It is quite by accident, but wholly appropriate, that I should follow up a piece by Bnie with a piece by Evey. The two artists are part of the RBF crew and often paint alongside one another.
Evey, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, September 2022
I consider this to be Evey’s best piece that I have seen so far. The green palette set on the red background works exceptionally well and makes it difficult not to notice the piece. Large bold letters, filled with a clever array of greens and a thick black 3D border combine well. There are some nice sharp lines, in particular at the base of the first ‘E’ and the white highlight is subtle, but helps to lift the letters. Upwards and onwards… it is great to watch on at the improvement as it happens.
I met Bnie properly for the first time last week, and it was great to be able to put a face to a name, and to get to know a little bit more about her art and her other work. It was a pleasurable experience, and I hope the first of many, which seems likely as she is painting noticeably more often these days.
Bnie, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2022
This piece in Dean Lane from earlier in September, is a classic piece of Bnie writing. Beautifully proportioned letters, six colour slices faded expertly, and her trademark 3D shadow, this time with straight bars, rather than her usual patterning. This is a very nice piece of writing, from an artist who is taking things up a notch.
A really quick one this morning. I have to make an unexpected trip and won’t have much time for blogs. This is a pity, because it feels like an age since I last posted anything by Pekoe.
Pekoe, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2022
This piece was painted for the annual Dean Lane Hardcore (DLH) event a couple of weeks ago, when skating, music and spray painting come together in a raucous and fun festival. All a bit loud for me, so I decided not to attend. I don’t mind what the reason for getting Pekoe out to paint, I will always welcome her work.
This is the first piece I have posted by Vozie, an artist from Cardiff, and inspiration to many female artists in the area. Up until this year I hadn’t really been aware of her work, but since Upfest, I have noticed a few of her pieces about the place.
Vozie, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, September 2022
Vozie is an extremely good writer, as this piece demonstrates and has all the features you might expect to see from a talented and experienced writer. The whole piece is really tight, with stunningly crisp lines and borders, but it is the design, colour selection and faded fills that ooze class in this piece. I am so pleased to introduce Vozie to the pages of Natural Adventures with an absolute belter.
What a lovely thing to find on the long wall in Dean Lane skate park. Fresh, clean and definitely a collaboration to bring a smile to your face. The RBF crew have been particularly busy of late in various spots around the city, but you don’t often see their work in Dean Lane.
Evey, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2022
It looks to me like Evey has been having some coaching from Bnie with her 3D shadow, as I’ve never seen her paint these patterns before. This is what I love about street art; all the artists seem to be continuously developing and improving their work, moving from idea to idea and pushing themselves. The fills in her letters are rather fun too, and the colours definitely complement each other.
Bnie, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2022
The other half of the collaborative wall is by Bnie in which she has absolutely smashed it in my opinion. The piece has everything you would expect from Bnie but elevated to the next level. This might even be her finest piece yet. The letter fills are beautifully blended and the white highlights lift them out a bit. The 3D fill is to die for, with a clever and rather unique patterning, which is a sure trademark of hers. The double border is nice and neat and provides the distinction between the letters and background. I love this piece, and I am enjoying these recent RBF collaborations.
Another wonderful piece from Pekoe, painted during a bit of a purple patch, when she seems to be getting out and about rather a lot, which can only be a good thing. This stunning portrait was painted alongside RBF crew friends and carried the blue background theme that bound the pieces on the collaborative wall together.
Pekoe, Greenbank, Bristol, April 2022
Pekoe has a remarkable talent for painting these portraits, which are so distinctly her work. I guess that the difference between her work, and the work of photorealists is that her style shines through, whereas sometimes it can be difficult to identify a photorealist artist. I am not sure if I have explained that very well, but in short, her work is unique. This time we have a purple face and blue and yellow hair decorated with orange and green symbols and shapes. Another fine piece from Pekoe.
I have always enjoyed Bnie’s writing. I can’t put my finger on it, but there is something about her work I love. It might be the letters BNIE, which are so unusual (Beany?), it might be the letter shapes, fills or shadows, or possibly the combination of all of these, but there is something there that lifts her work into a different level.
Bnie, Greenbank, Bristol, April 2022
This piece was painted alongside some RBF crew friends all using the same background, suggesting a collaborative approach. As always, the cow spot 3D shadow, a speciality of Bnie, steals the show. A fabulous piece from a fabulous artist.
Evey has been rather busy this spring with her friends from the RBF crew, and it is always such a pleasure to see her work. Evey has a rather simple style, that is always full of colour and seems always to have a happy disposition, bringing smiles to faces.
Evey, Greenbank, Bristol, April 2022
I don’t quite know why Evey spells out ‘Even’ with here letters, and it is quite unusual to have repeated letters in a tag (unless they are together, like an ‘OO’ for example). In this piece, Evey has draped her colourful letters with icing and some hundreds and thousands, giving them a celebratory feel.
Another fabulous Pekoe portrait in a series of recent pieces that it has been a pleasure to witness in recent weeks. This one was painted alongside her RBF friends in Sparke Evans Park a couple of weeks ago.
Pekoe, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, April 2022
There is something very special about the colours that Pekoe uses and the blue and pink in this piece are absolutely perfect. There is enough shading on the face to give some depth to the features, and we can sense a sad expression, which the tears reinforce. The big hair is magnificent, but again alludes to sadness with some unhappy faces in place of smiley ones. The crown is well deserved and appropriate. A fine piece from Pekoe.
In the gloom of St Werburghs tunnel is this wonderful Bnie piece, painted as part of an RBF paint jam including Evey and Pekoe. Once again, as so often with pieces in the tunnel, I had to do a bit of photo editing to get the true colours of the piece that had been somewhat washed out by the orange lighting in the tunnel.
Bnie, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2022
Bnie has a lovely soft touch to her work. Her letters have a feminine touch, which is difficult to pin down, or perhaps it is because I know she is a female artist that I see the femininity in it. Suggestion perhaps, or is it a real thing? Anyhow, the letters have a stunning four colour horizontal palette with great transitions and the 3D shading is so utterly Bnie. A lovely piece.