Purdown – Natural adventures

5088. Purdown (54)

Sam Brentall, Purdown, Bristol, March 2023

This piece seems to benefit from being framed by the snow and the heavy grey sky. It is by an artist I haven’t come across before, Sam Brentall, and my first impression is a good one.

The stylised dog heads stacked on top of each other create a strong and colourful pattern, and the whole unusual composition is fun to look at. It looks like the black outlines have been painted using marker pens rather than spray cans, and this seems very much like the work of a studio artist who is exploring possibilities with street art. I sincerely hope to find more street work from Sam Brentall this year.

5084. Purdown (53)

It does snow in Bristol once in a while, but it is quite rare, and the March cold snap left us with a couple of inches for a day or two. It was bitterly cold on this dog walk with my daughter, and I didn’t want to hang around too long taking pictures, much to my daughter’s relief.

The picture, by Zubieta is at odds with the snowy background, and had probably been painted a week or two before in the relative sunshine. Zubieta has painted two colourful flowers in conversation, with one telling the other “You can’t afford me”. The whole piece is nicely composed and definitely a welcome site on a cold day.

4988. Purdown (52)

Mr Sleven, Purdown, Bristol, January 2023

It is a rare thing indeed to find a Mr Steven piece these days, so it was extra pleasing to see this small burner up at Purdown. Although only a small piece, it is really nicely finished, and stands out from the crowd in this unusual Bristol spot.

The letters ‘Slev’ are delineated by the lovely green 3D drop shadow, with a pink trim border. The fills are rather lovely, with three horizontal colour layers and an array of complementary spots. This is a lovely ‘quick one’ from Mr Sleven, and I hope to see more from him soon.

4974. Purdown (51)

Full Time Ghoul, Purdown, Bristol, January 2023

It feels good to post a new piece by Full Time Ghoul, because so many of his pieces end up in my archives without ever seeing the light of day, something I must resolve somehow, because I genuinely like his motif and the way he fills spots all over Bristol.

This trio of green skulls set on a fiery red and orange background is really rather special. I’m not too sure bout this, but the top of the skulls look like they spell OSM, although I have no idea what this stands for. Nice work from FTG.

4968. Purdown (50)

Kool Hand, Purdown, Bristol, January 2023

My last visit to Purdown ended up being rather fruitful, which isn’t always the case. I have been up there to walk the dog of late and there has been absolutely nothing worth photographing, that is until now.

This is a rather nice crocodile piece by Kool Hand that has a little bit of a story going on. It looks like our croc friend is little hungry, tempted by a swimmer’s feet overhead. A but of fun on a small piece of wartime concrete from Kool Hand.

4964. Purdown (49)

Slakarts, Purdown, Bristol, January 2023

I am guessing that Slakarts is busy these days in his non-street art life, because 2022 has been a very quiet year for him, and this is one of only a handful of pieces I have seen in a long time. This is how it goes for most street/graffiti artists, peaks and troughs of activity for a multitude of different reasons. It was fabulous, therefore, to come across this piece up at Purdown.

Slakarts tends to maintain his central character, pimping it with ever more elaborate ideas. In this piece, the character is on the left, but the whole piece is a bit of a mash-up of randomly distributed elements of the character’s features, a nose, teeth, an ear and a tongue are thrown into the mix. Nicely designed and thought out. Let’s hope Slakarts can get out more in 2023.

4614. Purdown (45)

I am missing my regular dose of Daz Cat pieces this year… he definitely seems to be on a bit of a go slow as far as work on the streets is concerned. It was a nice surprise, therefore, to find this new piece up at Purdown recently. The battery area has been closed for a period, while the council constructed a tarmac pathway through the site, which I must say is a huge improvement, because it is prone to get extremely muddy in the winter.

This piece, counter-intuitively, is of two dogs, and the portraits are rather sophisticated, taking in different view points of the dog’s faces. This is an absolutely lovely piece and seems a little bit more earnest than some of his comic or satirical work. I like it a lot, especially as the green one could easily be a portrait of my very own canine.

4358. Purdown AA Battery (43)

John D’oh delights us with his stencils. Sometimes they are highly political and a commentary on events and happenings of our time and at other times they are packed with fun and humour, and this Captain Caveman falls into the latter category.

John D'oh, Purdown, Bristol, March 2022 — John D’oh, Purdown, Bristol, March 2022

I am a little too old to have watched much Captain Caveman, but I was certainly aware of the cartoon series. In this piece, the mischievous character is looking thrilled to be let loose with a spray can. This is a fabulous small piece from John D’oh.

4345. Purdown AA Battery (41)

Laic217 has thrown himself into demonstrating his support for Ukraine, which probably feels rather close to home, as a Polish person, in this his third war related piece in recent weeks. Unsigned, this piece is obviously the work of Laic217, and is both hard-hitting and poignant.

To express rage and anger at dictator Putin’s war through art is a very powerful thing, and Laic217 really captures the horrors being experienced in Ukraine every minute of every day. The blue and yellow neck scarf is nicely painted with superb folds in the fabric, and the hat says it all. Another slightly unconventional piece from Laic217, and one that chronicles the major issue of our time.

3666. Purdown HAA Battery (27)

This is a curious piece up at Purdown by an artist that doesn’t yet seemed to gained any traction with the community of followers of street art in Bristol – Skronius. This is only the second or third piece I have seen by the artist, and I haven’t seen anything beyond this particular spot.

I have to say that I rather like what I see, although it is on the unusual side. This particular piece reminds me a little of Conrico’s work in terms of the rather free style employed. The piece features some kind of wolf-like creature with a double mouth, which is pretty hard to work out. I can’t put my finger on it, but there is something I like about the piece and it certainly adds to the wonderful diversity of art we have in This magnificent city.

	scooj on Sunburn
	scooj on 5233. Lighthouse Community Gar…
	scooj on 5233. Lighthouse Community Gar…
	paulh121 on 5241. M32 Cycle path (217…
	paulh121 on Sunburn

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this: