I was fortunate enough to watch on for a little while as Dun Sum was painting this imaginary beetle-like insect, in the tunnel, and I am not sure that I would have twigged that it was Dun Sum had Hypo not been there to inform me.
Dun Sum, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2024
Dun Sum’s fantasy creatures are the hallmark of his outstanding artwork, most of which is displayed in L Dub, but occasionally we get to enjoy his work in central Bristol. This clever piece might well go unnoticed by many, as it is an augmentation of a Stivs piece that has been here in the tunnel for several months. It is so good to see this kind of creative work from Dun Sum.
I was lucky enough to be at the right place at the right time when Ayup was about midway through painting this piece. I believe he was visiting from Bournemouth (I think that is what he said) although he is originally from Derbyshire, hence the name AYUP. He usually writes highly designed letters, completely different from this piece, and his Instagram feed is well worth a look.
Ayup, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2024
There is a lot of humour in this cartoon character piece, which is beautifully finished, with strong fills and clean lines. The gold tooth was a point of interest for a young child and his mother when I passed through the tunnel a few days later. The boy was mesmerised by the tooth and kept asking his mum why it was gold/yellow. I would love to see Ayup return to Bristol, and perhaps drop one of his letter pieces on the curved wall i Dean Lane – that would be spectacular.
My mood is low today with the news that it is looking likely Donald Trump has won the election in America. One wonders just how this can happen. From this side of the pond, it does not reflect well on the slim majority of Americans who favour a narcissistic bigot and his right wing policies (actually does he have any, or simply make it up as he goes along?). Having said that, we have made the same mistakes in the UK over the last 14 years, and by God are we paying for it now. I am reminded of this rather unpleasant piece of street art from several years ago in which a pair of narcissists kiss – little did we know (although we suspected it) how destructive this pair of liars would be.
Felix Braun, Donald and Boris, Stokes Croft, Bristol, 23 May 2016
I think that it is fair to say that Hypo appears to be smashing it every week at the moment, and I have to say I am enjoying the ride. All the time he is developing his style and adding new ideas, pushing the envelope constantly.
Hypo, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2024
This is a clean piece, not as energetic as some of Hypo’s recent works, but it is nicely designed with simple colours and a solid fill. The deep 3D drop shadow drifts into a central vanishing point which works well. Hypo seems to be enjoying his ‘icicles’ at the moment, which adds a little extra interest to his border. Nice work.
I managed to catch up with Face 1st at Goldie’s Metal Headz paint jam a couple of weeks ago (lots more on that to come). During our conversation he broke the news that he has moved to Herefordshire, and he is really happy with the move with his family. Of course, this means that we won’t be seeing quite so much of his work on the streets of Bristol, which is a real shame, but the reason behind it is great news for Face 1st, and I wish him well.
Face 1st, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2024
This is a classic combination piece from Face 1st, with a girl’s face and hair fused with the word FACE, this time in 3D block writing. The whole thing has been splattered with pink gunge, a device that Face 1st uses a lot. There is no doubt that I will miss the frequency of his work and I will be keeping my eyes peeled for any visits he makes to his old stomping ground.
To honour his departure to pastures new, here is an updated gallery of his work.
Face 1st and Zake, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2024
I have an early start tomorrow to catch the right tide, and so am writing this post late last night, after a long day… forgive any incoherence. This is a wonderful collaboration from Face 1st and Zake in the tunnel, which I think was augmented by Chill, but his piece wasn’t there when I photographed the collaboration.
Face 1st, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2024
The piece on the left is a happy girl laughing face by Face 1st, a classic from the artist. I learned a short while ago that he has moved to Herefordshire, so I expect we won’t be seeing quite so much of his work in the city as we have been used to , but he reassured me that he is not all that far away and will of course visit. He seemed to be very happy with his move, which is a good thing.
Zake, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2024
To the right is a fabulous and rather sinister character by Zake, painted in his inimitable style. The light blue shading of the lower surfaces of the face are inspirational, creating an amazing light effect. The pointy nose and large canines point to an evil persona, or at least that is how it comes across. Some great fun from the PWA pair.
Logoe payed us one of his visits a couple of weeks back, and this is a magnificent piece of writing he left behind, that has lasted longer than many of his pieces do. I think he painted at least six pieces on this particular visit, and I will be sharing those I found over the coming days and weeks.
Logoe, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2024
The letters of this script writing are really bold and look quite chunky with a deep 3D drop shadow. Perhaps the most distinguishing feature of this one is the vertical stripes in oranges and greys in the background, which provide a strong foundation and springboard for the letters. Nice work from Logoe.
One of the most powerful and energetic introductions to Bristol has been the emergence of Noise, over the last eighteen months or so. Since his arrival, he has been producing no end of pieces in his distinctive fat-letter style and collaborating successfully with several different artists. He is productive and talented, and fits into the Bristol way of things really well.
Noise, St Werburghs, Bristol, September 2024
In this piece, in the tunnel, Noise has compressed his writing slightly, but has managed to do this without compromising his chunky letters. The colours work nicely, although being slightly on the dark side, they are a little difficult to do justice to in the murk of the tunnel. A gallery is long overdue… watch this space.
I took a little wander into my archive and unearthed this little beauty by Mest at the end of St Werburghs tunnel painted back in August. It has been really great to see his work again in Bristol, albeit only occasionally, after what feels like quite a long absence.
Mest, St Werburghs, Bristol, August 2024
There is something very pleasing about Mest’s letters, and he has presented them beautifully in this tight and clean piece. A little bit more background would have masked out the bits of the previous piece distracting around the edges, however the focus remains on his beautiful fills, afforded lots of space inside his fat letters. Nice to see this one.
Kosc and Humor, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2024
Every now and again, something very special appears on the walls of Bristol, without warning or fanfare, and when you find them they blow your socks off. This collaboration between Bristol artist Kosc and Tunbridge Wells-based artist Humor is one such collaboration.
Kosc, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2024
The collaboration, I gather, celebrates the birthday of actor Jenna Ortega, who I must admit is a little bit off my radar, although I faintly recognise her from her Wednesday Addams character, and the 2021 film The Fallout looks like it might be worth watching. She clearly has a large fan base, which I assume would include Kosc and Humor. Kosc has painted a gorgeous piece of graffiti writing which picks up the colours used for the birthday candles.
Humor, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2024
I haven’t come across Humor’s work before, but this photorealistic portrait of Jenna Ortega is quite stunning, and something we don’t see nearly enough of in Bristol, outside of festivals or commissions.
Humor, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2024
On the day I originally photographed this collaboration, there was quite a lot of glare on the wall, it can be a difficult wall to photograph, because it gets impacted by shadows and sunlight at all times of the day. I did return on a duller day, and think I got a slightly better picture with less glare (and a few more autumn leaves on the ground). Stunning work, especially when you consider it is a greyscale portrait. I would love to think that this might be the first of many visits to Bristol by Humor, but I won’t be holding my breath.
In a post only a couple of days ago I mentioned how no two Omie pieces are the same, and this one in the tunnel rather supports my assertion. In this one, Omie presents some irregular letters in a stunning three-layered red fill, decorated in the top half with some ephemeral blue dots.
Omie, St Werburghs, Bristol, September 2024
It is the 3D drop shadow that really grabs the eye in this piece though. The shadow is nice and deep, and veers off to the left of the letters in a blue tint with black stripes. If I were being picky I might note that not all of the black stripes are parallel, but fortunately it doesn’t spoil the overall effect, and most people probably wouldn’t even notice. I must say that I am very much enjoying Omie’s work, and am never quite sure what could be coming next, which is fun.
Natural adventures 