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.

230. Warden Road

One of the true pleasures of photographing street art is finding some of subtle hidden pieces that are out there, but are often overlooked. 23 Magpies specialises in wildlife wheatpastes, often stuck in such ordinary places that if you blink you miss them.

23 Magpies, Warden Road, Bristol, May 2016
23 Magpies, Warden Road, Bristol, May 2016

This lovely work of a crow on sheet music is pasted onto a utility box, much as the chameleon was not far up the road on Dean Lane. I don’t know how long this has been here, but I only noticed it last week.

23 Magpies, Warden Road, Bristol, May 2016
23 Magpies, Warden Road, Bristol, May 2016

I am very fond of these pasteups, they feel like my own little treasures. If you look carefully you can see one of Andy Council’s pieces in the background.

224. Dean Lane skate park (2)

Dean Lane skate park is situated between Dean Lane and the Eastern end of North Street, and is a major draw for street and graffiti artists. The skaters quite like it too. Just on the way out of the park I noticed this poster, which I kind of walked past without really registering it, and then went back to it, thinking it was rather unusual. It is in fact a pasteup piece by Copyright an artist who has graced the streets of Bristol previously, notably during Upfest. His website is here.

Copyright, Dean Lane skate park, Bristol, April 2016
Copyright, Dean Lane skate park, Bristol, April 2016

Since taking this picture at the end of April, I have since found another poster in North Bristol, equally striking.

This is beautiful. A simple stencil and a lovely portrait. His style is very recognisable…I say that now that I know who he is and have done some searches on his work. I really like this work and rather wish I could peel it off the wall and take it home. I think his works for sale are a little outside my price bracket.

219. Stokes Croft, various

I am enjoying spreading out my posts of Tian’s fabulous work in Stokes Croft. His tour of England has been something of a success, and pasteups are appearing on social media from all over the country.

This is another iconic moment in film history. Who could ever forget this scene when Ursula Andress, playing Honey Ryder, emerges like a goddess from the sea in the 1962 Bond movie Dr.No.

Tian, Stokes Croft, Bristol, April 2016
Tian, Stokes Croft, Bristol, April 2016

Now she emerges from the walls of Stokes Croft, as if she has been here all the time since 1962. I just love the content and execution in Tian’s work. Top notch stuff.

211. Johnny Ball Lane

For many people reading this, the name Johnny Ball conjurs up images of a children’s TV presenter, and it is difficult to wipe that image. This lane I presume is named after a different Johnny Ball. Some time ago I snapped this unusual Kid Crayon wheatpaste, before I knew who he was. There is something simple and charming about it and it declares his presence on the street art map.

Kid Crayon, Johnny Ball Lane, Bristol, August 2015
Kid Crayon, Johnny Ball Lane, Bristol, August 2015

Unlike other works he has done, there is no portrait, but the different coloured eyes are there. I really do like his work, it is unusual, there is nobody else who does it quite like this. The poster has long since gone.

207. Stokes Croft, Shambarber

This is just brilliant. A pasteup of Jodie Foster from the 1976 film Taxi Driver up against a hoarding in Stokes Croft. There is something about the subject, the location and the shades that make this…well, as I said before, just brilliant.

Tian, Jodie Foster, Stokes Croft, Bristol April 2016
Tian, Jodie Foster, Stokes Croft, Bristol April 2016

I think Tian’s work taps into our formative years and triggers these iconic memories (‘yes, I remember that’ moments) and presents them as if they are faded by time. It really works for me.

Tian, Jodie Foster, Stokes Croft, Bristol April 2016
Tian, Jodie Foster, Stokes Croft, Bristol April 2016

Better still, Tian has left a trail of wheatpastes all over Stokes Croft and I look forward to sharing them with you, over the coming days.

197, Stokes Croft, PR Solicitors

I have had this picture in my archive for a while, but simply never got round to publishing it. I love the piece, but the photograph is not very good, slightly blurred and so I have held back. It is by Kid Crayon though, and I do so very much like his work, so the time has come.

Kid Crayon, Stokes Croft, Bristol, September 2015
Kid Crayon, Stokes Croft, Bristol, September 2015

Kid Crayon’s wheatpastes are really curious. His style is quite unique, and it is difficult to see who might have influenced him. Not that it really matters. I really like his stuff, and am always pleased to uncover another work. I saw a new one last week and will post about it soon.

196. Hillgrove Street (6)

What a lovely surprise I had on Thursday this week…a new artist has hit the streets of Bristol. When I say new, I mean new to me. Tian is a French artist, born in le Mans in 1964, which makes him pretty cool in my book, we are the same age. In 1982 formed a punk-reggae band called Nuclear Device…remember them?…nor me. He started pasting in 2007 and has been going from strength to strength since then.

Tian, Hillgrove Street, Bristol, April 2016
Tian, Hillgrove Street, Bristol, April 2016

He is currently ‘on tour’ in the UK (see his itinerary on his Facebook page here) and was in Bristol from the 18-20 April. So far I have found three of his paste-ups but I will be out looking for more…you can do a lot of pasting in three days. Because this is the first of his works that I saw I am dedicating a single post to it. I will probably post collections by area if I find a lot of his work. I really like this style, the tints and subject material, but of course I am always a big fan of wheatpastes. This piece made me really happy.

Is that Sphia Loren?

More from Tian’s own excellent website.

152. Jamaica Street

I surprise myself that this is the first post from Jamaica Street…it won’t be the last. I spotted this tiny wheatpaste a few weeks ago. It is by the fabulous 23 Magpies from Gloucester, and is so different from most of the street art I see. I love her work, and featured a piece from Dean Lane back in September 2015.

23 Magpies, Jamaica Street, Bristol, March 2016
23 Magpies, Jamaica Street, Bristol, March 2016

23 Magpies currently has an exhibition of her work in Gloucester Guildhall. I think it unlikely that I shall be able to go, but I will keep an eye out for more of her works in Bristol.

SAMSUNG CAMERA PICTURES
23 Magpies, Jamaica Street, Bristol, March 2016

This flying squirrel is certainly one of the more unusual pieces I have seen.

7/10

122. Dean Lane (4)

I love Dean Lane. It is a road that joins Coronation Road, which runs alongside the New Cut, with North Street, and at its southern end plays host to some of the most creative street art in the area. There is a public swimming pool and skate park on Dean Lane, and both are plastered with graffiti and street art.

Beastie, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2016
Beastie, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2016

This piece by Beastie is curious. It is a wheatpaste of an Ordnance Survey map that has a sketchy drawing and some spray work on it. Just to add to its quirkiness, somebody has subsequently added a pink sticker.

Beastie, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2016
Beastie, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2016

I make no secret of the fact that I am particularly fond of wheatpastes, and this one is a beauty.

8/10