A gallery of absolutely stunning work from Bristol artist Jody
All photographs taken by Scooj
Jody
Tag: Portrait
2570. M32 Cycle path 37
Ahh! Lobe with another exceptional, bold, stylised, portrait, this time of an unshaven man with spectacles and woolly hat. I have only seen a few of her pieces, but every single one of them has brought a smile and I get a real sense of excitement each time l find a new one.
It is funny how different graffiti spots in Bristol can undergo peaks and troughs in terms of turnover. The cycle path has been quite dead for a while and then suddenly over the last couple of weeks it has kind of got busy again, this being one of several recent pieces. It just shows that constantly patrolling each of these favoured graffiti spots is utterly worth it.
2540. M32 roundabout J3 (174)
Having only recently ‘discovered’ Lobe, it seems that I am finding her work all over the place (and still have some to find). This is a lovely sunny piece at the M32 roundabout, with a rather unfortunate bit of graffiti just above it ‘viagra’ – I sometimes wonder what gets into people’s minds when they scrawl something like that.
Once again Lobe hits us with bold colours and strong lines and shading which is very much her style. Placing the bright yellow piece on a spotty pink background works really well. Another fine piece from Lobe.
Bacon Street, Shoreditch, London
There are some streets that are so heavily festooned with street art, graffiti art, bombing and tags that it can become easy to overlook some gems in amongst all the noise. One such piece is this gorgeous stencil by C215.
The occupiers of 21 Bacon Street may not appreciate it, but they are privileged that their door has been chosen for such a magnificent and technically brilliant stencil. For me, finding small pieces like this is what makes the effort I put into seeking out art on walls so utterly worth it. Great work from C215.
2514. Cheltenham 2019 (13)
This is an absolutely terrific piece from a Bristol fave, Hazard, and she has really stuck to the brief by painting a piece that links to literature and in this case the Maya Angelou autobiography ‘I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings’. I have not read this book, but clearly it is a favourite of the artist, and she has created a beautiful atmosphere of reading with this long wall mural.
What I like about this piece is that it has a real sense of calm about it, from the soft decorative bookends to the gentle light touching the reader’s face, a reader who it utterly absorbed by what she is reading. The piece is in stark contrast to its surroundings but cleverly draws you in so that all you can see is the reader.
I was fortunate enough to meet Hazard for the first time when she was setting up to paint the wall, and I was pleased to discover that she knew about Natural Adventures and had read some of my posts about her work.
I always feel a little embarrassed about striking up a conversation with street artists, because what I do is a little bit niche and consuming and I am prone to being a little bit star-struck on a first meeting. This is an utterly irrational position, because in my experience street and graffiti artists are some of the most down-to-earth and decent people that I know.
I love this Hazard piece.
2502. M32 Cycle path (34)
It is a great feeling discovering an artist who is relatively new to the Bristol scene and finding their pieces dotted about the place. One such artist is Lobe and I get a little ping of excitement each time I find one of her stylised portraits, a feeling I get each time I find a piece by Laic217 – some artists have this effect on me more than others.
This piece looks like it is a tribute piece to Wayne. Such works often have a little touch of sadness about them, but that is ok, it is a fair reflection of life in general. Once again her bold colours and shadings demonstrate her distinctive style which is just as well as I have yet to see a signed piece by her. All good.
2490. M32 roundabout J3 (170)
Hurrah… another piece from Lobe, an artist whose work is instantly recognisable and really stands out from the crowd. It is the boldness and simplicity of her pieces that really appeal to me, but take a little look a bit closer and you can see the thought that has gone into the shading and lines that make her style so distinctive.
Finding her work is still hugely rewarding as they are relatively rare, but I am sure that over the coming weeks and months we will be seeing plenty more from this emerging talent. Hit me with those big colours!
2473. Dean Lane skate park (251)
It feels like an absolute age (and it probably is) since I last posted anything from Jee See, and here on one of the ramps at Dean Lane he recently painrted this little collaboration piece with Pekoe. I think it might have been at the rescheduled DLH (Dean Lane Hardcore) event a couple of weekends back.
Jee See has written a rather nice 3D rendition of his moniker which adopts a whole load of very nicely done shadings, hatchings, drips, cracks and colour fades. So good to see him back in action.
Just to the right of Jee See’s writing is another one of Pekoe’s beautiful ladies in blue, a colour she often favours, and with a little tear beneath her eye – what does this tear tell us about the srtist? Is there some inherent sadness there? There is a clue in the top right of the piece which indicates that it is a tribute to Janet. Tribute pieces are often painted with a little extra love and have a poignancy to them.
I am so enjoying finding and appreciating Pekoe’s work which just seems to be on a steady improvement.
2472. St Mark’s Avenue (1)
Life is full of surprises, and earlier this week I took the dog for a road walk because it has been a bit wet and the parks are getting muddy. On the walk I took a few turns down roads I have never been to before. The reward… I discovered St Mark’s Avenue – a little secret in the heart of Easton where there are stunnung pieces by Bristol artists going back several years and quite untouched by taggers. How could I have not been here before and how many other little oases like this are there in Bristol?
This piece dates back to 2012 and is by the magnificent Silent Hobo and what’s more remarkable is that it is pretty much in mint condition – only one of the eyes has been goofed up by some idiot. It is a great tribute to the artist that it is still here but it is more than that, it is a yardstick from which to measure his development over the last seven years. It is a beautiful portrait piece painted on a pebble dash wall which in itself is something of an accomplishment. The girl has a soulful look but her eyes are looking straight at you, something that his more recent figures don’t do in the main.
I can’t tell you how exciting it was to find this piece and indeed the whole road, I felt a bit like an archeologist uncovering an ancient tomb. More to come from this gold mine.
2454. Cheltenham 2019 (2)
How can this not be an enlarged photograph? Sam Art is surely playing with our eyes and deceiving us. This incredible piece was one of the first I saw at the festival and was in place early on the Friday when all the walls around were yet to be painted. I believe that he painted it off-site before installing it in Cheltenham North Place car park.
The theme for the festival was literature or books to celebrate the 70th year of the Cheltenham Literature Festival and this portrait of J.K. Rowling could hardly be more fitting.
It is way beyond my comprehension how artists produce photorealistic art like this so I prefer not to understand it but to wallow in its glory. An extraordinary piece from Sam Art.
Natural adventures 