Tag: RAW

3426. Dean Lane skate park (380)

This container in Dean Lane seems to have been around forever. I’m really not sure what it contains or why it is there, but it is a surface to paint and that is what matters. The quality of graffiti and street art on this container can be very variable so it is nice when a really good piece like this one from Rusk comes along.

Rusk, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2021
Rusk, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2021

Rusk is an artist/writer whose work I never tire of and who doesn’t paint as much as I’d like him to, although he tends to paint in places that are sometimes out of the way and I don’t get to see those ones. This is a straightforward RUSKI in horizontal graded blues with some nice bubbles in black white and blue. The quality of the lines and fills is of a high standard, which on the uneven face of the container can’t be easy. This is what great graffiti writing looks like.

3414. M32 roundabout J3 (273)

Here is a recent fun piece from Ryder down at the M32 roundabout featuring characters from the Willo the Wisp children’s TV programme from the 1980s. There is always something that makes me smile about incorporating children’s characters into the subversive world of graffiti art.

Ryder, M32 roundabout, Bristol, December 2020
Ryder, M32 roundabout, Bristol, December 2020

The writing is, as always, perfectly painted, with nice letter shapes and horizontal colour fills that complement each other well. The 3D shadow has a vanishing point in the centre of the piece which is less common than the shadow going in one direction.

Ryder, M32 roundabout, Bristol, December 2020
Ryder, M32 roundabout, Bristol, December 2020

The piece is bookended with characters from the show, with Willo on the right and on the left Evil Edna, the TV set. A very nice holiday piece from Ryder.

3402. Dean Lane skate park (374)

When you immerse yourself in the world of street art and graffiti writing in the way that I and many others do, you develop a deep sense of how good the art is in terms of technical skills, emotional grab, story telling, colour sense and so on. And sometimes you need only glance at a piece for a second to realise that it is truly outstanding and on a different level. This is how I felt when I saw this from Smak in Dean Lane a week or so back.

Smak, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2020
Smak, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2020

It feels like seeing something in CinemaScope for the first time when you are used to a smaller format. The letters spelling SMAK are perfectly arranged and the colours and fills, with a metallic feel, are outstanding. For me, this is a great example of perfect graffiti writing, and such a wonderful Christmas gift from Smak.

3384. Cumberland Basin

It would seem that Smak rarely stops producing first-class pieces for us to marvel at, and he does this in between commissions. This is an artist at the top of his game who manages to do what he loves every day both in a work context and for his own leisure. Perfect.

Smak, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, December 2020
Smak, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, December 2020

These pictures were taken during incredibly heavy rain and while I was in an incredibly hurry, but the blurry look of the piece is not an artefact of the conditions, rather it is the piece itself and the way it has been sprayed.

A short post today because I have to start preparing for our Christmas meal. Season’s greetings to you all.

3375. M32 roundabout J3 (270)

My heart sings when I find a new Rusk piece, especially when I discover it without knowing about it in advance. It feels like quite a long time since I last saw one of his pieces of graffiti writing so this was a real bonus.

Rusk, M32 roundabout, Bristol, December 2020
Rusk, M32 roundabout, Bristol, December 2020

The colour scheme in this one works incredibly in my view with the green matched with the yellow and oranges, and the way he has integrated them is so easy on the eye. Surprisingly, the pink and black 3D shadow works really well too – who’d have thought? Some expert white highlights and blue drips finish the piece nicely.  A pleasure.

3360. M32 Cycle path (94)

I wasn’t expecting to find one Rosalita piece, so to find two was a treat, but three in one place in one day is what my grandmother would call a ‘red letter day’. This is the third sumptuous offering from Rosalita, joined in the collaborative wall by 3F Fino.

Rosalita and 3F Fino, M32 cycle path, Bristol, November 2020
Rosalita and 3F Fino, M32 cycle path, Bristol, November 2020

On the left of the wall is an acrobatic cherub in pink doing a handstand on a skull while shooting an arrow from a bow with its feet. Is this a take on Cupid? The other half of the wall has a character climbing through a hole in the wall dressed in a balaclava, jumpsuit and green gloves. All a bit off-the-wall, almost literally, but good fun nonetheless. A happy find, which unfortunately only lasted a week or so, which is unusual, because this wall has a pretty low rate of turnover usually.

3341. M32 Cycle path (90)

What a wonderful, wonderful surprise it was to find this gorgeous piece by Rosalita (RAW) on the M32 cycle path recently, and better than that, it was one of three – others to follow soon. Rosalita is an enigmatic artist, making only rare appearances on the walls of Bristol, but her presence however rare is always welcome.

Rosalita, M32 cycle path, Bristol, November 2020
Rosalita, M32 cycle path, Bristol, November 2020

This previously unpainted column (it had been tagged), quite unusual at this location,  is the perfect spot for this amazing little cherub, perching on a skull. The piece is really unusual and the character beautifully painted and filled with a yellow base and red highlights, finished off with some beautiful tattoo decorations in blue. This is a heavenly piece (peace?) and a welcome addition to the writing we are more used to seeing around here. I can’t wait to post her other associated murals.

3285. M32 Spot (89)

A couple of weeks ago I bumped into Paul H in St Werburghs tunnel and he tipped me off that Smak was likely to be painting at the M32 Spot, so naturally my next port of call was to my favourite board under the motorway. There I found not only Smak, but Mena too, both busily spraying.

Smak and Mena, M32 Spot, Bristol, October 2020
Smak and Mena, M32 Spot, Bristol, October 2020

I have many photographs of Mena’s work, but I think this is the first time I have posted anything, so I guess a bit of a rummage through my archive will be happening in the not too distant future.

Smak, M32 Spot, Bristol, October 2020
Smak, M32 Spot, Bristol, October 2020

On the left of the board is a beautifully worked piece of graffiti writing from Smak. What is noticeable about this is that the light conditions on the two days I visited this piece have presented two different tones, one much yellower than the other – I guess that cameras get pretty goofed up with poor light under the motorway and bright light bleedinng in at the sides. Auto settings simply can’t cope.

Mena, M32 Spot, Bristol, October 2020
Mena, M32 Spot, Bristol, October 2020

On the right is a ‘stock’ piece of writing from Mena. The letters are uniform in size with interesting shapes and Mena really goes to town with some beautiful horizontal fills in wonderful complementary colours. The outcome is very pleasing, and the black 3D shading really helps to lift the whole thing out from the wall. I am really looking forward to sharing more from Mena.

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.