Tag: Urban

2306. Waterloo Place (4)

This wall at the back of Sofa Project has played host to some of the tightest street art in Bristol, and it is most pleasing to see that tradition continuing with this new collaboration between Paul Monsters and Soker.

Paul Monsters and Soker, Waterloo Place, Bristol, June 2019
Paul Monsters and Soker, Waterloo Place, Bristol, June 2019

when I spoke to Paul Monsters about it, he was full of compliments for his collaboration partner and explained how Soker had worked the horizontal shade in his writing to match up with Paul’s geometric design with complete ease. Looking at it knowing this adds context and insight into the strength and thoughtfulness of this piece.

Paul Monsters and Soker, Waterloo Place, Bristol, June 2019
Paul Monsters and Soker, Waterloo Place, Bristol, June 2019

The geometric backdrop by Paul Monsters is in my view masterful work and creates a most extraordinary illusion that the wall is made of coloured blocks that have bevelled peaks that jut out, and no matter how hard you look at it it is difficult to see it as flat.

Genuinely, this is one of the most enjoyable collaborations I have seen in quite a while. Classy and diverse.

2305. New Stadium Road (15)

I think that Ugar is a much unrecognised and perhaps underrated graffiti writer in Bristol. His work is always neat and tidy and his fills usually imaginative and skilfully painted, but I rarely see photographs of his work in the digital ‘datasphere’. One reason may be that he is probably just less well known than other more established artists, or my perception might simply be wrong.

Ugar, New Stadium Road, Bristol, June 2019
Ugar, New Stadium Road, Bristol, June 2019

This little pedestrian underpass is one of my least favourite places to take pictures because of the uneven light conditions, but this one hasn’t turned out too badly. Ugar’s writing is always unsymmetrical but nonetheless recognisable, his letters being of various sizes and not conforming to a grid. But it is his decorations and fills that really set this artist apart from others, he seems to have a talent for nailing this element of his work. Keep it up Ugar.

2304. M32 roundabout J3 (151)

This is the second angry mouse/rat character I have posted by Saik One, and it is great to see more work from this relative newcomer to the streets of Bristol. It was painted on the southern M32 roundabout wall and happened to be adjacent to another street art rat whose creator is unknown to me.

Saik One, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2019
Saik One, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2019

I think that Saik One has hit upon a winning formula in terms of a clean piece and highly identifiable character, I am interested however to see where this starting point takes us. I have a piece of writing by Saik One somewhere, so I know there is some range there. More to come from this emerging talent.

2303. North Street Standard

Shutters are the pits. I must have walked past this beautiful piece by Shab hundreds of times, but only when the shutter was up, so have never seen it before. I understand it has been there for some years, but I only saw it early on a Sunday morning a couple of weeks ago.

Shab, North Street, Bristol, June 2019
Shab, North Street, Bristol, June 2019

I haven’t seen anything from Shab in absolutely ages, so to find this was actually most gratifying. I have always loved his outlined abstract figures and his trademark eyes are always so beautifully done. There were some other shutter pieces here on the front of the North Street restaurant and I will post these in due course. This was like meeting an old friend.

2302. Dean Lane skate park (227)

Recently on the long wall at Dean Lane skate park was this No Frills extravaganza from Biers, Slim Pickings and Bags. It seems that these guys, and they are not alone, are well and truly out of hibernation and painting furiously at every opportunity.

Biers, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2019
Biers, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2019

On the left is a wonderful ‘creature from the wack (sic) lagoon’ by Biers set in his ‘O Yeah’ writing. I do like his character-writing work and the shapes of his letter style is pretty unique, and I know how hard he works on drafting these pieces because he shares his sketches regularly on Instagram. It is great to see them come to fruition.

Slim Pickings, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2019
Slim Pickings, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2019

In the middle of this collaboration is the distinctive ‘Tes’ of Slim Pickings forever reaching out for perfection in this form of writing. I don’t think I have ever knowingly seen anything by him that isn’t a version of this. A master of consistency and colour combinations.

Bags, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2019
Bags, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2019

Finally on the right is a piece by an artist I still know nothing about other than that he is in the No Frills crew/movement, Bags. His letters are large, clean and bold. You can see how he has used the brick-line to fade between the two shades of filling, a great technique for getting straight lines. Looking forward to seeing more from Bags and maybe if I get lucky coming across this lot when they are out painting.

2301. Sparke Evans Park (1)

I found this wall quite by accident a couple of weeks back. I had spotted a whole ton of graffiti (nothing much to write home about) along the bank of the River Avon, but to access it I had to go through Sparke Evans Park. I had never been here before and didn’t even know it existed. On the outer boundary wall of the park I spotted some bright colours behind the trees and it turned out that there were several rather nice pieces here, including this collaboration between Face 1st and Tasha Bee from some time in 2018.

Face 1st and Tasha Bee, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, June 2019
Face 1st and Tasha Bee, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, June 2019

I had seen this piece on Instagram, but had no idea where it was, so it was good to get closure on it. I don’t really need to tell you how much I like the work of these two artists, and they have a style and preference for soft colours that makes their collaborations so easy on the eye. The two central figures are by Tasha Bee and the faces on either side by Face 1st. To have found this alone would have been reward enough, but on this particular walk I managed to find a bunch of other stuff too. I think the turnover on this wall is very slow, so I don’t think I’ll be returning too often, it is a bit out of the way.

2300. Brunel Way Bridge (14)

This column piece under Brunel Way bridge is unmistakably by Pekoe, and what a pleasant surprise it was to find it on a recent trip to the whole Cumberland Basin area. The last work from Pekoe that I saw was a collaboration with Mr Sleven at the M32 roundabout, which was rather splendid as I recall.

Pekoe, Brunel Way Bridge, Bristol, June 2019
Pekoe, Brunel Way Bridge, Bristol, June 2019

This small piece, which is typically bright and colourful, includes a theme that Pekoe is very fond of, a third eye. I don’t know what these columns are like to paint, but I can tell you that they are a devil to photograph because of the variable light, and because cameras can’t take pictures round corners, or at least mine can’t. Nice work from Pekoe.

2299. Dean Lane skate park (226)

Well these two seem to have come out of hibernation, and this is one of two recent collaborations between Soge and Hire. These two are both Polish artists who have adopted Bristol as their home and have been collaborating for a few years now.

Soge, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2019
Soge, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2019

On the left is a fine and rather complex piece of writing by Soge, which does actually spell out SOGE although it is highly disguised. His style is like a kind of organic Gothic and seems to be from the same school as Hire and quite unusual for Bristol. Long thin sections of lettering with sharp points, this is technically very difficult and brilliantly executed.

Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2019
Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2019

On the right is one of Hire’s trademark rabbits which are altogether more ‘street’ and sinister than the rather cuddly rabbits painted by fellow countryman Nevergiveup. There is a lot of menace in this rabbit – not one I’d like to meet on a dark night – and you can see how the fur, all pointy, reflects the style in Soge’s writing. These two would seen to enjoy each other’s company and it is a pleasure to see them back out and painting again.

2298. M32 roundabout J3 (150)

Nightwayss is on fire, not literally of course, that would be mad. His work is appearing all over the place, and not necessarily just in the more common spots. This intriguing piece is sandwiched between Face 1st and Panskaribas and depicts a monkey sitting on a bathroom sink looking in a mirror.

Nightwayss, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2019
Nightwayss, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2019

I think this is brilliant and tells a story which I would like to know a lot more about. why is the monkey there is the first place? Is it metaphorical? Why is the reflection a different colour? I love this piece, there is something magical about it.

2297. North Street

These philosophical musings are a positive force on the streets of Bristol, and #DFTE has introduced an original way of presenting them. The picture frames give a sense of value and permanence to his words which without them would certainly be dismissed as graffiti/tagging.

#DFTE, North Street, Bristol, June 2019
#DFTE, North Street, Bristol, June 2019

‘Be good to yourself for no reason’ seems like sound advice to me and surely contributes to the positive mindfulness revolution supporting mental health. Perhaps #DFTE should be sponsored by the NHS to do this work nationally! I like the simple full caps font and slightly random orientation of his letters. From a communications perspective (it is my job after all)  we would normally advise against any written communication using full caps as it is significantly more difficult to read, and often comes across as shouting, but the font he uses is soft and works well.