Tag: St Werburghs

3438. St Werburghs tunnel (219)

There are a bunch of writers in Bristol who have one thing in common, they write the same letters in roughly the same letter style, but add creativity in the colour selections and fill styles that they choose. Phour is one such artist, and this is a recent piece of his from St Werburghs tunnel.

Phour, St Werburghs, Bristol, January 2021
Phour, St Werburghs, Bristol, January 2021

The tunnel is a great place for rainy day painting and there is a rich seam of, in the main, great graffiti and street art. In fact the only problem with the tunnel is the light conditions, which mean that photographs from there never do the artwork justice, with a lot of orange and yellow polluting the images. With a little adjustment, I managed to get as close as possible to the true colours of this Phour piece. Nice letters, nice 3D work and a very good background. Good to see.

3421. St Werburghs tunnel (218)

There has been a surge of activity by Mr Klue over the last month, most of it at the farm end of the tunnel which he seems to favour. This one is a tribute piece, and the first of several from an assortment of artists, to the late rapper MF DOOM whose passing in October last year seems to have been made public only recently.

Mr Klue, St Werburghs, Bristol, January 2021
Mr Klue, St Werburghs, Bristol, January 2021

MF DOOM was famous not only for his music, but also for his face mask which is the central Icon in the tribute pieces being paid to him. In this ephemeral work by Mr Klue, the mask is picked out in the middle in reds and whites, emerging from the wispy swirls all around. A fine tribute piece.

3403. St Werburghs tunnel (217)

One of the most consistent Bristol graffiti writers (plus characters) of 2020 was Taboo, whose imaginative and unconventional creations brightened up walls all over the city. Although not to everyone’s taste, his unique style and obvious (underplayed) talent brought us a succession of notable and humorous pieces.

Taboo, St Werburghs, Bristol, December 2020
Taboo, St Werburghs, Bristol, December 2020

This one in St Werburghs tunnel takes us deep into his root style of oddly shaped letters (spelling TABOO), his favourite pink and black colours and a sense of anarchy that I really like. I had to auto-fix the colours on Photoshop for this one, without which the whole thing looked yellow from the horrible lighting in the tunnel.

3401. St Werburghs tunnel (216)

Holiday breaks are good for so many reasons, especially the opportunity to free up some time to do the things we love. There has been a big upsurge in productivity of street/graffiti art over the Christmas period in Bristol and my photograph folder for December is heaving. Having only seen a few pieces this year from Mr Sleven and Mr Klue, it was great to see this collaboration, the second in as many weeks from this pair in the St Werburghs tunnel.

Mr Sleven and Mr Klue, St Werburghs, Bristol, December 2020
Mr Sleven and Mr Klue, St Werburghs, Bristol, December 2020

These two create fully integrated collaborations, which I love, where their art becomes a synthesis of their styles, rather than two adjacent pieces in similar colour schemes. The Grinch has made a lot of appearances on the walls of Bristol this year, perhaps as a conscious/unconscious reference to COVID-19 spoiling things a bit. Here, Mr Sleven’s nicely drawn Grinch is emerging from a wispy Mr Klue atmosphere. This is a fine piece and there is a nice reference to COM.64 – the crew that these two belong to.

3391. St Werburghs tunnel (215)

A nicely disguised signature on this two-tone piece reveals it to be the work of Mind Control, whose work is becoming more frequent in Bristol, in particular in the St Werburghs area.

Mind Control, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2020
Mind Control, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2020

There is an element of optical illusion work going on in this piece where the central character appears to be cradling a rabbit, although looking at it another way it might simply be the folds in his jacket. A clever piece from an artist with great ideas and lots of attitude.

3380. St Werburghs tunnel (214)

On a recent trip to St Werburghs tunnel it was so very nice to be greeted by this monster face piece from CD.TC. There has definitely been an uptick in the frequency with which CD.TC has been hitting the walls this year, unless I have been missing something in the past.

CD.TC, St Werburghs, Bristol, December 2020
CD.TC, St Werburghs, Bristol, December 2020

This was painted at the same time as a Daz Cat piece a few yards away and the two will often be found painting together. I haven’t yet had the pleasure of meeting either of them, but they are out so often, it is only a matter of time.

This particular piece by CD.TC is rather more elaborate than usual, and I am guessing he took a little more time over it. The addition of horns creates an even more terrifying character. There is sure an influence of tribal masks in his pieces. Nice work.

3374. St Werburghs tunnel (213)

Slakarts has been very busy lately, especially with his three-quarter cartoony profile throw up pieces, so it was great to come across this rather more traditional-looking piece from him in the tunnel recently.

Slakarts, St Werburghs, Bristol, December 2020
Slakarts, St Werburghs, Bristol, December 2020

Slakarts’ work is very distinct and rather different from most of the character pieces you see around Bristol. This particular face is rather austere and serious and contains some nice detail, such as the lines around the eyes. Some great shading and spots round this piece off nicely. I definitely feel a Slakarts gallery coming on very soon.

3348.St Werburghs tunnel (211)

I had to have two goes to get photographs of this piece because it was raining the first time and when I got home to check the images, they were obscured by a rather annoying water drop on the camera lens – it happens from time to time.

Mes One, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2020
Mes One, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2020

On the left of this collaboration is a rather tidy piece of graffiti writing spelling out MES from Mes One. I’m not sure if I have posted anything by the artist before, but he seems to do the odd piece occasionally, and he has collaborated with Slakarts on more than one occasion. I love the red dots at the base of the letters, a very nice touch.

Slakarts, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2020
Slakarts, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2020

On the right, Slakarts gives us another of his three-quarter character portraits that he seems to be so fond of at the moment. Together these two fill this particular space at the entrance to the tunnel really well. Looking forward to more collaborations from these two.

3345. St Werburghs tunnel (211)

I managed to catch up very briefly with Mr Klue as he and Mr Sleven were just finishing off this new piece in St Werburghs tunnel. The turnover of art in this end spot is relatively high because it has a good amount of daylight, and it is always worth photographing something new, because you just can’t be sure how long it will last.

Mr Sleven and Mr Klue, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2020
Mr Sleven and Mr Klue, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2020

This is a true collaboration with the work and styles of both artists blending well together. The character with a TV head and outstretched arms is by Mr Sleven and the wispy orange and red abstract patterning by Mr Klue. These two collaborate quite often together and along with DNT and others form part of COM.64.

The two styles come together really well in this piece and the colours are striking. I like this one a lot.

3342. St Werburghs tunnel (210)

Resembling one of the giant stone head statues of Easter Island is this rather nice and low-key piece by Zace. This is only the second piece I have posted by Zace, and it illustrates the diversity of artists in Bristol at the moment and the rate at which new ones are joining the already sizeable cohort.

Zace, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2020
Zace, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2020

There is something about this piece that I really like, maybe its modesty or the simplicity. The expression is difficult to read – an enigmatic smile perhaps? There is a lot to like and enjoy in a piece like this one and I really look forward to finding more work from Zace.