Tag: Writer

1860. M32 roundabout J3 (103)

Hemper is something of an enigma, as indeed are so many street artists in Bristol. Other than that he has long experience spraying in the city and that he is highly regarded by his peers, I really know very little about him.

Hemper, M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 2018
Hemper, M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 2018

This is a wonderfully sophisticated piece of wildstyle writing that disguises the letters HEMS, each of the letters in alternate white or black paint. The interlocking of the letters is something of a marvel, and just looking at the piece makes my mind boggle. It really is very good.

Hemper, M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 2018
Hemper, M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 2018

I particularly like the little green spheres that set the whole thing off, and feel that without them it might have looked a little sterile. This is the second piece I have posted from a recent paint jam at this spot.

1843. Upfest 2018 (84)

I think I might have said this last year, but somehow Upfest wouldn’t feel like Upfest without a presence from Cheo. One of Bristol’s most established graffiti writers and character street artists, his work is always of the highest quality. Judging from his Instagram account, I think he prepares these pictures on his computer and then recreates scaled up versions, which lends itself to his very clean style with solid fills.

Cheo, Upfest, Bristol, October 2018
Cheo, Upfest, Bristol, October 2018

I have seen these characters a few times before. I never quite know what they are, frogs? toothless crocs? monsters? your guess is as good as mine. The writing has a feel of Japanese script to it and from time to time Cheo uses this. I really don’t know what it says, but would guess at CHEO, although I can’t see it myself. He finishes the whole thing off, of course, with one of his signature bees. All good.

1839. The Bearpit (168)

Mr Draws is not being quite as busy on the streets these days, so it was a welcome surprise to come across this recent piece in The Bearpit on my way in to work, especially as Bristol City Council are making it very difficult for anyone to do anything beautiful in The Bearpit at the moment.

Mr Draws, The Bearpit, Bristol, October 2018
Mr Draws, The Bearpit, Bristol, October 2018

This piece just screams out ‘doughnuts’ to me…I’m not sure if it is meant to, but it does. It is alwats great to see these happy pieces by Mr Draws, whose colourful works definitely brighten up the place.

1837. Waterloo Place (4)

Deamze comes up trumps again with this spectacular piece of wildstyle writing that was sprayed next to the piece by Kleiner Shames I posted a little while back on the wall at the back of the Sofa Project. This wall is just magnificent and both artists have used the same colour schemes but presented their personal styles, so strictly speaking this was working at the same time together, but not necessarily a collaboration.

Deamze, Waterloo Place, Bristol, October 2018
Deamze, Waterloo Place, Bristol, October 2018

Unusually, this is a piece without a cartoon character and has a little more gravitas for it. It almost feels more like a study…a serious piece of graffiti writing turned out impeccably with crisp lines and clean edges, strong solid fills and complex design. Even if not a fan of writing, one can marvel at the technical ability of the artist. I love this and its partner piece. Brilliant.

Kleiner Shames, Waterloo Place, Bristol, October 2018
Kleiner Shames, Waterloo Place, Bristol, October 2018

1832. Dean Lane skate park (173)

I got really lucky just before Halloween when I took my lunchtime constitutional down to Dean Lane. I always expect to see something new and occasionally expect to see an artist at work, but when that artist is Rusk it is a real treat and make no mistake.

Rusk, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2018
Rusk, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2018

Halloween I have observed is a time when street artists seem to enjoy hitting the streets and stretching their repertoire with a seasonal theme, which is always fun for people like me. This witty piece conflates Rusk with Count Duckula, the vegetarian duck vampire…who ever dreamed up that cartoon series?

Rusk, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2018
Rusk, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2018

Rusk always has time for a chat, and as he does so he makes fine adjustments to his work, always seeking perfection. Much of what I have learned about the Bristol street art scene and culture I have gathered from our conversations. I love the way he works so hard to get his pieces just right. It is a privilege to see him painting.

Rusk, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2018
Rusk, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2018

Unfortunately light conditions were a bit tricky – that autumnal sunshine is a real bugger, but at least I got some shots of the piece before it got tagged the following day. The day carried on being amazing with the arrival of Jee See just as Rusk was finishing off. My lunch break took a little longer than expected!

1826. The Bearpit (166)

I absolutely love this old one by Face 1st in The Bearpit, with its copper tones and trademark hair spelling out FACE. I guess that fairly soon I will need to do a gallery of his work because I have quite a large collection from the last three years.

Face 1st, The Bearpit, Bristol, January 2018
Face 1st, The Bearpit, Bristol, January 2018

What I really like about this artist is that he is relentless in pursuing his passion and will find any wall in Bristol that he can find and give it a face lift (see what I did there?). Always one of my favourites in Bristol and this particular one is a cracker.

1821. Raleigh Road (6)

OK, so I am going to take you on a bit of journey over the next few posts back to earlier in the year. Somehow these pieces got left behind (and there are many more where they came from), but now is as good a time to share them as any.

3Dom, Raleigh Road, Bristol, January 2018
3Dom, Raleigh Road, Bristol, January 2018

This is a van with a 3Dom piece on it, which I didn’t recognise at first as one of his until I saw the signature. It is always nice to see street art on vehicles, because the chance of seeing it is so much more remote than on static walls. I normally associate 3Dom with his surreal characters, but his writing is equally masterful and this is a great bit of mobile work.

1810. M32 roundabout J3 (99)

Smak has really been smashing it lately with some magnificent writing all over Bristol. His colour combinations, lettering and feature details are just getting better and better. This is a fine recent piece from the M32 Roundabout.

Smak, M32 roundabout, Bristol, October 2018
Smak, M32 roundabout, Bristol, October 2018

I love the colour progression from left to right, and the letters while slightly disguised are clearly legible. It is the temple facade in the middle of the piece that really lifts it up to another level and columns and stone too. This is a great piece.

Smak, M32 roundabout, Bristol, October 2018
Smak, M32 roundabout, Bristol, October 2018

1797. Moon Street (55)

I like surprises. Perhaps this is why I like photographing and writing about street art, because around every corner there could be another surprise. These days, when I visit Moon Street, I don’t expect to find anything new because turnover has slowed to a very gentle trickle. It was great then to see this rather lovely piece by Epok a couple of weeks back.

Epok, Moon Street, Bristol, October 2018
Epok, Moon Street, Bristol, October 2018

This piece by Epok doesn’t quite conform to his usual angular and geometric style, instead yielding to curvy legible piece of writing. It is always good to observe the range of an artist’s talent, and I think this is a marvelous tangent from his norm. Nice to see a high-quality piece on this wall which has gone slightly to the dogs.

1789. Upfest 2018 (65)

What a wonderful clean and colourful piece by Bristol-based Zase. There is rather a nice little story going on in this piece, and I love the sketch on the floor of the 3D writing of the artist’s name that appears on the right hand side of the piece.

Zase and Dekor, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Zase and Dekor, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

Zase has been painting solo for a little bit as his collaborator Dekor returned to his homeland for a while. It looks like this is by both of them, or at least it is signed by both on the bottom left-hand side of the piece, so maybe Dekor is back on the scene again. There is a serenity and maybe sadness about the piece, which is certainly one of my favourites of the festival. Oh yeah, and if you wanted evidence of the rain we had, the picture above is a little on the watery side…grrrrr.