Tag: Face

4447. Moon Street (93)

I photographed this piece on the day I first met Runaway Joey, or Asre as he signs himself. He was painting another face only yards away from this one. We stopped for quite a long chat, and I was touched to find out that he not only knew who I was but also had been chatting with his friends about me and what I do, later describing me as a ‘top bloke’ in an Instagram post later that day. It is so gratifying to know that that  some of the artists I write about have read this blog and appreciate what I do here. For the record, Asre is a really decent guy who made plenty of time for a chat about his work. I look forward to meeting him again.

Asre, Moon Street, Bristol, May 2022
Asre, Moon Street, Bristol, May 2022

This wall used to ‘belong’ to Laic217, and is one of my favourite walls in Bristol (definitely a candidate for my ‘one wall, many faces’ series of posts). The face from Asre is rather more elaborate than some that he paints, with rather scary teeth, a green face and a magnificent crown. There is something menacing and slightly evil about this piece, which also introduces some different elements to the typical format Asre uses for this series. There is so much more to post from Asre, I am struggling to know where to begin. I have some much better photographs of this and will try to replace these when I have a moment.

4428. St Werburghs tunnel (291)

Last Saturday was one of those very special red-letter days for me. I took the dog for a walk, that ended up being a bit of a marathon, during which I visited four spots and met nine or ten artists, several of them for the first time. Among the artists, it was an enormous pleasure to meet Asre, or Runaway Joey as he is known, for the first time, and very touching to find out that he knew who I was and had been keen to meet me and had even read some of my posts… my work here is done.

Asre, St Werburghs, Bristol, April 2022
Asre, St Werburghs, Bristol, April 2022

This is one of a multitude of variations on a theme by Asre, with the stylised cartoon face that we are becoming accustomed to seeing all over the place. This poor fellow looks like he has come a poor second in a boxing bout, with a severe black eye. Once again, the strong clean lines and solid fills are nicely worked, and the boxing glove provides additional interest – I like the way Asre has highlighted the glove with pink and white, giving it a cool 3D effect. There is so much more to come from this prolific artist and all round great bloke.

4385. Dean Lane skate park (482)

It is probably about time for another piece from Face 1st, and this one, like so many of his other pieces, is so full of joy and happiness. I think that Face 1st should be employed as a ‘happiness tzar’ for Bristol, and be allowed to spray his happy faces to improve morale in a time when good news is hard to come by.

Face 1st, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2022
Face 1st, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2022

This particular piece in Dean Lane is in one of his preferred forms in which he has written FACE as the hair of a girl’s smiling face. For added effect, he has included a second face as the ‘A’ of FACE. It is always great to see anything by this artist, and the Bristol graffiti/street art scene simply wouldn’t be the same without him.

4372. Moon Street (91)

I think that I could quite easily fill up all my posts with work from about four or five artists in Bristol who seem to be unstoppable in their quest to brighten our streets and practice their art. One of those artists is Face 1st, who has been a constant drumbeat through the development and progress of Natural Adventures. Always there, always painting.

Face 1st, Moon Street, Bristol, April 2022
Face 1st, Moon Street, Bristol, April 2022

This piece is in my favourite street, for sentimental reasons really, in Bristol, Moon Street. Definitely a quick one from Fac 1st, as so many of his pieces are, but even though it probably only took an hour or so to paint, there is a lot to like about it. The change of pink to orange as you read left to right, and the blending of the colours, works really well. Of course, no Face 1st piece is complete without a girl’s face somewhere, and in this one, she is lurking in the letter C.

4370. M32 roundabout J3 (404)

Slakarts isn’t painting quite as much as I would like to see, but in this piece on the roundabout he has turned out an absolute beauty. It is almost like he has applied the Picasso cubist treatment on his stylised face, and the result is something rather special.

Slakarts, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2022
Slakarts, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2022

I am not the biggest fan of chrome, as I think it tends to dominate a piece – great for throw ups and bubble writing, but difficult to pull off with tidier pieces. Slakarts has more than pulled this off, he has smashed it with the interactions between chrome blues and white and the overall effect is stunning. Beautifully conceived and executed, this is a magnificent specimen from Slakarts.

4367. Purdown AA Battery (43)

I believe that this is the third Morag piece I have posted on Natural Adventures, and I must say that I really love what he does. The simplest of thick black lines in an apparently continuous loop painted on a single colour background to create a perfectly stylised face.

Morag, Purdown, Bristol, March 2022
Morag, Purdown, Bristol, March 2022

There is definitely something in the simplicity that brings out the design really well, and actually, the simplicity is a little more sophisticated than it might at first appear. This picture was taken on a very bright day, and unfortunately I have cast a shadow over the piece. Hey ho.

4365. Brunel Way (151)

Oh hurrah! It is that fabulous Mr Underbite, decorating our walls again. I love this character and long to see many more variations of this cartoon face in Bristol. He reminds me of a comic character called Plug from the Bash Street Kids in Beano, who had a terrible overbite.

Mr Underbite, Brunel Way, Bristol, March 2022
Mr Underbite, Brunel Way, Bristol, March 2022

The flowers are a lovely touch and make this grumpy character somehow feel a little less grumpy. This is a nicely painted face character face piece and one of a growing number of such pieces by various artists in the city at the moment. This is a highly memorable piece.

4359. Dean Lane skate park (478)

Photographing street art and graffiti isn’t just about the big pieces, the obvious ‘in your face’ high end work. It is about capturing the full spectrum of work and the full spectrum of styles, content, ability and so on. Finding a couple of little gems, like these from Zake, exemplifies the joys of finding and cataloging street art.

Zake, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2022

Zake is normally known for his bright and expressive stylised faces, full of light and shade to exaggerate the contours of the features. In these two small pieces in Dean Lane, Zake gives us something more like a study, or something you might find in a black book rather than on a wall. It is not only the beauty of these works, but their rarity that is part of their attraction.

Zake, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2022
Zake, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2022

I guess that they were both painted in the same session judging from the colour palette. A male and female portrait in subtle tones. Two fine pieces adding to the rich portfolio that the artist has to offer, and something a little different for the viewer.

4356. M32 Cycle path (172)

I am always slightly surprised that anyone would paint this particular spot; the wall is uneven and on a bit of a corner, but it is popular and has quite a high turnover. Maybe it is accepted that nothing here will last too long, whereas some adjacent walls are more sought after, and therefore inclined to have more longevity, especially with some of the more respected artists in Bristol painting them.

Bogat, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, March 2022
Bogat, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, March 2022

Bogat and Asre (who goes by the name @runaway_joey on Instagram) paint alongside each other quite often, and judging from the shout-outs are obviously good friends. On the left is an unusual octopus piece spelling out BOG from Bogat, which is a little different from the long faces he normally paints.

Asre, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, March 2022
Asre, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, March 2022

Asre on the other hand gives us exactly what you’d expect, with one of his trademark faces wearing a hat, and in this one also smoking a joint. The two artists have used the space well and are becoming part of the furniture after bursting onto the scene earlier this year.

Bogat and Asre, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, March 2022
Bogat and Asre, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, March 2022

4347. M32 Cycle path (170)

Alas, this piece from Asre didn’t last very long, which is a pity, because this wall tends to have a very low turnover and the writing/character combination is a good one. Although Asre has only really come into my radar in the past six weeks or so, he has managed to become part of the furniture very quickly indeed.

Asre, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, March 2022
Asre, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, March 2022

This piece combines some fine writing skills with one of Asre’s faces, and certainly makes an impact immediately. I don’t know much about the artist, but prior to his pieces appearing in Bristol, I suspect he was painting elsewhere, because the work is very accomplished, and his face well practised. I believe this was a birthday tribute to self.