Tag: Portrait

4152. Elton Street (2)

Happy New year to you all. I hope that 2022 brings considerably more good fortune than 2021 for people and the planet.

The best part of discovering Elton Street was, if I am honest, having a chance to see this absolute beauty from Hazard. She really has gone from strength to strength over the last year, incorporating some abstract themes into her portrait work, and I stand by the comment I made about her Wilder Street mural that she has elevated herself into the world class tier.

Hazard, Elton Road, Bristol, December 2021
Hazard, Elton Road, Bristol, December 2021

The themed colours for all the pieces in Elton Street were pinks and blues (Clare Grogan would be thrilled) and Hazard has incorporated these perfectly into this portrait piece. I think that this would have to rate highly in my favourite of all pieces of 2021, alongside her Wilder Street mural. Outstanding.

4143. Elton Street (1)

Persistence is the name of the game when out looking for street/graffiti art. The digital age that we live in means that I will often see pieces on Instagram long before I ever get to discover them for myself, and sometimes they are difficult to find. The reason I label all of my posts by location rather than by artist is so that if people are surfing the Interweb or Googling for Bristol street art, they will be able to find the piece or the spot easily, from the title or the metatags.

I found this amazing wall in Elton Street on the side of The Lost Horizon Arts Centre and Bar building, by extending a dog walking (street art hunting) walk by a few hundred meters, and was very well rewarded for doing so.

Pekoe, Elton Road, Bristol, December 2021
Pekoe, Elton Road, Bristol, December 2021

There are about five or six panels that have been painted with a pink and blue theme, and this first one is by the ever-fabulous Pekoe. It is a lovely piece, incorporating all of her trademark elements, and working the colour scheme brilliantly. It is great to see a head and shoulders piece from her rather than just the portrait, but the space and access to a ladder or platform probably lent itself to the fuller format. A great piece and satisfying find.

4121. M32 Cycle path (151)

It feels to me like Slakarts is taking his art to a new level and his recent pieces have shown real dynamism and creativity. This recent piece from the M32 cycle path, works on his stylised character portrait, but presents it in an entirely new way.

Slakarts, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, December 2021
Slakarts, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, December 2021

The piece is made up of two portraits facing one another in subdues grey colours, with some lighter highlights that express freedom and confidence in his work. Contrast this with one of his recent colourful pieces and you see an artist whose range is wide and skills are of the highest order. A lovely ephemeral piece.

Slakarts, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, November 2021
Slakarts, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, November 2021

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.

4102. Cumberland Basin

Different artists have different creative patterns or routines. Some paint the same thing over and over again, tweaking and perfecting it (for example Slim Pickings – TES), others create something extraordinary and different every time (Sled One, Tom Miller, 3Dom). Some only write, some only create characters and some combine the two. Mudra too has a modus operandi, which is either to create a character portrait or to write MUDRA cryptically incorporating characters and symbols. This piece falls into the latter category.

Mudra, Cumberland Basin, September 2021
Mudra, Cumberland Basin, September 2021

This lovely piece from a little while back on the long wall at Cumberland Basin spells out the artist’s name, where the ‘d’ in a little breakout star at the bottom is replaced with a wonderful stylised portrait of a pink-faced, purple-nosed lady with shocking yellow hair. A wonderful and creative piece beautifully worked nice clean lines and fills.

4100. M32 Cycle path (150)

I think that this might be one of my favourite Slakarts pieces to date. The slightly more sophisticated overall design and inclusion of great colours (reminiscent of Kleiner Shames’ preferred palette) delivers a truly pleasing work. Perhaps he was inspired while painting alongside Decay… and who wouldn’t be?

Slakarts, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, November 2021
Slakarts, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, November 2021

The stylised portrait has been painted with great care, and the lines are sharp and fills solid. There are some clever elements and some fabulous fragmentation of elements, creating something of a cubist look to the piece. A beautiful piece beautifully finished.

4095. Dean Lane skate park (441)

One of the most enjoyable aspects of following the street art scene in Bristol over recent years has been the emergence of dozens and dozens of new artists, genres and movements. Among the most interesting has been the Bristol Womxn Mural Collective that seems to be growing with some pace, and holds regular paint jams at various different spots around Bristol. Watching studio artists transition their artistry onto walls is a fascinating experience and adds some intriguing, new and fresh pieces to the spectrum of street art in the city.

Raquel Blazquez, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2021
Raquel Blazquez, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2021

This small piece by Raquel Blazquez is tucked under one of the ramps in the skate park, which presents a cosy space for artists. The portrait of a woman is colourful and has a certain presence generated by the expression of the subject’s face. The piece has all the hallmarks of a fine artist (lots of detail and colour shadings) adapting to a street canvass. Lovely work and I hope to see more.

4090. Catherine Mead Street (2)

This is a lovely piece from Nightwayss sprayed as part of a paint jam, which, on reflection, I perhaps ought to have posted as a bundle or collaborative wall, but I didn’t, so there.

Nightwayss, Catherine Mead Street, Bristol, November 2021
Nightwayss, Catherine Mead Street, Bristol, November 2021

In recent months Nightwayss has been experimenting with these fragmented pieces, playing with portraits, light shapes and disassociation. The overall effect is a contemporary take on street art and really brings out the fine artist in Nightwayss. Alas, there are no monkeys in this piece, but it is nonetheless a really interesting and challenging piece of art.

4071. M32 Cycle path (147)

I cannot help but absolutely love this recent portrait piece from Pekoe, for lots of reasons. Of course, I am a big fan of her work in any case, but the wonderfully stylish haircut absolutely does it for me, and it is a major departure for Pekoe whose portraits normally have big and sometimes disorganised hairstyles.

Pekoe, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, November 2021
Pekoe, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, November 2021

Pekoe has been doing a lot of full front or three-quarter face portraits, and the difference here is that she has gone for a profile, and I think it works really well. I like it all – the grey face and pink cheek, the blue hair and lips and the yellow border. This one is definitely a keeper.

4033. M32 Cycle path (146)

This wonderful portrait piece by Rosalita (Rozalita) is part of a collaborative effort with Conrico. Unfortunately, by the time I got to see it, Conrico’s contribution had been overpainted with a rather substandard throw up. Luckily, though, Rosalita’s piece was left intact.

Rosalita, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, October 2021
Rosalita, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, October 2021

This is a Halloween piece, or more accurately a Dia de Los Muertos portrait, with a representation of a Mammacita (Conrico’s word, not mine). The decorated face with stitched lips is a familiar sight these days, as these Day of the Dead festivals become more internationalised. The roses in the hair round the portrait off nicely. Rosalita just keeps on turning out these amazing portraits.