This door is getting some great attention, with Daz Cat, Slakarts and now Soap all giving it a coat of paint in recent months. This is a classic piece of soap work, almost like a mega-tag and takes me back to when I first became aware of his style.
Soap, M32 cycle path, Bristol, December 2020
I don’t know what Soap calls this character/tag but to me it looks like a double mouthed skull, clever stuff. I imagine that Soap can probably spray throw ups like this one in his sleep, although that probably belittles the skill needed to spray anything half-decent on a wall and this is way more than half-decent.
I wasn’t expecting to find one Rosalita piece, so to find two was a treat, but three in one place in one day is what my grandmother would call a ‘red letter day’. This is the third sumptuous offering from Rosalita, joined in the collaborative wall by 3F Fino.
Rosalita and 3F Fino, M32 cycle path, Bristol, November 2020
On the left of the wall is an acrobatic cherub in pink doing a handstand on a skull while shooting an arrow from a bow with its feet. Is this a take on Cupid? The other half of the wall has a character climbing through a hole in the wall dressed in a balaclava, jumpsuit and green gloves. All a bit off-the-wall, almost literally, but good fun nonetheless. A happy find, which unfortunately only lasted a week or so, which is unusual, because this wall has a pretty low rate of turnover usually.
It was during a recent impromptu paint jam along the M32 cycle path that I was lucky enough to meet Zake for the first time. I had seen him paint once before, but not stopped for a chat. Luckily I arrived just as everyone was finishing off, so I had the double delight of not only meeting so many artists, but also taking photographs of the pieces in their freshest possible state.
Zake, M32 cycle path, Bristol, November 2020
This is a rather likeable monster figure with long arms extending from a stumpy body. I like the direction his work is taking and it has come a long way from his earlier column pieces at the M32 spot. I like to look at details in pieces and here he has added a little window to the right of the piece, and the light cast has given a little bright highlight on the monster’s back. These little things matter. Lovely piece.
You can go months without seeing anything from Rosalita and then out of the blue, three gorgeous pieces come along at once and each of them within fifty metres of each other. This is the second cherub piece I have posted in recent days and carries with it the message ‘We may not have it altogether, but together we have got it all’. This is a clever wordplay mechanism called a chiasmus (I love these) for example ‘I’d rather have a full bottle in front of me than a full frontal lobotomy’ or ‘It’s not the men in my life that count, it’s the life in my men’ (thank you, Mae West).
Rosalita, M32 cycle path, Bristol, November 2020
The cherubs, one reclining and being comforted by the other, are suitably chubby and have been beautifully crafted. The fills add an extra layer of depth and intrigue. Both of the cherubs look rather sad and I wonder if they reflect the time we live in and the terrible year we have all experienced. Lovely piece.
Last weekend, a chance meeting with Sam Spade (a street art hunter) in St Werburghs tunnel, led to one of those perfect moments for photographing street art and meeting artists. He told me that there was a lot of activity on the M32 cycle path, behind the Black Swan and that I ought to get myself over there. I was heading in that direction anyway, but the light was fading and I might just as easily have headed home. Luckily I went to take a look and there was a paint jam of about seven or eight artists just coming to an end, many of whom I hadn’t met before (more on that in posts to come).
Sled One, M32 cycle path, Bristol, November 2020
This piece from Sled One had already been completed, and he was just hanging around watching the other artists as they completed their work. Sled One is one of the most gifted artists I know, and he seems to be able to create stunning work, graffiti writing or character pieces, with consummate ease. Here the letters spell out SLED (although it almost looks like he has slipped in an extra D) in a selection of letter shapes and colour shadings. The red and blue cloud clumps add an extra dimension to this fine piece of writing.
What a wonderful, wonderful surprise it was to find this gorgeous piece by Rosalita (RAW) on the M32 cycle path recently, and better than that, it was one of three – others to follow soon. Rosalita is an enigmatic artist, making only rare appearances on the walls of Bristol, but her presence however rare is always welcome.
Rosalita, M32 cycle path, Bristol, November 2020
This previously unpainted column (it had been tagged), quite unusual at this location, is the perfect spot for this amazing little cherub, perching on a skull. The piece is really unusual and the character beautifully painted and filled with a yellow base and red highlights, finished off with some beautiful tattoo decorations in blue. This is a heavenly piece (peace?) and a welcome addition to the writing we are more used to seeing around here. I can’t wait to post her other associated murals.
Another little trip into my archives to share this outstanding piece of graffiti writing from Spanish artist Claro_que_sssnoh from August this year. At the time I took the photograph, I’m not certain I knew who the artist was and so it stayed in my archives waiting to be freed.
Claro_que_sssnoh, M32 cycle path, Bristol, August 2020
Claro (I am shortening the name to save my sanity) has produced an absolutely stunning piece with so much to admire. The joyful pinks and blues set a happy tone for the writing which is out of the top drawer. It is those pink spots though that grab the eye and make this a memorable piece. Mouthwatering.
Another very nice piece from Pl8o, an artist who I would put in a cluster along with Phour, Mena and Mest, because they all have a similar approach to their work. Each of these artists write their names clearly and legibly in predominantly the same style from piece to piece, but the magic is in how they decorate and fill the letters. Pl8o is perhaps the one who tinkers with his letter shapes more than the others, but his pieces are always instantly recognisable.
Pl8o, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, November 2020
This one on the cycle path is in pinks set on a blue background, always a winning formula, and the letters are broken up by fine blue lines creating an interesting effect. To add further interest, the 8 has been split into two pinks. This is a lovely piece from an emerging talent whose work is improving all the time.
About a week ago I posted a piece by Mena for the first time on Natural Adventures and it was well overdue. Over the coming weeks and months I intend to free several more Mena pieces from my archives, starting with this one painted in May this year on the M32 cycle path, a favourite haunt of hers.
Mena, M32 cycle path, Bristol, May 2020
Mena tends to stick to a regular letter structure, with a central kink and a leaning to the right. The rest is all about the fills, shadows and decorations. It is always great to buff a wall first, it prevents any distractions getting in the way of the piece itself, and in this case sets a neutral background for the dark colours and neon green line running through the piece. Nice tidy work.
I have a lot of photographs of graffiti writing by Mest, but have only posted a couple so far. He is an artist who sticks to a fairly strict formula in that his letter shapes are usually pretty similar, but it is his fills and colours that change from piece to piece.
Mest, M32 cycle path, Bristol, November 2020
In this one he treats us with a chrome, grey and green colour palette that works really well, and for good measure he has painted a few bubbles too. There is a lot more to come from Mest, so watch this space.
