Sometimes it is better not to write too much about a piece, especially when it is this good. Smak posted this on Instagram and said what a banging board this is, and I quite agree. Hats off to whoever erected it under the M32.
This writing is close to perfect and there is something that is extra good about it, it might be the choice of vibrant and contrasting colours. Anyhow it is simply a really good example of how great technical graffiti writing can be.
Well, he’s on fire really isn’t he? Each time I do my rounds of well known street art spots there seems to be a Smak piece lurking there somewhere. This relatively recent one is bang in the middle of St Werburghs tunnel. I am quite pleased that the photograph has come out reasonably well considering the dire light conditions there.
This has all the elements of a typically technically brilliant Smak piece. Sensational design and lines, clean and tidy, wonderful 3D and fill work. I’m not sure he ever has a ‘bad hair day’ and if he does, I’ve yet to see it.
This is not an easy place to photograph. The spot is sandwiched between two busy slip roads underneath the M32, and just for added difficulty, access is over fences and the River Frome runs through the middle. I haven’t yet ventured into the spot and these photographs are taken through a bit of railing some distance away.
There is little I can say about Smak’s work that I haven’t said dozens of times before, but even in this tricky spot where only a few will ever get to see the piece his work is 100 per cent on point. There is a consistent font style to his letters and his shadinngs are utterly awesome. One huge advantage about this spot is that tagging tends to be pretty much absent.
L Dub, (Lawrence Weston) is a spot I visit infrequently, but one that always rewards the effort. It is my premium dog walking spot, because it takes ten minutes of walking through a curious wasteland to get there and is close to Kings Weston where the dog and I spend many happy hours, particularly in the excellent cafe (doggie ice creams!)
On my most recent trip I was greeted by this magnificent piece of writing by Smak. He really is a brilliant writer and all round street artist and seems to be at the top of his game at the moment. The best way to try to understand just how good this piece is, take a good look at it and consider the colour transitions, the sharpness of the letters, the overall design, the shadows, the outline in blue and the decorative fills. All of these elements are brought together in a vibrant crisp clean piece… stuck out in the middle of nowhere where footfall is minimal. The joy of an artist in form.
I really don’t think I need to say too much about this one from Smak. It is brilliant. Strong clean lines, a sensational letter style, outstanding colours that slap you in the face and the graded fills are first class. I’ve said enough.
2020 has started off with a bang in the Bristol street art scene. Even though the weather hasn’t improved much, there have been a few dry days and artists have been out in force. So much for being able to catch up with lost treasures in my archive. I am going to struggle to keep up this year. I can feel it in my bones. Still, I’ll have plenty of material to blog about into my retirement.
Very pretty in pink and a lovely way to start the new year. Just before Christmas, Bnie and Smak got together to paint this wonderful collaboration down at Dean Lane skate park.
On the left, Bnie has absolutely smashed it out of the park with this really tight piece of graffiti writing. The cartoon style letters are beautifully done but it is the shading of the letters that singles this out as an outstanding work. What a great Christmas present.
On the right, and not to be upstaged is a magnificent piece by Smak. I think that Smak has saved his best until last for 2019. I don’t have the vocabulary to describe how much I like this. It feels like he has taken the best of everything he has done during the year and pulled it all together in this piece. The colour selection for both is to die for. Outstanding work from both artists who would appear to feed off each other.
Happy New Year.
More great graffiti writing from Smak on the south side of the M32 roundabout on a stretch of wall he has painted many times. As one would expect his letters are beautifully designed and presented and the colour patterning really cleverly used in each one.
Smak really sets the bar for this style of writing in Bristol and rarely drops below this exceptionally high standard. It is the care and attention to detail that raises the quality of the piece, for example the darker colours on the background are carefully worked and in synchrony with the letters where he could have just presented the whole thing on a dark plain background. Lovely piece.
I can’t think of a time when Sled One hasn’t been on fire. His work is always of such an exceptionally high standard and not only is it technically brilliant, but he combines that excellence with a fertile imagination and interesting concepts.
This piece on the ‘Where the Wall’ curated area is a beautiful (belated) birthday work for his frequent painting buddy Smak. It gives me a warm feeling to know that these guys pay tribute to each other in this kind of way and reassures me that the street art community is built on friendship and decency. The piece itself is a creative spelling of SMAK and is painted with a fabulous colour palette underpinned by a deep red and a scarlet. What a nice birthday present to get.
P.S. it is my birthday in January… any chance…?
I only make occasional trips to L Dub, which is OK, because the turnover isn’t quite up to the same level as it is in places like Dean Lane for example. Those rare visits though are totally worth it, and the dog rather enjoys the trip too.
This lovely piece of writing by Smak was alongside the Sled One mermaid which I posted a little while back, and the subtle colour selections work so well placed on the cloudy sky background. I am a fan of clouds, and since I started playing around with spray paint I have been looking at clouds a whole load more to make sure I don’t make silly mistakes (for example clouds that are darker on the top than on the bottom – it just doesn’t happen). Nice to see this Smak piece, it feels like a while since his last one.
There is no stopping Smak these days and this is another corker of a piece tucked under the M32 along the cycle path. This was painted alongside a whole bunch of other artists who had made the trip over the Severn Estuary from Wales to leave their mark in Bristol. There was a bit of a theme of ‘zebra’ stripes in the pieces that were painted.
As Smak pieces go, this one is not as complex as some of his pieces, but it is wonderfully crisp and the neon pink A is to die for. In recent pieces I have noticed that Smak is enjoying giving the A a bit of special treatment and some of them have been outstanding, this one included.
Natural adventures 