Having only recently started to post pieces by Dopes, it was particularly gratifying to find this absolute beauty recently. Sprayed during a recent paint jam celebrating the opening of a relocated eatery, this piece really stood out, and ticks a lot of my boxes.
Dopes, City Road, Bristol, October 2021
The multi-coloured, beautifully and skilfully patterned fills are truly exceptional, and the white spots and trims provide the depth and 3D look. Dopes’ letter shapes are all very nice too, particularly the elaborate D. This is a belter of a piece of graffiti writing from the RAW man.
As with my previous post, this Subtle piece has languished in the ‘departure lounge’ of Natural Adventures since September. I had intended to publish it almost immediately, as I like to try and do with pieces that I really admire, but somehow it got leap-frogged and then fell down the list. I am very happy to have revived it.
Subtle, M32 roundabout, Bristol, September 2021
Subtle has not painted a huge amount this year, so finding this one was a real pleasure. This is a beautiful and touching tribute piece by Subtle for his cousin Sarah, who sadly passed away in September this year. It must have been difficult to paint, but probably means a lot to him, and to the family. It is a beautiful thing to do.
Subtle, M32 roundabout, Bristol, September 2021
Although Subtle doesn’t often do characters, I think that this is very nicely done, and it is something he should consider doing more of – the ones I have seen I have liked, and they offset the writing really well. A very fine tribute piece.
This lovely piece of graffiti writing from Claro_que_sssnoh has been sitting in my ‘departure lounge’ for months and months, it got left behind and dropped off my radar. In a recent clear up, I found it again, and have dusted it off for posting.
Claro_que_sssnoh, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, June 2021
The colours work quite well, although I am not too sure about the pink and the red being comfortable bedfellows, something doesn’t quite feel right. The letters, spelling HONS, are in typical Claro style, that is long and thin, combining smooth curves with angular elements, and filled with lots of circles and other decorations. Glad to have hauled this out of the pending list.
I always like finding new artists and recently, a few columns under the M32 have become a bit of a playground for Typo, so expect to see a few posts in coming days from this artist.
Typo, M32 Spot, Bristol, October 2021
Typo’s work is certainly rather different and is largely abstract in form, often accompanied by quite a lot of political or philosophical text. This colourful piece however has no words, other than the artist’s name cleverly incorporated into the overall design. Watch this space for a whole load more.
The Bristol street art scene simply wouldn’t be what it is without the metronomic consistency of artists like Face 1st. These artists provide the foundations upon which all other artists build their works and reputations, but without this underground culture, street art would likely struggle in the city. Just look at those towns which have no culture of graffiti or street art and then host a festival, the legacy although stunning dies off and appears to be fake. Don’t get me wrong, I love seeing street art wherever it is, but people like Face 1st provide an authenticity that you simply can’t replicate through commissions alone.
Face 1st, M32 roundabout, Bristol October 2021
This is a revisiting of one of Face 1st’s favourite themes, a girl’s laughing face with a hairdo made out of the word FACE. Lovely colours, nicely painted and everything I would want it to be.
A timely commentary piece from John D’oh, that is rightly sceptical about our ability to face up to the challenges of climate change, when we can’t even keep our rivers clean. As somebody who has spent more than half my working life on protecting rivers and river-based recreation, it is a pity that our rivers are still subjected to the most terrible pollution, but on the other hand, we must recognise the huge improvements that have occurred since the 1980s when Britain was referred to as the ‘dirty man of Europe’. I fear, for a host of reasons, that the phrase may once again be used to describe our nation as we continue to prioritise company profits over environmental outcomes.
John D’oh, Purdown Battery, Bristol, October 2021
The single-layer stencil from John D’oh features Brian Cox (I think) pondering whether “COP26 is going to be like our rivers… full of shit”. I sincerely hope not, and we must all rally round this conference as best we can to push forward better outcomes for our planet. The hard work begins now, and it will be up to citizens to demand more from their governments, but also to take personal responsibility for modifying their own behaviours. Less talk, more doing.
A thought-provoking stencil piece – thank you, John D’oh.
This lovely collaboration on the M32 roundabout took me a little while to unravel, although once unravelled it is blindingly obvious. To the left is a very ‘Haka’ Haka piece and the right hand side is a blended collaboration between Logoe and Sepr.
Haka, M32 roundabout, Bristol, October 2021
I probably haven’t posted nearly as many Haka pieces as I should have over the years, and might need to do a bit of digging in my archives to get a few more out there. This is a simple but joyful piece of writing from Haka with the ever-present shout out to CK1 RIP.
Logoe and Sepr, M32 roundabout, Bristol, October 2021
The Logoe/Sepr mash up is simply brilliant, and the second recent piece in a burst from Logoe who appears to have woken from a long slumber. The letters are by Logoe in his unique script style and the writing isn’t his usual message or lyric, but the year spelled out. The fills are beautifully done and colours reflective of the time of year. Sepr has contributed a face and hand into the mix and as a whole it works really well. This must have been a fun session.
As mentioned recently, Stivs has been absolutely smashing it recently, and this pair of pieces, on either side of the entrance to St Werburghs tunnel, is a wonderful recent addition to his expanding repertoire.
Stivs, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2021
To the left as you enter the tunnel is a fine bright greeting ‘good morning’ with dawn colours in the background. Cheerful and revitalising. This contrasts with the piece opposite.
Stivs, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2021
To the right is the ‘good night’ piece in black writing, set on a sunset background. The two complementary pieces are a perfect pair and a creative way of painting this particular spot. There seems to be no limit to Stiv’s ambition and energy at the moment, and that is a good thing.
On the wall adjacent to the recent Irony piece that I posted last week is this Upfest 21 contribution from John Curtis, a well-known Bristol artist who seems to be as comfortable painting large walls as he is with his canvasses.
John Curtis, West Street, Bristol, October 2021, Upfest 21
John Curtis’s USP is recreating Bristol urban landscapes, full of movement and light and chiming with locals because the subjects are usually familiar landmarks. This piece beautifully captures the M Shed and the old cranes that stand to attention on the harbourside.
John Curtis, West Street, Bristol, October 2021, Upfest 21
This sight would warm the hearts of any native of the city and is beautifully captured. A fine contribution to the 75 walls in 75 days event.
This leaves me with only three more pieces to post from Upfest’s 75×75. Two of them I know about, but haven’t yet been able to photograph, but the last one evades me, so I am going to have to do some detective work before I can complete the whole set.
What you see is what you get from Merny (Morny). This is a fun piece painted in his illustrative style that contains little lines and points as if it were a set of instructions for an Airfix model or a diagram in a Haynes Manual.
Morny (Merny), M32 roundabout, Bristol, October 2021
In this piece it would appear that a story is unfolding of a nuclear family having a day out. ‘Dad’ is chilling and drinking a beer. ‘The kids’ are calling out “wait for me Linda!” And Linda (or mum) or dad are going on about parallel parking. I suspect that Merny based the concept on a real life event, but I have no evidence for that. All good fun though and wonderfully animated and vibrant.
Natural adventures 