Tag: Urban

2713. Purdown HAA Battery (1)

I chose a glorious day for my first visit to Purdown HAA Battery where I managed to combine a sensational dog walk with Mrs Scooj and a quick tour of the street/graffiti art on the battery walls. Purdown HAA Battery itself was a Heavy Anti-Aircraft position that overlooks Bristol and that protected the city from bombing raids during WW2. You can find out a some more here. The dog is doing a bit of ‘bombing’ himself.

Slakarts, Purdown HAA Battery, Bristol, January 2020
Slakarts, Purdown HAA Battery, Bristol, January 2020

I knew that there was some art to be found here, but have simply never taken the time to go and take a look. What a silly boy I am. There is quite a lot to look at up there, some old stuff and some more recent like this magnificent face by Slakarts (it’s him again!). This is a lovely clean piece with a great selection of colours and plenty of wrinkles in the face to animate it. Worth the excursion.

2712. M32 roundabout J3 (192)

I am beginning to form the opinion that EAT crew are becoming something of a collaborative force in Bristol. EAT are of course SPZero76 and Kid Crayon and the pairing, whose styles are light years apart, seem to be able to create great work together like these two characters playing conkers (remember that?).

SPZero76, M32 roundabout, Bristol, January 2020
SPZero76, M32 roundabout, Bristol, January 2020

SPZero76 is an extraordinary character artist and has an amazing ability to create an insane amount of detail in his pieces, and his style is quite sharp and pointy, if that makes any sense at all.

Kid Crayon, M32 roundabout, Bristol, January 2020
Kid Crayon, M32 roundabout, Bristol, January 2020

On the other hand, Kid Crayon has a much softer style with plenty of curves and roundness about it. Stitch the two together and you have a complementary mix that somehow works very well indeed, better than you might expect.

SPZero76 and Kid Crayon, M32 roundabout, Bristol, January 2020
SPZero76 and Kid Crayon, M32 roundabout, Bristol, January 2020

Kid Crayon, in particular has been very busy this year already, and that is music to my eyes, because he pretty much tops my list of Bristol artists and I have been enjoying watching him grow as an artist over the last six years or so.

SPZero76 and Kid Crayon, M32 roundabout, Bristol, January 2020
SPZero76 and Kid Crayon, M32 roundabout, Bristol, January 2020

In addition to the fabulous collaboration, these two have signed the piece by commandeering a waste bin and leaving two little self-portraits. Creative, imaginative and fun. Looking forward to seeing more eat collabs in 2020.

Kid Crayon and SPZero, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2017
Kid Crayon and SPZero, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2017

2711. M32 roundabout J3 (191)

Well this is an absolutely cracking piece of writing from visiting Australian artist Lens. Spelling out LENS, I consider this to be pretty much perfect. The whole thing is so easy on the eye and it is hard to believe it has been created with spray paints.

Lens, M32 roundaboout, Bristol, January 2020
Lens, M32 roundaboout, Bristol, January 2020

The design of the letters is outstanding and the circle around the ‘e’ is very clever indeed in that it draws the eye to that part of the piece. There are lines that break up the letters which also delineate different colour regimes. The fills are awesome and the spots both inside and outside the letters add interest and fun. This is what great graffiti writing looks like – you can come back anytime Lens and will always be welcome in Bristol.

2710. Brunel Way Bridge (26)

I really don’t think I need to say too much about this one from Smak. It is brilliant. Strong clean lines, a sensational letter style, outstanding colours that slap you in the face and the graded fills are first class. I’ve said enough.

Smak, Brunel Way bridge, Bristol, January 2020
Smak, Brunel Way bridge, Bristol, January 2020

2020 has started off with a bang in the Bristol street art scene. Even though the weather hasn’t improved much, there have been a few dry days and artists have been out in force. So much for being able to catch up with lost treasures in my archive. I am going to struggle to keep up this year. I can feel it in my bones. Still, I’ll have plenty of material to blog about into my retirement.

2709. St Werburghs tunnel (135)

I have mentioned before that until relatively recently Turoe One has been a little off my radar, but that situation is being rectified. I am puzzled though, has my blind spot been because I simply didn’t see his work, or has he been much more active on the streets over the last six months or so? Either way, I am enjoying his work.

Turoe One, St Werburghs, Bristol, January 2020
Turoe One, St Werburghs, Bristol, January 2020

This recent piece in the tunnel carries all the hallmarks of a confident and experienced artist at ease with his skills. Great letter shapes, colour selections and fills, and although not my favourite piece by Turoe One, it is an accomplished work.

2708. Hepburn Road (12)

So here he is again, this time turning up in ‘crack alley’ or Hepburn Road as it is formally known. I am of course talking about Slakarts, an artist that I can’t seem to keep off the pages of Natural Adventures at the moment, and there are more in the pipeline.

Slakarts, Hepburn Road, Bristol, January 2020
Slakarts, Hepburn Road, Bristol, January 2020

This piece is a little different from most of the work we see by this artist, because the face is in semi-profile, where normally his subjects are seen from the front. The piece is nice and clean with strong outlines and solid fills, and there is a little bit of movement going on with the double lines near the nose and cheek. I don’t remember ever seeing a piece by Slakarts down here before and it is good to see him moving about the place.

2707. Brunel Way Bridge (25)

Wowzer! I first saw this on Paul Harrison’s @bristolstreetartandgraffiti Instagram account and instantly fell in love with it. I am a child of Star Wars and although never had any of the toys and stuff I have been a big fan of the films, even the bad ones. The saga has spanned much of my lifetime and has offered a series of enjoyable landmarks in a sometimes choppy sea.

Dasco, Brunel Way Bridge, Bristol, January 2020
Dasco, Brunel Way Bridge, Bristol, January 2020

Dasco is still very much an artist whose work I am acquainnting myself with and everything I have seen so far I really like. His style is extremely versatile and in addition to his obvious talent for graffiti writing, he shows us here just how good he is at character pieces too. The yellow shading on Darth Vader’s helmet cleverly lifts the whole piece and brings about a 3D effect. An outstanding and memorable piece from Dasco. Note to self… must do a Star Wars special (after I have done a kingfisher special).

2706. M32 roundabout J3 (190)

I love this. An old signboard, neglected and unloved, brought back to life through the skill of a talented artist. The artist in question is Kid Crayon, and he did this little ‘extra’ piece while painting a collaboration with SPZero76 on the wall opposite (coming soon).

Kid Crayon, M32 roundabout, Bristol, January 2020
Kid Crayon, M32 roundabout, Bristol, January 2020

I love the idea of inanimate objects being given personalities, a little bit like the engines in Thomas the Tank Engine stories. It doesn’t happen nearly enough in Bristol. Perhaps this could be the start of something new although finding the objects in the first place could be problematic. The simple face was probably spray painted pretty quickly and although a bit ‘rough and ready’ is absolutely perfect. More of these please KC.

2705. M32 roundabout J3 (189)

Another rather lovely piece from Decay. It is funny how you can look at things and yet not see them. It wasn’t until I was preparing this post that I noticed the big DECAY in black on red in the background of this piece. I saw what I wanted to see, but not what was actually in front of me.

Decay, M32 roundabout, Bristol, January 2020
Decay, M32 roundabout, Bristol, January 2020

I do like the ephemeral nature of this piece of writing, almost as though it is made out of a mist or fog, with a very bright yellow ‘Chuck’ character the ‘e’ of Decay. Another nice one chalked up for 2020.

 

 

2704. St Werburghs tunnel (134)

Pre postscript- sometimes you can get things so wrong, and try to read more into a piece than is going on. Everything below is my own speculation and assumptions going into overdrive. The word is XODUS and not FOIS. It was painted opposite Kleiner Shames and Subtle hence the recognition. I’m not sure who XODUS is, but I feel a bit stoopid. Never mind, I don’t expect anyone will read this nonsense anyway…

Aah, the genius of two brilliant artists conjuring up this amazing and highly unusual piece. It would seem that a Kleiner Shames visited Bristol over the Christmas period and hooked up with his old mate Subtle. The pair both produced pieces in the St Werburghs tunnel, and obviously had a bit of time left over to turn out this stunner.

Kleiner Shames and Subtle, St Werburghs, Bristol, January 2020
Kleiner Shames and Subtle, St Werburghs, Bristol, January 2020

Signed FoiSubtle, the collaboration presents with two distinct styles. My guess is that the letters FOIS are by Kleiner Shames, he always writes these letters but never quite like this, and the characters, a wolf holding a rabbit by the ears are by Subtle, in a bit of a departure from his writing. There is a message on the piece written backwards that says ‘one tin wonders’. I would think this refers to the two colours (plus black) that were used for the piece.

I cannot tell you how much I love this. It is quirky and retro, the characters look like early Disney creations. As I always say when Kleiner Shames comes to town, come back soon.