Tag: Street art

5378. M32 roundabout J3 (495)

Tasha Bee, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2023
Tasha Bee, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2023

Oh! how I have missed Tasha Bee’s work in recent years! She has had a long lay-off while concentrating on her Pot Heads pottery business. At last she has found a moment to paint one of her extraordinary portraits and there is no question that she hasn’t lost her touch in the slightest, carrying on exactly where she left off.

Tasha Bee, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2023
Tasha Bee, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2023

I hope that this isn’t a one-off and represents a return to Bristol’s walls, because she has been sorely missed. The subject of the portrait has a serene expression, a trademark of Tasha Bee’s work, and has flowers in her hair. Perfectly executed and modestly hidden away behind a bush, this piece is a thing of beauty. Bravo!

5377. Gloucester Road

Alex Lucas, Gloucester Road, Bristol, July 2023
Alex Lucas, Gloucester Road, Bristol, July 2023

I have attempted to photograph this sumptuous piece by Alex Lucas several times, but always there were huge shadows cast across it. At last, a fortnight ago I managed to capture it in all its glory, and with a magnificent blue sky behind. Alex Lucas truly provides a special USP for Bristol with her nature-inspired designs and illustrations that she transposes onto walls so seamlessly, and which are present all around the city.

Alex Lucas, Gloucester Road, Bristol, July 2023
Alex Lucas, Gloucester Road, Bristol, July 2023

Painted above a flower shop, this stunning mural featuring what look like chrysanthemums, fuchsias and an iris is full of rich detail. A finch of some kind is hiding within the glorious floral display adding further interest. So full is the piece that you barely notice the two windows taking up a significant amount of space on the ‘canvass’. A rare beauty in this part of Gloucester Road.

5376. M32 roundabout J3 (494)

Hypo, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2023
Hypo, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2023

Although his frequency of painting has slowed just a little since the spring, Hypo continues to have a sizeable presence in Bristol, which can only be good news. I will be brutally honest about this piece and say that I don’t think it is his best work. The concept and letters are all good, but the colour transitions through the piece feel a little lost and I am thinking that the grey background might not be helpful in this respect.

Hypo, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2023
Hypo, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2023

Don’t get me wrong, I think it is still a lovely piece of writing, but I know that Hypo has recently been smashing it and this one doesn’t quite make the bar IMO. I guess consistency can be difficult to maintain, but I know that he will be out and about again with another banger. I look forward to his next piece.

5375. Dean Lane skate park (622)

Raid, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2023
Raid, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2023

Since first encountering Raid earlier this year, he has been one of the most productive forces on the streets of Bristol, and right now, that is some achievement. I have met the artist on a couple of occasions, and he seems to be a really decent bloke, he also told me how he is enjoying playing with his letters, trying new ideas, but with the same general style.

Raid, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2023
Raid, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2023

These pinky-purple letters on a light pink background are easy on the eye. His fills have been very nicely executed and provide plenty of interest, and the turquoise/white sparks running through the piece add a detail that rounds the whole thing off nicely. More in the pipeline from Raid.

5374. Sparke Evans Park (74)

Claro_que_sssnoh, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, June 2023
Claro_que_sssnoh, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, June 2023

A consistently great writer in Bristol is Claro_que_sssnoh, with his distinctive and unusual style of graffiti writing. This one is a bright and shiny golden piece, which works well on the rather dark and gloomy wall.

Claro_que_sssnoh, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, June 2023
Claro_que_sssnoh, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, June 2023

Spelling out HONS, the joined up letters offer a mixture of straight and curly letter shapes that typify Claro_que_sssnoh’s style. Some nice fills, including some trademark series of spots. The pink and yellows work surprisingly well together, and altogether this is a top quality piece from the Sunday Loving Spaniard.

5373. Peel Street Green (17)

Mote, Peel Street Green, Bristol, June 2023
Mote, Peel Street Green, Bristol, June 2023

Mote has taken a bit of a shine to this spot on Peel Street Green, and the wall lends itself really well to his work, because it is square. It isn’t quite so good for graffiti writers, who in the main prefer rectangular spaces for their letters.

Mote, Peel Street Green, Bristol, June 2023
Mote, Peel Street Green, Bristol, June 2023

This Mote monster is armed with an array of extremely sharp teeth, and three eyes (the central one more of a pineal body than an eye). Usually Mote creates happy-go-lucky monster characters, but this one isn’t quite as light as some of his others. Colourful gums and lovely fills, Mote just keeps on getting better and better.

5372. M32 roundabout J3 (493)

Kapochino, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2023
Kapochino, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2023

Although I have photographs of work from previous visits that Kapochino or Kapo has made to Bristol, I believe this is the first I have posted… (checks notes). Kapochino is a writer who includes character faces on the sides of his work, but in Bristol I have only seen the character faces, which are a bit of a mega-tag statement saying “I woz ‘ere” kind of thing.

Kapochino, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2023
Kapochino, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2023

In this piece, Kapochino has decorated a utility box in the middle of the M32 roundabout with a granny version of his character complete with a bun and drooling mouth. It is always gret tom welcome frequent visiting artists to Bristol, and I am mindful of digging out some of his previous work.

5371. M32 roundabout J3 (492)

Lee Roy, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2023
Lee Roy, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2023

I was fortunate enough to meet Lee Roy for the second time this week, when he was just finishing off a piece in this exact spot, and it reaffirmed my first impression that he is a really decent and likeable fellow, who is happy to talk about his work, and shows an interest in what I do to record and report on the pieces that I see.

Lee Roy, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2023
Lee Roy, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2023

This piece of graffiti writing has a modest colour palette, but contains all the fun elements you might from Lee Roy. The letters are painted in a semi anti-style way, following the freedom he enjoys. The fills vary from letter to letter but the white accent lines are consistent, and I particularly like the yellow stars and hoops on the arrows at each end. Some nice ‘shout out’s to other artists round the piece off nicely. Lee Roy remains on a hot streak.

5370. Peel Street Green (16)

3Dom, Peel Street Green, Bristol, July 2023
3Dom, Peel Street Green, Bristol, July 2023

Not long ago, this wall which had a lovely piece by 3Dom, was severely tagged, and so he has returned to re paint it. To be fair that last one had been there for quite some time and a refresh was long overdue.

3Dom, Peel Street Green, Bristol, July 2023
3Dom, Peel Street Green, Bristol, July 2023

There is always a lot to like about 3Dom’s work, not only in his brilliant painting skills, but also in the strong messages of peace and equilibrium for our planet and people. A deep thinker who wants the world to be a better place. In this piece, a sun-like character is meditating, perhaps hoping for a bright future. This is yet another stunning piece from one of Bristol’s very best.

3Dom, Peel Street Green, Bristol, November 2021
3Dom, Peel Street Green, Bristol, November 2021

5369. Cumberland Basin

Susannah Peacock, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, June 2023
Susannah Peacock, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, June 2023

Susannah Peacock is a Bristol artist and illustrator, who, I understand from our conversations, has designed some very successful greetings cards and is also responsible for ‘decorating’ one of the Bristol Unicorns currently on display in the city. Her work is especially appealing to children, having that picture book illustration style.

Susannah Peacock, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, June 2023
Susannah Peacock, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, June 2023

The mermaid mural was painted over two or three days of the Bristol Mural Collective’s paint jam a few weeks back. The work in progress shot demonstrated how much work went into the piece. There is no doubt that the BMC paint jams introduce a whole new aspect to the street art scene and gives studio artists the opportunity to express themselves on large outdoor, public ‘canvasses’.

Susannah Peacock, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, June 2023
Susannah Peacock, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, June 2023

We live in a crazy world. Technically speaking there are no legal walls in Bristol, and yet it is one of the most decorated cities in the UK. Everyone who paints walls in Bristol without permission is at risk of being arrested. Although a ‘blind-eye’ approach tends to prevail, it doesn’t mean that enforcement doesn’t happen. It would make so much sense to introduce some curated legal walls for so many talented artists to make use of. Maybe one day…