I have said before that there aren’t many paste ups in Bristol, however I seem to have found quite a few in recent weeks. This wonderful wheatpaste by qWeRT is one of several pasted up during a visit by the artist recently.
qWeRT, Stokes Croft, Bristol, December 2019
Tucked away behind a bus stop in Stokes Croft is this rather endearing googly eyed character. I would be prepared to bet that very few people waiting at the bus stop have even noticed this new addition to the colourful tagged wall behind them. I don’t actually know too much about qWeRT or where he/she comes from, but I have seen a lot of these characters in London, so I am guessing that might be qWeRT’s home. Still a few more to post from this recent Bristol binge.
This extraordinary piece at Upfest 2018 wasn’t actually an official piece, but one of those ‘extras’ that we get in Dean Lane from visiting artists who didn’t get an Upfest pitch. I have tried to find out a little bit about the artist, but haven’t had much success. I found Mowcka’s website, but the ‘About’ section is beautifully lyrical and mysterious, but evasive and I expect that is the whole point.
Mowcka, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
I am troubled that on this day I managed to get water on my lens and didn’t check it or discover it until I uploaded the photographs. The result is presentationally disappointing, but the artwork magnificent. There is something very ‘mother Earth’ about these characters and a fair amount of symbolism going on too.
This should be fairly quick and simple. Here we have a rather fun column piece by an artist called Zinso. Although I have a few pictures of his work from recent walks, he is a new artist to me and I have not been aware of him before the last couple of months or so.
Zinso, M32 Spot, Bristol, November 2019
Zinso seems to have a clear idea of his artwork and executes it cleanly to a rehearsed design (I am guessing), almost like a very fancy tag. Practising the same broad design builds up skills and technique. Zinso already seems well on the way to creating an identity. Look out for more from this artist.
A gallery of magnificent character work from Bristol’s Silent Hobo
All photographs taken by Scooj
Silent Hobo, Mina Road, Bristol, October 2020Silent Hobo, Temple Way, Bristol, September 2020Zase and Silent Hobo, Alfred Street, Bristol, September 2020Silent Hobo, Belmont Street, Bristol, July 2020Silent Hobo, Belmont Street, Bristol, July 2020Silent Hobo, Belmont Street, Bristol, July 2020Silent Hobo, Hammersmith Road, Bristol, August 2020Silent Hobo, James Street, Bristol, July 2020Silent Hobo and Logoe, M32 roundabout, Bristol, September 2019Silent Hobo, M32 roundabout, Bristol, September 2019Logoe and Silent Hobo, St Werburghs, Bristol, December 2019Silent Hobo, St Mark’s Avenue, Bristol, September 2019Silent Hobo, M32 Spot, Bristol, May 2019Silent Hobo, North Street, Bristol, May 2019Silent Hobo, Park Street, Bristol, March 2019Silent Hobo, Hotwell Road, Bristol, March 2019Silent Hobo, M32 roundabout, Bristol, December 2018Silent Hobo, M32 Spot, Bristol, November 2018Silent Hobo and Cheo, We the Curious, Bristol, November 2018Silent Hobo, We the Curious, Bristol, November 2018Silent Hobo, M32 Spot, Bristol, November 2018Silent Hobo, M32 Spot, Bristol, October 2018Silent Hobo, M32 Spot, Bristol, October 2018Silent Hobo, Hotwell Road, Bristol, June 2018Silent Hobo, Hotwell Road, Bristol, June 2018Silent Hobo, Hotwell Road, Bristol, June 2018Silent Hobo, St Werburghs, Bristol, June 2018Silent Hobo, Lower Approach Road, Bristol, November 2017Silent Hobo and Logoe, Ashley Road, Bristol, April 2017Silent Hobo, Ashley Road, Bristol, April 2017Silent Hobo, St Werburgs tunnel, Bristol, February 2017Silent Hobo, M32 Spot, Bristol, January 2017Silent Hobo, Partition Street, Bristol, November 2016Cheo Silent Hobo and Deamze, Frogmore Street, Bristol, July 2015Silent Hobo, Hillgrove Street, Bristol, December 2015Silent Hobo, Hillgrove Street, Bristol, December 2015Silent Hobo, Mina Road, Bristol, March 2016Silent Hobo, Nelson Street, Bristol, October 2015Jon5, Silent Hobo, Sepr, Deamze and Dotcom, Stokes Croft, Bristol, September 2015Silent Hobo, Little Bishop Street, Bristol, November 2015Silent Hobo, Little Bishop Street, Bristol, November 2015Silent Hobo, Little Bishop Street, Bristol, November 2015Silent Hobo, Stokes Croft, Bristol, December 2015Silent Hobo, Chapter Street, Bristol, March 2016Silent Hobo, Chapter Street, Bristol, March 2016Silent Hobo, Chapter Street, Bristol, March 2016Silent Hobo & Mr. Riks, Park Row, Bristol
Oh what a fabulous day – deep blue skies after what feels like a month of constant rain and a new Laic217 piece on the curved wall in Dean Lane – it just doesn’t get much better than this. Laic217 just keeps on doing it and with each piece his technique improves. This piece looks like it has been lifted straight off a sketchbook and the tones he gets in this greyscale piece are to be admired. The overall composition is really interesting and has some resemblance to a piece he painted on this wall in March last year with the words ‘Ice Ice Baby’.
Laic217, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2019
Making an appearance, a feature of so many street works, are some ‘Hello, my name is’ stickers. Now can somebody please tell me the significance of these – why do they appear so often? On these, one says Laic217, another says CortOne (one of his painting pals) and the third I’m not too sure about.
Hats off to DJ Perks for this amazing character piece of Hong Kong Phooey in the depths of the underpass at Lawrence Weston. There is no doubt about it, this spot is very much favoured by Perks and the walls here are peppered with his writing but I think that this was his first character and what a start.
DJ Perks, L Dub, Bristol, October 2019
The piece is nice and clean, and the colour matches are great. Seeing how well DJ Perks has been doing over the last few months fills me with inspiration and hope for my own exploits, which are probably on hold now until the Spring.
At the farm end of St Werburghs tunnel is this magnificent comic-strip piece by Conrico. I was lucky enough to meet Conrico last week while he was just putting some finishing touches on a different work on the M32 cycle path. I stopped for a chat and do you know what, a nicer bloke you couldn’t hope to meet. He stopped what he was doing and we chewed the fat for quite a while, during the course of our conversation he gave me a ‘banana cap’ (a type of cap that you fix to the top of a spray can that regulates the pressure and spread of the paint) which he said might help me with my thinner lines. It was very kind of him and greatly appreciated.
Conrico, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2019
I think the thing I like most about Conrico’s work is that each pecture tells a pretty elaborate story, and trying to work out what that story is is all part of the fun. I don’t know enough about anything to explain what might be happening here, but it is beautifully illustrated and the little details simply make the piece. His style is quite different from many of the character artists in Bristol, and I for one love it.
So you get nothing from an artist forever and then two posts in the space of three days, and so it is with this character piece by Flava136. I don’t really know why I haven’t seen much of his work before, but I seem to be finding plenty of it now.
Flava136, Paint Festival 2019, Cheltenham, September 2019
This is one of a couple of pieces by Flava136 at the Cheltenham Paint Festival, but this one lasted rather longer than his other one in the Honeybourne Line tunnel which was wrecked, along with several others the night it was completed. Every time I see his work I am reminded of Stitch from the film Lilo and Stitch, I’m sorry I can’t help it…my bad.
Miss Wah might be familiar to readers of Natural Adventures because she has made an occasional appearance with her Upfest pieces. This striking Kawaii style figure is beautifully painted with yellow and black bands that we might normally associate with bees and wasps and indeed Miss Wah has given this character wings.
Miss Wah, Paint Festival 2019, Cheltenham, September 2019
Miss Wah’s simple and oh-so-easy-on-the-eye pieces are always a welcome addition to any festival and tend to be real crowd-pleasers. This fine piece in Cheltenham this year is no exception.
Readers of Natural Adventures will know that I am a monumental fan of the work of Laic217, and here is the latest collaboration with his often painting partner Cort in Dean Lane. I have to say though that this is not their best piece in my opinion. There is something not quite right about it. The two elements of the collaboration do not complement each other and I think these would be better as stand-alone pieces. Don’t get me wrong, this is still great work only not quite up to the usual high standard.
Cort, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2019
The central Cort writing is book-ended by two rather dark characters by Laic217. Although we are used to seeing Cort write CORT, he has also taken to writing PADY this year – I’m not sure what has prompted this variation, but writers often do this probably just to swicth it up a bit.
Laic217, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2019
On the left side is a post-apocalyptic character with a skeletal face and mask. The mask could be interpreted as a gas mask or spraying mask and the two seem to intertwine. It all feels a bit chilling and like something out of a Terminator movie.
Laic217, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2019
On the right of Cort’s writing is another character in the same dark and depressing regalia wearing a full overhead gas mask. These two Laic217 characters speak of doom and convey a dystopian future in a chilling and convincing way. I would have liked to have seen these characters separated from Cort’s writing, which is at odds with them.
Natural adventures 