This is my second post of amazing writing from Trafficity. What stands out with his writing is that is comes at you as a large, solid block, with few gaps. The opposite end of the spectrum, I suppose, of thin script writing, both of which are naturally welcome in this blog.
Trafficity, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, May 2022
His letters spell out ZIOM (which means GREAT in Polish), and in this piece he has gone for three horizontal colour sections and some nice little details throughout. I have a feeling that there are more letters concealed within the piece, but part of the skill of some writers is in making their work as cryptic as possible, and Trafficity certainly excels in this respect. Some lovely work here.
This hoarding is so difficult to photograph. it is a long landscape format with tons of light above and below, which interferes with the brightness of the artwork. it doesn’t seem to matter what time of day I take pictures here, I am never really satisfied. I think I might just have got away with it with this stunning sunflower piece by Farrah.
Farrah, Lower Approach Road, Bristol, May 2022
What an amazing welcome for people arriving in Bristol Temple Meads station, as they exit from the front of the building and walk or drive out to join the main road. Farrah’s paint brush style lends itself very favourably to the textures and forms of Van Gogh, and this is a perfect example.
Farrah, Lower Approach Road, Bristol, May 2022
Farrah is the darling of commissions in Bristol at the moment and deservedly so too I might add. This is an absolute corker and another fine example of her unique work.
On the same day that I met Asre for the first time, I also met Chill and although he wasn’t painting at the time, he had come along to watch his friends paint. There is something really nice and supportive about the graffiti/street art community. Chill, although he has been around for a year or two, has definitely upped his game in recent months, and we tend to see something new once a fortnight or so.
Chill, St Werburghs, Bristol, May 2022
This character in the tunnel proved to be a bit tricky to photograph because of a car parked in front of it. I have since taken better pictures, but have left these in to demonstrate the challenges of photographing street art… I wouldn’t want you to think it was too easy. The character is nicely painted, with plenty of detail on the cartoon-style features. The inclusion of spray cans is common in character street art, and balances the piece out nicely. More great work from Chill.
Another very quick one today, as I am in Somerset at the declaration of a new National Nature Reserve. I have drafted up this post yesterday evening so that I can participate in Thursday doors (going above and beyond).
These doors are some more street art doors, all of which have been posted on my blog before, but not as Thursday doors, so most of you won’t have seen them before. They were originally posted in October and November last year, I hope you enjoy them…
Irony, West Street, Bristol, October 2021, Upfest 21
Dan Kitchener, Regent Street, Weston-super-Mare, September 2021
Ryder, City Road, Bristol, October 2021
Laic217, Catherine Mead Street, Bristol, November 2021
Gage Graphics, Alpine Road, Bristol, November 2021
The Hass, Upper York Street, Bristol, November 2021
John D’oh, North Street, Bristol, April 2016
John D’oh, Gloucester Road, Bristol, November 2021
Farrah, Richmond Street, Weston-super-Mare, September 2021
John D’oh, Princess Street, Burnham-on-Sea, September 2021
John D’oh, Princess Street, Burnham-on-Sea, September 2021
There are definitely one or two crackers in that lot. I hope you enjoy them.
Quick and simple this week – I might have time for some more Westminster doors next week…
If you have made it this far, you probably like doors, and you really ought to take a look at the No Facilities blog by Dan Anton who has taken over the hosting of Thursday Doors from Norm 2.0 blog. Links to more doorscursions can be found in the comments section of Dan Anton’s Thursday Doors post.
I photographed this piece on the day I first met Runaway Joey, or Asre as he signs himself. He was painting another face only yards away from this one. We stopped for quite a long chat, and I was touched to find out that he not only knew who I was but also had been chatting with his friends about me and what I do, later describing me as a ‘top bloke’ in an Instagram post later that day. It is so gratifying to know that that some of the artists I write about have read this blog and appreciate what I do here. For the record, Asre is a really decent guy who made plenty of time for a chat about his work. I look forward to meeting him again.
Asre, Moon Street, Bristol, May 2022
This wall used to ‘belong’ to Laic217, and is one of my favourite walls in Bristol (definitely a candidate for my ‘one wall, many faces’ series of posts). The face from Asre is rather more elaborate than some that he paints, with rather scary teeth, a green face and a magnificent crown. There is something menacing and slightly evil about this piece, which also introduces some different elements to the typical format Asre uses for this series. There is so much more to post from Asre, I am struggling to know where to begin. I have some much better photographs of this and will try to replace these when I have a moment.
Perhaps one of the most famous and ubiquitous artists of recent decades is Sweet Toof. Some of his iconic pieces in Bristol remain, but they are dwindling in number, so imagine my utter surprise when I saw this new (and very fresh) piece by Sweet Toof in Stokes Croft recently. To have known he had been in the area only a day before when he painted it is quite something. Even though I didn’t get to meet him I felt a little star-struck. I have seen pieces by Sweet Toof in London and New York as well as here in Bristol, and they just seem to fit in as part of the street art culture and history.
Sweet Toof, Stokes Croft, Bristol, May 2022
I sincerely hope this small piece remains intact and untagged, and is given the respect it deserves. I suspect that many of the people who sit enjoying a meal in the outdoor seating area of the eatery, probably have no idea of the significance of this small piece, although many of them might remember his most memorable skull from just up the road which alas has now gone. What luck to have found this so soon after being painted.
Rowdy and Sweet Toof, The Carriageworks, Bristol, December 2016
Another artist who consistently turns out High-quality pieces time and time again is Claro_que_sssnoh, and this one is on one of his favoured walls on the M32 Cycle path.
Claro_que_sssnoh, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, April 2022
All the ingredients are there, his intricate joined up writing, looking a little bit like pipework, set on a gorgeous red background with drips. The subtle blue fill patterns in the letters are really nicely worked and the whole thing looks strong and confident. Great writing from the Spanish artist.
On the curved wall at Dean Lane, Acer One painted this rather attractive piece, using his preferred rainbow writing that he has been working hard to perfect recently. The letters, in this case shapes, are slim and regular, and look as if they painted from a corporate font template. That sounds like a bad thing, but it really is not. Acer has designed up his lettering and shapes with thought and precision to create this font, and as ever his execution is faultless.
Acer, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2022
Painting the curved wall is always a risk, because turnover is quite high, so it was brave of Acer to paint here and in fairness, it did last quite a few days. The extra nice thing about this font is the double shadow, one black and the second grey. I am very much enjoying this reinvention of Acer’s style and look forward to seeing a whole lot more.
Natural adventures 