Month: May 2022

4428. St Werburghs tunnel (291)

Last Saturday was one of those very special red-letter days for me. I took the dog for a walk, that ended up being a bit of a marathon, during which I visited four spots and met nine or ten artists, several of them for the first time. Among the artists, it was an enormous pleasure to meet Asre, or Runaway Joey as he is known, for the first time, and very touching to find out that he knew who I was and had been keen to meet me and had even read some of my posts… my work here is done.

Asre, St Werburghs, Bristol, April 2022
Asre, St Werburghs, Bristol, April 2022

This is one of a multitude of variations on a theme by Asre, with the stylised cartoon face that we are becoming accustomed to seeing all over the place. This poor fellow looks like he has come a poor second in a boxing bout, with a severe black eye. Once again, the strong clean lines and solid fills are nicely worked, and the boxing glove provides additional interest – I like the way Asre has highlighted the glove with pink and white, giving it a cool 3D effect. There is so much more to come from this prolific artist and all round great bloke.

4427. St Werburghs tunnel (290)

Every year, it seems that Mr Klue takes some time out from painting walls, which is a pity, but it makes his return all the sweeter when it does happen. Mr Klue has been busy lately creating his outstanding pieces at the ‘farm end’ of St Werburghs tunnel, which seems to be his safe, ‘go-to’ spot.

Mr Klue, St Werburghs, Bristol, April 2022
Mr Klue, St Werburghs, Bristol, April 2022

This piece returns to a running theme in Mr Klue’s art, which is a portrayal of the Mad Hatter from Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland – a rich source of inspiration for many street artists. The exaggerated top hat with the 10/6 ticket is matched up with a shirt and tie along with a smoking cigarette. There is something slightly unsettling, but also endearing about this piece. It is always good to see Mr Klue’s work, and I hope this will be a sustained effort from the fabulous abstract artist.

4426. M32 roundabout J3 (408)

Until a couple of days ago when I posted a piece by Phour, there had been a long gap since the last one, and now today we have another one. Throughout the drought period, Phour has been painting, but I simply haven’t been able to find space to include any posts by him. My job of recording street art and graffiti in Bristol gets more difficult by the day because of the sheer amount of work that is appearing. You might have noticed that I am starting to drop three posts a day when I can, just to share as much as possible.

Phour, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2022
Phour, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2022

This one from Phour is a particularly good example of his work, with some stunning fades in his letter fills and a clean, crisp yellow border. The whole thing is set on a cosmic cloudy backdrop, which keeps it all tidy. More great work from Phour.

4425. Elton Street (6)

This is another gorgeous T-Rex piece painted as part of the recent renewal of the high hoardings in Elton Street on the outside wall of the Lost Horizons Arts Centre. T-Rex as always, has produced a very classy dinosaur on a very classy background.

T-Rex, Elton Street, Bristol, April 2022
T-Rex, Elton Street, Bristol, April 2022

Of course, the dinosaur is full of mischief, running off with a stick of dynamite in its hand – I’m not sure what the story is here other than to highlight the naughty character. The pink Tyrannosaurus Rex, which is cleverly positioned in the frame by looking backwards, has all the hallmarks of the artist… strong and solid fill and clean solid outlines. In this particular piece, the background deserves a special mention, providing a forest canopy kind of habitat. Great to see.

4424. Greenbank (44)

Another wonderful piece from Pekoe, painted during a bit of a purple patch, when she seems to be getting out and about rather a lot, which can only be a good thing. This stunning portrait was painted alongside RBF crew friends and carried the blue background theme that bound the pieces on the collaborative wall together.

Pekoe, Greenbank, Bristol, April 2022
Pekoe, Greenbank, Bristol, April 2022

Pekoe has a remarkable talent for painting these portraits, which are so distinctly her work. I guess that the difference between her work, and the work of photorealists is that her style shines through, whereas sometimes it can be difficult to identify a photorealist artist. I am not sure if I have explained that very well, but in short, her work is unique. This time we have a purple face and blue and yellow hair decorated with orange and green symbols and shapes. Another fine piece from Pekoe.

Shopping

.

Two ruddy faced girls

with blonde bunches and glasses

Help their father shop

.

by Scooj

4423. Brunel Way (155)

To my shame, I didn’t spot this piece the first time I passed by. At that time I was busy marvelling over a new column piece by Pekoe… it was only when I was uploading the photographs of Pekoe’s work that I spotted this small Mr Underbite piece on a wall behind the column. Of course, I had to go back to find and photograph it.

Mr Underbite, Brunel Way, Bristol, April 2022
Mr Underbite, Brunel Way, Bristol, April 2022

I don’t know why, but I have taken a real shine to Mr Underbite and his character Mr Underbite. There is a simplicity and a charm to these pieces that strikes a chord with me. Perhaps I feel sorry for Mr Underbite, I don’t know, but there is a clever connection there that the artist has achieved. There is more to come from Mr Underbite, which is really good news.

Pekoe, Brunel Way, Bristol, April 2022
Pekoe, Brunel Way, Bristol, April 2022

Pekoe piece with Mr Underbite in the background.

4422. Dean Lane skate park (489)

It has been a very long time indeed since I last saw a new piece from Jee See, and although this ‘seismic’ piece was short lived, it was a very welcome sight. My hope is that Jee See will take something positive from the experience and start painting more regularly again.

Jee See, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2022
Jee See, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2022

It is interesting how artists will focus on a word or a theme, and then develop it over time. Jee See’s work is synonymous with the word ‘seismic’ almost obsessively so, but it has become iconic and a part of what he does. It was such a pleasure to find this one.

4421. Greenbank (43)

I have always enjoyed Bnie’s writing. I can’t put my finger on it, but there is something about her work I love. It might be the letters BNIE, which are so unusual (Beany?), it might be the letter shapes, fills or shadows, or possibly the combination of all of these, but there is something there that lifts her work into a different level.

Bnie, Greenbank, Bristol, April 2022
Bnie, Greenbank, Bristol, April 2022

This piece was painted alongside some RBF crew friends all using the same background, suggesting a collaborative approach. As always, the cow spot 3D shadow, a speciality of Bnie, steals the show. A fabulous piece from a fabulous artist.

4420. Spark Evans Park (43)

It would seem that Mena and Stivs have birthdays about a week apart, and both, being popular artists, manage to rustle up a large group of artists for a birthday paintjam. These pieces were part of Mena’s celebrations.

Mena and Phour, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, April 2022
Mena and Phour, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, April 2022

A double hit in today’s post featuring both Phour and Mena. I haven’t posted much from Phour for a while, but lately he has been painting;g quite a lot, and this is a really nice example of his work, painted high up on the wall, with three horizontal colour fades, and some rather more animated letters than we might normally see from him.

I say the other writing is by Mena, which I think it is, but when it is someone’s birthday, their name is often the subject of other artist’s writing, so you can be tricked easily. Whoever it is by, it is nicely worked, with an interesting ‘fruit salad’ colour scheme, if you know what I mean. Happy belated Birthday.