Category: 5. Street Art

2529. St Werburghs tunnel (105)

At the farm end of St Werburghs tunnel is this magnificent comic-strip piece by Conrico. I was lucky enough to meet Conrico last week while he was just putting some finishing touches on  a different work on the M32 cycle path. I stopped for a chat and do you know what, a nicer bloke you couldn’t hope to meet. He stopped what he was doing and we chewed the fat for quite a while, during the course of our conversation he gave me a ‘banana cap’ (a type of cap that you fix to the top of a spray can that regulates the pressure and spread of the paint) which he said might help me with my thinner lines. It was very kind of him and greatly appreciated.

Conrico, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2019
Conrico, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2019

I think the thing I like most about Conrico’s work is that each pecture tells a pretty elaborate story, and trying to work out what that story is is all part of the fun. I don’t know enough about anything to explain what might be happening here, but it is beautifully illustrated and the little details simply make the piece. His style is quite different from many of the character artists in Bristol, and I for one love it.

2528. Dean Lane skate park (257)

Consistently out there and consistently upbeat Mr Draws continues to create his inspiring and light-hearted pieces wherever he can find space. I have just updated his gallery on Natural Adventures, and he really has been very busy over the last three years.

Mr Draws, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2019
Mr Draws, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2019

Mr Draws is quite unlike any of the other writers in Bristol and I would say that his style and fills are slightly unconventional. His lettering is reasonably straightforward, but the way he decorates his pieces is what brings them alive. In this piece I rather like the subtle shadow he has sprayed just to the left of the ‘D’ to lift it out from the wall a little. Nice technique.

2527. Dean Lane skate park (256)

There haven’t been nearly enough pieces by Hire in my view in the last twelve months or so. I like his unusual Gothic, almost brutal writing style that conjours up images of hardened steel weapons of the middle ages, or at least that’s what I see.

Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2019
Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2019

On the curved wall of Dean Lane, this one I am guessing spells out HIRE, but I have to confess that I can’t see it, so it might say something else. Hoping for more from this fabulous writer and now that Nevergiveup has moved to Bath, we will need his menacing rabbits more thasn ever to keep us going.

2526. North Street

With a name like Zoe Power, you are never going to be easily forgotten. Marry that up with great talent and you get stunning memorable pieces like this one in North Street. Painted above Zara’s Chocolates in North Street, next door to the Upfest shop and Gemma Compton’s outstanding mural, this piece was created as part of Upfest’s Summer Editions and for me is one of the highlights.

Zoe Power, North Street, Bristol, October 2019
Zoe Power, North Street, Bristol, October 2019

I met Zoe Power at the Cheltenham Paint Festival, and I fear I may have bored her rigid, but she was polite and humoured me and my barrage of questions and natterings. I am an enormous fan of her work and love this Matisse-inspired mural (he is one of my all time favourite artists). There is a lot to like here, the female figures symmetrically placed around the windows of the building holding up symbols of the solar system, set on a plant-patterned background. I love, love, love it. I want to see a lot more of her stuff.

2525. L Dub (5)

It takes the fertile imagination and immense skill of an artist like Sled One to re-imagine a mermaid the wrong way round. I don’t think that too many sailors would fall in love with this beast.

Sled One, L Dub, Bristol, October 2019
Sled One, L Dub, Bristol, October 2019

The underpass at Lawrence Weston (L Dub) has a rather different and more select band of regular artists than those we are used to in town, for example, Sled One, Smak, DJ Perks, Dun Some, DFC and a selection of DBK bombers seem particularly fond of the old place.

Sled One, L Dub, Bristol, October 2019
Sled One, L Dub, Bristol, October 2019

When I finally get round to doing my first piece in public, I think it will be here because it is out of the way and quiet. Probably not until the Spring though. In the mean time it is probably just best to enjoy brilliant work like this from the masters.

2524. St Werburghs tunnel (104)

It tends to be fits and starts with Mr Klue’s street pieces these days. You can wait for an age for something new, and then suddenly there is a rush of them – let’s hope tghat this is the beginning of such a rush.

Mr Klue, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2019
Mr Klue, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2019

In one of his favoured spots at the Farm end of St Werburghs tunnel, this abstract street artist has given us another of his magical pieces of writing, which usually spell out KLUE, but I am not sdo sure about this one. He has used colours that I would most associate with Mr Klue, that is, purple with white accents and a touch of green. Great to see a new piece from him.

2523. M32 Spot (50)

I may have said this before, but Zake really ‘owns’ these columns at the southern end of the M32 spot, and over time the pieces have grown in sophistication. This most recent piece is rather more elaborate and detailed than some of his work and is a great measure of his development.

Zake, M32 Spot, Bristol, October 2019
Zake, M32 Spot, Bristol, October 2019

There would appear to be a bit of a story happening – it is difficult to determine the gender of the central character, and with the prayer pose and barbed wire in the hair, this could easily be a representation of Jesus. It could equally be a female character praying for something. It would be good to know what thestory is, but not knowing does not detract from the quality of the piece.

2522. M32 roundabout J3 (173)

This is quite a rare piece by the mild-mannered Face 1st, because he doesn’t very often get political, but this piece has been painted to show the artist’s despair over Brexit. It is a sentiment that will chime for the majority of Bristol citizens who voted overwhelmingly to remain in Europe.

Face 1st, M32 roundabout, Bristol, October 2019
Face 1st, M32 roundabout, Bristol, October 2019

I share the tears being shed by Face 1st’s subject and they are tears that reflect a sadness that our country is so divided, more so than at any time in living memory. The UK is shattered, and we can be pretty sure that the outcome of leaving Europe will be several more years of austerity (haven’t we had enough? – as a public sector worker, I’ve not had a more than 1% pay rise for a decade), the break up of the Union, with Scotland the first to go, and a vast and costly new domestic bureaucracy (replacing the one in Europe) just to manage our trade relationships and regulations that will be required for each nation we trade with. I wish I could wake up from this nightmare. Face 1st’s piece says it all really.

Bacon Street, Shoreditch, London

There are some streets that are so heavily festooned with street art, graffiti art, bombing and tags that it can become easy to overlook some gems in amongst all the noise. One such piece is this gorgeous stencil by C215.

C215, Bacon Street, Shoreditch, London, April 2019
C215, Bacon Street, Shoreditch, London, April 2019

The occupiers of 21 Bacon Street may not appreciate it, but they are privileged that their door has been chosen for such a magnificent and technically brilliant stencil. For me, finding small pieces like this is what makes the effort I put into seeking out art on walls so utterly worth it. Great work from C215.

2520. Shoreditch, London (34)

Having recently met Thisone at the Cheltenham Paint Festival I now feel that I can go through my archives and unlock a whole bunch of his pieces that have been loitering with intent to be published on Natural Adventures.

Thisone, Shoreditch, London, April 2019
Thisone, Shoreditch, London, April 2019

Using his trademark black and white two-tone style, and wildlife subject matter, Thisone has produced this beautiful fox – a street art favourite. The fox is decked out with a string of beads, as many of his pieces are, and I asked him what his fascination with jewellery is. The answer, which I was not expecting, was that he started decorating his pieces with jewellery to cover up little mistakes, and that it became a thing. Well there’s honesty for you.