A couple of quick ones today – very busy. I always enjoy finding pieces by Desi, there is something very comforting about her drubeat rhythm of producing her work. This is a new one from the north side of M32 roundabout.
Desi has spelled out her alternative letters ‘VEIL’ in this tidy piece. Her choice of colours contrasts significantly with the graffiti beneath it, allowing her work to stand out without the need for buffing the wall first. A neat and tidy, happy piece from Desi.
ARSA is known for his uniform bilaterally symmetrical pieces, which are often quite ‘blocky’ in appearance. This recent one in the tunnel, however, is rather softer than much of his work. Gone are the hard and regular straight line letter outlines, and in come some more gentle lines and a few curves. It is amazing what a difference it can make to the appearance of a graffiti writing through the introductoion of some curves.
The colour scheme, which was used by a couple of other artists who painted alongside ARSA, is attractive, although slightly lost in the gloom of the tunnel. The cream border and drop shadow certainly helps to define the letters from the purple background. This is a nice development from ARSA.
I think that the biggest compliment I can pay Hemper is that he is the most versatile graffiti writer in Bristol. He has turned his hand to so many different styles for his letters, some more conventional than others, but no two pieces are ever the same, and if he didn’t write his letters, it could be quite difficult to identify some of his pieces – quality would be the only measure.
This is a big bold piece on the roundabout, his brown-grey letters perfectly decorated with spots and bars. Outside the black border, here are hints of a thin yellow border, the sign of a great writer. The green striped drop shadow has a vanishing point somewhere between the ‘E’ and ‘M’ of HEMS. A quality piece which sits beneath a cheeky appearance by Corupt, who ‘owns’ the higher level of this wall.
It feels like quite a while since I posted a piece by Pura Decadencia, but this one takes me right back to when I first became aware of her work. It is the vampire fangs, helping themselves to a piece of her work that does it for me.
Her letters in yellow and grey are very nicely presented with a well-worked red drop shadow and a green plasma bolt running through the piece for good measure. What makes this piece stand out for me though is those fangs, lips and tongue – such a signature item and so original. Lovely work. More please.
What a lovely fishy piece this is from Hire. It was painted alongside a ‘monster from the deep’ piece by Zake, and these two artists have collaborated as number of times over the last couple of years, with some great results.
This piece of writing spells HIRE, although it can be difficult to make out. The colours are carefully chosen and the green outline brings it all together nicely. I am, naturally, attracted to the fish, and I can see clearly that these are freshwater species – pike, zander and carp. Hire’s Polish heritage is expressed here, as these are three species that can be taken and eaten, which in Polish society is a norm, but in the UK, we rarely remove coarse fish for the pot. An English artist would have probably presented a different assemblage of fish, and almost certainly not zander. Lovely piece and collaboration.
This is a vast piece by Taboo on a long wall alongside the tobacco warehouses on the north side of Cumberland basin. I don’t venture down this track all that often, so it is possible that this piece might have been here for some time.
Just to confuse things, Taboo has written his letters in reverse, including the crew name PLB. His anti-style lettering is given some uniformity, governed by the height of the wall, but still the shapes and nature of the lettering is unconventional. A ‘normal’ sized burner spelling Dorn interrupts the flow of the piece a little, but pretty much gets absorbed into it. Fine work from Taboo.
I still need to dig out some older pieces by 210 from my archives, because it is only recently that I figured out his name, and I know I have several pictures of his work dating back some time. His work is usually found adjacent to ARSA, and they both often paint together with Corupt and RBN One.
This bilaterally symmetrical piece is beautifully designed and executed. The colour palette of blues and purples set on the maroon buffed wall are so easy on the eye, and perfectly complemented by the cream drop shadow, drifting off to the right. This is a very pleasing piece by 210. (PS I used to catch the 210 bus to my piano lessons as a kid in North London – so there).
It was great to see that the Upfest organisers had allocated a long hoarding on Greenway Bush Lane to showcase several Bristol-based graffiti writers and artists, who keep the city vibrant day in day out. Among their number is DJ Perks, who painted this nice piece on a narrow pavement with parked cars right up against it.
The work itself is a straightforward piece of writing, spelling out PERKS in decorated red letters and the ‘R’ in a contrasting green. What makes this piece different is the depth of the 3D drop shadow with a vanishing point way below the pavement, which is quite unusual, for sure. The whole thing is neat and tidy, and although not DJ Perk’s best work, certainly gives a flavour of his great talent.
A lot of graffiti writers like to mix their letters up, none more so than Asre. Here he is in Dean Lane presenting us with the letters ESAR, but we don’t even need to see his letters to recognise his style. It also helps that he has left the letters AEK 21 – a reference to AEK Athens sport club and the 21 represents the left-wing anti fascist supporters.
As ever, there is a clarity and neatness to Asre’s work. All the solid fills and solid black lines are on-point, and the cloudy base, does enough to protect the piece from the previous graffiti pieces behind. A lovely piece of tidy writing.
It has been a while since I last posted anything by Kid Krishna. I think he has spent a while out of town and only returned a few weeks ago. I have seen one or two of his simple CRIE pieces, but this is the first more ‘arty’ work I have seen for ages.
In this comboination piece, we see some characterful writing in white, bordered and detailed in red, and in the middle of the letters a curious yellow hand (with legs) holding a smiling ball. I am not at all sure what all of this means, but certainly enjoy the creativity. Great to have Kid Krishna back on the streets of Bristol.
