Topsy-turvy

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English summer sun

in Belgium and Germany

catastrophic floods

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by Scooj

3803. Park Road

Finding pieces you were not looking for is probably the most rewarding part of photographing street art, and with the 75 walls in 75 days event being held by Upfest, I am having to explore a little bit more of Bedminster and in doing so I stumbled upon this wonderful stencil piece from Stewy.

Stewy, Park Road, Bristol, June 2021
Stewy, Park Road, Bristol, June 2021

The stencil is part of a local icon series and features Ken who is something of a character and legend in the neighbourhood. Bristol, like so many towns and cities, seems to have a great many local characters, bringing colour to the city. Stewy’s work is pretty much always a single-layer stencil, and counterintuitively is probably more difficult to portray depth and detail than multi-layered stencils. This is a skilfully crafted and most excellent piece.

3802. M32 roundabout J3 (337)

I mentioned in a recent post that Zake has been busy of late, and this new piece is a fine example of the rich vein of form he is in at the moment. Painted in collaboration with Soap and arte.mis.29 on the M32 roundabout wall.

Zake, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2021
Zake, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2021

The face (what else?) appears to be that of a woman and her hair blends into a head scarce, and it is hard to know where the one ends and the other begins. As always with Zake’s work he pays a lot of attention to shading and shadows to create relief in the feature of the face. A really lovely piece.

Centaurea

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In sun-baked meadows

sweet purple stars ascending

summer in full swing

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by Scooj

3801. M32 Cycle path (133)

This piece, and one or two other recent ones, mark a slight change in style for Pl8o, whose large block letters might be more familiar to regular readers. This time he has gone with something more akin to script lettering and it all comes together rather well.

Pl8o, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, June 2021
Pl8o, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, June 2021

It is always refreshing to see artists try something different, switching things up a bit. I like this piece a lot, but I think that prepping the wall with a slightly more solid wash would have been beneficial. Other than that a fun new direction from Pl8o.

3800. Upfest 2021 75×75 (14)

What a terrific way to mark my 3,800th street art post with this magnificent mural tucked away just off North Street in a miniature park called Ebenezer gate pocket park, by Hampshire artist Sian Storey.

Sian Storey, Ebeneezer Pocket Park, Bristol, June 2021, Upfest 21
Sian Storey, Ebeneezer Pocket Park, Bristol, June 2021, Upfest 21

The park is so small that it is quite quite difficult to get a full shot of the wall, so it is best visited in the flesh where you can soak up all the beauty and detail from the comfort of a bench. The watercolour effect of the piece brings a light and delicate touch to the wall, and the composition of two hummingbirds surrounded by flowers over a central patterned circle is delightful.

Sian Storey, Ebeneezer Pocket Park, Bristol, June 2021, Upfest 21
Sian Storey, Ebeneezer Pocket Park, Bristol, June 2021, Upfest 21

This is a skilfully painted piece that typifies the high standard of murals at this year’s Upfest event, and although things haven’t quite turned out as expected this year, the 75 walls in 75 days initiative has really captured the imagination and will leave a legacy of stunning artwork for both Bristol citizens and visitors alike.

Jurassic Coast

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Millions of years

in the making, ammonites

incredible Earth

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by Scooj

3799. Sparke Evans Park (7)

Oh my goodness, Laic217 has just raised his already very high bar a little bit higher with this stunning piece on the long wall at Sparke Evans Park. He really is one of my favourite artists in Bristol, and seeing him develop over the last five years or so has been such a pleasurable experience. One of the great thrills of wandering around the graffiti spots of the city is coming across a fresh Laic217 piece.

Laic217, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, June 2021
Laic217, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, June 2021

In this elaborate combination piece we get not only a sensational character, but also some pretty sharp writing too, spelling out LAIC. I could go on for hours about this piece, but I will try to keep it short. The cyborg head and face is straight out of the dystopian future world of films like Terminator or A.I. and is simply brilliantly well painted with a real sense of metal, flesh and material combining to create the character. The letters ain’t half bad too. Overall I have only good things to say about this outstanding piece.

3798. Muriel Alleyway (4)

This stunning piece from RichT was painted way back in April, before I even knew of the existence of this little alleyway, and has been in my archive for a little while too, so I am a little late to the party. But better late than never.

RichT, Muriel Alleyway, Bristol, May 2021
RichT, Muriel Alleyway, Bristol, May 2021

The mural is beautifully proportioned and makes really good use of the gateway and turns it into a feature. The message is clear – breathe – smell the flowers and connect with nature… slow down. It took me a little while to notice the hand holding the flower to the right hand side of the piece because it is quite stylised. A really lovely piece from RichT.

Camper van

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I’ve had better nights

and I cannot tell a lie

I am no nomad

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by Scooj