Another stunner from Smak on the M32 roundabout and this time it is in beautiful gold and green colours with a slightly unexpected surprise pink and red highlighting the outer edges of the piece.
I found this without knowing it had been painted (always rewarding and it usually means that it is pretty fresh because it han’t appeared on Instagram). There is a kind of browny tinge all along the middle of the letters, giving the letters a bit of a 3D shiny feel to them. Belting statement piece.
I don’t know very much at all about Dream Safari, the artist who painted this Einstein piece at Dean Lane. From his Instagram account I know that he specialises in characters and portrait murals, but beyond that I don’t know much more other than it took him six hours to get to Bristol to paint this, so obviously not local then.
Einstein is being a naughty chap with a tab of something on his tongue. At this point I have to confess my ignorance about recreational drugs, so am unable to say too much more about what is going on here. The portrait is nicely worked in grey scale, apart from the obvious splashes of colour. Great to see visiting artists as always.
This superb collaboration from Dibz and Shade One was a precursor to their Cheltenham Paint Festival collaboration in the Honeybourne Line tunnel painted last weekend. Unfortunately I didn’t get to see the finished Cheltenham piece, but was privileged to watch the pair working together.
This Dean Lane Piece is truly outstanding, and the quality of design and execution is of the highest order. I particularly like the blue bubbles, the largest of which provides the background for Shade One’s character on the right. What you see here is a near-perfect work from two very talented artists.
Every year or two, something wonderful happens on the walls of the Dare To adult night club in the form of the Raw Wax Graffiti Jam (thank you Paul). This year’s paint jam was truly exceptional in terms of the pieces created, sadly I didn’t make it on the day, but took some pictures a day or two later.
This full wall piece is an extraordinary and quite brilliant collaboration from Zase and Silent Hobo, full of colour and vibrancy, lifting the spirits in an industrial part of Bristol that is far from inspiring. It is incredible what a lift great street art can give to an area, changing the whole character of a place and this collaboration does that in spades.
On the left hand side Zase has created one of his beautiful 3D anamorphic signatures set on a background of what look like Swiss cheese plant leaves (a favourite for street artists). On the right are a couple of large Bristol youths, always so beautifully portrayed by Silent Hobo. The whole thing works very well indeed and I am not too sure that these two have worked together before, but the result is amazing
There is so much construction work going on in Bristol it is quite mind-boggling, and this in the shadow of ten years of austerity and now a coronavirus recession – there are obviously still large bags of money out there. Construction usually means that, for a short while at least, temporary hoardings will be installed, and if you are lucky the constructors may commission street artists to paint them in the hope that they don’t get covered in unattractive tags.
Temple way is no stranger to construction, but may be a stranger to the talents of Kin Dose whose meerkat piece is outstanding in every way. Kin Dose uses an airbrush technique that allows him to create the detail in the fur and the tree branch and so on. Sit back and enjoy this wonderful masterpiece from one of the very best.
It’s that man again Varo with his recognisable mega-tag of a bull’s head, no doubt inspired by his Spanish heritage. This piece is a variation on his throw-up version and is rather an attractive looking beast with a rather foppish haircut.
There is something of Picasso in this piece, deliberate or otherwise and although it is nothing like it, it reminds me of Guernica, or his bull’s head sculpture made from a bicycle seat and handlebars. I like the cheeky boldness of the piece. Great fun.
As if to prove me wrong, here is yet another Mr Draws piece, and a rather nice little one at that. Since stating a little while ago that he wasn’t getting out much, I am now finding pieces all over the place. I was also fortunate enough to catch up with him at the Cheltenham Paint Festival last weekend, and noted that he too has grown a rather nice corona beard.
The piece in St Werburghs tunnel Is deceiving because of the lights in the tunnel. It is actually chrome but the reflected light makes it look very gold on the right hand side. Some nice simple drops and blobs just lift the piece a little. Modest and fun.
I don’t think that this lovely character piece by DFC1848 lasted too long, so I was quite lucky to get a picture of it. The rabbit (?) face is another example of the diversity of pieces that DFC1848 is coming up with these days, having spend much of his first year of hitting walls concentrating on his now-familiar bear face.
I am enjoying his diversifying portfolio and I told him as much when I met him last weekend at the Cheltenham Paint Festival. One thing led to another during our conversation, and he has offered to accompany me when I decide to paint my first wall, an offer that I am giving very serious consideration, so watch this space carefully – I hope to have something to show you before the end of the year.
Meanwhile, DFC1848’s pieces are becoming more complex and he is incorporating new features, such as the little patch on the cheek of this rabbit. Geat to see a street art hunter/photographer giving it a go and improving with each effort. Hats off…
One of the few pleasures of being the family taxi driver is that I get to visit various parts of Bristol that might not ordinarily be on my normal routes. I stumbled across this old garage piece by 3Dom when dropping my son off at a friend’s house recently.
Although probably several years old, the surreal piece is in reasonably good shape. There is a lot going on here, and the story is far from clear so I’ll not try to second guess it, but rather leave it to your imagination. It felt great to find this hidden gem.
I don’t know the artist Mr Hoops who painted this banging burner in Dean Lane, but if I were to liken it to anything it looks like a mash up in style of Soker and Hemper, both of whom I initially thought might have been behind the piece when I first saw it. So what I am basically saying is that I think it is very good indeed.
The letters spell out hope, something we can all relate to in these crazy times. Some great letter shapes and vibrant colours on a dark background and the inclusion of a magic hat combine to make this a most enjoyable piece to look at. I don’t think it lasted too long, but the light that burns twice as bright burns half as long.
The letters
Natural adventures 