Tag: Character

2836. M32 roundabout J3 (201)

If there are any silver linings to the Covid-19 pandemic, and I say this fully recognising the horror that faces us all, one would have to be that Mother Earth can take a breather from carbon outputs, chronically stifling air quality, disturbance of species and habitats and rabid consumption that we have all become so accustomed to… a temporary turning down of the global dial. Another silver lining is that with fewer opportunities to photograph street art and fewer pieces being painted, I have an opportunity to delve into my archive and bring you some wonderful work that has been dormant on my computer files for a while. This is a resource I will be dipping into for as long as it takes. A trip down memory lane.

Bad Taste, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2019
Bad Taste, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2019

First up from June last year is this rat piece from Bad Tast, an artist I posted about not too long ago showing a collaboration with Soap in St Werburghs Tunnel. I don’t know if Bad Taste sprays anything other than rats, but it is an accomplished piece and practiced style and a welcome addition to Bristol street art.

Soap and Bad Taste, St Werburghs, Bristol, July 2019
Soap and Bad Taste, St Werburghs, Bristol, July 2019

2813. Stoney Lane

I have known about this piece behind St Werburghs City Farm for quite some time, but because the wall is in a narrow lane it is virtually impossible to photograph, and the wall, hedge and trees behind it make long-distance shots pretty tricky too. Winter does have some upsides and I managed to take these pictures through the leafless trees while perching on a wall (a difficult task as I am not as young as I like to think I am).

Rowdy, Stoney Lane, Bristol, March 2020
Rowdy, Stoney Lane, Bristol, March 2020

This large piece is by Rowdy and might be a collaboration although I am not sure about that. It features some toothy animal-like characters typical of the artist, looking pretty busy, and some mischievous laundry clips. It is a bright and colourful piece which I think might have been here for some time and which probably doesn’t get the exposure and appreciation it deserves.

2812. St Werburghs tunnel (158)

Castles and spired towers decorate the letters of this medieval piece from Fiva, complete with a cartoon character knight. Thie last pece from Fiva in St Werburghs tunnel was an epic piece with massive letters, this is altogether much more the typical kind of piece we get from this brilliant Bristol artist.

Fiva, St Werburghs, Bristol, March 2020
Fiva, St Werburghs, Bristol, March 2020

In spraying my own letters last year, the artist I studied the most was Fiva and on one occasion I tried to copy one of his letters, but without much success. I am definitely inspired by Fiva and really enjoy finding his pieces.

Scooj, H in the style of Fiva, Bristol, June 2019
Scooj, H in the style of Fiva, Bristol, June 2019

2802. L Dub (14)

I think that the uncrowned king of L Dub is probably Dun Sum. You can scarcely find a wall down there that hasn’t seen some of his paint at some point. What is interesting about that is that I have never seen any of his work anywhere else. This is the sign of an artist well within his comfort zone (and possibly driving range).

Dun Sum, L Dub, Bristol, January 2020
Dun Sum, L Dub, Bristol, January 2020

I can’t tell if this wonderful character is an established cartoon figure or something from Dun Sum’s imagination, either way it is rather a fine creature. His work is always creative and imaginative and he seems to enjoy incorporating lots of colour, adding interest to his menagerie.

2784. Dean Lane skate park (285)

Regular readers will know that I really don’t like posting pieces by ‘unknown’ artists, but sometimes I’ll see something that is just too good to consign to the depths of my archive and this is one such piece. Rather simple, yet appealing to me at least, is this slightly geeky looking character on one of the walls at Dean Lane.

Unknown artist, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2020
Unknown artist, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2020

The cartoon style and subject matter appeal to me, and while it might not be the best piece of art in town, I actually like it a lot. I can’t work out the letters just to the left, it could be GTIFF or STIFF ot STTFF or some other combination, but Google searches have yielded nothing so far, so if anyone out there knows who the artist might be please shout.

2754. Princes’ Place

I have waited a very, very long time to get a clean shot of this old piece by 3Dom. Not too far from where I live, this piece was painted several years ago to brighten up the single car parking space outside Bishopston Tiles on the Gloucester Road. It seems that ever since, either cars have been parked there or storage paletts stacked up against the wall or it has been dark.

3Dom, Princes' Place, Bristol, February 2020
3Dom, Princes’ Place, Bristol, February 2020

Finally I had my breakthrough last weekend and got a clean shot of it. The character piece is in a classical surreal cartoon style adopted by this artist with a human body and a face made from a spherical roof, complete with chimney. A customer parking sign never had such class. In a nice touch, 3Dom has painted a whole bunch of tiles on the wall to tie-in with the shop. No 3Dom collection is complete without this fabulous piece.

2748. L Dub (13)

The unofficial king of L Dub, Dun Sum has created this magnificent and rather weird long fantasy seascape, making excellent use of a wall that is otherwise difficult to paint. He has skilfully written his name – somewhat disguised – to the left of his main character. In the feature picture you might be able to make out SUM, the DUN is a little too far away.

Dun Sum, L Dub, Bristol, January 2020
Dun Sum, L Dub, Bristol, January 2020

The character is a wonderful imagined creature of the sea, part hermit crab, part jelly fish, part squid wearing a fine pair of what look like ski-goggles. the character is accompanied by a couple of other creatures including a six-armed starfish (not as uncommon as you might think in the natural world. A fun and unusual piece.

2696. St Werburghs tunnel (132)

Already Kool Hand has appeared in Natural Adventures twice in 2020. Perhaps he has had some time off, and what better way to fill time than with a bit of spray art? This was the left hand side of a collaborative paint with Daz Cat (already posted), but merits an entry of its own.

Kool Hand, St Werburghs, Bristol, January 2020
Kool Hand, St Werburghs, Bristol, January 2020

The piece brings together the two elements we often see from Kool Hand, some writing and a character. It is less often that we see both together. The cartoon style character is nicely drafted and simply filled. I’m not too sure what the Adidas bag is, but I think it might be a weed pouch that every young man in Bristol seems to carry over their shoulder these days.

2683. M32 Spot (56)

I think that this is the second collaboration between Logoe and Haka in as many months, and both have apeared on this board under the M32 in the DIY skate spot. It is not often that I like my photographs, always something wrong with them, but I actually like this one, somehow the colours of the piece stand out well against the dark top and bottom, but have not been bleached out by the light to either side.

Logoe and Haka, M32 Spot, Bristol, January 2020
Logoe and Haka, M32 Spot, Bristol, January 2020

Logoe has written his name in his script style set on a rather nice red tone abstract background. He has added to the work the sentence ‘What a year it’s been’ and he is not wrong there.  On the right Haka has included a character into his chrome writing which I believe to be Hanna Barbera’s creation Quick Draw McGraw – a cartoon I don’t think I ever saw, but rather wish I had… I might have to consult with YouTube. All in all a most satisfying collaboration from these two established Bristol artists.

2662. St Werburghs tunnel (126)

My last street art post of 2019 and here to round things off is a very nice collaboration at the south entrance of St Werburghs tunnel from painting partners and buddies Logoe and Silent Hobo. These two have collaborated several times this year and it is good to see them both painting more regularly than in recent years.

Logoe and Silent Hobo, St Werburghs, Bristol, December 2019
Logoe and Silent Hobo, St Werburghs, Bristol, December 2019

The writing is from Logoe and in his distinctive long thin script lettering. On the right is a character by Silent Hobo – a young man who is settig fire to some cubes in his hand, they might be high-rise blocks, but it is hard to see. There is some symbolism here but I am not sure there is enough information in the piece to work it out. A nice way to round the year off.

Happy New Year folks. It all starts again tomorrow for a jam-packed blog full of street/graffiti art. TTFN.