Tag: Banana

7981. Dean Lane skate park (948)

Neens and Effe, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2026
Neens and Effe, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2026

An unusual collaboration recently appeared on the curved wall in Dean Lane. While I am familiar with one of the artists, EFFE, I have not come across Neens before. I have a feeling that these pieces might have been part of a Bristol Mural Collective paint jam, because there were a few other pieces nearby by artists I couldn’t recognise. Neens has painted a banana and an orange – not something I have seen as main subject of street art before. It feels like a piece by an artist more at home in the studio, but is a great idea and lots of fun.

Effe, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2026
Effe, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2026

The piece on the right by Effe is one that has all the hallmarks of a tattoo artist – clean clear design, with each element defined and separate. The eagle figure is nicely presented on the black background and the artist’s letters EFFE appear in the orange shapes at the bottom of the feathers. A lovely illustration.

7550. M32 Roundabout J2 (15)

John D'oh, M32 roundabout J2, Bristol, March 2026
John D’oh, M32 roundabout J2, Bristol, March 2026

This is another wonderful stencil piece by John D’oh, underneath the M32 in what he has made into a bit of a personal gallery. This simple, playful piece is packed with humour and wordplay.

John D'oh, M32 roundabout J2, Bristol, March 2026
John D’oh, M32 roundabout J2, Bristol, March 2026

A gorilla is featured alongside a banana which has a bit of tape over it, to give the illusion that a real banana is attached to the column.The words ‘guerilla street art is better than a grey wall’ mess with the homonym ‘guerilla and gorilla’. Fun stuff nicely executed.

4982. M32 roundabout J3 (446)

Mommynature and Nugmoose, M32 roundabout, Bristol, January 2023
Mommynature and Nugmoose, M32 roundabout, Bristol, January 2023

What a whole ton of fun in this collaboration from Frog and Nugmoose. At this point, I feel I need to update my blog, because I gave Frog her name a little while back, on account of her preference for painting frogs. It turns out that her Instagram name is Mommynature, and so that is what I shall be calling her from now on. (I might need to go back into my archive and change the name in previous posts).

Mommynature and Nugmoose, M32 roundabout, Bristol, January 2023
Mommynature and Nugmoose, M32 roundabout, Bristol, January 2023

To the left, Mommynature has painted a fabulous banana, a fruit you don’t see enough of in street art (IMO). The banana is beautifully painted with some nice bubbles drifting about too. To the right is a curious piece of alien writing (perfectly executed) with a box of stuff – alien matter?, which is plugged into letters. The collaboration is an enjoyable and imaginative creation from these painting partners.

3817. Frome side (12)

I don’t know if there is an awful lot more I can say about the kawaii cuteness of Maesyhook’s work, other than to say that here is another fine piece hot off the production line, this time underneath the M32.

Maesyhook, Frome side, Bristol, June 2-021
Maesyhook, Frome side, Bristol, June 2-021

I think that this a rather sweet little creature emerging from a banana – how do you think of such a thing? Usually we associate large spiders with bananas, having hitched a ride from their native countries. This is a very nicely finished piece, painted with her soft pastel colours that lend themselves so well to these (edgy) cute characters.

3768. Brunel Way (114)

This is another opportunity to showcase the wonderful and slightly different work of Bristol artist Maybe. This artist burst on to the scene earlier this year, painting pretty much exclusively in a stretch of concrete columns supporting Brunel Way, a busy road crossing over the river Avon at Cumberland Basin. His small pieces are little treasures and rather fun to seek out.

Maybe, Brunel Way, Bristol, June 2021
Maybe, Brunel Way, Bristol, June 2021

The first piece is one of Maybe’s trademark reversible faces combined within a rectangle, each painted in its own wonderful colours and shades. There is something about the simplicity of these pieces that makes them rather calming and easy to look at and enjoy.

Maybe, Brunel Way, Bristol, June 2021
Maybe, Brunel Way, Bristol, June 2021

The second piece is a rather clever little design of a moon eating a banana in some kind of reflective motif idea. I am a fan of Maybe, and am enjoying the progress being made. I look forward to maybe finding some pieces in other parts of Bristol.

1780. Thomas Street (1)

They really don’t come any better than Sled One. His bizarre creations have a dream-like cartoon style to them, but it is the immaculate execution of his work that is most notable. His lines and shading as well as extraordinary textures, for example the banana in this piece, seem to flow effortlessly from his spray can. It would be impressive enough if this piece were created with paint brushes…it is a small miracle with spray cans.

Sled One, Thomas Street, Bristol, October 2018
Sled One, Thomas Street, Bristol, October 2018

The element of humour also must not be overlooked and although a little gory, the concept of a banana slipping over on a human is a funny one. The little finger skateboard is a little nod to Sled One’s other passion which is skateboarding, and his Facebook stream has several videos of his skills for all to see. The piece is exquisite.

The permission to paint the hoardings was arranged by Where the Wall who offer street art tours around Bristol.

360. Upfest 2016 (17)

Fake is a brilliant self-taught Dutch stencil artist from Amsterdam whose work at this year’s Upfest is one of the outstanding pieces. Who can forget the image of a comic character (is it Skeletor? I’m not much cop at this kind of thing) riding a banana?

Fake, Greville Road, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Fake, Greville Road, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

The clean lines and framing of the piece on a white wall is what really makes this something different and special. Once again Upfest brings in talent like this for Bristolians to enjoy and appreciate for at least a year, and makes us all hungry for more.

Fake, Greville Road, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Fake, Greville Road, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

I was very struck by this piece by Fake, and it is in my ‘top ten’ (figurative, not literal, because that would be impossible) from the festival. His website is well worth a gander too.

322. The Bearpit 23

There are some artists who are so very hard to trace, and that is all part of the game. One such artist is The Agent…or at least that is what I think his name is. Another member of SSOSVA and another stencil artist. The Agent has a liking for dressing up Minions in rather menacing costumes or personas – in this instance a banana toting Frankenstein’s monster.

The Agent, The Bearpit, Bristol, April 2016
The Agent, The Bearpit, Bristol, April 2016

I have only seen a couple of his works around the Bristol area, suggesting that he is perhaps a visitor. I will update this post as and when I find out more. Who can’t resist a Minion?

UPDATE – I met The Agent at Upfest 2016, and he is most definitely from Bristol, furthermore, he is the father of another great Bristol street artist. So it just shows how easy it is to get things wrong…and embarrassing at times too. All part of the game.

Bananaflage

 

You cannot run, you

cannot hide from the bad bunch;

you can’t slip away.

 

by Scooj

Disappointment

 

Banana fritters

promise so much more than they

ever deliver.

 

by Scooj