Tag: RBF

5591. M32 cycle path (233)

Pekoe, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, October 2023
Pekoe, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, October 2023

A classic Pekoe portrait piece looks like this, although this year Pekoe has been developing her style and experimenting more with graffiti writing. With regard to her portrait pieces, they have become a little bit less busy and more thoughtful in composition, of which this is a great example.

Pekoe, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, October 2023
Pekoe, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, October 2023

Pekoe painted this alongside RBF crew friends, in one of two consecutive paint jams, supplying me with plenty of material to post. There is a very strong comic-book cartoon style happening here, especially with the eyes and nose, which I really like. The hair too is different from anything I have seen from Pekoe, and overall the piece is a good one. I am enjoying this slight shift in Pekoe’s work.

5587. M32 Cycle path (232)

Evey, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, October 2023
Evey, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, October 2023

It is through sheer hard work and application that some artists improve week on week and month on month, and as I have said many times before, one of the most improved artists in Bristol recently is Evey, who is quite simply knocking it out of the park with each piece she paints.

Evey, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, October 2023
Evey, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, October 2023

Painted during another RBF paint jam, This piece from Evey is notable for at least three things; She is having a lot of fun with the letter shapes and pushing the boundaries, The colour selection is bold and effective and her fills and details are full of life and vibrancy. Looking forward to more and more from Evey.

5581. M32 Cycle path (231)

Lupa, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, October 2023
Lupa, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, October 2023

The Resting Bitch Face crew is an all female crew largely, but not exclusively, centred around Bristol. There are quite a few members of the crew, and it is always a joyous occasion when they congregate for a paint jam. This piece, by Lupa, was painted at one of two paint jams over the last month.

Lupa, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, October 2023
Lupa, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, October 2023

Lupa has a very distinctive style in which she usually makes a feature of the letter ‘U’, which she has done to good effect here. Her letters are large and bold, and everything about her work is quite raw. While there is definitely room for improvement, I am not so sure if that is what Lupa is all about. I get the sense that her work is mostly about joy and happiness and decorating a wall, and that enthusiasm comes across in bucket-loads. A fun and uplifting piece by Lupa.

5574. M32 roundabout J3 (518)

Evey, M32 roundabout, Bristol, October 2023
Evey, M32 roundabout, Bristol, October 2023

My ‘Most Improved Artist of the Year Award’ for this year goes to Evey, whose work both in therms of quantity and quality has gone to a new level over the last twelve months, and her progress shows no signs of slowing down. I think that part of this improvement has to be down to the frequency of painting and practice.

Evey, M32 roundabout, Bristol, October 2023
Evey, M32 roundabout, Bristol, October 2023

This wonderfully colourful piece on the M32 roundabout includes a crown, usually an emblem reserved for the senior or established artists in a place, but I fully believe Evey has earned this. Evey manages to change both the design and fills in her letters with each piece she paints, demonstrating a willingness to push the boundaries. This is an eye-catching fill that asks to be looked at, and works especially well on the black background. There is so much more to come from this hard-working and talented artist.

5571. M32 Cycle path (229)

Wispa, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, October 2023
Wispa, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, October 2023

A visit to Bristol by Wispa is always very welcome, and pretty much always unexpected as she seems to travel about the country quite a lot, and you can never be sure when she will be in the area – unpredictable I think you’d call it.

Wispa, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, October 2023
Wispa, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, October 2023

This is an absolute belter of a piece of writing from Wispa, painted as part of an RBF paint jam alongside the M32 motorway. There are two things that stand out in this piece for me, the first is the unbelievable sharpness of the lines, and outstanding finishing and the other is the bold colour selection, transitioning through a range of bold and strong colours. Bravo!

5565. M32 roundabout J3 (517)

Pekoe, M32 roundabout, Bristol, October 2023
Pekoe, M32 roundabout, Bristol, October 2023

I got that tingle of excitement when I came across this piece by pekoe, just as I always do when I find her work. Pekoe is one of those handful of artists that I associate with being the beating heart of the current Bristol scene, giving the city a strong sub-culture identity.

Pekoe, M32 roundabout, Bristol, October 2023
Pekoe, M32 roundabout, Bristol, October 2023

The piece was painted as part of an RBF paint jam, one of two over a short space of time. I would say that this is not one of Pekoe’s best pieces, there is something a little peculiar with the proportions, but it marks a subtle change, especially with fewer busy elements in the character’s hair and in the background than usual. I think that the portrait lives up to the Resting Bitch Face moniker rather well. So good to see a Pekoe portrait, it feels like it has been a little while.

5489. Greenbank (95)

Bnie, Greenbank, Bristol, August 2023
Bnie, Greenbank, Bristol, August 2023

The Barbie RBF paint jam is the gift that keeps on giving, and this is Barbie Bnie’s interpretation of the theme. Bnie has definitely stepped out of her normal style, as in fairness, have all the other artists, to create this stylised writing to match that of the Mattel doll brand. Lots of pink, a heart, soft curves and a yellow border.

Bnie, Greenbank, Bristol, August 2023
Bnie, Greenbank, Bristol, August 2023

I think that the paint jam theme was an inspired and contemporary choice, and gave us a glimpse at how an all-female crew (and Jody) would interpret and fashion their Own Barbie style. For me, the heart with a ‘Hi’ in it perfectly captures the mood. I have a feeling, although I can’t be certain that Bnie had more than a hand in creating the RBF (Resting Barbie Face) piece that accompanied the paint jam pieces, but was unsigned, although the more I look at it the less sure I am. Great work from Bnie.

Bnie?, Greenbank, Bristol, August 2023
Bnie?, Greenbank, Bristol, August 2023

5462. Greenbank (93)

Jody, Greenbank, Bristol, August 2023
Jody, Greenbank, Bristol, August 2023

Occasionally, the Resting Bitch Face crew (RBF), an all-female group of painters is joined by a male, which is what happened here when Jody joined in with the Barbie paint jam at Greenbank a few weeks ago. His inclusion definitely fitted in well with all the other pieces, and he embraced the theme with gusto.

Jody, Greenbank, Bristol, August 2023
Jody, Greenbank, Bristol, August 2023

This is a beautifully crafted and mischievous take on Barbie, providing a little bit of body art and a nose ring to give this graffiti Barbie a bit of an edge over her more conventional selves. Jody has painted a photorealistic portrait of the doll, and managed to convey the plastic toy qualities of her skin and makeup, large eyes and fake hair.

Jody, Greenbank, Bristol, August 2023
Jody, Greenbank, Bristol, August 2023

I absolutely love this portrait piece, but in loving it, it is important not to overlook the technical skill and versatility of an artist at the top of his game.

5458. M32 Cycle path (225)

Desi, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, August 2023
Desi, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, August 2023

Ooh! I love this recent piece from Desi, whose work just gets better and better. This time she is writing VEIL, one of her two variants, but with joined up script writing, which is a new and exciting development that works rather well.

Desi, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, August 2023
Desi, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, August 2023

I have often been quite critical of artists who don’t buff walls before they paint, because the underlying graffiti can often be distracting, but Desi, whether by design or luck, has managed to pull it off with this piece. The background somehow complements her writing and helps it to stand out. Beautiful curvy letter shapes are accompanied by great blue and pink fills (that B/P combo again), perfectly blended. I think that this might just be my favourite piece from Desi yet.

5454. Greenbank (92)

Evey, Greenbank, Bristol, August 2023
Evey, Greenbank, Bristol, August 2023

What fun it has been to follow Evey’s progress as a graffiti writer over the last few years. She has come a long way, and this recent RBF paint jam Barbie piece, I suspect, may have stretched her somewhat, and she has carried it off brilliantly.

Evey, Greenbank, Bristol, August 2023
Evey, Greenbank, Bristol, August 2023

The font is Barbieish, without conceding too much to the Mattel brand, but also works very well as an Evey piece. Some nice clean lines and solid fills, although some colours are a little bit thin in places. I only recently discovered (a tip from I bee W) that spray cans often have a little graphic on the can describing how thick or thin the paint is – good to know and explains why sometimes you can use twice as much of one colour than another. This is a fine piece from Evey on what looked like it was a super-fun day.