Tag: Writing

1132. Upfest 2017 (97)

My guess is that this is a cheeky little unofficial piece by Whysayit at Upfest this year. To my reasonably trained eye this looks like an opportunistic ‘quick one’ from an artist beter known for his ‘marginally less than legal’ tags and graffiti art all over the City.

Whysayit, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Whysayit, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

It is a nice piece executed in his square style, which looks like it was put up in a bit of a hurry. I suspect he saw a free board at the festival and took his chance to make his mark, and why not? Festivals run the risk of being too clinical and up their own backsides with ‘corporate’ pieces – it is only when we have some real local street/graffiti artists that we remind ourselves what this is all about. Thank you YSAE.

1124. Dean Lane skate park (88)

Although Laic217 seems to be slightly less busy on the streets than he was say, six months ago, he is still producing regular pieces, which is great for me as it is no secret that I love his work.

Laic217, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2017
Laic217, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2017

This piece contains the familiar format of a skeleton in a tracksuit sprayiong out the letters LAIC. The two components of the piece blend realy well and I love the color selections across the whole piece.

Laic217, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2017
Laic217, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2017

He has sprayed this in a particularly narrow passage which explains why there aren’t any decent front on pictures of this piece. As always, a real pleasure to share his work with you.

1120. M32 Cycle path (9)

Deamze owns this wall. I have only ever seen pieces by him here. Maybe that is an accident of my infrequent visits, or maybe he just owns the wall. Deamze also owns this style of wildstyle writing accompanied by a cartoon character – he carries it off every time.

Deamze, M32 cycle path, Bristol, July 2017
Deamze, M32 cycle path, Bristol, July 2017

The writing in this piece is exceptional – set on a cartoon brick wall and some puddles, the jagged lettering contrasts and stands out. I have tried a few Google searches to try and work out who the character is, and looking at the picture kind of rings a bell, but I have thus far drawn a blank.

Deamze, M32 cycle path, Bristol, July 2017
Deamze, M32 cycle path, Bristol, July 2017

I have several more Deamze pieces from this wall sitting in my archives. If only I had more time…

1115. Raleigh Road, Vector (16)

It is all too easy to become a bit blasé about Voyder’s incredible writing as everything he does is of such a high standard and in a class of its own. One expects perfection and usually that is what he gives. This piece, in one of his favourite haunts is so crisp and clean and beautifully set off by the neon green flash.

Voyder, Raleigh Road, Bristol, October 2017
Voyder, Raleigh Road, Bristol, October 2017

Unfortunately, the true colours of the piece haven’t really come across very well as I took the pictures on a bright day, but the wall was in the shade. Nonetheless the quality of the piece shines through.

Voyder, Raleigh Road, Bristol, October 2017
Voyder, Raleigh Road, Bristol, October 2017

I really like the clever way he seems to be able to lift the neon squiggle from the writing by giving it a shadow that drops below the lettering, giving it a stunning 3D effect. Do I like this piece? Do you need to ask?

1109. First Street Garden, New York (1)

Each morning when visiting NYC, I took a stroll for about an hour before the rest of the family got up, and went on the hunt to find some graffiti/street art. I didn’t think for one minute I would find so much. This piece was one of several in a little alleyway off East First Street.

Stem, First Street Garden, New York, October 2017
Stem, First Street Garden, New York, October 2017

This piece is by an old school New York graffiti artist called Stem. It is just possible to make out his name from the wildstyle writing. This is a really lovely piece that oozes a New York style one is so accustomed to seeing in books, documentaries etc.

Stem, First Street Garden, New York, October 2017
Stem, First Street Garden, New York, October 2017

There was a nice man who chatted with me about this piece and some of the others in this little lane. He seemed to know a lot about them. He also suggested I visit the ‘wall of fame’ in Harlem, which I did with limited success.

 

 

1092. Dean Lane skate park (83)

OK, so I’ve got a bit of an Elvs thing going on at the moment, but that is alright isn’t it? I mean it is my blog after all, and if I rather like something I feel it is the right thing to do to share it. Elvs really is a fabulous wildstyle writer, and I’m sure that even if you don’t like graffiti art, you can appreciate the great technical qualities of great writing.

Elvs, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2016
Elvs, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2016
I don’t know what the oriental characters across the top say, if indeed they say anything at all, but Elvs tagged this picture on Instagram with a geotag of Japan, so I guess it is Japanese. As with his other pieces, the top of the E and S share the same design. More great stuff from Elvs.

1091. St Werburghs tunnel (15)

Having recently posted about Elvs, I thought I would dig out more of his work from my files, and this beautiful piece was in St Werburghs tunnel back in May 2016. He really does have a wonderfully ornate style, but he keeps his lettering even in height, so the whole piece could fit into a rectangular surround.

Elvs, St Werburghs tunnel, Bristol, May 2016
Elvs, St Werburghs tunnel, Bristol, May 2016

I really like the way that he has replicated the pattern in the top part of the ‘e’ and the top part of the ‘s’, which I think is a trademark feature of his work. There is also a cheeky little one-eyed pyramid poking out of the top of the piece. This is really superb wildstyle writing.

Elvs, St Werburghs tunnel, Bristol, May 2016
Elvs, St Werburghs tunnel, Bristol, May 2016

1087. Dean Lane skate park (82)

This piece is a wonderful example of Sled One wildstyle writing at it’s very best, I only wish I could say the same about my photography. There is a lot of glare, which obscures the piece a bit.

Sled One, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2017
Sled One, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2017

Sled One has an amazing ability to create fabulous elaborate letter shapes which are hugely complex in the shading and filling. Trying to follow all the folds and overlays is a tricky business. There is a nice little nod to Soker at the bottom of the piece too.

Sled One, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2017
Sled One, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2017

1085. Upfest 2017 (85)

The fifth RAW piece on this Upfest wall is by Ryder, whose work is just going from strength to strength at the moment. His use of colours in this piece is exceptional, and the wildstyle writing is everything I have come to expect from him.

Ryder, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Ryder, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

There is so much going on in this piece, and the different letter styles combined with different colour schemes is somewhat reminiscent of the work of Sky High. I cannot emphasise enough how much I am enjoying the work of Ryder, I’m just surprised at how long it took me to properly register his stuff.

Ryder, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Ryder, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

Ryder was sandwiched between Jaksta and his trusty painting buddy T-Rex…a good place to be.

RAW wall, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
RAW wall, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

1083. Upfest 2017 (83)

I think that RUSK is probably the most diligent street artist/graffiti writer I have met so far. He takes his time with his work and adjusts it until he is satisfied. He was still spraying and revisiting this piece long after the rest of the RAW crew had packed up and left.

Rusk, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Rusk, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

In this piece, the third from the Upfest RAW wall, he has some fabulous colour layers and texture infills in his writing – in my view this is a really classy piece and his attention to detail really pays off.

Rusk, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Rusk, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

In taking a look at at the piece in progress, it is possible to see how the basic colours and shapes are laid down first, and then the detail and outlines are added afterwards, almost like the opposite of painting by numbers.

Rusk, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Rusk, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

Rusk is a quiet and gentle fellow who it was my pleasure to chat with at Upfest. I hope it is not too long before I bump into him again.

RAW wall, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
RAW wall, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017