Tag: St Werburghs

2390. St Werburghs tunnel (92)

It is good to see that Mr Draws is getting out a bit more again after a comparatively quiet period. This rather low-key piece in St Werburghs tunnel is a nice take on his DRAW lettering, with a reversal of the letter D. This is quite a common effect used by writers but is always fun and effective.

Mr Draws, St Werburghs, Bristol, August 2019
Mr Draws, St Werburghs, Bristol, August 2019

Rather strangely, the subtle colours used here by Mr Draws come out better in my photographs than some of the other more vibrant adjacent pieces. Usually the poor lighting in the tunnel brings out a lot of amber and orange colours, but this piece is mercifully spared from that fate. Mr Draws would seem to be enjoying his wobbly white outline, which he has used in several of his more recent pieces and is rather effective. I guess that getting a good wobbly line is probably as difficult as getting a good straight line.

2382. St Werburghs tunnel (92)

Fiver or Fiva, consistently turns out highly distinctive burners, each with its own twist or story. Most of his work features the word FIVA or FIVER, often accompanied by a character, or given an interesting fill or sometimes both. In this piece Fiva has chosen to go for a silhouetted cityscape skyline running through his letters.

Fiva, St Werburghs, Bristol, July 2019
Fiva, St Werburghs, Bristol, July 2019

I have tried to write one of my own letters (teaching myself to spraypaint (with limited success)), the letter H in his style and it really isn’t as easy as it looks once it is up on a wall. Of course practice makes perfect, and Fiva has been doing these for some years. In addition to creating these fine pieces, I love the way that he has a little shout out to people, nothing over the top, just a simple ‘Yo xxxxxx’ in this case Desmond was feeling the love.

Scooj, H in the style of Fiva, Bristol, June 2019
Scooj, H in the style of Fiva, Bristol, June 2019

2378. St Werburghs tunnel (91)

I really do wish that Kleiner Shames had never left Bristol for the lure of London, but I suppose that is where the work and opportunities are. However, it is so good that roughly two or three times a year he returns to Bristol and leaves one of his distinctive pieces as a gift to all of us that admire his work.

Kleiner Shames, St Werburghs, Bristol, July 2019
Kleiner Shames, St Werburghs, Bristol, July 2019

Although taking pictures in St Werburghs tunnel is a nightmare, some pieces transcend the quality of the picture, and this in my view is one of those. The letters spell out FOIS (time in French), and for a long time I thought that was the name of the artist. I don’t remember how I met him, or discovered his name, but I do remember buying a couple of pieces of art from him when he was clearing out his studio to move to London, and they are treasured possessions indeed. Come back soon.

2371. St Werburghs tunnel (90)

This was a quick one from Mr Klue in St Werburghs, and on his Instagram feed he said he was using up old paints… certainly this piece is much more explosively colourful than many of his pieces which tend to be colour-themed.

Mr Klue, St Werburghs, Bristol, July 2019
Mr Klue, St Werburghs, Bristol, July 2019

Already the piece has gone, painted over by a viting artist from Liverpool (to follow), and was only on view for a week or so. I haven’t seen much of his work for a month or more, so it was nice to see this one, and I missed photographing his other recent piece at Turbo Island before it got horribly tagged.

2365. St Werburghs tunnel (89)

Another fine piece of writing from Diced Mango on the entrance to St Werburghs tunnel. This, so I understand, is likely to be one of his last works in Bristol for a while as he is moving away from the city for a while. That is a pity for us, especially as his work has been on such an improving trajectory of late and it has been fun seeing his work develop.

Diced Mango, St Werburghs, Bristol, July 2019
Diced Mango, St Werburghs, Bristol, July 2019

This piece has a rather cold and sugar-sweet/confectionary feel to it. His letter shapes are nice and ‘bouncy’ and the three colour layers are nicely finished off with drips and dots. A decent piece of writing.

2320. St Werburghs tunnel (88)

Another artist who seems to have spent the winter in hibernation is Daz Cat, but he has certainly woken up recently, and this rather uplifting pun-message (have a mice day), and perhaps slightly less uplifting image is a recent piece from St Werburghs Tunnel.

Daz Cat, St Werburghs, Bristol, June 2019
Daz Cat, St Werburghs, Bristol, June 2019

What is interesting about this one is that Daz Cat has shown time and time again that he can paint these great cats, and dogs too sometimes in his wonderful style, but judging from this piece, I think a bit more practice on his mice is needed.

Now that I have started trying to spray paint myself I know how difficult it is so it is perhaps a bit rich for me to be too judging of other’s work. Perhaps this is why theatre critics don’t act or direct.

2311. St Werburghs tunnel (87)

It just keeps getting better and better from Decay, and there seems to be a joyful freedom about his work at the moment. This gorgeous piece is just by the entrance to St Werburghs tunnel and has an instant presence or class about it.

Decay, St Werburghs, Bristol, July 2019
Decay, St Werburghs, Bristol, July 2019

The wall is not high and so Decay has had to vertically squeeze his writing into a limited space, creating more regularity to his letter heights than he is used to when he has more space. Perhaps this is why this piece looks rather different from his recent writing pattern. It might also be the great colour selections and fill in his letters. Whatever it is, I think that this is a very nice piece indeed from one of the most productive artists in Bristol this year.

2310. St Werburghs tunnel (86)

I took this picture back in June, and when I last visited St Werburghs tunnel, This piece by Dusk was still there. The more I see of Dusk’s work, the more I am warming to it. I caught up with Oner recently, and we were talking about the pieces in the tunnel, and he told me that the name ‘DUSK’ comes from ‘Don’t Use Skinny Kaps’. A skinny cap is a cap that you use on a spray can that gives a slightly narrower arc of spray and so tighter lines. The more skilled at spray painting you are, the less need for skinny caps. For me, as a learner, skinny caps are essential.

Sunday graff 0002 9 June 2019

What is notable about this piece is that I don’t recall seeing Dusk including a character before – that doesn’t mean he hasn’t, it just means I haven’t seen one. The character is rather fun, and appears to be smoking a reefer, although what would I know?

 

 

2307. St Werburghs tunnel (85)

In one of his favourite spots, Fiva (Fiver, Henry Barnes) has painted another of his lovely block capital pieces using the longer version of his name and overpainting it with the word ‘forever!’ in a kind of stone effect.

Fiva, St Werburghs, Bristol, June 2019
Fiva, St Werburghs, Bristol, June 2019

This time he has gone for the bevelled edge look to his large letters and included a 3D shadow in green to the left. In teaching myself to spray paint, I used his general style to create the letter H (in my series A-Z) and all was going well, in fact it was looking rather good, until I put a black and white outline around it. So the point is that to get straight outlines requires real skill to avoid wobbles and varying thickness of lines. Fiva has done a great job here with his yellow and black outline. I need to practice a lot.

2272. St Werburghs tunnel (85)

A view of St Werburghs tunnel that I haven’t shared before, seen from the city farm end. The entrance to the tunnel is guarded by a pair of ‘monolithic’ gurning faces by Atchue, one on either side.

Atchue, St Werburghs, Bristol, June 2019
Atchue, St Werburghs, Bristol, June 2019

I haven’t seen much from Atchue lately, so to be presented with these two-for-the-price-of-one faces is definitely a bit of a bonus. On the left is one of his more familiar pink pieces, but the one on the right is in magnificent chrome.

Atchue, St Werburghs, Bristol, June 2019
Atchue, St Werburghs, Bristol, June 2019

The chrome face appears to be in mid gurn and you can almost hear him making a groaning noise. A lovely idea executed brilliantly by Atchue.