6491. St Werburghs tunnel (454)

Face 1st, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2024
Face 1st, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2024

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
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.

6469. St Werburghs tunnel (454)

Face 1st and Zake, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2024
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
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
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.

6465. St Werburghs tunnel (453)

Logoe, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2024
Logoe, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2024

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
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.

6460. St Werburghs tunnel (452)

Noise, St Werburghs, Bristol, September 2024
Noise, St Werburghs, Bristol, September 2024

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
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.

6454. St Werburghs tunnel (451)

Mest, St Werburghs, Bristol, August 2024
Mest, St Werburghs, Bristol, August 2024

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
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.

6448. St Werburghs tunnel (451)

Kosc and Humor, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2024
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
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
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
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.

6439. St Werburghs tunnel (450)

Omie, St Werburghs, Bristol, September 2024
Omie, St Werburghs, Bristol, September 2024

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
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.

6437. St Werburghs tunnel (449)

Hypo, St Werburghs, Bristol, September 2024
Hypo, St Werburghs, Bristol, September 2024

Hypo has been on fire for a couple of years now, re-emerging during Covid, and keeping up a regular rhythm of fine graffiti writing that just seems to be getting better and better. His letters lend themselves to bilateral symmetry like those of Werm, but there the similarity of graffiti writing between the two artists ends.

Hypo, St Werburghs, Bristol, September 2024
Hypo, St Werburghs, Bristol, September 2024

The colours in this piece are its crowning glory. Set on a neutral cream background, the wildstyle letters ‘HYPO’ are festooned with a beautifully blended selection of rainbow colours that manage to remain reasonably subtle, and whilst a colourful piece it avoids being gaudy. Very fine work from a lovely graffiti writer.

6406. St Werburghs tunnel (447)

Mr Draws, St Werburghs tunnel, Bristol, September 2024
Mr Draws, St Werburghs tunnel, Bristol, September 2024

I have said it so many times before, but Mr Draws really is one of the most consistent graffiti artists in Bristol, and has been for as long as I have been writing this blog. This is a lovely piece of writing at the entrance to the tunnel and is bright, cheerful and welcoming.

Mr Draws, St Werburghs tunnel, Bristol, September 2024
Mr Draws, St Werburghs tunnel, Bristol, September 2024

Mr Draws has several different fill styles, and this camouflage pattern is one that he uses a fair bit, although not always as colourful as this one. His curvy letters are propped up with a deep drop shadow, and he has added a peace symbol for good measure. I think we could all do with a bit of peace in the world at the moment. Nice work from Mr Draws.

6381. St Werburghs tunnel (446)

Scrapyardspec, St Werburghs. Bristol, September 2024
Scrapyardspec, St Werburghs. Bristol, September 2024

I rather like it when visiting artists come to Bristol, drop a couple of pieces and then disappear. This is what Scrapyard spec seems to do on a reasonably regular basis – quarterly I’d say. Perhaps he has friends that he visits when in town, or maybe he simply likes going on tour around the country.

Scrapyardspec, St Werburghs. Bristol, September 2024
Scrapyardspec, St Werburghs. Bristol, September 2024

This piece has been elongated to fin the wall space at the entrance to the tunnel. I would liken Scrapyardspec’s work to FTG or Full Time Ghoul, in that his pieces are based on the same concept, but are designed to fit the space. The colours are bright and vibrant and the character fun – certainly a piece that will not go unnoticed. Looking forward to his next visit.