5078. Coach and Horses

3Dom, Soker, Sepr and Epok, Coach and Horses, Bristol, February 2021
3Dom, Soker, Sepr and Epok, Coach and Horses, Bristol, February 2021

How, oh how, did I manage to overlook this piece for posting? I surprise myself when trawling through my archives and I find stuff like this, and it is also quite a pleasurable experience, because it gives me the perfect excuse to talk about some outstanding artwork. This long wall is a collaboration masterclass from 3Dom, Soker, Sepr and Epok which dates back to February 2021 (actually that is when I took the pictures, I think the artwork had been there for some time already).

3Dom, Coach and Horses, Bristol, February 2021
3Dom, Coach and Horses, Bristol, February 2021

First up is this amazing character piece from 3Dom, featuring an unicyclist juggling bombs, with his arms weighed down with lead wights, and avoiding landmines. I imagine that this is a metaphor for the tightrope we are navigating as individuals, as a nation and as humanity itself. At least this is how I read it. As we would expect, it is beautifully painted.

Soker, Coach and Horses, Bristol, February 2021
Soker, Coach and Horses, Bristol, February 2021

The second piece is some incredibly tight graffiti writing from Soker, one of the very best writers around. It is especially gratifying to dig this piece out from the archives, because he is going through a rather quiet period at the moment.

Sepr, Coach and Horses, Bristol, February 2021
Sepr, Coach and Horses, Bristol, February 2021

Next up is the magnificent Sepr with a whole story unfolding. Aliens in a spaceship are trying to drag a cow into the sky, but finding the going difficult. The aliens are contacting their base with the words, “Easton… we have a problem” – a local corruption of the famous quote. Brilliant and witty.

Epok, Coach and Horses, Bristol, February 2021
Epok, Coach and Horses, Bristol, February 2021

Finally, we have something of a rarity, an amazing piece of writing from Epok. I can’t think when I last saw a new piece from Epok, but this must have been one of his last in Bristol. I hope that the break in his productivity will at some point come to an end and that he will once again bless us with his unique geometric designs. What a collaboration, and what a wait.

5055. Coach and Horses.

3Dom and Sepr, Coach and Horses, Bristol, February 2023
3Dom and Sepr, Coach and Horses, Bristol, February 2023

I really haven’t seen enough from these two of late. I guess that both of them are pretty busy with real life, and that happens, but it means that the class they both bring to the streets of Bristol is missed. This collaboration from 3Dom and Sepr also included the beautiful FOIS writing from Kleiner Shames (already posted).

3Dom, Coach and Horses, Bristol, February 2023
3Dom, Coach and Horses, Bristol, February 2023

On the left is a superb example of 3Dom’s superb writing style, including an eye character that looks to have dropped from the sky. There is a fluidity and confidence that oozes from 3Dom’s work, and just by looking at it, you can tell that it has been crafted by a master at the top of his game.

Sepr, Coach and Horses, Bristol, February 2023
Sepr, Coach and Horses, Bristol, February 2023

Sepr brings with his some of the best character work in the city/country. His unique style is instantly recognisable and more often than not humorous. In this piece, a skeleton is out walking his skeleton dog, who has run off, pulling his forearm away with him. Great fun. A measure of the quality of this piece is the care and attention given to the bead lead, which in close-up is meticulously painted. What a great collaborative wall, well worth a look.

4773. Cumberland Basin

Sepr, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, October 2022
Sepr, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, October 2022

Character pieces don’t come much better than this remarkable dog, wrapped up in its lead. Sepr is the greatest. What makes this truly outstanding, figuratively and literally is the application of the shadow of the character. It is so sharp and crisp, and completely accurate, mirroring all aspects and details of the dog.

Sepr, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, October 2022
Sepr, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, October 2022

This would have to go down as one of my favourite pieces of the year, and that is saying something as it has been something of a special year. It may be small and ‘simple’ but it is technically and visually a masterpiece. Bravo Sepr!

4606. M32 roundabout J3 (420)

Arguably the best cartoon character artist in Bristol is Sepr. Nobody else can tell the stories quite as well as he can in the simplest of ways. This is not only excellent art, but it is also a narrative that stimulates thought and curiosity about what is going on.

Sepr, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2022
Sepr, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2022

The piece was created as part of a birthday paint jam for fellow artist Mr Jago, who I know little about (to my shame). In this piece, a rather shady looking ‘Del Boy’ type is flogging ‘merchundoise’ (perhaps an oblique reference to Space Balls, the movie). What Sepr has done so well is bring focus and attention on the items for sale by bringing them to life with tons of ‘brush-stroke’ colour, contrasting so noticeably with the greyscale character and suitcase. A brilliant piece and one of my favourites from Sepr. Mr Jago is indeed honoured.

4569. Upfest 2022 (27)

One of my favourite Bristol artists is Sepr, and it is great to see him embracing Upfest this year. I can’t recall any Upfest pieces by Sepr before, but I might well be mistaken. This is a prominent wall at Upfest, with plenty of opportunity to see it head on from a distance, as anyone driving from North Street to West Street will know.

Sepr, Upfest 22, Bristol, June 2022
Sepr, Upfest 22, Bristol, June 2022

The previous occupant was another Bristol artist, Cheba, so it is nice to get that local continuity. Sepr has painted a whole load of people out and about, perhaps reflecting the diversity of people attending Upfest. What is fascinating is that each of the characters is telling a different story; some seem anxious, some unhappy, some happy, some busy and some simply chilling. It is incredible to get so many contrasting emotions into one piece. This is an outstanding piece from Sepr, and what a joy that it will probably remain in situ until the next Upfest.

4306. Cumberland Basin

This recent collaboration by Sepr and Acer replaces a Valentines Day piece by this pair last year. I wonder if this piece had been planned to be a repeat to mark the day of lovers, but got delayed for a while. Whatever, it is a truly outstanding collaboration, sharp, clean and tidy.

Sepr, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2022
Sepr, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2022

On the left is a rather clumsy Cupid figure who has somehow managed to shoot himself in the foot with an arrow. Sepr has an amazing ability to bring his characters to life, and tell big stories. The shadows are supremely well painted and lift the character right off the wall.

Acer One, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2022
Acer One, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2022

To the right, Acer has written LOVE in a lettering style that he appears to be playing with a lot at the moment, judging by recent posts on his Instagram feed. Rainbow colours on nicely designed regular letters… a fabulous font design. Altogether brilliant.

Sepr and Acer One, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2022
Sepr and Acer One, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2022

4242. M32 Spot (133)

The best thing about photographing and chronicling street art in Bristol are the surprises, and they don’t come much bigger than this fabulous three way collaboration from Logoe, Sepr and Haka. Three old hands (I hope they won’t mind me calling them that) on the Bristol scene combining their talents on one wall.

Logoe, M32 Spot, Bristol, January 2022
Logoe, M32 Spot, Bristol, January 2022

To the left of the triptych is a truly fabulous piece of script graffiti writing from Logoe, who has been mad for it this winter. There really has been no stopping him, despite the fact he doesn’t even live in Bristol and blitzes our walls in short bursts.

Sepr, M32 Spot, Bristol, January 2022
Sepr, M32 Spot, Bristol, January 2022

The middle section is a superb character piece from Sepr, featuring a beautifully dresses satan balancing a flaming earth on his finger. Why would such a thing be happening?… oh yeah, the planet is being run by imbeciles and climate change is going to change everything. Satan surely has a hand in all of this somewhere.

Haka, M32 Spot, Bristol, January 2022
Haka, M32 Spot, Bristol, January 2022

The right-hand section is a cheerful piece by Haka, that clearly demonstrates his ability when he puts his mind to it. Often his pieces have a rough-edge, grounded feel to them, but not this one. Here he has pulled-off some stylish writing and excellent fills that do the job nicely and round off the whole collaboration. Great work from these three.

Logoe, Sepr and Haka, M32 Spot, Bristol, January 2022
Logoe, Sepr and Haka, M32 Spot, Bristol, January 2022

4136. M32 Cycle path (152)

It’s Christmas Eve, hooray! I am going to give us all a bit of a break and keep my commentary of this sensational collaboration by Sepr and 3Dom brief. Characters accompanied by writing in this long panel. Great stuff.

Sepr, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, November 2021
Sepr, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, November 2021
Sepr and 3Dom, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, November 2021
Sepr and 3Dom, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, November 2021
3Dom, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, November 2021
3Dom, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, November 2021

4037. M32 roundabout (358)

This lovely collaboration on the M32 roundabout took me a little while to unravel, although once unravelled it is blindingly obvious. To the left is a very ‘Haka’ Haka piece and the right hand side is a blended collaboration between Logoe and Sepr.

Haka, M32 roundabout, Bristol, October 2021
Haka, M32 roundabout, Bristol, October 2021

I probably haven’t posted nearly as many Haka pieces as I should have over the years, and might need to do a bit of digging in my archives to get a few more out there. This is a simple but joyful piece of writing from Haka with the ever-present shout out to CK1 RIP.

Logoe and Sepr, M32 roundabout, Bristol, October 2021
Logoe and Sepr, M32 roundabout, Bristol, October 2021

The Logoe/Sepr mash up is simply brilliant, and the second recent piece in a burst from Logoe who appears to have woken from a long slumber. The letters are by Logoe in his unique script style and the writing isn’t his usual message or lyric, but  the year spelled out. The fills are beautifully done and colours reflective of the time of year.  Sepr has contributed a face and hand into the mix and as a whole it works really well. This must have been a fun session.

3837. St Werburghs tunnel (250)

Here we have another outstanding piece from that man Sepr painted as part of the funday Sunday paint jam in the tunnel a couple of weekends ago. There are so many memorable pieces from this event that it would take me a long while to get them all written up. I have selected a few, and the rest will have to wait for a while or longer.

Sepr, St Werburghs, Bristol, July 2021
Sepr, St Werburghs, Bristol, July 2021

Sepr has really smashed it with this amusing piece in which a king character is preparing to sit down on a throne, and a little mouse is either being a loyal subject and placing the chair under the king, or is being mischievous and removing said chair. I wonder if the golden character is a reference to Goldie who had made the journey to Bristol to join in with the paint jam. A fun piece.