Month: June 2021

3709. Upper York Street (25)

One of the golden rules of enjoying urban architecture and culture is to remember to look up. We spend most of our lives looking at where we are going, or worse, looking at our digital screens, that we forget to look back, look around and look up. If we don’t pause to look and enjoy then we risk the world passing us by, and then, what’s the point of anything?

Gage Graphics, Upper York Street, Bristol, May 2021
Gage Graphics, Upper York Street, Bristol, May 2021

The recent piece I featured by Gage Graphics on the front elevation of a new development is actually one of three pieces (that I have found) on the building by Ollie Gillard. This one is high up on the balcony of one of the apartments and is really quite magnificent. Painting on brickwork like this can’t be particularly easy, and it might have been better to have rendered this section of wall prior to commissioning the artwork however the end result is outstanding.

The piece features a cockatoo wearing a headdress made, ironically, of feathers, and singing into a sparkling microphone. In the distance a mountain rises high and at the top left the sun shines with some birds silhouetted against it. I don’t know what the story is but I definitely like the piece.

Looking forward

.

Two days back at work

and thoughts turn to holidays

better times ahead

.

by Scooj

3708. Sparke Evans Park (5)

This is just one small part of a large collaborative wall from our Spanish contingent here in Bristol. It may only be just one part, but this outstanding piece from Daubuten Tronko is for me the jewel in the crown of the paint jam.

Dabuten Tronko, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, May 2021
Dabuten Tronko, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, May 2021

Dabuten Tronko crafts these extraordinary characters with such skill and keeps everything so tight. This magician is beautifully painted and works so well due to the colours and clever use of light and shade throughout the piece. I particularly like the reflected green light on his hat from the wand… lots of thought has gone into that effect. Overall a really classy piece from a classy artist.

That’s more like it

.

In the nick of time

the sun shows it’s tardy face

now summer begins

.

by Scooj

3707. M32 roundabout J3 (321)

This large collaboration goes back a few weeks, and I have already posted the fourth element, the Daz Cat character, a little while ago. The remaining triptych is by Face 1st, Sage and Soap, and is really rather special.

Face 1st, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2021
Face 1st, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2021

To the left is the familiar work of Face 1st painted in a dazzling chrome. The letters FACE contain a feature used by Face 1st before, the introduction of a couple of  swords. Quite what these swords symbolise I can’t say, but they appear to be driven into the smiling girl’s head, which is a little unsettling to say the least.

Sage, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2021
Sage, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2021

The middle section is, in my view, outstanding. The character by Sage just has something about it that really chimes for me. It is the perfect centrepiece to the triptych and really shows off Sage’s talent. The cartoon-style character somehow seems to fit the PWA ‘brand’ really nicely and reminds me of a very early PWA wall in St Paul’s (now gone)

Soap, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2021
Soap, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2021

On the right, as is so often the case in these PWA collaborations is a very nice piece of writing, also in chrome, from Soap. Lots off bones and gems in this veritable archeological/geological piece. The soap tag forms the centrepiece of tis complex piece.

Another wonderful PWA collaboration for us all to enjoy.

3706. Muriel Alleyway (1)

I have to credit Kaya at @loveforbristol (Insta) for disclosing the location of this street in Brislington. It is an alleyway I have been keen to find for quite a while, but simply didn’t know where to look. As it turns out, it is an area I visit reasonably often because my son has a friend nearby.

This piece by Merny (I still call him Morny) is one I have seen all over Instagram and at last I have now seen in the flesh.

Morny, Muriel Alleyway, Bristol, May 2021
Morny, Muriel Alleyway, Bristol, May 2021

Merny is a hoot, and I think that this is a fabulously witty piece picking up on ‘announcement-speak’ ‘this is not a drill’ and deliberately misinterpreting the word drill. Who else in the street art world would paint a power drill on a wall. Another oblique reference (deliberate or otherwise) is to the René Magritte painting ‘Ceci n’est pas une pipe’ (this is not a pipe) painting. I love this piece so much, and I am really enjoying his little lettered (or numbered) labels he has started adding to his pieces, like notes for instructions. So good.

3705. Brunel Way (106)

As I said in a recent post, barely a week goes by without posting a new piece by Pekoe, and as if to prove my point here is another one. This column piece is difficult to photograph and do it justice because of the way it is wrapped around the circular column.

Pekoe, Brunel Way, Bristol, May 2021
Pekoe, Brunel Way, Bristol, May 2021

This yellow-faced beauty carries all the hallmarks of a Pekoe portrait, with big hair decorated with stars and shapes, rosy cheeks with dotted outlines and tears. No need for the artist to sign the piece at all. Always great to find another Pekoe portrait.

3704. Cumberland Basin

Some days just turn out really well, and last Thursday I met Jelly for the first time at the viewpoint, Cumberland Basin… an already good day became a whole lot better. I was on leave last week, so my dog walks became rather longer than usual and much more relaxed. The upshot was that I was able to visit more spots and stay longer at each. Cumberland Basin was my last stop for the afternoon and when I turned up, there were two artists at work, Jelly and Fierfear (to follow) and to help with introductions, Paul H happened to be there too, sunning himself on the viewpoint bench. Paul had been helping Jelly with a spot to paint.

Jelly, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2021
Jelly, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2021

My first impression with Jelly’s work was that it had a hint of a Pekoe/Hazard blend about it, but perhaps that had more to do with the portrait approach rather than the actual style. I thought I might have seen Jelly’s work in London (her home town) before, but since she’s only been spray-painting for two and a half years (!!!), it is highly unlikely. Perhaps I have seen her work on Instagram.

The portrait is a stunner, a beautiful face with big blue hair with green highlights. Jelly’s signature long eyelashes add a touch of class and the flashes on the hoop earrings are beautifully done. The tag line ‘Because I’m wurf it’ I think is a nod to a Bristolian accent, although I might have been tempted to change ‘I’m’ to ‘oim’.

Jelly, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2021
Jelly, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2021

Of course, it wasn’t only the artwork that made this a red-letter day, but also meeting Jelly, who was very happy to stop for a chat and talk about her work. It is always great to welcome fellow Londoners to Bristol, and I hope that she enjoyed her day out enough to come and visit us again before too long, although I ought to add that it isn’t always such pleasant weather here.

Great piece, lovely lady, good day.