Although it would seem that J. Dior is now long gone from the city of Bristol, there are still a few legacy pieces of his dotted around, and still several in my archives.
J.Dior, M32 Spot, Bristol, July 2017
His deliverately naive style allows him to create characters and tell stories with ease. There is no doubting his imagination, but I think that at times his attitude and approach to painting upset some of the other artists in Bristol a little. Anyhow here we have a two-headed woman with a superhero top on – superheroes seemed to be a regular theme for J. Dior. This work is just a little bit of fun.
Ryder’s work can be found all over Bristol, and increasingly I am enjoying his particular style of writing. In this piece he has gone for some really bright colours and a spotty fill to the deep shadow. His characteristic eyes and teeth filling some of the spaces in the lettering.
Ryder, M32 cycle path, Bristol, July 2017
Whether it is with his RAW mates, T-Rex, Rusk or Smak, or on his own, Ryder consistently turns out great work.
Yet another piece from my archive – I have to say that I rather like posting things sometime after I captured them, it somehow adds to the legacy element of what I do. This is a fine piece of wildstyle writing from Dibz on the hoardings that will very soon be coming down.
Dibz, Raleigh Road, Bristol, July 2017
Dibz’ complex pieces are characterised by a deep shadow lifting the piece out from the wall and giving it a bit of body. His Instagram account is well worth a squint to see pictures of his latest sketches in his black book. A great Bristol graffiti writer.
Once again I have been doing a little bit of cleaning up of my archives, and I came across this rather unusual Kid Crayon piece from Kid Crayon last July. I am finding that Bristol art from July is often under-represented in my posts, because they get hijacked by Upfest and will remain unshared and unloved in my July folder.
Kid Crayon, The Bearpit, Bristol, July 2017
This piece reminds me very much of the wheatpastes he used to do and which I used to take great pleasure in hunting down when I first became interested in all this malarkey. A classic Kid Crayon work.
I have driven past this piece by Deamze many, many times, but never been able to stop and photograph it. At last I managed to do just that, but in the meantime I think the piece has faded a little. It has been exposed to the elements and has suffered from being on the kerbside of a busy street.
Deamze, The Black Swan, Bristol, February 2018
The piece is outside the Black Swan in Stapleton Road and is a bit of a landmark. Here we find then trademark character and writing work so typical of the endless skill of this artist. I’m not too sure who the character is, but something from the depths of my memory is saying ‘wally gator’. Of course the mind is a fickle beast and I may have this completely wrong. A nice piece.
I include this piece because it demonstrates that there is ‘graffiti creep’ happening in Bristol and where graffiti goes, so the art tends to follow. This wall is on a stairway up to Brandon Hill park and until relatively recently there was no graffiti here, but as the number of graffiti/street artists grow, and the number of walls/hoardings are lost, so the search for new walls begins. A natural succession, often brought about by gentrification.
NEVERGIVEUP, Jacob’s Wells Road, Bristol, February 2018
The bunny is easily recognisable as the handy work of NEVERGIVEUP, who seems to be a bit of a pioneer when it comes to finding new spots to spray. He is unafraid and adventurous which is amazing as he has only been in Bristol a little over a year. The Rabbit is nicely executed, as you would expect, but it is the location that makes this piece stand out.
Every once in a while a town or city will see a new piece of street art appear that becomes an iconic landmark and a part of its beating heart. Examples in Bristol are the black and yellow portrait of a girl in Stokes Croft by Stinkfish and the hanging man by Banksy just off Park Street. Well this new significant work by Jody is, I believe, going to be another one to add to the list.
Jody, Charlotte Street, Bristol, February 2018
I spotted Jody at work on this piece a couple of weeks ago, when he was on a cherry picker painting some flowers. At that point I wasn’t sure it was Jody, but his style and the method he uses to paint gave it away a bit.
Jody, Charlotte Street, Bristol, February 2018
The piece is a commission for a newly opened cocktail bar/restaurant on Park Street, called The Florist. The establishment is part of a chain called The Botanist, but as luck would have it, there is an independent bar of the same name in Berkeley Square a few meters further up the hill – so The Florist it is. Some of the interior pieces, I understand, are also by Jody and by fellow Bristol artist Gemma Compton. I will have to check it out.
Jody, Charlotte Street, Bristol, February 2018
I think this is a sensational piece and a real statement for Bristol. The wall can be seen when walking down Park Street and has a real ‘wow factor’ to it. Furthermore, it will probably stay in good condition as the wall rarely catches the full sun, making it difficult to photograph, but protecting it from bleaching. This is a feather in Bristol’s and Jody’s caps.
It is always, always good to find pieces by Skor85. She is probably one of the unsung heroes of the Bristol street art scene, occasionally turning out these extraordinary fantasy dreamlike pieces in all of the spots I like to visit.
Skor85, The Bearpit, Bristol, February 2018
In this piece Skor85 has painted a futuristic/medieval character sitting on the ground clutching a gem in one hand and a weapon in the other. The words ‘Think truth’ give the piece an overall message…maybe it relates to gun law in America, I’m not sure.
Skor85, The Bearpit, Bristol, February 2018
Her command of the colours and tones in this piece is obvious, and I love the way she gives the effect of a pastel drawing rather than a spray can work. I admire her work a lot.
I recently saw this fabulous piece by Decay in The Bearpit only a few days after I stumbled across an identical one in Shoreditch a few days earlier. I think that this is all part of a new approach to his work in 2018, and one which will be interesting to observe.
Decay, The Bearpit, Bristol, February 2018
I am accustomed to seeing his abstract concentric rings in shades of red, grey, white and black with a small face at the centre, which I love, but I await with eagerness the direction his liberation will take.
Since Kleiner Shames moved to London I have really missed his extraordinary pieces. It would appear that he recently visited his hometown, and this is the second of his new pieces that I have found. I particularly like this one.
Kleiner Shames, Cherry Lane, Bristol, February 2018
The writing as always spellls out FOIS, but it is the cowboy hat and eyes, giving character to the S that really grabs me. I have two of his pictures hangng in my home, which perhaps indicates how much I like his work.
Natural adventures 