Tag: Street art

2813. Stoney Lane

I have known about this piece behind St Werburghs City Farm for quite some time, but because the wall is in a narrow lane it is virtually impossible to photograph, and the wall, hedge and trees behind it make long-distance shots pretty tricky too. Winter does have some upsides and I managed to take these pictures through the leafless trees while perching on a wall (a difficult task as I am not as young as I like to think I am).

Rowdy, Stoney Lane, Bristol, March 2020
Rowdy, Stoney Lane, Bristol, March 2020

This large piece is by Rowdy and might be a collaboration although I am not sure about that. It features some toothy animal-like characters typical of the artist, looking pretty busy, and some mischievous laundry clips. It is a bright and colourful piece which I think might have been here for some time and which probably doesn’t get the exposure and appreciation it deserves.

2812. St Werburghs tunnel (158)

Castles and spired towers decorate the letters of this medieval piece from Fiva, complete with a cartoon character knight. Thie last pece from Fiva in St Werburghs tunnel was an epic piece with massive letters, this is altogether much more the typical kind of piece we get from this brilliant Bristol artist.

Fiva, St Werburghs, Bristol, March 2020
Fiva, St Werburghs, Bristol, March 2020

In spraying my own letters last year, the artist I studied the most was Fiva and on one occasion I tried to copy one of his letters, but without much success. I am definitely inspired by Fiva and really enjoy finding his pieces.

Scooj, H in the style of Fiva, Bristol, June 2019
Scooj, H in the style of Fiva, Bristol, June 2019

2811. Cooperage Lane

This was a completely accidental find (often the most fulfilling ones). I was trying to find a cut-through in Southville, because I was sick of the traffic, and ended up turning into this cul-de-sac (I thought it was a through road) that I have passed many times before but never noticed this brilliant sheep stencil before.

Stewy, Cooperage Lane, Bristol, March 2020
Stewy, Cooperage Lane, Bristol, March 2020

I think the Stencil by Bristol’s Stewy might be reasonably new, because when I parked up and got out of my car to photograph it, I struck up a conversation with a man who was with the owner of the building, and they hadn’t seen the piece before. I told them that it was a great privilege to have such a lovely stencil on their wall, and they seemed to be in agreement. Much of Stewy’s work is one layer stencils like this one, and because of this focus and intensity they really stand out. It is such a great feeling finding something like this. It pays to go down streets you don’t normally go down, you just never know what you’ll find.

2810. Dean Lane skate park (290)

The original Bristol bunny has woken up after a winter slumber. Hire has been painting these rabbits for a while and before his compatriot Nevergiveup (@followmyrabbits) turned up in Bristol. Who’d have thought we’d get one, let alone two bunny specialists in the city?

Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2020
Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2020

Hire’s rabbits are edgy and have an element of menace about them… I suspect I’d cross the road if I saw one approaching on a dark night. I think the first one I ever saw was in The Bearpit, but at that time I didn’t know who had painted it.

Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2020
Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2020

On this occasion we are fortunate enough to get a double helping of rabbits, a green spiky one and a white smooth one, both based on the same basic formula. I guess this is what you call a glorified tag that has been perfected after many years of use. Great to see Hire back on the streets – now to look out for some more.

2809. St Werburghs tunnel (157)

After a reasonably quiet winter, Sirens is out and about again which is good to see. I managed to catch up with him just as he was finishing off this piece and he seems to be enjoying himself having been through a fairly dynamic period recently.

Sirens, St Werburghs, Bristol, March 2020
Sirens, St Werburghs, Bristol, March 2020

I asked why he had chosen this spot for his SIRENS writing, because it had been the site of an interesting Tom Miller piece that had not been there long, and he said it was because it had been covered with a throw up (a rough and ready quick piece of writing) and so he painted over that. It’s a jungle out there. I have noticed that Sirens’ work often looks rather different from most pieces you see and this is down to the absence of hard outlines and his work is closer to fine art than street art. Looking forward to seeing more over the coming months.

2808. Wilder Street (39)

I don’t quite know why, but I don’t think I post nearly enough piece by T-Rex on Natural Adventures as I should. I have a great many in the archive and inn time they will surface. I guess the same could be said for most of the artists I write about, but I feel I might have neglected T-Rex a little more than most, so it is time to put that right.

Ryder, Wilder Street, Bristol, February 2020
Ryder, Wilder Street, Bristol, February 2020

This is a lovely romantic Valentine’s day piece by T-Rex painted in the colours of love and with a little heart under the T. She has put a little ‘Queen’ tag with an arrow pointing at the work, which I think is more than deserved. I’m not too sure who painted the little cupid, but it might have been Rusk whose piece was adjacent to this one. Lovely to see this piece in Wilder Street.

Scratch all of the above

The piece was by Ryder, T-Rex’s partner. Thank you Paul for pointing this out. Now the piece makes so much more sense.

2807. Moon Street (81)

I couldn’t hold this amazing black and white portrait piece back any longer. ‘Why hold it back at all?’ I hear you ask (in my fertile imagination), well, it is another of those pieces that I know absolutely nothing about, despite some fairly intensive Interweb interrogations.

Kosc, Moon Street, Bristol, February 2020
Kosc, Moon Street, Bristol, February 2020

Moon Street has be host to many different pieces of street art, but nothing like this one in my experience. I don’t know who P. Jacobs is, and I guess the date is a date of birth. Is this a tribute to somebody famous or to somebody dear? What do the formulae mean? There is so much in this work to figure out before even marvelling at the superb portrait itself. This is a piece painted by an accomplished artist, but not someone that has crossed my path before (I think). Those eyes are amazing and follow you around.

Could somebody out there put me out of my misery and telll me who this is by and what it is about?

Thank you Paul. This piece is by Kosc, who has painted this door before.

2806. St Werburghs tunnel (156)

They just keep coming, don’t they? In this nice piece of graffiti writing from Decay, we see him return to some of his original colouring – famed for his black, white, grey and red colour palette – in this instance replacing white with chrome. It is amazing to see how his work has developed over the last couple of years, and a quick glance at this gallery I put together will give you a feel for that.

Decay, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2020
Decay, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2020

I have always had a soft spot for Decay. Apart from being the first street artist I had the courage to talk to while he was painting down in the Bearpit, he is genuinely a really decent bloke who always greets me with a smile whenever I see him. He has become part of the furniture of Natural Adventures, and that is a good thing.

2804. St Werburghs tunnel (155)

Another sensational piece from visiting artist Creks in St Werburghs tunnel. I believe that Creks is from Leicester, but has rather taken to coming to Bristol from time to time to avail himself of our walls, and what a good thing too. I have always said how much I love it when visiting artists come to our city adding to the diversity of street/graffiti art.

Creks, St Werburghs, Bristol, January 2020
Creks, St Werburghs, Bristol, January 2020

I think that this is a particularly appealing piece, very easy on the eye and, as so often happens when a script-style font is used, it stands out from the crowd. I can’t make up my mind whether the yellow flames add to or detract from the piece, on balance I think it might have looked a little better without them – just my opinion though. I really rate this piece and the artist from what I have seen so far. I hope he comes back to visit again soon.

2803. Purdown HAA Battery (3)

I took these pictures back in January this year, but the wonderful piece by Tasha Bee (Keep it Colourful) is way older than that. I have included it in part not only because I love her work but also because I haven’t seen anything new from her for such a long time, which is a great shame.

Tasha Bee, Purdown Battery, Bristol, January 2020
Tasha Bee, Purdown Battery, Bristol, January 2020

I know that Tasha Bee is working on some other projects at the moment, but maybe once the weather gets a bit nicer she will be lured out to brighten up all of our lives again. The piece is classic Tasha Bee and features a stylised portrait with wonderful ‘big hair’. Everything that is great about street art is right here in this piece. It left me smiling.