Sometimes it is better not to write too much about a piece, especially when it is this good. Smak posted this on Instagram and said what a banging board this is, and I quite agree. Hats off to whoever erected it under the M32.
This writing is close to perfect and there is something that is extra good about it, it might be the choice of vibrant and contrasting colours. Anyhow it is simply a really good example of how great technical graffiti writing can be.
A gallery of fabulous work from the amazingly talented Rezwonk (Rezer). All pictures by Scooj.
Just outside St Werburghs tunnel there are several caravans and mobile homes, which give the area something of a distinctive character. It seems to be a situation that the local residents, council and police put up with, although one never knows how long patience will last. Several of the vehicles get little make-overs every now and again, and this little caravan has been decorated by Minto.
This is a particularly nice caravan pieve, as sometimes they can look a little perfunctory or rushed, but not this one, it is a beauty. I haven’t seen too much of Minto’s work, which I guess is because although he lived in Bristol for a while, he now lives in London and I imagine only visits from time to time. Great to have this mobile piece though.
Well, he’s on fire really isn’t he? Each time I do my rounds of well known street art spots there seems to be a Smak piece lurking there somewhere. This relatively recent one is bang in the middle of St Werburghs tunnel. I am quite pleased that the photograph has come out reasonably well considering the dire light conditions there.
This has all the elements of a typically technically brilliant Smak piece. Sensational design and lines, clean and tidy, wonderful 3D and fill work. I’m not sure he ever has a ‘bad hair day’ and if he does, I’ve yet to see it.
This beauty is the second recent collaboration from Dasco and Oseque. I know that Dasco is Bristol-based, but haven’t seen any of Oseque’s work before now, and have kind of assumed that he is not from these parts. I have done a little checking on the Interweb, and as far as I can make out, Dasco is from the Canary Islands and Oseque (José Castillo) is from Granada, but also seems to have a connection with Bristol. Either way, I hope we get to see more from this pairing.
The piece itself is a beautifully merged collaboration with the character portrait rising out of the letters. The colours are quite dulled and although really impressive as it is, give the whole thing a low-key feel. Oseque has a way of making his portraits look like they are drawn into a sketchbook rather than sprayed on a wall. Really nice work.
Dibz is a Bristol graffiti writer whose work is always first class and beautifully tight. It is unusual to see his writing outside the confines of Dean Lane skate park, but at Upfest 2018 he ventured a little further afield and sprayed the side of the mock railway carriage with one of his beguiling pieces.
Dibz tends to keep quite a low profile with his work, which is often unannounced, and hey presto he works his magic. This upfest piece, by his high standards, I would say is not his best work and I suspect it might have been somewhat comprimised by the changeable weather experienced during the festival. It is however a great piece.
A gallery of extraordinary characters and writing from Bristol artist DNT.
All photographs by Scooj
This is a really nice piece by an artist I call Corupt (because that is what he most commonly writes, although he also writes Stik) unusually he has written BS3 in this piece which is a postcode reference to the Southville and Bedminster area of Bristol (south of the river). It is unusual for an artist to paint a postcode outside the area of that postcode.
The piece is beautifully painted, with a fine spotty fill and nice 3D shading on the letters. My guess is that Corupt may have been a bit pissed off that his background was about six inches shy on the right hand side, it would certainly annoy me. It matters little to the overall quality of the piece.
This is not an easy place to photograph. The spot is sandwiched between two busy slip roads underneath the M32, and just for added difficulty, access is over fences and the River Frome runs through the middle. I haven’t yet ventured into the spot and these photographs are taken through a bit of railing some distance away.
There is little I can say about Smak’s work that I haven’t said dozens of times before, but even in this tricky spot where only a few will ever get to see the piece his work is 100 per cent on point. There is a consistent font style to his letters and his shadinngs are utterly awesome. One huge advantage about this spot is that tagging tends to be pretty much absent.
I think that we are spoiled in Bristol. We have a graffiti/street art culture that is mirrored only in a few other cities in the world. Playing host to Europe’s largest street art festival (Upfest) and being the birthplace of Banksy gives Bristol a special place in the street art scene. But for me, it is the every day artists who hit the walls in spots dotted all over the place knowing that their work may be tagged or painted over within hours that are the beating heart of Bristol’s street art culture, and one of those artists is Rezwonk.
This is a lovely piece of writing by Rezwonk that was painted a little while ago, but it is only recently that I have been able to photograph it without tree shadows all over it. Painted with his mate Decay (to the left and previously posted), there is a sense of movement fun and joy in this teriffic piece of graffiti writing.
Natural adventures 