Category: 5. Street Art

3567. Dean Lane skate park (401)

Dibz is turning out new work at an extraordinary rate at the moment which is great to see, although keeping up is proving to be something of a challence. I was lucky enough to catch up with him while he was painting this one and he stopped for a bit of a chat.

Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2021
Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2021

Even though he didn’t buff the wall to start with, which is something he does more often than not, the quality of this piece shines through. Either deliberately or accidentally, this piece somehow blends in with the Slakarts and Mudra collaboration beneath it, complementing them well.

Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2021
Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2021

I guess I am labouring the point a bit, but Dibz is right up there with the very best in Bristol in his finishing. Every piece is so clean and tight, which given the intricacy of the writing is nothing short of miraculous. Another outstanding piece.

3566. Stapleton Road

This railway pillar and three others, along with a large wall could have gone one of two ways. As Network Rail assets they might have been buffed with anti-graffiti paint, and become yet another sterile, functional piece of Bristol infrastructure. Fortunately, in a project supported by Network Rail and Severnside Rail Partnership, several local artists were commissioned to decorate the pillars, and the results have been utterly outstanding. I truly hope they receive the respect they deserve.

Anna Higgie, Stapleton Road, Bristol, March 2021
Anna Higgie, Stapleton Road, Bristol, March 2021

This pillar is by Anna Higgie and presents us with a host of urban icons from Bristol such as the balloon, electric scooter, busses, flowers and nature. There is something very connected and uplifting about the piece, celebrating an urban setting.

Anna Higgie, Stapleton Road, Bristol, March 2021
Anna Higgie, Stapleton Road, Bristol, March 2021

It is so good to see that these pillars have been handed over to local artists who in turn have handed them back to the community who will enjoy them for many years to come. An inspirational project which will create a sense of local pride.

3565. M32 roundabout J3 (291)

Inkie and his ASK compatriots have been smashing it in recent weeks, and it is a very good thing to see. I can’t remember a time when so many classy pieces have been painted in such a short space of time. 2021 is shaping up to be one hell of a year for street/graffiti art in Bristol.

Inkie, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2021
Inkie, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2021

This lovely piece is in colours favoured by Inkie and seen many times on Natural Adventures before. It is the intricacy of the piece that I find rather special about this one. There is so much interlocking and cross-over of the letters, it becomes impossible to work it all out in your head… goodness only knows how Inkie manages to do it. Yet another very nice piece from that man Inkie.

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3564. Brunel Way Bridge (95)

Another very nice large piece of graffiti writing from Subtle, one of several recent works after quite a long quiet period. It seems that like many other artists Subtle is painting in bursts of activity, hitting loads of walls in a matter of a few days.

Subtle, Brunel Way, Bristol, March 2021
Subtle, Brunel Way, Bristol, March 2021

I also think that Subtle must have bought a job-lot of paint, because his recent works have contained similar colour palettes. The letters here are a little more ornate than usual, and the pink boundary and dark stripes are very nice decorations to the piece. Classy as always.

3563. Greville Road (11)

I am taking the very unusual step of publishing an extra post today, because I can. I am on leave and should be walking the dog or on the allotment or doing the thousand other things lined up. But sod it, I thought I’d do this instead, besides which, my March 2021 folder is heaving – I have never had so many pieces to select from, ever and I need to share as many as I can.

Angus, Greville Road, Bristol, March 2021
Angus, Greville Road, Bristol, March 2021

This is a superb mosaic piece by an artist I’ve not posted for a very long time indeed. He does create new pieces fairly regularly, but they tend to be in places I very rarely visit, this being an exception.

Entitled (I guess) ‘Wanna Smurf’, this piece features one of the ghastly little creatures (I was never a fan) with a couple of floating hearts. I guess this might be a Valentine’s Day piece, but I am not sure. I like the location and originality/weirdness. I feel I need to hunt down more of these little mosaics from Angus.

3562. Star and Garter (7)

A really unusual, and if I might say slightly scary, portrait piece from Rosalita Raw on the side wall of the Star and Garter in St Paul’s. Why is it that carnival imagery, which is supposed to be bright, happy and entertaining so easily drifts into the dark and edgy?

Rosalita, Star and Garter, Bristol, March 2021
Rosalita, Star and Garter, Bristol, March 2021

Rosalita has had an exceptional six months or so, and I am loving every second of this upsurge in activity from her. This piece is really nicely worked, and shares some similarities with Pekoe’s style although a little bit more detailed in the facial features. Who is she winking at? Is it a knowing wink or an affectionate wink? Unusual and compelling.

3561. St Paul’s

Soker hasn’t painted many walls during the pandemic, but what he has lacked in quantity he has surely made up for in quality. This is a magnificent recent piece painted alongside Inkie and Sepr in the depths of St Paul’s.

Soker, St Pauls, Bristol, March 2021
Soker, St Pauls, Bristol, March 2021

Everything about this piece of graffiti writing is right out of the top drawer, from the colour selection to the letter design, the graded fills and dripping black spots. There is so much to enjoy here, and Soker is exceeding even his very high bar.

Soker, St Pauls, Bristol, March 2021
Soker, St Pauls, Bristol, March 2021

I genuinely think that in Inkie, Soker and Sepr, we have some of the very best graffiti writers and street artists in the world, a bold claim I know, but difficult to argue against.

M32 roundabout J3 (290)

Yesterday I posted a gallery of Hemper’s work, and if you’ve not stumbled across it, you can find it here. This is yet another beauty in a disaggregated style, a little bit like Benjimagnetic perhaps, up at the M32 roundabout. I would like to say it is his most recent piece, but I know of at least two more since this one was painted.

Hemper, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2021
Hemper, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2021

At first glance, and to the untrained eye, this might look like a bit of a chaotic mess. It is however a beautifully crafted HEMS in several colours, without a solid fill, but instead a hint at fills and outlines. I think that this is the kind of piece that a novice simply couldn’t create. Appearances can be deceptive.


3559. Dean Lane skate park (401)

I was fortunate enough to catch up with Pekoe as she was painting this pink face in Dean Lane a couple of weeks back. This was one of several portraits she painted over the space of a few days and which left her skint… spray paint is not cheap.

Pekoe, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2021
Pekoe, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2021

It was interesting watching her work on this portrait, and her ‘trial and error’ approach to some elements of it. She was working on the nose and nostrils when I took this picture. Seeing the piece in draft like this, gives you a feel for how important the finishing is in street art and just how much work goes into these works.

Pekoe, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2021
Pekoe, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2021

I have always liked Pekoe’s work, from the very first piece I saw… there is a kind of authenticity and honesty about it and it is calmly unpretentious. Finding each new piece brings me a little moment of joy.

3558. River Avon (15)

This is a rather unusual piece from Laic217 in so much as it looks rather more like a commission than a graffiti art work. I think that the texture of the breeze block wall has also contributed to the unusual look of the piece.

Laic217, River Avon, Bristol, March 2021
Laic217, River Avon, Bristol, March 2021

Carrying the words ‘cans ‘n roses’, this is an obvious nod to the hard rock band and the piece has a hard rock feel to it. Is this where Laic217 gets some of his inspiration from? I guess it is less important where it comes from, instead it is what he does as a result of inspiration, and this is an absolute gem of a piece.

Laic217, River Avon, Bristol, March 2021
Laic217, River Avon, Bristol, March 2021

As I already mentioned the surface of the wall gives the piece a kind of matt finish which is so unusual. The can and roses motif is beautifully conceived and executed, Laic217 is an artist who just seems to go from strength to strength.

Laic217, River Avon, Bristol, March 2021
Laic217, River Avon, Bristol, March 2021

Of course, a little bit like Nightwayss and his monkeys, no Laic217 piece is complete without a skull or skeletal character and here he doesn’t disappoint. Another triumph from an artist who is having another busy patch.