There is no question about it, Angry Face is definitely back and seems to be having a bit of fun. I don’t know what the long absence was about, but it is great to see the artist back on form with this unique mega-tag.
Angry Face, M32 Spot, Bristol, August 2020
This quick one recently appeared on one of the columns of the M32 Spot, and is the third piece by Angry Face I have seen in recent weeks… there may of course be others.
Laic217 keeps knocking it out of the park (skate park in this instance). This is a piece that was painted for the Dean Lane Hardcore event a few weeks back and captures the atmosphere and essence of the event brilliantly.
Laic217, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2020
The skateboarding skeleton is smoking and drinking and the rather tatty looking skateboard is on fire with the tricks being demonstrated. Somehow, Laic217 has managed to work the perspective of the crouching skeleton in a way that shows the movement and forces while calmly holding a beer can in his left hand.
Laic217 and Nevergiveup, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2020
Next to this piece are the three rabbits by Nevergiveup that I posted a few days ago holding up score cards for the achievements of Laic217’s skater. My assessment for the artwork is a 10, 10, 10.
Sometimes you have to be patient, and with photographing shutter pieces this can be particularly true. I have known about this wonderful cat mural by Kin Dose for a long time, it was painted during lock down, but every time I visited until recently the shop was open and the shutter up.
Kin Dose, North Street, Bristol, July 2020
This delightful cat was commissioned by ToyVille on North Street and is a fantastic permanent addition to the cluster of amazing pieces in this area of Bedminster. I don’t know if it is deliberate, but the cat is staring straight across the zebra crossing, giving pedestrians ‘the eye’.
Kin Dose, North Street, Bristol, July 2020
Kin Dose is simply one of the best and his technique of airbrush spray painting enables him to add the most incredible fine detail to his pieces, especially good for fur and whiskers. This piece is situated immediately to the right of his kingfisher commission that was painted a few days before.
I not only simply hate the new WordPress editor, I loathe it. Not only does everything take twice as long, but it constantly seems to try and give you what you want rather than letting you do what you want. Very, very annoying.
This is a cheerful little piece by DFC1848 in the tunnel, and yet another example of just how far his work has come over the last few months.
DFC1848, St Werburghs, Bristol, August 2020
This is a reversion to his original character, but there is so much more in the way of decoration and experimentation, including some bubbles on the outside and two tones of blue for the body. There is so much more confidence and ease with his work now and this perfectly demonstrates that practice is the name of the game.
This is a small quick one from Pekoe painted underneath one of the ramps at Dean Lane skate park around the time of the DLH event. I think that Pejoe has painted a piece here once before and I’ll try and dig it out and add it to the end of this post.
Pekoe, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2020
This one is a little more multi-coloured in the face than her usual pieces, but you can see that it was probably painted quite quickly, lacking the finesse of some of her other work. It is a lovely piece nonetheless and for once no tears. Nice to see a cheeky little Smak tag thrown in too.
I went up to the skate park to find a small piece from Soap, and am pleased that I did because I came across this rather interesting portrait by Zake. The face in green set on a patterned purple background is not something I would instantly associate with Zake, but on lingering it has many of the characteristics he uses in his work.
Zake, St George, Bristol, August 2020
The last piece from Zake that I saw was a blue faced girl at the M32 Spot, so it would seem he is experimenting at the moment with colourful faces. This a fun piece.
So full of colour and imagination, this is an exceptional three-way collaboration from Tom Miller, Smak and Sled One, on, in my view, one of the best walls in Bristol.
Tom Miller, Nova Scotia, Bristol, July 2020
On the left is an extraordinary contorted face from Tom Miller all looking a little bit nightmarish, with colours and shapes cascading from the mouth.
Tom Miller, Smak and Sled One, Nova Scotia, Bristol, July 2020
On the lower centre of the collaboration is a nice piece of equally colourful writing from Smak that complements Tom Miller’s piece.
Sled One, Nova Scotia, Bristol, July 2020
Towards the top right hand side, the collaboration is topped off by a curious (aren’t they always), character piece from Sled One. It looks a little like an astronaut whose helmet has split and is experiencing rather unpleasant things. The whole collaboration is a celebration in colour and works nicely. It would be nice to see these three work together again.
Well, here is something that you don’t see every day, a really old piece by Silent Hobo that if you saw it unsigned, could be difficult to identify as it looks not a lot like his current work.
Silent Hobo, Hammersmith Road, Bristol, August 2020
Painted on a back gate, this piece, that would appear to have been here for some time, has a lot of Mario Brothers going on and the Clifton suspension bridge gives it a clear geographical reference. Finding old gems like this one is always incredibly rewarding, especially when not even looking for them.
I can’t think of a time when I have seen so many John D’oh stencils in such rapid succession including several that I have missed in recent weeks. Many have been about the Government’s inept handling of the coronavirus outbreak, this one however is more about the impacts on people.
John D’oh, M32 Spot, Bristol, August 2020
Rats have commonly been used by Banksy and many other artists in their work and here a rat is used to illustrate the ‘rat race’ with the words ‘After COVID-19 I am not sure I can join the rat race’. Another nice work recording the impacts of the pandemic on Bristol society.
I am really struggling with the new WordPress editor. Everything takes twice as long as it should, and there is simply too much functionality for a user like me. I just want to write posts on my blog, not design up a personal website. Oh well, I’m sure I will get better at it with practice, which is something that definitely applies to street/graffiti art, and when you see apiece like this from Rusk, you know that it is on the back of a huge amount of hard graft over the years.
Rusk, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2020
The overall design of the letters and the selection of chrome and green are very nicely done. At the right hand end of the RUSKY letters is a muscle-flexing spray can squirting a neon green jet of life into the piece… a nice character. A fabulous piece from a highly accomplished writer and complete gentleman.