Well, this doesn’t happen very often. I completely forgot to write my blog posts this morning, and am now in a bit of a panic. I think it must be the disruption to my normal routine, and that feeling that I have an awful lot to do before Christmas. Perhaps the character piece by Zake adequately describes my state of mind today.
Zake, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, December 2023
This piece was part of a PWA paint jam, but alas, by the time I got there this was the only bit of it left. The laughing face full of depth and texture, has a fractured skull through which his brain appears to have turned to jelly. I suspect that there is some Face 1st influencing going on with this fun piece.
As we approach Christmas and the end of the year, I expect my posts to get slightly shorter, possibly a little bit more reflective, and maybe even a little bit rushed. I suffer from ‘ground rush’ before breaking up for a holiday period, when a whole bunch of work needs to be tied up and out of the door in an ever-diminishing time slot. Alright, I get it, I am getting my excuses in early, and that is the way I roll.
Zake, Brunel Way, Bristol, November 2023
Zake has had an extraordinary 2023, where his work has not only been more frequent, but it has blossomed, and he is pushing all of his boundaries to develop his unique portrait style. I first became aware of his work through his column pieces under the M32 in May 2018, and they have been a regular feature ever since, as you can see in this updated gallery of his work. There is lots of depth created by light and shadow in this piece, and a fair amount of expression in those wild staring eyes.
Laic217, Soap, Zake and Face 1st, M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 2023
The Pirate Wall Art (PWA) crew have been a constant presence throughout 2023, adding to their ranks and adapting/growing/improving their artwork along the way. This is a lovely combination of pieces from Face 1st, Zake, Soap and the recently adopted Laic217.
Laic217, M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 2023
Starting on the left is a fabulous melting face piece from Laic217. The disintegration of faces is a common theme in much of his work, and in this one the purple skin is dripping off, revealing a pink skull beneath. I love the addition of arrows piercing the smiley’s eyes on the bucket hat, although the beautifully worked shadows of the shafts are not consistent… where is the light source?
Soap, M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 2023
Next up is an outstanding piece of animated writing from Soap. He has incorporated characters from the cartoon show Adventure Time, namely Jake the Dog and, I am guessing, a Princess, but I don’t know which one. The letters spell SOAP in an imaginative way, and although painted in my least favourite spray paint colour are utterly awesome.
Zake, M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 2023
Zake has been switching things up lately, and in this piece he has painted a three-quarter cartoon profile, and this change of aspect means he has to think about shadings for a slight profile and the side of the head. He has managed to transition pretty well and incorporated tons of depth and texture with light and dark shading.
Face 1st, M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 2023
Finally, we have Face 1st, who has written the word FACE with a deep drop shadow, giving the impression that the letters are cut from a deep block. No girl’s happy faces on this one, but he has included a nice shout out to chill. Great work, once again from the PWA crew.
Laic217, Zake, Face 1st and Chill, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2023
Lately, Laic217 seems to have been adopted as a member of the ever-lively PWA crew, and certainly he appears to enjoy painting with them. This was a joyous paint jam, which Paul and I were lucky enough to witness in action (I returned a few days later to get the completed pieces), with all the contributors in great form.
Laic217 and Zake, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2023
To the left, Laic217 painted a small skull character, for which he can be forgiven, having already painted his Halloween piece on a nearby wall. Next to Lic217, Zake has painted another of his expressive face pieces. It is interesting to watch how Zake is slowly inching towards characters that are a little more realistic and I wonder if in five more years he will be dabbling with photorealism in the way that Shade One has.
Face 1st, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2023
Face 1st is and always will be one of my favourite Bristol artists, my landmark and barometer of the graffiti art scene in the city. This fun piece has a girl with a particularly gloopy face holding some laughing girl balloons. Chatting to Face 1st, it turns out that he is working for a while only a stone’s throw away from my house, and I have seen him at work on at leat one occasion.
Chill, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2023
Chill rounds off this wonderful collaborative wall with a nicely designed character piece with some interesting Picassoesque undertones and a mouth that Sweet Toof would be proud of. The leafy tendrils from Chill’s piece stretch across the whole collaboration as a bit of a golden thread. This was painted for Halloween, but the only references seem to be the graves under Face 1st’s girl. A great piece on a great wall.
My one hundredth post from Greenbank and what better way to celebrate such a landmark than with this stunning face piece by Zake. Over the last few years, Zake has been one of the most regular artists in Bristol, either painting solo or with his PWA friends.
Zake, Greenbank, Bristol, October 2023
In this piece Zake has gone large, and to give you some idea of scale, this portrait stands at about 7-8 feet tall. As always with Zake’s work, the contours and texture of the face are created by a wonderful contrasting of light and shade, giving the appearance of deep furrows and folds in the subject’s skin. Zake pretty much always paints in this cartoon style and I think it would be really interesting to see if he could paint something a little more realistic in terms of proportion and features, just as a one-off… I think he would smash it.
Chill,Fade/Face 1st, Soap and Zake, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2023
This is a wonderful collaborative wall from the PWA crew from a little while back, and includes a subsequently added piece from Fade, which is both good and bad. Good in that his work is always great and bad because he painted over Face 1st’s section before I had had a chance to see it. This wall has played host to some outstanding collaborations this year, of which this is one.
Chill, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2023
The left-hand-side bookend is by Chill, and sets the tone (for those of us who view things from left to right), of the collaboration which has a theme relating to bed time and sleep. Chill’s wonderful character, complete with night cap and a five o’clock shadow, is holding a candle, all looking a little Dickensian to me.
Fade/Face 1st, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2023
Next up would have been Face 1st’s contribution, which looks like it was the letters FACE, with a frame of disintegrating green gloop. Fade has overwritten the piece with a nice tidy and sharp piece of writing, spelling out FADE. I have to say I was surprised to see this, but perhaps there is a little history there.
Soap, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2023
The third piece, by Soap, looks like a bit of a nightmarish scene, inspired by characters from the cartoon series Adventure Time, I think. I can’t identify the horned character, but the one holding the sword looks like Finn the Human, with a skull face. As with so many of Soap’s pieces, there is a whole story going on here, as well as some perfectly crafted writing, with the letters SOAP.
Zake, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2023
Finally and bookending the collaboration on the right-hand-side is Zake’s sleep-time character also with a night cap, but instead of a candle, the face is holding, with its only arm, a spray can, perhaps for a bit of an evening paint session. As ever, the shading and contrast have created enormous depth to the piece. What a lovely PWA paint jam.
When I selected this Zake column piece to post I realised just how far behind I am with the blog these days, and that is entirely due to the huge volume of art dropping on the streets of Bristol. I venture out about four times a week, and each time probably photograph between six and ten new pieces on average, which equates to something like 24-40 new artworks each week every week. I usually post two pieces a day, sometimes three, so we are looking at about 20 posts maximum. You can see the deficit straight away, and this doesn’t include festivals such as Upfest or Cheltenham Paint Festival, where the pieces may reach 200 or so. This is a good problem to have, I guess, and maybe I have a project for my retirement, posting from the archives.
Zake, M32 Spot, Bristol, September 2023
Zake will always be a column specialist, and many of his earliest pieces in Bristol were painted on columns only a hundred meters or so from here. In this one he has painted three faces stacked on top of one another, each with amazing depth and interesting expressions. Three for the price of one from Zake.
I don’t often hunt down specific pieces that I have seen on social media, preferring to come across them on my walks, as that somehow feels more authentic and retains the element of surprise. However, occasionally I see something, know where it is and actively seek it out and use the opportunity to photograph anything else that takes my fancy. This piece by Zake was one of those I had to go and look for, before it got too tagged up.
Zake, River Avon, Bristol, August 2023
Zake has played with faces within faces, or emerging from faces before, but not quite as mesmerisingly as this. Is the bigger face consuming the smaller one, or is the smaller ne wearing the larger one? Either way, this piece has all the hallmarks of a Zake work, with definition of the features achieved through light and dark shading, creating the most wonderful 3D effect. This piece was well worth the slightly longer walk than I usually do in the area.
Chill, Zake, Face 1st and Soap, St Werburghs, Bristol, July 2023
I am writing this last night in the full expectation that I will be heading off to the Cheltenham Paint Festival this morning, which means that in a short while, Natural Adventures will be awash with fabulous pieces from Cheltenham by artists from nearby and far, far away. On to this fine collaboration from the PWA crew, Chill, Zake, Face 1st and Soap.
Chill, St Werburghs, Bristol, July 2023
There is a bit of a pirate theme going on (perhaps linked to PWA – Pirate Wall Art), and Chill kicks things off perfectly with this wonderful cartoon character wearing a bandana and brandishing a cutlass and crying out ‘AAARRRGH!!!’ The scar on the cheek and terrible teeth finish the character off brilliantly. A superb piece.
Zake, St Werburghs, Bristol, July 2023
Next up, Zake goes a little bit off-topic both in terms of a pirate theme and indeed the colour scheme too. His piece is fantastic and a bit of a return to the kind of faces he was painting a year or two ago. Tons of depth is achieved with clever use of shading, which is a speciality of the artist.
Face 1st, St Werburghs, Bristol, July 2023
Face 1st duly returns us to the pirate theme with his character, complete with skull and crossbones eye patch, makes off with a treasure chest full of gold and jewellery. It is a brilliant piece full of mischief and movement and so utterly Fac 1st.
Soap, St Werburghs, Bristol, July 2023
Finally, Soap sticks with his graffiti writing, and continues the pirate theme and colour scheme. The letters spell out SOAP, and the Ice King ‘O’ is wearing an eye patch. The letter fills and dynamism of the piece are perfectly presented and add a distinctive element to the quartet of styles. A truly magnificent collaboration, so full of fun and mischief.
I have a feeling that Zake might be slowing down a little, having had an incredible start to the year with an increase in both quality and quantity of his original character pieces. This incredible piece is painted on one of the columns (if not, a different face of the same column) where I first encountered Zake’s work back in July 2018, so it feels like a bit of a full circle, and my goodness, how he has developed over that time.
Zake, M32 Spot, Bristol, May 2023
The long face (an inevitability on columns) has a double set of eyes, which are thankfully closed, and is spewing fiery water from the mouth. The colour selection works beautifully, and as ever Zake’s work is so full of depth, afforded by clever use of light and shade. This is a really striking piece, noticeable from quite some distance.
Natural adventures 