5949. Dean Lane skate park (705)

Bean, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2024
Bean, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2024

The Easter break from his studies has been a productive time for Bean, and I expect we’ll be fortunate enough to see a whole load more in the summer holiday. With each piece, Bean’s work appears to get more sophisticated in both composition and execution.

Bean, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2024
Bean, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2024

In this piece he features a man, who looks like he might be a little upset, with steam coming out of his ears. On his finger, he is dangling a tomato(?) which is of course normal behaviour… not. There is so much great detail in the piece and plenty of perspective, and the medallion with his signature is a fabulous touch. I am pleased to see again that Bean has put a bit of a buffer background to differentiate his work from the noise of previous graffiti on the surrounding wall. Outstanding work from a young artist who I think will be wowing us for some years to come.

5947. Dean Lane skate park (704)

Biers, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2024
Biers, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2024

There has been no stopping Biers and his WD40 pieces this year, each one a real pleasure to find and photograph. His tried and tested formula of writing his letters and incorporating a character in the ‘0’ continues to delight and keeps his inspiration fresh. The idea is one adopted by other writing/character combination artists such as Zaenone, and builds a series of ‘collectible’ works.

Biers, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2024
Biers, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2024

It looks like Biers spent plenty of time with this one… it is neat and tidy with plenty of clean sharp lines and borders. Although the letters are generally fairly static from piece to piece, the two elements that give Biers scope for inspiration are the colour scheme and the character. Although these colours are not my personal favourite, he has worked them superbly into the horizontal layers with some drift shapes between them. The character is a treat, although I don’t know what popular culture cartoon he comes from. Altogether an awesome piece from Biers.

Stupid Stupid Meathole

A gallery of the wild and wonderful creations of Bristol street artist Stupid Stupid Meathole.

All photographs by Scooj

Stupid Stupid Meathole, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2019
Stupid Stupid Meathole, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2019
Stupid Stupid Meathole and Panskaribas, M32 Spot, Bristol, June 2019
Stupid Stupid Meathole and Panskaribas, M32 Spot, Bristol, June 2019
Stupid Stupid Meathole, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2019
Stupid Stupid Meathole, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2019
Stupid Stupid Meathole, Panskaribas and Soap, Sandbed Road, Bristol, May 2019
Stupid Stupid Meathole, Panskaribas and Soap, Sandbed Road, Bristol, May 2019
Stupid Stupid Meathole and Panskaribas, Sandbed Road, Bristol, May 2019
Stupid Stupid Meathole and Panskaribas, Sandbed Road, Bristol, May 2019
Stupid Stupid Meathole and Soap, Sandbed Road, Bristol, May 2019
Stupid Stupid Meathole and Soap, Sandbed Road, Bristol, May 2019
Stupid Stupid Meathole, Panskaribas and Rory MacRaild, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2019
Stupid Stupid Meathole, Panskaribas and Rory MacRaild, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2019
Stupid Stupid Meathole, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2019
Stupid Stupid Meathole, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2019
Stupid Stupid Meathole, M32 roundabout, Bristol, January 2019
Stupid Stupid Meathole, M32 roundabout, Bristol, January 2019
Tasha Bee, Soap and Supid Stupid Meathole, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2018
Tasha Bee, Soap and Supid Stupid Meathole, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2018
Stupid Stupid Meathole, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2018
Stupid Stupid Meathole, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2018
Stupid Stupid Meathole, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2018
Stupid Stupid Meathole, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2018
Stupid Stupid Meathole, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2018
Stupid Stupid Meathole, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2018
Stupis Stupid Meathole, Fairlawn Road, Bristol, September 2018
Stupis Stupid Meathole, Fairlawn Road, Bristol, September 2018
Stupid Stupid Meathole, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2018
Stupid Stupid Meathole, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2018
Stupid Stupid Meathole, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2017
Stupid Stupid Meathole, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2017
Stupid Stupid Meathole, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2018
Stupid Stupid Meathole, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2018

5943. Purdown (68)

Slakarts, Purdown, Bristol, March 2024
Slakarts, Purdown, Bristol, March 2024

Set on the windy hilltop of Purdown, overlooking North Bristol, we find a glorious piece by Slakarts at his simple best. His regular stylised character has been given something of a facelift (literally) with both colour fills and patterns. The oranges and reds contrast beautifully with the background blues, rounding the piece off really nicely.

Slakarts, Purdown, Bristol, March 2024
Slakarts, Purdown, Bristol, March 2024

It has been an absolute age since I last met Slakarts (the last time was in St Werburghs tunnel during a lockdown) and now that he appears to be painting a little more frequently, there is a chance I might bump into him soon, which would be nice, because he is a really sound bloke. I am definitely enjoying his spring renaissance.

5942. Dean Land skate park (703)

Zaenone, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2024
Zaenone, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2024

My initial irritation with finding this piece – I had come to find something else (I think a piece by Hire) that I hadn’t yet photographed and that had only been on this wall for a few hours – was quickly replaced with the joy of seeing another fine piece from visiting artist Zaenone.

IMG_7705_edited
IMG_7705_edited

Zaenone’s pieces can be broadly described as having chunky letters ZAEN, with character bookends, although occasionally he omits the characters. The sumptuous reds of the letters occupy much of the space of the piece and smack you in the face. The strength of the colours is offset and counterbalanced by the two wizard characters augmenting the whole thing perfectly. It is always a pleasure to find Zaenone’s work, even when painted over other artist’s recent work – it is a jungle out there.

5940. River Avon (60)

Blimma Blamma, River Avon, Bristol, March 2024
Blimma Blamma, River Avon, Bristol, March 2024

There is an artist in Bristol, who occasionally hits the walls of the city with his curious creations, often in chrome. I am talking about Blimma Blamma, at least I think that is what he is called (he/she doesn’t sign his/her work).

Blimma Blamma, River Avon, Bristol, March 2024
Blimma Blamma, River Avon, Bristol, March 2024

This piece includes some letters, which I can’t make out and a character,, customarily wrapped up in clothes with only his face poking through. There is something endearing about the characters and mysterious about the work, which leaves one guessing what the story is. I think I need to do a little more research on the enigmatic Blimma Blamma.

5933. Cumberland Basin

Conrico, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2024
Conrico, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2024

Conrico has been turning out some sensational pieces lately, and what is interesting about this one is that he posted on his Instagram feed some sketches of the animated Chinese lantern before painting this wall, which goes to show how much thought goes into the pieces that artists paint.

Conrico, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2024
Conrico, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2024

The letters CONRICO are superimposed on what looks like an afternoon landscape with the lantern on the left and a building on the right. As ever, Conrico’s artwork looks like it is painted with a brush rather than a spray can, and I imagine he paints with lots of short controlled sprays to achieve this effect. There is character writing on the side of the building, hinting at an East Asian scene. Wonderful stylised clouds finish off this fine combination piece from Conrico.

5930. Cumberland Basin

Bean, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2024
Bean, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2024

I suspect that this is just a little taster of what is to come from Bean later on this year, as he dropped a couple of pieces during what I suspect was an early spring break from his studies. His work is really developing well, and his stylised cartoon characters are each so unique.

Bean, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2024
Bean, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2024

I like the way that Bean has added a bit of a buffer around his character, allowing it to stand out a little better from the ‘noise’ or artwork that he has overpainted, it certainly makes a significant difference to the outcome. I would love to see some of his work on a fully buffed wall, maybe this summer. This piece is a cracker, and the character feels really animated, with lots of movement in his hair and from the spray can.

5928. Cumberland Basin

Laic217, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2024
Laic217, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2024

Once again, Laic217 seems to be pushing the envelope with his work, most recently with this unusual piece in the little tunnel at Cumberland Basin. Although the fingers of thee character are a little bony, there isn’t a skull or skeleton in sight.

Laic217, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2024
Laic217, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2024

The way that this piece has been painted, it almost loos like oils on a canvass, slapped on in layers. Laic217 has worked cleverly to achieve depth in perspective, but also depth in textures through his use of dark and shade. I don’t know what the arrow represents, but it looks great. It is a nice touch to with the letters LAIC tattooed onto the fingers. Classy stuff.

5898. Elton Street (28)

Used Pencil, Elton Street, Bristol, February 2024
UsedPencil, Elton Street, Bristol, February 2024

The ‘gallery’ in Elton Street, on the side of the Lost Horizons Arts Centre, is always worth a look. There are five or six framed boards raised above the street (ladders required for the artists), curated by the Arts Centre, and which are rarely, if ever, tagged or overpainted. This board, on the end of the building has been painted by Used Pencil, a Bristol artist whose work I have only once seen before at Upfest 2022.

Used Pencil, Elton Street, Bristol, February 2024
UsedPencil, Elton Street, Bristol, February 2024

This piece is painted with a combination of spray paint and brushes, which helps to give it that texture and detail, and you can find a video of its creation on Used Pencil’s Instagram feed. It is a piece that is easy on the eye and has a kind of mystical feel to it. Although the style is recognisable from his Upfest piece, the subject matter is quite different.

Usedpencil, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Usedpencil, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022