Tag: Design

4986. St Werburghs tunnel (344)

Peggy, St Werburghs, Bristol, January 2023
Peggy, St Werburghs, Bristol, January 2023

I met Peggy for the first time yesterday in Dean Lane, but it was the most fleeting of meetings. Peggy was finishing off a piece on a sloping wall and wasn’t really in a position to stop and chat, so I left her to it, and will I’m sure, have another opportunity to say hello.

Peggy, St Werburghs, Bristol, January 2023
Peggy, St Werburghs, Bristol, January 2023

This is a gorgeous piece at the farm end of the tunnel, which I don’t think lasted very long, which is a great pity. Clearly Peggy has a great eye for design and proportion, and manages to create a piece that fits a space very well. I expect she gets lots of practice from the henna work she does. As with other pieces she has created, there is an eye in the floral design. Quite what the eye signifies, I don’t know, but I will ask, if I ever get the chance. A fine piece from Peggy.

4955. Dean Lane skate park (558)

Peggy, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2022
Peggy, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2022

Having only recently ‘discovered’ the beautiful floral art of Peggy, it turns out that I have been photographing some of her work for a while, but didn’t know who she was, so hadn’t posted any of it. I took this photograph back in July, and am pleased to share it now, because it represents yet another type of art on the vast spectrum on offer in Bristol.

Peggy, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2022
Peggy, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2022

Peggy creates some outstanding designs for her body painting work, and then upscales some of these for walls. Beautifully painted, these designs provide a unique and refreshing addition to any spot that she paints.

Peggy, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2022
Peggy, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2022

To the right of the piece, Peggy has pasted three of her designs on the wall, and I remember thinking at the time, maybe we have a new wheatpaster in town. Sadly, I haven’t seen any more since then, but I live in hope. Lovely work from Peggy.

4669. Sparke Evans Park (53)

Rusk, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, August 2022
Rusk, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, August 2022

After what seems like a very long absence, Upfest apart, Rusk has been hitting Bristol pretty hard lately, perhaps encouraged by his pal Zesk, who has been visiting and with whom he has painted a couple of collaborative walls. Anything that gets Rusk out painting has to be good.

Rusk, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, August 2022
Rusk, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, August 2022

This is an unusual and really rather beautifully designed piece from the writer. Spelling our RUSK in ‘ribbon’ letters and augmented with an abstract pink accent line, there is a great sense of proportion, colour tones and overall freshness that makes this piece an absolute classic. Not edgy, not rough and ready, but intelligent, well-thought-out and artistic. This is a next-level piece from Rusk (in my view).

4618. Cumberland Basin

Pl8o, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2022
Pl8o, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2022

If you take a look at Pl8o’s work over the last few years, it is clear to see that he has made significant progress, added characters to his work and great sophistication in his letters, which are becoming more and more elaborately disguised.

Pl8o, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2022
Pl8o, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2022

This recent offering from Pl8o Is beautifully designed and carefully painted with some interesting colour transitions vertically and horizontally. It is the letter designs that steal the show though, he really seems to be putting a lot more thought into these designs. A nice piece from Pl8o.

4415. Greenbank (42)

This piece is not bad for a tattoo artist, not bad at all, in fact it is blooming marvellous, and Etza has absolutely smashed it with this enormous floral piece, painted alongside his collaboration pal Chill. The piece is something really quite different and most arresting.

Etza, Greenbank, Bristol, April 2022
Etza, Greenbank, Bristol, April 2022

Etza has created a clean and sharp flower in rich red, yellow and black colours that has all the hallmarks of a sumptuous wallpaper design. There is a strong field of floral artist in the UK, including our own Alex Lucas, and Philth, who I think works out of London. This piece would sit proudly alongside those others, and proudly so. Finding this was a surprise and a pleasure.

3896. Upfest 2021 75×75 (48)

I first came across the work of Elaine Carr (Instagram – Cuicasolo) when I saw her iconic ‘Bristol’ piece in Dean Lane, painted across someone’s garden fence and gates. It was obvious even then that she is a talented artist and designer. Elaine Carr has a career in model making and set design, amongst other things, and has had little time for painting street walls, but from the small number of pieces I have seen, they are first class.

Cuicasolo, Greville Road, Bristol, August 2021, Upfest 21
Cuicasolo, Greville Road, Bristol, August 2021, Upfest 21

Although a little tricky to access, this is a beautiful and very stylish mural by Elaine Carr in the little outdoor seating area of the Hen and Chicken on North Street. The architectural design has all sorts of false perspectives and 3D tricks, not unlike the work of Escher. The subtle tones and colours are sublime and the including of a little bit of green landscape is very clever. I love this piece, which amply demonstrates the range and variety of walls painted at this year’s Upfest 75×75 event.

3894. Upfest 2021 75×75 (47)

For the first time during Upfest’s 75 walls in 75 days summer event I find myself a little baffled. This piece by Jay Sharples, an Upfest veteran, leaves me a little cold. It is technically beautifully painted and has a very strong design element which works well in the space, but it just doesn’t do it for me, which is a pity, because I like Jay Sharples’ work very much. I guess I can’t like everything.

Jay Sharples, North Street, Bristol, August 2021, Upfest 21
Jay Sharples Street, Bristol, August 2021, Upfest 21

The black and pink stripes are very striking and the contrast is very eye-catching. I am guessing that there was a lot of masking tape involved in the painting of this piece. I have a feeling that Jay Sharples may have left us a little present elsewhere in Bristol, rather more akin to his usual work. I thought I’d just include a previous Upfest piece from the artist below for comparison.

Jay Sharples, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Jay Sharples, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

3810. Upfest 2021 75×75 (17)

Although we might not have seen as many international artists joining in with Upfest’s 75 walls in 75 days event as we might have expected in a non-COVID year we have seen a lot of artists from all over the UK come to Bristol and brighten up our walls with their extraordinary talent. Fem Sorcell is a Cumbrian artist based in Sheffield whose arrival on the street art scene has come via textile design, illustration, art directing, prosthetics and makeup for film.

Fem Sorcell, North Street Standard, Bristol, June 2021, Upfest 21
Fem Sorcell, North Street Standard, Bristol, June 2021, Upfest 21

This unusual piece is beautifully designed and crafted to fit the space perfectly and contains some great colours and details that demand more than a cursory glance. There are one or two elements that remind me a little of our own Bex Glover, particularly the red, yellow and white petals.

Sadly this was one of the dozen or so Upfest pieces that was vandalised earlier this week by some absolute idiot. There really are no words.

3746. Upfest 2021 75×75 (2)

Adding to the challenge of keeping up with the turnover of street art in Bristol has been the recent unveiling of Upfest’s 75 new walls painted in 75 days. Not only is this a huge undertaking by Upfest, in what has been a very disrupted two years, but is a major challenge for me to keep up with. At the time of writing I have seen about eight or nine new pieces with several more on the go.

Mr Penfold, Church Road, Bristol, June 2021, Upfest 2021
Mr Penfold, Church Road, Bristol, June 2021, Upfest 2021

Any regular readers will probably recognise this massive mural as being by Bristol artist and designer Mr Penfold. In this piece he has gone large, but that rather suits his style of big bold designs and colours.

Mr Penfold, Church Road, Bristol, June 2021, Upfest 2021
Mr Penfold, Church Road, Bristol, June 2021, Upfest 2021

This particular wall is one that has hosted some amazing pieces and this is yet another one in that series. I have to say that this one went under my radar and I didn’t know that Mr Penfold had painted it until he posted it on Instagram, hence no WIP shots.

Mr Penfold, Church Road, Bristol, June 2021, Upfest 2021
Mr Penfold, Church Road, Bristol, June 2021, Upfest 2021

Although a stunning feature wall for Upfest, it is one of the trickier ones to photograph, especially in summer when the tree is in full leaf. It is always great to see new Mr Penfold pieces and this one is a real beauty.