Tag: Graffiti

2636. St Werburghs tunnel (120)

Having only recently started posting pieces by Slakarts on Natural Adventures, it seems that more of his work is emerging, both on the streets recently and from my rummages in my archives.

Slakarts, St Werburghs, Bristol, December 2019
Slakarts, St Werburghs, Bristol, December 2019

This is a magnificent piece in St Werburghs tunnel, full of character and humour, and something of a departure from his usual stylised faces that can be a bit on the sombre side. This is a simply executed cartoon style piece that really stands out. It is a pity that it is so yellow/gold, because those colours seem to get exggerated by the orange lighting in the tunnel. More fun pieces please!

2635. M32 roundabout J3 (183)

Face 1st is really switching it up these days. His faces are becoming much more expressive and his writing more dynamic and I have to say it is all good from where I look at it. This is a really nice piece of writing with great colour selection and beautiful fills. The white outline could be a little tighter, but otherwise an outstanding piece.

Face 1st, M32 roundabout, Bristol, December 2019
Face 1st, M32 roundabout, Bristol, December 2019

I bought a T-shirt from Face 1st last week – it is a lovely design that he advertised on Instagram. He is such a kind bloke and delivered it personally. I felt terribly rude not to have invited him and his son in, but I was working from home and in the middle of some difficult stuff. I would like to sit with him for longer and chew the fat and get to know what is inspiring his expanding repertoire. So much more to come from Face 1st, he has been quite busy lately.

2634. Dean Lane skate park (267)

This is a recent piece from Hire in Dean Lane which appears to have been dogged with some green paint in the middle. The curious thing is that it is the same colour paint as that used in the background. I can only summise that the splodge was either self-inflicted or done by a passer-by who used the discarded can – either way it is a pity.

Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2019
Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2019

I like Hire’s work, it has such a distinctive Gothic style and is quite unlike ahy other graffiti writing in Bristol. Although I haven’t seen him for a long time, Hire is a quiet, unassuming and decent artist who has always stopped for a chat. Looking forward to more in 2020.

2633. St Werburghs tunnel (119)

Another interesting piece from Lobe, who really seems to have picked up the pace during the second half of 2019. Her stylised portraits are becoming more dynamic and expressive, but the same basic ingredients of strong lines and bold colours remains.

Lobe, St Werburghs, Bristol, December 2019
Lobe, St Werburghs, Bristol, December 2019

I am really struggling with the light quality in St Werburghs tunnel at the moment with most of my images lokig rather washed out and yellow. This washed out look is somewhat exacerbated when artists paint in yellow colours, because there is little I can do by way of adjusting the colours to make them more representative of what they actually look like. What I am really saying is sorry about the poor colour quality of these images.

2632. Stokes Croft

I have said before that there aren’t many paste ups in Bristol, however I seem to have found quite a few in recent weeks. This wonderful wheatpaste by qWeRT is one of several pasted up during a visit by the artist recently.

qWeRT, Stokes Croft, Bristol, December 2019
qWeRT, Stokes Croft, Bristol, December 2019

Tucked away behind a bus stop in Stokes Croft is this rather endearing googly eyed character. I would be prepared to bet that very few people waiting at the bus stop have even noticed this new addition to the colourful tagged wall behind them. I don’t actually know too much about qWeRT or where he/she comes from, but I have seen a lot of these characters in London, so I am guessing that might be qWeRT’s home. Still a few more to post from this recent Bristol binge.

 

 

2631. Dove Street

Finding this wheatpaste by Kid Crayon was like finding an old friend. I was on a slight detour from my usual route to work, and just caught a glimpse of it in my peripheral vision. How could I have never found this until now.

Kid Crayon, Dove Street, Bristol, December 2019
Kid Crayon, Dove Street, Bristol, December 2019

I think that this was probably pasted up around five years ago when Kid Crayon was doing a lot of this kind of work. Considering it’s age, it has survived remarkably well and I guess the fact that it is in a little recess in the wall has protected it a little from the elements. The find of the month, and it made me really happy.

2630. Dean Lane skate park (266)

There is something about the work of Elvs that I find rather compelling. His letters are so very distinct and always easy to identify. I love what he has done in this piece, using a little spaceship to create a ray of light over his writing and offer the opportunity to show off two discrete colour variants, one within the arc of light and the other outside it.

Elvs, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2019
Elvs, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2019

The piece is really clever and I’m not sure I have seen this kind of idea on a wall very often. As always, Elvs has turned out some really tight graffiti writing that speaks volumes to his great talent.

2629. The Bearpit (185)

It is only a few months ago that The Bearpit was a street art hub, and very much a ‘go to’ destination for street art tours and hunting in Bristol. But then the Council stepped in, painted all the walls with anti-graffiti paint, cleared out all the containers and a double decker bus that had been a cafe, but once closed became a squat.

It was as if the graffiti and street art was symbolic of the squallor and so it had to go. In my view it was the chronic homelessness problem in Bristol that was responsible for the decline in amenity value and increase in anti-social behaviour, but the Council know best and have created a sterile space.

Nothing happens there any more. No more artists, no more skateboarders, no more gardeners – it is a joyless place. I wonder where they have shifted the homeless people to. I know a bunch of them live in the underground car park near my work.

Tian, The Bearpit, Bristol, May 2019
Tian, The Bearpit, Bristol, May 2019

One of the last pieces I photographed there was this wonderful wheatpaste by French artist Tian, which was one of a series of wheatpastes he left us in and around the Stokes Croft area last spring. I guess on his next trip to Bristol he’ll have to give The Bearpit a wide berth.

2628. Shoreditch, London (35)

There is a great problem with street art, and that is that there is simply too much of it. I would think that for every piece I feature in Natural Adventures, there are probably two others I have photographed that never make it. That is why going back through my archives is such fun, bringing dormant pieces back to life.

Jaune, Shoreditch, London, April 2019
Jaune, Shoreditch, London, April 2019

This is a small piece from a trip I made to Shoreditch back in April this year painted by the artist Jaune, who specialises in pictures of waste disposal workers often in miniature like this one. It is great going to London occasionally hunting for street art, because there are many more internaional artists who visit there, compared with the provinces. Jaune I believe is from Brussels in Belgium, but I have never seen any of his work in Bristol.

2627. Barton Street

Continuing with the late release of prisoners from my archive, I bring you this extraordinary piece from April this year by Zase. The commission was one of two pieces that he painted and is at the back of Marlborough House, a student accommodation. Bristol has two universities and a whole ton of students, which is part of what makes Bristol so mixed and interesting, but the expansion of UWE in particular has led to a massive growth in student accommodation and many of the recent developments in the centre have been built by the universities.

Zase, Barton Road, Bristol, April 2019
Zase, Barton Road, Bristol, April 2019

I guess it is great to see the university promoting Bristol’s artists with a commmission like this, so I can’t really complain. Zase is a truly gifted artist who seems to be able to turn his hand to pretty much anything and here he has painted a fabulous seascape with racing yachts. I particularly like the pixellated effect of leaving a few bricks unpainted at the top of the piece.