A week or two back it seems Elvs hit the town with at least three pieces of which this was the second. This one was on the long wall at Dean Lane. The subtle and toned-down writing is in marked contrast with the scarlet backwash which brings the whole piece to life. I’m not sure the impact would be the same on a dull background.
Elvs, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2018
Elvs offers another reworking of a successful style and two things stand out for me. First is the vertical graded shading of the piece which is graduated from bottom to top, and second is the central vanishing point which is central to the work of Elvs. A fine piece.
This is a not-quite-finished piece from the magnificent Sled One, and it was his contribution to the ASK paint jam at the M32 roundabout. He was actually a day late, because he had had a hangover the day of the paint jam and didn’t feel like painting – so these guys are human after all.
Sled One, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2018
I am always completely amazed at how Sled One seems to be so at ease with his cans, he seems to create his work with the minimum of fuss and is able to put ehat is in hes head onto a wall. He is comfortable with both writing and creating fantastical characters, and is a real asset to The Paintsmiths, who he works for.
Sled One, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2018
This piece, even incomplete, looks stunning and I will have to go back to get a finished picture.
Last week I was cutting the lower branches and shoots off a lime tree that lines the road where I live – the council used to do it but have no money for such things any more – so that I could park the car without smearing it with aphids and get out of it without walking into a jungle. Anyhow, I digress, while I was pruning, I looked up and saw Sled One. We stopped for a chat, and it turns out he lives only a few doors up from me…I can’t believe that we haven’t bumped into each other before.
As so often happens in this game, I go in search of one thing and find something else. I had seen a post on Instagram of a beautiful new collaboration by Face 1st and Tasha Bee in Dean Lane, quite unusual, because it is not a spot that Face 1st regularly paints and their collaborations seem to be a bit of a new thing at the moment. When I got there, it had already been overpainted.
Elvs, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2018
The good news is that the piece covering it is by Elvs, whose work is always of a brilliant standard. In this work he has chosen some dark and subtle colours to create his unique writing. You should be able to read the word ‘ELVS’ as well as some additional characters, in what looks like Japanese to me. I’m not sure what it says.
Elvs, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2018
The tragedy of Dean Lane (but also the thing that makes it so special) is the transient nature of the work there – blink and you miss it. I was sorry not to see the PWA collaboration, but at least I was rewarded with this superb Elvs burner.
This is what Deamze specialises in, a fantastically intricate piece of writing accompanied by a cartoon character. In this piece, which was painted at the recent ASK crew paint jam, Deamze makes full use of bold primary colours – something not often seen in my experience of graffiti/street art.
I think this is a really sharp piece, beautifully executed, as if we should expect anything less. I don’t really know who the character is, he looks familiar but I can’t place him. Google searches failed me on this occasion.
This is a bright piece which looks amazing on this section of wall and the pictures with tree cover add that little something special. Fine work.
I haven’t seen any work from Ments for quite a while, so it was great to see this piece which was recently painted as part of the ASK crew paint jam. His work is quite different from other writers, having this rather organic feel to it, rather than the harsher straight lines and angles associated with most block writing.
Ments, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2018
The letters spell out MENTS, but it is difficult to make it out. I think this is a wonderful piece, but I feel that a little more prep work on the wall would have made it stand out even more. The piese was opainted the day before I took the picture, and the suitcase in front of it belongs to Sled One, whose piece I will feature soon.
I had to ask Sled One (who happened to be painting further along the wall) who this piece was by, because I didn’t recognise the style when I first saw it. He told me it was by Joe Poe or Poer who is from London. This would explain why I am not familiar with it.
Poer, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2018
This really is a top drawer piece of wildstyle writing from a classy artist who I really know little about. He seems to be a member of ASK or possibnly just received an invite to paint with them. I’ll have to do some more digging.
A few days ago, it would appear that the ASK crew and some friends held a paint jam down at the M32 roundabout. This tends to happen three or four times a year and is always a hugely welcome event. Over the next few days and weeks I will post all of the pieces from the session, starting with this outstanding work from Epok.
Epok, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2018
The first thing to notice about this is that the wall has been prepped really well – this is no throw up, but a fine work presented almost like a gallery. The nicely prepped wall complements the sharpness that Epok achieves with his work. Beautiful angular clean lines and fills, and a nicely chosen pallette. It might not be obvious, but the writing spells EPOK which is beautifully disguised. Epok never ever disappoints.
It feels like it has been a very long while since I saw anything new from Deamze, so this piece came as a long-awaited pleasure. In one of his favourite spots (I’m not sure anyone else sprays this wall) alongside the M32 he has created one of his most riotously colourful pieces to date.
Deamze, M32 cycle path, Bristol, May 2018
On the left hand side we see a fabulously intricate and sophisticated piece of wildstyle writing, spelling out DEAM, and on the right a trademark cartoon from this brilliant artist.
Deamze, M32 cycle path, Bristol, May 2018
Often the characters that Deamze recreates are from ’70s to ’90s TV shows, but I just can’t make out who this one is, and there isn’t a lot to go on to ‘Google it’ either. The whole thing is very refreshing and a reminder of just how good some of the Bristol street artists are.
Ugar is becoming something of a regular down at Dean Lane skate park, and his writing really stands out due to his unusual and irregular letters but particularly because of the fill style he uses.
Ugar, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2018
I am building up quite a good photographic collection of his work and I am enjoying watching his development as an artist. This is small but perfectly formed, a nice piece.
It is always great to find another Epok piece, especially when not expecting it. I don’t often get to St Werburghs tunnel, so when I do pretty much everything is new to me. I hadn’t seen this piece on social media, and although it is a fresh piece, I obviously didn’t get here in time to see it clean.
Epok, St Werburghs tunnel, Bristol, April 2018
One day I would live to get into the mind of taggers and bombers to understand their thinking. Are there any protocols? Is everything a fair target for their graffiti? What do they respect/disrespect? Do they care about anything? My guess is that they have little conscience and genuinely don’t care what they do. Wreckless anarchy, which is probably quite an attractive option for some people. The class and quality of Epok’s work shines through though – this is a really good piece by him. Hats off.
Natural adventures 