.
A slow flowing glide
and overcast conditions
perfect for fishing
.
by Scooj
Fisher
Tag: Bristol
5327. Dean Lane skate park (611)
Cheo has definitely woken up from a reasonably long quiet period, and it would appear that his friend and painting collaborator Dibz has ha something to do with it, at a guess. The two have combined to create this wonderful picture-frame piece featuring a Vaughn Bode lizard by Cheo and tight writing from Dibz.
The influence of Vaughn Bode on the graffiti art scene has been quite extraordinary, and continues to be as vibrant now as when the artist himself was alive. Che’s lizard is perfectly drafted with a lot more perspective and depth than some renditions I have seen. The bee, of course, is lovely too. Dibz has gone for some rather more basic writing than we are used to seeing, but it is just so perfectly executed, flawless I would say. This is a very good collaborative wall from two of Bristol’s finest artists.
Mr Sleven
A gallery of creative and imaginative street art from Bristol’s Mr Sleven
Instagram: @mr.sle7en
All photographs by Scooj
5325. M32 roundabout J3 (484)
It wasn’t there for very long, but it was fun while it lasted. Biers (otherwise known as @Jimothy_Slip) created this magnificent Popeye and Olive Oyl WD40 piece on the M32 roundabout a week or two back, and it simply made me smile.
It has been a while since I last saw one of Biers’ writing/character combination pieces, and so this one was a real treat. There might be many people who see this who won’t get the reference, because I don’t think that Popeye is a thing these days, which is a bit of a shame. I love the crushed spinach tin with a spinach NFS popping out of it, and Olive Oyl peering out of the 0 – I guess Biers missed a trick here, because he could have had Olive at a porthole. Great fun stuff.
5324. Greenbank (84)
I have been making a little bit more space in Natural Adventures to accommodate the prolific writings of Werm, I am also rather enjoying his recent stylistic direction of travel in which he writes rather small WERM letters at the centre of the piece with embellishment extending out in all directions.
This is a nice piece painted in darker tones and in keeping with the background decoration supplied courtesy of Conrico. The starry sky is picked up with the accent stars on the letters, and the whole thing feels calm and portrays night time so well. Another great piece in something of a purple patch from Werm.
Sleepless
.
Six AM wake up
a full working day ahead
midnight sleep – repeat
.
by Scooj
5323. St Werburghs tunnel (370)
I have missed several recent Stivs pieces (wrong place, wrong time), so it was good to find and photograph this one . The artist has returned to his calligraffiti, having spent some weeks painting portrait pieces, although this one is a little more stylised and mainstream than his typical calligraffiti style.
The strange orange and green colour combination works surprisingly well, but why wouldn’t it? I guess they are colours often seen together in nature. Instead of writing STIVS, he is playing with us and has written STYVZ. This is a nice quick one from Stivs.
5322. Upfest 2022 (80)
This is the last in a batch of ten pieces that I have posted from Upfest 22, in my rather tardy efforts to cover the festival as thoroughly as I am able. That it is taking me so long is a symptom of the uptick in activity on the Bristol streets over the last two years or so. Keeping up is challenging.
This brilliantly painted piece by David Puck of two men kissing, would have been seen as controversial and challenging a decade or so ago, but thankfully it is part of a more normal and mainstream narrative these days. There is still more to do, but when I think back to attitudes when I was growing up we have come a long way.
There is a real skill in the artwork here, where there is actually a lot of white space, with just a subtle hint of shading, but enough to provide texture and depth to the men’s faces. I believe that David Puck has now left Bristol for the time being, but his artwork has had a positive impact on the city over the last year or two.
5321. Upfest 2022 (79)
I don’t think that I would have predicted that Smak and Elvs would have teamed up to paint an Upfest collaboration, and yet that is exactly what they did. What I really like about the piece is that it is an integrated collaboration, with elements from each artist woven into the whole.
I had a little chat with Elvs, just as he was finishing packing up, and rather irritatingly (for him) I pointed out a little mistake, which he then felt obliged to correct. It was only a small thing, but once seen, it couldn’t be unseen. In the picture above, the mistake is that the yellow body of the character didn’t quite align behind the blue triangle. The image below shows Elvs making the necessary alteration.
The whole piece is brilliantly painted, with some fine blue and pink letters (the perfect colour combo) by Smak and a dog/cat character playing around behind the writing. This is a fun piece that really captured the atmosphere and vibe of the festival.
5320. Upfest 2022 (78)
I have only once before seen the work of Rob Wheeler, I think, and that is on one of the commissioned columns under the railway on Stapleton Road, and his style is so distinctive, drawing on the William Morris style of large floral decorations, almost looking like a sumptuous 1970s wallpaper design.
The design is tight, the lines sharp and fills solid, and from a technical point of view this piece is near perfect. This floral treat was a highlight of the festival, although to be fair, there were so many highlights.
Natural adventures 