Tag: St Werburghs

4288. St Werburghs tunnel (283)

The artist Merny has an extraordinary ability to convey very strong messages and emotions in the simplest of ways through his naive style that somehow seems to get straight to the point. Usually his pieces are quite witty or comical, but this one is tinged with sadness and desperation.

Merny, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2022
Merny, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2022

The character is bent over double with his head in his hands and alongside him is the caption ‘I’ve got no money’. Unfortunately, with a cost of living crisis heading our way and the impacts of the war in Ukraine, for which Russia (Putin and his cronies) are wholly responsible, this is a desperate image we can expect to see more of this year. Real people in severe difficulties. Well done Merny for tackling such difficult subjects with his art.

4281. St Werburghs tunnel (282)

In the gloom of St Werburghs tunnel is this wonderful Bnie piece, painted as part of an RBF paint jam including Evey and Pekoe. Once again, as so often with pieces in the tunnel, I had to do a bit of photo editing to get the true colours of the piece that had been somewhat washed out by the orange lighting in the tunnel.

Bnie, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2022
Bnie, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2022

Bnie has a lovely soft touch to her work. Her letters have a feminine touch, which is difficult to pin down, or perhaps it is because I know she is a female artist that I see the femininity in it. Suggestion perhaps, or is it a real thing? Anyhow, the letters have a stunning four colour horizontal palette with great transitions and the 3D shading is so utterly Bnie. A lovely piece.

4274. St Werburghs tunnel (281)

It is very easy to get complacent when artists regularly produce great work, which is something I try to guard against. We can take it for granted sometimes without recognising that each piece is a discrete and unique work, we just expect it. I felt this when starting this post, that this was another nice piece from Pekoe, but it is so much more than that, and requires a great deal of thought and effort on her part.

Pekoe, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2022
Pekoe, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2022

The piece was painted as the central part of an RBF collaboration with Bnie to her left and Evey to her right. Pekoe has returned to a theme she has used many times before of the portrait having a third (all seeing) eye. I just had a flashback to my biology lessons as a youngster and recalled the pineal body… also known as the third eye. Read up on it if you care to, it is interesting stuff. Great hair and a great piece that has been enhanced with colour correction as the original photograph is very yellow/orange.

4260. St Werburghs tunnel (280)

It was while she was painting this outstanding piece that I met Rozalita for the first time, and it was a great moment, because I have long been an admirer of her work, and it is always nice to make a connection with the artist in person. We chatted for a while about the technique she was using to paint the piece, which is referred to as a doodle grid.

Rozalita, St Werburghs, Bristol, January 2022
Rozalita, St Werburghs, Bristol, January 2022

This piece also marked a departure from her customary carnival and clown themed pieces, for which she has made a name for herself in Bristol. This is a deliberate shift, designed to broaden her portfolio the the aim of picking up some commissions, and making a living from her art.

Rozalita, St Werburghs, Bristol, January 2022
Rozalita, St Werburghs, Bristol, January 2022

This mural is rather unusual, showing two faces in an apparently distressed pose. There is something odd, creepy almost, about the two characters, and I think it has to do with the eyes. It shows how unsettling it is to see representations of faces with eyes without pupils. This is a powerful piece, and could easily represent the horror of the unfolding invasion of the Ukrain by Russia today, even though it was painted a few weeks ago.

4259. St Werburghs tunnel (279)

Wowzer, a throwback word I rarely use, this is an absolute stunner from a pair of artists I wouldn’t have imagined working together, but as it happens the resulting collaboration is fabulous. The piece by Mudra and Kosc is a wonderful fusion of styles that is symmetrical and pleasing to the eye.

Mudra and Kosc, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2022
Mudra and Kosc, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2022

Set on a black background, which immediately gets things going in the right direction, the colourful writing and monochrome character complement each other very well. The letters spelling out MUDRA are by Mudra include a little character bird, adding a special touch to the letters.

Kosc, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2022
Kosc, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2022

The central character is another banger from Kosc, whose work is simply getting better and better. It is quite a disturbing portrait of a young woman with a section of her face, her left side, exposing her skull and teeth beneath. Exquisite work from Kosc, and a really nice and unusual collaboration from this pair. I sincerely hope it is the start of something rather than a one-off.

4257. St Werburghs tunnel (278)

In this piece we see something rather special and unusual from Nugmoose, although the unusual is usual from this artist. Nugmoose has given us a writing/ character combo, which is the first I have seen from him. What makes it special is that the writing is in alien language.

Nugmoose, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2022
Nugmoose, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2022

Now I can neither read nor write alien, and I haven’t even bothered to try and decipher this writing, but I would like to think it says something like ‘hello’ or ‘we come in peace’ or ‘Nugmoose’. I suspect I will not know until I meet the artist again… he has certainly kept me curious. The whole thing is beautifully painted, and if I may say so, so utterly Nugmoose.

4232. St Werburghs tunnel (277)

I was lucky enough to bump into Mr Draws just as he was prepping for this wall; it was a busy day for artists in the tunnel. I understand that Mr Draws has a good supply of chrome in his paint store and that is why several of his pieces of late have heavily featured chrome.

Mr Draws, St Werburghs, Bristol, January 2022
Mr Draws, St Werburghs, Bristol, January 2022

Mr Draws has been favouring these larger walls lately, and seems to be enjoying the freedom that they afford. The design of this piece is relatively straightforward and the fills and drips nicely done. In common with many of his recent pieces Mr Draws has included his horizontal bars, in red, to add interest to the piece. More great work from one of the nicest artists in Bristol.

4230. St Werburghs tunnel (276)

One of the most distinctive characters painted at spots all over Bristol is a cartoon-style T-Rex, by T-Rex. Her work is light-hearted and fun, but always beautifully presented.

T-Rex, St Werburghs, Bristol, January 2022
T-Rex, St Werburghs, Bristol, January 2022

This one appeared in  St Werburghs tunnel shortly before I went on holiday, and I am pleased to be able to post it now. The delightful scene features a rather angry looking T-Rex chasing an innocent butterfly through some grass clumps and flowers. T-Rex doesn’t get out as much as she used to, parental duties and all that, but she certainly surprises us from time to time.

4221. St Werburghs tunnel (275)

Another piece from the archive, and what an absolute belter it is. Taboo is known for his rather irregular writing and cartoon character combinations, so this piece of writing in St Werburghs was a bit of a creative outlier.

Taboo, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2019
Taboo, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2019

Painted in big block letters, the word taboo, in a mixture of upper and lower case, has a clever twist from the artist, with a character lamp shining across the letters, marking out light and shade. There is so much to love about this forgotten and rather untypical piece.

4215. St Werburghs tunnel (274)

These pictures were taken only moments after meeting the artist, who I call Corupt, but who could equally be called Stick or @dis3kt (on Instagram) for the very first time. He was actually painting a piece opposite this one, which I will be posting in due course. There was a bit of a gathering in the tunnel on this particular day and I caught up with Rozalita, Mr Draws, DJ Perks and of course Paul H. A random gathering, no collaborations or paint jams going on.

Corupt, St Werburghs, Bristol, January 2022
Corupt, St Werburghs, Bristol, January 2022

Corupt has been turning out some absolute belters recently and this one fits that category easily. The colours are slightly compromised by the awful lighting conditions, but the awesome unique letter shapes and intricate fills are there for all to see. An artist who really seems to be enjoying his work at the moment.