6738. Unity Street

Bnie, Smak and Elvs, Unity Street, Bristol, January 2017
Bnie, Smak and Elvs, Unity Street, Bristol, January 2017

This is the third piece ‘rediscovered’ from dipping into my archive, and it is a fine collaboration from Bnie, Smak and Elvs. Once again, I am mystified by how it got left behind in the archive, but at least I am rectifying the situation by publishing it now.

Bnie, Unity Street, Bristol, January 2017
Bnie, Unity Street, Bristol, January 2017

Bnie’s work is always a joy. Her letters somehow work really well for graffiti writing – some combinations work much better than others. Here she has paid particular attention to some highly intricate fills, which I can only think were achieved using stencils. However they were realised, they are wonderfully technical and beautifully presented.

Smak, Unity Street, Bristol, January 2017
Smak, Unity Street, Bristol, January 2017

The middle piece is by Smak, whose work pretty much defines the ‘Bristol school’ of graffiti writing. Superb colours and a strong sense of flow through the piece, combining curves and straight lines skilfully. Simply an outstanding writer.

Elvs, Unity Street, Bristol, January 2017
Elvs, Unity Street, Bristol, January 2017

To the right is a fine piece by Elvs, whose work is so unique and distinct. He has worked so long and hard on his letters ELVS, that I would love to see what he could do with some other letters in his style – that would probably present a serious challenge and take him a little out of his comfort zone. Brilliant work from all three graffiti writers, demonstrating what their art form is all about.

6610. Cumberland Basin

Vane and Bnie, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, September 2024
Vane and Bnie, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, September 2024

This stunning collaboration from Vane and Bnie was painted a little while ago during a paint jam organised to wish Mena a swift recovery from her accident in Thailand. The character on the left is by Vane and the writing, spelling MENAS is by Bnie.

Vane and Bnie, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, September 2024
Vane and Bnie, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, September 2024

The colour selection in this collaboration is really quite something, with the purples, pinks and mint green working exceptionally well together. I don’t get to see much artwork by Vane, and Bnie hasn’t painted too much this year, so this collaboration was bonus and a bit of a treat. I hope all the good vibes created during this paint jam have helped Mena on her journey to recovery.

6168. M32 roundabout J3 (592)

Pekoe and Bnie, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2024
Pekoe and Bnie, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2024

Of course, it is a terrible cliché, but when I see pieces like this that are both pretty and pink, I like to describe them as ‘pretty in pink’ stealing from the celebrated 1986 teen film, and then I get the earworm of the Psychedelic Furs and the song that the film was named after. This PIP collaboration is a peach from Pekoe and Bnie.

Pekoe, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2024
Pekoe, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2024

Pekoe has been mixing up her portraits and her writing recently, but I have to express my slight preference for her portraits, because, well, I just love them. The figurative piece is nice and clean, with solid fills and strong black lines, and there is something a little more stylised about the face, especially around the eyes. A classy piece of work.

Bnie, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2024
Bnie, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2024

Bnie is so consistent in the quality of her work, and all the elements of these letters come together perfectly. The pink background provides a great canvass for the writing to stand out. The golden drop shadow adds depth to the beautifully designed and filled letters. A clever touch is the subtlest dark shading at the base of the letters, creating a bit of shadow and lifting the writing further. What a fine collaboration.

6138. M32 roundabout J3 (584)

Bnie, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2024
Bnie, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2024

This wonderful piece by Bnie was painted during an interesting paint jam honouring Wispa’s birthday, even though she wasn’t present. That’s what friends are for. The theme for the paint jam was sweets and confections, I guess because Wispa is fond of such things.

Bnie, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2024
Bnie, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2024

Bnie has gone to town with this amazing representation of a Yorkie bar, chocolate I haven’t eaten for more than twenty years, in which she has replaced the word Yorkie with her letters BNIE, in the correct brand style. I love this kind of piece, because it stretches the artist to step outside their comfort zone, and Bnie has done a cracking job with this one. The full RBF wall is shown in the photograph below:

Bnie + RBF paint jam, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2024
Bnie + RBF paint jam, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2024

5910. M32 Spot (183)

Evey, Pekoe and Bnie, M32 Spot, Bristol, March 2024
Evey, Pekoe and Bnie, M32 Spot, Bristol, March 2024

This is a pleasurable post to write because it involves one of my favourite walls with one of my favourite groups of artists. The RBF ladies have been a little quiet this month, but this collaboration from Evey, Pekoe and Bnie has laid that to rest pretty well.

Evey, M32 Spot, Bristol, March 2024
Evey, M32 Spot, Bristol, March 2024

Evey continues to smash it each time she paints and her improvement from piece to piece is so gratifying to witness. The letters here are nicely designed and cleanly finished, with good fill transitions and well organised spotty details. She appears to be building her confidence with is an important part of improvement.

Pekoe, M32 Spot, Bristol, March 2024
Pekoe, M32 Spot, Bristol, March 2024

In the middle is another Pekoe portrait piece, full of fun and style. The subject has beautifully painted big hair and a rather smart yellow cap or beret. The blue face is rather RBF, if you know what I mean and the whole piece has an interesting dot – dash border. For me though, the hoop earrings steal the show, they are brilliant.

Bnie, M32 Spot, Bristol, March 2024
Bnie, M32 Spot, Bristol, March 2024

Finally, Bnie never ever disappoints with her beautiful letters. This is classy writing, with stunning fills, a wonderful drop shadow and yellow border complete with drips. The colour selection of pinks and oranges works really well against the green patterned background. It is good to note a small Palestinian flag under the ‘B’, should we forget what is happening in Gaza right now. A wonderful collaboration from this RBF trio.

5803. Greenbank (104)

Bnie, Pekoe and Evey, Greenbank, Bristol, January 2024
Bnie, Pekoe and Evey, Greenbank, Bristol, January 2024

It is always a great pleasure to see any combination of RBF artists collaborating, and this is an early year beauty from Bnie, Pekoe and Evey. Unfortunately the photographs are a bit rubbish on account of tree shadows cast on the wall by a low winter sun. Fortunately, the girls declare that ‘2024 is going to be sexy AF’.

Bnie, Greenbank, Bristol, January 2024
Bnie, Greenbank, Bristol, January 2024

Bnie starts the triptych, writing her letters with a certain amount of expression, and looking wonderfully free. The clever drop shadow appears to surround the letters as well as giving them depth. Bnie has used a three shade fill which is topped off with some darker bubbly shapes. A very nice piece of writing indeed.

Pekoe, Greenbank, Bristol, January 2024
Pekoe, Greenbank, Bristol, January 2024

There is something very different from Pekoe in the middle of the collaboration, which features a smartly dressed woman with a fancy green and yellow scarf wrapped around her neck. It is quite unusual for Pekoe to paint full (or even half) body characters, and it will be interesting to see if this is something she continues with this year.

Evey, Greenbank, Bristol, January 2024
Evey, Greenbank, Bristol, January 2024

Rounding off on the right is some tidy bubble writing from Evey, with a rather saucy ‘V’. Her fills are very nicely worked and the flow of colours through the letters are most enjoyable. I am not too sure about the drop shadow, which doesn’t quite hit the mark for me. Certainly a great start to the year though. I am looking forward to a whole lot more from RBF in 2024.

5726. Frome Side (27)

 

Bnie and Vozie, Frome Side, Bristol, November 2023
Bnie and Vozie, Frome Side, Bristol, November 2023

Two more pieces from the incredible RBF Rugrats paint jam in November celebrating Bnie’s birthday and Vozie’s baby. Here the two combine to give us a glimpse of their awesome artwork. As a combination, these two paint really well together and seem to get the best out of each other.

Bnie, Frome Side, Bristol, November 2023
Bnie, Frome Side, Bristol, November 2023

Both artists have adopted the colour palette used for the paint jam and both have included characters from the to cartoon show, Dil and Tommy Pickles. I was just a little too old to enjoy the show, but my kids used to watch it when they were little. The accomplished piece of writing from Bnie is filled with four horizontal shades of  pink/purple, creating depth and interest in the work.

Vozie, Frome Side, Bristol, November 2023
Vozie, Frome Side, Bristol, November 2023

To the right of Bnie’s letters, Vozie has reflected the fills in her own distinct lettering. Both have also created a complex letter border of green with white and yellow highlights, a black drop shadow, completed with an orange outline finishing the piece off beautifully. Great work from this talented duo.

 

 

5710. Cumberland Basin

Bnie and Unity, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, November 2023
Bnie and Unity, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, November 2023

So far this year I have only found one Christmas piece and this collaboration from Bnie and Unity is it. The fabulous duo were painting alongside several other members of the RBF crew during a paint jam in support of the people of Palestine. This piece is absolutely draped in Christmas good cheer.

Bnie, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, November 2023
Bnie, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, November 2023

To the left, Bnie has painted her letters in a festive silver colour with a string of Christmas lights weaving in and out of them. The Palestinian flag features prominently and Father Christmas does what Father Christmas does to the right. I think that Bnie painted him, but equally it might have been Unity.

Unity, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, November 2023
Unity, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, November 2023

Unity has been visiting Bristol a little more frequently recently and that can only be a good thing as it means we get to see more of her brilliant work. Unity continues the themes and colours that Bnie has adopted, with the only real difference being a splash of gold in the ‘I’ of Unity. Another Palestinian flag indicates firmly that the public mood in Bristol, which this art reflects, is with the innocent people of Palestine, who played no part in the Hamas attack but are paying an unimaginably high price by the Israeli response to it. Let us hope for and demand peace in the region.

5634. M32 Spot (175)

Bnie and Wispa, M32 Spot, Bristol, October 2023
Bnie and Wispa, M32 Spot, Bristol, October 2023

Every time I post pieces that have been painted on this wall (one of my favourites in Bristol), I am reminded that I have published a gallery of pieces from the wall over time (part of the ‘One Wall – Many Faces‘ series). I have just updated the gallery to include this lovely collaboration from Bnie and Wispa.

Bnie, M32 Spot, Bristol, October 2023
Bnie, M32 Spot, Bristol, October 2023

Both pieces have incorporated a wild and wonderful almost psychedelic fill patterning and colours and on the left, Bnie’s letter shapes also lend themselves very well to that trippy feel. This piece from Bnie is absolutely stunning and so tight, all the lines and borders are perfect and the fills magnificent.

Wispa, M32 Spot, Bristol, October 2023
Wispa, M32 Spot, Bristol, October 2023

To the right, Wispa gifts us another of her brilliantly conceived and busy pieces. As well as reflecting the colours in Bnie’s piece, Wispa has also introduced some of her own colours and touches, which doesn’t surprise me. I think, from observing her work, that Wispa has a very individual approach to her work and style, and even when collaborating, will stand out with some individualism. This is wonderful work from these two busy artists.

5605. Sparke Evans Park (81)

Mena, Bnie and Wispa, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, October 2023
Mena, Bnie and Wispa, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, October 2023

More from the RBF Halloween paint jam, from a week or two back, this time featuring Mena, Bnie and Wispa, in what was a fabulous turnout from the ladies and which seemed to bring the best out of each and every one of them.

Mena, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, October 2023
Mena, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, October 2023

To the left is a beautiful script piece by Mena, who I haven’t seen much of in recent months, so this was a genuine treat. This piece is simple yet stylish and beautifully executed and I think she is at her best when she paints these thin script letters. I fear that I have a great many unpublished pieces by Mena, and must spend a little time going through my archives and unearth them.

Bnie, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, October 2023
Bnie, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, October 2023

There is little more that I can say about Bnie that I haven’t said many times before. I consider this to be an outstanding piece of graffiti writing. Brilliant letter shapes, superb rich fill and all beautifully finished. I rather like the addition of the orange spherical things, as a nod to Halloween, but I think the lettering is so strong that even if they hadn’t been included, this would have stood out.

Wispa, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, October 2023
Wispa, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, October 2023

The energy that Wispa brings to her work is exceptional, not only in its presentation, but also in her incredible and seemingly inexhaustible journeying around the country to paint. The letters, spelling WISPA, are dazzling, being so full of energetic fill patterns and colours. It all looks very complicated, but I expect in her head it is all rather straightforward and obvious. The ghost character which looks like Caspar the Friendly Ghost, is the perfect foil to the busy writing. What an absolutely excellent trio of Halloween pieces.