Month: February 2021

3490. River Avon (13)

I love coming back to photographs that I have in my archive, just waiting there for an artist identification. It is so fulfilling and closes a circle – a great feeling, like a detective solving a case. I was struck by this piece along the River Avon back in November last year and a little bit peeved that I couldn’t place the artist at all. I discovered the artist’s identity recently after I found another piece at Purdown and started investigating Instagram accounts of other artists who had painted up there – eventually I tracked down Antikki. All I needed to do was look at the signature… d’oh!

Antikki, River Avon, Bristol, November 2020
Antikki, River Avon, Bristol, November 2020

This is a lovely wholesome design piece and has a feel good factor about it – dancing figures bouncing bums in beautiful colours, what’s not to like? Antikki’s style is one that works equally well on walls or in smaller studio designs. I love it when designers and artists hit the streets, it kind of lends legitimacy to street art in a curious way. More to come soon.

3489. Brunel Way bridge (90)

My heart always beats a little faster when I find a new Sepr piece, and this one, part of a full wall collaboration, is pure Sepr at his creative best. As with so many of the great Bristol character painters, it is often very difficult to know what is going on, but art I guess is partly the intention of the artist and partly the interpretation of the viewer.

Sepr, Brunel Way, Bristol, February 2021
Sepr, Brunel Way, Bristol, February 2021

The rather concerned character seems to be holding a mask with a happy face on it, so maybe this piece is about hiding our true feelings and emotions behind a happy facade. The soft touch and expert spray work from Sepr is epitomised by the shades of orange on the character’s shirt giving the material depth and texture. This is a tour de force from one of the very best in Bristol.

… the Forth Bridge

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Not for the first time

bedroom gets a lick of paint

daughter changes mind

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by Scooj

3488. Purdown HAA Battery (16)

This is an old Daz Cat piece from way back in October last year – I am posting it now because it is new to me since I only recently went up there to get some photographs. These concrete slabs that formed part of the gun emplacement are a favourite with artists such as Daz Cat, Kool Hand, John D’oh, Soap and a handful of others.

Daz Cat, Purdown Battery, Bristol, February 2021
Daz Cat, Purdown Battery, Bristol, February 2021

What is cooler than a cat wearing ski goggles? I love the way that the tinted lens has projected through onto the cat’s eyes. This is a fun piece from Daz Cat.

Recently some goats have appeared in this spot, and I am sure that they have contributed to the general muddiness there I also think that they stand up against these walls with their muddy hooves – how else would this mud end up on the front of these pieces?

3487. M32 Spot (105)

Many of the old classic Disney films would have a weird and frankly rather disturbing sequence, often adopting a different illustrative style to the rest of the film. Ryder has brought one of those to light with this magnificent pink piece at the M32 Spot. Who can forget the drunken pink elephant hallucination scene from Dumbo? – what was that all about in a children’s cartoon?

Ryder, M32 Spot, Bristol, February 2021
Ryder, M32 Spot, Bristol, February 2021

Ryder has done a magnificent job with his elephant characters and an equally disturbing set of faces incorporated into his RYDER lettering. Part of a collaborative wall, this is a wild and stunning piece of graffiti writing and shows off Ryder at his very best.

Weekend

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In the quickest blink

the weekend break is over

and monotony

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by Scooj

3486. Brunel Way bridge (89)

Although not a frequent painter, Ments is quite regular, so one’s year is nicely sprinkled with these fine organic pieces. This one was painted as part of a three-way collaboration, including Sled One and Smak from a couple of weeks ago.

Ments, Brunel Way, Bristol, February 2021
Ments, Brunel Way, Bristol, February 2021

Ments has adapted his style a fair bit over the past year and although still organic and irregular in structure he has moved to a more fluid and metallic look and feel. His pieces are a thing of abstract beauty, and still spell out MENTS. The white triangle reminds me a little of a Voyder piece in London from a few years back. All good.

3485. M32 roundabout J3 (281)

This is the second piece I have posted by Smoke Perfume, and it is painted slap bang over his previous piece on this wall which I posted here a few days ago. I was fortunate enough to run across him as he was about half-way through his work.

Smoke Perfume, M32 roundabout, Bristol, January 2021
Smoke Perfume, M32 roundabout, Bristol, January 2021

There is something rather nice about getting work in progress (WIP) shots, because it gives you an insight into how the artists go about building up their work. Even though I have been trying to teach myself to spray paint, I still find the process counter-intuitive, but that probably stems from the fact that I have no training in art or design whatsoever.

Smoke Perfume, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2021
Smoke Perfume, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2021

I am not too sure what the letters spell out, but I am pretty certain it is neither Smoke nor Perfume. Rather like the Serm piece next to it, the organic purple and yellow lettering is embellished with white smoky flames. I’ll be on the look-out for more from Smoke Perfume.

Cold snap tail

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Sugar crystal snow

rattles the red-brown beech hedge

the ‘Beast’s’ final fling

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by Scooj

3484. M32 Cycle path (110)

I often use the word ‘modest’ when describing Hemper’s work, but I use it in the sense that he turns up and paints with the minimum of bluster. His graffiti writing is always outstanding and often very showy, like this one, but somehow he just gets on with it and keeps a low profile. That he doesn’t have an Instagram account probably reinforces my perception of his modesty.

Hemper, M32 cycle path, Bristol, February 2021
Hemper, M32 cycle path, Bristol, February 2021

This is a special piece, painted next to and at the same time as a Benjimagnetic BEN that I posted a few days ago. Each letter is discrete in colour and decoration, but there is a stylistic flow that carries through from left to right. The letters spell out HEMS and splash this wall with colour and joy. This is high-end graffiti writing at its beat.