This rather nice bubble writing and character combination was painted by 3F fino during an LRS paint jam on the M32 cycle path a few weeks ago. It has to be said that the LRS crew have been knocking it out of the park recently and are becoming a dominant movement in the Bristol street art sub-culture.
3F fino, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, February 2022
The light backdrop is helpful with helping the piece to stand out, and there is a fun interaction between the letters and the character which is taking a bite out of the ‘N’ of FINO. This is a clean and tidy piece which plays to the strength of 3F fino’s cartoon style. Gotta love the monster’s shadow.
With this extraordinary piece in St Werburghs tunnel, we get to see the diversification of work from the very talented Rozalita. Over the last few weeks, we have been treated to a range of subjects from Rozalita, but I think that this might be the first animal portrait, and what a beauty it is.
Rozalita, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2022
The tiger face, although not photorealistic, has a seriousness and sincerity about it that removes it from the cartoony style that sometimes accompanies animal pieces. There are many elements that come together well, and the mouth/tongue has been particularly well done. I believe that, as her work develops, some finer detail will improve. I think whiskers might have lifted this piece up a level. Superb work from Rozalita who is on a magnificent roll at the moment.
For a little while Varo was a quite quiet, but over the winter and into spring he has become very busy indeed, often pairing up with compatriot and painting friend Zake. It seems that everywhere I go at the moment, I see a new throw up or bull head, but with this piece down in the skate park, he has really raised the bar, in my view.
Varo, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2022
There are actually two Varo pieces on view here, the upper one has been there for a while and is a classic piece of Varo writing, but the new piece below it is a beauty. A clever symmetrical design spelling VARO, with the vague appearance of a bull with horns and a little halo. The colour blending has worked really well between the pink and peachy colours, and the whole thing has a sumptuous deep 3D shadow in red. A fine offering from Varo.
With this post, you can see the kind of time backlog I work to (roughly two weeks). I tend to prepare a pipeline of photographs that I will post onto Natural Adventures, which makes the whole process a little bit more organised than it might be if I left it to last minute posting.
Slakarts, Mina Road, Bristol, February 2022
This is the first anti-war piece that references the horrendous invasion of Ukraine by the odious and deranged dictator Putin (it would be comforting to think that Russian intelligence might be scanning the Interweb for anti-Russian sentiment, and stumble upon this post). Slakarts has painted one of his trademark stylised portraits with the message ‘No War’ incorporated, a sentiment that all but the utterly deluded would agree with, I’m sure.
I have been pleasantly surprised by how many New pieces Haka is creating these days, or perhaps I am just getting better at finding them and posting them. Either way, his influence and impact on the Bristol street art scene is tangible and significant.
Haka, Peel Street Green, Bristol, March 2022
This is a fabulous and fun piece on the long wall at Peel Street Green, and features a Garfield cartoon character driving a railroad engine through a rural scene. Jesse is a name that appears on some of Haka’s works, but I can’t help wanting to make the link to Jesse James, although I don’t think there is one. This is a lovely clean and tidy piece painted in Haka’s very individual idiosyncratic style. Two blog posts from this artist in two days… maybe it is time for a gallery.
Although I was very pleased to see this piece from the revitalised Biers, I was at the same time gutted to find that he had sprayed over a magnificent Ceus piece that I saw as a work in progress (WIP) but never got to see in its final form. Such a pity as it was really rather magnificent. The law of the jungle!
Biers, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2022
Biers, who currently writes WD40 has created a piece with his always recognisable lettering style and a fabulous lollipop-sucking Kojak character. Some of the older readers among you will remember this ‘must watch’ cop series starring Telly Savalas, which was a tv highlight for my family when I was a kid. Who loves ya baby?
The artist Merny has an extraordinary ability to convey very strong messages and emotions in the simplest of ways through his naive style that somehow seems to get straight to the point. Usually his pieces are quite witty or comical, but this one is tinged with sadness and desperation.
Merny, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2022
The character is bent over double with his head in his hands and alongside him is the caption ‘I’ve got no money’. Unfortunately, with a cost of living crisis heading our way and the impacts of the war in Ukraine, for which Russia (Putin and his cronies) are wholly responsible, this is a desperate image we can expect to see more of this year. Real people in severe difficulties. Well done Merny for tackling such difficult subjects with his art.
I have struggled for time again this week to bring you any original doors, so Instead I will treat you to some more street art doors from last summer. I hope you enjoy these doors photographed in June and July 2021:
Natasha Kirby, Greville Road, Bristol, June 2021, Upfest 21RichT, Muriel Alleyway, Bristol, May 2021Nina Raines, Gloucester Road, Bristol, June 2021Sophie Mills Thomas, North Street, Bristol, June 2021, Upfest 21Emotional Waterfall Art, Smyth Road, Bristol, June 2021, Upfest 21Cheba, East Street, Bristol, July 2021, Upfest 21Sophie Rae, North Street, Bristol, July 2021, Upfest 21,Squirl, The Nursery, Bristol, JUly 2021, Upfest 21Muckrock, West Street, Bristol, July 2021Andrew Burns Colwill, Luckwell Road, Bristol, July 2021, Upfest 21,Epod, North Street, Bristol, July 2021, Upfest 21
I guess that is your lot this week. May I wish you all a happy week, while we continue to channel all our positive thoughts, hopes and prayers for all those suffering in Ukraine.
If you have made it this far, you probably like doors, and you really ought to take a look at the No Facilities blog by Dan Anton who has taken over the hosting of Thursday Doors from Norm 2.0 blog. Links to more doorscursions can be found in the comments section of Dan Anton’s Thursday Doors post.
Ryder seems to like this particular spot as much as I do, or at least it would appear to be that way given that he paints it reasonably often. This piece is a classic piece of Ryder wildstyle graffiti writing, which is always of the highest order.
Ryder, M32 Spot, Bristol, February 2022
The most striking thing about this piece is the copper colouring of the letters that seems to change completely in tone, depending on where it is viewed from. This is the kind of piece that one could easily imagine being slapped on the side of a wagon on the New York subway. Classic, clean and tidy. Pure graffiti writing at its best.
The Bristol Womxn Mural Collective paint jams have become events worth looking forward to in Bristol and always turn up some real gems that offer something slightly different to the usual fare we see on a daily basis.
Raquel Blazquez, Brunel Way, Bristol, February 2022
This is a gorgeous portrait piece by Raquel Blazquez and is a perfect follow up to the piece she painted in Dean Lane skate park in November 2021. There is a lot of feeling and emotion in this portrait, and how good is it to see this kind of free art in a D.I.Y. skate park, in the middle of a concrete jungle? Seeing fine art pieces in these settings is truly wonderful, and long may these paint jams last. Exquisite work.
Raquel Blazquez, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2021
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