There are dozens of these mega-tags all over Bristol and it took me quite a long time before I realised that they were by Sage. This one at the Purdown battery has an outstanding view of North Bristol behind it… such a great location.
Sage, Purdown, Bristol, March 2021
Most of these mega-tags are monochrome quick ones, but it seems that Sage has taken a wee bit more time with this one, giving his capped character little bit of extra decoration. Often, the location can be as important as the art, and I think this is a good example of that.
Another day, another debut on Natural Adventures, this time from Pie Bolar. In recent weeks I have seen quite a few of these mega tags about the place, and because they are much more than simple tags and that they are likely to develop in some way over time, I am happy to drop a post, which is likely to be the first of many.
Pie Bolar, M32 Spot, Bristol, March 2021
Graffiti and street art is such an enormous ‘church’ with a vast range of styles and capabilities. Some artists do something different each time they hit a wall, others choose a motif and repeat it again and again with subtle design or colour changes, for example Slim Pickings with his TES. This character tag by Pie Bolar presents a severed head wearing sun glasses. It is an unusual image, but sticks in the mind and is easily spotted in amongst all the other graffiti. Watch this space fro more from the artist.
This week I have compiled a little collection of doors that have been tagged with a Mr Bloopy. These tags can be found absolutely everywhere Bristol, not only on doors, so this is a very small subset of these happy-go-lucky tags. One or two have appeared on Thursday doors before, but never in a collection like this. Enjoy.
Mr Bloopy door, Bristol, July 2019Mr Bloopy door, Bristol, March 2021Mr Bloopy door, Bristol, February 2017Mr Bloopy door, Bristol, March 2021Mr Bloopy door, Bristol, March 2019Mr Bloopy tag on a knackered old door, Bristol, July 2020Tagged door (that tag again), St Werburghs, Bristol, March 2020Tagged door, Moon Street, Bristol, March 2019
Another busy week for me so I’m afraid that’s yer lot. Enjoy the emerging spring (those of you in the Northern Hemisphere) and let’s look forward to some pro[er door action soon.
If you have made it this far, you probably like doors, and you really ought to take a look at the No Facilities blog by Dan Anton who has taken over the hosting of Thursday Doors from Norm 2.0 blog. Links to more doorscursions can be found in the comments section of Dan Anton’s Thursday Doors post.
I don’t get over to Lawrence Hill roundabout all that often, so there is always something there that I haven’t seen before. However, the disadvantage of not regularly visiting is that any pieces new to me can be quite tired looking or tagged.
Mudra, Lawrence Hill Roundabout, Bristol, February 2021
Mudra has had a big impact since arriving in Bristol last year and has made his presence known all over the city with his distinctive pink faces and colourful writing. Although tagged, this moustached character with a distinctive outlined red nose is still looking rather bright, and I am pleased to have stumbled across it. Not long before I’ll have enough of his work to post a gallery.
There are some pieces that will have very limited audiences, and this is one of them. Soap has painted one of his trademark smiley mouth-skull pieces on the back of a pillar under the M32 overlooking the River Frome. The only way of getting to see it is by dropping down under the motorway and walking along the reinforced bank of the River Frome. It can’t even be seen from the overlooking M32 Spot.
Soap, Frome side, Bristol, December 2020
One might ask why paint something that so few people will see, but that might be missing the point a bit about the motivations behind why graffiti and street artists do what they do. It tends to be for the love of doing it. This is a particularly nice example of his mouthy face, with a lovely yellow background and sharp lines with some nice fills. The white highlights work really well to give it that 3D lift. A great column piece.
As gentrification in the city picks up pace, traditional graffiti hot spots are becoming fewer and fewer – there is often a stay of execution while hoardings go up around a development, but eventually these come down revealing pristine new student accommodations or other unaffordable housing, inappropriate for the communities that live near these developments. One of the knock-on effects is that the turnover of street art/graffiti on the remaining walls has increased considerably. This wall in the Cumberland Basin is a great example of a wall that is changing more and more frequently.
Slakarts, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, December 2020
Slakarts gives us a double-vision version of his smiling three-quarter profile mega-tag in this happy piece alongside Rezwonk, just to the right. Slakarts has been turning these out on a reasonably regular basis over the last six months or so but they all face the same direction – it would be interesting to see if he could replicate them looking the other way. There is something quite seductive about this piece – it is unusual and set in a vibrant context. Expect more like this before too long.
Angry Face is so definitely back on the scene and that is great news. For me he represents the rather more edgy side of Bristol street/graffiti art, and his mega-tag comes in both rough tag and finessed forms.
Angry Face, Brunel Way, Bristol, December 2020
This column piece under Brunel Way is nicely done, and the characteristic face with spiky and cracked teeth is nicely decorated with little white bubbles on the two shades of blue face. It is always nice to find new pieces by Angry Face, especially when you know they are out there from the social media postings of others.
One of the most recognisable ‘mega-tags’ in Bristol is that of Angry Face. What you see is what you get, and he rarely disappoints. One of the advantages of a ‘brand’ like this is that you can spend time doing a nice one, or spend ten minutes with a single-colour throw up, but they all conform to the stock format and identity.
Angry Face, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2020
I mentioned last time that after a long spell away, Angry Face seems to be hitting the walls pretty regularly these days, including with this recent one in St Werburghs tunnel. I’m not sure if the tags either side of the face belong to the artist or not, but the central face is more than enough for me. Good to see.
It took me a little while to solve the mystery of these faces that started to appear all over Bristol from about September time. Of course the answer was staring me in the face (almost literally) all the time, but I simply didn’t make the connection. It wasn’t until I saw an Instagram post by the artist that the penny dropped. It is of course by Slakarts.
Slakarts, Cumberland Basin, Bristtol, October 2020
Slakarts is another artist who has been fairly quiet for most of the year, but suddenly a rash of pieces very similar to this one started appearinng a few weeks ago. It is strange that an artist who is known for using a certain style changes the basic shape of his pieces and then repeats them all over the place in the form of a mega-tag, but that is what Slakarts has done. I like this piece with strong lines and fills, and it certainly catches the eye. Look out for more on Natural Adventures before too long.
I am really enjoying the stylistic variations of Varo’s bull at the moment. He is an artist who has emerged on the Bristol scene over the last couple of years, and his mega-tags are becoming more sophisticated and experimental with each outing.
Varo, Brunel Way, Bristol, September 2020
This bull is part of a larger collaborative spread with other artists including Kool Hand and Daz Cat (to follow). This time the bull’s head is in profile rather than face on and has a rather cheeky grin. I think that Varo is on to a great theme here, painting the same subject in a variety of styles… endless material and interest value. I can’t wait to see more.
