437. Tropicana, Weston-super-Mare (4)

Tucked away on the left hand side of the Tropicana as you enter, is this wonderful stencil of the Weird Girl (Cynthia) from the Tim Burton film Frankenweenie. It is a beautiful piece by the talented German artist PZY.

PZY, Tropicana, Weston-super-Mare, August 2016
PZY, Tropicana, Weston-super-Mare, August 2016

Her work bears many similarities to the work of JPS, and perhaps it should come as no surprise that they are partners. Quite a lot of stencils by both of them are to be found at the Tropicana.

PZY, Tropicana, Weston-super-Mare, August 2016
PZY, Tropicana, Weston-super-Mare, August 2016

I really love this piece. It has such character, weirdness and a tiny bit of menace. You can find more of her fabulous work on her Facebook page which is worth a look.

436. North Street, bus stop at Fairfield Road (2)

This wonderful piece appeared a few days after Upfest had ended, and I guess Feoflip decided to stick around and improve some bare walls. I really love this piece, the soft pastel colours give the piece the look of an illustration. The character looks like it has just walked off the pages of a children’s picture book. I would love to read that story.

Feoflip, North Street, Bristol, August 2016
Feoflip, North Street, Bristol, August 2016

Feoflip was unknown to me before Upfest, but I have now seen several of his pieces all over Bristol, and will be sharing them over the coming weeks. He is fast becoming one of my favourite artists. I love the combination of organic and mechanical, it works very well, as with his piece at Ashton Gate School.

Feoflip, North Street, Bristol, August 2016
Feoflip, North Street, Bristol, August 2016

The more observant reader may also notice the Gregos mask just to the left of this piece which I wrote about last year.

To Dom

 

Tears of a grieving

mother, stained in red tribute

where he used to skate.

 

by Scooj

 

  • I was deeply moved today when I met a lady roughly my age spraying a cardboard stencil tribute to Dom. I stopped to ask her who Dom was. She told me through her tears that he was her son, aged 21, who died two days ago on a basketball court. Too tragic for words. Sometimes life is just so very tough. Such sadness. As a boy Dom used to skate here at Dean Lane skate park.

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/university-basketball-captain-died-after-11976867

 

 

433. Upfest 2016 (49)

Seeing Bristol street artists’ work at Upfest just felt right. In amongst all the exotic invitees to the festival were the artists that put Bristol on the map in the first place. If there wasn’t a street art scene here in the first place then there would be no festival.

Kid Crayon, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Kid Crayon, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

This cheeky piece by Kid Crayon is yet another great work by one of my favourite Bristol street artists. I read, I think on KC’s Instagram feed, that he was not happy with the piece and that the sun had played havoc with his spray cans. Havoc or not, KC never fails to please, with his bright colours and Picassoesque ‘blue’ figures. Keep them coming!

431. Upfest 2016 (47)

I know I have said it before and I will say it again. One of the real pleasures at Upfest 2016 was the huge number of wheatpastes that appeared overnight between the Saturday and the Sunday of the festival.

Face the Strange, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Face the Strange, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

This was my first introduction to the crazy world of Face the Strange, a wheatpaster who creates characters with heads substituted for any manner of everyday objects. His pieces are witty and rather stylish – I like them. This works on several levels and the reproduction of naff flying ducks is very funny.

Face the Strange, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Face the Strange, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

Face the Strange has a Facebook page, which is well worth a look. Since this first discovey, I have since found more of his work in Bristol from Upfest, and loads in Shoreditch and Camden Town. More to come from this prolific artist.

430. Upfest 2016 (46)

One of the best things about my personal journey into the world of graffiti art and street art has been the discovery and continuing observation of Tom Miller. Tom is a fine artist who has turned his hand, like many others, to the street and with stunning results.

Tom Miller, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Tom Miller, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

This work was produced for Upfest, and I managed to catch him just as he was signing the piece. Some great shots, but my intrusion came at the expense of a film maker who has been following Tom for a couple of years…I got in the way a bit…oops.

Tom Miller, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Tom Miller, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

All was ok though as we have a mutual interest in Tom,’s work, and my accidental ‘photobomb’ was forgiven.

Tom Miller, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Tom Miller, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

Tom’s work is centered around his construct of ‘imaginite’ which is, I think, the idea of capturing the mind’s thoughts in art. A fabulous concept, and one that draws heavily on the Surrealist movement. I just love his work and this is a beauty.

429. Wilder Street (8)

There are some pieces that you just fall in love with. It is difficult to explain why, it just happens. This is one such piece, and I have been waiting a little while to post it because I wasn’t too sure who the artist was. It is by Acid Collapse, and one of my favourite pieces of the year.

Acid Collapse, Wilder Street, Bristol, June 2016
Acid Collapse, Wilder Street, Bristol, June 2016

I can find out very little about Acid (Juanito) Collapse other than that he is probably from Colombia, that he has a Facebook Page and that he visited Bristol Earlier this year. The rest is a mystery.

Acid Collapse, Wilder Street, Bristol, June 2016
Acid Collapse, Wilder Street, Bristol, June 2016

This piece seems to cross seamlessly from graffiti art to street art and back again. Amazing colour palette, stunning writing and the face is just the best. It would be grate to see him return some time.

 

 

428. Jamaica Street (6)

Directly opposite the Stokes Croft open air gallery is a house which received an unusual makeover by Cheba a few months back. The building was badly tagged and getting a bit grotty, but the unusual pink stellar Cheba work kind of put an end to that.

China Girl Tile, Jamaica Street, Bristol, September 2016
China Girl Tile, Jamaica Street, Bristol, September 2016

I have walked past the mural many times but only very recently become aware of the brightly coloured ceramic pony above the window. It is by China Girl Tile, and so incredibly kitcsh that it is just bloody brilliant. Small and unnoticed by most passers-by it really made me laugh when I saw it.

China Girl Tile and Cheba, Jamaica Street, Bristol, September 2016
China Girl Tile and Cheba, Jamaica Street, Bristol, September 2016

This is almost certainly an ‘extra’ left behind by China Girl Tile after installing her brilliant foxes for Upfest in July. It also works so well with Cheba’s pink ‘number’. So utterly worth seeking out.

426. Moon Street (12)

Laic 217 is rather a prolific artist in Bristol and this is one of his pieces from earlier this year. It seems I can hardly look anywhere and not see one of his works. As I write this, I found another of his pieces in St Werberghs Tunnel today which I’ll get round to writing about sometime.

Laic 217, Moon Street, Bristol, March 2016
Laic 217, Moon Street, Bristol, March 2016

Here he has collaborated with Cort, about whom I know absolutely nothing, so if anyone has something to add about him, please let me know. As is often seen with Laic 217’s work, he has sprayed his name and a character alongside. The character bears all the branding and look of acid house.

Laic 217, Moon Street, Bristol, March 2016
Laic 217, Moon Street, Bristol, March 2016

I have said many times in my posts, that this kind of work is what Bristol is all about and Laic 217 is one of those rare artists who seems to spray all around the City…here in Stokes Croft, at Deaners, at the M32 and in St Werberghs. Just gotta like him.

Cort, Moon Street, Bristol, March 2016
Cort, Moon Street, Bristol, March 2016

425. Hanbury Street, Shoreditch(1)

Dale Grimshaw must produce some of the most recognisable street art in the UK. This artist, originally from Lancashire, paints the most incredible faces adorned with face paints, and some additional wildstyle writing alongside the piece.

Dale Grimshaw, Hanbury Street, London, September 2016
Dale Grimshaw, Hanbury Street, London, September 2016

The pieces are haunting and captivating, he is a master of the large mural. In the last few weeks I have photographed a few of his works, but this is the first to make it into the blog.

Dale Grimshaw, Hanbury Street, London, September 2016
Dale Grimshaw, Hanbury Street, London, September 2016

This amazing work, painted on the side kitchen entrance to the Preem restaurant, depicts the face of a West Papua New Guinean. Grimshaw is currently supporting a campaign to free the West PNG people from the grips of Indonesian ‘occupation’. I didn’t know any of this stuff until I started to find out more on various websites, including this great post on Hooked website.

Dale Grimshaw, Hanbury Street, London, September 2016
Dale Grimshaw, Hanbury Street, London, September 2016

I am completely in awe of this amazing work, and I find myself saying ‘I don’t know how he does it’ far too often. Amazing piece.

Dale Grimshaw, Hanbury Street, London, September 2016
Dale Grimshaw, Hanbury Street, London, September 2016