Smak is an artist who just keeps on giving. This is yet another perfect example of wildstyle writing at its best. Using the same colour palette chosen by Ments, he spells out SMAK in grey and embellished it with reds, pinks and blues.
Smak, Wilder Street, Bristol, December 2018
Smak, unlike Ments, always keeps his pieces perfectly proportioned and they are easy on the eye. He has also included a little mouse making a rather rude gesture to the right. The gesture is aimed at the central piece of this triptych by Sled One, which will make since when you see it in a couple of days.
This ‘wonder wall’ in Wilder Street is curated by Where the Wall, a Bristol street art tour business and as such it is rarely if ever tagged. It is almost like a showcase wall which guarantees high-quality artwork. The only downside is that the turnover here is glacially slow, maybe every six months or so.
Ments, Wilder Street, Bristol, December 2018
This piece by Ments is one part of a three-piece collaborative wall which includes Sled One and Smak (to follow). Ments has appeared in Natural Adventures many times, but he seems recently to have had an epiphany and he is really branching out from his trademark ‘organic’ work. The writing spells out MENTS and is beautifully worked. The thing with Ments is that he often deviated from any kind of symmetry in his work and does not confine himself to exacting letter shapes or heights etc, which sometimes makes his work look a little out of proportion. I suspect this is deliberate. Lovely piece.
I photographed this piece by 2Keen a long while back, before I knew anything about the artist. To me, the piece looks unfinished, and I know from having met him a few times while he was doing his Redland collaboration that he can take a while to complete a piece.
2Keen, Wilder Street, Bristol, September 2016
This wild smiling character is similar to others that I have seen, and he seems to create them with exaggerated features and a little bit of edge to them. One that I took in passing and have had archived for a long while. I should go back to see if it is still there.
This is an unusual pice of writing from Ryder. I don’t think it is the writing itself that is unusual, rather it is the bare wood hoarding behind it. Usually a backwash is applied to make the piece stand out on a single colour. Not only does this piece ignore such things, it also spans around a concrete pillar.
Ryder, Wilder Street, Bristol, May 2016
Ryder is a fine Bristol writer, who I was slow to pick up on and appreciate, but I am a fan of his work now. This one does look a bit like a jelly though, all sort of wibbly wobbly, and the shading has a kind of electric/cosmos feel to it. Unusual.
Wilder street is home to some of the best walls in Bristol, but the turnover here is not as high as in other parts of Bristol. I think it is because some of the walls are curated and pieces left on show for longer.
Laic217, Wilder Street, Bristol, December 2017
This is an interesting work by Laic217, who appears to have dropped his activity of late. I expect it is better viewed through 3D glasses, although I am never quite sure if artwork like this is done simply to give the effect of a 3D piece or if they actually work as well.
Laic217, Wilder Street, Bristol, December 2017
I love the way his signature is cleverly worked into the elbow of the skeleton character. Now where are those cardboard glasses?
You’d have to go back to July 2017 to see this, although it remained for a few months. The fine Deamze piece was sprayed on the Where the Wall curated wall in Wilder Street and was one of three pieces sprayed at that time, the others being by Aintzane Crucet and Hide2
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Deamze, Wilder Street, Bristol, August 2017
Deamze is the local artist of the three and probably played host to the other two, making arrangements for them to spray this wall. His is a technically fabulous piece, and the colour selections were made to blend in with the other two artists. I love the way that artists cooperate and collaborate like this, it certainly seems to bring out the best in them.
Hide2, Wilder Street, Bristol, August 2017Aintzane Crucet, Wilder Street, Bristol, August 2017
This wall in the famous Wilder Street is beautifully curated by Where the Wall and never seems to get tagged, this is probably down to the high quality of the collaborations that get permission to spray here. It is a little bit more like an outdoor gallery than graffiti wall.
Epok, Wilder Street, Bristol, November 2017
Set on a nicely prepped red brick colour, this wonderful collaboration from three members of the ASK crew, Epok, Sepr and Deamze is a graffiti/street art feast. First up is a lovely clean angular piece of wildstyle writing, so typical of Epok. His work rarely fits the ‘rectangular’ boundaries that most writers work to, with his work often smaller at one end than the other.
Sepr, Wilder Street, Bristol, November 2017
Next up is the recently invigorated Sepr, who until recently has been relatively quiet on the streets, but of late has become quite busy, which is a great thing for all of us. Sepr has a great ability to tell stories through his cartoonesque work.
Sepr, Wilder Street, Bristol, November 2017
In this piece Sepr shows, by way of a thought bubble, that the karate protagonist is using his concentration to break a plank of wood – his mind is on a tree hugging his wife/partner – he is focusing his jealousy and rage into kinetic energy…or something like that.
Deamze, Wilder Street, Bristol, November 2017
The third part of this collaboration is yet another clean and tidy piece of wildstyle writing from Deamze, once again without a character. The balance of the three pieces is perfect, and the colour selections easy on the eye and complementary. A really great wall, well worth a gander.
This is another little post-Upfest ‘gift’ this time from Hide2 in the Stokes Croft area of Bristol. It is one of three pieces on Wilder street, the others being from Aintzane Crucet and Deamze, courtesy of the curated wall from Where the Wall.
Hide2, Wilder Street, Bristol, August 2017
This is not Hide2’s Upfest piece, which will be posted in due course, but it is nonetheless a wonderful work of wildstyle writing and of a really high standard. The colour choices are excellent and definition and shadows in his lettering is highly accomplished.
Hide2 is based in Malaga, Spain and I highly recommend a quick look at his Instagram feed. All good.
I absolutely love doing this, for so many reasons, but it is particularly gratifying that on the same day I write a post about an Upfest artist new to me I find a street piece by the same artist. It is like having two Christmases at once. This is what happened with this beautiful piece by Aintzane Crucet.
Aintzane Crucet, Wilder Street, Bristol, August 2017
It can be found on the Where the Wall curated wall in Wilder Street and was sprayed in the immediate aftermath of Upfest. It would seem that Deamze helped out with the spot, as he has a piece just to the right (to follow).
Aintzane Crucet, Wilder Street, Bristol, August 2017
I could seriously fall in love with this illustrator’s work. It is very different from much of the stuff we see in Bristol, and has a welcoming, soft appearance together with a complex story. A fox tail attached to what looks like a duck-billed platypus, a keyhole on the girl’s forehead and a teapot. What is going on? Happy days.
Decay is a very fast worker, and this was the second piece that he sprayed on this particular day back in April after a paint jam in The Bearpit. Although much of his work follows a similar formula, each piece is different, and brings his hallmark to a wall.
Decay, Wilder Street, Bristol, April 2017
I wanted to post this piece before It got lost in my archive (like hundreds of others) and before I get too carried away with Upfest 2017 pictures. Those of you who know the Bristol street art scene will notice the work of another great abstract graffiti artist, Mr Klue, just to the left of this piece.
Decay, Wilder Street, Bristol, April 2017
It is interesting to see how Decay has sprayed beyond the doorway as if it wasn’t even there, mentally filling in the gaps. Happy face.
Natural adventures 