvs really is a fabulous wildstyle writer, and I’m sure that even if you don’t like graffiti art, you can appreciate the great technical qualities of great writing.
Having recently posted about Elvs, I thought I would dig out more of his work from my files, and this beautiful piece was in St Werburghs tunnel back in May 2016. He really does have a wonderfully ornate style, but he keeps his lettering even in height, so the whole piece could fit into a rectangular surround.
I really like the way that he has replicated the pattern in the top part of the ‘e’ and the top part of the ‘s’, which I think is a trademark feature of his work. There is also a cheeky little one-eyed pyramid poking out of the top of the piece. This is really superb wildstyle writing.
I have had this piece sitting on my ready to publish file for several months, but just never got round to posting about it. It has long since gone now, but was on this door, next to the Matchbox Gallery for quite some time. It is by Drew Copus, an artist who lives in Hastings, Sussex. It would seem that he has visited Bristol on a few occasions, and I have more of his art somewhere in my files.
Although this piece might not be everyone’s cup of tea, I have to say I rather like it. It is cheeky and rude and has three random cockroaches, which kind of appeals to me. It has a bit of edge to it, and I like the way the eyes of the lady are obscured deliberately by the tagging. More from Drew, when I can find it.
Writing about street/graffiti art in Bristol is a fun thing to do. Sure it is time consuming and can become a little obsessive, but like any pursuit it brings happiness. When the happiness stops, then I will stop doing it.
One of the rewards of doing what I do, is when you can put names to pieces that you see or have seen in the past. It is about observation and recall. It is about knowing things intimately. It is about connecting with your environment. There are parallels with being a nature boy too. Observation and connection.
I first saw this piece in May 2016, but didn’t know the artist (it is by Jaksta), so the pictures remained in my archives. Then, while doing some research for the RAW Upfest wall, I came across Jaksta’s Instagram account, and in his images was this piece at the M32 roundabout. Although I still know precious little about the artist, I do know what to look for in his art and how to recognise it. I also know I have more of his work in my archives. The point is I now feel comfortable posting his work.
The piece makes reference to the film scarface, and is a brilliant charicature, although every time I look at it I see Peter Beardsley, former Everton and England footballer. Is that bad of me? More to come from Jaksta.
It’s ok to not be ok is the message at the bottom left hand side of this superb piece by Sepr. I don’t think it is his message, but I like it that he has left it there. I haven’t seen much about this piece on Instagram, but maybe I’m just not looking in the right places.
Sepr has injected a lot of humour into this fox and hound duo making music together on a guitar and banjo. The whole piece has a feel of southern states of America, out on the porch kind of thing. These guys seem to be enjoying themselves, and the bottle of spirits rounds off the piece beautifully.
Sepr’s technique is instantly recognisable, and I love his two-tone pieces set on a coloured background. Sepr is a bit of a polymath, his street art is complemented by his tattooing and his bands Olanza and Fuk for which he is the drummer. Music certainly crosses over with his art, and many of his pieces I have written about on this blog feature characters with musical instruments.
Sepr always leaves me wanting more.
This piece is a wonderful example of Sled One wildstyle writing at it’s very best, I only wish I could say the same about my photography. There is a lot of glare, which obscures the piece a bit.
Sled One has an amazing ability to create fabulous elaborate letter shapes which are hugely complex in the shading and filling. Trying to follow all the folds and overlays is a tricky business. There is a nice little nod to Soker at the bottom of the piece too.
No RAW wall would be complete without a T-Rex charging at it from one side or other. This lovely ‘herd’ of dinosaurs by T-Rex was on the far right hand side of this six-artist wall and rounded it off really nicely.
T-Rex is a classy artist and seems to have waltzed into spraying these creatures straight from home, in fine clothes and bag over her shoulder. A no fuss approach to street art that is rarely seen. No mess, no overalls and in this picture I can’t even see any spare spray cans…maybe she borrowed them from Ryder. What a way to end this sequence of posts on the RAW wall at Upfest – a real highlight of the festival.
The fifth RAW piece on this Upfest wall is by Ryder, whose work is just going from strength to strength at the moment. His use of colours in this piece is exceptional, and the wildstyle writing is everything I have come to expect from him.
There is so much going on in this piece, and the different letter styles combined with different colour schemes is somewhat reminiscent of the work of Sky High. I cannot emphasise enough how much I am enjoying the work of Ryder, I’m just surprised at how long it took me to properly register his stuff.
Ryder was sandwiched between Jaksta and his trusty painting buddy T-Rex…a good place to be.
Door three.
Stokes Croft, Bristol.
Artist: Alex Lucas
by Scooj.
The fourth piece looking from left to right on the RAW wall at Upfest is by Jaksta, who has sprayed a great caveman character sandwiched neatly between Rusk and Ryder. I don’t know an awful lot about Jaksta, but I think he comes from Swindon. I have seen a few of his pieces around the place in Bristol, but I don’t think I have yet posted any.
Jaksta is clearly held in very high regard by his RAW peers, as each of them told me how good he is when I spoke with them. I think by the time I got to see his work here, he was already working on another piece nearby. I will try to dig out more of his work.
Natural adventures 