This quick one from Soap is another fine example of a Halloween piece which cleverly incorporates a pumpkin into the trademark design that Soap uses. The eyes doubling up as mouths complete with tongue and teeth works pretty well for a spooky effect, but is something Soap does with many of his pieces.
Soap, M32 Spot, Bristol, November 2018
The columns in the M32 spot really lend themselves to these smaller vertical works, and because each one has four sides there is a whole lot of ‘canvas’ for artists to work with. Always fun with Soap.
I realise that it must get a bit wearing for regular readers of Natural Adventures to keep seeing pieces by some of the more productive street artists in Bristol, but I shall not apologise for it. Artists like Face 1st are the lifeblood of any urban street art scene and without them we would be left with high-end commission-based artists painting in sterile environments, and frankly who wants that? Not me.
Face 1st, St Werburghs, Bristol, May 2018
This is a beautiful piece from Face 1st, and the colour selection is rather special. For those not in the know, you should be able to make out the letters FACE in the hair/decoration around the face…for example the C is around the left of the face, and the E is to the right. So good.
I absolutely love this old one by Face 1st in The Bearpit, with its copper tones and trademark hair spelling out FACE. I guess that fairly soon I will need to do a gallery of his work because I have quite a large collection from the last three years.
Face 1st, The Bearpit, Bristol, January 2018
What I really like about this artist is that he is relentless in pursuing his passion and will find any wall in Bristol that he can find and give it a face lift (see what I did there?). Always one of my favourites in Bristol and this particular one is a cracker.
Oh I wish I had got to this piece before it was partially ruined by the chrome throw ups. At least they had the decency to leave the face intact. This is yet another gorgeous piece by Face 1st , whose work is reaching a new level both in terms of quality and quantity. One can barely move for new pieces.
Face 1st, City Road, Bristol, October 2018
I particularly like this one for its overall pleasing shape and colours, but it is the attention to detail on the background that I really like in that autumn brown. It is a nice gesture too that he includes a little ‘Happy Birthday Eleanor’ in the top right – I love it when street artists do this.
I met up with Face 1st last Friday and bought three small pieces from him and I am so utterly chuffed with them. I will be giving one to Scoojette for Christmas and I can’t wait. More fantastic work from this lovely artist to come.
St Werburghs tunnel has been a happy hunting ground for me in recent weeks and it seems that Bristol street artists are spraying there more often. Part of this higher turnover might be due to the reduction in activity in Stokes Croft and in particular in The Bearpit, which since the Council’s crack down on street art is looking grottier than ever, with tatty fly posters hanging off every surface where decent art used to be, and tagging appearing on every wall the council paints. Well, we told you so.
Soap, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2018
Meanwhile The Bearpit’s loss is St Werburghs’ gain, and the PWA crew in particular have been having a ball there. This is a lovely piece by Soap featuring a whole load of mouths squished together and his crossed bones motif. Love this one.
I really hope you don’t get bored with seeing pieces by Face 1st. If you do, then just skip over this one and the next one in about four posts time and so on. You see, I like his work a lot and he manages to hit the streets a lot, which means his work will feature here a lot.
Face 1st, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2018
This is an absolute blinder from Face 1st in St Werburghs tunnel and I had to do quite a lot of colour management on my photo editor to bring out the true colours that were swamped with orange light in my originals. Because of this manipulation these pictures can never be a true representation of the piece, so things like this really need to be seen in the flesh. Two faces and lots of adornment…each of the tear-drop things decorated differently, but each given that 3D feel. Lovely piece.
In this piece, we have everything that I like about the Bristol street art scene. First, it is a collaboration between Tasha Bee and Soap – firm friends and painting buddies. Second it is bright and vibrant and in a highly stylised form. Third, the location, St Werburghs tunnel is just sooo Bristol.
Tasha Bee and Soap, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2018
The two characters in the collaboration work so very well together and the colours read-across seamlessly. I am more used to seeing the large mouths that Soap is recognised for, and indeed there is a hint of that on the hat of his character, but it is this wonderfully expressive face that he paints from time to time that I really like. I was so happy to come across this piece, especially as the turnover in the tunnel is particularly high at the moment.
A serendipitous meeting. I had a couple of hours to race around Bristol seeking out any new works before going away on my summer holiday in mid-August, and the last port of call before packing up the car and heading for Gatwick was the M32 roundabout.
Soap, Tasha Bee and Face F1st, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2018
As I approached the southern wall I could see Tasha Bee at work, which in itself was very exciting because I have recently become more aware of her work and have been keen to meet the artist. I struck up a conversation with her and could see that she was contributing to a collaboration with PWA’s Soap and Face F1st. I said that I was sorry to have missed them because I would like to meet them both, whereupon she told me that they were sitting on the grass bank right behind me. Hurrah! I stopped for a chat with them all (I hope I didn’t interfere too much with their work) and Face 1st let me have a flick through his black book which felt like a real privilege.
Soap, Tasha Bee and Face F1st, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2018
Soap and Face F1st had pretty much finished their pieces and were watching on and advising Tasha Bee as she completed hers. I love the way that the cross motif has been shared by Soap and FF, and I am seriously enjoying the full figure work that the latter is producing at the moment. The girl with the face is emerging and coming to life.
Soap, Tasha Bee and Face F1st, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2018
Sadly I never got to see the the finished piece which got buffed over within a few days, but I thoroughly enjoyed the experience of meeting three lovely artists and seeing them at work. We’ll meet again…
Soap, Tasha Bee and Face F1st, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2018
Members of the PWA (Pirate Wall Art) crew have been rather active of late, none more so than Face 1st. In this collaboration he is joined by his friend soap and this piece is opposite some writing, featured in an earlier post by Sikoh.
Soap and Face 1st, St Werburghs, Bristol, July 2018
When Soap and Face 1st get together, they quite often create one of these vertical collaborations, with the distinctive mouths of Soap on the top and beautiful face underneath by Face 1st.
There are a couple of nice touches on the work. The hair of the girl is made up of wiriting that spells out Face, and forms the lower jaw of Soap’s mouths. There is a little slogan ‘peacefully writin’ art‘, picking up on the crew name. I am always delighted to find work by these two.
When I saw this piece on Face 1st’s Instagram feed, I knew I had to get down to Moon Street straight away to find it. Find it I did, and I think it is probably in my top 3 all time Face 1st pieces.
Face 1st, Moon Street, Bristol, June 2018
There is so much to like – rarely, if ever, have I seen more than a face in any of his characters…and here we have the full body complete with frilly pink knickers. The soft colours and tones contrast wildly with the bold graffiti aurrounding the piece, making it stand out from the crowd – it is nicely framed in the doorway.
Face 1st, Moon Street, Bristol, June 2018
Face 1st has always a productive artist, but recently he appears to have gone into overdrive, and he seems to be collaborating a lot too. I’m not sure where this new lease of life has come from, but whatever the reason I love it.
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