2981. Dean Lane skate park (320)

This is the first of several new pieces from Soge, who seems to have been really busy since the lock down restrictions eased. His style is similar to his compatriot Hire’s, but perhaps slightly less jagged.

Soge, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2020
Soge, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2020

Soge has knocked it out of the park with this piece. The SOGE writing is incredibly detailed and decorated with stars and bubbles. The background is a perfect colour for the main colours of the piece and the whole thing is very easy on the eye. You can see a little 2020 hidden in the letters too.

Soge, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2020
Soge, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2020

Something a bit new, or that I haven’t been aware of before is that Soge has started to include characters with his work, and to the right of this piece is a little Beaver with a speech bubble saying ‘I love furlough’. I’m not sure why the beaver has an axe with a bleeding blade, but it adds a little bit of edge to the cute character. This is a really nice piece from Soge.

Eighteen

.

Eighteen years ago

at eleven seventeen

our boy changed our world

.

by Scooj

 

* I am quite pleased with this board I painted this morning for my son’s eighteenth birthday… before he woke up. He was very happy with it. Proud moment for a proud dad who has seen his little boy grow into a man.

2980. Brunel Way bridge (33)

I managed to catch this piece literally minutes before it was painted over. The artists were on site having a quick smoke before getting started. I am pleased to have made it in time because even for the high standards expected from Rezwonk, this is an outstanding piece.

Rezwonk, Brunel Way, Bristol, May 2020
Rezwonk, Brunel Way, Bristol, May 2020

Spelling out REZER, the piece is painted using a gorgeous palette  of red, orange and yellow tones set on a white and orange background. To describe the fills fully would take way too long, but suffice it to say that there is a lot of craftsmanship involved and they are beautifully done. Linger for a while and study each letter. Magnificent work.

2979. Dean Lane skate park (319)

Some pieces are so unexpected and so awesome that when you see them one is met with surprise and a little bit of confusion, and so it was for me when I came across this unbelievable geometric abstract collaboration from Piro and Epok in Dean Lane.

Piro and Epok, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2020
Piro and Epok, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2020

This very classy piece is what I would term a true collaboration, where it is impossible to unpick which bits were done by which artist. The piece is composed of three overlapping large triangles each with a different fill incorporating all sorts of designs, softened with a few circles. This is a really unusual piece for Dean Lane and is something one might expect to see at a street art festival. Perhaps it was created in lieu of Upfest this year. Pure joy.

Hidden

.

Beneath plastic sheet

slow worm hatchling lies hidden

jewel of the plot

.

by Scooj

2978. Dean Lane skate park (318)

For me, the best thing about the relaxation of lock down restrictions has not been my own personal freedoms… I have changed virtually nothing, but the appearance of Laic217 back on our streets with a vigour that is unparalleled. I have found five new Laic217 pieces in a fortnight, so expect more soon.

Laic217, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2020
Laic217, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2020

This vibrant red skull-face is clutching a spray can in its jaws set on a background of green cheeseplant-type leaves. I think that Laic217 needs to practice his leaf forms a little bit more (says the biologist in me) and look forward to more of this kind of background. Bold and interesting your face’ it is impossible not to see this striking piece. Bravo!

2977. M32 Spot (73)

It took two trips to this spot to be able to get any decent pictures. On my first visit, the sun was very bright indeed and a horizontal shadow was cast across the top half of the piece… my photographs were unusable.

3Dom, M32 Spot, Bristol, May 2020
3Dom, M32 Spot, Bristol, May 2020

This is a magnificent collaboration between 3Dom and Feek and one of the first to be painted since the lock down restrictions were slightly eased. On the left is an extraordinary character by 3Dom built up of five or six distinct elements: a raspberry head with a target, a geometric torso, wicker basket bottom, fractured legs and fabulous slippers. The character is balancing on a tightrope.

Feek, M32 Spot, Bristol, May 2020
Feek, M32 Spot, Bristol, May 2020

Opposite is a character from Feek, wearing a barrel on his head riding a unicycle on the same tightrope, a parrot nervously hanging on to the seat of the unicycle. The whole piece is a celebration of circus in a burst of colour and surreal ideas, and is the kind of outstanding piece that doesn’t come around every day.

3Dom and Feek, M32 Spot, Bristol, May 2020
3Dom and Feek, M32 Spot, Bristol, May 2020

Between the two tightrope acts is a beautifully painted ASK (After School Klub) written in circus-style Block script, which holds the two halves together with great skill. This is a truly exceptional piece and one that has been well worth the wait.

Soft winds

.

Soft winds gently stroke

heavily laden grass heads

leaning to the east

.

by Scooj

2976. Stapleton Road

You don’t get to see too many pieces on the street from Rowdy these days, so finding one is a bit of a treat. Rowdy is responsible for one of the most iconic characters in Bristol street art, the toothy crocodile. Anyone living in the Stokes Croft area will remember fondly the crocodile on the top of the Carriage Works that looked over North Bristol, sadly knocked down last year.

 

Rowdy, Stapleton Road, Bristol, May 2020
Rowdy, Stapleton Road, Bristol, May 2020

This somewhat smaller beast is modestly tucked away at the foot of a column under the new railway bridge on Stapleton Road, and I only found it because a Face 1st piece opposite it caught my eye as I was driving past the other day. Who doesn’t love a Rowdy crocodile?

Rowdy and Sweet Toof, The Carriageworks, Bristol, December 2016
Rowdy and Sweet Toof, The Carriageworks, Bristol, December 2016

2975. Brunel Way bridge (32)

A column piece from Face 1st under Brunel Way. Simple, joyful, playful, there is nothing here to dislike. This is the kind of throw up that Face 1st can do in his sleep, but it is not quite as easy as it looks (believe me I have tried to copy his stuff in my garden, and utterly failed every time).

Face 1st, Brunel Way, Bristol, May 2020
Face 1st, Brunel Way, Bristol, May 2020

The girl’s face that we have become so accustomed to is topped with a high head of hair, maybe a beehive. The way the light reflects off the chrome hair gives the whole piece a wonderful effect. Some of these smaller pieces by Face 1st get left behind in the archive, but not this one, no not this one.