Over the Christmas break, I was able to take some slightly longer lunchtime walks than usual, and walked the length of the River Avon from Sparke Evans Park to Temple Meads Station. , and I am surely glad that I did, because I picked up a whole load of new, and some old, pieces, including this fun piece from Haka.
Haka, Feeder Road, Bristol, December 2021
This writing/character combination incorporates a rather lovely rendition of Thomas the Tank Engine, which Haka has pimped slightly with the addition of CK in front of the number 1 to pay tribute to his friend CK One (RIP), as he does on every piece he paints. This is a fun piece and so typically Haka, if you know what I mean.
I don’t know what has happened to time recently, but there seems to be an awful lot less of it, or my life is just filling up with too much stuff. It doesn’t help that I have gone back to work today and there is a lot of catching up to do. I am getting my excuses in early as to why this post is late.
Inkie, Hotwell Road, Bristol, November 2021
I haven’t had time to research this piece by Inkie, so I am not too sure I can tell you much about it. I do know that it was painted for the Vanguard street art and Toward 2030 project, both of which organise walls for environmental/social themes. ‘Always seeking knowledge’ seems to be an admirable message and one that works well in Inkie’s characteristic writing on such an enormous wall.
Inkie, Hotwell Road, Bristol, November 2021
The wall is not only large, but is also very uneven, with loads of ridges and raised areas that Inkie has had to navigate. There are two studious characters at the bottom of the piece clearly seeking their own knowledge. This is classic Inkie at his very best, and well worth seeking out.
More from Mest, which is usually something to enjoy, and this is a great example of his versatile use of colours and fill shadings to switch up his letters a little bit. I have said it before, but I am not fond of the brown/orange combination, but I have to admit it works well in this piece, and although painted in the winter has an autumnal feel about it.
Mest, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, November 2021
Sparke Evans Park is becoming more and more popular and I am definitely going to have to increase the frequency of my visits. The dog always likes walking down alongside the river, but it does take quite a long time to get down there, especially if there is heavy traffic. I have a whole ton more pieces to post from this particular visit back in November.
Hire, an artist who I like very much, has been a little bit more active over the last month or so, which is great to see. This is a tribute piece in Dean Lane, which sat alongside one of his other recent works. I’m not too sure about the background to the tribute.
Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2021
Nice letters and colours combine to spell out DALLA in a rather subdued style, compared to Hire’s usual busy work. A very nice piece indeed.
One of my favourite writers in Bristol at the moment is the Spanish artist Claro_que_sssnoh. His distinctive pieces are sometimes associated with his HMR crew and sometimes, like this one, as stand alone pieces.
Claro_que_sssnoh, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, December 2021
Claro seems to particularly favour this spot for his solo work and at any one time there may be several of his pieces here of varying ages. What makes his work distinctive is that the letters are made up of a continuous line of script, like joined up writing, which is quite unusual in graffiti writing in my experience. Beautifully colourful and nicely finished, this is a fine piece from Claro.
In the last few months, Slakarts has had a bit of a renaissance and what fun it has been. His familiar portrait pieces have been given more body and depth and are all the better for it.
Slakarts, M32 roundabout, Bristol, December 2021
This is a perfect example of his newer work, where the character is lifted off the wall rather than being flat. Depth is an important development in street art work, and Slakarts is achieving it in bucket loads at the moment. An all round lovely piece.
The PWA boys were so very busy in 2021, and their numbers swelled with the additions of Nightwayss, Zake and Chill. Few spots in Bristol were untouched by their joyful collaborations, among them this fine wall at the M32 roundabout.
Soap, M32 roundabout, Bristol, December 2021
To the left is a well crafted piece of writing from Soap with some curious and interesting ideas creeping in, including the slogan, much used by street artists, ‘eat the rich’. The whole thing is liberally sprinkled with cut gemstones, something I must ask Soap about next time I see him.
Zake, M32 roundabout, Bristol, December 2021
The middle section of this triptych is by Zake with a characteristic face, full of expression and beautiful contours exaggerated by skilful shading and highlighting. The face also has a hand which is operating a little string puppet. There is a story here, but I am not too sure what it is.
Face 1st, M32 roundabout, Bristol, December 2021
The final part of the collaboration is by Face 1st and it is a really fabulous bit of writing, sans smiling girl. Lots of gunge oozing from the 3D lettering, which seems to have been a bit of a thing for Face 1st in 2021. There was a fourth part to this collaboration, which was the Nightwayss piece I posted a few days ago, but it didn’t sit as part of the symmetry of these three pieces.
Happy New year to you all. I hope that 2022 brings considerably more good fortune than 2021 for people and the planet.
The best part of discovering Elton Street was, if I am honest, having a chance to see this absolute beauty from Hazard. She really has gone from strength to strength over the last year, incorporating some abstract themes into her portrait work, and I stand by the comment I made about her Wilder Street mural that she has elevated herself into the world class tier.
Hazard, Elton Road, Bristol, December 2021
The themed colours for all the pieces in Elton Street were pinks and blues (Clare Grogan would be thrilled) and Hazard has incorporated these perfectly into this portrait piece. I think that this would have to rate highly in my favourite of all pieces of 2021, alongside her Wilder Street mural. Outstanding.
An artist whose work I really rate, but never seem to have many photographs of is Conrico, or Conrico Steez as he signs himself. I think that part of this discrepancy is that he paints many of his pieces in places that I don’t tend to go all that often. Anyhow I managed to snap this rather fun column piece under Brunel Way recently.
Conrico, Brunel Way, Bristol, December 2021
If I am honest, circular column pieces are a pain in the backside because of the difficulty in capturing the whole thing in one shot. I often think that it would be good if phones could do panoramas the opposite way round… if that makes sense, then columns would be a piece of cake. The character face has that Conrico life about it, derived from the style he uses which is like drawing with spray paint. Good to see.
Since changing his moniker from Eman to Werm, Werm has been getting busier and busier and is constantly developing his writing styles and his characters. One thing for sure is that he is a fast learner and adds weight to the saying ‘practice makes perfect’… he practices a lot.
3F fino and Werm (Eman), Cumberland Basin, Bristol, December 2021
This writing and character combo, by LRS crew members 3F fino and Werm, is under Brunel Way in, where the light conditions are always a massive challenge for taking photographs. The character is by 3F fino and I think is a bear or something from Star Wars or something. The writing by Werm uses his currently favoured heavy block letters, spelling WERM, which can be seen in multiple spots around the city. In recent years, the LRS crew have certainly made themselves highly visible in the city.
Natural adventures 