Tag: Wall

250. The Bearpit (18)

Since becoming aware of Laic217’s work work only a matter of two months ago, I seem to find his stuff everywhere. This is his latest piece that can be found on the staircase down into The Bearpit on the Northern side.

Laic217, The Bearpit, Bristol, May 2016
Laic217, The Bearpit, Bristol, May 2016

The head, and the colours used in this piece remind me of ‘the Mekon‘ who was the alien villain in the Dan Dare strip from the Eagle comic. My grandparents had a set of Eagle annuals, and I would read them from cover to cover when I used to stay. I ought to add, that they had belonged to my uncles, and that I was reading them several years after their publication. I digress.

Laic217, The Bearpit, Bristol, May 2016
Laic217, The Bearpit, Bristol, May 2016

I believe Laic217’s work is finding its place in the general order of Bristol street art, and is continually improving. He belongs to a small group of street artists that spray in both North and South Bristol. This is a good piece.

249. King Square Avenue (2)

Just to make a point I guess, I thought I’d post another Deamze burner in exactly the same place as the one in the previous post. As mentioned, these pieces are all very similar in structure and style, but each time the colour selection seems to be faultless.

Deamze, King Square Avenue, Bristol, April 2016
Deamze, King Square Avenue, Bristol, April 2016

There are more of these in my backlog of Bristol street art, but I will give you a break for the time being.

244. Old Bread Street (2)

This has been a mystery for far too long, but yesterday I cracked it. This fantastic piece, and genuinely one of my absolute favourites, is a collaboration by Tom Deams (Deamze) – more about him in his rather excellent website – and Georgina Anton, a Bristol-based artist with early roots in graffiti. Her biography can be found here.

Deamze and Georgina Anton, Old Bread Street, Bristol, November 2015
Deamze and Georgina Anton, Old Bread Street, Bristol, November 2015

There is something so clean and soothing about this burner. The proportions are fantastic, the lettering wonderful, the word ‘utopia’ just seems to work and the design filling the letters is beautiful. It was unsigned, and so it has been very hard to identify. It was only yesterday that I caught a glimpse of the piece in Deamze’s portfolio that I was able to find out more. The piece has long since gone, but at least I can now sleep easy at night.

241. M32 Roundabout, Junction 3 (9)

The thing about popular places for graffiti is that unless you visit them regularly, you will miss something. I left a gap of about four weeks between visits to the M32 roundabout between St Pauls and Easton, and probably about half of the works had changed. I don’t think I am ever going to be able to keep on top of this, but I don’t mind that really, it is just fun making new discoveries each time I venture out.

Face F1st, M32 Roundabout, Bristol, May 2016
Face F1st, M32 Roundabout, Bristol, May 2016

This is a lovely piece by one of my favourite artists in Bristol – Face F1st. Regular readers will know how much I like this work, so to find this one was a real pleasure. Even better, I found another one on my way to work this morning that appeared over the weekend…posting soon.

Face F1st, M32 Roundabout, Bristol, May 2016
Face F1st, M32 Roundabout, Bristol, May 2016

I have noticed that the designs in the letters are becoming more elaborate with each piece that Face F1st is producing, but overall the concept remains the same. Great stuff.

240. Napier Road, pedestrian tunnel

This is the first, and not entirely typical, work by Angry Face that I have featured. His faces appear all over Bristol, and judging by his Facebook feed in numerous other cities as well. I believe he might recently have been ‘on tour’ in Lisbon and Barcelona.

Angry Face, Napier Road, Bristol, May 2016
Angry Face, Napier Road, Bristol, May 2016

I don’t know very much about him and will try to dig out more. I had always assumed he was a Bristol artist, because of the sheer number of his pieces around the City. It would seem that all of his works are illegal throw ups. There are several examples of his work that are outline only, without the completed colours…maybe he was disturbed whilst spraying. Ubiquitous, unique and always angry, there is something comforting about his work.

238. Wilder Street (3)

I knew it existed and was determined to find it and, a little by accident, I did. This Hyacinth Macaw is instantly recognisable as an Aspire piece and it is absolutely magnificent. He just seems to get better and better.

Aspire, Wilder Street, Bristol, May 2016
Aspire, Wilder Street, Bristol, May 2016

The work, which was completed at the beginning of May, absolutely captures the macaw perfectly and brings it to life. The peculiar stoop that macaws exhibit fits the space so well. This is a clever and absolutely outstanding piece. What next I wonder.

Aspire, Wilder Street, Bristol, May 2016
Aspire, Wilder Street, Bristol, May 2016

236. Ashley Road (6)

Another splendid paste up by Copyright. I featured another of his posters last week from Dean Lane skate park, and as a pair they are quite brilliant. How much I would love to own them and have them hanging at home.

Copyright, Ashley Road, Bristol, May 2016
Copyright, Ashley Road, Bristol, May 2016

His work is technically superb and his subjects always beautiful. Better than that though is the location and framing of this wheatpaste. Copyright has put some thought into how it should look…a common trait with pasters. Since seeing these two wonderful works I have found two more sprayed walls by Copyright, so plenty to keep me busy. The backlog is ever growing.

229. Stokes Croft, the Carriageworks (11)

This is the second part of my marvelous Monday discovery. This is a piece by Bruno Smoky who is the husband of Shalak Attack and member of the Clandestinos Crew. I understand from his Instagram feed that Inkie was their host/guide over the weekend in Bristol, and who better to show them the best walls. I love the way the graffiti world hangs together.

Bruno Smoky, Stokes Croft, Bristol, 9 May 2016
Bruno Smoky, Stokes Croft, Bristol, 9 May 2016

This house on fire is a really breathtaking piece, and with the Shalak Attack work in the adjacent archway, the pair have really set the bar very high for the Carriageworks space. I hope the taggers stay clear and respect our visitors’ work. I like his nod to Buzz in the top left corner – respecting a little of our local thing.

Bruno Smoky, Stokes Croft, Bristol, 9 May 2016
Bruno Smoky, Stokes Croft, Bristol, 9 May 2016

Bruno Smoky grew up in Brasilandia, a neighbourhood in Sao Paolo, Brazil. He is now internationally recognised and has created works all over the world. I love this quote, lifted from his website:

“I do not neglect my roots, my greatest pleasure is to paint in communities, bringing art and culture to otherwise forgotten and precarious neighborhoods. I use Graffiti in the context of creating a space to exhibit my art to society, my themes are full of colors and forms of protest … ”

Bruno Smoky, Stokes Croft, Bristol, 9 May 2016
Bruno Smoky, Stokes Croft, Bristol, 9 May 2016

I feel genuinely privileged that they visited and painted in Bristol outside of any kind of art festival, such as Upfest.

Bruno Smoky, Stokes Croft, Bristol, 9 May 2016
Bruno Smoky, Stokes Croft, Bristol, 9 May 2016

228. Devon Road (3)

I’m still excited by Devon Road. This is an exceptional piece by the brilliant Sepr. Typical of his pieces, it is in shades of gray and features a musician, in this case a guitarist.

Sepr, Devon Road, Bristol, May 2016
Sepr, Devon Road, Bristol, May 2016

The mustachioed character has a continental look about him and there is something rather peaceful about the work. I can almost hear the music.

Sepr, Devon Road, Bristol, May 2016
Sepr, Devon Road, Bristol, May 2016

I think it is fairly obvious, but I am a big fan of Sepr’s work and to find this near-perfect mural in Devon Road made me very happy indeed. Imagine my surprise when I came upon another one just around the corner. More on that one soon.

Sepr, Devon Road, Bristol, May 2016
Sepr, detail, Devon Road, Bristol, May 2016

226. Stokes Croft, the Carriageworks (10)

Every now and then, life throws wonderful surprises at you. On such days it is hard to contain one’s joy and enthusiasm. I am having one of those ‘red letter days’ that my grandmother used to talk about.

Shalak Attack, Clandestinos Collective, Stokes Croft, Bristol, 9 May 2016
Shalak Attack, Clandestinos Collective, Stokes Croft, Bristol, 9 May 2016

My walk to work on a Monday via Stokes Croft always gives me a bit of a thrill, because the graffiti artists tend to spray over the weekend, especially when the weather is nice, and many walls in the area get a facelift. This morning I was greeted with a double surprise on the archways of the Carriageworks. Two spanking new, clean pieces by internationally famous artists.

Shalak Attack, Clandestinos Collective, Stokes Croft, Bristol, 9 May 2016
Shalak Attack, Clandestinos Collective, Stokes Croft, Bristol, 9 May 2016

This husband and wife team come under the combined name of the ‘Clandestinos Collective’ and are ‘Shalak Attack’ and ‘Bruno Smoky’. This stunning colourful portrait is by Shalak Attack and is one of the most beautiful pieces I have seen in Stokes Croft.

Shalak Attack, Clandestinos Collective, Stokes Croft, Bristol, 9 May 2016
Shalak Attack, Clandestinos Collective, Stokes Croft, Bristol, 9 May 2016

Shalak Attack is a Canadian-Chilean artist who has been spraying urban murals across the world for over a decade. She and her husband are currently in the UK (London) with an exhibition ‘In the Raw’ of their work. What I love about this piece is that of all the places in the UK that they might have gone for the weekend, they chose Bristol and Stokes Croft…getting in some recreational spraying. How cool is that? I will post the second half of this happy event very soon.