Month: August 2023

5412. Cheltenham 2023 (2)

Lost Hills, Cheltenham Paint Festival 23. Cheltenham, July 2023
Lost Hills, Cheltenham Paint Festival 23. Cheltenham, July 2023

My first introduction to Lost Hills was from a few years ago at Upfest 2016 and 2017 where his Jake the Dog wheatpastes were a real highlight of the festival, and finding them dotted around Bedminster a fabulous treat. The Liverpool-based artist has since developed his style, moving away from paste ups and working on spray paints and other media to bring his Jake to life.

Lost Hills, Cheltenham Paint Festival 23. Cheltenham, July 2023
Lost Hills, Cheltenham Paint Festival 23. Cheltenham, July 2023

At this year’s Cheltenham Paint Festival, Lost Hills painted this extraordinary piece in one of the Honeybourne Line tunnels, which is a bit of a take on Banksy, with Jake throwing what looks like a flaming care bear, after the famous Mild Mild West piece in Gloucester Road in Bristol. I have always liked what Lost Hills does and would like to see his work more often, but I suspect I will be restricted to festivals, or possibly a trip to Liverpool. Great work from Lost Hills.

5411. Cheltenham 2023 (1)

Sophie Long, Cheltenham Paint Festival 23. Cheltenham, July 2023
Sophie Long, Cheltenham Paint Festival 23. Cheltenham, July 2023

There was a time not so long ago when Andy ‘Dice’ Davies (Dice 67) had had to cancel this year’s Cheltenham Paint Festival due to the lack of funding – a swiftly organised crowd-funding scheme saved the day and meant that the festival could go ahead, and in my view was the best festival to date. Huge gratitude and congratulations have to go to Andy and his organising team and the funders to have made it such a success.

Sophie Long, Cheltenham Paint Festival 23. Cheltenham, July 2023
Sophie Long, Cheltenham Paint Festival 23. Cheltenham, July 2023

I visited the festival on the Saturday, and many pieces were unfinished, so I will be paying Cheltenham a visit, when time permits, later in the year. One of the first complete pieces I found was this outstanding pair of lovebirds by Bristol artist Sophie Long, and what a beautiful site it is. There is a reference to Sinead O’Connor, whose recent death still hits a chord for those who loved her music and approach to life. Nothing compares to you.

Sophie Long, Cheltenham Paint Festival 23. Cheltenham, July 2023
Sophie Long, Cheltenham Paint Festival 23. Cheltenham, July 2023

Sophie Long is well known for her wildlife paintings and street art and has absolutely nailed it here, without a drip in sight. It is a pity I didn’t see her, because she is always up for a chat. This is the first of five posts from the Cheltenham Paint Festival, with more to come in due course.

5410. Purdown (60)

Lupa, Purdown, Bristol, May 2023
Lupa, Purdown, Bristol, May 2023

I feel that, having met Lupa for the second time recently at the Cheltenham Paint Festival, I should really start digging out some of her pieces from my archives, especially as we had a great chat and I felt most honoured that she not only remembered me, but also remembered my name, and thanked me for the recent post I wrote about her piece in Peel Street Green.

Lupa, Purdown, Bristol, May 2023
Lupa, Purdown, Bristol, May 2023

This is a lovely and enduring piece up at Purdown, which I photographed in May, but I think had been there already for a while and was still there when I walked the dog around the site last week. There is a charm and simplicity about Lupa’s work that makes it enjoyable to see, and she manages to give off good vibes – maybe it is the design of the letter ‘U’ with its smiley face, or the large block letters, or the vibrant colours – probably a combination of all these things. I look forward to seeing more of her work, and will continue to mine out old pieces from the archive.

Curtain raiser

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Charity shield

a game no one wants to lose

Arsenal win it

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by Scooj

5409. M32 roundabout J3 (501)

Dopes, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2023
Dopes, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2023

Dopes is another artist whose presence in Bristol has been fairly intermittent for some time, so it was great to see this wonderful piece on the roundabout a couple of weeks ago. When one sees a piece like this, it demonstrates just how powerful and important it can be to buff a wall first to bring out the best in the work.

Dopes, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2023
Dopes, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2023

This piece is dazzling and has a great energy about it, with the yellow light bursting out from behind the purple and pink filled letters. I’m not so sure about the golden pattern on the background, which looks rather flat compared to the vibrancy of the rest. This is a really classy piece from Dopes, I only hope we don’t have to wait so long for the next one.

5408. Sparke Evans Park (77)

Pl8o Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, July 2023
Pl8o Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, July 2023

For much of the year, Pl8o has been fairly quiet, but in recent weeks he seems to have rediscovered his enthusiasm and energy for painting walls – perhaps he has a little more time on his hands. This piece in Sparke Evans Park is one of several new pieces appearing around Bristol at the moment.

Pl8o Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, July 2023
Pl8o Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, July 2023

There is a lot of creativity in this piece, and the character is cleverly interlinked with the letters. The character is a beautifully painted carton cyclist, full of movement indicated by the shirt flaring at the back and the three white movement lines. The rear wheel of the bicycle is incorporated into the ‘o’ of Pl8o. A nice birthday piece for Alos.

Game4Ukraine

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Charity football

yellow team versus blue team

slava Ukraini

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by Scooj

5407. M32 Cycle path (222)

Dog Bless the Band, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, July 2023
Dog Bless the Band, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, July 2023

Dog Bless the Band is a curious street artist I have yet to meet. I say curious because his pieces are unlike pretty much anything else in the city right now. Curious also because of his name and because of the letters he writes – MOTEL, I mean what is it all about?

Dog Bless the Band, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, July 2023
Dog Bless the Band, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, July 2023

The large monolithic letters have a very earthy feel about them which is exaggerated in this piece by the muted colours, especially the green dusting, which gives the appearance of algae or moss on rocks. I’m not sure if that is the effect he was aiming for, but it is how it comes across to me. To the right there is a toadstool.

Dog Bless the Band, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, July 2023
Dog Bless the Band, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, July 2023

I wasn’t entirely sure whether the toadstool was painted by Dog Bless the Band or by a friend alongside, but have decided it is his own work, perhaps a study, because of the same colour selection and proximity. There are no other signatures or marks that would suggest another artist, simply the surprise of seeing the toadstool. Perhaps this signifies him straying into accompanying his letters with other work.

5406. St Werburghs tunnel (377)

Raid, St Werburghs, Bristol, July 2023
Raid, St Werburghs, Bristol, July 2023

Observing Raid’s progress is a genuine pleasure. Each time I see his work I see some improvement, and a boldness or confidence that is growing. I also like it that he is adapting his style from piece to piece, settling for a while and then moving on.

Raid, St Werburghs, Bristol, July 2023
Raid, St Werburghs, Bristol, July 2023

This is a nice one in the tunnel from a few weeks back, and uses that tried and tested colour combination of pink and light blue. The letters are beautifully presented, and the fills very nicely done indeed, with a swathe of stars running horizontally through the letters and pink ‘ribbons’ at the top and bottom. A decent drop shadow and blue backdrop round the piece off perfectly.

Sciurus carolinensis

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An unknown bird call

double screech from the tree top

but it’s a squirrel

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by Scooj