This gorgeous story piece from Conrico somehow slipped under my radar, so on one of my routine visits to the Cycle path behind the Black Swan, I was thrilled to stumble across it. The Japanese street scene is full of atmosphere and ordinary life, with a woman cuddling a cat in the foreground.
Conrico, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, October 2024
Conrico’s style looks more like a paint brush painting than anything created with a spray can, which says a lot about his application style of short bursts like brush strokes. His love affair with Japan and Japanese culture may seem at odds with Bristol culture, but is in fact a refreshing perspective and part of the amazing spectrum of work artwork we see in the city. I love this low-key piece.
Kool Hand, Conrico, Pekoe and The Art of Sok, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2024
This year, Dean Lane has hosted a whole bunch of Halloween pieces, and this is the largest of the lot. The festive collaboration is from a line up of artists I would never have expected, and I don’t think that they have painted as a foursome together before. Kool Hand, Conrico, Pekoe and the Art of Sok have brought four distinctive styles together in this eclectic celebration.
Kool Hand, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2024
Kool Hand starts the wall off with one of his customary baseball cap-wearing orangutans, although there is a touch of menace about the ape. Usually Kool Hand’s characters are rather fun, but this one is sinister, with bloodshot eyes missing pupils and a maggot crawling out of its nose. There is nice use of solid tones bringing light and shadow, and hence depth, to the piece.
Conrico, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2024
I have no idea what is going on in the Conrico piece, but it looks like a werewolf-type character is leaning against a gravestone on which the words “Here lies graveyard shift… a very naughty…” You’ll have to make up the rest yourself. The character is clutching a carved pumpkin and the whole thing is set in a Japanese landscape. Curious and wonderful.
Pekoe, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2024
Next up is a great piece of writing from Pekoe in an altogether lighter style, where each of the letters is painted in an individual design and colour scheme. The ghost forming the letter ‘O’ is the obvious concession to the Halloween theme. Over the last couple of years, Pekoe’s writing has improved immeasurably and her confidence with it… you can sense there is an ease and comfort with the creation of this piece.
The Art of Sok, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2024
Finally, something evil from The Art of Sok. I have seen plenty of cartoon characters from the artist, but nothing quite like this. The monster looks like some kind of orc-inspired creature and provides edge to the collaboration. The Art of Sok’s style is so clean and crisp… There is a simplicity in his use of solid fills that betray incredible sophistication and skill, transferring cartoon-book sketches onto full sized walls. All in all a superb and varied collection of Halloween pieces from the quartet.
It has been a real pleasure to see that Conrico has been on fire this summer, both in terms of his output and the quality of his work. This piece was painted as part of a paint jam celebrating Werm’s Birthday. In his Instagram post Conrico used the hashtags #cowboy and #highplainsdrifter, which I think tells you something about the piece.
Conrico, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2024
His graffiti writing/character combinations have been rather good lately, and this one is a great addition to his portfolio. Lots of swirls and atmosphere has been created with his paintbrush style of spraying. The cowboy is also beautifully painted.
Conrico, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2024
There is an organic feel to Conrico’s work that is quite different from some of the more stylised and manicured characters that we see a lot of in the city. A very nice piece indeed.
Conrico has been so productively lately with commissions, painting walls and the Cheltenham Paint Festival. It is lucky really that he is so passionate about what he does and that he really enjoys it. He is currently going full tilt on his Japanese influenced pieces, including this lovely landscape/writing combo.
Conrico, New Stadium Road, Bristol, July 2024
Conrico has a great story behind his moniker, which is essentially a school corruption of his name which has stuck, a bit like Scooj which I use as my pseudonym. The letters CONRICO are dominant in this piece and are influenced by the katakana alphabet, and float over a stunning landscape of a snow-clad volcano (Fuji?) and cherry blossoms in the foreground. A wonderful piece.
One of the great pleasures of my trip to Cheltenham two weekends ago for the Cheltenham Paint Festival was catching up with Conrico while he was painting a wide piece spanning a bridge. We chatted for quite a while, and I came away with the impression of a really decent man who so utterly enjoys his craft. We talked about all sorts of things like where his name comes from and what his connection with Japan is and so on. Fascinating stuff.
Conrico, Purdown, Bristol, July 2024
This is a gorgeous Japanese scene with a pathway leading up to a small building and a lantern lighting the way. There are ghostly figures sitting on the roof of the structure and nearby, giving the whole thing quite a spiritual feel. Maybe the figures are ancestors. As with much of his work, Conrico has constructed a story and illustrated it beautiful, bringing a tiny little bit of Japan to Bristol.
Conrico has been super-busy lately both painting on the street, and in his studio. He has a fabulous imagination, and much of his art is influenced by the culture of the Far East, in particular Japan. I don’t know what the connection is, but it adds an exotic flavour to many of his pieces.
Conrico, Greenbank, Bristol, July 2024
This is quite an unusual portrait piece, that in contrast to what I have said in the previous paragraph, appears to be of a Central/South American person wearing face paint and with feathers in their hair. Once again, Conrico’s unique can-work gives the impression that the piece has been painted with brushes, and doesn’t have that ‘clinical tight finish that so much street art tends to have. More still to come from Conrico.
I love Conrico’s work. He has the most incredible capacity for telling stories through his art. Rarely is there a static portrait or lettering that does nothing more than look good. The other thing that I admire in his work is his spray style that looks more like brush strokes than spray – clever stuff indeed.
Conrico, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2024
This piece was painted during the paint jam to celebrate Wispa’s birthday (in absentia). I am guessing, but can’t be sure, that Conrico has painted a portrait of Wispa in honour of her birthday, which would make sense. He has included some writing, which I think might be Japanese, which I cannot read. A nice piece that is so typical of his unique style.
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
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.
A week or so ago I decided to visit the Devon Road area of Bristol, which I have neglected for quite a long while but where turnover tends to be rather slow. I was rewarded with this magnificent piece at the end of Devon Road, by Conrico. I might be pushing the boat a little, but I think that this could be the best piece I have seen from Conrico, and that is saying something.
Conrico, Devon Road, Bristol, February 2024
There is a wonderful story of an oriental flavour unfolding. Our central character is a fox wearing a fabulous blue robe, tossing a spray can in his right hand and clutching a roller in his left. Is there something autobiographical going on here? The fox is standing in a scene that could so easily have been inspired by the willow pattern. Each of the elements of this piece , the pond, the building the trees and the cloudy sky, combine to create a truly fantastic whole. Bravo!
There is a convention in the world of street art, that is rarely followed, which suggests that when you paint over a piece by other artists, you tag them in your piece, and it is great to see that Conrico has followed that convention, with his piece on a garage door in St Mark’s Avenue, acknowledging Soap and Face 1st whose old piece he overpainted.
Conrico, St Mark’s Avenue, Bristol, January 2024
Conrico has a style all of his own, often looking like brush work, rather than painting from a spray can. This piece features a snail in a horrible dam setting, with a shell that presents an altogether more inviting scene. The contrast between the two parts of this piece tells a wonderful story of hope and possibilities. This is a really nice piece from Conrico.
Natural adventures 