Tag: Block letters

6629. M32 roundabout J3 (646)

Face 1st, M32 roundabout, Bristol, December 2024
Face 1st, M32 roundabout, Bristol, December 2024

Although Face 1st has moved away from Bristol, he is still making trips to the city and leaving behind some lovely pieces, including this Christmas piece which he painted alongside Zake and Soap.

Face 1st, M32 roundabout, Bristol, December 2024
Face 1st, M32 roundabout, Bristol, December 2024

This is a sumptuous piece of graffiti writing, in the block style that Face 1st likes to paint from time to time. The ‘gold’ colour is created using two tones, which provide shading and depth. The writing is wrapped up in a festive red ribbon – the perfect Christmas present. Face 1st is, and always be welcome in Bristol.

6006. Greenbank (115)

SkyHigh, Greenbank, Bristol, April 2024
SkyHigh, Greenbank, Bristol, April 2024

We are lucky that SkyHigh and Roo appear to have a strong association with Bristol – I believe that they have family here. This is good, because every time they come to visit, they drop a couple of pieces, which mixes things up nicely.

SkyHigh, Greenbank, Bristol, April 2024
SkyHigh, Greenbank, Bristol, April 2024

This is a beauty from SkyHigh in which he has spelled out his name with several optional variations in how you choose to read it. The block letters, each in a different font/style, have loads of depth to them and are displayed in different orientations creating a kind of 3D collage effect. The tried and trusted pink and blue combination is a winner, and is augmented with some splashes of yellow in the form of smiley ‘stickers’. Tidy.

4490. Cumberland Basin

I am told you make your own luck, but I am not so sure, sometimes you just get lucky, and my chance encounter with SkyHigh and Roo down at Cumberland Basin while walking the dog a couple of weeks back, was a real lucky bonus.

SkyHigh, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2022
SkyHigh, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2022

SkyHigh paints with an intensity and concentration that does not lend itself to chit chat, and so while he got on with the job of painting this stunner, I had a nice conversation with Roo, largely about dogs, not something I would have imagined doing four or five years ago. How curious our life pathways are.

SkyHigh, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2022
SkyHigh, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2022

This piece from SkyHigh is an absolute jewel, with so much detail and interest in every letter. It seems that there is no limit to his talent, and it was amazing to watch him spray the folds in the letter ‘i’, to create a 3D look of paper. Each of the letters is meticulously and lovingly created to leave us with this masterpiece (not a word I use often). SkyHigh and Roo will always be very welcome visitors to Bristol.

3910. Dean Lane skate park (424)

There are times when you get lucky, right? And I got so lucky with this early evening ‘dog walk’ in Bedminster and Dean Lane in particular, as SkyHigh was just finishing off this remarkable block graffiti writing piece, that he is so well known for.

SkyHigh, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2021
SkyHigh, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2021

I don’t know what we in Bristol have done to deserve this, but this is the second visit by SkyHigh in as many months. We chatted for a while, as he tidied up the piece and it became blindingly obvious that I was in the presence of a perfectionist. Every small blemish was addressed and made good.

SkyHigh, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2021
SkyHigh, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2021

The block letters have become second nature for the artist and he makes what looks terribly complicated, simple… he paints with the confidence and ease of someone at the top of their game. I love the inclusion of the ‘Hello my name is’ sticker in the letter ‘I’, a common icon in street art. Another stunner from the London artist.

3834. Greenbank (12)

It was most gratifying to see this lovely piece from SkyHigh at Greenbank, which he rattled off while he was in town painting his Upfest mural. I met him when he was painting the Upfest piece and he asked me where he could paint a little extra one, and so I pointed him in the direction of Greenbank and hey presto! here it is. I haven’t posted his Upfest piece yet, because none of my pictures so far are up to much.

SkyHigh, Greenbank, Bristol, July 2021
SkyHigh, Greenbank, Bristol, July 2021

SkyHigh, apart from being a really nice bloke is an immensely talented writer and wildlife artist, and we are blessed that he has visited Bristol a few times over the years, but to see his best work you need to go to London and Leake Street in particular. The niche that he has perfected is creating his SkyHigh moniker with block letters, each designed differently, giving a kind of collage effect. This is a supreme piece of graffiti writing from one of the masters of his craft.

2913. M32 cycle path (58)

This is a gorgeous piece of block lettering on the M32 cycle path from Dott Rotten. I took the photograph on 30 March 2019, and the photo label is ‘Brexit Day’. How my heart still bleeds about the unbelievably bad decision our country has taken, now amplified by the need to work together following the coronavirus outbreak. I suspect our folly (or otherwise) will be scrutinised by our grandchildren, by which time we might have recovered from the economic shock.

Dot Rotten, M32 cycle path, Bristol, March 2019
Dot Rotten, M32 cycle path, Bristol, March 2019

Meanwhile, this beautiful piece is expertly sprayed and demonstrates the crossover between graphic design and spray painting. Dott Rotten has used the brick lines to get the proportions of his letters correct, but this piece excels in its 3D letter depth off to the bottom right and the block letter shadow off to the bottom left. Take a good long look to see how this works. A nice clean piece and something a little different.