A gallery of intricate, colourful and disguised graffiti writing from Bristol’s Dirtygypo.
Instagram: @dirtygypo
All photographs by Scooj
Dirtygypo
Tag: Graffiti
7463. River Avon (110)
Haka is another of those artists who is at the very heart of the Bristol graffiti art scene. His authentic and good-natured style, and occasionally, although less so in recent years, politically motivated work has been replaced in the last three or so years with lighthearted children’s picture book combinations. This piece is just a straightforward piece of graffiti writing.
This bright and optimistic piece is painted on some relatively new hoardings alongside the River Avon, surrounding a new development – you can see the initial concrete pillars, which I am guessing will be lift shafts for the new building. Haka has produced a lovely clean piece with great yellow and orange colour separation and plenty of fill decorations. A drop shadow veers off to the right, and the whole thing is contained in a green background splat with orange crack lines. A really nice piece of graffiti writing.
7462. St Werburghs tunnel (567)
It has been really hard work finding new pieces so far this year. The near constant rain has kept most artists at home. I am expecting a deluge of work once the sun returns, and my files for March and April to be overflowing. At least St Werburghs tunnel seems to offer refuge for those brave enough to venture out, like Neddy Ned Ned and Jest Soubriquet.
I really wasn’t expecting this piece, so it definitely came as a pleasant surprise. The letters, spelling out WISKA are by Neddy Ned Ned, and are full of colour, with delineated horizontal stripes running through the letters in colour sequences. The drop shadow has a disappearing point in the middle of the piece, and the upper half colours are black and green and the lower half, red and green. A nicely thought out piece.
The portrait piece by Jest Soubriquet is really striking, especially the lips and eyes. I feel that the top half of the head needs to be higher, as the proportions don’t quite work. I like the mix of a realistic face with stylised hair, it works for me. Nice to see these two painting together.
7461. St Werburghs tunnel (556)
This is an interesting augmentation piece by Zinso, using the underlying work by Conrico to make his mark. This kind of addition takes us into the murky waters of convention and respect, particularly with this Conrico piece, which had only been present for a few days, celebrating Tera’s birthday. While I rather like augmentation pieces, I do feel that they should have a period of clear space between the original and the addition.
The skull face that has been added is neat and crisp, and very much what you’d expect from Zinso. It also provides a totally different look and feel from the original by Conrico. As I have said many, many times on Natural Adventures, it is a jungle out there.
7460. M32 Spot (215)
Conrico has been smashing it out of the park lately, particularly with his portrait work, which can be a welcome relief from overdosing on graffiti writing. This is a wonderful column piece underneath the M32, and a perfect showcase of Conrico’s work.
In this piece, Conrico has painted a young woman sitting cross-legged with her hand held out and the letters GYS (Graveyard Shift) emblazoned on her palm. There are loads of layers and textures in her clothes, and what is quite remarkable is that the piece is entirely painted with spray cans and not a paint brush in sight. Fine red and white outlines are carefully applied to give definition and sharpness. This is simply brilliant, both in composition and execution.
7459. Dean Lane skate park (900)
It has been a while since I last saw Benjimagnetic paint the letters BEN, as he appears to have preferred the letters GRO lately. The colour selection for this piece is absolutely fabulous, and the two tones of purple add to the splendour.
The whole thing is much more contiguous than some of his pieces, which can be rather more deconstructed. There is a really subtle, but effective, thin black drop shadow to the left of the letters, offering some definition. The letters are set on a chrome background which includes a little line drawing sketch around the outside. A classy piece from Benjimagnetic.
7458. Greenbank (181)
I have decided to stick to the name J9449j for this artist. It was the first Instagram handle that I came across when posting his artwork, but which has changed several times since. It just makes sense to use the one name, even if it is the wrong one, for consistency’s sake.
There is so much mystery surrounding J9449j, and I wonder if in this piece there are some heavily disguised letters, because those shapes and the length of the piece would suggest so. The colours and shapes are absolutely wonderful, with the customary nod to nature. I also feel there is a bit of an Orla Kiely look going on, which, I might add, is a good thing.
7457. Peel Street Green (61)
This character piece from Zake almost feels like a throwback to some of his earlier work, which focussed on just the head of a character. Of course, his style has developed since then , but this piece is uncluttered by other ideas and incorporations.
This wall is a particularly good spot for character artists, because it is too square for graffiti writers. As ever, Zake has created a face with so much depth created with clever use of shades and tones, and some subtle white flashes. Great grinning work.
7456. River Avon (109)
Many times I go out to photograph street art, I come away empty-handed, especially when it has been raining a lot, but every once in a while I get lucky, not only with finding new pieces but also meeting the artists who paint them. This trip to the River Avon was particularly fruitful.
I caught Malibueb while he was finishing this piece off, and chatted with him, because I wasn’t familiar with his work, and guessed he was visiting. It turns out he is a Swiss musician and was doing a set in Bristol that evening, but he also paints a bit – well he was just being modest I think, because this is a fine chrome combination piece with an excellent old school character rounding it off. It is always good to welcome visiting artists to Bristol.
7455. M32 Cycle path (307)
Foksymoron is one of those artists that brings cheer and a smattering of street philosophy to Bristol. His enigmatic and rather charming fox character is a little like a commentary on the city itself.
Situated on the M32 Cycle path near the railway bridge, this piece could be lost in the melee of pieces scattered around this wall. It is one of his basic, archetypical foxes, without additional clothing, postures or words, but fun nonetheless.
Natural adventures 