316. M32 J3 Roundabout (14)

There is little doubt in my mind that the brightest rising star on the street art scene in Bristol is Sled One. His work, both the wildstyle writing and his freestyle characters are second to none, and yet I feel there is still so much more to come from this extremely talented young artist. My son tells me he is a good skater too, which obviously adds to his credibility as a street phenomenon.

Sled One, M32 Roundabout,Bristol, June 2016
Sled One, M32 Roundabout,Bristol, June 2016

This writing demonstrates his incredible range. His shapes vary from piece to piece. He seems to have an incredible capacity to see what he wants to create and then go and do it. I find this piece really compelling, and just by looking at it you can see the quality shining through.

313. Dean Lane skate park (12)

I was away in London earlier this week, starting a new job that requires me to work two days a week in ‘the old smoke’. It is my home city, so I feel quite comfortable being back there, but would never swap it for my life in Bristol now. This, however, is a slight digression.

On Monday night in my soulless hotel room, I was fretting about this amazing new Zase and Dekor piece that they slapped up in Bristol on Saturday (and had posted on Instagram).

Zase and Dekor, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2016
Zase and Dekor, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2016

The turnover is so high at Dean Lane, I was desperate to get back to Bristol and photograph it before it got tagged or over-painted.

Zase and Dekor, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2016
Zase and Dekor, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2016

On Wednesday, my first day back in my Bristol Office, I sprinted over to the skate park in my lunch break (I’ve got the return journey down to about 40 minutes) and was rewarded with this remarkable piece. I have always had huge admiration for the Zase-Dekor collaborations that mostly reside in the North of Bristol.

Zase and Dekor, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2016
Zase and Dekor, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2016

Usually they craft huge works, but this one is much smaller and clearly a bit of fun. Many of the hallmarks are there…the cartoon-style character and wildstyle ZASE, and the wonderful crisp lines and clean finish. A small masterpiece.

Zase and Dekor, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2016
Zase and Dekor, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2016

311. Brunswick Square hoardings (3)

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
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.

45RPM, Brunswick Square, Bristol, March 2016
45RPM, Brunswick Square, Bristol, March 2016

308. Upper York Street

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
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.

Epok, Upper York Street, Bristol, June 2016
Epok, Upper York Street, Bristol, June 2016

295. Dean Lane skate park (11)

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
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
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.

294. Unity Street (2)

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
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.

292. Upper York Street (1)

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, 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
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.

287. Unity Street (1)

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, 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.

SledOne, Unity Street, Bristol, June 2016
SledOne, Unity Street, Bristol, June 2016

280. M32 Roundabout J3 (12)

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
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.

279. Midland Street (4)

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
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
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.