Stivs has had a fabulous year with both his calligraffiti and his character pieces, and this recent beauty is on the west side of the M32 roundabout. This piece is a rather faithful rendition of a teenage mutant ninja turtle, although I couldn’t tell you which one.
It doesn’t really matter what Stivs does, characters or writing, because they always turn out well and are prefectly executed. Short one today… too many things to do before the big day tomorrow.
Not long ago, I met Lee Roy, whilst walking our respective dogs, and he informed me that he was hanging up his spray cans for a while, which was disappointing to hear, because I like his work and the way he expresses himself through it. However, this piece might signify a return for the anti-style(ish) writer.
During his ‘lay-off’, he hasn’t lost his touch in the slightest, indeed, this is a rather sharp piece, beautifully presented and with an array of his favourite fill patterns and shapes. The purples and greys work well against the blight blue background, and this is a very fine ‘come back’ piece. Hoping this is more than a splash in the pan.
Werm has an amazing capacity to concentrate on a particular style of lettering, focussing on that style for a period of time, and then trying something new and moving on, it feels like restlessness settles in after a few months and new challenges await. This is a wonderful piece that is new to me, and differs from his bilateral symmetry work that has been his hallmark for the last four months or so.
Werm paints on this stretch of wall a lot, and many of his older pieces are on display here, it is a bit of a Werm gallery. The colours in this piece work incredibly well together, and the shape and form of the letters with some interlocking between them is a new and exciting aspect. I look forward to seeing whether this is a new phase of design that Werm will be adopting, or whether it is a one-off.
It is always, always a great pleasure to welcome Wispa to Bristol, and finding her pieces (almost always an unannounced surprise) is such sweet joy. This recent piece was painted to celebrate Pekoe’s birthday, hence the shout out top left.
Wispa’s work is always immaculately turned out, and the clever fills in this piece read across from letter to letter. Simply a wonderful piece.
Seriously quick one today – I have loads of Christmas preparations (housework) still to do, and very little time to do it in. This is a nice mega-tag type of piece by an artist I don’t know much about, called Blam, who I believe might live in Bristol, and who paints occasional pieces.
This spot is one I really like, and Blam has managed to fill the space well with this ultra-green combination piece.
This stunning collaboration from Vane and Bnie was painted a little while ago during a paint jam organised to wish Mena a swift recovery from her accident in Thailand. The character on the left is by Vane and the writing, spelling MENAS is by Bnie.
The colour selection in this collaboration is really quite something, with the purples, pinks and mint green working exceptionally well together. I don’t get to see much artwork by Vane, and Bnie hasn’t painted too much this year, so this collaboration was bonus and a bit of a treat. I hope all the good vibes created during this paint jam have helped Mena on her journey to recovery.
I found and photographed this piece a little while ago, and perhaps should have waited and got some better pictures, once the site in front of it was cleared. The huge mural was an unsigned mystery, and so I have held back on posting it. Once again, I have Paul H to thank for his detective work in finding out that it is by Hazard. Well, well, well, who’d have thought it?
Hazard has a particular style that is quite easy to pick out, but this commission on the side of the Anchor pub on Gloucester Road is nothing like her usual style, and I don’t think I would have ever guessed it was by her, especially as she left Bristol about two years ago.
There is so much to like about this mural, which tells the Bristol story, with balloons and the Clifton Suspension Bridge, some colourful Georgian houses, a swan, a gull and of course an anchor. It really is a magnificent mural, but I simply don’t understand why she didn’t sign it… curious. Driving south along the Gloucester Road, this piece has quickly become something of a landmark.
A gallery of extraordinary portrait pieces by the magnificent Shade One.
Instagram: @shad.eone
All photographs by Scooj
It would be a bit of an understatement to say that I really like this piece. I don’t know what it is about it, perhaps it is the unique fills for each of the constituent parts of the letters NESK, or perhaps the freshness of an artist I am not familiar with. Probably a combination of the two.
The artist is Bazamataz (thank you, Paul H), and the colourful piece stands out brilliantly on the grey backwash and above the autumn-brown leaves. It all comes together so well and stands out a mile. The 3D drop shadow might be a little lost, and could have been a bit more prominent, but it is a small matter really. Wonderful work.
When I say that this piece is in North Street, I wouldn’t want to send people off to Bedminster unintentionally. This is the North Street that is part of the A38 that branches off the Bear Pit roundabout. The piece by Kid Krishna is on the hoarding outside what used to be the Blue Mountain.
The combination piece contains the usual cryptic writing from Kid Krishna, spelling CRIE, and the character aspect is in the form of a partial skull. I think that there is some special part of Kid Krishna’s brain that is able to visualise and create these pieces, which are really quite different from much of the other stuff on the streets of Bristol. Often his characters are partial or hinted at, rather than being overt full-on, which makes it all the more intriguing.
Natural adventures 