Street Art in Bristol

My daughter standing by a painting on the wall of building
in Bristol

No, I haven't branched out into yet another form of painting!  At the weekend we went up to Bristol to see our daughter and on Sunday she took us on a stroll down to Harbourside through one of the areas which has an abundance of incredible street art.  Some people consider it graffiti, but much of the work is very skilled and definitely comes across as art.  Bristol has quite a history of street art, with Banksy probably being the most well known.  In recent years the movement has become more professional and organised and in August 2011 an event titled 'See No Evil' was arranged.  More than 30 artists were involved - international as well as local - with space on the buildings matched to the style of individual artists.  As far I am aware a similar event now happens each year, I recall Charley mentioning seeing it in action earlier in the year.  The area we walked through is mostly run down 60's buildings but the artwork is certainly an attraction with many other people standing in awe.  Street art in Bristol is in a constant state of flux and even as we walked we came across two young men starting to work on a freshly painted hoarding around a worksite.

A new work in progress...

There didn't seem to be a reference image they worked to, although I did see one of them paint out a line he wasn't happy with (using the same colour as the hoarding).  We took the same route back home and I looked forward to seeing how the work had progressed.

Still putting finishing touches

This seemed quite abstract in nature but much of the work had more figurative elements...

       

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I would love to see the artists in action whilst they create a huge vertical painting down the side of a tall building.  By all accounts they wear harnesses and dangle down from the roof.  What intrigues me is - how can they 'see' where they are going when the scale is immense and they are so close to just a fraction of the work at a time?  Maybe the image is projected onto the wall and then painted over?  If anyone reading this knows the answer please get in touch and let me know!!!  I have no intention of picking up spray cans and and dangling from roof tops myself but, as you can probably tell, I found the work fascinating.