Category: 5. Street Art

4105. Greenbank (20)

A few weeks ago Pl8o told me that he had a whole bunch of new designs ready to go, and since then I have figured that each new piece I have seen would have been part of this roll-out, including this beauty on the long wall at Greenbank.

Pl8o, Greenbank, Bristol, November 2021
Pl8o, Greenbank, Bristol, November 2021

If I am honest, I think that brown and orange are my least favourite street art colours, although if used to highlight or fill pieces they are not so bad. I suspect that this relates to a rather horrible pair of nylon pyjamas I had in the 1970s that were brown with an orange trim. Yuk.

I absolutely love the stylised letters that Pl8o has drawn up and the character is a very welcome addition, which I assume is by him too. All in all a very nice addition to his portfolio, just a pity about the colours (in my opinion).

4104. New Stadium Road (36)

I met Logoe for the first time a couple of weeks ago at this spot while he was painting a collaboration with Silent Hobo, one of his old mates. Their collaboration, I don’t think even lasted a day, and I only have one WIP photograph of it, such is the ephemeral nature of street art in popular spots. Logoe comes across as a lovely bloke and was more than happy to talk about his work and his trips to Bristol.

Logoe, New Stadium Road, Bristl, October 2021
Logoe, New Stadium Road, Bristl, October 2021

Unlike his collaboration piece, this one has lasted well and I believe is still there, or at least it was last time I visited this spot. The delicate colours work really well on this script LOGOE entering. With many of his pieces Logoe likes to add a little quote or phrase and here he gives us:

“They say (she) dodged a bullet… but it put her in the ground”

This sounds like a lyric, but I am not too sure what from. Anyhow, it works well with this lovely piece. Logoe also told me that he had missed out a word. I am guessing it was the word ‘she’ that I inserted in brackets.

4103. City Road (12)

This magnificent beast was created by Ryder as part of a magnificent paint jam marking the opening of Stoked Food in Stokes Croft. The whole delivery and car parking Bay Area was decorated by several local artists, but this shutter skull was the centrepiece.

Ryder, City Road, Bristol, October 2021
Ryder, City Road, Bristol, October 2021

Ryder is better known for his outstanding writing, but this is a great character piece, and extra clever as the mouth opens up when the garage door is raised. Very nicely painted and full of cartoon ‘over-the-top’ character, this piece demands to be looked at and enjoyed by passers by on City Road.

4102. Cumberland Basin

Different artists have different creative patterns or routines. Some paint the same thing over and over again, tweaking and perfecting it (for example Slim Pickings – TES), others create something extraordinary and different every time (Sled One, Tom Miller, 3Dom). Some only write, some only create characters and some combine the two. Mudra too has a modus operandi, which is either to create a character portrait or to write MUDRA cryptically incorporating characters and symbols. This piece falls into the latter category.

Mudra, Cumberland Basin, September 2021
Mudra, Cumberland Basin, September 2021

This lovely piece from a little while back on the long wall at Cumberland Basin spells out the artist’s name, where the ‘d’ in a little breakout star at the bottom is replaced with a wonderful stylised portrait of a pink-faced, purple-nosed lady with shocking yellow hair. A wonderful and creative piece beautifully worked nice clean lines and fills.

4101. Dean Lane skate park (442)

Dibz is an immensely talented graffiti writer and whose status is in the highest echelons of writers in Bristol and, I dare say, the UK. He manages to turn out beautifully designed piece after piece, never letting his standards drop, and the creativity of his designs and outstanding colour palettes is of the highest order.

Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2021
Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2021

This piece in Dean Lane is extra special because it is a birthday celebration for his mother, which is really touching. For this piece, he has really gone to town, with all the elements coming together perfectly. Great design, superb colours, tight lines, beautifully crafted fills and 3D shadows. In short this is an outstanding piece, and about as good as it gets.

4100. M32 Cycle path (150)

I think that this might be one of my favourite Slakarts pieces to date. The slightly more sophisticated overall design and inclusion of great colours (reminiscent of Kleiner Shames’ preferred palette) delivers a truly pleasing work. Perhaps he was inspired while painting alongside Decay… and who wouldn’t be?

Slakarts, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, November 2021
Slakarts, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, November 2021

The stylised portrait has been painted with great care, and the lines are sharp and fills solid. There are some clever elements and some fabulous fragmentation of elements, creating something of a cubist look to the piece. A beautiful piece beautifully finished.

4099. Sparke Evans Park (22)

Sparke Evans park is becoming a bit of a ‘go to’ spot these days for both artists and photographers/chroniclers, as the quality and high turnover of work necessitates more regular visits. This is a superb collaboration from Spanish duo Dabuten Tronko and Sin Prisas

Sin Prisas, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, November 2021
Sin Prisas, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, November 2021

The two rather scary looking vultures (I think) appear to be squabbling over an eyeball suspended between the pair. On the left is Sin Prisas’ bird, painted with great skill and class. It is a pity we don’t see more of his work in the city.

Dabuten Tronko, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, November 2021
Dabuten Tronko, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, November 2021

To the right is a vicious vulture by Dabuten Tronko, and the amazing thing is that the artists have managed to paint with incredibly similar styles, and it is only the finer detail, such as the thickness of the outer border, that gives this away as being a collaboration between two artists. Their signatures help in this respect too.

Sin Prisas and Dabuten Tronko, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, November 2021
Sin Prisas and Dabuten Tronko, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, November 2021

This is an absolutely fabulous collaborative piece and is right up at the top end of these kinds of pieces in the city.

4098. M32 Cycle path (149)

Regulars will know that I really like Bnie’s work. She fits into a school of writers whose letters are not cryptic… what you see is what you get, and the magic is created in the colour schemes and in the fills and patterns. Some, for example Mena in yesterday’s post, try something a little different from time to time, but it is in perfecting what you enjoy that shines through the most.

Bnie, M32 Cycl path, Bristol, November 2021
Bnie, M32 Cycl path, Bristol, November 2021

This newish piece on the cycle path, part of an RBF paint jam, does incorporate some slightly new letter shapes and the horizontal fade from purple through to green in four shades is beautifully worked, but it is her distinctive patterned (in red and black this time) 3D depth that is truly masterful. Great piece.

4097. Sparke Evans Park (21)

There is something very enjoyable when an artist adds to their repertoire with something quite different. Mena is a writer who up until recently worked with uniform soft blocky letters, but recently she has gone on a spate of beautiful script writing, which has taken her work to a new level in my opinion.

Mena, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, November 2021
Mena, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, November 2021

This piece in Sparke Evans Park is an absolute belter. The script is beautifully designed and the horizontal blend of colours in the fill are masterfully done. A really lovely piece and a great new direction for the artist.

4096. Alpine Road

I have always known that when looking for street art, it always pays off to walk round an extra corner or walk further than you were planning, because there are so many gems out there off the beaten track. I found this glorious mural by Gage Graphics on a trip to Greenbank. My dog wanted a longer walk, so I went on a bit of an exploration and was lucky enough to find this piece.

Gage Graphics, Alpine Road, Bristol, November 2021
Gage Graphics, Alpine Road, Bristol, November 2021

It was also interesting walking into Easton from a different direction and visualising how it all joins up. The mural takes up two sides of a corner building and seems to be a bit of an urban Bristol scene, identifiable by the Clifton suspension bridge, with some cartoon characters and fantasy shapes.

Gage Graphics, Alpine Road, Bristol, November 2021
Gage Graphics, Alpine Road, Bristol, November 2021

I do believe Top Cat makes an appearance as well as Jerry the mouse peering from a or, which all seems a little incongruous to me, but might have been a special request for the commission.

Gage Graphics, Alpine Road, Bristol, November 2021
Gage Graphics, Alpine Road, Bristol, November 2021

On the shorter side of the building there appear to be two little seating areas, with a dog playing a guitar and a small speaker system cleverly painted onto the gas meter box. A wonderful new and fantastical piece for Bristol by Gage Graphics.