It’s that wonderful Mr Crawls again, treating us to another of his cartoon birds, this one on what’s left of the hoardings along the Bristol to Bath cycle path at Greenbank. This rather jolly bird character is a reminder of the wide range of birds that Mr Crawls has in his armoury.
The blue colour of the plumage decorated with darker dots gives the bird an almost comical appearance. More nice work from Mr Crawls.
I did a double take when I first set eyes on this piece, because the first thought that came into my head was that this was a piece by Subtle (what has happened to him?), and although there is plenty here to support that thought it quickly became obvious that this was another chunky Cobo piece.
The richly coloured letters spell out COBER, and are big and bold, almost like rocks. The little character looks a bit like a seal or a dog, but they can both look alike, so I am not going to fixate about it. Overall this is a strong piece from Cobo who seems to be getting into a bit of a rhythm with a series of great pieces recently.
My one hundredth post from Greenbank and what better way to celebrate such a landmark than with this stunning face piece by Zake. Over the last few years, Zake has been one of the most regular artists in Bristol, either painting solo or with his PWA friends.
In this piece Zake has gone large, and to give you some idea of scale, this portrait stands at about 7-8 feet tall. As always with Zake’s work, the contours and texture of the face are created by a wonderful contrasting of light and shade, giving the appearance of deep furrows and folds in the subject’s skin. Zake pretty much always paints in this cartoon style and I think it would be really interesting to see if he could paint something a little more realistic in terms of proportion and features, just as a one-off… I think he would smash it.
I am happy this year that I have done Halloween justice, which is not always the case. This piece on the not-so-long-anymore hoarding at Greenbank is by occasional visiting artist Olek McBolek, who has painted on this stretch once or twice before, which is impressive given that his locations listed on Instagram are Glasgow and Berlin. I imagine he has friends in Bristol.
This is a really good Halloween piece combining the emblematic and obligatory pumpkin sitting above a mass of skeleton remains, which have been very well painted and represented. There is a strong and confident style here that reflects an artist in full control. The letters spell S8E, commonly adopted in his work, although I don’t know what they mean. A pleasant surprise find.
Another fine character piece from the irrepressible Bean, on the long hoardings (getting less long by the month) along the Bristol to Bath cycle path. Subsequent to my visit to thak this picture, he has added another character piece adjacent to this one.
The character, painted in his distinctive two-tone style, is representative of a sub-culture, with baseball cap, gold ring and chain and spray can to hand – I hasten to add that most street/graffiti artists don’t look like this, but they certainly paint like this. Still more to come from the prolific Bean.
This is the second Cobo piece I have posted in a short space of time and the second featuring a cat, which is nice to see. His big fat chrome/grey letters spell out Cober and are full of depth and character, and resemble large monolithic rock formations.
The cat is not exactly what I would call cute, but is a really nice addition to his writing. Overall, this is an impressive and imposing piece from an accomplished artist, who has a preference for decorating transport vehicles, but who has done a great job here.
If the writing is curiously-shaped, monolithic and coloured in earthy muted hues, then it is highly likely to be by Dog Bless the Band. If it also spells MOTEL, then it is definitely by him. This modest piece fits all the criteria perfectly.
So earthy is this piece, that it appears to have emerged from the soil beneath it, perfectly matching the undergrowth that seamlessly rolls along the ground and up the hoarding. This is deliberate and skilfully done. I like the comment “I’m 37% nettle stings”, an occupational hazard, painting this stretch of hoarding. In my view, this is a really classy piece painted in a style, touching on anti-style while just about remaining within certain conventions. Love it.
More from the RBF Barbie extravaganza, this time from Barbie Bbygwya or Barbie Flux, both of which would make brilliant Barbies in my opinion. I can’t help thinking that Bbygwya probably had to work really hard with this piece, because it really isn’t representative of her style. What it does show, however, is that Bbygwya is very talented and versatile.
The letters are big, bold, and have a 3D drop shadow, and the writing really pops out from the wall. I love the words “this Barbie hates cops”, because it makes me laugh. The little egg is an artefact from an RBF Easter paint jam, which has been pimped with a pink flower and pink handbag, all in the Barbie spirit. I really rate this unusual piece from a lovely artist.
The Barbie RBF paint jam is the gift that keeps on giving, and this is Barbie Bnie’s interpretation of the theme. Bnie has definitely stepped out of her normal style, as in fairness, have all the other artists, to create this stylised writing to match that of the Mattel doll brand. Lots of pink, a heart, soft curves and a yellow border.
I think that the paint jam theme was an inspired and contemporary choice, and gave us a glimpse at how an all-female crew (and Jody) would interpret and fashion their Own Barbie style. For me, the heart with a ‘Hi’ in it perfectly captures the mood. I have a feeling, although I can’t be certain that Bnie had more than a hand in creating the RBF (Resting Barbie Face) piece that accompanied the paint jam pieces, but was unsigned, although the more I look at it the less sure I am. Great work from Bnie.
The sun wasn’t being kind when I took these pictures of Mind 49’s wonderful car piece recently, and these photographs really don’t do justice to the vibrant green paint used for the car. This amazing piece I find a little paradoxical, but I have got my head around it. There are elements that are a little ‘off’, for example the tyres are a little out of shape, and yet the reflections in the glass and panels of the car are nothing short of brilliant. The windows in particular give the impression that the car has been parked under some trees. An amazing effect.
Sitting over the car is a huge number 49, a number that plays a significant part in Mind 49’s life, having changed his moniker from Mind Control a year or two back. If you look carefully, he has also written the letters MIND in tiny little letters over the side of the car. This piece is a real treat and one of my favourite of the year so far. Note to self: isn’t it about time we had a Mind gallery?
Natural adventures 