Tag: Urban

4568. Upfest 2022 (26)

This is one of two pieces painted by Ejits at this year’s festival, the other being a wall over a shop entrance on East Street. Although she doesn’t paint on the streets all that often, she does have one or two prominent murals in Bedminster.

Ejits, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Ejits, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

Although I managed to photograph the piece as a work in progress, I unfortunately didn’t manage to cross paths with Ejits, which is a shame, but maybe next time. Ejits seems to be as comfortable painting on a small board as she is painting at scale and her straightforward solid fill characters are interesting and charming. I would say that her style is similar to that of Roo and Nol, although her characters are quite unique.

Ejits, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Ejits, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

One could be forgiven for thinking that her half-finished piece was complete, because it was signed, but the final picture shows you how much impact the additional details make on the overall piece. Watch this space for her other Upfest 2022 piece.

Giant hogweed

.

An ornamental

beautiful but poisonous

non-indigenous

.

by Scooj

4567. St Werburghs tunnel (302)

This is the second piece of ‘alien’ writing that I am aware of by Nugmoose, both of which have been painted in the tunnel. Normally, we associate the artist with painting extraordinary and imaginative alien characters, but it is great to see him transpose his skill into writing.

Nugmoose, St Werburghs, Bristol June 2022
Nugmoose, St Werburghs, Bristol June 2022

The interesting part about any writing from Nugmoose is that it is written in alien letters, so we can never know what it might say. It is quite a skill to be able to create imaginary letters and then use them to make graffiti writing, because there are no recognisable reference points. I’m not sure if it makes things easier or more difficult, because nobody is going to know if you have made a mistake. Gorgeous glowing bright green with a ‘plasma’ streak dancing around the piece.

4566. Dean Lane skate park (509)

You don’t get to see pieces by SPZero76, outside of festivals or commissions, as often as a few years ago, so stumbling across one was both a rare and joyful occasion. This recent piece was part of a collaborative wall, marking the first anniversary of the death of producer and rapper MF Doom.

SPZero76, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2022
SPZero76, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2022

SPZero76’s take on this anniversary was to paint a cartoon-style version of Marvel villain Dr Octopus asking ‘what’s a Doom?’. This is a hilarious piece and perfectly painted, sharp and clean, and just the kind of thing we are so privileged to see in Bristol. It would be great to see more of these casual pieces about the place from SPZero76.

4565. Dean Lane skate park (508)

Visiting artists are always welcome in Bristol, and how nice it is to see a calligraffiti artist to add to the talents of Stivs and Todoaciem. There is something appealing about writing beautiful letters in beautiful fonts, with accuracy and attention to detail, and Elroy has done a particularly fine job here.

Elroy, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2022
Elroy, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2022

The letters are nicely proportioned, although I wonder if the ‘r’ and ‘o’ could be a little closer to each other. The addition of a twisted rope and a framed pink background add a crispness to the whole piece. I would love to see more from this sign-writer murallist.

4564. St Werburghs tunnel (301)

Two artists that you could probably set your watch by are Face 1st and Mr Draws – both produce pieces with reassuring regularity, providing some stability and reference points in this topsy-turvy world.

Mr Draws, St Werburghs, Bristol, June 2022
Mr Draws, St Werburghs, Bristol, June 2022

This piece is quite typical of Mr Draws’ work, although it feels a little bit laterally compressed, he usually likes to spread his letters out a little more. If this was by a different artist, I might describe it as a ‘dregs’ piece, meaning that it was an opportunity to finish up almost empty cans. However, Mr Draws loves to use lots of colour in his pieces, so this might simply be a joyful burst of colour.

4563. St Werburghs tunnel (300)

This is a fine collaborative wall from Mr Klue, and The Cat Came Back (who has possibly one of the best street art names in Bristol, although it is a competitive field). Mr Klue has been painting these walls more regularly of late, but it is a long while since I last saw much from The Cat Came Back.

Mr Klue, St Werburghs, Bristol, June 2022
Mr Klue, St Werburghs, Bristol, June 2022

To the left, and well within Mr Klue’s ‘safety zone’ is another fine abstract piece from the artist, in which it is possible to decipher the letters KLUE, if you look carefully. The whispy elements, and organic shapes are so unique to Mr Klue, and unlike anything else we see in Bristol.

The Cat Came Back, St Werburghs, Bristol, June 2022
The Cat Came Back, St Werburghs, Bristol, June 2022

To the right, is a beautifully executed and proportioned set of letters, I think spelling out MEAT, with a cat face for the ‘A’. The fill patterns, on alternate letters are well done, and the white accent lines are very effective in lifting the letters out of the wall, a trick used by writers to create a 3D effect. Great to see these two painting together.

4562. M32 cycle path (179)

Felix Braun or FLX as he is known is one of the godfather’s of street art in Bristol and author of the wonderful ‘Children of the Can’ books. His street work these days tends to be commission-based or the occasional appearance at a festival. He has been rather busy in Bristol lately, which is obviously good news.

Felix Braun, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, June 2022
Felix Braun, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, June 2022

This piece on the M32 cycle path is highly unusual because it appears to be a sanctioned commission (who else gets to paint behind temporary railings?) on a wall that normally plays host to high turnover graffiti and tagging. I don’t know how Felix Braun has swung this, not do I know how long it will remain untagged, but for the meanwhile it is a case of sitting back and admiring this huge piece.

Felix Braun, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, June 2022
Felix Braun, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, June 2022

The overall message is ‘Love Bristol’ or ‘Bristol loves you’ which is preaching to a converted audience. The piece itself is a showcase for FLX’s themes of silhouetted people, and of overlapping letters in different colours, creating third colours where the overlap occurs.

Felix Braun, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, June 2022
Felix Braun, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, June 2022

In the heart section, the word love appears in several different languages and scripts, most of which I cannot read, but I am pretty sure they all say love. This is a positive message and one that we are in desperate need of in the UK right now.

Felix Braun, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, June 2022
Felix Braun, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, June 2022

Let’s hope that the positive messaging translates into positive outcomes, starting with a total change in government… that would be nice.

4561. Brunel Way (163)

There is never a time when I am not excited to find a piece by Hire (pronounced Hee Ray, just in case you were wondering), whether it is one of his character rabbits or  some of his highly technical writing, it always brings a smile to my face and it feels like life is good, in spite of the turbulent landscape.

Hire, Brunel Way, Bristol, June 2022
Hire, Brunel Way, Bristol, June 2022

This gorgeous piece under Brunel Way is an absolute beauty. The letters are easy to read and the artwork less frenetic than we might be used to. Set on a clean, buffed grey wall and with glowing orange tones, the red letters and deep grey and white 3D shadow are clearly defined and stand out. This is a finely crafted piece from a talented graffiti writer.

4560. St Werburghs tunnel (299)

With the very congested field of artists currently painting in Bristol, and the addition of Upfest and a trip to Porto, my cup overfloweth with captured images of street art (I am still covering June art!). It is important that in all this excitement I don’t ignore our good old regulars who paint day in and day out to keep our walls decorated.

Kool Hand, St Werburghs, Bristol, June 2022
Kool Hand, St Werburghs, Bristol, June 2022

This is a lovely piece in the tunnel from Kool Hand, featuring his orangutan character using a spray can with pink paint to decorate the tunnel walls. The piece is framed in a black bordered rectangle, which almost looks like a window into the orangutan’s world. A nice stand alone piece.