3325. M32 roundabout J3 (264)

It says Biers and that makes me happy. Biers went through a phase over the last 18 months or so of writing OhYeah, but reverted to Biers at some point during lockdown. His Instagram handle is Jimothy_Cool_Aid, but Biers will do.

Biers, M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 2020
Biers, M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 2020

This is a nice little piece tucked around the corner on the M32 roundabout and includes a little ghost for good measure. The piece has the heading high spirits, which is a word play on the ghost smoking a spliff. The letter shapes are great and the fills ‘to die for’. A nice modest one from Biers.

Thursday doors – 26 November 2020

Doors 130 – A big thank you to Norm

As ‘Thursday doorsters’, you will all know that Norm is stepping down from hosting Thursday doors. This week’s post is some of my favourite doors from the last year or two to thank Norm Frampton for opening my eyes and helping me to see such door beauty in the world.

For Norm:

Go well Norm and thanks for all the doors (especially Italy and Ruelles Vertes).

That’s it for another week.

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 Norm 2.0 blog,  where there are links to yet more doors in the comments section at the end.

by Scooj

3324. Dighton Street (4)

Sepr owns these two little walls at the end of Dighton Street. For several years now he has had a couple of musicians keeping us all smiling in these spaces and what pleasure they have brought. Each time they get tagged or a bit tatty he repainted them looking slightly different each time. This is the third incarnation that I am aware of, but there may have been more.

Sepr, Dighton Street, Bristol, November 2020
Sepr, Dighton Street, Bristol, November 2020

The first character is a gentleman with a trumpet, painted in the customary grey scale with a vibrant red tabard and ribbon round his hat. An extra special and contemporary element is the addition of a face mask in the PPE blue we have all become so familiar with.

Sepr, Dighton Street, Bristol, November 2020
Sepr, Dighton Street, Bristol, November 2020

The other piece features a lady musician playing a violin also masked. I love these pieces to bits and particularly like this recent makeover. Sepr has a great gift and we are privileged to benefit from it.

Sepr, Dighton Street, Bristol, November 2020
Sepr, Dighton Street, Bristol, November 2020

Below are some of the older versions for comparison:

  • Sepr, Dighton Street, Bristol, November 2020
  • Sepr, Dighton Street, Bristol, December 2017
  • Sepr, Dighton Street, Bristol August 2015
  • Sepr, Dighton Street, Bristol, November 2020
  • Sepr, Dighton Street, Bristol, December 2017
  • Sepr, Dighton Street, Bristol August 2015

3323. St Werburghs tunnel (206)

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
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.

3322. M32 roundabout J3 (264)

Wow, just wow. This is a very bold and attractive piece from Mest that cries out for attention, and interestingly received loads. Many of the Bristol Street art Instagrammers posted this outstanding piece, not surprisingly, but have a tendency to overlook this prolific artist. It just shows what an eye-catching piece can do.

Mest, M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 2020
Mest, M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 2020

I have to say that I love this piece and have been enjoying his work of late – I guess I only became aware of him a few months ago, but even in that short time I have seen some real progress. The lesson here is that if you want to be noticed use black yellow and red – nature’s warning colours.

3321. Dean Lane skate park (366)

Technically first-class and exactly what you’d expect to see from Elvs, this is a lovely recent one in Dean Lane skate park. Although Elvs lives in Wales, he makes the trip over to Bristol on a remarkably regular basis and that can only be good for Bristolians.

Elvs, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2020
Elvs, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2020

I was going to write that this is classic Elvs, but I guess that pretty much every piece he paints is classic Elvs. That doesn’t mean to say he is a one-trick pony, far from it, but he does have a style and method that he tends to stick to. Horizontal fills in warm colours are broken up by fine detail lines in black at the top and white at the bottom. The 3D shadows are also horizontally split with black at the top and blue underneath. Same basic framework with innovative detail. Nice work from Elvs.

3320. Brunel Way bridge (72)

Sometimes it is really easy to just like a piece instantly, and with this fine piece of writing from Soap, that is exactly how I felt when I first saw it. Painted as part of the Face 1st birthday/Halloween paint jam extravaganza, this colourful graffiti writing stands out.

Soap, Brunel Way, Bristol, November 2020
Soap, Brunel Way, Bristol, November 2020

Obviously spelling out SOAP, the grim themes; a scythe slicing into a skull and  a sword at the ready, have a light cartoony touch that brings a smile to the face. The colour selections are first-class and those pinks, purples and blues work so very well together – just ask SPZero76. A fine, fun piece of writing from PWA’s Soap.

3319. St Werburghs Tunnel (205)

I cannot think of a Pekoe portrait that I haven’t liked. Her style is so recognisable and has a beautiful innocence about it, if you know what I mean. There is no pretension, it is what it is and isn’t pretending to be anything else, and I like that.

Pekoe, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2020
Pekoe, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2020

This piece appeared last week alongside a Bnie piece in the tunnel and together they painted under the RBF banner. The three-quarter portrait reverts to a theme often used by Pekoe, namely a third eye on the forehead. The turquoise, pink and yellow colours work very nicely together and the decorative features are wonderful. I particularly like the green shading on the woman’s shoulders and face that give a lift to the whole portrait. Lovely work.

3318. River Avon (9)

There was a time a couple of years ago when there was absolutely no stopping Panskaribas and his Reseau pieces, and then I think he went away for a while. Since his return he has not been quite as prolific and his pieces have toned down a little, in my view.

Panskaribas, River Avon, Bristol, November 2020
Panskaribas, River Avon, Bristol, November 2020

I am not entirely how old this piece is, but I suspect it was painted within the last six months or so. The element that makes it recognisable as a Panskaribas piece is the bent over shoe in the left-hand corner and the toes next to it in the Picassoesque style. I think the letters of the piece are jumbled up and spell out RESEAU, so from left to right I see S – E – A – U – E – R. Of course I could be entirely wrong and trying to see things that are not there. Good to find a piece by the artist after a rather long time.

3317. Sparke Evans Park (3)

On the long wall at Sparke Evans Park is this outstanding piece of regular calligraphic writing from Todoachiem. This is as good a piece of tidy format graffiti writing as you are going to see and was sprayed a couple of weeks ago as part of a Spanish crew Halloween paint jam in the park.

Todoaciem, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, November 2020
Todoaciem, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, November 2020

I am not entirely sure what the script actually says and I don’t think I am going to try and decipher it now – I suspect it might have to wait until I get to meet thee artist in person and ask him. The letters are sculpted with care and attention and the horizontal graded fill works very nicely. It is a piece that demands attention and stands out from the crowd.