Category: 5. Street Art

4135. Picture House Court

Alex Lucas has had a very good and productive year. Her beautiful murals, most of them commissions, have been appearing with joyous regularity through the year. This is one of her latest pieces, just off North Street in Bedminster, and is the centrepiece of a Christmas mural trail produced in partnership with Upfest, Aardman Studio and Netflix, promoting Aardman’s new animation Robin Robin.

Alex Lucas, Picture House Court, Bristol, December 2021
Alex Lucas, Picture House Court, Bristol, December 2021

I will have to walk the length of North Street at some point, perhaps over the Christmas break, to photograph all the other little characters along the trail. This is a very Bristol thing going on and something all citizens here can be proud of. A coming together of a Bristol-based film studio, a Bristol artist and a Bristol street art events business… a fine combination.

Alex Lucas, Picture House Court, Bristol, December 2021
Alex Lucas, Picture House Court, Bristol, December 2021

I have said it before, but there are a few artists in the Bristol whose illustrations, designs and murals have become synonymous with the city and I would name Alex Lucas as one of these, and the other two would be Cheo and Andy Council. These three adding colour and recognition to the place.

4134. Dean Lane skate park (447)

You can never rule out anything in the world of street/graffiti art, and to do so would be to suck the surprise and joy out of it all. I would never have predicted a Flava136/Mudra collaboration, and yet down in the Deaner we have a near-perfect mash-up from these two superb artists.

Flava136 and Mudra, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2021
Flava136 and Mudra, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2021

This is a great example of a blended collaboration where it is difficult to be certain who painted what. There are of course the obvious bits that have all the hallmarks of the individual artists, but the bits in-between… A trained eye can tell them apart, but to most people you’d look at this piece and consider it to be by one artist.

Basically the central monster and smiley face are by Flava136, and the left and right hand elements (which spell out MUDRA (some creative imagination required)) are by Mudra. The whole thing is an absolute gem and I hopt that they will get together again sometime in the future.

4133. M32 Spot (127)

Christmas is supposed to be a quiet time at work, but it isn’t. I have been as busy as ever, and early starts rather disrupts my blog post writing routine. This post has had to wait until I have packed away my laptop, but I hope it is worth the waiting for.

Streetofsoul and Dinero DIY, M32 Spot, Bristol, December 2021
Streetofsoul and Dinero DIY, M32 Spot, Bristol, December 2021

The original and creative piece will be a delight for anyone who still enjoys vinyl and is a representation (a very good one at that) of a 45 rpm 7 inch single ‘Do I Love You (Indeed I Do) by Frank Wilson. The artists who created the piece are Streetofsoul and Dinero DIY, and I believe they have already dopped another single elsewhere in the city.

Streetofsoul and Dinero DIY, M32 Spot, Bristol, December 2021
Streetofsoul and Dinero DIY, M32 Spot, Bristol, December 2021

The piece is so realistic, it absolutely looks like a giant vinyl record had been left on the ground. I haven’t seen anything like this before, and I think it is brilliant, introducing a whole new concept and idea to street art. Watch this space for more  like this one.

4132. Leonard Lane (30)

I love my little walks down Leonard Lane, it feels rather secret, old and magical (if you can ignore the smell of piss) and there is always something new to notice. This little character, created and installed by Mutatee has been in the Lane for a while and looks a little worse for wear, but I thought I’d include it in any case because it is all part and parcel of the Bristol street art scene.

Mutatee, Leonard Lane, Bristol, December 2021
Mutatee, Leonard Lane, Bristol, December 2021

It is well worth following Mutatee’s Instagram account @mutatee_ to see how she makes all her characters, it is a fascinating process. The character is from the film Labyrinth, starring David Bowie and a whole host of puppets. I believe the worm is called William. In this cast by Mutatee, the tufts of hair have been broken off, perhaps by someone trying to ‘steal’ the piece. A pity really, because it is little installations like this that add interest and intrigue to the city.

4131. St Werburghs tunnel (270)

Mest is an artist whose writing is improving all the time, not only in quality but also in creativity. Sticking to his standard letter shapes, he gets his variety through his fill designs and colours. I have so many more of his pieces that are not yet published, but posting pieces on Natural Adventures is a very competitive marketplace at the moment. I will get round to publishing more in due course.

Mest, St Werburghs, Bristol, December 2021
Mest, St Werburghs, Bristol, December 2021

The colour contrasts between the orange background and cool blue letter fills works wonderfully, a real hot and cold battle going on in front of our eyes. Mest has also been playing a little by picking out some of the brick work with pink lines. A sprinkling of little yellow dots rounds the piece off nicely. A fine piece from Mest which gets me ever closer to publishing a gallery of his work… watch this space over the next month or two.

4130. Dean Lane skate park (447)

Aah! The familiar shape and style of a Slim Pickings TES plastered big and bold on the Sally Army wall at Dean Lane skate park. Like several other artists in the city, Slim Pickings’ (Tes) work is a driving creative pulse, a regular heartbeat, that creates the foundations of a thriving street art culture in Bristol. Ever present and confident.

Slim Pickings, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2021
Slim Pickings, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2021

This pink on yellow belter was painted over the rather nice portrait by Tao.create, illustrating how ephemeral the work of artists can be, especially in spots like this one. Lovely bubble-gum colours and drips, this is a great piece by Slim Pickings. Most unlike the artist, his pink fill is a little thin in places, and I can only think he was short of paint, because he is well known for his full and solid fills. Nice one.

4129. St Werburghs tunnel (269)

Logoe continues to hit Bristol walls hard, this time with his friend Silent Hobo, to create this lovely collaboration on the entrance to the tunnel in St Werburghs. Their content and styles are so very different, but there is a chemistry there that brings the whole thing together seamlessly.

Logoe and Silent Hobo, St Werburghs, Bristol, December 2021
Logoe and Silent Hobo, St Werburghs, Bristol, December 2021

The writing by Logoe is distinctive with its thin script-like letters and gorgeous fills, decorated with spots and stars along the length. The youth, so brilliantly portrayed by Silent Hobo, is wearing a blue hoodie and sporting big hair and glasses. I am not at all certain what the axe is all about though. So good to see these two combining again.

4128. Sparke Evans Park (24)

Dibz has been having a bit of a purple patch lately, although his work is always of the highest quality, his productivity can be a little quiet from time to time, but not right now. This is one of several recent pieces that showcase his mastery of wildstyle graffiti writing.

Dibz, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, December 2021
Dibz, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, December 2021

This is the first ‘Squid Game’ piece that I have seen in Bristol, and to be honest I am surprised not to have seen more. The character has an ‘I’ on his mask and a small FUA golden block suspended between his hands and is beautifully crafted. The writing isn’t too bad either. Unfortunately, the curse of tricky lighting at this spot has left me with rather poor photographs, for which I apologise.

4127. The Carriageworks (42)

You might have noticed my recent joy that the arches on the facade of The Carriageworks  have been exposed and almost immediately painted by the PWA crew. Although the joy might be short-lived, it is genuine and complete and these photographs capture some of that feeling for me.

Soap and Face 1st, The Carriageworks, Bristol, December 2021
Soap and Face 1st, The Carriageworks, Bristol, December 2021

To the left is a fabulous mash-up from Soap and Face 1st. All the elements that you would expect from a collaboration between these two are there, and it is great to see their work back where it belongs. These two young women were loving it too, and spent ages taking pictures of each other on the magnificent backdrop. They were not the only ones to stop and photograph the arches in the few minutes I spent there.

Nightwayss and Chill, The Carriageworks, Bristol, December 2021
Nightwayss and Chill, The Carriageworks, Bristol, December 2021

To the right (the second of the fur arches), Nightwayss and Chill, who seems to have been recruited into the PWA fold, have collaborated to create a fabulous and slightly eclectic scene. The self-portrait and small mammal, some kind of primate I am guessing, are by Nightwayss along with the writing at the top spelling ‘NIGHT’. The two-tone cartoon character is by Chill, a tattooist, who really seems to be enjoying painting walls at the moment. Great art, great location, great artists… what more could you ask for?

4126. Greenbank (21)

Laic217 has three or four main themes that he likes to return to. Most of his characters are skeletons, often spraying, but he has also painted a lot of melting faces and face distortions, of which this is a fine example.

Laic217, Greenbank, Bristol, December 2021
Laic217, Greenbank, Bristol, December 2021

This one is a newish piece on the long Greenbank wall, which surely only has a few more months left, as the development behind it seems to be moving with some pace now. The distortion is deliberately unsettling and challenging, especially as it is confined to the face and the hand with a spray can in it. The rest of the character is normal, so there is a lot of confusion and deception going on. I love Laic217’s creativity and mischief, and this piece ticks all my boxes. Beautifully executed too.