The piece I posted by 45RPM recently of the anteater seemed to be very popular, so I am posting another of his works, this time from the magnificent Brunswick Square hoardings. This piece features the RPM lettering and a rather angry looking bulldog squeezing his way into the picture.
45RPM, Brunswick Square, Bristol, March 2016
I have to say that I think 45RPM’s work is quite an acquired taste, or maybe that is just me, but every new piece of his that I see, the more I seem to enjoy them, and now, going back through my files, I am finding more of them and liking them better on this ‘second viewing’ than on the first. There is more to come on and from this fine street artist.
This is a wonderful work by Epok, and it sits next to a lovely piece by Deamze that I featured recently. Like all of his works, this has beautifully clean edges and the letters EPOK are on a slant in a geometric style.
Epok, Upper York Street, Bristol, June 2016
Particularly notable about this piece is the green and blue effect over the top of the lettering. Epok’s work is always a pleasure to look at and admire. Distinctive, clean and memorable.
After featuring three consecutive pieces by Laic217 which have no writing, I return to a recent work by him in the style I am more accustomed to. His name in a simple wildstyle form and a focal point somewhere in the lettering.
Laic217, Dean Lane skate park, Bristol, June 2016
I think the lettering is some of his best to date, clean lines and interesting in-fill, and a 3D effect that makes it stand out. The skeleton figure is popping up behind the ‘A’ and spray painting the ‘L’.
Laic217, Dean Lane skate park, Bristol, June 2016+
This is a fun piece at the Dean Lane site, and I suspect he had a little more time to complete the work. All in all it looks much cleaner and more composed than some of his previous stuff.
Epok has only featured in one of my posts to date (a collaboration with 3Dom and Voyder) which is shameful on my part. His work can be found all over the city and is remarkably distinctive. Nearly always he spells out his name in diagonally leaning wildstyle lettering that is highly cryptic and styalised. He creates large blocky geometric shapes on the slant and selects beautiful colour combinations. Epok ranks alongside Soker and Deamze in his mastery of the form.
Epok, Unity Street, Bristol, June 2016
I love his work, and can’t apologise enough for not presenting more of it. I will dig out more of his work and share it. This piece appeared on his Instagram feed on 9 May 2016.
When I started blogging about street art, roughly a year ago, I didn’t post very often about Bristol’s writers. I think that is because wildstyle writing is a bit of an acquired taste…but once you have a taste for it, it becomes addictive, like so many things in life.
Deamze, Upper York Street, Bristol, April 2016
Deamze has really been at the heart of winning me over to this graffiti art form – his pieces are everywhere and his styles vary, but they are always unmistakably his. He is part of Bristol’s USP and should be more widely celebrated in my view. This stunning piece is on a building at the junction between Upper York Street and Wilder Street, which is becoming my favourite graff area.
Deamze, Upper York Street, Bristol, April 2016
There is little point in me writing much about how good this piece is. Just look at it and admire his immense talent.
The area around Gardiner Haskins, the Bristol department store, is somewhere I like to go about once a month, as the turnover here is lower than at other favoured haunts for graffiti artists in Bristol. On my most recent visit I came across this lovely 3Dom piece.
3Dom, Unity Street, Bristol, June 2016
3Dom has a very fine wildstyle style and this is a really perfect example of it. The cat, of course is slightly weird but brilliant. I love most of 3Dom’s work and this is certainly one that works for me. More pieces to come from this road soon.
UPDATE: the cat is by Sled One. Thank you 3Dom for your Instagram correction.
Voyder is an artist and wildstyle graffiti writer who I think is Bristol based, and often collaborates with Deamze and Soker. His website reveals little about him, but showcases his artwork beautifully. Known for his writing and art pieces in equal measure he has a strong presence in Bristol, and is a member of ASK.
Voyder, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2016
His writing is distinctive in that it is usually in thin script, rather than the cryptic block style other Bristol artists use, and on a slant, much more like a handwritten signature. His work really stands out from the crowd, because of its distinctive style. I have a whole load more of his work stacking up and waiting to write about. We are very lucky in Bristol to have so many talented wildstyle writers, and walls for them to spray.
It is rewarding to know that these pages occasionally get read by people who are able to help me with identification and clarification. One such intervention was made recently by a blogger (with no site) called Norman. The information he gave me has enabled me to post this piece, which I have been sitting on since March 2016.
Soker, Midland Street, Bristol, March 2016
Norman posted a comment on my blog about this amazing piece by Deamze which is on the wall adjacent to this one. He said that the piece next to Deamze was by Soker (Sokem). But it is not that straightforward, this piece is actually not only in orbnate wildstyle, but also an anagram of Sokem – Omske. Now, of course it is obvious!
Soker, Midland Street, Bristol, March 2016
These two pieces together (Deamze and Soker) are amongst my favourite of the year. Soker is a master of wildstyle writing in Bristol, and this is an exceptional work. I love the character smoking a joint – he looks like something out of a kids adventure cartoon. I have Norman to thank in being able, at last, to share it with you.
Wilder Street is becoming one of the hottest spots for street art in North Bristol at the moment. Sandwiched between the the A38 and A4404 it is slightly off the beaten track and, for the time being, away from the main tagging areas, although I’m sure it won’t be long before they do their stuff here too.
T-Rex, Wilder Street, Bristol, May 2016
I was surprised a few short weeks ago to find this lovely, and slightly eclectic, collaboration between T-Rex, Ryder and Aspire on the wall of a local small business. I haven’t yet featured any of T-Rex or Ryder’s work before, although I have seen a fair bit of it around. They tend to collaborate quite a lot, T-Rex usually spraying dinosaurs and Ryder writing his name. I don’t yet know very much about either of them, but will dig out more.
Ryder, Wilder Street, Bristol, May 2016
Aspire needs no introduction, and here he gives us one of his wonderful blue tits that he seems to favour. He is so prolific at the moment, that it is hard for me to post his most recent work. I have at least two more in the queue.
Aspire, Wilder Street, Bristol, May 2016
So we have three nice pieces, painted together, but I am not too sure how well they work together in the same space. Having said that, this is the kind of collaboration that makes the Bristol scene so special.
Now I am back in the UK, after a wonderful trip across ‘the pond’, I can resume my posts on Bristol street art/graffiti (with maybe a couple of guest entries from New York).
This is a truly brilliant collaboration from a few weeks ago in Dean Lane between Zesk and Hemper. Zesk has appeared in these pages a couple of times, and his writing is becoming much more familiar, especially his choice of colours (purples and golds) combined with spheres. Hemper I haven’t come across before, which is a little surprising as he has been writing in Bristol since 2009. There is a lovely profile on Hemper here – from the great ‘Weapon of Choice‘ website.
Zesk and Hemper (detail), Dean Lane skate park, Bristol, May 2016
This collaboration was a bit of fun, and I think was sprayed at the same time as the recent Inkie piece. You will notice that a writer – Suger – has made an appearance. His improving burners are turning up all over the place in Bristol.
Zesk and Hemper, Dean Lane skate park, Bristol, May 2016
Now back to the streets, where I have already noticed a whole bunch of new stuff has gone up while I have been away.
Natural adventures 