3669. M32 Cycle path (124)

Another flurry of activity from Face 1st and Soap, whom are really making my life very difficult at the moment with their productivity and quality of work. If their stuff was rubbish, then I could easily ignore it and move on, but it is not and I feel compelled to post it whenever possible.

Face 1st, M32 cycle path, Bristol, May 2021
Face 1st, M32 cycle path, Bristol, May 2021

This pair of PWA artists have collaborated in this spot quite a few times over the years and their friendship appears to be as strong as ever. The collaboration is a Kill the Bill piece, which will meet with a lot of sympathy in Bristol. Another cheerful expression on this happy girl from Face 1st with a subtle FACE written into her hair.

Soap, M32 cycle path, Bristol, May 2021
Soap, M32 cycle path, Bristol, May 2021

Soap has reverted to a standard form of his iconic skull/mouths design, and the character is holding up a protest banner. The fill is very nicely blended with some nice decorations. The whole collaboration is set on a pinky cloudy kind of backdrop and ticks a lot of boxes for me. Nice work.

Face 1st and Soap, M32 cycle path, Bristol, May 2021
Face 1st and Soap, M32 cycle path, Bristol, May 2021

Unbroken

Abandoned doll, Dean Lane, April 2021
Abandoned doll, Dean Lane, April 2021

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Expression remains

unbroken by broken love

all is not yet lost

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by Scooj

School walk

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Children sit on walls 

or wait on pavement corners

as they coalesce 

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excited morning greetings

friendship groups saunter to school

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by Scooj 

3668. St Werburghs tunnel (240)

Pl8o who also goes by the Instagram moniker of westernmiddleages has resurfaced in Bristol after a rather quiet period, and he has come back with bigger, bolder and brighter pieces. His letter/number choice has always leant itself well to graffiti writing, but now he has added much deeper 3D shadows into the mix.

Pl8o, St Werburghs, Bristol, May 2021
Pl8o, St Werburghs, Bristol, May 2021

Although the St Werburghs tunnel never photographs particularly well you can see the quality and creativity in this piece. My favourite part, probably because it looks a little incongruous is the red and black dot shading… really eye-catching. Nice to see him back.

3667. St Werburghs tunnel (239)

Striking and definitely photogenic is this lovely recent portrait piece from Zake, who has been rather quiet of late. It is kind of comforting when artists who have been lying low, for whatever reason, come back and hit a wall with such gusto.

Zake, St Werburghs, Bristol, May 2021
Zake, St Werburghs, Bristol, May 2021

Zake is an artist who pretty much specialises in portraits and gives them loads of depth with his trademark shading around the features. This face feels like it should belong to a comic book, perhaps it is a representation from one. He has labelled the piece with DLH 21. DLH in my book is Dean Lane Hardcore, but I am not too sure what it means in this context. A decent and long-awaited return.

MS Teams talk

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Have you met my cat

is that a legacy hand

I think you’re on mute

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by Scooj

3666. Purdown HAA Battery (27)

This is a curious piece up at Purdown by an artist that doesn’t yet seemed to gained any traction with the community of followers of street art in Bristol – Skronius. This is only the second or third piece I have seen by the artist, and I haven’t seen anything beyond this particular spot.

Skronius, Purdown, Bristol, May 2021
Skronius, Purdown, Bristol, May 2021

I have to say that I rather like what I see, although it is on the unusual side. This particular piece reminds me a little of Conrico’s work in terms of the rather free style employed. The piece features some kind of wolf-like creature with a double mouth, which is pretty hard to work out. I can’t put my finger on it, but there is something I like about the piece and it certainly adds to the wonderful diversity of art we have in This magnificent city.

3665. St Werburghs tunnel (238)

At the entrance to St Werburghs tunnel, Face 1st left this beautiful trademark piece a little while back. It would seem that Face 1st has been experimenting of late with some angular block lettering which I have seen two or three times now.

Face 1st, St Werburghs, Bristol, March 2021
Face 1st, St Werburghs, Bristol, March 2021

As ever, there is an enormous amount of expression in the piece, something that Face 1st manages to achieve with the minimum of fuss, not dissimilar to the way Stik conveys emotion with his simple figures. I have lots of Face 1st pieces to catch up on… aargh, the backlog!

3664. Greville Road (12)

One of the notable things about Stewy is that he skulks around, a little bit like the fox depicted in this stencil, without fanfare or pomp and with great modesty leaves us with some beautiful and lasting art to enjoy. Stewy selects his spots very carefully and few if any get tagged or over-painted because of where they are.

Stewy, Greville Road, Bristol, March 2021
Stewy, Greville Road, Bristol, March 2021

Stewy is a well known artist who gets a lot of commissions, and alongside his animal work, he is famous for his stencils of well-known people such as pop stars, politicians and other notable figures. In this gorgeous piece he has painted a fabulous Bristol fox in this three-layer stencil. This fox might have been there forever, or might be relatively recent, but that is the thing with Stewy, it is hard to know sometimes.