Category: 5. Street Art

3557. Thomas Lane (1)

Life is full of surprises, which on balance is a fantastic thing, and finding this piece by SPZero76, which had been so totally off my radar, was a joyful moment. This is a part of town I rarely visit and I was passing through between two spots that I more regularly visit. This piece has a ‘sister’ which I will post in due course.

SPZero76, Thomas Lane, Bristol, March 2021
SPZero76, Thomas Lane, Bristol, March 2021

This pirate scene is on the wall of the Seven Stars Inn, adjacent to the music venue The Fleece. I think SPZero76 probably has an arrangement with the landlord, because on Google maps, there is a different piece by him here. These pirates follow a sort of convention that the artist likes to paint, with a combination of human characters and part-mechanised characters. It is a theme he returns to again and again. The execution as ever is spectacular. A good find.

Hemper

A gallery of brilliant graffiti writing pieces from Bristol-based artist Hemper

All photographs by Scooj

Hemper, St Werburghs, Bristol, March 2025
Hemper, St Werburghs, Bristol, March 2025
Hemper, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, February 2025
Hemper, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, February 2025
Hemper, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2025
Hemper, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2025
Hemper, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2025
Hemper, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2025
Hemper, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, February 2025
Hemper, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, February 2025
Hemper, Peel Street Green, Bristol, February 2025
Hemper, Peel Street Green, Bristol, February 2025
Hemper, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2025
Hemper, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2025
Hemper, Cowmead Walk, Bristol, February 2025
Hemper, Cowmead Walk, Bristol, February 2025
Hemper, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2025
Hemper, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2025
Hemper, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2016
Hemper, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2016
Hemper, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2025
Hemper, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2025
Hemper, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, June 2019
Hemper, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, June 2019
Hemper, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, June 2024
Hemper, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, June 2024
Hemper, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2024
Hemper, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2024
Hemper, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2024
Hemper, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2024
Hemper, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2023
Hemper, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2023
Hemper, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2023
Hemper, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2023
Hemper, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2023
Hemper, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2023
Benjimagnetic and Hemper, St Werburghs, Bristol, March 2023
Benjimagnetic and Hemper, St Werburghs, Bristol, March 2023
Hemper, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2023
Hemper, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2023
Hemper, M32 roundabout, Bristol, December 2022
Hemper, M32 roundabout, Bristol, December 2022
Hemper, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2022
Hemper, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2022
Hemper, M32 cycle path, Bristol, March 2021
Hemper, M32 cycle path, Bristol, March 2021
Hemper, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, April 2021
Hemper, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, April 2021
Hemper, St Werburghs, Bristol, March 2021
Hemper, St Werburghs, Bristol, March 2021
Hemper, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2021
Hemper, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2021
Hemper, M32 cycle path, Bristol, March 2021
Hemper, M32 cycle path, Bristol, March 2021
Hemper, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2021
Hemper, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2021
Hemper, M32 cycle path, Bristol, February 2021
Hemper, M32 cycle path, Bristol, February 2021
Hemper, Brunel Way, Bristol, January 2021
Hemper, Brunel Way, Bristol, January 2021
Hemper, M32 roundabout, Bristol, December 2020
Hemper, M32 roundabout, Bristol, December 2020
Hemper, M32 roundabout, Bristol, September 2020
Hemper, M32 roundabout, Bristol, September 2020
Hemper, Alfred Street, Bristol, September 2020
Hemper, Alfred Street, Bristol, September 2020
Hemper, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2020
Hemper, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2020
Hemper, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2020
Hemper, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2020
Hemper, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2016
Hemper, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2016
Hemper, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2020
Hemper, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2020
Hemper, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2020
Hemper, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2020
Inkie and Hemper, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2020
Inkie and Hemper, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2020
Hemper, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2020
Hemper, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2020
Hemper, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2019
Hemper, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2019
Hemper, St Werburghs, Bristol, August 2019
Hemper, St Werburghs, Bristol, August 2019
Hemper, M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 2018
Hemper, M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 2018
Ulow and Hemper, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2018
Ulow and Hemper, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2018
Hemper, Old Bread Street, Bristol, September 2016
Hemper, Old Bread Street, Bristol, September 2016
Hemper, M32 roundabout, Bristol, December 2017
Hemper, M32 roundabout, Bristol, December 2017
Zesk and Hemper, Dean Lane skate park, Bristol, May 2016
Zesk and Hemper, Dean Lane skate park, Bristol, May 2016

3556. St Paul’s

Anyone over a certain age will probably remember the cartoon series Hong Kong Phooey, I certainly do, but what is incredible is that there were only 16 episodes made. How is that possible, at one point in my life, I would have been about 10 years old, this cartoon seemed to be on all the time? Inkie has breathed new life into this hapless undercover crime solver in this breathtaking new piece in St Paul’s.

Inkie, St Paul's, Bristol, March 2021
Inkie, St Paul’s, Bristol, March 2021

Painted on a new hoarding, this piece is in the very good company of Soker and Sepr (to follow). This is a beautifully finished high-quality piece from Inkie set on a blue star background with bright orange and red lettering to match the skin tones and costume worn by our hero. Great to see Spot the cat making an appearance too.

Street art in Bristol seems to have undergone a renaissance over the last few months, something that I suspect will calm down a little as artists return to their day jobs and a form of normality resumes. If not, then I am in big trouble because I simply can’t cope with the amount of new art being produced each and every day.

3555. M32 roundabout J3 (289)

A weekend or two back Pekoe had a pulse of painting activity that would make your eyes water. It seemed that she has left one of her beautiful portraits at every spot in town. This one, alongside some graffiti writing from Mena was at the M32 roundabout.

Pekoe, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2021
Pekoe, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2021

I love the way that Pekoe has used the space to turn her usual portrait orientation into a landscape one by trailing the woman’s hair off to the right. I also love the colour selections, which although not my favourite colours seem to work so incredibly well in this instance. The spot on the eyes and lips lift these features and the shading around the face add real depth to the piece. I absolutely love this one. Bravo!

3554. M32 Cycle path (115)

Here we have another absolute scorcher from the fantastically productive Hemper. This artist’s trademark is his extraordinary creativity; how many different ways can he present the letters HEMS? Combined with his enormous skill and talent.

Hemper, M32 cycle path, Bristol, March 2021
Hemper, M32 cycle path, Bristol, March 2021

In this piece, Hemper has created a snakes and ladders board decked out in the garish colour squares that are so familiar to many of us from our childhoods. What an amazing thing to be able to do from a few old tins of spray paint. This is a magnificent, bright, happy piece. Thank you Hemper.

“Work to live, don’t live to work” – can’t argue with that.

3553. M32 roundabout J3 (288)

I love finding pieces by DFC1848 because they give me hope for my own artistic aspirations and his improvement over the last twelve months particularly has been exponential. DFC1848 has taken his character to new heights and developed so many ideas and incorporated new techniques.

DFC 1848, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2021
DFC 1848, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2021

What is obvious is that the more you practice at this game, the better you get. In this character piece, DFC1848 has switched things up a bit. Not only is the character a different animal, but it is upside down. The letters DFC are concealed within the character’s face, which is something he usually incorporates. Unfortunately, this piece only lasted a day or two, so I was rather lucky to find it.

3552. Lucky Lane (3)

There are little gifts out there, left behind by artists, all that’s left to do is get out there and find them. Part of my love of photographing and writing about street art is making little discoveries and opening my eyes and looking, not simply seeing. I have been down this lane a couple of times and it is off the beaten track a bit, but my most recent visit was well rewarded with this fabulous saxophone-playing seagull by Sean Sepr. How brilliant is that?

Sepr, Lucky Lane, Bristol, March 2021
Sepr, Lucky Lane, Bristol, March 2021

Painted on a clean wall and captured on a gorgeous day, this piece screams out happiness and a carefree feeling, something that has been difficult to find over the last year. For a few moments I was absorbed by this outstanding and humorous piece from Sepr, and allowed to forget about other matters. I have no idea how old this piece is, but it looked pretty fresh to me.

3551. The Bearpit (191)

The same place, the same artist, the same year (2017) as my last post, but a different character piece. Many readers will be familiar with Nevergiveup’s rabbits, but fewer might remember that he went through a phase of painting monsters. It is funny how he abandoned these in favour of the bunnies.

Nevergiveup, The Bearpit, Bristol, June 2017
Nevergiveup, The Bearpit, Bristol, June 2017

This one in The Bearpit (RIP) is beautifully sprayed in chrome on a red background… a rather gentle looking monster, not very menacing. These framed boards in The Bearpit were a perfect place for artists to showcase their work. Unfortunately taggers and some antisocial behaviour ultimately led to the removal of these boards and application of anti-graffiti paint. I haven’t been to The Bearpit for about two years, but nobody can take away my memories.

3550. The Bearpit (190)

Taking a trip through my archives is a bitter-sweet experience, and nothing sums that feeling up better than this wonderful old rabbit piece from Nevergiveup (Followmyrabbits). Bitter, because it was taken in The Bearpit in its prime, when artists had the freedom to paint the boards there without reproach and there was an atmosphere and creative buzz about the place. Two years ago, Bristol City Council turned this vibrant space into a sterile, utilitarian, CCTVd void… exactly what they wanted.

Nevergiveup, The Bearpit, Bristol, June 2017
Nevergiveup, The Bearpit, Bristol, June 2017

This is one of Nevergiveup’s early rabbits, and by looking at this you can see just how much his work has evolved since 2017, when he had only recently arrived in Bristol. He has certainly left his mark in the city since that time with literally hundreds of these little characters populating the city.

 

3549. King Street (3)

It doesn’t seem to matter how far back in time you go, those wheelie bins are a real nuisance. In another blast from the past, I have dug out this Mr Penfold piece from 2017, in a spot that the artist has made his home. I have at least three versions of his work in this archway and I am sure there may be others.

Mr Penfold, King Street, Bristol, May 2017

If you can ignore the bins for a moment you will see a beautifully designed piece incorporating a cocktail glass and some random abstract shapes. This is so unmistakably the work of Mr Penfold and forms a part of Bristol’s artistic DNA, along with artists like Andy Council, Alex Lucas and Tom Miller, whose murals around the city remind us of who we are. I’m so pleased to have liberated this one from my archive.

Mr Penfold, King Street, Bristol, August 2019
Mr Penfold, King Street, Bristol, August 2019
Mr Penfold, King Street, Bristol, September 2020
Mr Penfold, King Street, Bristol, September 2020