Woody street art in Bristol

Bristol has a lot of interesting street art away from the Banksy pieces that many people know and the large works done for Upfest in Southville. 

Easton, in the east of the city, has a lot of stuff by less well-known artists scattered through its alleyways and corners. These two pieces have appeared on walls around Bellevue Road. 

I like them, especially as to my eye they bring together woodworking and street art!

Bristol street art 2016-2017

When I'm out and about, pedalling around Bristol on my bike, there's always a lot of great street art to see. Here's a few pieces that I've seen fairly recently and particularly liked. Some go back a while and have long been painted over. I hope that you enjoy seeing them too!

Upfest 2016

These artworks (including the one above) were painted as part of the 'Upfest 2016' street art festival in Southville, Bristol. The next one is happening at the end of this month, when many of the bigger pieces will be covered over by other work.

This amazing painting was done by the Spanish duo Pichi and Avo.

Dale Grimshaw, who painted this, was originally from Lancashire but is now based in London.

I cycle past this one, by Gamma Gallery, all the time when going to and from my workshop. The billboard sometimes changes and the different adverts seem to make the whole piece next to them read differently.

This one is near to the Gamma Gallery artwork above:




Not all of the bits of street art that caught my eye were the big, impressive ones though...

There are also pieces popping up all the time in hidden corners, like under bridges.

Or even in hollow trees, like this one in Ashton Court:

I liked this, painted last Hallowe'en near the M32. It's been covered over by other stuff for a long time now.

There are also nice pieces in Easton, on the other side of Bristol. This one is by Sepr, a local artist:

And this lovebird is by Kid 30 (aka Smallkid), who is based in the Midlands:

These last two were done with the permission of the people living in the houses. They really brighten up a dingy alleyway/road as well.

More Bristol street art: Cycling around looking at walls

I was cycling through Nelson Street yesterday and took some photos of the street art there. This area has been the site of the 'See No Evil' street art events and there are some pretty spectacular pieces to be seen, even though some buildings have now been demolished.

The area around the demolition site has boards set up, which have also been decorated by some of Bristol's top street artists. They include Andy Council, Sepr, Feek and Inkie.

Larger artworks can be seen by looking up at what used to be the blank, boring walls of buildings nearby:

I have been asked why a woodcarver talks about street art on their blog. Some people I know have said that they just think that this kind of thing is just vandalism. I have to say that most tagging doesn't interest me and I'm not really interested in the 'Keeping it Real' stuff that some people spout about it. I just live in an urban environment and I like a lot of this colourful artwork that brightens up dull walls and has obviously taken a bit of time and thought!

Living in Bristol gives the people who live here access to some of the most interesting street art that you could hope to see. Riding a bicycle around the small city means that there is time to see a lot of it before it is inevitably painted over by another artist. Organised events such as See No Evil and Upfest bring street artists from all over the world to Bristol. There are certain areas that are basically free to paint, where established street artists can execute large, complex pieces without having to worry about being arrested. A lot of house owners will also have their walls painted to brighten them up, or maybe also to discourage tagging and throw-ups. That means it is fairly easy to see really good stuff, often tucked away in hidden corners. Just around the corner from my house is this painted wall:

It was great to wander round one day and see it being painting. I think one of the painters may be Boswell, who is quite a well-known Bristol artist. It beats a boring, plain wall any day:

Here's a couple more pieces from round the area:

Street art in Bristol by Rowdy, Cheo, Andy Council, Brave 1 and someone who is a bit confused

I haven't put up any images of things painted on walls for a while, but here's a couple of things seen today:

I'm pretty sure that this one is by Rowdy, who has been on the scene in Bristol for a long time. One of his 'trademark' motifs is a crocodile's head, which you can see on the gate. His pieces are often very colourful too. A while ago Rowdy's home burnt down in an accident, but he's a nice guy and a few well-known street artists in Bristol (including Banksy and Inkie) got together and donated artwork to be auctioned to help get him back on his feet again. 

Another piece, down the road, is evidence of someone living in a bit of a paradox it seems...

These four panels are near the harbourside and were done by Cheo, whose style is quite distinctive and usually has a bee somewhere:

Back in March, Andy Council created some work in the middle of the Cabot Circus shopping mall. If ever there was a sign of how street art in Bristol has moved into the mainstream, this has to be it. I don't mean to insult Andy in any way by that though, I like his work a lot.

A lot of street artists put work on shops here and are paid to do it. This face is by Brave 1 and is in Bedminster...

Graffiti that made me chuckle at Ashton Gate, Bristol

This made me smile whilst cycling near to the Bristol City ground at Ashton Gate.

Icelandic street art...Reykjavik

Wandering around Reykjavik, I noticed some great street art about. There has even been a book, called 'Icepick', written about the Icelandic street art scene.
Here's a few of the pieces that can be seen there at the moment:

And finally, the best-placed street CCTV camera that I've ever seen..