Tag: Street art

4225. Sparke Evans Park (30)

I took this picture shortly before heading off for a week’s holiday skiing in France, and it is great to come back to this one and all the familiarity of Bristol that accompanies it. Laic217 is so firmly established in the street art scene, that it is hard to imagine it without him. A constant drumbeat in an unpredictable world.

Laic217, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, January 2022
Laic217, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, January 2022

The portrait piece is another study of a skeleton in a fine hoody with a large chain around his neck. It is the background that is special about this one though, playing with the 3D idea of blue and red lines, confusing the eyes. As suer as night flows day, there will be more from Laic217 soon.

4224. Brunel Way (139)

Painted a little while ago on a column shared with Andy Council is this magnificent crocodile piece from Rowdy. My first photographs of the piece weren’t very good so I have had to delay this post a while until I managed to get something a little better. The light conditions under Brunel Way are always a challenge.

Rowdy, Brunel Way, Bristol, January 2022
Rowdy, Brunel Way, Bristol, January 2022

The bright and contrasting colours of this piece make it stand out, and it certainly grabs your attention, but I am not too sure what the significance of the medieval-style heraldry is all about. The crocodile gives away the artist, and it is always great to see a new Rowdy piece, as they don’t appear all that regularly. This is a fun column piece.

4223. Sparke Evans Park (29)

In case you hadn’t guessed by now, I am on holiday in France skiing, having an incredible time. I wrote most of this week’s pieces in advance, but this one I am writing in our cosy chalet with a cup of apres ski tea (I kid you not). Why tell you all this? Well the truth is that I am not feeling very inspired to write, mainly on the back of being exhausted. This is a lucky thing, because today’s piece is by Smak, and I don’t need to say too much more than ‘Brilliant, fantastic, wonderful, tight, classy.’

Smak, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2022
Smak, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2022

Brilliant, fantastic, wonderful, tight, classy.

4222. Boiling Wells Lane (2)

Here we have yet another spectacular carnival portrait piece from Rozalita in the smaller tunnel just beyond St Werburghs tunnel on Boiling Wells Lane. The character has a stunning and intricate ruff around his neck which looks amazing.

Rozalita (Rosalita), Boiling Wells Lane, Bristol, January 2022
Rozalita (Rosalita), Boiling Wells Lane, Bristol, January 2022

It was Rozalita herself who told me the whereabouts of this one when I met her a couple of weeks ago, and it was one of two that she painted on that day. One of the features I really like about the portrait piece is the leaves and vines decorating the clown’s blue face.

Rozalita (Rosalita), Boiling Wells Lane, Bristol, January 2022
Rozalita (Rosalita), Boiling Wells Lane, Bristol, January 2022

There is so much of interest in the piece from the ruff to the face to the hair. Even the  background is rather special. Rozalita is on fire and I am a big fan of her work. More to come soon.

4221. St Werburghs tunnel (275)

Another piece from the archive, and what an absolute belter it is. Taboo is known for his rather irregular writing and cartoon character combinations, so this piece of writing in St Werburghs was a bit of a creative outlier.

Taboo, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2019
Taboo, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2019

Painted in big block letters, the word taboo, in a mixture of upper and lower case, has a clever twist from the artist, with a character lamp shining across the letters, marking out light and shade. There is so much to love about this forgotten and rather untypical piece.

4220. M32 roundabout J3 (382)

The rewards for digging through archives are fruitful and nourishing, and this wonderful little collaboration from Mr Penfold and Merny (Morny) has managed to remain hidden for way too long. I am so happy to be sharing it with you now.

Mr Penfold and Merny (Morny), M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2019
Mr Penfold and Merny (Morny), M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2019

These two have collaborated on more than one occasion, often in the company of Billy, but this is just the two of them. The abstract shapes on the left are from Mr Penfold and the lorry from Merny. The whole transport phase of work from Merny was quite one of the most unique themes in the Bristol street art world, and I have to say that I really miss it, which is why finding this in my archive is such a pleasure.

4219. Windmill Hill (3)

I got distracted by and then sucked into my archives recently, and when that happens I invariably find photographs of pieces that really ought to have been posted, but for some unfathomable reason never did. This wonderful ‘extra’ piece was painted by My Dog Sighs in 2019 when he was painting a collaboration with Curtis Hilton on Windmill Hill.

My Dog Sighs, Windmill Hill, Bristol, April 2019
My Dog Sighs, Windmill Hill, Bristol, April 2019

The ephemeral faces on the wall are unmistakably the work of My Dog Sighs, and really demonstrate the depth of talent the artist has, from subtle pieces like this to high-end bold pieces adorning the entire sides of buildings. Finding little hidden gems like this one is always a joy for people like me.

My Dog Sighs, Windmill Hill, Bristol, April 2019
My Dog Sighs, Windmill Hill, Bristol, April 2019

4218. Dean Lane skate park (458)

As with all walks of life, there are important contributors, and in the sphere of Bristol street/graffiti art, one of these notable people is DJ perks. We don’t get to see nearly enough of his work around the place, unless you hang out at the L Dub spot, but it is not only his art, but his interest in visiting and photographing the work of others, that makes him a great contributor. Most artists, counterintuitively, don’t know much about other artists, as they (quite rightly) tend to focus on their own art and their friends. It is up to people like me and Paul H to record and write about as much work as we possibly can. DJ perks is a rare artist who bridges the gap.

DJ Perks, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2022
DJ Perks, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2022

This is a really nice piece of graffiti writing from Perks in Dean Lane, and demonstrates just how much his work improves from piece to piece. His work here is very clean with a fine 3D shadow and central disappearing point. It is the creative fill in his letters that is particularly noteworthy though – some really attractive stuff. Always great to see work from DJ Perks.

4217. M32 roundabout (381)

I have a feeling that (at the time of writing this post) three of the entrances to the tunnels under the M32 roundabout feature pieces by Slakarts. I haven’t checked the fourth for a little while and maybe he has gone for the full set, I don’t know. This one is on the St Werburghs side and is rather a charming little piece.

Slakarts,M32 roundabout, Bristol, January 2022
Slakarts,M32 roundabout, Bristol, January 2022

It is a privilege to have watched Slakarts evolve and develop his trademark character  over the last few years into a much more sophisticated base element which he has been experimenting with. This piece is the new basic model, but it is so much stronger than it was, say a year ago. The thick neat black lines remain, but the features have improved. I am really enjoying the new directions and improvements Slakarts is adding to his work.

4216. Brunel Way (138)

With this post I am going to reacquaint you with relative newcomer to Bristol Enn Kay, and the second of his recent Octopus monster pieces. Although I haven’t yet met the artist, I understand that he has only been painting walls since December last year. That is incredible when you think about it, as it can take years to reach this standard. Enn Kay is an illustrator who has been drawing his characters for a while, so he is familiar with them, but upscaling to spray paint and walls is no mean feat, and he has achieved it very well indeed.

Enn Kay, Brunel Way, Bristol, January 2022
Enn Kay, Brunel Way, Bristol, January 2022

The octopus-monster is set on a backdrop of stylised clouds, already introducing another layer of sophistication and his initials to the left are nicely done too. I love the mouth and teeth with the zig-zag running through it. There are many cartoon signature illustration techniques in this piece and Enn Kay has executed them really well. Look forward to more from the artist, I think he has a hunger for spray painting.