Tag: Elton Street

5156. Elton Street (19)

Zubieta, Elton Street, Bristol, April 2023
Zubieta, Elton Street, Bristol, April 2023

This is another wonderful piece by Zubieta, and I really like what I have seen of her work so far. I know that I have at least one unpublished piece in my archives, which I will need to dig out, because we don’t get to see her stuff on the streets nearly as often as I’d like.

Zubieta, Elton Street, Bristol, April 2023
Zubieta, Elton Street, Bristol, April 2023

Painted as part of the recent paint jam in the Elton Street gallery, Zubieta is telling a story about how ‘love stings’, featuring a woman and a stinging insect masquerading as a butterfly full of love. Perhaps this is a tale of failed relationships of deceitful partners – who knows? The colours follow the paint jam theme, and the piece is beautifully executed. Tidy work from a great artist.

5151. Elton Street (18)

Mudra and Peggy, Elton Street, Bristol, April 2023
Mudra and Peggy, Elton Street, Bristol, April 2023

Counterintuitively, sunny days are a bit of a nightmare for street art photographers. The nature of urban art is that much of it is surrounded by tall buildings, street and park trees, telegraph poles, lampposts and road signs, all of which cast dramatic shadows when the sun shines. I try not to post too many pictures with shadows, but sometimes it is inevitable, and my impatience to share a piece trumps my desire to return to the spot to re-photograph it when conditions are more favourable. That happened with this wonderful collaboration between Mudra and Peggy.

Mudra and Peggy, Elton Street, Bristol, April 2023
Mudra and Peggy, Elton Street, Bristol, April 2023

This is what I would term a true collaboration, where the whole piece is a mash-up of elements from both artists, and it becomes difficult to be certain who painted which bits. The highly designed piece has adopted the paint jam ‘house colour palette’ used by their fellow artists who painted other boards on the same day. The flower and eye elements are almost certainly by Peggy, and if you look closely you can see Mudra’s name split into two parts. This is a fine creative piece and very much in keeping with the Elton Street gallery.

5059. Elton Street (16)

3Dom, Elton Street, Bristol, February 2023
3Dom, Elton Street, Bristol, February 2023

Instantly, my first thought when I look at this piece is that 3Dom has signed it @mike22inks, which is his Instagram handle. Is this in an effort to be more overt in gaining commissions? At the moment, with Bristol City Council (supposedly) clamping down on illegal walls, it might be that some of the more established artists are looking to continue their craft with commissions and permitted walls. Who knows?

3Dom, Elton Street, Bristol, February 2023
3Dom, Elton Street, Bristol, February 2023

The piece itself, at the end of the Lost Horizons building, is a beautifully illustrated social commentary piece, possibly titled “It’s a Trap”. On his Instagram post, 3Dom included the hashtag #cashlesssociety. The TV/monitor character is animated with crustacean legs and is dangling an angler fish-like lure rather menacingly, enticing victims into the toothy mouth. Lots of things going on in this fabulous piece.

4931. Elton Street (15)

Merny, Elton Street, Bristol, December 2022
Merny, Elton Street, Bristol, December 2022

I was a late adopter of these wonderful boards on the side of the Lost Horizon Arts Centre – somehow I just didn’t discover them until about a year ago. Now, Elton Street is definitely on my radar, and has become a refreshing outdoor gallery that tends not to get tagged, where the artworks remain intact until they are simultaneously repainted in a curated way.

Merny, Elton Street, Bristol, December 2022
Merny, Elton Street, Bristol, December 2022

This is a fine commentary piece by Merny, who tends to see the world through a socio-political lens. In this piece, the blue man is filming/photographing other people. I guess it is demonstrating that in this digital age, everything is recorded in one way or another, there is no privacy or freedom from the camera lens gaze. “We’re watching you” happens on a personal as well as institutional level. A lovely piece from Merny.

4914. Elton Street (13)

Pekoe, Elton Street, Bristol, December 2022
Pekoe, Elton Street, Bristol, December 2022

There is never a dull moment following Bristol street art, but on top of the pleasure of seeing new work every trip out, there is the added excitement of finding new pieces from favourite artists, and Pekoe is one of those artists. Seeing her work gives me that added tingle of excitement.

Pekoe, Elton Street, Bristol, December 2022
Pekoe, Elton Street, Bristol, December 2022

This piece on one of the boards in Elton Street is an absolute classic Pekoe big hair portrait, and is presented in bright bold colours that grab the attention. There is a genuine honesty about Pekoe’s work that is never too self-indulgent or showy, she gets it about right every time. This one is a real beauty.

4740. Elton Street (12)

Tanith Gould, Elton Street, Bristol, September 2022
Tanith Gould, Elton Street, Bristol, September 2022

Tanith Gould was one of four female artists who painted the bill boards on Elton Street recently, adopting the paint jam colours and creating this imaginative portrait piece.

Tanith Gould, Elton Street, Bristol, September 2022
Tanith Gould, Elton Street, Bristol, September 2022

I am not entirely certain what this thoughtful piece is about, but there is a story here, and the imagery is impactful. This might be the most accomplished piece I have seen from Tanith Gould, and she has certainly earned her place in this prestigious ‘outdoor gallery’

4724. Elton Street (11)

Slakarts, Elton Street, Bristol, September 2022
Slakarts, Elton Street, Bristol, September 2022

It was a genuine pleasure to see this lovely piece from Slakarts, because I haven’t seen much of his work lately. I am hoping that his absence from the streets is an indication that his work is going well. Balancing work and pleasure can be a challenge, but you’ve got to keep those shekels coming in.

Slakarts, Elton Street, Bristol, September 2022
Slakarts, Elton Street, Bristol, September 2022

Adopting the same colour scheme as the other pieces in this collection of Elton Street pieces, Slakarts has painted a rather special mural, with a lot more content than his customary stylised portrait. There is a semi-rural landscape, some high rise flats and flowers, accompanying the character. On-point and very clean, this is a wonderful piece from Slakarts.

4720. Elton Street (10)

The Hass, Elton Street, Bristol, September 2022
The Hass, Elton Street, Bristol, September 2022

What an absolute stunner from The Hass. There is little more to say about it really. The portrait piece is a little bit similar in style to some of the recent pieces by Hazard, combining a photorealistic portrait with repetition and abstract ideas, and some interesting colour tones as well.

The Hass, Elton Street, Bristol, September 2022
The Hass, Elton Street, Bristol, September 2022

The more I look at the piece, the more I see. The incomplete portrait tricks your brain into completing it. It is quite incredible to think that this has all been painted with spray cans and not a paint brush in sight. I really don’t know how these guys do it. A masterpiece from The Hass.

4709. Elton Street (9)

Sled One, Elton Street, Bristol, September 2022
Sled One, Elton Street, Bristol, September 2022

The latest array of billboard pieces in Elton Street have been outstanding, and this special ‘outdoor gallery’ just seems to be getting better and better. The colour scheme has been replicated across all the pieces, and this one from Sled One is an absolute banger.

Sled One, Elton Street, Bristol, September 2022
Sled One, Elton Street, Bristol, September 2022

Sled One has created an apocalyptic scene in which a skeleton is bearing a canister on his back with some soil and a small plant. The canister is actually a spray can, and presumably Sled One is making a link between the life giving qualities of the natural environment and of spray-painting. The character is set in a scorched earth surrounding. Sled One’s paint work is absolutely outstanding and this is a really classy piece.

4705. Elton Street (8)

Bnie, Elton Street, Bristol, September 2022
Bnie, Elton Street, Bristol, September 2022

It was while she was finishing off this piece that I met Bnie for the first time, and I was genuinely very pleased to at last make her acquaintance. I had seen her painting once or twice before, but hadn’t spoken with her. This time I was able to ask her about her work, and during the course of our discussion, she told me that she was the organiser of these boards, hosted on the side of Lost Horizon arts centre, where she also works.

Bnie, Elton Street, Bristol, September 2022
Bnie, Elton Street, Bristol, September 2022

This wonderful piece, sort of sign-writing, is a slight departure for Bnie, but perfectly executed. The patterns surrounding the ‘Know your worth’ writing perhaps give Bnie away a little bit, but if I am honest, If I hadn’t been there (and signed it) when I visited, I’m not certain I would have spotted it as a Bnie piece.