Tag: RBF

4944. Greenbank (65)

Vozie, Greenbank, Bristol, April 2022
Vozie, Greenbank, Bristol, April 2022

The primary reason for pieces being left behind in my archive is that I couldn’t identify the artist at the time of taking the photographs, and then the moment passes and that is that. I am sure that my archives are full of gems, and if I had more time I would mine them out on a regular basis, but at the moment that is not possible. And while I am spending time digging out archive images, I am not posting the New Year pieces, which makes life difficult. Anyhow, this is an absolute beauty from Vozie back in April last year.

Vozie, Greenbank, Bristol, April 2022
Vozie, Greenbank, Bristol, April 2022

Vozie has a great eye for her colour combinations, and has chosen some great letters for writing. The ‘V’ at the start is a strong letter and allows for all sorts of variations, and the ‘O’ and ‘Z’ also allow a certain amount of play. Vozie is clearly very accomplished and her fades, highlights and borders are always on-point. This is a lovely piece painted pre-Truss (remember her?).

4923. St Werburghs tunnel (334)

Evey, St Werburghs, Bristol, December 2022
Evey, St Werburghs, Bristol, December 2022

I sincerely hope that we will be treated to a whole load more EVEN pieces by Evey this year, as I think she is one of the most improved artists during 2022. The more she paints the better she will get, and we are already seeing signs of more adventure in her work.

Evey, St Werburghs, Bristol, December 2022
Evey, St Werburghs, Bristol, December 2022

This is a lovely piece from a recent RBF paint jam (there were two in quick succession) which has been finished very tidily. The five horizontal fills work nicely, and the borders and highlights are neat and tidy, bar a few yellow drips, which are rather nice. All in all a very pleasing piece of graffiti writing from Evey.

4914. Elton Street (13)

Pekoe, Elton Street, Bristol, December 2022
Pekoe, Elton Street, Bristol, December 2022

There is never a dull moment following Bristol street art, but on top of the pleasure of seeing new work every trip out, there is the added excitement of finding new pieces from favourite artists, and Pekoe is one of those artists. Seeing her work gives me that added tingle of excitement.

Pekoe, Elton Street, Bristol, December 2022
Pekoe, Elton Street, Bristol, December 2022

This piece on one of the boards in Elton Street is an absolute classic Pekoe big hair portrait, and is presented in bright bold colours that grab the attention. There is a genuine honesty about Pekoe’s work that is never too self-indulgent or showy, she gets it about right every time. This one is a real beauty.

4885. Upfest 2022 (60)

Bnie, Vozie, Pekoe and Evey, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Bnie, Vozie, Pekoe and Evey, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

This collaboration is an absolute belter from the RBF crew and brings together the talents of Bnie, Vozie, Pekoe and Evey in one magnificent board.

Bnie, Vozie, Pekoe and Evey, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Bnie, Vozie, Pekoe and Evey, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

It was great to watch the crew paint this piece on a gorgeous day in late May, which felt like a genuinely joyous celebration of art and music in a totally Bristol context.

Bnie and Vozie, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Bnie and Vozie, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

The colour scheme adopted was sustained across the whole collaborative piece and combines the colours pink and blue that seem to have been a bit of a thing this year. On the left, Bnie and Vozie spoilt us with two superb examples of great graffiti writing.

Pekoe, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Pekoe, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

The centrepiece of the collaboration was this magnificent portrait piece by Pekoe and arguably her finest piece of the year, although the bar she set herself was pretty high.

Evey, and Bnie?, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Evey, and Bnie?, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

On the right, Evey rounded the piece off with a huge shout-out to themselves with an RBF which I think might have been painted by Bnie at a guess. Some beautiful work from a beautiful group of people.

4825. St Werburghs tunnel (320)

Evey, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2022
Evey, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2022

Ooh, Ahh! This is a stunner from Evey, painted during Bnie’s birthday paint jam, described by Paul H as the paint jam that keeps on delivering, and he is right. I would suggest that this might be Evey’s most ambitious piece to date, and she has carried it off with style and competence.

Evey, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2022
Evey, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2022

This is an ambitious piece with lovely large letters spelling EVEN, and within the letters a picture of people hanging out under a stretch of arches, in front of a setting sun. A story within a story, if you like. The letters are rounded off with a colourful 3D drop shadow. Big respect to Evey for this one.

4818. St Werburghs tunnel (318)

Pekoe, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2022
Pekoe, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2022

There are a handful of artists whose work fills me with a little tingle of excitement each time I came across their work, and Pekoe is right up there with the best of them. Her portraits feel like part of the furniture of the Bristol scene, and represent what is so good about the range and diversity of the city’s street art.

Pekoe, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2022
Pekoe, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2022

This piece was another RBF contribution to Bnie’s birthday celebrations a week or so back. A three-quarter view portrait with a blue face and ginger hair… what’s not to like about this colourful piece? The downturned mouth makes the woman look a little grumpy perhaps, but there is a friendly sparkle in the eyes. Pekoe has added in some clever shading, both on the face and in the hair, to give the whole portrait depth and texture. This is another fine piece from the wonderful Pekoe.

4812. St Werburghs tunnel (317)

Bnie, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2022
Bnie, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2022

The RBF crew are very popular among other artists in Bristol, and birthdays are often an excuse for a whole group of artists to come together for a paint jam. Recently it was the turn of Bnie to celebrate, and there was a great turnout of artists in St Werburghs tunnel to join in the festivities.

Bnie, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2022
Bnie, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2022

Bnie, certainly pushed the boat out with this design, which incorporates her customary beautiful letters, slightly jazzed up, and with a beautiful five colour horizontal fade across the letters. The letters (as if they weren’t already great) are brought to life under a white zig-zag line across the piece, where the colours appear where the white is, and outside the line, the letters are simply black with white outlines. A complex and beautiful piece of writing. Belated Happy Birthday Bnie.

4809. Coach and Horses

Hazard, Coach and Horses, Bristol, November 2022
Hazard, Coach and Horses, Bristol, November 2022

It is too easy in life to take things for granted, and sometimes we need something to remind us that special places, people and events are happening all around us all the time, if only we woke up and appreciated them. I had such an awakening yesterday, when photographing this Halloween paint jam from the RBF crew on the wall of the Coach and Horses. This spot is easy to drive past, but very difficult to stop and park near, but thankfully I found some obliging double yellow lines that I occupied for five minutes.

Hazard, Coach and Horses, Bristol, November 2022
Hazard, Coach and Horses, Bristol, November 2022

Hazard is a phenomenon. Her work goes from strength to strength and this recent Halloween portrait is absolutely exceptional. The detail, the shading which provides depth, and the expression are flawless. I love this piece and Hazard’s work, and I do not take it for granted, rather I see it as a privilege that I get to see her work on a regular basis. Brilliant.

4712. Spake Evans Park (56)

Evey, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, August 2022
Evey, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, August 2022

Evey has been out and about much more this summer, or at least that is how it feels, and with each outing her work is improving. Her letters are large and obvious, spelling out EVEN, with a focus on the variation of fills.

Evey, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, August 2022
Evey, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, August 2022

This one was painted as part of a collaborative wall and is notable for its horizontal fills of at least six colours. There is something not quite consistent with the drop-shadow on the stars, but that is a small detail, all in all this is a bright, fun piece from Evey.

4705. Elton Street (8)

Bnie, Elton Street, Bristol, September 2022
Bnie, Elton Street, Bristol, September 2022

It was while she was finishing off this piece that I met Bnie for the first time, and I was genuinely very pleased to at last make her acquaintance. I had seen her painting once or twice before, but hadn’t spoken with her. This time I was able to ask her about her work, and during the course of our discussion, she told me that she was the organiser of these boards, hosted on the side of Lost Horizon arts centre, where she also works.

Bnie, Elton Street, Bristol, September 2022
Bnie, Elton Street, Bristol, September 2022

This wonderful piece, sort of sign-writing, is a slight departure for Bnie, but perfectly executed. The patterns surrounding the ‘Know your worth’ writing perhaps give Bnie away a little bit, but if I am honest, If I hadn’t been there (and signed it) when I visited, I’m not certain I would have spotted it as a Bnie piece.