Tag: Urban

4289. Sparke Evan Park (34)

What a fabulous small piece this is from Haka. Anyone familiar with the children’s picture book Funnybones by Janet and Allen Ahlberg will be familiar with the characters, and will struggle not to be entranced by this labour of love.

Haka, Spark Evans Park, Bristol, February 2022
Haka, Spark Evans Park, Bristol, February 2022

The sense of nostalgia is thoroughly awoken with this mural, and although I never read the book as a child, it was one of my children’s and niece’s favourites. The style of the characters lend themselves very well to being upscaled and Haka has been faithful to the original illustrations. I love the mischievous speech bubbles: ‘what shall we do tonight?’ To which the reply is ‘Let’s go painting’. Brilliant stuff, beautifully recreated.

4288. St Werburghs tunnel (283)

The artist Merny has an extraordinary ability to convey very strong messages and emotions in the simplest of ways through his naive style that somehow seems to get straight to the point. Usually his pieces are quite witty or comical, but this one is tinged with sadness and desperation.

Merny, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2022
Merny, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2022

The character is bent over double with his head in his hands and alongside him is the caption ‘I’ve got no money’. Unfortunately, with a cost of living crisis heading our way and the impacts of the war in Ukraine, for which Russia (Putin and his cronies) are wholly responsible, this is a desperate image we can expect to see more of this year. Real people in severe difficulties. Well done Merny for tackling such difficult subjects with his art.

Thursday doors – 10 March 2022

Doors 176 – Street art doors

I have struggled for time again this week to bring you any original doors, so Instead I will treat you to some more street art doors from last summer. I hope you enjoy these doors photographed in June and July 2021:

Natasha Kirby, Greville Road, Bristol, June 2021, Upfest 21
Natasha Kirby, Greville Road, Bristol, June 2021, Upfest 21
RichT, Muriel Alleyway, Bristol, May 2021
RichT, Muriel Alleyway, Bristol, May 2021
Nina Raines, Gloucester Road, Bristol, June 2021
Nina Raines, Gloucester Road, Bristol, June 2021
Sophie Mills Thomas, North Street, Bristol, June 2021, Upfest 21
Sophie Mills Thomas, North Street, Bristol, June 2021, Upfest 21
Emotional Waterfall Art, Smyth Road, Bristol, June 2021, Upfest 21
Emotional Waterfall Art, Smyth Road, Bristol, June 2021, Upfest 21
Cheba, East Street, Bristol, July 2021, Upfest 21
Cheba, East Street, Bristol, July 2021, Upfest 21
Sophie Rae, North Street, Bristol, July 2021, Upfest 21,
Sophie Rae, North Street, Bristol, July 2021, Upfest 21,
Squirl, The Nursery, Bristol, JUly 2021, Upfest 21
Squirl, The Nursery, Bristol, JUly 2021, Upfest 21
Muckrock, West Street, Bristol, July 2021
Muckrock, West Street, Bristol, July 2021
Andrew Burns Colwill, Luckwell Road, Bristol, July 2021, Upfest 21,
Andrew Burns Colwill, Luckwell Road, Bristol, July 2021, Upfest 21,
Epod, North Street, Bristol, July 2021, Upfest 21
Epod, North Street, Bristol, July 2021, Upfest 21

I guess that is your lot this week. May I wish you all a happy week, while we continue to channel all our positive thoughts, hopes and prayers for all those suffering in Ukraine.

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.

by Scooj

4287. M32 Spot (135)

Ryder seems to like this particular spot as much as I do, or at least it would appear to be that way given that he paints it reasonably often. This piece is a classic piece of Ryder wildstyle graffiti writing, which is always of the highest order.

Ryder, M32 Spot, Bristol, February 2022
Ryder, M32 Spot, Bristol, February 2022

The most striking thing about this piece is the copper colouring of the letters that seems to change completely in tone, depending on where it is viewed from. This is the kind of piece that one could easily imagine being slapped on the side of a wagon on the New York subway. Classic, clean and tidy. Pure graffiti writing at its best.

4286. Brunel Way (145)

The Bristol Womxn Mural Collective paint jams have become events worth looking forward to in Bristol and always turn up some real gems that offer something slightly different to the usual fare we see on a daily basis.

Raquel Blazquez, Brunel Way, Bristol, February 2022
Raquel Blazquez, Brunel Way, Bristol, February 2022

This is a gorgeous portrait piece by Raquel Blazquez and is a perfect follow up to the piece she painted in Dean Lane skate park in November 2021. There is a lot of feeling and emotion in this portrait, and how good is it to see this kind of free art in a D.I.Y. skate park, in the middle of a concrete jungle? Seeing fine art pieces in these settings is truly wonderful, and long may these paint jams last. Exquisite work.

Raquel Blazquez, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2021
Raquel Blazquez, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2021

4285. Dean Lane skate park (470)

It is always great to meet a new artist, and on this particular day there were a lot of artists painting in Dean Lane skate park and I knew all of the except Trafficity who painted this fabulous stylised piece of writing which spells out ZIOM. Trafficity is another Polish artist and paints with compatriots Cort and Laic217 under the PAD crew label.

Trafficity, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2022
Trafficity, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2022

The green-blue tones with horizontal transitions are very nicely done, with lots of little detailed pixels and blocks dotted about the letters. There are some lovely details and scrolls through some of the holes in the letters too. ZIOM actually means ‘dude’ or ‘mate’ in Polish, and is a pretty cool thing to be writing, I reckon. I look forward to seeing more from Trafficity before too long.

4284. M32 roundabout J3 (388)

A week or two back , Billy and Merny had a great time painting a few spots. I love it when these two get together as their naive style shines a bright light on the incredible diversity of art in Bristol. Their work is always full of messages and commentary, usually reflecting the contemporary political landscape.

Billy, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2022
Billy, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2022

This piece would seem to be a dove of peace, and perhaps the colours selected represent both Ukraine and Russia, locked in an horrific war of dictator Putin’s making. It is the written message that is so powerful in this piece, recognising that these are dark times and that the National mood is low. Billy simply says ‘I hope you are ok’. I hope we are ok too.

4283. Franklyn Lane

I rarely post pieces by artists that I can’t name, but sometimes I feel that I just have to, especially if the likelihood of me ever finding out who they are are practically nil. This beautiful traditional Indian art is tucked away in a back street in St Paul’s, and has recently been repainted/repaired.

Unknown artist, Franklyn Lane, Bristol, February 2022
Unknown artist, Franklyn Lane, Bristol, February 2022

I’m sure these artworks have a name, but I don’t know what it is. Whatever they are called doesn’t matter too much, because this is just stunning. The quality and detail of the piece are outstanding. Simply brilliant, and I honour the artist whoever they are.

Unknown artist, Franklyn Lane, Bristol, February 2022
Unknown artist, Franklyn Lane, Bristol, February 2022

4282. Brunel Way (144)

What a wonderful piece to come across a week or so ago. This was one of several new pieces tucked away in the D.I.Y. skate park under Brunel Way, following a paint jam by the Bristol Womxn Mural Collective. These paint jams always throw up some unusual and unique pieces, bringing studio art out onto the streets.

Erviti, Brunel Way, Bristol, February 2022
Erviti, Brunel Way, Bristol, February 2022

This column cat, by Erviti, is set on a dark blue background and stands out as something rather special. Apart from Daz Cat’s offerings, you don’t see too many street art cats about the place, so this is a real pleasure.

Erviti, Brunel Way, Bristol, February 2022
Erviti, Brunel Way, Bristol, February 2022

One of the things about studio artists painting murals is that they often use rather more conventional paints and materials, rather than spray paints and so the artwork is often more detailed and stands up to close inspection. Erviti has absolutely nailed this cat portrait, and what a fine contribution to the urban landscape it is.

4281. St Werburghs tunnel (282)

In the gloom of St Werburghs tunnel is this wonderful Bnie piece, painted as part of an RBF paint jam including Evey and Pekoe. Once again, as so often with pieces in the tunnel, I had to do a bit of photo editing to get the true colours of the piece that had been somewhat washed out by the orange lighting in the tunnel.

Bnie, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2022
Bnie, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2022

Bnie has a lovely soft touch to her work. Her letters have a feminine touch, which is difficult to pin down, or perhaps it is because I know she is a female artist that I see the femininity in it. Suggestion perhaps, or is it a real thing? Anyhow, the letters have a stunning four colour horizontal palette with great transitions and the 3D shading is so utterly Bnie. A lovely piece.