Tag: Urban

2624. St Werburghs tunnel (118)

As you can probably guess from the last post, I have been having a bit of a rummage around in my archive of 2019. Regrettably there are so many great pieces that haven’t made it into Natural Adventures, many of them because at the time of taking the photograph the artist was unknown to me and I try not to post too many ‘unknown’ pieces.

Conrico, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2019
Conrico, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2019

From back in February 2019 this might be one of the earliest works I have from Conrico but it is a really cracking piece of writing, beautifully designed in a cartoon style and nicely set in a coastal scene with the sea, a beach and palm trees – it is details like these that mark it out as a Conrico piece. Nice to see a reference to ‘the Monday Club’ a loose crew that is now well established in Bristol.

2623. M32 Spot (55)

On one of the ramps of the M32 DIY skatepark is this rather sombre looking face, unmistakably the work of Slakarts. This picture was taken way back in January, before I knew who the artist was, and it has been languishing in my archive ever since. This is liberation day. It is also election day and the results will map out our national journey for the next five years… I fear the worst.

Slakarts, M32 Spot, Bristol, January 2019
Slakarts, M32 Spot, Bristol, January 2019

Slakarts paints using broad black outlines with solid fills to create his trademark faces which are often coloured with muted tones. The works are modest, both in creation and design and there is often a sadness or strangeness in the faces – this piece in particular feels peculiar without an iris or pupil in the eye. More to come from Slakarts.

2622. Lambeth High Street, London

Anyone who knows a little bit about street art might recognise this wonderful mosaic piece in Lambeth, London as the work of the French artist Space Invader. Finding this piece a couple of weeks ago was absolutely accidental. I was walking from Westminster to Lambeth with my manager for an early Christmas lunch and informal team meeting. On the walk we were chatting and I was talking about street art (inevitably) and how you can stumble across pieces just by keeping your eyes open. I had barely finished the point when we looked left, and there down Lambeth High Street was this magnificent beast. She was really chuffed that we had found something and seemed impressed that I knew who the artist was and other stuff. I had no idea that there was anything here, and had also been saying that the area looked a bit barren in street art terms.

Space Invader, Lambeth High Street, London, November 2019
Space Invader, Lambeth High Street, London, November 2019

I believe that this is quite an old piece dating back to 2013, but it is on a road I have never been to before and being in London it was utterly off my radar. I must say that I got a pretty warm glow finding it, especially as I haven’t seen all that many Space Invader pieces. I think that this is a Pac Man piece made with large tiles and you can see the scale from the bricks just to the right. A gratifying find.

2621. M32 roundabout J3 (181)

Meeting artists is pretty much always a real pleasure, and a couple of weeks back I got lucky when I met Warp for the first time while he was painting this piece. During the course of our conversation he explained that he has two street personas, Warp (his more commercial tag) and another name that he writes under. He explained that he had been somewhat forgetful and sprayed this Warp piece, when he had actualy intended to paint a different piece under his other name.

Warp, M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 2019
Warp, M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 2019

The writing here is seriously good. All the elements have been executed with care and precision. The fills in the letters, the deep 3D red fill, superb slim black lines outlining the letters and a clean yellow surround, all of it neat and crisp. I haven’t seen too many pieces by Warp, but those that I have seen are all of the highest quality. I hope to bump into him again sometime.

2620. St Werburghs tunnel (117)

At the Farm end of St Werburghs tunnel a little while ago was this beautifully colourful piece by Corupt, in fact I think it is probably my favourite of his ever. The letter shapes are typical of his style, from the sloping ‘C’ to the ornate stem of the ‘T’, but it is the upbeat fills and childish colours that make this piece stand out from the crowd.

Corupt, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2019
Corupt, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2019

The whole piece looks like a child’s colouring-in book (in a good way) and has a lightness and joy about it. A magnificent work from this quiet and often overlooked artist. I have so much more of his work to share with you.

2619. Upper York Street (19)

A stunning piece by Ments on a great wall. This whole area is being redeveloped, and I fear that the wall may have already been demolished, which is a real pity because it has hosted some really spectacular art. The reduction in available walls to paint in this area is going to be a bit of a challenge for street/graffiti artists and is a pattern being replicated all over the city. It will be interesting to see if new areas become popular painting spots in the future.

Ments, Upper York Street, Bristol, October 2019
Ments, Upper York Street, Bristol, October 2019

The piece is so very typical of Ments’ organic style, and this one has a molten metallic feel about it. The letters spell out MENTS (although the T looks like it is missing). I also get a slight sense of the surrealist Yves Tanguy here, or at least the meltinng shapes and shadows reminnd me of his work. A classy and unusual piece.

2618. St Werburghs tunnel (116)

Within a matter of days of Fiva painting his blockbuster piece in St Werburghs tunnel, Zake gave us this fabulous piece contained within the F. Fiva’s large letters were just too good to resist, and his invitation to ‘paint over me’ was readily taken up by Zake.

Zake, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2019
Zake, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2019

I am really taken with this curious piece by Zake which reminds me a lot of the incredible work in Winser McCay’s ‘Little Nemo’ cartoon strips. There is something a little creepy and fascinating about this moon character, an I’d like to see more like this.

2617. Wilder Street (38)

Rezwonk has had a very busy year, and a particularly busy summer, so it is not really surprising that he has slowed down a little over the last couple of months. In general, the turnover of street/graffiti art slows a little during the winter months, which makes sense really.

Rezwonk, Wilder Street, Bristol, November 2019
Rezwonk, Wilder Street, Bristol, November 2019

This piece at the far west end of Wilder street is on a wall that has been curated by Where the Wall, but I am not so sure if it still is because a few ad hoc pieces seem to be appearing. This whole area though is rapidly being redeveloped, and several walls with some lovely pieces have been knocked down in recent weeks. Of course this is a pity for the street art community, but the buildings were falling into dereliction and perhaps no longer fit for purpose. My issue however is that instead of building affordable housing for the local community, which is far from affluent, all the developments are earmarked for student accommodation.

Back to the Rezer piece which is a thoroughly decent burner and which (I guess intentionally) has an effect of being slightly blurry (around the white accents) – or maybe this is an artefact of my failing eyesight. Always good to see work from Rezwonk.

2616. Gas Ferry Road

It took me a little while to find this magnificent piece by Cheo. I knew roughly the area where it had been painted but because it was a new wall in a light industrial area I had to use my intuition to find it. The mural is on a building near the Aardman productions (Wallace and Gromit) Bristol office and was painted to celebrate thirty years of this hapless pair.

Cheo, Gas Ferry Road, Bristol, November 2019
Cheo, Gas Ferry Road, Bristol, November 2019

Cheo has shown his extraordinary skill by incorporating the extractor fans on the side of the building into the piece as an integral part of the ‘celebrate o’tron’. You also have to love the idea of old socks feeding the machinery. Cheo has produced many works in Bristol in partnership with Aardman many of which are still alive and kicking.

Cheo, Gas Ferry Road, Bristol, November 2019
Cheo, Gas Ferry Road, Bristol, November 2019

There is something very wholesome about this piece and represents the Wallace and Gromit brand beautifully and responsibly. Definitely one for all the family to enjoy, and just around the corner from the SS Great Britain.

2615. Upper York Street (18)

I love it when visiting wheatpasters come to town because during their short stay they tend to paste up several pieces, often in locations slightly off the beaten track. This is a magnificent one from qWeRT continuing the theme of love, with our little googly-eyed character standing at a podium and pointing at a chart. Look a little closer and the chart tells us that there is a growth of love on the streets. A wonderful sentiment, but optimistic at best I would say.

qWeRT, Upper York Street, Bristol, November 2019
qWeRT, Upper York Street, Bristol, November 2019

I often wonder if people who are not interested in street art ever look at things like this, even if only out of curiosity, or whether they simply walk on by without so much as a glimpse. Surely people must wonder what this thing is or why is this here or something, but perhaps not. The next obvious thought is why do wheatpasters do this, as surely they will rarely see the enjoyment/confusion their little contributions make.

Knowing that qWeRT was in the area, I have been looking out for little googly-eye and found five from this session, but there are sure to be more out there. Love this one a lot.