Tag: Urban

1731. Upfest 2018 (42)

I approached Upfest on the Saturday morning from East Street and as I was at that end of Bedminster, dived into Dean Lane skate park because it is always busy with ‘fringe’ festival art, and by that I mean it is not all entirely official. This is one such stencil work by About Ponny, an artist not known to me before…I have immediately become a fan.

About Ponny, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
About Ponny, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

About Ponny is a highly skilled stencil artist from Bologna in Italy and I found a short biography on his Facebook page which I have translated from the Italian using Google translate. It reads as follows:

Ponny was born in Bologna one evening after dinner.

Single, but only in the name, because always accompanied; for this reason it has no gender.

Son of a game between friends and of the passion for art, in all its forms, as long as expression and creativity, incessant source of emotion.

In continuous search for balance on the edge of legality, the road torments him, the only place to express himself!

This work, in  my mind, is stencil work of the highest calibre. The subject is touching and soulful, the execution brilliant, the colour scheme has an earthy and innocent quality and the location is brilliant. One of the best ‘unofficial’ Upfest 2018 pieces.

1730. Upfest 2018 (41)

Off we go again on another batch of fabulous street/graffiti art from Upfest 2018, starting with this stunner from Lokey. Lokey, a Bristol artist is a specialist at 3D writing, and this piece is close to perfection in my view. With subtle shading and clever ‘hourglass’ highlights the letters LOKEY are lifted out from the black background.

Lokey, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Lokey, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

Everything about this piece is good – the colours, the design and proportions and the lovely clean sharp lines. This is definitely one of my favourite graffiti pieces from the festival this year. It took me a couple of days to get a good picture of it though, because every time I went to take a look at it, there were bunches of people standing in front of it. There should be a law against that.

1729. Jamaica Street (16)

Well this came as a bit of a surprise and something of a treat too. On my walk in to work a couple of weeks back, I thought I’d take a small detour down Jamaica Street, and there, big as you like, was this wonderful collaboration between Bristol’s Cheba and Lebanese calligraphy artist Ghaleb Hawila.

Cheba and Ghaleb Hawila, Jamaica Street, Bristol, August 2018
Cheba and Ghaleb Hawila, Jamaica Street, Bristol, August 2018

This kind of collaboration is quite unusual in Bristol, and I am not certain I have seen any calligraphy here before, although I have seen plenty in London. Additionally, this wall is an absolute bugger to photograph because it sits in a gated courtyard and the angles are all wrong…this is the best I could do.

Cheba has painted a silhouette clutching some bright object that is sending out shards of light. The silhouetted figure is filled decorated with Cheba’s trademark cosmic space scenery, which gives it some depth.

Ghaleb Hawila said this on his Instagram feed about the collaboration:

“You gotta believe in yourself; in the lights buried within you. Give yourself the permission to glow and grow.” A collaboration with my brother @cheba_bristol his magnificent work and personality. That’s exactly one year after meeting this crazy guy in Alay, Lebanon during the @ahlafawda and @risegallery cultural exchange.
I spent four days at his beautiful house, with his hyper dog and lovely wife. We explored a lot in his studio and i just can’t sum the experience with words. It was an intensive restless art residency were you get to explore yourself more and more.

It is great to get a bit of insight into how these things are achieved. A wonderwall.

 

 

1728. M32 roundabout J3 (94)

There is one circumstance in which is is absolutely ok to buff over someone’s work, and that is when it is your own.Here is an example of just that where Soker has painted over one of his own pieces, and if you look closely, you can see the similar shape of the letter ‘R’ in both.

Soker, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2018
Soker, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2018

Wildstyle writing (graffiti writing) is an incredible artform in its own right, and I am a big fan of it. That has not always been the case. In the early days of photographing street art, I simply didn’t get it and considered it inferior and messy. Having studied it for close on four years now, I am able to enjoy it just as much as conventional street art. Soker of course is the master of this form.

1727. M32 roundabout J3 (93)

Face 1st (F1st) is the master of getting his work squeezed into just about every corner of Bristol. At any one time, the M32 roundabout must play host to four or five of his pieces, which is pretty impressive really. I would hate to see his monthly spend on spray cans.

Face 1st, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2018
Face 1st, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2018

This is a return to his more ‘traditional’ style of a pretty face incorporated into some beautifully decorated letters which usually spell out FACE, but in this instance I’m not sure about that. It is always great to see work by one of my absolute favourite Bristol artists.

1726. Upper York Street (13)

Whenever qWeRT comes to town there is always an exciting trail of wheatpastes hidden in the back streets of Bristol. I am constantly on a quest to find them, but know there are some I will never find.

qWeRT, Upper York Street, Bristol, August 2018
qWeRT, Upper York Street, Bristol, August 2018

This one is on the pillar of a car park, which adjoins a former church and so is entirely appropriate to its environs. Jesus is rarely depicted in street art, which is peculiar in a way, because in years gone by he has been the subject of countless murals, inside and outside. This is a wonderful piece…a googly eyed Jesus – not something you see every day.

1725. Dean Lane skate park (166)

I’m getting to see quite a lot of work by Kool Hand dotted about the place, and what I see I like. His work is distinctive, using only a few strong colours to fill strong clean lines around his characters. There is a light-heartedness about his work which brings a smile to my face.

Kool Hand, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2018
Kool Hand, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2018

The writing part of this piece spells out KoolH and is rather nicely filled out with what looks like a bit of a jungle scene commensurate with his crocodile character. It looks like his dark green might have been running a little low. I love the way he always preps his walls with a whitewash background, another tell-tale sign that Kool Hand is about.

1724. Dean Lane skate park (165)

Yeah, the bunny is back, not the NEVERGIVEUP bunny, but the Hire bunny. This rather dark bunny carries all the hallmarks of a Hire piece. The massive buck teeth and the angular Gothic shapes that make up the fur – much of his writing also uses this sharp-edged style.

Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2018
Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2018

I have a very soft spot for Hire’s work, both his rabbits and his writing – there is a seriousness and melancholy about them. I’d like to know what the speech bubble says, it is probably a Polish reference. Nice little tribute to CKone as well.

1723. Raleigh Road vector (25)

Yet another fine collaboration between Cheo and Soker – these two seem to be on something of a roll at the moment, producing countless pieces all over the city of Bristol. This one perfectly fills the space on the hoardings in front of a new development.

Cheo, Raleigh Road, Bristol, September 2018
Cheo, Raleigh Road, Bristol, September 2018

The piece is bookended by a pair of mischievous spray can characters painted by Cheo, and in the middle of all of this is a dazzling piece of writing by Soker which spells out SUMOE. I guess I should know what sumoe is all about, but alas I have no idea. There is a whole bunch of #sumoe graffiti Instagram, most of it in the USA.

Cheo, Raleigh Road, Bristol, September 2018
Cheo, Raleigh Road, Bristol, September 2018

Cheo has pretty much nailed it with his bookends as he seems to with pretty much everything he does. With their dark furry eyebrows, there is something of the Muppets in his characters. Of course we are also graced with the presence of one of his signature bees.

Soker, Raleigh Road, Bristol, September 2018
Soker, Raleigh Road, Bristol, September 2018

Soker’s writing is composed primarily of four horizontal layers ranging from light blue at the top through to light purple at the bottom, each layer smattered with accents or decoration. He has also worked quite an unusual double 3D shadow cast by the letters. This is a great collaboration from this ASK duo, and well worth the trip to Raleigh Road.

1722. Ashton Road

As is so often the case with finding new work on the street, I was not looking for this piece. On the contrary I was trying to capture a few more Upfest pieces that I hadn’t yet seen in their completed state and drove past this hoarding. I had to act quickly to pull over into a free parking space and jump out of the car for a quick snap.

Smak, Ashton Road, Bristol, September 2018
Smak, Ashton Road, Bristol, September 2018

This sublime graffiti writing is by the superb Smak, and is outstanding in many ways. The colour palette is beautifully selected and the chrome/grey parts of the lettering in particular have a great 3D effect. The letters spell out SMAK but are quite nicely concealed in this piece. Really great work.