Tag: Street art

3581. M32 roundabout J3 (298)

UPDATE

Thank you, Paul H for correcting my assumption that this piece was by Sled One. It is in fact by 3Dom, and was painted to celebrate Sled One’s birthday paint jam. In terms of the rest of the post, everything I wrote about Sled One is applicable to 3Dom. I will leave the post as originally written, because it is important to recognise how difficult it can be sometimes to get things wrong…

This wonderful piece of writing from Sled One is actually one half of a collaboration with himself, which in retrospect I ought to have posted as one, but without thinking I have split into two. Both elements of his work were part of an ASK painting session a couple of weeks back.

3Dom, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2021
3Dom, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2021

Given that Sled One usually freestyles his work, which means he doesn’t paint from a design on a piece of paper in front of him, but with the freedom of his own mind, there is an extraordinary ease, confidence and flow that demonstrates his gift. Sled One is a truly gifted artist whose distinctive surreal creativity puts him in the highest echelons of character artists in Bristol (and beyond), and he is a great writer too. This is a fairly straightforward piece of writing, but often his writing is enhanced with character-like elements. Turning the inanimate into the animate is a speciality.

3580. M32 Spot (110)

I have only managed to capture a fraction of the Recent John D’oh stencils as he tends to spray them at spots I don’t visit too often (something better change). The last time I looked at this column there was a Pekoe sketch, so I know that this stencil isn’t very old.

John D'oh, M32 Spot, Bristol, March 2021
John D’oh, M32 Spot, Bristol, March 2021

As we are accustomed to seeing, John D’oh once again combines his political commentary with humour in this case ridiculing Rishi Sunak for his astounding 1% pay increase for nurses after all they have done and achieved for the nation in the last year. Yet another jaw-dropping moment from this ‘compassionate’ administration. At this moment I ought to say that it is not only nurses. As someone who works in the public sector, I have been on the wrong end of a pay freeze for ten years which was lifted last year and I received a 2% rise, but we are now back to a pay freeze. Meanwhile MPs and bankers (the architects of the banking crisis) have seen their salaries increase very nicely thank you. Respect to John D’oh for calling out these people.

3579. M32 roundabout J3 (297)

Relatively speaking, Rezwonk has had a quiet twelve months. Prior to the first lockdown a year ago, there was no stopping him and his collaborations with Decay and Nightwayss were a regular occurrence… it felt like barely a week would pass without at least one new ‘REZER’ gracing a Bristol wall somewhere. He has been missed, so seeing that he appears to be ramping things up again is pleasure to my eyes.

Rezwonk, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2021
Rezwonk, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2021

This recent piece was part of a collaborative wall that was long overdue on this particular site which hadn’t changed for an eternity. This is a beautiful and technically accomplished piece in which he revisits his theme if incorporating rivets in to his letters, as if this were some large metalwork sculpture. The colours work nicely and there is a special something that makes it rather compelling. Great work, keep it up.

3578. M32 roundabout J3 (296)

Aah, such deep joy. This is my favourite collaboration of the year so far. For me it simply speaks of spring, of life, of happiness. The colours are strong and vibrant and the execution of the two elements of the collaboration by Billy and Sepr is so natural and so very easy on the eye.

Sepr, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2021
Sepr, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2021

On the right of the piece is a classic Sepr character holding an old wired telephone handset stating that ‘it’s for you’ and expecting at any moment to hand the phone over. The colours are magical and the green shadow is outrageously bold but somehow works brilliantly.

Billy, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2021
Billy, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2021

To the left is a visual interpretation of what is being heard in the earpiece of the telephone handset. ‘Hello, this is spring, can I help you’ says Billy’s half of the mural both in words and visually. A rural landscape with a lamb and daffodils and a spring rainbow are contained in a speech bubble. This is magnificent and I would challenge even the coldest hearted critic of street art not to find some happiness in this piece.

Billy and Sepr, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2021
Billy and Sepr, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2021

I’ve not seen these two collaborate before, but if this is anything to go by I sincerely hope it is not the last time.

3577. Cumberland Basin

I am going to be honest with you. My excitement at finding this collaboration piece by Nugmoose and Mudra was a little offset by the rather creepy and unsettling nature of the images. Nugmoose likes to experiment with alien forms and Mudra’s work is always pushing creative boundaries. The result in this case is decidedly odd, and the location slightly dingy.

Nugmoose and Mudra, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2021
Nugmoose and Mudra, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2021

Having said all that is it great that these two, and Slakarts too, have hit upon a friendship that is highly productive just at the moment. In this piece, Nugmoose’s figure is being drawn towards a hand clutching some flowers. The monster appears to have lost its eyes and is navigating its way forward using the sense of smell. Is that what is going on here? A weird piece, but a nice one to have found.

3576. Redcliff Subway (1)

For an artist relatively new to Bristol, Pura Decadencia has certainly been busy exploring the city and leaving her distinctive paw print in different locations, one or two I’ve still yet to find.

Pura Decadencia, Redcliffe subway, Bristol, March 2021
Pura Decadencia, Redcliffe subway, Bristol, March 2021

I actively sought out this piece, I think from an Instagram feed, because it was located at a subway I had only ever been to once before and I felt it was time I paid it a visit. I am glad I did. There is something quite compelling and sensual, in a vampire kind of way, about her work, and this one illustrates the point with sumptuous lips, a long tongue and fangs. Lots of fun.

3575. Purdown HAA Battery (24)

Consistent with the theme of so many posts on Natural Adventures this year, this piece is by yet another debut artist on this blog, and one I know practically nothing about.

Skronius, Purdown, Bristol, March 2021
Skronius, Purdown, Bristol, March 2021

Skronius would appear to be off the radar of most Bristol street art commentators and I wonder if the artist is new to the city or new to painting in the streets altogether. Skronius has an Instagram account, but only 3 posts and six followers (at the time of writing), so it is difficult to provide much background.

From the look of this piece, I would guess that Skronius is no stranger to the art world with some really nice shading and textures in this piece that help to lift the cat-like robot character. I’m not too sure what the relevance of the bees and honeycomb are, but they help to fill the white gaps around the central focus. There is a lot to like about this unusual piece which is technically nicely done and I look forward to seeing more from the artist over the coming months.

3574. M32 roundabout J3 (295)

One of the incredible things about the Bristol street art scene is that it big and growing. The recruitment into the current cohort seems to be much more rapid than the attrition and loss. Some of the artists who started out in the 80s are still painting now, and Teao One is one of them, although I must confess that this is the first time I have posted anything by him, and as is always the way, since I met him just before he painted this, I have met him again and seen more of his work. Perhaps he has come out of dormancy.

Teao One, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2021
Teao One, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2021

Teao One asked my advice about where he could paint this, because he didn’t want to paint over anything new, which I thought was pretty decent. Unfortunately his piece wasn’t shown similar respect and didn’t last long at all, which is a pity because it is a fine piece of writing with some great colours, shading and outlines. Look out for more from this veteran.

3573. M32 roundabout J3 (294)

I think that Sepr is probably my favourite character artist in Bristol, and let me tell you that the bar is very high, so this is praise indeed. The last few weeks have had me purring because he has been very productive indeed. I guess that he is making the most of lockdown and I suspect that his frequency of street work will drop once things move to a new normal.

Sepr, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2021
Sepr, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2021

This piece was painted as part of an ASK collaborative wall, but sadly has already been over-painted. The subject of the piece is a paintbrush combing his pink hair and looking rather cool, in spite of his half moon spectacles. Sepr has a very special talent for making the inanimate animate and his style has an interesting retrospective feel about it. You can see how his tattoo design style maps across onto walls to create these interesting pieces. I love this.

3572. Dean Lane skate park (402)

This is a very nice piece from Mr Draws from a couple of weeks back. I was passing by when Mr Draws was painting it and I think I gave him a fright when I told him the Dibz piece underneath it had been dedicated to his mother-in-law. Fortunately it was not a tribute piece, but a birthday celebration… it is not the done thing to go over a tribute.

Mr Draws, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2021
Mr Draws, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2021

It is great to see Mr Draws looking so well and up-beat these days and he seems to be enjoying his painting a lot. It is always interesting to see a work in progress to get an understanding of how the piece comes together. Here Mr Draws has drawn his outline and is filling it in horizontal rows.

Mr Draws, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2021
Mr Draws, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2021

The finished product is a bright and colourful ‘DRAW’ in four colour bands and a rather special red 3D shadow. The piece really benefits from good wall prep too which was probably left over from the Dibz predecessor. An uplifting work.