Back to more familiar territory with this absolute stunner from Hemper at the M32 from March 2016. Although it is obvious now to see the letters HEMS, at the time I took these pictures I was less familiar with Bristol artists and in particular the wildstyle writers, so I probably didn’t post this beauty because I didn’t know the artist,
Hemper, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2016
I cannot begin to articulate just how good this piece is. The letter style is outstanding, but it is the horizontally graded fills with drips and dots that makes this piece special for me. A very classy piece from a top Bristol artist.
In a small way, the lack of new art being sprayed in Bristol due to coronavirus lock down, has enabled me to dip into my archives and share with you some pieces that I simply didn’t have space for at the timw I took the pictures. The next three posts are from a trip to Shoreditch, London in August 2016.
Tizer, Shoreditch, London, August 2016
This amazing piece of widlstyle writing is by Tizer who I understand is generally considered to be one of the best graffiti writers in the old smoke. Spelling out TIZER, the green,yellow and gold metallic-looking fill is given depth by the cleverly lined 3D shadow. Nice too be able to share this one from Tizer, an artist that when I originally saw this was completely off my radar (living in the provices as I do).
Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2023Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2023Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2023Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2023Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2023Hire, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2023Hire, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2023Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2023Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2023Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2023Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2022Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2022Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 222Hire, Brunel Way, Bristol, June 2022Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2022Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2022Hire, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, February 2022Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2021Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2021Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2021Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2021Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2021Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2021Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2020Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2020Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2020Hire, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2020Hire, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2020Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2019Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2019Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2017Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2018Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2020Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2020Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2020Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2019Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2019Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2019Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2019Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2019Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2019Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2018Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2018Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2018Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2018Hire, St Werburghs, Bristol, August 2018Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2018Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2018Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2018Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2017Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2018Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2020Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2017Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2017Soge and Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2017Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2017Hire, The Bearpit, Bristol, April 2016Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2017Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2017Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2017Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2017Hire, St Werburghs tunnel, Bristol, June 2016Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2017Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2017Hire, The Bearpit, Bristol, March 2017Laic217 and Hire, Armada Place, Bristol, April 2017
Like many of these archive posts from Upfests passim, it is hard to understand why I haven’t posted this one from SkyHigh and Roo before. I can only think that it is because I never got a clean shot of the finished collaboration.
SkyHigh and Roo, Upfest 2016, Bristol, July 2016
These two London-based artists collaborate often, and where you find a SkyHigh piece, there is usually a Roo piece nearby. I took these pictures just as Roo (who previously I have assigned a male gender – dammit) was putting the finishing touches to her work. I suspect the lower right hand quadrant is not quite finished in these pictures.
SkyHigh, Upfest 2016, Bristol, July 2016
The SkyHigh half of the collaboration spells out SKY in his characteristic variety of block letters, each different from the next, and the colours used here are incredibly bright and cheerful. This is first class graffiti writing.
Roo, Upfest 2016, Bristol, July 2016
Roo has painted what I think is a dog, but looks a lot like a moose without antlers to me. The mischievous character has been spraying the letters Roo in magenta paint on the wall behind – a nice idea executed really well. This is a fine collaboration and I can only apologise for not sharing it before. (lots more apologies to come as I continue to scour the archives).
Somehow, since the lock down I have a lot less free time than I had before, which feels rather counter-intuitive. I am still working full time, only at home and mostly on Covid-19 communications. The kids are at home all the time and there is no respite from looking after them 24/7. The dog still needs walks. My wife too is working full time at home and occupies the study to work, which is where our main computer resides, and all my associated street art files etc.
The upshot is that I am writing these posts in the few minutes I can when my wife takes a shower in the morning. I am on leave next week, and might be able to write a whole bunch of posts to get a little bit ahead. I don’t like flying by the seat of my pants.
Rusk, Upfest 2016, Bristol, July 2016
This is a stunning piece from the perfectionist Rusk on the RAW wall at Upfest 2016. I consider this to be an outstanding piece of writing and somehow Rusk, using highlights, has managed to create a metallic effect, so the whole thing looks like the side of a car or something like that. I can’t understand why I’ve not posted this before. Worth the wait.
This is one of the last pre-lock down pieces from March this year (photographed in April) that I have (not strictly true, as I do have more, but it is the last one I am posting for a while, before I start on a trip through the archives. Painted by Bnie, this beautiful piece of graffiti writing was sprayed at the same time as Hazard and Smak decorated this hoarding (see yesterday’s post).
Bnie, Upper York Street, Bristol, April 2020
This, I think, is the crispest, cleanest piece I have seen from Bnie to date and shows off her talents perfectly.The alternation of graded yellow and blue fills is really nicely done and the patterned 3D shading, a bit of a Bnie trademark, is superb. A classy piece.
I have been to this hoarding three times and each time the light has been overpowering (whatever happened to those overcast days?). The sun reflects off the windows of buildings behind the camera which reflect dappled sunlight all over this wall, ruining any chance of a decent shot. To take these pictures I waited 20 minutes for the slowest-moving solitary cloud to pass over the sun (I guess I was lucky), and then had to act fast.
Hazard and Smak, Upper York Street, Bristol, April 2020
The beautiful collaboration is from Hazard and Smak and I think was one of the very last pre-lock down pieces in town. The hoarding surrounds a whole block that has been demolished, bar one single house, which you can see in this photograph. It is like a scene from the Disney Pixar movie Up.
Hazard, Upper York Street, Bristol, April 2020
On the left is a stunning leopard by Hazard (Harriet Wood) which speaks for itself really. The whiskers are particularly good, and I like the way the whole thing bleeds into the Smak writing next to it.
Smak, Upper York Street, Bristol, April 2020
Smak consistently produces graffiti writing of the highest order and this is another one to enjoy. Book-ended by leopard spots the mixture of angular and rounded letters is beautifully presented and filled thoughtfully with blues and yellows. Altogether a lovely collaboration.
On Turbo Island, one of the spots in Bristol that often exposes some of our greatest social problems in the city, is this wonderful message of thanks from Ryder to the National Health Service. Of course we must shout out to not only the NHS but also care home workers, all key workers, public servants and civil servants who are keeping this country ticking over during this difficult period. Notable by their absence in this list of heroes are bankers and hedge fund managers – I seem to remember the nation bailing them out about a decade ago. How quiet they are right now, speculating about how much money they can make when we come out of this crisis. Leopards never change their spots.
Ryder, Turbo Island, Bristol, April 2020
Ryder has managed to get out during lock down to create this piece, and I guess it could be interpreted as mental and physical exercise, and I guess he may have worn a mask when painting it. Just to emphasise the point about some of the social problems in this area, the plastic object directly in front of the wall is a sleeping bag/tent for some poor homeless person.
Thank you Ryder for raising the spirits of Bristol citizens at this time.
A whole block of buildings bar one house on Upper York Street has been demolished and the site is being developed. While this meant that some great graff walls disappeared, they have been temporarily replaced with hoardings. A week or two back some Bristol artists hit the hoardings and this piece from Decay was painted then.
Decay, Upper York Street, Bristol, April 2020
This is a really nice piece from Decay in which he has adopted a slightly different typeface design from the one we are used to seeing. The red line outline provides a nice 3D effect and the painted drips (as opposed to drippy drips) are a nice touch.
This wall is not easy to photograph due to the big sky above it, and afternoons are very tricky indeed – I have been foolish enough to walk down there on three sunny afternoons! This might explain the slightly washed-out look in these pictures.
Right, so we are going to return to the now for a little while, after a short Covid-19 induced excursion through the archives. This recent piece from Smak at the M32 roundabout is really clever.
Smak, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2020
The overall effect looks like it has been partially scrubbed by some ‘do gooder’ trying to clean the wall, but it is designed to look like this, which when you consider it, is quite amazing. Clearly recognisable as Smak’s work, his style and class shine through in this original lock down piece.
Natural adventures 