5221. Cumberland Basin

Lee Roy, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2023
Lee Roy, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2023

The quickest of quick ones this morning. It is my wife’s sixtieth birthday today, and there is much celebrations to do, and guests to prepare for.

Lee Roy, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2023
Lee Roy, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2023

Sunny days and a dazzlingly bright piece from Lee Roy, who has been painting a lot lately. He has jazzes this piece up a little with the inclusion of a rather scary cat. Great work, marred only by the sight of a shadow-selfie… it happens sometimes.

5198. M32 roundabout J3 (473)

Kosc, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2023
Kosc, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2023

Kosc is always on fire, whether it is his graffiti writing or his character pieces, he never disappoints. This is another outstanding piece of writing painted in day glow orange tones, a colour that he favours, but one that fades if left out inn the elements for too long.

Kosc, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2023
Kosc, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2023

The letters spell out Kosc and have his trademark ‘rivets’ in place at certain junctions in the lettering, making the whole thing look like a piece of metalwork. The transition of fill colours is exceptional, and the shading within each letter creates a fabulous 3D effect. I think that Kosc may have missed a bit of shading on the far left part of the letter ‘K’, a minor detail, but you can’t unsee it.

5165. Dean Lane skate park (590)

Bean, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2023
Bean, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2023

It seems that we have another new artist on the block who is already making a name for themselves with some imaginative character pieces dotted around the place. The artist’s name is Bean, and what better way to introduce Bean than with this fabulous character piece in Dean Lane.

Bean, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2023
Bean, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2023

I have a feeling that the way Bean works is to draft up a digital sketch and reproduce it on a large scale with spray paints. The way the solid fills work would indicate that approach. Some nice touched here, the monocle and zip certainly add something. I have a feeling that we are going to see an awful lot of Bean this year, judging by the work rate over the last month or two.

5057. M32 roundabout J3 (455)

Stivs, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2023
Stivs, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2023

Stivs has been absolutely smashing it with his character pieces lately. Better known for his calligraffiti writing, who knew that his artistic skills are so much broader than that. He really is an exceptionally talented and diligent artist.

Stivs, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2023
Stivs, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2023

This beautiful girl character piece forms the letter ‘S’ in the middle of DSC, his crew letters and he has named this piece Dodgy Sheila Crew – playing with the letters. Stivs is using these orange tones in his character pieces at the moment, and they are extremely effective, in a way that greens, blues and greys etc might not be.

Stivs, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2023
Stivs, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2023

I am including an almost complete piece that Stivs painted a day or two before this one, which had been painted overt by the time I went back to get a clean shot of the finished work. It is another stunning portrait piece. In recent weeks Stivs has taken his work onto another level.

4979. M32 Cycle path (194)

Stivs, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, Jnuary 2023
Stivs, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, January 2023

I had meant to post this piece some time ago, but it just didn’t happen. The first time I photographed this rather special piece by Stivs, the lighting conditions were shocking and my pictures rendered useless. I got there in the end.

Stivs, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, Jnuary 2023
Stivs, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, January 2023

The vibrant piece seems to have a lot of robot action going on, almost in the style of Transformers. This is far removed from the calligraffiti we are used to seeing from Stivs, and shows us a completely different string to his artistic bow. All in different shades of orange and red, this is a stunner on the cycle path.

4604. M32 roundabout J3 (419)

In the next couple of posts I have taken a deep dive back into my archive, randomly picking out a year and month and publishing a piece that slipped through the net at the time. This blast from the past is a fine piece of writing from Elvs painted back in April 2020.

Elvs, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2020
Elvs, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2020

There is always so much to admire in Elvs’ work, in particular his ability to replicate these complicated patterns of letters, with apparent ease and consistency, keeping his unique style very much intact. The grey letters on the orange background works exceptionally well, and this is such an eye-catching piece. It is a mystery that I didn’t post it at the time.

4117. Dean Lane skate park (446)

Painted alongside Rozalita and 3F fino on the Sally Army wall at Dean Lane skate park, this striking portrait is by Tao.create. I have only seen a handful of pieces by the artist and I have liked what I have seen so far, but this is the best yet and introduces her work to a larger and more engaged audience.

Tao.create, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2021
Tao.create, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2021

The bright portraits demands to be looked at and is big, bold and colourful. Some elements are better painted than others, the hair is very nicely done, and some of the features more developed than others (for example the nose has more work and detail than the mouth). I would like to think that Tao.create will continue to develop her obvious skills and follow in the footsteps of other Bristol portrait artists such as Pekoe and Hazard. Definitely one to look out for.

3489. Brunel Way bridge (90)

My heart always beats a little faster when I find a new Sepr piece, and this one, part of a full wall collaboration, is pure Sepr at his creative best. As with so many of the great Bristol character painters, it is often very difficult to know what is going on, but art I guess is partly the intention of the artist and partly the interpretation of the viewer.

Sepr, Brunel Way, Bristol, February 2021
Sepr, Brunel Way, Bristol, February 2021

The rather concerned character seems to be holding a mask with a happy face on it, so maybe this piece is about hiding our true feelings and emotions behind a happy facade. The soft touch and expert spray work from Sepr is epitomised by the shades of orange on the character’s shirt giving the material depth and texture. This is a tour de force from one of the very best in Bristol.

Nasal assault

.

Orange in colour

orange in name peeled to pith

surroundaroma

.

by Scooj

2980. Brunel Way bridge (33)

I managed to catch this piece literally minutes before it was painted over. The artists were on site having a quick smoke before getting started. I am pleased to have made it in time because even for the high standards expected from Rezwonk, this is an outstanding piece.

Rezwonk, Brunel Way, Bristol, May 2020
Rezwonk, Brunel Way, Bristol, May 2020

Spelling out REZER, the piece is painted using a gorgeous palette  of red, orange and yellow tones set on a white and orange background. To describe the fills fully would take way too long, but suffice it to say that there is a lot of craftsmanship involved and they are beautifully done. Linger for a while and study each letter. Magnificent work.