Tag: RAW

3245. St Werburghs tunnel (198)

It would seem that this piece from Smak was painted at the same time as Inkie and Tizer painted it recently and that there was something of a paint jam going on. I think that Hemper and one or two others might also have been involved. I have to admit that paint jams in the tunnel are not my favourite because the poor lighting never does justice to the artwork.

Smak, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2020
Smak, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2020

As always the work of Smak is of a consistently high quality and there is a lot here to admire in both shape and colour. Each letter is painted with care and attention and there is a phenomenal amount of detail and design behind each one. Another great piece of graffiti writing.

3237. Alfred Street (7)

This wall has been something of a treasure trove since it was painted at the Raw Wax paint jam at the back end of August. It is great to have a business in Bristol, in this instance Dare To, that welcomes street artists to decorate its walls, particularly in this rather dreary industrial estate.

Ware, Alfred Street, Bristol, September 2020
Ware, Alfred Street, Bristol, September 2020

This piece is by Ware who is one of the RAW artists that seems to paint less regularly than some of the others in the crew. Such rarity adds value, and it is great to see a piece of intricate writing like this. The character is the Cheshire Cat from the Disney adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland. Each piece in this particular wall is composed of writing with a character and it is so worth a visit.

3234. M32 roundabout J3 (256)

The work of Benjimagnetic is so very distinctive, but as I mentioned before, I find it very tricky to decypher the letters in his writing. The density and compactness of the work with so many intricate lines and patterns make it hard to pick the letters out.

Benjimagnetic, M32 roundabout, Bristol, September 2020
Benjimagnetic, M32 roundabout, Bristol, September 2020

Sometimes with certain artists, your eyes become accustomed to their style and you become better at translating or working out the words, but I have a total fail when it comes to Benjimagnetic. My guess here would be ‘B, X or M, R’. The letters do not matter too much, the colour selection is great and those white-bordered angular shapes, so unique to the artist, are superbly done. A nice piece.

3228. M32 Spot (83)

There is little new that I can say about Smak. I have used pretty much run out of superlatives to describe his work. So I will go easy, and you can take it as read that this is yet another stunner from this Bristol-based graffiti writer.

Smak, M32 Spot, Bristol, September 2020
Smak, M32 Spot, Bristol, September 2020

The colour combinations were similar to those chosen by Soker, Inkie and Sled One all of whom painted alongside Smak on this wall a little while back. When I see top quality writing like this, I wonder where the artist can go next, but they have such talent that they can keep on painting outstandinng pieces. I particularly like the hole and drip on the bottom edge of the right hand leg of the ‘M’. Top work.

Soker, M32 Spot, Bristol, September 2020
Sled One, M32 Spot, Bristol, September 2020
Inkie, M32 Spot, Bristol, September 2020

3212. John Street (3)

It is so good to see T-Rex gaining such a prominent spot for one of her fabulous dinosaurs. This is the third archway, looking from left to right, in this magnificent back-street gallery offered up by the developers of a hotel that is being built right in the heart of Bristol’s old quarter. The developers have their work cut out, because the buildings they are converting are probably the ugliest in the whole city.

T-Rex, John Street, Bristol, September 2020
T-Rex, John Street, Bristol, September 2020

I was told by John Nation that T-Rex’s piece is not one of her regular dinosaurs (unsurprisingly a tyrannosaurus rex) but a depiction of one of the dinosaurs displayed up at the Bristol Museum (so well worth a visit if you ever get the opportunity). This is a beautifully painted, clean and happy piece with very broad appeal. Perfect for a city centre location.

3177. M32 roundabout J3 (254)

Another stunner from Smak on the M32 roundabout and this time it is in beautiful gold and green colours with a slightly unexpected surprise pink and red highlighting the outer edges of the piece.

Smak, M32 roundabout, Bristol, September 2020
Smak, M32 roundabout, Bristol, September 2020

I found this without knowing it had been painted (always rewarding and it usually means that it is pretty fresh because it han’t appeared on Instagram). There is a kind of browny tinge all along the middle of the letters, giving the letters a bit of a 3D shiny feel to them. Belting statement piece.

3164. M32 Spot (79)

Sometimes fate plays a part in our lives. Yesterday morning I gave my son a lift to friend’s house quite early because they were heading off for a day’s fishing. On the way back I stopped off at a few street art spots, the first of which was here underneath the M32. I just so happened to turn up as Ryder was finnishing off some rather lovely of graffiti writing.

Ryder, M32 Spot, Bristol, September 2020
Ryder, M32 Spot, Bristol, September 2020

I stopped for a while but tried not to break his rhythm because he had to be at work for 10am and needed to finish the piece off quickly. He said that he was really pleased with this piece, it had just worked out really nicely for him and that is good to hear because in my experience street artists are unerringly self-critical. It is a bit of a stunner, and the amazing thing is he created this in a little over an hour!.

Ryder, M32 Spot, Bristol, September 2020
Ryder, M32 Spot, Bristol, September 2020

As he was packing up he asked if I was heading off to the Cheltenham Paint Festival, which got me thinking. I hadn’t been planning on it, our weekends are a bit precious at the moment, but now I am giving quite a lot of thought to going tomorrow (which is partly why I am writing this post yesterday, almost immediately after coming home from taking these pictures, as I might not have time today (written yesterday as if tomorrow was today)).

Ryder, M32 Spot, Bristol, September 2020
Ryder, M32 Spot, Bristol, September 2020

Finally, I am rather chuffed with the Scooj shout out. Little things matter, and that made me feel very happy.

3156. Dean Lane skate park (346)

This is a real statement piece of graffiti writing from Smak down at Dean Lane and amply demonstrates why he is one of the very best writers in Bristol and probably the country. His pieces are elaborate with so many interlocking parts all seamlessly brought together with clean crisp lines.

Smak, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2020
Smak, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2020

The colour palette is similar to one I have seen him use before and works well on the dark background. There are to many elements in this piece to be able to describe them all, but consistent with several pieces by the artist you get more for your money, with two SMAKs visible in places, most obviously with the A.

Smak, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2020
Smak, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2020

On his Instagram feed, Smak mentioned that a little kid told him he could paint jellyfish, so Smak decided to add one for good measure – that is why it is there. Another monster piece from Smak.

3148. St Marks Avenue (10)

A short while ago I posted a portrait piece by an unknown artist in St Marks Avenue, and said at the time that there was another one by the same artist that I would post perhaps once I knew who the artist was. Since then I posted the piece on Instagram and thanks to Rusk I now know that the artist is Rosalita from the RAW crew.

Rosalita, St Mark's Avenue, Bristol, July 2020
Rosalita, St Mark’s Avenue, Bristol, July 2020

The face with clown paint reflects a lot of face-painting work that Rosalita appears to do and carries that over onto our streets. I think that this and her other portrait are masterful, sensitive and original pieces that add to the wide spectrum of street art that we are lucky enough to see in Bristol. I truly hope that Rosalita carries on with these wonderful portraits.

Rosalita, St Marks Avenue, Bristol, July 2020
Rosalita, St Marks Avenue, Bristol, July 2020

3103. M32 roundabout J3 (244)

It is always great to catch up with Rusk, a real gentleman if ever there was one. On this occasion he was joining in with the M32 paint jam that included Tizer, Inkie, Soker, Hemper and Minto last month. The sun was against me for the final photographs, but the work in progress shot shows off the colours a little better.

Rusk, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2020
Rusk, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2020

Attention and care are what I associate Rusk’s work with. He is always diligent and tidy with his pieces and takes his time to get things right. I can’t imagine my stopping for a chat was particularly helpful, but he didn’t seem to mind.

Rusk, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2020
Rusk, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2020

The letters are typically Rusk, spelling out RUSKY and are given a horizontal tricolour fill, with some nice spots in the middle section. If I am honest I am not sure the three colours work too well, especially the bottom two as there is not enough contrast between them, but that is nit picking really, this is a fine piece of graffiti writing.