Tag: St Werburghs

3245. St Werburghs tunnel (198)

It would seem that this piece from Smak was painted at the same time as Inkie and Tizer painted it recently and that there was something of a paint jam going on. I think that Hemper and one or two others might also have been involved. I have to admit that paint jams in the tunnel are not my favourite because the poor lighting never does justice to the artwork.

Smak, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2020
Smak, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2020

As always the work of Smak is of a consistently high quality and there is a lot here to admire in both shape and colour. Each letter is painted with care and attention and there is a phenomenal amount of detail and design behind each one. Another great piece of graffiti writing.

3243. St Werburghs tunnel (196)

What a lovely surprise to come across this Tizer piece so soon after his last visit to Bristol. I rather hope that this is going to become a bit of a ‘thing’. This one was painted alongside Inkie and is in the expected writing/character format that Tizer favours.

Tizer, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2020
Tizer, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2020

The colours are a little comprimised due to the lighting in the tunnel, particularly on the left side of the piece where the yellow tones start to dominate. Consistent with his way of working, I suspect that the piece is freestyled, which gives the letters a freedom that some rather more formulaic writers might struggle with. The multi-coloured fills are superbly well done and the female character on the left is sporting a fine pair of specs. More please.

3240. St Werburghs tunnel (196)

You know that the world has gone all topsy-turvy when Inkie hits so many walls in Bristol in such a short time. I am not complaining mind, and it is perhaps one of the few upsides of the coronavirus epidemic that Inkie seems to be spending more time in his native Bristol.

Inkie, St Werburghs, Bristol October 2020
Inkie, St Werburghs, Bristol October 2020

This is a recent piece in the tunnel painted alongside Tizer who has made two visits to Bristol in as many months. This is a lovely four-colour filled piece blended horizontally in two contrasting hues. Slightly less elaborate than some of his Oieces, but beautifully decorated with hearts and stars. Always, always great to find an Inkie piece.

3239. St Werburghs tunnel (195)

Yep, he’s back. This is just one of several new pieces by Slim Pickings (Tes) to appear over the last couple of weeks in Bristol. After a long quiet period, he has let loose again and there seem to be one or two adjustments to his ‘normal’ form of letters.

Slim Pickings, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2020
Slim Pickings, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2020

This one in the tunnel is slapped over another piece, almost like a sticker, in the fine tradition of throw ups, but this is a classy and beautifully finished type of throw up. Unfortunately the light in the tunnel kind of bleaches out any colours, so the piece looks a little bland. One of the variations that has crept in is the tightness in the curve of the S, an interesting development for those who study such things.

Slim Pickings, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2020
Slim Pickings, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2020

3231. St Werburghs tunnel (194)

I was lucky enough to meet Frank Riot as she was working on this fabulous tribute piece to a friend of hers who had passed away a couple of years ago.

Although he hadn’t started his contribution at that point, the whole thing was actually a collaboration with Stivs albeit not necessarily painted at exactly the same time. Frank Riot is from London but had come to Bristol specially to paint this tribute. I chatted with her for a little while as she was working on the bottom half of the design using a lot of masking tape to get those superb straight lines.

Frank Riot WIP, St Werburghs, Bristol, September 2020
Frank Riot WIP, St Werburghs, Bristol, September 2020

Unfortunately I didn’t get to see her or Stivs completing the piece, but returned a couple of days later to check it out. It has turned out wonderfully well and the huge contrast between the artist’s styles somehow doesn’t seem to matter too much.

Frank Riot and Stivs, St Werburghs, Bristol, September 2020
Frank Riot and Stivs, St Werburghs, Bristol, September 2020

Frank Riot is a designer and that comes across clearly in her work Whereas Stivs is a specialist in beautiful Gothic type script graffiti writing. This wall usually has a high turnover, but I hope this tribute piece receives a little bit of respect for a while, it certainly deserves it.

3227. St Werburghs tunnel (193)

This is one of two walls, that happen to be opposite each other at the entrance to St Werburghs tunnel, by Billy, while painting together with her buddy Morny. Billy’s pieces (she is called @billycolours on Instagram) are always brightly coloured and have a child-like simplicity to them.

Billy, St Werburghs, Bristol, September 2020
Billy, St Werburghs, Bristol, September 2020

This fabulous mural shows a figure in bed, presumably looking up at a mobile of planets, with a thought bubble and the words Wake Up! The piece tells a really simple story in a clean and clear way – Billy has a gift for this kinnd of story, and it shows tht you don’t need deep sophistication to get a message across. A bright and cheerful addition to the tunnel. Sadly this piece only lasted a few days before being bombed with rather inferior throw ups.

3224. St Werburghs tunnel (193)

I think we can be fairly clear about what Morny thinks about our illustrious ludicrous Prime Minister. There is no holding back on this piece, and perhaps it reflects what so many people think at the moment in this divided country that we live in.

Morny, St Werburghs, Bristol, September 2020
Morny, St Werburghs, Bristol, September 2020

I am a big fan of Morny’s style that I would describe as child-like in its form and colour selections, but unlike the work of a child, it has some sophistication.   I like this portrait of Boris, it is well observed (hands in pockets) and obvious who it is. I am inclined to agree with Morny on this one… it’s not my fault, it’s your fault.

3198. St Werburghs tunnel (191)

This is a rather nice collaboration from Kool Hand and Slakarts. I don’t think I have seen anything from the latter for a very long time, but I am truly glad to see something new from him. Kool Hand as you know has been pretty busy of late.

Kool Hand, St Werburghs, Bristol, September 2020
Kool Hand, St Werburghs, Bristol, September 2020

On the left is a familiar sight to regular readers of Natural Adventures, it is of course a capped orangutan, although this time the fills have developed from solid orange to a blended mix of colours, giving a rather nice textured effect.

Slakarts, St Werburghs, Bristol, September 2020
Slakarts, St Werburghs, Bristol, September 2020

To the right is a very nice and long-overdue piece from Slakarts. His faces usually have a symmetry about them and this one certainly conforms to that. Great colours and lovely clean lines separating out the solid fills. This is a very nice piece indeed from Slakarts.

3197. St Werburghs tunnel (190)

I have noticed a few pieces by Mind Control appearing in Bristol recently, which is no bad thing. I first encoutered his work back at Upfest 2017 and wrote this post which has a link to a rather good interview with the young lad who was only 16 at the time.

Mind Control, St Werburghs, Bristol, September 2020
Mind Control, St Werburghs, Bristol, September 2020

Although he is from the Midlands, I guess that at 19 he has a little more mobility and trips to Bristol might become more frequent. I think I have a couple of other pieces in my archive that I will have to dig out. This is nicely done with a clear message and one that carries huge support with it.

This is a straightforward protest piece calling for the cessation of the badger cull, an unpopular approach to reducing the imfection and impacts of bovine turberculosis. The cull will be reaching its peak this year and then drop off over the coming years. Has it made any difference? We’ll have to wait and see. Have animals suffered? almost certainly. It is a complex disease control problem for which there are limited options.

3191. St Werburghs tunnel (189)

Every now and again in the tunnel you get to see a really classy piece of writing (in fact much more than just ocasionally – we are blessed) and this tight piece is by Gage Graphics, probably better known for some magnificent large murals arountd the city.

Gage Graphics, St Werburghs, Bristol, September 2020
Gage Graphics, St Werburghs, Bristol, September 2020

There is something comforting about mural artists who make their living from their art getting back to grassroots and slapping some paint up on a wall like this. This is the work of someone who really gets what he’s doing and carries it off with ease. There are so many good things about this work, spelling out SERIF, but the cracks in the letters do the trick for me. Something of a rarity, but so very welcome.