3859. St Werburghs tunnel (252)

This was what was left behind on the day Goldie came to town. For those of you who haven’t heard of Goldie, I can summarise as follows: he is a musician, music producer, DJ, artist and actor. When in the tunnel though, he is just another graffiti artist… no room for celebrity here. The occasion was a large paint jam, Funday Sunday, from a few weeks back and this is a loose collaboration from Goldie and Bristol’s 3Dom.

Goldie, St Werburghs, Bristol, July 2021
Goldie, St Werburghs, Bristol, July 2021

I haven’t seen any of Goldie’s work before so I don’t have much to compare it with. His style is quite traditional, with a deep 3D shadow and central vanishing point, and the letters spell out Goldie. He has certainly gone for a full-on colour splash and his work is surely accomplished. A very nice piece.

3Dom, St Werburghs, Bristol, July 2021
3Dom, St Werburghs, Bristol, July 2021

To the right of Goldie’s letters is an unusual piece from 3Dom, the story of which I just can’t seem to pin down. There is a serpent with a hand instead of a head, holding the Earth gently in its long fingers. The tail of the serpent wraps all the way over to the left of Goldie’s piece, hence the partial collaboration. There is an orange arrow piercing the hand. The piece is packed out with symbolism, but I’ll be damned if I know what any of it means. It all looks very nice though. A fun collaboration.

3858. Upfest 2021 75×75 (35)

To paint this wall is probably nothing short of highly intimidating. Dan Kitchener and Andrew Burns Colwill Have both painted outstanding murals here, both of which have been much admired. Emily Donald has risen to the challenge and produced this glorious piece that is more than worthy of its predecessors.

Emily Donald, West Street, Bristol, July 2021, Upfest 21
Emily Donald, West Street, Bristol, July 2021, Upfest 21

Emily Donald, an artist based in Cornwall, is no stranger to Upfest and has previously painted much smaller pieces on 1m boards. This time she has gone large with this stunning aquatic piece and she has done it brilliantly.

Emily Donald, West Street, Bristol, July 2021, Upfest 21
Emily Donald, West Street, Bristol, July 2021, Upfest 21

Her work is usually wildlife-themed and has a wonderful brush-stroke feel to it. Emily Donald manages to capture and craft light and movement in her work so very well and this aquatic scene is bursting with both. When I took these pictures, there were several other people standing nearby admiring the new mural. Another jewel in Upfest’s crown and another beauty from Emily Donald.

Emily Donald, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Emily Donald, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Emily Donald, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Emily Donald, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

Confusion

.

Summer’s afternoon

tinged with autumnal coolness

seasonal mash up

.

by Scooj

3857. M32 Spot (118)

I like it when artists switch things up from time to time, and just every once in a while Daz Cat treats us to another animal, and so here we have a dog for a change and the piece is signed Daz Dog. In the piece, the dog is in 3/4 profile which is not the usual aspect that Daz Cat paints, so this piece is different in lots of ways.

Daz Cat, M32 Spot, Bristol, July 2021
Daz Cat, M32 Spot, Bristol, July 2021

I like these photographs because they show how graffiti art emerges in some of the trickiest of spots and that the environment is often rather untidy and shabby. How horrible and drab some of these places would look without the street art to brighten them up.

3856. Purdown HAA Battery (31)

There is always something joyous about the work of Antikki, good karma perhaps, and this piece definitely has the feel-good factor about it. The poise of the two figures and the relationship between them is full of kindness and hope. Another feature of her work is the connection with nature, which comes across with the plants weaving in and out of the figures.

Antikki, Purdown Battery, Bristol, July 2021
Antikki, Purdown Battery, Bristol, July 2021

Antikki appears to like painting these concrete slabs up at Purdown, but the risk up there is that it is easy pickings for taggers who also seem to like this spot, at least the tags on this one haven’t affected it too much. I always get fired up by the optimism and goodness in Antikki’s work. Hoping for more before too long.

3855. Upfest 2021 75×75 (34)

Compared to some of the flamboyant pieces painted at this year’s Upfest 75 walls in 75 days event, this one from Caryn Koh is delicately understated, and the wall set back from the main drag of North Street. The low-key nature of the mural should not, however, detract from its quality and the story it tells.

Caryn Koh, Exeter Road, Bristol, July 2021, Upfest 21
Caryn Koh, Exeter Road, Bristol, July 2021, Upfest 21

Dr Caryn Koh, to give her full title, has painted this mural of two of her cousins and the story of the artwork in her own words is as follows:

The mural situated at Exeter Road, Bristol, is about the relationship between siblings; how we unknowingly grow apart and have our separate paths on life’s journey but there is that unbreakable bond that binds us together.

The piece is an absolute beauty and comes across more as a fine art piece than a street mural. Really impressive.

Caryn Koh, Exeter Road, Bristol, July 2021, Upfest 21
Caryn Koh, Exeter Road, Bristol, July 2021, Upfest 21

Caryn Koh is from Malaysia, although I don’t know whether she came over to Bristol specially for Upfest or whether she is in the UK in any case. Either way, it is fabulous to see her work on this scale in our city. Another outstanding piece from Upfest 2021.

Within sight

.

It is within sight

our staycation holiday

on the final stretch

.

by Scooj

3854. Dean Lane skate park (422)

Bandito is another artist who is ridiculously underrepresented in Natural Adventures. I have quite a few unpublished pictures of his work going back years, but he just hasn’t made it into the blog as often as he should, or as I thought. I hope to put this right over coming months, if ever the relentless production of new pieces ever slows.

Bandito, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2021
Bandito, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2021

This piece on the left hand side of the curved wall at Dean Lane is fairly typical of his writing style. Nothing too flashy, but the name Bandito always stands out from the background. His work is often quite long and slim compared to other writers, probably because of the number of letters he has. Nice to see.

3853. St Werburghs tunnel (251)

There are goods and there are greats, and Rowdy is a Bristol great. His style might look a little bit ragged and untidy at times, but his ideas and contribution to Bristol modern culture has been incalculable, largely due to his unique crocodiles.

Rowdy, St Werburghs, Bristol, July 2021
Rowdy, St Werburghs, Bristol, July 2021

This wonderful example was painted during the Funday Sunday event a few weeks back alongside many other Bristol greats. The trademark crocodile patrols the murky waters while a bad flits by in the moonlight. It doesn’t happen often, so finding a Rowdy piece is always exciting.

3852. Upfest 2021 75×75 (33)

I came across this fabulous collaboration between Andy Council and Acer One quite by accident while they were painting it. I was actually seeking out another Upfest 75×75 piece on West Street and drove through this road on a bit of a cut- through. Andy Council was chatting with some people, but I did manage to meet Acer One for the first time, and of course, he was a great guy happy to stop for a while and talk about his work and a host of other things.

Andy Council and Acer One, South Road, Bristol, June 2021, Upfest 21
Andy Council and Acer One, South Road, Bristol, June 2021, Upfest 21

The whole piece is difficult to photograph, because the wall is long and there is car parking along the whole length. All the elements are interwoven with both artist’s work. The blue-green creatures are by Andy Council and the block geometric writing by Acer One.

Andy Council and Acer One, South Road, Bristol, June 2021, Upfest 21
Andy Council and Acer One, South Road, Bristol, June 2021, Upfest 21

The writing spells out ‘CHALLENGE CORRUPTION’ which is becoming something of an anthem in out country at the moment. This conservative administration is, more than any before it, pushing rather sinister boundaries, most of which appear to be about securing power, rather than serving the people… sound familiar? Their latest wheeze is to drive through legislation to make it easier to jail journalists who write exposés criticising government and who won’t disclose their leak sources. Oh dear.

Andy Council and Acer One, South Road, Bristol, June 2021, Upfest 21
Andy Council and Acer One, South Road, Bristol, June 2021, Upfest 21

I was able to study Acer One’s technique close up, and it is blindingly obvious really. He uses a trapezoid board, about a metre long and about 15 cm wide, with a handle in the middle, to act as a mask and measure for his letters, helping create the uniformity and sharp, straight lines of his writing. Finding out how he paints his letters has at last put to rest my curiosity.

Andy Council and Acer One, South Road, Bristol, June 2021, Upfest 21
Andy Council and Acer One, South Road, Bristol, June 2021, Upfest 21

Andy Councils creature, stitched together in several places, is wrapped around the lettering and is made up of separate blocks which look like they could be connected to each other, a little bit like a child’s toy like LEGO. The colours are imperial and the entire collaboration is rather grand. These two have been smashing it this year and it is lovely that they have been rewarded with this long wall for Upfest 2021.