Tag: Street art

4404. St Werburghs tunnel (289)

Conrico, or Conrico Steez to give him his full name, is going through a bit of a purple patch and is both painting alone and collaborating in spots all over North Bristol at the moment. This Chinese dragon character intertwined with the word Conrico harks back to a dragon piece I photographed in August 2019 (pre-Covid, remember that?).

Conrico, St Werburghs, Bristol, March 2022
Conrico, St Werburghs, Bristol, March 2022

I say this every time I write about Conrico’s work, but he has a certain quality and style that makes his work look like it has been painted using a brush rather than a spray can, there is a certain texture and depth that he manages to get that is fairly unique. There is much to admire in this piece, and I am enjoying his high productivity at the moment.

Conrico, New Stadium Road, Bristol, August 2019
Conrico, New Stadium Road, Bristol, August 2019

4403. Greenbank (40)

Billy continues to utterly delight with her uncomplicated storytelling pieces. Her work is so accessible and has a deep connection with the viewer, and I imagine especially so with younger audiences. There is nothing pretentious or conceited about her work, it is full of fun and commentary that is pleasing to the eye and great for lifting the spirit.

Billy, Greenbank, Bristol, March 2022
Billy, Greenbank, Bristol, March 2022

I particularly like this piece, I mean what’s not to like about dogs, birds, hats, flowers, a pencil and a lava lamp. I think that the grey background works really well with the overall presentation and the colour scheme is superb. A feast for the eyes and a triumph for Billy – one of my favourite pieces of hers so far.

4402. Ashley Court

This is one of those pieces that I photographed some time ago, and even had some pictures of it when it was only half-finished, but it has remained in my folders because I wanted to do some research and find out a little bit more about it. Unfortunately my work has been ultra busy lately and I haven’t found time to look into the piece, but I simply had to scratch that itch, so I am posting it now.

Hazard, Ashley Court, Bristol, February 2022
Hazard, Ashley Court, Bristol, February 2022

The magnificent portraits are by Hazard and celebrate the lives of two local residents. The lower portrait is of Israel Augustus Daley, who was fondly known as Gullu. His name above the piece has a saxophone alongside it, and I guess he was a musician.

Hazard, Ashley Court, Bristol, February 2022
Hazard, Ashley Court, Bristol, February 2022

The higher portrait celebrates Justina Sharpe. Both pieces were funded by Sovreign Housing Association who own Ashley Court. Of course, it is the bright and colourful artwork by Hazard that makes these portraits so special, and already the building has become a landmark for its portraits.

Hazard, Ashley Court, Bristol, February 2022
Hazard, Ashley Court, Bristol, February 2022

Not content with the two portraits, Hazard also sprinkled some beautiful flowers and leaves at one of the entrances to the building. Hazard is turning out some truly outstanding work, and is in my view a world-class street artist.

4401. Brunel Way (154)

Nugmoose is enjoying these circular columns under Brunel Way these days, I spotted another new one yesterday when I was there, but they remain a real challenge to photograph, and I would prefer a flat wall piece any day. Nugmoose, I think it is safe to say, is one of the most interesting artists in Bristol, due to his themed approach of weird and wonderful alien figures and scenes.

Nugmoose, Brunel Way, Bristol, January 2022
Nugmoose, Brunel Way, Bristol, January 2022

This alien has a whole lot of brain sticking out of the top of its head, and a rather long pink neck, but otherwise is dressed reasonably conventionally. This is all a bit weird, and were my grandmother still alive today, it might prompt her to offer a penny for his thoughts. Fun stuff nicely painted.

4400. Dean Lane skate park (485)

In the space of little over a week, several mega-tag faces by Awkward appeared in Dean Lane skate park. I have not seen any of Awkward’s work for simply ages, so perhaps he found some spray cans somewhere and decided to get out there and paint. The result of his endeavours is that I have decided to pull them all together in this collection, reflecting his approach.

Awkward, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2022
Awkward, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2022

Each of the mega-tags features a rather distressed cartoonish face and a speech bubble, with the word Awkward written in it, although you might not be able to decipher the writing if you didn’t know who the artist was.

Awkward, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2022
Awkward, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2022

This yellow face appears to be crying blood tears and is accompanied by the words ‘Peace Now’ – a reference to the war in Ukraine, and other global conflicts I dare say.

Awkward, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2022
Awkward, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2022

Awkward has been considerate and respectful with this yellow face with pyramidal eyes, inserting it into a collaboration piece that had been there for a few days, without damaging it, and perhaps even augmenting it.

Awkward, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2022
Awkward, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2022

This final one on the edge of the famous Dean Lane curved wall is, along with the others, rather striking, and has the words ‘Join the Cloaks’ (I think) – I don’t know what it means. Since this little starburst of pieces, I haven’t seen anything more from Awkward… perhaps when he finds some more paint.

4399. Cumberland Basin

Solar is an artist who is horribly under-represented on the pages of Natural Adventures. I have dozens of photographs of his graffiti writing, but very little of it has seen the light of day. I have no idea why this has happened, because in my mind’s eye it feels like I have posted a lot of his work.

Solar, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, April 2022
Solar, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, April 2022

Solar is one of those ‘it does what it says on the tin’ artists who spells out Solar in most, if not all, of his pieces. His letters are quite boxy and the holes in the ‘o’ and ‘a’ are distinctively low and squished. This is a rather fun throw up that uses the space well. I really must dig out more of his work and share it.

4398. Dean Lane skate park (484)

In recent months, tattooist and street artist, Chill, has firmly established himself as a great cartoon character artist almost out of nowhere. His pieces have always been great to look at, but it is the frequency with which he has been painting them that has become so noticeable.

Chill, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2022
Chill, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2022

This fine piece in Dean Lane is typical of his distinctive work. Chill typically paints black and white characters that look like they have been lifted from a cartoonist’s sketchbook, set on a red or orange background, creating great contrast which helps the characters to stand out. Chill has stretched his usual modus operandi by including some green foliage and some decorative dotty spheres, that look like dandelion heads. Plenty of fun and action in this piece and cartoon-style eyes to die for.

4397. Moon Street (92)

It was while he was just setting up to paint this piece that I met Klashwhensober for the second or third time… I came back a couple of days later to photograph the final piece. This is another classic from the artist who never stops, and features his ‘Klash’ variant of letters.

Klashwhensober, Moon Street, Bristol, April 2022
Klashwhensober, Moon Street, Bristol, April 2022

I am guessing that Klashwhensober has painted these letter forms so many times that the interest comes from the fills, and here he has added interest with some touches of red and orange at the top left and bottom right and connected them with ribbons of red. I’m not sure what it all represents, but it is a nice irregular effect. When we spoke, he told me about another of his pieces in a hoarding opposite, so I have included it here for good measure.

Klashwhensober, Moon Street, Bristol, April 2022
Klashwhensober, Moon Street, Bristol, April 2022

I believe that Klashwhensober had painted a piece here before, but it had been overpainted, so he returned to claim back the spot. This piece spells out SOBA and once again the interest here is in his use of fill patterns. The three horizontally graded colours are augmented with stars, circles, rods and little curved bars. There is so much more to share with ypou from this artist, but I don’t know how I’m going to squeeze him in. I’ll have to find a way.

4396. Lucky Lane (4)

In a quiet backwater in Bedminster not far from Dean Lane, is this wonderful new piece from Pelmo, an artist better known for his studies of outsized people doing everyday things like riding bicycles. This pencil piece comes as something of a surprise, but clearly shows what a great artist Pelmo is.

Pelmo, Lucky Lane, Bristol, April 2022
Pelmo, Lucky Lane, Bristol, April 2022

I love artists who turn the ordinary into the extraordinary with their work, and this outstanding study of an eraser on the end of a pencil is so full of interest and movement. Pelmo has captured a moment in time that is so familiar to all of us, and yet something we probably never give a second thought to. Superbly sprayed, this beauty is a highlight of the year so far.

4395. BB Gallery (2)

As I mentioned in a post a couple of weeks ago, I have only recently discovered the delights of the Bristol to Bath cycle path gallery, and so many of the pieces that I photographed had been there for some time. This introduction is a preamble designed to explain why I am posting a beautiful piece by Rozalita that is obviously quite old because it features a clown, a subject or theme that she has moved away from in recent months.

Rozalita, BB Gallery, Bristol, April 2022
Rozalita, BB Gallery, Bristol, April 2022

This piece has been sprayed on boards that have been attached to a fence, giving it a bit of  a makeshift appearance. The face and neck ruffle are very nicely done, and the whole portrait is bursting with colour. I’m not sure exactly when this piece was painted, but she has visibly made great progress since then. I am a big fan of her work, and I am so pleased I eventually found this one, with a little help from Paul H.