I have a feeling that this playful piece in St Werburghs tunnel was the first time that I became aware of the work of Ugloe, way back in October. I have stumbled across one or two others and each of them is carefully thought out and beautifully executed.
Ugloe, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2020
Ugloe’s style is a clever mash up of graffiti writing combined with illustration and is very effective. It merges the edgy with the safe. In this piece, the colourful letters spelling UGLO are being decorated and given some sparkle by three of her distinctive characters. A joyful piece.
There may be a perception that it is unusual for women to be involved in street art and graffiti art, however, if it is a perception, it is one that I can blow apart right now certainly as far as the Bristol scene goes. This piece on the curved wall is by relative newcomer Pura Decadencia and is a welcome addition to this wall that has been a little stagnant over recent weeks.
Pura Decadencia, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2021
I am so glad to have seen this and found out a little bit more about the artist from it, because I have a couple of pieces in my archive that I can now post and attribute to her. The piece itself is a nice bit of writing spelling out PURA on a blue bubble background and some vampire teeth getting stuck into the ‘R’. I think that Pura Decadencia is rather fond of vampire teeth if her Instagram stream is anything to go by. Welcome Pura to Natural Adventures.
At last a piece by Benjimagnetic that I can actually read. It quite clearly spells out BEN, much like many of his other pieces, but this one more legibly. It is interesting to note that Benjimagnetic is painting a few of these less cryptic pieces at the moment demonstrating that he is clearly not a one trick pony.
Benjimagnetic, Brunel Way, Bristol, January 2021
I hadn’t particularly been looking for this, and when I first saw it, wasn’t too clear who it was by until the penny dropped with the BEN and the little hollow highlights (that look like ‘V’s) that are such a trademark of the artist. Silver and Gold work well in this piece and which again are quite unusual colour selections that I wouldn’t normally associate with Benjimagnetic. A nice modest piece.
This wall at the Farm end of St Werburghs tunnel has been ripe for a refresh for some time and who better to bring about some colour and joy than Mr Draws? As night follows day, Mr Draws will be out there brightening up our walls with his unique style.
Mr Draws, St Werburghs, Bristol, January 2021
This one is a simple affair using blues, purples and red laid out as horizontal fills in a DRAW outline. There is a deep 3D black shadow and the whole thing is given added interest with some yellow bars. Bold and shouty – this piece has Mr Draws written all over it, literally.
I think this piece was painted way back in October last year, but I only recently photographed it when I ventured down into this spot. I have noticed that there are some new pieces visible from the slip road and that I really ought to get myself down there again soon.
Claro_Que_sssnoh, Frome side, Bristol, December 2020
This intricate piece of graffiti writing from Claro_que_sssnoh spells out SNOH is an absolute stunner, and there are so many elements in it to admire. The letters are elaborate and composed of two colours, plus outlines, tracking the curves and lines. The whole thing is set on an orange and red bubble background which is in tuning set on a black and white grid. Technically this is a belter, and it looks pretty good too.
You don’t get to see too many pieces by DJ Perks, unless you decide to take the short trip out to L Dub, where there are usually several of his pieces at any one time. This is certainly a favourite spot of his.
DJ Perks, L Dub, Bristol, January 2021
Every time I see something from DJ Perks I am struck by how his pieces are growing in sophistication, confidence and quality. This is a lovely collection of interlocking letters with a random colourful fill where the letters are defined by the yellow solid colour between them. The glowing green and red fringes add an additional classy touch. This is a very fine piece indeed.
One of the most dramatic turnarounds on the Bristol graffiti art scene has to be the return of Turoe since his absence midway through last year which I think was due to ill health. He has been prolific since, most notably for his ‘Shyte Year’ series, condensing into two, or sometimes one word, 2020. This is a return to his Turoe writing.
Turoe, Brunel Way, Bristol, Jauary 2021
Painted alongside some No Frills colleagues, this one is a real beauty in gold and red. It is a reasonably straightforward piece with a nice solid gold fill and striking red 3D shadows. There is a subtle white border, barely noticeable that lifts the whole thing. A very nice piece indeed.
Biers, Bags and a bed! Dean Lane sometimes plays host to the occasional fly-tipper, which I have to confess is a pet hate of mine. The kind of person who thinks that it is OK to simply throw their waste away in the street or on other people’s property are the scum of the earth. Inconsiderate and stupid, I have no time for them – rant over.
Biers, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2020
This is a rather colourful collaboration from No Frills stable mates Biers and Bags. On the left is a really beautifully worked BIERS split into three distinct horizontal frills with serrated edges, which must have taken a bit of time to do. The whole thing is bounded by a bright yellow 3D shadow.
Bags, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2020
The other half of the collaboration is by Bags who is completely under-represented on Natural Adventures. I don’t really know why that is, I have plenty of his pieces in my archives, but rarely post them – I might have to remedy that. Bags has gone for a diagonal split across his letters. The yellow half works really well, but the red half looks like he ran out of paint and the fill resembles that of a throw up, which is a pity. A nice collaboration on one of the best walls in Bristol.
There are a bunch of writers in Bristol who have one thing in common, they write the same letters in roughly the same letter style, but add creativity in the colour selections and fill styles that they choose. Phour is one such artist, and this is a recent piece of his from St Werburghs tunnel.
Phour, St Werburghs, Bristol, January 2021
The tunnel is a great place for rainy day painting and there is a rich seam of, in the main, great graffiti and street art. In fact the only problem with the tunnel is the light conditions, which mean that photographs from there never do the artwork justice, with a lot of orange and yellow polluting the images. With a little adjustment, I managed to get as close as possible to the true colours of this Phour piece. Nice letters, nice 3D work and a very good background. Good to see.
It would appear that lockdown impacts on different artists in different ways. Some will hunker-down, and they disappear from the scene for a while, others are liberated and seem to go crazy, hitting walls with refreshed vigour. Falling into the latter category is Slim Pickings (TES) who has been out and about a lot over the last month or so.
Slim Pickings, L Dub, Bristol, January 2021
We know what to expect from Slim Pickings’ pieces – sharp crisp lines, reliably solid fills and unbounded 3D shading. It is all here with the addition of a couple of little white highlights. Great stuff. Looks like he might have had a small issue with his yellow paint, especially just to the right of the ‘S’. Good to see his work at L Dub.
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