4930. St Werburghs tunnel (335)

Wispa, St Werburghs, Bristol, December 2022
Wispa, St Werburghs, Bristol, December 2022

There was a little bit of an RBF crew party in the tunnel just before Christmas, with a great turnout, and one of the artists, whose work I have not seen much of, is Wispa. Her writing and character might have been the pick of the bunch on account of the snowman, I mean who can resist this guy at Christmas?

Wispa, St Werburghs, Bristol, December 2022
Wispa, St Werburghs, Bristol, December 2022

Wispa is clearly an accomplished writer who typically writes WISP and occasionally adds a character, and with this piece she has smashed both. The letters are nice ones to play with, and give plenty of scope for fills, curves and straight lines. The triple border works really well, picking out the letters and helping them to stand out from the wall.

Wispa, St Werburghs, Bristol, December 2022
Wispa, St Werburghs, Bristol, December 2022

Raymond Briggs, may he rest in peace, would have loved this faithful rendition of his loveable character, right down to the cross-hatching on his hat and scarf. This is a fabulous Christmas piece from Wispa. I hope she comes back to Bristol soon with more great work.

2053. The Bearpit (177)

With the incredible weather we have had recently in Bristol, there has been a massive turnover of street art, so what the hell am I doing delving through my archive pictures rather than posting current street/graffiti art? I think that it tends to happen when I am looking for something specific and then stumble upon things that I have squirreled away. Anyhow, I saw this and just had to post it. It is a winter piece (obviously from the subject) by John D’oh.

John D'oh, The Bearpit, Bristol, January 2017
John D’oh, The Bearpit, Bristol, January 2017

The stencil depicts the snowman from Disney’s Frozen, and makes a pun on the name with one of the characters (Olaf = a laugh), but then draws in the incredibly serious matter of climate change. This is a skillful way of blending art, humour and the biggest issue of our time in a typically John D’oh way. I love this piece and am happy that I have now at last liberated it.