.
The bright yellow thing
set in a pallid blue sky
it’s been a long time
.
by Scooj
7469. Surbiton Station, London
One thing that you can be reasonably certain about is that when you find a SkyHigh piece there is likely to be a Roo piece nearby, as the couple often paint together. It looks like Roo drew the short straw and had this rather tricky little spot behind the letter box.
Roo has painted one of her trademark bees that she can probably paint in her sleep. The bee is painted with such assurance, with beautiful clean lines and strong solid fills. I rather like the way that she has painted each of the concrete slabs with a different shade of blue. Buzzzz.
7468. Dean Lane skate park (901)
There is something rather nice when artists who are at the top of the ladder find time to get back to their roots with a bit of graffiti writing, and I don’t think there is anybody who does it better than Sled One.
This is a lovely piece on my favourite curved wall, which has been rather neglected of late, with the letters ASK, After School Klub, the most established Bristol crew. Sled One would have almost certainly free-styled this piece and probably rather quickly, but such is his talent that it looks pretty much perfectly conceived and executed. Cracking work.
7467. Surbiton Station, London
Last weekend my wife and I went to London for a football match and stayed with her brother and family in Surbiton. To get to the match we had to catch a train from Surbiton Station and you can only imagine my joy, when I saw this mural buy SkyHigh, and several others tucked around the corner. Over the next few days I’ll be posting some of these.
SkyHigh is perhaps better known for his outstanding writing, but has also produced some extraordinary wildlife pieces, and this domestic nature scene certainly hits the mark. I believe that this mural was painted several years ago (December 2021?), but is still looking pretty fresh.
SkyHigh has captured the robin and the red squirrel perfectly, although there aren’t many (any) red squirrels in this part of the country. What a magnificent sight for commuters to return to after a dull day at work. Bravo!
7466. Cumberland Basin
Such is the low turnover of street artwork at the moment, I get very excited by any new piece I find, with most of my visits to the usual spots yielding precious little. Naturally, finding this cracker by Creamylines made my day recently.
I am very fond of this little recess and there have been many lovely pieces painted here, so it is fitting that Creamylines should adopt it. All that we would expect to see from the artist is here, and I would like to credit Suzette with her description of his work as being “like a vintage quilt”, which I thought most fitting. I have a feeling that someone has added some sun rays, which slightly disrupt the piece… I would be surprised if it was a Creamylines addition. Uplifting work.
7465. River Avon (111)
Going through my archive, I found this beauty by Creamylines, which I photographed last September. I don’t quite understand how this one slipped through the cracks, as I like to post every piece of his that I find… but it did, so I am posting it now.
The theme is what I’d expect to see; The sun, some clouds, a landscape, this time with mountains and a number of figures, faces and eyes scattered throughout the piece. There is joy and humour here, and a connection with our landscape that is most potent. Creamylines’ pieces are a wonderful distraction from the urban grind of everyday life. Thank you Creamylines.
7464. Lucky Lane (18)
With the turnover of pieces being rather slow this year, I have a quick opportunity to rifle through my archive, and this is a delightful piece by Umbral and Dai Luk painted at a Bristol Mural Collective paint jam in Lucky Lane last September.
The slightly fierce looking stylised calico cat is notable for its long curly tail. The piece is set on a blue background with a blue pattern running behind and in front of the cat. This is what I would term a true collaboration, where both artists have combined their skills to create the single piece. The calico cat is spinning its luck, but isn’t what I’d call a calico cat – but I am splitting hairs. Great shutter collaboration.
Dirtygypo
A gallery of intricate, colourful and disguised graffiti writing from Bristol’s Dirtygypo.
Instagram: @dirtygypo
All photographs by Scooj
A dog’s life
.
When I work you sleep
when I am sleeping you sleep
other times you eat
.
by Scooj
7463. River Avon (110)
Haka is another of those artists who is at the very heart of the Bristol graffiti art scene. His authentic and good-natured style, and occasionally, although less so in recent years, politically motivated work has been replaced in the last three or so years with lighthearted children’s picture book combinations. This piece is just a straightforward piece of graffiti writing.
This bright and optimistic piece is painted on some relatively new hoardings alongside the River Avon, surrounding a new development – you can see the initial concrete pillars, which I am guessing will be lift shafts for the new building. Haka has produced a lovely clean piece with great yellow and orange colour separation and plenty of fill decorations. A drop shadow veers off to the right, and the whole thing is contained in a green background splat with orange crack lines. A really nice piece of graffiti writing.
Natural adventures 