Tag: Graffiti

4169. Sparke Evans Park (26)

Not many Christmas pieces, and then (on January 9) two come along at once. This Christmas cheer was brought to you from Sparke Evans Park in the form of this graffiti writing from Biers. I call Biers ‘Biers’ because they were the letters he used when I first started seeing his work. Since then, he has moved through ‘OhYeah’ to his current preferred set of letters ‘WD40’. I still call him Biers though.

Biers, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, December 2021
Biers, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, December 2021

The letters can be difficult to pick out, but once you know what they are, you can start to pick them out. As well as the Christmas theme, Biers has also contextualised the piece with a lateral flow Coronavirus test, showing a positive result. It is funny to think that a little over two years ago none of us had ever heard of such a thing, and now it dominates our every waking moment. I guess the ‘Merry Shitmas’ message is linked to the Covid-19 situation. A nicely done piece. Expect to see a whole lot more from Biers as he has been hitting walls with gusto in recent weeks.

4168. Dean Lane skate park (451)

Ok, ok, so Christmas was a little time ago now, but I am still so far behind with my posts that this delightful Christmas message from Pekoe in Dean Lane is coming to you a little later than I would have liked. The sentiment is still well-meant though and beautifully delivered.

Pekoe, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2021
Pekoe, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2021

I didn’t see nearly as many Christmas pieces this year as I would have expected, so this was a sight for sore eyes. The portrait almost has a comic book look to it, especially with the speech bubble, and the dark colours used for the features add to that school of art. Something almost ‘Lictensteiny’ about it. The three TLAs (Three Letter Acronyms) at the end of the Christmas message relate to three of the places Pekoe loves to paint. This piece was the cherry on the top of a very nice Christmas break.

4167. St Werburghs tunnel (270)

An infrequent, yet most welcome, artist is Smut – ‘everyone loves a little bit of Smut’ remember? Recently Smut has hit a couple of walls with his characteristic clean and tidy script writing.

Smut, St Werburghs, Bristol, December 2021
Smut, St Werburghs, Bristol, December 2021

Although the tunnel at St Werburghs is a honey pot for graffiti and street art, it is a beast for getting decent photographs, and I am disappointed with these ones which are a little blurred. His other piece on the M32 roundabout (to come) is altogether more satisfying. It is always a pleasure finding a Smut piece.

4166. River Avon (24)

Tes, or Slim Pickings as I call him, is one of the most consistent writers in Bristol with his familiar TES super-tag, but every once in a while he throws something different at us, and this piece is an example of how he switches it up.

Slim Pickings (Tes), River Avon, Bristol, December 2021
Slim Pickings (Tes), River Avon, Bristol, December 2021

The letters are the same, but aren’t presented in his usual very prescriptive form, they are more uniform and spread further horizontally, but the fills and lines are solid and clean, just as we would expect. Great to see something a little different from Slim Pickings.

4165. M32 Cycle path (154)

Each time I see a piece from Pl8o, they just seem to get better and better. Apart from the odd throw up, there is a more considered and designed approach to his work, and this piece, I think really demonstrates the progress made. I recently published a gallery of Pl8o’s work, and you can see the improvements over time, although frankly, his work has always been pretty good.

Pl8o, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, December 2021
Pl8o, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, December 2021

I have said before that his letters are very kind on the eye, and he has certainly made the most of them. The numeral 8 in particular is great to have in graffiti writing, it is a bit like OO which also works… Look out for those SCOOJ toy letters next summer (maybe). I am still loving Pl8o’s work

4164. Elton Street (3)

Many of you will be familiar with the phrase ‘you snooze, you lose’, and so it was with my rather late discovery of this wonderful wall in Elton Street. Most of the pieces are is good shape, but unfortunately this beauty by The Hass had been somewhat tagged by the time I got to photograph it.

The Hass, Elton Street, Bristol, December 2021
The Hass, Elton Street, Bristol, December 2021

The piece, in the themed pink and blues used by all the artists on this wall, is a stunning portrait of a leopard., and a really classy piece of street art at that. I think I might have enough pieces by The Hass to pull together a gallery fairly soon, one to look out for.

4163. Cumberland Basin

I ventured out on a rather sunny winter’s day to photograph this wall and rather regret doing so, because the glare is so bright in the photographs, it is difficult to truly appreciate the fine graffiti writing from Taboo.

Taboo, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, December 2021
Taboo, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, December 2021

Following his usual format of a character bound together with his unconventional joined up writing, Taboo introduces us to a psychedelic world in which a Bart Simpson is riding the skies on his skateboard, slightly worse for wear on what appear to be ecstasy pills popping out of his severed head.

Taboo, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, December 2021
Taboo, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, December 2021

The character/writing combination is bright and colourful and so utterly uniquely Taboo. It is always nice to find his work, even when light conditions for photography aren’t too good.

4162. Cattle Market Road (9)

The large tunnel that runs underneath the railway tracks of Bristol Temple Meads station is home to a whole ton of graffiti, but is not a place I visit very often. It was great to see, therefore, on my most recent visit this magnificent skull piece by Dabuten Tronko.

Dabuten Tronko, Cattle Market Road, Bristol, December 2021
Dabuten Tronko, Cattle Market Road, Bristol, December 2021

I have never met the artist, but would be really interested in doing so at some point, just to get a sense of what makes him tick. His pieces are always really interesting to look at and his technical ability top notch, marry those together and you get a creative beast staring at you from the wall. This grim reaper figure has a bit of a tattoo artist feel to it, although I don’t think Dabuten Tronko is a tattoo artist. A satisfying find.

4161. North Street

My love for wheatpastes is a theme that runs through my posts on Natural Adventures, but sadly, there is not much of a paste-up culture in Bristol, and I think, perhaps counterintuitively, that it is less tolerated by the authorities than spray-painting. It is good therefore, that from time to time visiting wheatpasters visit the city and pop up a few decorations for us to enjoy, like this one from qWeRT.

qWeRT, North Street, Bristol, December 2021
qWeRT, North Street, Bristol, December 2021

If you like what you see here, it might be worth a quick look at the qWeRT gallery I put together some time ago, but have updated just now. qWeRT has used the rather tatty door as a perfect spot for the bug-eyed character to express its love, a great sentiment that we could all do with plenty of.

4160. M32 Spot (128)

It has been a pleasure and a privilege to see so many Logoe pieces go up over the past three months or so. I guess that we will have to enjoy them while they are here, because the nature of his work might keep him away from the streets for much of the spring and summer.

Logoe, M32 Spot, Bristol, December 2021
Logoe, M32 Spot, Bristol, December 2021

This is an utterly awesome piece of writing on the long wall under the M32, incidentally, one of my favourite walls in Bristol, even if it can be a bit tricky to photograph. Painted on a backdrop of earthy and subdued colours, the piece follows his tried and tested format of joined up script writing spelling out ‘Logoe’ liberally decorated with spots running horizontally through the lettering. All very nicely done and filling the space expertly. More to come from this purple patch from Logoe.