Mr June was one of the lead artists at Upfest 2016, and he had the privilege of painting a large wall, previously occupied by Dan Kitchener, on the side of the Salvation Army building in Church Street.
Mr June, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Trained as a graphic designer, Mr June took to the streets as a graffiti artist in 1985, and his preference for combining his love of typography, graffiti and abstract art come together beautifully in this mesmerising piece.
Mr June, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
This is definitely one for the fans of large, bold designs that have an almost architectural feel to them. His use of colours is first rate, and the overall impression is impactful.
This piece is tucked away in one of the parking bays in the Tobacco Factory car park, and is by Fats. Fats is an artist, so her Upfest biography goes, who is based between Dubai and Toronto and whose heavy black line work is in part influenced by Inuit art and Arabic calligraphy resulting in a hybrid style reflecting her own cultural confusion and ambiguity.
Fats, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
You can see more of her excellent work on her Instagram feed, and she also has an active Facebook page. It looks like she’ll be paying us another visit for the 2017 Upfest event, according to the Upfest artists page. Something to look forward to.
Fats, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Based on this one piece, I think that I rather like her work. More so when I have checked out her stuff online. The colours, of course, are familiar to me through Decay’s fabulous work, and the abstract style is not too different either. Perhaps the two should collaborate…that could be pretty fun.
I had a recent tip-off via Instagram that Copyright and Paul Monsters were going to be collaborating again, this time on the slip road adjacent to Bristol Temple Meads station. I managed to wangle a moment of time and whizzed down to the station to see what was going on.
Copyright and Paul Monsters, Lower Approach Road, Bristol, May 2017
I arrived just as they were completing the piece, and it is another real beauty, just like their previous collaboration on North Street. Their styles really do work well together, with the geometric colour patterning of Monsters, providing a perfect foil for Copyright’s figures.
Copyright and Paul Monsters, Lower Approach Road, Bristol, May 2017
I spent a little while chatting with both artists and picking up on more of how the street/graffiti art scene works in Bristol, and a little about the work Paul Monsters does at Upfest. Such gents, and patient with my questions and observations.
Copyright and Paul Monsters, Lower Approach Road, Bristol, May 2017
What a wonderful welcome for visitors to Bristol and joyous sight for those coming home. I will post about the other two pieces at this location soon.
There are several street/graffiti artists in Bristol who never seem to stop, and ranking high amongst those is Deamze. This compressed piece is from a few weeks ago and takes the format of his wildstyle lettering and a character.
Deamze, Kings Square Avenue, Bristol, April 2017
I am guessing that the character is some kind of hog or pig – probably from a cartoon series that I never watched on TV.
Deamze, Kings Square Avenue, Bristol, April 2017
The colours in this work, especially the dayglow pink and green set on a purple background create an eye-catching piece for passers by. Deamze has occupied this spot for as long as I have been blogging, and probably sometime longer than that.
As Whysayit pieces go, this really is a first class one. Sprayed on what is probably the premium wall at Deaners, it oozes with confidence and colour. I think what really marks this out from his other work, is that he has taken a bit of time to prepare a backwash, and it definitely helps the writing to stand out.
Whysayit, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2017
I liked this piece from the moment I saw it, and although it didn’t last long (nothing much does here) I’m glad I got to see it.
Something fresh and new in Bristol. As you will know by now, I am a big fan of wheatpastes, so when I saw this I had a small pang of excitement. In fact it turned out to be the first of four I found on my home. It is by qWeRT, a wheatpaster based in London, who must have had a mini-break in Bristol and left a few ‘presents’.
Qwert, St Augustine’s Parade, Bristol, April 2017
This colourful happy piece appeared to have been here a little while as one bit was starting to peel off – I can’t believe I have not seen it before though. Since Kid Crayon moved onto spraying, I have missed my fix of paste ups. Discovering the work of qWeRT has quenched my thirst a little.
I was in two minds about posting about this Laic217 piece, because it is so unlike anything I have seen from him before, and something of a departure from the trajectory he has been on recently. I am not too sure also that I like it very much…it might be something to do with the insipid colours. But hey this blog isn’t just about what I like, it is about what I see.
Laic217, M32 Roundabout, Bristol, April 2017
Actually, now that I am scrutinising it a little more thoroughly, there is quite a lot here to like. The animal, the alien in a spaceship over eyes and the customary brick wall. I guess the monochrome approach is something I’ve not seen before from this artist (spoiler alert…but I have seen since).
Laic217, M32 Roundabout, Bristol, April 2017
Not the best, but still something rather compelling about his work, and how much has he improved over the last year?
Street art and graffiti can often tell a story about the ever-evolving scene. The original piece by Angus, which is one of his favourite stencil concepts was sprayed as part of the paint jam in the Bearpit over Easter.
Angus, The Bearpit, Bristol, April 2017
Angus had completed the work by the time I got down there, but it was still in pristine condition. Now, I understand that taggers really have very little time for stencil art, and don’t take long to spoil it, or ‘add’ to it with their own scrawlings and witticisms. By the time I went back the next day there were already quite a few tags on the piece.
Angus with extras from Dice 67, The Bearpit, Bristol, April 2017
How brilliant then, that Dice 67 went the extra mile and augmented the piece with a fabulous stencil of his daughter spraying the words ‘I must not write on the walls’. How brilliant is that – a living piece that takes a pop at taggers, but in a really clever way, and sets the piece off beautifully. Evolution.
Angus with extras from Dice 67, The Bearpit, Bristol, April 2017
Sirens is an artist that I have only recently come across, and I have to say that on both occasions I have met him, I really enjoyed our conversations and what he has to say about his art.
Sirens, The Bearpit, Bristol, April 2017
His work is on the fine art side of the spectrum, and it is possible to see that there might be numerous influences in his work. This piece, again of an industrial environment is in one of the tunnels of The Bearpit, and offers both a depressing scene, and also an uplifting one in the single work. I like his style, and believe he is still developing, so I await further appearances and opportunities to chat.
There are two artists in Bristol who are performing at the top of their game at the moment, Deamze and Voyder. Deamze consistantly turns out superb wildstyle pieces and absorbs styles and characters into his pieces with ease, but it is Voyder who, in my opinion, is hitting a new level with his work.
Deamze, Waterloo Place, Bristol, April 2017
This bright collaboration can be found on the wall at the back of the Sofa Project in Old Market. It is so, so good that it really does have to be seen in the flesh. There is a consistent thread of the colour scheme and a diagonal line through both pieces that cuts through the writing, and with which both artists have treated the line as a breaking point in the work – so thought out and skilful.
Deamze, Waterloo Place, Bristol, April 2017
I would like to focus a little – which is hard to do with two such immense pieces – on Voyder’s half of the collaboration, because I think this is the best piece I have seen from him, ever. The neon line zig-zagging through the Lichtenstein influenced brush strokes is masterful. Look at the shadows and the light that radiates from the neon. Just amazing.
Voyder, Waterloo Place, Bristol, April 2017
Voyder has mastered his technique, and I don’t quite know where he goes from here. He has just been getting better and better with every piece and I consider him to be the king of writing in Bristol right now. If you don’t agree, just get down and take a close look at this piece. The best collaborative piece of the year so far as far as I am concerned. Love it (just in case you hadn’t figured that yet).
Natural adventures 