Category: 5. Street Art

3724. Cumberland Basin

This is another piece from a paint jam in April this year on the long wall at Cumberland Basin. I have posted a couple of pieces from the collaborative wall already, but this one from Bnie is a little gem that I left behind.

Bnie, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, April 2021
Bnie, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, April 2021

I don’t know an awful lot about Bnie and have never had the pleasure of meeting her, but the more of her work I see, the more I like it. The element that she absolutely excels at is the 3D shadow fills, which are usually patterned in a way that few other artists do. It is the part that gives her away, no signature needed. The colour scheme was replicated along the whole length of the wall by all the artists but worked particularly well for Bnie. Always good to see.

3723. M32 roundabout J3 (324)

This gorgeous piece of graffiti writing from Ryder very nearly got left behind in the archives, however I am trying to go back and dig out such lost treasures which is a real challenge due to the sheer volume of street art being painted at the moment.

Ryder, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2021
Ryder, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2021

I haven’t seen too many Ryder pieces lately (until the day before yesterday, that is) but what he lacks in quantity he has more than made up for with quality. Spelling out RYDER, this is a classic piece of writing from the RAW man with five horizontal fills running through the letters and some rather nice black spot decorations. This is a really classy piece, and there is a little shout out to King Robbo which is rather nice.

Taboo

A gallery of outstanding graffiti writing and character pieces from Bristol’s Taboo

All photographs by Scooj

Taboo, Brunel Way, Bristol, June 2021
Taboo, Brunel Way, Bristol, June 2021

Taboo, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2020
Taboo, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2020

Taboo, St Werburghs, Bristol, December 2020
Taboo, St Werburghs, Bristol, December 2020

Taboo, Brunel Way, Bristol, November 2020
Taboo, Brunel Way, Bristol, November 2020

Taboo, Brunel Way, Bristol, November 2020
Taboo, Brunel Way, Bristol, November 2020

Taboo, M32 roundabout, Bristol, October 2020
Taboo, M32 roundabout, Bristol, October 2020

Taboo, M32 roundabout, Bristol, October 2020
Taboo, M32 roundabout, Bristol, October 2020

Taboo, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2020
Taboo, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2020

Taboo, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2020
Taboo, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2020

Taboo, Brunel Way, Bristol, August 2020
Taboo, Brunel Way, Bristol, August 2020

Taboo, Moon Street, Bristol, August 2020
Taboo, Moon Street, Bristol, August 2020

Taboo, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2020
Taboo, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2020

Taboo, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2020
Taboo, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2020

Taboo, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2020
Taboo, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2020

Taboo, M32 cycle path, Bristol, June 2020
Taboo, M32 cycle path, Bristol, June 2020

Taboo, M32 cycle path, Bristol, June 2020
Taboo, M32 cycle path, Bristol, June 2020

Taboo, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2020
Taboo, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2020

Taboo, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2020
Taboo, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2020

Taboo, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2020
Taboo, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2020

3722. Sparke Evans Park (6)

This beautiful piece of calligraphic writing is from Todoaciem and a part of a large collaborative wall from an HMR crew paint jam a few weeks back. I have already posted the Dabuten Tronko piece from the same wall, and now it is the turn of Todoaciem.

Todoaciem, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, May 2021
Todoaciem, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, May 2021

The wall itself can be problematic to photograph, because the sun shines through large trees, creating a dappled effect. The only solution is to come early in the morning or on an overcast day, but beggars can’t be choosers, so dappled pictures is what I have.

Set on a green smokey background, which is amplified by the light quality, Todoaciem has written the letters CIEM in the most beautiful font and with a heraldic colour palette. If medieval knights did graffiti, perhaps this is what it would look like. A hugely accomplished and brilliant piece of writing.

3721. St Werburghs tunnel (241)

It would seem that with a little encouragement from Daz Cat, CD.TC has managed to get out and paint a little in the last few weeks, which is great to see, and here the two combine in this rather nice collaboration in the middle of the tunnel.

CD.TC and Daz Cat, St Werburghs tunnel, Bristol, May 2021
CD.TC and Daz Cat, St Werburghs tunnel, Bristol, May 2021

On the left CD.TC’s monster character is spraying upwards to creat the letters CD.TC and on the right a Daz Cat is dipping a piece of pizza into a can of something with GYS on the side. The cat has two left arms, don’t ask me why. I don’t know what GYS stands for in this piece, but a quick Google search revealed it can mean ‘Get your stuff’ or ‘get you some’ or ‘graveyard shift’. You can decide for yourself what you think it might mean in this context. A nice low-key collaboration.

3720.Dean Lane skate park (419)

It would seem that Laic217 has found some rhythm to his street work and is painting more regularly no than he was for much of the winter. This portrait of a rather gaunt character is tucked away on the swimming pool wall at Dean Lane, and is modest by Laic217’s standards.

Laic217, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2021
Laic217, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2021

There are some familiar elements in this character piece, but it does seem to mark a departure from skulls and skeletons continuing from his last Dean Lane character. Smoking and an exaggerated mouth gives this character a bit of a menacing look. All good stuff though.

3719. North Street

This is the sixth and final part of the Six Sisters project in North Street, a series of six huge facade murals by six female Bristol artists, organised by Upfest. This final part of the series is by Alex Lucas, who has featured in Natural Adventures numerous times, and a gallery of her work can be found here.

Alex Lucas, North Street, Bristol, May 2021
Alex Lucas, North Street, Bristol, May 2021

This piece is an absolute beauty and brings the series to a great crescendo. Alex Lucas brings her illustration skills to the fore with these three poodles and a pug? In amongst some beautiful flowers and clouds. The vibrancy of the colours was enhanced by the gorgeous weather on the day I took these pictures.

Alex Lucas, North Street, Bristol, May 2021
Alex Lucas, North Street, Bristol, May 2021

The poodles (not my favourite breed if I am honest) are full of life and movement with suitably daft expressions on their faces. They are frolicking amongst the clouds and amazing yellow flowers. The whole thing resembles fancy bespoke wallpaper.

Alex Lucas, North Street, Bristol, May 2021
Alex Lucas, North Street, Bristol, May 2021

When Gemma Compton completed the first of these murals above the Upfest shop in June 2016, I don’t think anyone could have foreseen what a wonder this row of shops would become five years later. Bravo to all the artists and hats off to Upfest for giving the city this amazing landmark.

The 'six sisters' - Bex Glover, Alex Lucas, Zoe Power, Gemma Compton, Sophie Long and Ejits, North Street, Bristol, May 2021
The ‘six sisters’ – Bex Glover, Alex Lucas, Zoe Power, Gemma Compton, Sophie Long and Ejits, North Street, Bristol, May 2021

My posts for the six sisters are listed below:

1. Gemma Compton

2. Zoe Power

3. Bex Glover

4. Sophie Long

5. Ejits

6. Alex Lucas

3718. Muriel Alleyway (3)

The message from Rtiiika here is very clear ‘stop telling women to smile’. I must confess to being a little bit puzzled by the sentence. I like to think that I am reasonably well acquainted with issues of gender inequality, and sensitive to the political and societal pressures, but I don’t really understand this message. It might be something that I am unaware of, and if so need to understand better.

Rtiiika, Muriel Alleyway, Bristol, May 2021
Rtiiika, Muriel Alleyway, Bristol, May 2021

The artwork is wonderful and adopts the characteristic long thin lines that Rtiiika uses in her work, this time in the form of her letters. The piece is capped off with a smiley in the centre in the colour of the original we are all so familiar with. There is a juxtaposition between this smiley and the message of the piece. I like the concept of messaging like this and wonder if she will do more of it.

3717. Dean Lane skate park (418)

Although we don’t see too much of Hire these days, what we do see is of the highest quality. I am really enjoying Hire’s relatively recent reinvention pieces like this one in which he writes the word ODIAH

Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2021
Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2021

This beautifully presented piece incorporates some of the jagged elements of Hire’s customary style but softens them into a rather more conventional writing style. The colours are nicely selected and the grading of fill from light to dark is masterful. A really nice piece.

3716. M32 Spot (114)

One of the particularly nice things about this column piece from CD.TC is that I was able to watch the artist at work, meeting him for the first time in the process. Although, by his own admission,  he is not the most productive of Bristol’s artists, his pieces are memorable and tend to have quite a long lifespan which might be attributed to the spots he chooses to paint.

CD.TC, M32 Spot, Bristol, May 2021
CD.TC, M32 Spot, Bristol, May 2021

This double monster face piece works perfectly on the column and shows off the artists talents to perfection. His work is usually neat and tidy and in some way quite compelling to look at. He has done himself a lot of favours by prepping the wall nicely before commencing with this piece.

CD.TC, M32 Spot, Bristol, May 2021
CD.TC, M32 Spot, Bristol, May 2021

CD.TC painted this alongside Daz Cat, a painting pal, whose piece I posted a week or two back. In terms of style (rather than content) I would liken CD.TC’s work to Conrico’s in that both have a bit of a paintbrush style to their work. That might not be very clear, but I think I know what I mean. Expect this one to be around for a while.