Tag: Street art

3319. St Werburghs Tunnel (205)

I cannot think of a Pekoe portrait that I haven’t liked. Her style is so recognisable and has a beautiful innocence about it, if you know what I mean. There is no pretension, it is what it is and isn’t pretending to be anything else, and I like that.

Pekoe, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2020
Pekoe, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2020

This piece appeared last week alongside a Bnie piece in the tunnel and together they painted under the RBF banner. The three-quarter portrait reverts to a theme often used by Pekoe, namely a third eye on the forehead. The turquoise, pink and yellow colours work very nicely together and the decorative features are wonderful. I particularly like the green shading on the woman’s shoulders and face that give a lift to the whole portrait. Lovely work.

3318. River Avon (9)

There was a time a couple of years ago when there was absolutely no stopping Panskaribas and his Reseau pieces, and then I think he went away for a while. Since his return he has not been quite as prolific and his pieces have toned down a little, in my view.

Panskaribas, River Avon, Bristol, November 2020
Panskaribas, River Avon, Bristol, November 2020

I am not entirely how old this piece is, but I suspect it was painted within the last six months or so. The element that makes it recognisable as a Panskaribas piece is the bent over shoe in the left-hand corner and the toes next to it in the Picassoesque style. I think the letters of the piece are jumbled up and spell out RESEAU, so from left to right I see S – E – A – U – E – R. Of course I could be entirely wrong and trying to see things that are not there. Good to find a piece by the artist after a rather long time.

3317. Sparke Evans Park (3)

On the long wall at Sparke Evans Park is this outstanding piece of regular calligraphic writing from Todoachiem. This is as good a piece of tidy format graffiti writing as you are going to see and was sprayed a couple of weeks ago as part of a Spanish crew Halloween paint jam in the park.

Todoaciem, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, November 2020
Todoaciem, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, November 2020

I am not entirely sure what the script actually says and I don’t think I am going to try and decipher it now – I suspect it might have to wait until I get to meet thee artist in person and ask him. The letters are sculpted with care and attention and the horizontal graded fill works very nicely. It is a piece that demands attention and stands out from the crowd.

3316. M32 roundabout J3 (263)

The last Subtle piece I saw before I found this one in October was way back in June, so it was very nice indeed to stumble across it. I don’t know how, but these pictures managed to get trapped in my production line of posts which is why it is a little out of sequence (it was not a delve into my archives which happens from time to time).

Subtle, M32 roundabout, Bristol, October2020
Subtle, M32 roundabout, Bristol, October2020

I have always liked Subtle’s work and this piece in chrome set on pink and purple circles is a beauty. There is a story here somewhere – there are four bullet holes in the chrome letters and underneath the piece are the words ‘The Heart Breaker’. To the right is  a chrome flamingo (pink, surely?) drinking a cocktail. Curious to say the least. Sharp lines, great solid fills and that wonderful Subtle letter shape – good work all round.

3315. River Avon (8)

When I went for a walk along the Riverside a week or two back it felt like Christmas had come early.  When you don’t visit a graffiti spot for a while, even one with a low turnover, there are always dozens of new pieces to admire.

Dit Oner, River Avon, Bristol, November 2020
Dit Oner, River Avon, Bristol, November 2020

This is a splendid piece of writing from Spanish artist Dit Oner that appears to stand proud from the wall thanks to some clever 3D shadows giving it depth and subtle light shading along the bottom of the letters. The letter style is bold and regular letters like these are made a little easier on brick walls when you can follow the lines of the brickwork to get your proportions and spaces. This one simply doesn’t want to be ignored.

3314. Sparke Evans Park (2)

It has been a good year for Zake in my view. His faces have developed well and in the second half of the year in particular his ideas and his execution have moved onto a new level. In addition to these improvements he appears to have been out and about more often.

Zake, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, November 2020
Zake, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, November 2020

This is a fine Halloween piece (his second of the year) which was painted on the long wall at Sparke Evans Park during an all-Spanish paint jam. One of the things that Zake has really mastered is creating shadows on the darker side of the face with varying degrees of tone and the same with brightness on the lit side of the face. Clever and accomplished work.

3313. River Avon (7)

Lots of unknowns about this amazing piece on the Avon River pathway. I have no idea who the artist is and I don’t know how long it has been there, but judging from the fact that it looks pretty fresh and clean and the subject, it might be a recent Halloween piece.

Dabuten Tronko, River Avon, Bristol, November 2020
Dabuten Tronko, River Avon, Bristol, November 2020

Set on a blue and red broad-striped background this fabulously painted Satan face with enormous horns stands out a mile. The artwork is immaculate and this has been sprayed by an accomplished artist. The hand and spray can spewing out blue paint add a perfect finishing touch to the wall. The word MAFIA at the bottom right doesn’t help with identification. I am irritated that I can’t place the artist, especially as there is something familiar about the style that I simply can’t pin down. Too good not to post. I got there in the end, it is by Dabuten Tronko… see comments below.

3312. River Avon (6)

I don’t get there too often, which is a bit of a shame, but there is a nice walk along the River Avon which contrasts two very different scenes; on one side is the muddy river with plenty of bankside vegetation and a variety of bird species an evidence of other wildlife such as otters on the other side is a long gallery of graffiti and street art displayed on the rear walls of buildings on an industrial estate.

Stivs, River Avon, Bristol, November 2020
Stivs, River Avon, Bristol, November 2020

Along this stretch I found this rather nice calligraphy piece by Stivs, an artist getting quite a lot of exposure on Natural Adventures at the moment. The orange and red colour selection is a winning combination and the script has some rather good harlequin reversals breaking up the lines. A fine piece from Stivs.

3311. Jamaica Street (24)

The People’s Republic of Stokes Croft outdoor gallery is a great ‘showcase’ wall that is properly curated and well respected. Rarely is this wall tagged or despoiled in any way. One of the key carers of this wall is Object… so it is great when he gets to put a piece of his own work up, and in this case as part of a collaboration with Msale.

Object... and Msale, Jamaica Street, Bristol, May 2020
Object… and Msale, Jamaica Street, Bristol, May 2020

The collaboration breaks down into three panels and picks up on the coronavirus pandemic theme. On the left we see two people hugging the planet earth which is wearing a face mask, the emblem of 2020.

Object... and Msale, Jamaica Street, Bristol, May 2020
Object… and Msale, Jamaica Street, Bristol, May 2020

The middle panel is a ring and circle of text in a calligraphy style. The outer ring says “apart; together; stay safe”. The inner circle is in a script I can’t read and might be Arabic or something like that.

Object... and Msale, Jamaica Street, Bristol, May 2020
Object… and Msale, Jamaica Street, Bristol, May 2020

On the right is a masked portrait with the word ‘hope’ underneath it and to the right are the words ‘Baki salama’ which means stay safe.

Overall this is a contemporary and uplifting piece from two fine artists.

Object... and Msale, Jamaica Street, Bristol, May 2020
Object… and Msale, Jamaica Street, Bristol, May 2020

3309. St John’s Steep (1)

There is no real surprise in finding a piece by Dott Rotten in this part of town as he happens to work not a stone’s throw away from this hoarding. I don’t see too many pieces from Dott Rotten, so it is always a pleasant surprise to find one of his SPOILT writings on my walks.

Dott Rotten, St John's Steep, Bristol, September 2020
Dott Rotten, St John’s Steep, Bristol, September 2020

This particular piece of graffiti writing is fresh on a new hoarding which is great, because hoardings like this in a central city location can become very untidy very quickly. Set on an orange wash, the letters SPOILT are nicely picked out and filled with a light blue colour and decorated with grey, blue and red spots. This is a classy piece of writing which I suspect was painted fairy swiftly (the fills are not quite as solid as they might be).