7908. Purdown (107)

Nice One, Purdown, Bristol, August 2026
Nice One, Purdown, Bristol, August 2026

If you look hard enough around the city of Bristol, you will find the words Nice One on buildings, on motorway underpasses and around unexpected corners. The artist gets himself pretty much everywhere. His letters are often accompanied by a character of landscape, but here in Purdown it is just Nice One’s letters.

Nice One, Purdown, Bristol, August 2026
Nice One, Purdown, Bristol, August 2026

This is a clever piece Which is painted on walls that protrude from the perimeter to different amounts and can only be accurate when viewed fromdirectly in front. If viewed from the side, you can see that the writing is at two depths. Nice One woulkd have had to compensate for this, making the further away letters larger. A skilled study in perspective and depth from Nice One.

7611. St Werburghs tunnel (579)

Minto, St Werburghs, Bristol, April 2026
Minto, St Werburghs, Bristol, April 2026

This wall is not the easiest to photograph when there is a piece that stretches the length of it on account of a lamppost slap bang in the middle of it. This is an awesome piece by Minto that draws the eye into several focal points running across the piece.

Minto, St Werburghs, Bristol, April 2026
Minto, St Werburghs, Bristol, April 2026

Although a little difficult to make out, the letters MINTO form the spine of the piece. In the middle we see a capped character that blends into an array of stars and lines, and on the right, what looks like a train on tracks bursting out of the dazzling spectacle. There is a lot going on here, and it would be good to understand a little bit more about what lies behind it.

6703. Dean Lane skate park (803)

ESKA, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2025
ESKA, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2025

I have been incredibly lucky recently with the timing of my walks and have met with several artists while they are painting, even yesterday bumping in to Hemper (second time in a week) and Hypo. On this particular visit to Dean Lane, I encountered ESKA and his partner, just as he was finishing up and taking photographs of the completed piece. What is weird is that I first met him in this exact spot last October.

ESKA, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2025
ESKA, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2025

There is always a lot going on in ESKA’s work, which is filled with symbolism. His anamorphic letters are heavily disguised, and form the framework for some little micro-scenes about the place. Lots of shadows and archways with light, a little reminiscent of the perspective work of the Italian artist Gerogio De Chirico.

ESKA, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2025
ESKA, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2025

The colours work really well together and if you step back the whole piece looks amazing, but it is not until you get up close that you start to notice a whole other world happening, for example there are little figures dotted all over the piece, each one casting a long shadow. This is a piece that needs to be studied as well as admired.

In the lap of the Gods

 

Where did it all go?

Youth, enthusiasm and

immortality.

 

by Scooj