Category: 5. Street Art

3431. Upper York Street (23)

I wrote about the passing of MF DOOM in a post a few days ago referencing a piece by Mr Klue in St Werburghs Tunnel, and this is another tribute piece to the rapper, this time from Smak and Sled One.

Smak, Upper York Street, Bristol, January 2021
Smak, Upper York Street, Bristol, January 2021

It is clear that MF DOOM was very much loved by the graffiti art community, and I have seen dozens of tribute pieces on Instagram over the past few weeks. This collaboration though is really out of the top drawer. On the left is an outstanding portrait of the masked artist from Smak, and an example of his sophisticated skills can be seen in the colours and how they are used on the mask – an extraordinary metallic effect reminiscent of Fanakapan.

Sled One, Upper York Street, Bristol, January 2021
Sled One, Upper York Street, Bristol, January 2021

On the right-hand side of the collaboration is Sled One’s contribution, and here his wacky and creative imagination goes into overdrive, with an MF DOOM/Thomas the Tank Engine fusion piece… crazy. Only Sled One could come up with a concept like this and execute it with such aplomb. Brilliant!

Smak and Sled One, Upper York Street, Bristol, January 2021
Smak and Sled One, Upper York Street, Bristol, January 2021

All in all this is a truly outstanding collaborative tribute and the best I have seen so far.

3430. St Luke’s Road (3)

This is the third stunning mural I have recently posted by Gage Graphics on the rear wall of house on St Luke’s Road overlooking Victoria Park. I had seen images of this piece before on the Internet, but it wasn’t until I went looking for the new Banksy piece in Totterdown that I stumbled across it.

Gage Graphics, St Luke's Road, Bristol, December 2020
Gage Graphics, St Luke’s Road, Bristol, December 2020

It is a great thing when neighbours collaborate and decide to commission pieces like this, and this iconic row of houses has about six or seven noteworthy murals that do so much to brighten up the area. In this piece, Gage Graphics has included a couple of iconic Bristol characters from Aardman Studios, Gromit (peering out of the tree trunk) and Shaun the Sheep in the centre of the moral. Other Bristol references are  the SS Great Britain designed and built by I. K. Brunel and in the sky a Balloon gently drrifts by. On the right of the mural a surfer is catching an enormous wave. This is a fun and creative piece and a fine addition to the others in the road.

Gage Graphics, St Luke's Road, Bristol, December 2020
Gage Graphics, St Luke’s Road, Bristol, December 2020

3429. Dean Lane skate park (381)

This is another wall which I was foolish enough not to photograph in its entirety. It is actually a three-way collaboration between Awkward, Acer One and Benjimagnetic. Sometimes I wonder if I get carried away taking pictures without actually thinking about what I am doing.

Awkward and Acer One, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2020
Awkward and Acer One, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2020

On the left-hand side of the wall is a beautiful letter piece from Acer One with the letters TCF bookended by two rather frightening character faces by Awkward. I have seen an Awkward/Benjimagnetic collaboration before, but it is great to see all three artists together.

Benjimagnetic, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2020
Benjimagnetic, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2020

On the right is the Benjimagnetic contribution and is yet another fine piece from him. I have an awful lot of catching up to do with his pieces and I will try and dig them out of my files when (if ever) there is a lull in street activity.

3428. M32 cycle path (101)

Yet another in the series of Turoe pieces expressing the awful 2020 that now is thankfully behind us. I goofed when photographing this and forgot to take a picture of both words together. It says Shite Times, and confirms the experience that most of us had last year. (I shan’t get into the utter balls-up that Brexit always was going to be and alas is becoming – that’ll be a shite decade at least).

Turoe, M32 cycle path, Bristol, December 2020
Turoe, M32 cycle path, Bristol, December 2020

Another font style and some lovely creative touches like the clouds of colour along the bottom make this a classy piece. The letters are nice and clean in chrome with black highlights and the chrome works very nicely with the purple outline and background.

Turoe, M32 cycle path, Bristol, December 2020
Turoe, M32 cycle path, Bristol, December 2020

Turoe is definitely making up for lost time after a year during which ill health prevented him getting out from some time. I think we will look at these ‘Shite’ pieces as ones that define 2020 both for the artist and for the nation.

3427. M32 roundabout (276)

I have only met Hemper on one occasion and that was last summer. My first impressions were that he is an unassuming and modest fellow who has put in the effort and has a gift for graffiti writing and does it extraordinarily well.

Hemper, M32 roundabout, Bristol, December 2020
Hemper, M32 roundabout, Bristol, December 2020

Hemper is a freestyle writer, which means that he doesn’t paint from a sketch in a black book but rather from his imagination. Combine that natural creativity with the fine motor skills that he has developed over the years, and you get outstanding pieces like this one. A little beauty.

3426. Dean Lane skate park (380)

This container in Dean Lane seems to have been around forever. I’m really not sure what it contains or why it is there, but it is a surface to paint and that is what matters. The quality of graffiti and street art on this container can be very variable so it is nice when a really good piece like this one from Rusk comes along.

Rusk, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2021
Rusk, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2021

Rusk is an artist/writer whose work I never tire of and who doesn’t paint as much as I’d like him to, although he tends to paint in places that are sometimes out of the way and I don’t get to see those ones. This is a straightforward RUSKI in horizontal graded blues with some nice bubbles in black white and blue. The quality of the lines and fills is of a high standard, which on the uneven face of the container can’t be easy. This is what great graffiti writing looks like.

3425. Narroways (1)

There is a little pathway close to the entrance of St Werburghs tunnel that leads up to a small nature reserve bounded by railway lines. The reserve is on the top of a hill and has some lovely views of Bristol and some interesting perspectives of the main lines coming into Bristol Temple Meads station. Of course, where you have railways and hills, you also have bridges, and where you have railway bridges there is a chance you might get some graffiti. That is the case here.

Daz Cat, Narroways, Bristol, January 2021
Daz Cat, Narroways, Bristol, January 2021

This is a rather unhappy, even angry, looking cat from Daz Cat. I think I prefer his happier cats. This one is mostly chrome and stands out amongst the other graffiti writing and throw ups around it. Worth the detour, and a nice peaceful oasis in North Bristol.

3424. M32 roundabout J3 (275)

This is a classic example of Face 1st doing what Face 1st does best and that is spraying an enormous face in a tunnel that is near impossible to photograph. I had toyed with the idea of not posting this piece, but that would be admitting defeat.

Face 1st, M32 roundabout, Bristol, January 2021
Face 1st, M32 roundabout, Bristol, January 2021

Face 1st seems to favour the M32 roundabout tunnels and it is rare for one of his pieces not to be present in one of the four tunnels 24/7/365. This piece is a trademark one from the artist with a happy girls face and hair composed of  the letters FACE. Face 1st and his PWA crew mate Soap typify the vibrancy and energy of the Bristol street art scene.

3423. Dean Lane skate park (379)

I think this is my favourite wall in Dean Lane and it has hosted so many outstanding pieces over the years. Some occupy the whole height and width of the wall, some just the lower or upper portions, some are solo pieces and some collaborations like this one from Slim Pickings and Biers.

Biers, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2021
Biers, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2021

On the left is some superb writing from Biers, which appears to spell out BIERY, which is a nice variant of his letters. I like the unruly nature of his writing where uniformity of letters goes out of the window. This is one of those collaborations that share a wall and colour convention.

Slim Pickings, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2021
Slim Pickings, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2021

To the right is the contribution from Slim Pickings whose TES doesn’t quite fit on the wall. The letters are big and bold and the black fill dominant. This is one of those collaborations that you cal look at and say ‘yes’! 

3422. Dean Lane skate park (378)

It would seem that Turoe isn’t quite ready to stop reminding us what a bad year 2020 has been with this ‘Shyte’ piece in Dean Lane. He may be using the same word associated with his recent work but has given it a rather different style this time round.

Turoe, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2021
Turoe, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2021

The large block letters in black are nicely formed and bounded by a strong lime green outline. The subtle part is in the red clouds across the bottom of the letters and purple accents. Another fine shyte piece from Turoe.