This year, as in most recent years, Pekoe really celebrated her birthday in style with the RBF crew and associates. Wispa came along for the ride and painted this fabulous writing/character combination piece.
Unfortunately I don’t know who the rather cute character with attitude is, but she is painted as beautifully as you’d expect from Wispa, who always finished her work so well, with crispness and sharpness. All aspects of this piece come together really well. Bravo Wispa!
It is a funny thing, but when you have been observing and documenting street art as long as I have, you get to notice things that many others simply wouldn’t, and you can pretty much always spot talent and promise from the vast spectrum of artwork and graffiti appearing on our walls daily.
To Many, this piece by Alex Arnell wouldn’t elicit a second glance, but the child-like scribble is a deliberate style that challenges the status quo. One of the indications that this piece is by a capable artist is the shading on the character’s nose, giving it depth, something a child would not do. The grotesque and alarming face is surrounded with slogans and words, and there is even another head that mimics the central character. I couldn’t end this post without mentioning the butterflies that are associated with some of Alex Arnell’s work, and the little Banksy rat that has been given the Arnell treatment.
When you see the word ‘various’ for the location in the title of this blog post, you can be pretty certain that it will be a post of Klashwhensober’s work. I feel that the only way I can do him justice is to do a round up of his left-overs each month, such is his high productivity rate. Here are some pieces from November.
All the pieces spell out SOBER, but you can see simply from first inspection that some are more thought out than others and that the execution can be a little variable, probably reflecting Klashwhensober’s attitude and approach with each piece. Klashwhensober’s general development is steady, but it is not linear… meandering improvement might be a better description.
This blue piece is nice enough to look at, and it is clear that it was painted quickly. The paint is thinly spread, which might indicate that it is a bit of a ‘dregs’ piece.
Rounding off the quartet of pieces from November is this chrome piece, which is arguably the best of the bunch, painted down in Leonard Lane. There is more of a sharp feel to this one, with some nice little details and ‘dents’ in the lettering. Have no fear, there is still plenty more to come from Klashwhensober.
The Pirate Wall Art (PWA) crew have been a constant presence throughout 2023, adding to their ranks and adapting/growing/improving their artwork along the way. This is a lovely combination of pieces from Face 1st, Zake, Soap and the recently adopted Laic217.
Starting on the left is a fabulous melting face piece from Laic217. The disintegration of faces is a common theme in much of his work, and in this one the purple skin is dripping off, revealing a pink skull beneath. I love the addition of arrows piercing the smiley’s eyes on the bucket hat, although the beautifully worked shadows of the shafts are not consistent… where is the light source?
Next up is an outstanding piece of animated writing from Soap. He has incorporated characters from the cartoon show Adventure Time, namely Jake the Dog and, I am guessing, a Princess, but I don’t know which one. The letters spell SOAP in an imaginative way, and although painted in my least favourite spray paint colour are utterly awesome.
Zake has been switching things up lately, and in this piece he has painted a three-quarter cartoon profile, and this change of aspect means he has to think about shadings for a slight profile and the side of the head. He has managed to transition pretty well and incorporated tons of depth and texture with light and dark shading.
Finally, we have Face 1st, who has written the word FACE with a deep drop shadow, giving the impression that the letters are cut from a deep block. No girl’s happy faces on this one, but he has included a nice shout out to chill. Great work, once again from the PWA crew.
Well this one took me a little bit by surprise, because it is a piece of graffiti writing from Mind 49 who doesn’t usually major on his writing, in fact I think this is the first writing only piece I have seen from this talented artist. Some of his portrait and other pieces have included a few letters, but nothing on this scale.
Everything that you’d expect to see from a good graffiti writer is here… nice letter shapes, great colours and fills. The only thing that I think he needs to work on, and I am being super-picky, might be his outer border, which can be really unforgiving if the line is very thin. All in all, great to see something different from Mind 49, although, to be fair, all of his work is different from piece to piece. The piece fits a time context, with the ‘Free Palestine’ shout out.
A year or two ago, Slakarts was one of the more prolific artists in Bristol. I have a feeling that he is busy with work these days, which is, of course, good thing, but it means we get to see fewer pieces on the streets. These days, every piece is a very welcome surprise, like this one on the M32 roundabout.
Slakarts has developed his style considerably, developing his trademark faces into something altogether more sophisticated. This sophisticated abstract piece incorporates his face design into a busy mash up of facial features, letters and symbols to create a bright and exciting experience. I would love to see more of his work, but have to be grateful for small mercies.
Last week I posted a piece by Hypo that showed something of a development of his style into a more cryptic wildstyle approach. This piece on the other hand is the more familiar graffiti writing we expect to see from Hypo, and what a colour-burst it is too.
The letters are clear to read, and there is a real sense of joy and optimism about the piece. The colours come together as if they were sweets in a jar and the whole thing looks almost edible. I love the design, and the colour fades and decorations, I think though, and I know I am nit-picking, that the black shadow might have been a little tidier. Beautiful work from Hypo.
Almost a month late, but better late than never, I am sharing this wonderful Halloween piece from Bloem (Hiccup). Bloem has brought something different and rather special to the streets of Bristol, with her simple, yet creative ideas beautifully crafted.
What’s not to like about a spooky skeleton hand, complete with pink nails (of course), holding a fused pair of devil cherries with a smiley face on each. Slightly bonkers, but also great fun. I am very much enjoying Bloem’s contributions and look forward to the next ‘surprise’ she has in store.
By the time you read this, I will be in Birmingham for a greater team gathering, the first since Covid19 first struck, and long overdue. I will be (I am writing this last night) arriving 45 minutes early and will try to sniff out some street art in the Birmingham New Street area (if there is any – I know there is tons in the city, but I just don’t know where. Keeping my fingers crossed. This is a belter from Rusk, who makes his second appearance in as many days.
I would describe this piece as being funky, it reminds me of the rather carefree 1970s, when fashion and style took a monumental dive, which we can only now really appreciate through rose-tinted spectacles. Pulsating with colour and flashes, there is a lot of disco movement in the letters RUSK. Of course the whole thing is finished perfectly and a complete banger.
I met Hypo for the very first time when he was painting a piece adjacent to this one, which I sadly never got to photograph, because it had been painted over by the time I returned. What a lovely and interesting person Hypo is. I mentioned to him that he has been smashing it lately not only in quality of his pieces but in the quantity of them that he was turning out. He explained that he had been seriously ill a little while back and that while he was unable to work he was painting as part of his rehabilitation. It was good to see him looking well. It is amazing how our health completely shapes out lives, our losses and our opportunities.
I would not describe this as a typical Hypo piece, being a little more cryptic and busy than his more typical work. The black and white letters have plenty of extra details and lines and have been filled sparingly with coloured spots and stars. There are some nice shout outs to Hemper, Ulow, Soker and Minto, which puts his peers into clear context. Hypo painted this piece alongside his LDub mates Dun Sum and Zeks. Nice transformative work.
Natural adventures 