6189. Brunel Way (278)

Sage, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2024
Sage, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2024

Sage is an artist who emerges every once in a while in Bristol, and could never be described as prolific, indeed he has been rather quiet for some time now, so is was great to see this piece, which was part of a larger collaborative paint a week or two back. 

Sage, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2024
Sage, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2024

I know that I have several of his pieces in my archives that for some inexplicable reason I have never published. He is a talented writer, and for a while dotted the streets of Bristol with his capped character mega tag. This writing has a bit of a retro-psychedelia feel to it and is accompanied by a couple of interesting characters on the right. This is a classy piece, and I rather hope it might indicate increased activity from Sage.

6187. Brunel Way (277)

Haka, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2024
Haka, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2024

This is not the first time that Haka has painted characters from the series of extraordinary children’s picture books by Richard Scarry, and I can’t express how happy I was to see this. Haka has faithfully reproduced this little pastiche featuring Huckle Cat and Lowly Worm.

Haka, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2024
Haka, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2024

Haka has captured Richard Scarry’s style really well and brightened up this dark corner of Brunel Way. These books have played an important part in my childhood, and one of the books which I owned made it onto a TV commercial I was in with my sister back in the 1970s… but that is another story.

Haka, The Paintworks, Bristol, March 2023
Haka, The Paintworks, Bristol, March 2023

6184. Brunel Way (276)

Grimes, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2024

Grimes, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2024
Grimes, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2024

This piece by Grimes once again confirms how he is establishing himself on the Bristol street/graffiti art scene and becoming part of the furniture round here. There is an incredible amount of energy that is emitted by his pieces, which is difficult to pin down, but the combination of colours and design really hit the mark.

Grimes, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2024
Grimes, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2024

I don’t know where Grimes came from before he became really active in the city, but his Instagram feed which goes back to 2019 suggests he has always been here, perhaps just waiting for the moment and confidence to hit our walls big time. He painted this as part of a four-way paint jam with Sage, Zaxer One and Alker. Bright, colourful, vibrant and very welcome, I am convinced you’ll be seeing plenty more from Grimes on Natural Adventures.

6164. Brunel Way (274)

Mest, Brunel Way, Bristol, June 2024
Mest, Brunel Way, Bristol, June 2024

After what feels like a long absence, I have noticed one or two new Mest pieces appearing about the place, which is good news, and this is a recent one from Brunel Way. His journey can be applied to so many other artists with peaks and troughs in activity, which can happen for all sorts of reasons.

Mest, Brunel Way, Bristol, June 2024
Mest, Brunel Way, Bristol, June 2024

I have always liked Mest’s graffiti writing. For me he falls into the school of artists who present their letters clearly, without too much disguise, and concentrate on fill patterns and other details. Other artists that I would liken his work to are Phour, Mr Draws, Raid, Nips, Oner and Mates, and I am sure there are a host of others too. Mest has crated some nice letters with fabulous fills, and appears to have hit the ground running on his return. Looking forward to seeing more from Mest.

Common green capsid – 30 Days Wild (20/30)

Common Green Capsid, Lygocoris pabulinus, Brunel Way, Bristol, June 2024
Common Green Capsid, Lygocoris pabulinus, Brunel Way, Bristol, June 2024

.

An oxeye daisy

hosts a tiny speck of green

common green capsid

.

by Scooj

  • 30 Days Wild is an initiative organised by the Wildlife Trusts. It is an annual challenge event, for those who choose to participate, to do one ‘wild’ thing a day throughout the month of June. I will try to write a nature haiku every day if I can, as my contribution to this celebration of wildlife and biodiversity. I did this back in 2015 and thoroughly enjoyed the challenge

6099. Brunel Way (273)

Abbie Laura Smith, Brunel Way, Bristol, May 2024
Abbie Laura Smith, Brunel Way, Bristol, May 2024

In recent weeks, Abbie Laura Smith and I exchanged a few messages, discussing some posts about her paste ups that I had written. During the course of the conversation, I asked whether she would be pasting up any more, as I hadn’t seen any new ones for a while. She said yes… imminently, and true to her word she released a bunch more. This is the first in her recent series that I came across.

Abbie Laura Smith, Brunel Way, Bristol, May 2024
Abbie Laura Smith, Brunel Way, Bristol, May 2024

The art of wheatpaste work is a two part process, the first part is the creation itself, usually carried out at home or in a studio, and the second part is to find the right spot to paste it up. Abbie Laura Smith manages to do both very well. This piece features a couple of portraits constructed in part by script writing, perhaps quotes or thoughts, I haven’t yet tried to untangle the words. The portraits are set on a leaf, which looks like a Swiss cheese plant leaf to me, a common motif used by artists. There is a lot of emotion in this piece, and maybe one day I’ll get to know the backstory.

 

 

6048. Brunel Way (272)

Mr Tanner, Brunel Way, Bristol, May 2024
Mr Tanner, Brunel Way, Bristol, May 2024

I have said it many times, and it continues to be my firm belief, that visiting artists add an extra sparkle to the vast spectrum of street/graffiti art that we see in the city, and they are always welcome. Mr Tanner appears to have taken a bit of a shine to the city of Bristol recently and long may it last, as his pieces are original and quirky, and each one utterly different from the last.

Mr Tanner, Brunel Way, Bristol, May 2024
Mr Tanner, Brunel Way, Bristol, May 2024

This is a fabulous organic piece of graffiti writing from Mr Tanner, which spells out ‘TOPIA’, don’t ask me why, but it is the letters that he writes. The design is original and flows very nicely, with fill transitions that work really well and are reversed in the ‘O’. I reckon that buffing the wall might have helped the piece to stand out a little more from the Pura Decadencia piece underneath it, as the two colour palettes are competing a little. Nonetheless, this is a wonderful piece from Mr Tanner.

5992. Brunel Way (271)

Pura Decadencia, Brunel Way, Bristol, April 2024
Pura Decadencia, Brunel Way, Bristol, April 2024

Although she doesn’t paint walls all that often, Pura Decadencia nearly always makes an impact when she does. Her unique bubble writing style combined with vampire teeth sinking into letters and long tongues makes her work instantly easy to spot.

Pura Decadencia, Brunel Way, Bristol, April 2024
Pura Decadencia, Brunel Way, Bristol, April 2024

Pura Decadencia’s work is most endearing; despite the potentially gruesome theme and blood drops, there is something that is gently and warming about her work. Perhaps it is the bubble letters, or the bubbly background, I don’t know, but the bitter-sweet presentation works very well indeed. Nice work.

5986. Brunel Way (270)

Bean, Brunel Way, Bristol, April 2024
Bean, Brunel Way, Bristol, April 2024

The wonderful thing about art is that you can create situations or landscapes or portraits and so on that are utterly fictional, unlikely, impossible, weird and that you are in control of this creative universe. Alternatively, some artists try to capture real life either through accurate representations or abstract interpretations. Bean has painted something verging on the weird side with this piece.

Bean, Brunel Way, Bristol, April 2024
Bean, Brunel Way, Bristol, April 2024

The character, who is wearing a rather curious hat, is holding his, or somebody else’s severed legs from which blue gloop is gushing. I’ll not attempt to interpret the piece, which is exceptionally painted in Bean’s trademark two-tone colour cartoon style. An entertaining and curious piece.

5970. Brunel Way (269)

Todoaciem, Brunel Way, Bristol, April 2024
Todoaciem, Brunel Way, Bristol, April 2024

We are blessed in Bristol with having not one, but three calligraffiti artists, each bringing their own take on the style. The three are Stivs, Wxttsart and Todoaciem. There may be others, but if so, they are a little under my radar. This outstanding piece under Brunel Way was painted beneath Brunel Way, next to a piece painted by compatriot Pura Decadencia (to come).

Todoaciem, Brunel Way, Bristol, April 2024
Todoaciem, Brunel Way, Bristol, April 2024

The letters spell CIEM, as you might expect, but what is really special here is the additional decorative scrolls on the edges of the script, creating a wonderful flourish. The colours blue and gold give it a regal look that works surprisingly well on the backdrop of black and pink spots. This is a top piece of calligraffiti from a confident and technically very skilled artist.