Tag: Street art

4108. St Werburghs tunnel (267)

I tend to prepare posts in advance for my street art blogs, perhaps as many as twenty pieces lined up and prepped for written content to be added. It is sorting and sizing the images that takes the most time. Downloading a stream of conscious thought can be surprisingly quick, largely because most of it is conversational nonsense, like this, and comes naturally.

I say all of this because it is quite coincidental that this lovely piece by Benjimagnetic,  which has been lined up for some time, is ready for posting just two days after I met the artist for the first time.

Benjimagnetic, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2021
Benjimagnetic, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2021

I have noticed that Benjimagnetic seems to be toying with some different design ideas lately and moving away from his quite scratchy abstract writing and transitioning into more solid and colourful pieces, while keeping the essence of his style. It is a difficult transition to describe, but it is definitely happening. For me, I have to say that I am definitely liking his new work a lot, and hope this is more than just a passing phase. A superb tunnel piece.

4107. Dean Lane skate park (443)

On the fabulous curved wall at Dean Lane skate park is this nice LRS collaboration featuring Veee and Werm (formerly known as Eman). The centrepiece is the main attraction here, or at least it is the most eye catching and is by Veee.

Veee, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2021
Veee, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2021

Veee, from Weston-super-Mare is painting ever more frequently in Bristol, and his trademark characters, of which there are a couple, are appearing across the city. This ‘lion’ character, with symbols for eyes, is rather fun and compelling and impossible not to like.

Werm (Eman), Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2021
Werm (Eman), Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2021

Werm’s contribution to the collaboration is this quick LRS crew throw up, adopting the block letters that he has been enjoying of late. Two things I don’t understand about Werm… how on Earth does he afford all the paint and how does he have so much time to paint. I don’t expect answers and I don’t really care too much, the key is that he keeps going and keeps improving.

4106. St Werburghs tunnel (267)

I like the work of Mind Control very much, although the theme of his pieces often carry an underlying threat of violence, which I am not so keen on, and this piece in the gloom of St Werburghs tunnel is one of those pieces.

Mind Control, St Weburghs, Bristol, Novemmber 2021
Mind Control, St Weburghs, Bristol, Novemmber 2021

It turns out though, that it is a tribute piece to a young man called Josh Schoolar who died last year, in Manchester. Josh was an activist who had been out to Syria (joining the International Freedom Battalion) to fight against Isis, and this piece is painted from a photograph of Josh from that time.

In his memory, Josh Schoolar’s family set up an annual fund of £300 for an up and coming young street artist, and Mind Control was the first recipient of this award, and painted this tribute piece as a thank you.

I have learned that it is important to understand what lies behind a piece of artwork as well as simply seeing what is in front of you. This is not a violent piece at all, but a fond and heartfelt recognition of a young life lost.

4105. Greenbank (20)

A few weeks ago Pl8o told me that he had a whole bunch of new designs ready to go, and since then I have figured that each new piece I have seen would have been part of this roll-out, including this beauty on the long wall at Greenbank.

Pl8o, Greenbank, Bristol, November 2021
Pl8o, Greenbank, Bristol, November 2021

If I am honest, I think that brown and orange are my least favourite street art colours, although if used to highlight or fill pieces they are not so bad. I suspect that this relates to a rather horrible pair of nylon pyjamas I had in the 1970s that were brown with an orange trim. Yuk.

I absolutely love the stylised letters that Pl8o has drawn up and the character is a very welcome addition, which I assume is by him too. All in all a very nice addition to his portfolio, just a pity about the colours (in my opinion).

4104. New Stadium Road (36)

I met Logoe for the first time a couple of weeks ago at this spot while he was painting a collaboration with Silent Hobo, one of his old mates. Their collaboration, I don’t think even lasted a day, and I only have one WIP photograph of it, such is the ephemeral nature of street art in popular spots. Logoe comes across as a lovely bloke and was more than happy to talk about his work and his trips to Bristol.

Logoe, New Stadium Road, Bristl, October 2021
Logoe, New Stadium Road, Bristl, October 2021

Unlike his collaboration piece, this one has lasted well and I believe is still there, or at least it was last time I visited this spot. The delicate colours work really well on this script LOGOE entering. With many of his pieces Logoe likes to add a little quote or phrase and here he gives us:

“They say (she) dodged a bullet… but it put her in the ground”

This sounds like a lyric, but I am not too sure what from. Anyhow, it works well with this lovely piece. Logoe also told me that he had missed out a word. I am guessing it was the word ‘she’ that I inserted in brackets.

4103. City Road (12)

This magnificent beast was created by Ryder as part of a magnificent paint jam marking the opening of Stoked Food in Stokes Croft. The whole delivery and car parking Bay Area was decorated by several local artists, but this shutter skull was the centrepiece.

Ryder, City Road, Bristol, October 2021
Ryder, City Road, Bristol, October 2021

Ryder is better known for his outstanding writing, but this is a great character piece, and extra clever as the mouth opens up when the garage door is raised. Very nicely painted and full of cartoon ‘over-the-top’ character, this piece demands to be looked at and enjoyed by passers by on City Road.

4102. Cumberland Basin

Different artists have different creative patterns or routines. Some paint the same thing over and over again, tweaking and perfecting it (for example Slim Pickings – TES), others create something extraordinary and different every time (Sled One, Tom Miller, 3Dom). Some only write, some only create characters and some combine the two. Mudra too has a modus operandi, which is either to create a character portrait or to write MUDRA cryptically incorporating characters and symbols. This piece falls into the latter category.

Mudra, Cumberland Basin, September 2021
Mudra, Cumberland Basin, September 2021

This lovely piece from a little while back on the long wall at Cumberland Basin spells out the artist’s name, where the ‘d’ in a little breakout star at the bottom is replaced with a wonderful stylised portrait of a pink-faced, purple-nosed lady with shocking yellow hair. A wonderful and creative piece beautifully worked nice clean lines and fills.

4101. Dean Lane skate park (442)

Dibz is an immensely talented graffiti writer and whose status is in the highest echelons of writers in Bristol and, I dare say, the UK. He manages to turn out beautifully designed piece after piece, never letting his standards drop, and the creativity of his designs and outstanding colour palettes is of the highest order.

Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2021
Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2021

This piece in Dean Lane is extra special because it is a birthday celebration for his mother, which is really touching. For this piece, he has really gone to town, with all the elements coming together perfectly. Great design, superb colours, tight lines, beautifully crafted fills and 3D shadows. In short this is an outstanding piece, and about as good as it gets.

4100. M32 Cycle path (150)

I think that this might be one of my favourite Slakarts pieces to date. The slightly more sophisticated overall design and inclusion of great colours (reminiscent of Kleiner Shames’ preferred palette) delivers a truly pleasing work. Perhaps he was inspired while painting alongside Decay… and who wouldn’t be?

Slakarts, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, November 2021
Slakarts, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, November 2021

The stylised portrait has been painted with great care, and the lines are sharp and fills solid. There are some clever elements and some fabulous fragmentation of elements, creating something of a cubist look to the piece. A beautiful piece beautifully finished.

4099. Sparke Evans Park (22)

Sparke Evans park is becoming a bit of a ‘go to’ spot these days for both artists and photographers/chroniclers, as the quality and high turnover of work necessitates more regular visits. This is a superb collaboration from Spanish duo Dabuten Tronko and Sin Prisas

Sin Prisas, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, November 2021
Sin Prisas, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, November 2021

The two rather scary looking vultures (I think) appear to be squabbling over an eyeball suspended between the pair. On the left is Sin Prisas’ bird, painted with great skill and class. It is a pity we don’t see more of his work in the city.

Dabuten Tronko, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, November 2021
Dabuten Tronko, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, November 2021

To the right is a vicious vulture by Dabuten Tronko, and the amazing thing is that the artists have managed to paint with incredibly similar styles, and it is only the finer detail, such as the thickness of the outer border, that gives this away as being a collaboration between two artists. Their signatures help in this respect too.

Sin Prisas and Dabuten Tronko, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, November 2021
Sin Prisas and Dabuten Tronko, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, November 2021

This is an absolutely fabulous collaborative piece and is right up at the top end of these kinds of pieces in the city.