3942. The Pump House

At the western end of the floating harbour on the north bank is a pub called the Pump House, a place I have walked past a hundred times but never been in, which probably reflects the fact that I am not much of a pub person, not because I don’t like pubs, but because I have got out of the habit, probably since having children.

Inkie, The Pump House, Bristol, August 2021
Inkie, The Pump House, Bristol, August 2021

Inkie painted this fabulous commission around the same time as he painted his ‘I can’t get you out of my head’ piece for Upfest 75×75. You often see this with Inkie, that when he is in town, he will paint several walls over a few days, before returning to London.

Inkie, The Pump House, Bristol, August 2021
Inkie, The Pump House, Bristol, August 2021

This wall is an absolute gift for Inkie who is known for both his ‘signwriting’ skills and his stylised portraits of women with stunning hair. This whole piece is embellished with some beautiful patterns and flowers and is a ‘must see’ wall for anyone walking the Harbourside circuit. Good on the Pump House for tapping into and supporting Bristol’s fine tradition of celebrating street art and street artists.

Bnie

A gallery of fabulous graffiti writing from the amazing Bnie, RBF.

All photographs by Scooj

Bnie, Elton Street, Bristol, September 2022
Bnie, Elton Street, Bristol, September 2022

 

Bnie, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2022
Bnie, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2022
Bnie, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2022
Bnie, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2022

 

Bnie, Greenbank, Bristol, April 2022
Bnie, Greenbank, Bristol, April 2022

 

Bnie, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2022
Bnie, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2022

 

Bnie, M32 Cycl path, Bristol, November 2021
Bnie, M32 Cycl path, Bristol, November 2021

 

Bnie, Greenbank, September, 2021
Bnie, Greenbank, September, 2021

 

Bnie, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2021
Bnie, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2021

 

Bnie, M32 Spot, Bristol, June 2021
Bnie, M32 Spot, Bristol, June 2021

 

Bnie, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, April 2021
Bnie, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, April 2021

 

Bnie, Greenbank, Bristol, April 2021
Bnie, Greenbank, Bristol, April 2021

 

Bnie, M32 roundabout, Bristtol, April 2021
Bnie, M32 roundabout, Bristtol, April 2021

 

Bnie, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2021
Bnie, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2021

 

Bnie, Greenbank, Bristol, March 2021
Bnie, Greenbank, Bristol, March 2021

 

Bnie, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2020
Bnie, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2020

 

Bnie, M32 cycle path, Bristol, July 2020
Bnie, M32 cycle path, Bristol, July 2020

 

Bnie, Cattle Market Road, Bristol, June 2020
Bnie, Cattle Market Road, Bristol, June 2020

 

Bnie, Brunel Way, Bristol, June 2020
Bnie, Brunel Way, Bristol, June 2020

 

Bnie, Upper York Street, Bristol, April 2020
Bnie, Upper York Street, Bristol, April 2020

 

Bnie, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2020
Bnie, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2020

 

Bnie, M32 cycle path, Bristol, January 2020
Bnie, M32 cycle path, Bristol, January 2020

 

Bnie, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2019
Bnie, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2019

 

Bnie, M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 2019
Bnie, M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 2019

 

Bnie, M32 cycle path, Bristol, June 2019
Bnie, M32 cycle path, Bristol, June 2019

 

3941. M32 Cycle path (141)

I was lucky enough to meet Mest when he was painting this piece, just a couple of days before the Italy v England Euro 21 cup final. Perhaps the less said about the result of that match, the better, although being an Italophile, losing to the Italians wasn’t so bad.

Mest, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, July 2021
Mest, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, July 2021

Mest wasn’t at all what I expected, but then I can’t think of a single artist who looked anything like I thought they might before I met them. His simple large letters in white are embellished with a large red cross through the middle to create a Mestivellian St George cross, The whole thing neatly bound with a black and blue border. A nice patriotic football piece. I must be getting close to having enough of his work for a gallery.

3940. Upfest 2021 75×75 (61)

There is an interesting crossover with this piece from Soker in so much as it is an Upfest 75×75 piece from a Bristol graffiti writer who produces this kind of thing regularly all around the city to this high standard, without being ‘special’ event pieces. I’m not sure if I articulated that very well, but perhaps what I mean is that we are spoilt in Bristol with having so many outstanding writers like Soker.

Soker, Raleigh Road, Bristol, July 2021, Upfest 21
Soker, Raleigh Road, Bristol, July 2021, Upfest 21

This is a lovely clean and colourful design from Soker, spelling SOKEM. There are two or three colour/fill themes going on through the letters and a central vanishing point for the 3D shading. This is what great graffiti writing looks like.

3936. Sparke Evans Park (8)

Not long ago, I said that Stivs was rather underrepresented on Natural Adventures. This post is a deliberate effort to address this imbalance, and there are more pieces in the pipeline. This piece was painted in Sparke Evans Park alongside Counterfits and Maesyhook.

Stivs, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, May 2021
Stivs, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, May 2021

The beautiful calligraffiti spells out ‘Dirty Soul’ and is composed of large red letters with some nice pink shading on the upper surfaces and a black surround, set on a background of tiny white grid work, which must have taken a while to paint. A high quality piece of writing.

3930. New Stadium Road (35)

Never too far from my mind are the exploits of Soap and Face 1st, hardly surprising really considering that I see their work on such a regular basis. I must admit though that I was a little surprised to find this collaboration recently, because this isn’t a wall I would normally associate with the pair.

Soap, New Stadium Road, Bristol, August 2021
Soap, New Stadium Road, Bristol, August 2021

I would start by saying I don’t think that this is one of their best collaborative efforts, but I think that is mainly down to the colour selections which are a bit muted, they don’t really shout out from the wall. On the left are the letters SOAP from Soap with some nice little details like the sun and the little face in the O. There is a quality and an assuredness about Soap’s work that makes it quite easy on the eye.

Face 1st, New Stadium Road, Bristol, August 2021
Face 1st, New Stadium Road, Bristol, August 2021

To the right is a classic face from Face 1st. He certainly seems to be enjoying his ‘splats’ at the moment, and the girl’s face has a blue mess about her mouth. Surrounding the face are the letters FACE. It looks like the PWA boys had some fun painting this one.

3925. M32 roundabout J3 (346)

This is a curious collaboration from painting pals CD.TC and Daz Cat. I don’t know why, but the whole thing doesn’t quite work for me. I love the work of both of these artists, so it is surprising to me when I see something that looks a little bit clunky.

CDTC, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2021
CDTC, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2021

The piece on the left is by CD.TC in which he combines his letters, in full caps, with one of his trademark monster faces breaking the letters up in thee middle. The monster is nicely done and the letter details and decorations well thought out.

Daz Cat, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2021
Daz Cat, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2021

To the right is the Daz Cat contribution, and I think that this is where I have a bit of an issue. I don’t like the letters in the mouth, and I’m not too sure the paw clutching an arrow adds much to the piece. Also, the way that the two pieces join I feel is a bit average really. I can only put this down to Daz Cat having a bit of a bad hair day when he painted this, because it bucks the trend of some truly outstanding pieces he has painted recently.

3924. M32 Cycle path (139)

There is nothing like a bit of old school graffiti work to remind us where all of this started. This is a lovely collaboration from Veks and Turoe on the M32 cycle path on a wall that has a pretty slow turnover, so I would expect it to be hanging around for quite a while.

Veks, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, August 2021
Veks, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, August 2021

On the left is a classic character by Veks, holding a cigarette in his clenched fist and wearing a variation on a flat cap. This is a classy character piece and amply demonstrates Veks’ experience and skill.

Veks and Turoe, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, August 2021
Veks and Turoe, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, August 2021

The writing is by Turoe and is finished off with nice deep 3D work on the letters. Both elements are nicely bordered with a lime green and white line, cleanly applied. I managed to get these pictures on about my fourth visit – this particular wall usually has a shadow cast across it during the day, which makes photography rather challenging.

SkyHigh

A gallery of outstanding graffiti writing and street art from SkyHigh

all photographs by Scooj

SkyHigh, Greenbank, Bristol, April 2024
SkyHigh, Greenbank, Bristol, April 2024

SkyHigh, Brunel Way, Bristol, March 2024
SkyHigh, Brunel Way, Bristol, March 2024

SkyHigh, Cheltenham Paint Festival, Cheltenham, July 2023
SkyHigh, Cheltenham Paint Festival, Cheltenham, July 2023

SkyHigh, Cheltenham Paint Festival, Cheltenham, July 2023
SkyHigh, Cheltenham Paint Festival, Cheltenham, July 2023

SkyHigh, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2023
SkyHigh, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2023

SkyHigh, Lighthouse Community Garden, London, April 2023
SkyHigh, Lighthouse Community Garden, London, April 2023

SkyHigh, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2023
SkyHigh, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2023

SkyHigh, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2022
SkyHigh, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2022

SkyHigh, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2022
SkyHigh, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2022

SkyHigh, Brunel Way, Bristol, September 2021
SkyHigh, Brunel Way, Bristol, September 2021

SkyHigh, Brunel Way, Bristol, September 2021
SkyHigh, Brunel Way, Bristol, September 2021

SkyHigh, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2021
SkyHigh, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2021

SkyHigh, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2021, Upfest 21
SkyHigh, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2021, Upfest 21

SkyHigh, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2021, Upfest 21
SkyHigh, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2021, Upfest 21

SkyHigh, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2021, Upfest 21
SkyHigh, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2021, Upfest 21

SkyHigh, Greenbank, Bristol, July 2021
SkyHigh, Greenbank, Bristol, July 2021

SkyHigh and Roo, Upfest 2016, Bristol, July 2016
SkyHigh and Roo, Upfest 2016, Bristol, July 2016

SkyHigh, Upfest 2016, Bristol, July 2016
SkyHigh, Upfest 2016, Bristol, July 2016

SkyHigh, Shoreditch, London, November 2018
SkyHigh, Shoreditch, London, November 2018

SkyHigh, Paint Festival 2018, Cheltenham, September 2019
SkyHigh, Paint Festival 2018, Cheltenham, September 2019

SkyHigh, Leake Street, London, July 2019
SkyHigh, Leake Street, London, July 2019

SkyHigh, Shoreditch, London, November 2018
SkyHigh, Shoreditch, London, November 2018

SkyHigh, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2018
SkyHigh, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2018

SkyHigh, M32 Spot, Bristol, February 2018
SkyHigh, M32 Spot, Bristol, February 2018

SkyHigh, Moon Street, Bristol, July 2016
SkyHigh, Moon Street, Bristol, July 2016

Sky High, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2016
Sky High, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2016

3914. Dean Lane skate park (425)

For the last year or so, there has been absolutely no stopping Dibz. I don’t know what happened (apart from the obvious pandemic impacts), but his occasional, sometimes rare, appearances turned into something approaching weekly. Of course this is simply great news for those of us who like his work.

Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2021
Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2021

There are several key hints that help to identify Dibz’ work and this piece illustrates them nicely. He usually preps his wall nicely so that everything is neat and tidy. The overall form of his writing is diamond shaped, starting and ending small with a fatter middle. His wildstyle letters usually spell out DIBZ but this can be tricky to make out sometimes. He usually adds depth to his letters with a well worked 3D shadow without a border.

So beautifully turned out, this piece is an archetypal Dibz work. Utterly brilliant.