.
In their millions
ant queens emerge from their nests
and take to the air
.
by Scooj
3845. Gloucester Road
I ran past this piece from Kosc this morning, and in a curious way I felt rather proud that I live in a city where public art is embraced, albeit sometimes reluctantly embraced. When the artwork is as good as this, then surely a painted hoarding is better than a bare/tagged piece of construction infrastructure.
The most obvious thing about the piece is the striking contrast between the scarlet background and the grey-scale character and writing. The background is more than a simple backwash, it has been overprinted with a roller with the letters KOSC on it, giving a texture to the background.
The character and writing are absolutely exceptional. The lady in the photograph? Well it seems that she was selected by Kosc from a gallery of pictures on Instagram by @pit_lad, who was more than happy to have it used for this outstanding piece. Kosc is going from strength to strength.
3844. Purdown HAA Battery (30)
What we have here is a fabulous panoramic, segmented take-over by PWA artists Face 1st, Soap and Nightwayss up at Purdown Battery. I’m not sure that I have seen a themed section of walls up here before and the overall impact is stunning.
The first panel is by Face 1st and contains a boy and a girl holding gems. This is remarkable in one major aspect, I don’t think I have ever seen Face 1st paint a smiling boy before – it is a rare thing indeed.
The middle panel, set back, is rather more traditional fare from Soap, who is really going large on his gems at the moment. I really do need to fins out what they are all about, because their inclusion in his pieces is becoming almost obsessive.
The triptych is rounded off nicely with a ferocious piece from Nightwayss, in which a nightmarish monkey (what else?) is using a spray can. Some of his pieces are turning a little passive/aggressive at the moment and becoming a little more edgy – I am not complaining mind, graffiti art is edgy by definition.
All in all a wonderful theatrical collaboration from the PWA boys.
3843. Upfest 2021 75×75 (29)
‘It’s okay not to be okay’ is a very contemporary message from Sprite for this year’s Upfest initiative. I think that it can only be a good thing when mental health messages are amplified through street art as it demonstrates that real progress is being made in this ‘Cinderella’ branch of medical healthcare.
The pink rabbit is a really rather lovely stencil by the Brighton-based artist whose intention is to make people smile and I think she has certainly succeeded with this piece. Her work is very scalable and perfect for bombing a town or city with great messages. It would be good to see more of her work in Bristol.
Eureka!
.
It took me a while
pictures from phone to PC
great discovery
.
by Scooj
3842. Dean Lane skate park (421)
Brace yourself for a flurry of Sake pieces. Sake is an old-school artist who has been painting since the 1980s in Bristol, but I haven’t ever posted any of his work. I don’t know why – maybe it is because I have never met him before, that is until last week, when I caught up with him twice in St Werburghs tunnel. I told him that I would look through my archives and see if I had any older stuff of his that I could share. He was very pleased to hear this, and is keen to stop for a drink soon to talk about street art – I just need to find some time.
This piece is on the curved wall at Dean Lane and is a repair to a similar piece he painted on this exact wall a few weeks ago and which got badly tagged. I think I have pictures of that original. Alongside his letters ‘SAKE’ is a Vaughn Bodē lizard, which is a favourite character for graffiti artists along with Cheech Wizard. I think this is a theme that I’ll need to investigate further before writing too much about it now, but will return to in future. A very nice wall painted by a decent, if slightly intense, artist.
3841. Greenbank (13)
Although it isn’t something that should be too much remarked upon or even overthought, there is a really large contingent of female street artists in Bristol, which probably goes against the stereotype of being the province of young male delinquents (a stereotype that is so misinformed I might add). One of the regular ladies wot paint is Billy, whose colourful murals never disappoint.
This one on the long wall at Greenbank is particularly beautiful and calming. The message is simple and positive, ‘a nice flower in the park’ and the bold shapes and design a pleasant antidote to wildstyle writing or photorealism. This naive style of street art is equally valid and often very powerful in its simplicity and voice. Lovely work from Billy, once again.
3840. Upfest 2021 75×75 (28)
There is real craft and ability in the work of Emily Joy Rich, and her training and work as a graphic designer certainly come to the fore when you see her work. Her letters are so clean, tidy and sharp and her designer’s eye uses the space beautifully. I have only seen a handful of her pieces and like each one of them, she seems to be, in a way, upholding the art and craft of the sign-writer.
‘You are not alone’ reminds me of the Close Encounters tag line ‘We are not alone’ but the two have very different connotations. The hashtag #youarenotaloneart, seems to be a ‘thing’ and checking it out on Instagram highlights some beautifully written murals from across the world. This one is a corker from Emily Joy Rich and I particularly like the two-tone grey shading on the word ‘Alone’, which gives it loads of perspective and lifts the word out from the wall. Highly accomplished work and another triumph for Upfest 75×75.
Skor85
A gallery of superb character pieces from Bristol artist Skor85
All photographs by Scooj
3839. Muriel Alleyway (6)
I have lost count of the total number of new artists I have written about this year, but it is dozens, and each and every one of them brings something new and exciting to the city of Bristol. This superb piece, looking great in the sunshine, is by Tanith Gould, who painted it alongside a piece in the same colour scheme by Yoliws a few weeks ago.
I don’t know much about Tanith Gould, but have done a little digging and have found out that she is a fine artist from Falmouth (a town close to my heart) who works in paint, film and photography… well she can now add murals to her list with this beautiful piece. Hands are always tricky to carry off in street art, and many artists really struggle with them, but Tanith Gould has pulled it off with aplomb here. There is a lot of symbolism going on in the piece with fungus and fish cupped in the palms of the hands. I don’t know what it all means, but there is surely a story to tell here. I hope that Tanith Gould makes a speedy return to the city to show off more of her great work.
