In a garden sack
full of logs, beneath the deck
a clutch of five eggs
.
by Scooj
Clutch
Month: May 2023
5250. Cumberland Basin
This is the third in a series of Ceus pieces that appear to be in a revised or reinvented style, largely around a colour scheme, and large bold and obvious letters. There are small references to some of his work from last year in the shape of a wing tip to the left of the letter C.
The bright blue writing set on a white background has a heavenly look and feel to it an looks very fresh – so easy on the eye. There are some lovely colour fades in the fills and the orange outline/shadow with bubbles sets the whole piece off nicely – a quality work from Ceus.
5249. Coach and Horses
Although I regularly post pieces by Face 1st, it is probably only about half of everything I photograph. He has been a consistently prolific artist in Bristol since I started writing about this stuff back in 2015 and has brought me personally a lot of joy with his constantly evolving themes and ideas, based on a face.
This is a wonderful example of Face 1st’s work, a really tidy piece with sumptuous colours that work son well together. Some of Face 1st’s throw ups can be a little untidy, but this is crisp and sharp and beautifully finished. The smiling girl with earrings has the word FACE for hair, with not a little gloop going on. This is classic Face 1st, classily painted and presented.
5248. Dean Lane skate park (600)
It is fitting that my six hundredth post from Dean Lane should feature a stunning collaboration wall from Vozie and Bnie, two of my favourite writers at the moment. There is an awful lot to like about this colourful collaboration, and the colours and style remind me of the cartoon fairground scene in Mary Poppins or the Village from the TV series ‘the Prisoner’ – the psychedelic elements probably elicit those thoughts.
To the left Vozie does what she does, although in this version of her name, she has written VOSE, not VOZIE which we are more accustomed to seeing. Beautiful letters, beautiful fills and a fabulous drop shadow… there is little more to say.
To the right Bnie has replicated the colours, fills and shadow to make this a truly collaborative piece. As with Vozie’s half, Bnie has created beautiful letters, using beautiful fills and a fabulous drop shadow. This is an exceptional piece from the RBF girls, and a bit of a fave of mine so far this year.
5247. Greenbank (81)
I can’t believe we’re almost at the end of May, but it is true and with each day that passes more and more pieces of graffiti writing, and street art adorn our city walls. It can be a struggle at times to keep up, but a pleasurable struggle, if there is such a thing.
The light wasn’t particularly helpful on the day that I photographed this collaboration between Kool Hand and Daz Cat, but I might have just got away with it.
To the left, a Kool crocodile chills up against a colourful palm tree, looking almost like a piece of quilt work (watch out Louis Masai!). On the right is a Daz Cat cat floating and mixing music. What is interesting about the collaboration is that Kool Hand’s work is quite flat, and Daz Cat’s has depth and perspective, bringing different aspects and styles to the piece. It is always good to see these two painting together.
4246. Dean Lane skate park (599)
To be perfectly honest, this is a collaboration that I never thought I would see, in fact, it would simply have never crossed my mind, but what a lot of fun it is. The collaborative piece is by Evey and Jody, and they have pulled it off with flying colours. The only downside is that it didn’;t last very long before being overpainted, which is a real shame, but that is the way in the Deaner at the moment.
In my view, Evey has definitely stepped up her game for this piece and created some tidy letters with a nicely worked stripy 3D drop shadow. There is a subtle red to pink fade in the letters to, which gives it that something extra.
Jody is a class act, and here he has painted a portrait piece of a woman wearing an RBF balaclava giving the middle finger in a gesture of attitude. The whole thing confuses a little with its passive-aggressive stance, but I guess that is the point of it. Jody also left us with a little ‘extra’ piece while he was there, which is great to see. This is an unusual, unexpected and most welcome collaboration.
5245. M32 Spot (162)
Conrico organised a paint jam under the M32 a week or so back, and a great many of the columns there were given a fresh coat of paint, including this banging vertical piece of writing from Ryder. The slogan accompanying this fiery piece is “play with fire – get burnt”, an apt phrase for the graffiti community.
Some artists have pure class, which is a gift that can’t be manufactured, and Ryder has class. There is a confidence and assertiveness about his work that eclipses others around him, and this is a great example of that. The fun piece (spelling out RYDER) incorporates character faces into the letters, something Ryder does a fair bit, and has a delicious colour selection with perfect fills, and a steady black outline. This is one of the best column pieces I have seen in a long while. Simply the best.
5244. St Werburghs tunnel (368)
I am enjoying the regular flow of MILK from Wxttsart, and this yellow and black number from a paint jam in the tunnel a little while back is another great example of his writing that is definitely crossing-over into calligraffiti.
His two-tone grey letters have a mid-line running through them and a yellow 3D shadow dropping off to the left, providing some depth to the writing. Adding a little bit of interest are some lightening strikes at the base of the letters and a few highlight spots, without which the piece might appear to be a little flat. Some nice work from Wxttsart.
5243. Cumberland Basin
Kosc has been smashing it for a long while now, both with his arty pieces and with his writing, and this is another fabulous example of his greyscale graffiti. I managed to catch up with Kosc last week as he was painting a new piece on the M32 roundabout, unfortunately I never saw the completed piece, as the entire wall was bombed by DBK before I returned a day or two later.
With clever use of light and dark shades and a midline ridge running through each of the letters, Kosc has managed to get the letters to pop out from the wall, creating a wonderful 3D effect. I would like to see Kosc experiment with anamorphic writing, because I think he would be excellent at it, and we don’t seem to have any anamorphic writers in Bristol at the moment, other than Zase. Another fine piece from Kosc.
5242. Brunel Way (207)
Last year, Maybe sprayed a piece that was all about hay fever, and the fact that this recent piece under Brunel Way is not dissimilar, leads me to believe that Maybe might be a pollen sufferer at this time of year. The main difference between the pieces is that this one is a little more direct and graphic in its content.
Those of a fragile disposition should look away, as the character in the piece has her finger deeply inserted into her nostril, while green bogey faces (I am guessing) look on from the sidelines. The piece is nicely painted, creative and a little bit edgy in a schoolboy humour kind of way. Maybe certainly keeps us on our toes with his ideas and unique style.
Natural adventures 