5087. Brunel Way (197)

Pekoe and Bnie, Brunel Way, Bristol, March 2023
Pekoe and Bnie, Brunel Way, Bristol, March 2023

Some things work so well together, strawberries and cream, Morecambe and Wise, Pekoe and Bnie. These two from the Resting Bitch Face (RBF) crew seem to have a great rapport, which rubs off when they collaborate.

Pekoe, Brunel Way, Bristol, March 2023
Pekoe, Brunel Way, Bristol, March 2023

This pairing was painted alongside Wispa, but I decided to post them separately as these two followed a strict colour scheme. To the left is a really fabulous portrait piece from Pekoe, which includes an upper torso, something of a rarity in her work. The hair is fantastic – I absolutely love this piece.

Bnie, Brunel Way, Bristol, March 2023
Bnie, Brunel Way, Bristol, March 2023

To the right is some outstanding technicolour writing from Bnie, beautifully designed and executed. The piece is totally on point, and I love the clever touch with the outer border, which is pink and white along thee top, and blue and white underneath. This is a nicely thought out and eye-catching piece.

5048. M32 Cycle path (199)

 

Pekoe, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, February 2023
Pekoe, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, February 2023

It is a curious thing when an artist paints over their own work, but that is what happened in this instance. Maybe Pekoe didn’t like her last portrait piece here, or maybe she didn’t want to paint over anyone else’s work out of politeness, who knows, but the replacement is an upgrade in my view, and anything from her is always a bonus in my book.

Pekoe, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, February 2023
Pekoe, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, February 2023

The portrait is painted in purple tones, with blue hair, and the girl carries a slightly anxious expression. Many of Pekoe’s portraits are tinged with sadness, but I don’t think that is the case here, for a start, there are no tears. Some subtle shading brings depth to the face, and the white circles emphasise the lips and eyes. This is another beautiful piece from Pekoe.

Pekoe, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, February 2023
Pekoe, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, February 2023

5018. M32 cycle path (197)

Pekoe, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, February 2023
Pekoe, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, February 2023

There has never been a time when I haven’t been absolutely made up to find a portrait piece from the wonderful Pekoe. It feels like quite a while since her last piece, so this one was a very welcome find.

Pekoe, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, February 2023
Pekoe, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, February 2023

Of course, the portrait has many of the characteristics you’d associate with Pekoe’s work; big hair, sad eyes, great shading to bring out the features and incredible presence. I would have to say that I am not entirely sure about the colour scheme, a little bit too much brown and orange for my liking, but overall this is another wonderful shot in the arm from Pekoe.

4914. Elton Street (13)

Pekoe, Elton Street, Bristol, December 2022
Pekoe, Elton Street, Bristol, December 2022

There is never a dull moment following Bristol street art, but on top of the pleasure of seeing new work every trip out, there is the added excitement of finding new pieces from favourite artists, and Pekoe is one of those artists. Seeing her work gives me that added tingle of excitement.

Pekoe, Elton Street, Bristol, December 2022
Pekoe, Elton Street, Bristol, December 2022

This piece on one of the boards in Elton Street is an absolute classic Pekoe big hair portrait, and is presented in bright bold colours that grab the attention. There is a genuine honesty about Pekoe’s work that is never too self-indulgent or showy, she gets it about right every time. This one is a real beauty.

4885. Upfest 2022 (60)

Bnie, Vozie, Pekoe and Evey, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Bnie, Vozie, Pekoe and Evey, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

This collaboration is an absolute belter from the RBF crew and brings together the talents of Bnie, Vozie, Pekoe and Evey in one magnificent board.

Bnie, Vozie, Pekoe and Evey, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Bnie, Vozie, Pekoe and Evey, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

It was great to watch the crew paint this piece on a gorgeous day in late May, which felt like a genuinely joyous celebration of art and music in a totally Bristol context.

Bnie and Vozie, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Bnie and Vozie, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

The colour scheme adopted was sustained across the whole collaborative piece and combines the colours pink and blue that seem to have been a bit of a thing this year. On the left, Bnie and Vozie spoilt us with two superb examples of great graffiti writing.

Pekoe, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Pekoe, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

The centrepiece of the collaboration was this magnificent portrait piece by Pekoe and arguably her finest piece of the year, although the bar she set herself was pretty high.

Evey, and Bnie?, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Evey, and Bnie?, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

On the right, Evey rounded the piece off with a huge shout-out to themselves with an RBF which I think might have been painted by Bnie at a guess. Some beautiful work from a beautiful group of people.

4818. St Werburghs tunnel (318)

Pekoe, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2022
Pekoe, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2022

There are a handful of artists whose work fills me with a little tingle of excitement each time I came across their work, and Pekoe is right up there with the best of them. Her portraits feel like part of the furniture of the Bristol scene, and represent what is so good about the range and diversity of the city’s street art.

Pekoe, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2022
Pekoe, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2022

This piece was another RBF contribution to Bnie’s birthday celebrations a week or so back. A three-quarter view portrait with a blue face and ginger hair… what’s not to like about this colourful piece? The downturned mouth makes the woman look a little grumpy perhaps, but there is a friendly sparkle in the eyes. Pekoe has added in some clever shading, both on the face and in the hair, to give the whole portrait depth and texture. This is another fine piece from the wonderful Pekoe.

4786. Cumberland Basin

Hika and Pekoe, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, October 2022
Hika and Pekoe, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, October 2022

This is an unexpected collaboration between Hika and Pekoe… unexpected because I don’t really know much about Hika, although I do know all about RBF’s Pekoe. The two have combined nicely and there is much to like about the collaboration.

Hika and Pekoe, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, October 2022
Hika and Pekoe, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, October 2022

Hika’s letters might appear, on first inspection, to be a bit messy, but take a closer look and they are nice and clean with decent fills and a black 3D drop shadow. Some of the embellishments include red squiggles, and some rather nice yellow drips.

Pekoe, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, October 2022
Pekoe, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, October 2022

Regulars will know how much I admire Pekoe’s work, and this is a lovely portrait piece from her. Perhaps the most unusual thing about this one is the hairstyle. Pekoe’s portraits usually host big hair full of stars and shapes, but this one has a stylish short cut that works really well on the limited height of this space. Beautiful big eyes and a customary tear – great work from Pekoe. All in all, a really nice collaboration from this pair.

4699. Dean Lane skate park (526)

Pekoe, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2022
Pekoe, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2022

A really quick one this morning. I have to make an unexpected trip and won’t have much time for blogs. This is a pity, because it feels like an age since I last posted anything by Pekoe.

Pekoe, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2022
Pekoe, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2022

This piece was painted for the annual Dean Lane Hardcore (DLH) event a couple of weeks ago, when skating, music and spray painting come together in a raucous and fun festival. All a bit loud for me, so I decided not to attend. I don’t mind what the reason for getting Pekoe out to paint, I will always welcome her work.

4424. Greenbank (44)

Another wonderful piece from Pekoe, painted during a bit of a purple patch, when she seems to be getting out and about rather a lot, which can only be a good thing. This stunning portrait was painted alongside RBF crew friends and carried the blue background theme that bound the pieces on the collaborative wall together.

Pekoe, Greenbank, Bristol, April 2022
Pekoe, Greenbank, Bristol, April 2022

Pekoe has a remarkable talent for painting these portraits, which are so distinctly her work. I guess that the difference between her work, and the work of photorealists is that her style shines through, whereas sometimes it can be difficult to identify a photorealist artist. I am not sure if I have explained that very well, but in short, her work is unique. This time we have a purple face and blue and yellow hair decorated with orange and green symbols and shapes. Another fine piece from Pekoe.

4409. Sparke Evans Park (41)

Another fabulous Pekoe portrait in a series of recent pieces that it has been a pleasure to witness in recent weeks. This one was painted alongside her RBF friends in Sparke Evans Park a couple of weeks ago.

Pekoe, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, April 2022
Pekoe, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, April 2022

There is something very special about the colours that Pekoe uses and the blue and pink in this piece are absolutely perfect. There is enough shading on the face to give some depth to the features, and we can sense a sad expression, which the tears reinforce. The big hair is magnificent, but again alludes to sadness with some unhappy faces in place of smiley ones. The crown is well deserved and appropriate. A fine piece from Pekoe.