My inclination is not to say to much about this outstanding character piece by Cheo for fear of spoiling it. Cheo has been a mainstay of character pieces in Bristol forever and although he has been relatively quiet in recent years, he can still turn it on when he wants to. This is a beauty.
Cheo, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2024
The character is painted completely in green scale colours apart from the goggles and gold chain – even the bee is green. A small masterpiece from Cheo.
It is such a good feeling when new graffiti writers on my radar start to appear once, then twice and then all of a sudden everywhere. Examples might include Raid, Dirtygypo, Grimes, Jevoissoul, Nips, Butch and so on, and now I am hoping that Fudge will be joining their ranks.
Fudge, Montpelier Park, Bristol, September 2024
Her last piece (and first I became aware of) was on the M32 roundabout and included a large eyed cartoon character. This one in Montpelier Park is a straightforward piece of writing, but there is something rather pleasing about her letters and her fills too are rather nice and dreamy. I’ll be looking out for more from Fudge.
When Logoe hits town, he tends to hit it pretty hard. When this collaborative piece was painted earlier in the month, I think it might have been a one-off, because I didn’t find any other pieces in all the spots he usually decorates so freely. It is a collaboration with Nova, about whom I know absolutely nothing, but it is a beauty nonetheless.
Logoe, M32 Spot, Bristol, September 2024
More often than not Logoe writes with thin script letters, but he has switched things up in this piece of graffiti writing with great big fat chrome letters with a bold solid black drop shadow. The whole piece is very neat and tidy and well presented on a red cloudy background. Of course, there is a sprinkling of small oval dots running through the piece, just in case we weren’t sure it was by Logoe.
Nova, M32 Spot, Bristol, September 2024
Nova has painted letters using the same colour scheme, and also incorporated little ovals, although arranged a little more orderly than Logoe’s. Another cross-reference feature is the yellow ‘o’ in both pieces. Nova’s writing is also nicely presented, and I am intrigued to know more about the artist, but that might need to wait until the next time I bump into Logoe. A fine collaboration an a favourite wall.
Awkward has been getting noticeably busier in recent months, possibly prompted by his counterparts with whom he has collaborated successfully. This time though he painted solo on the bricked up flat wall behind the long skate ramp.
Awkward, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2024
The blue-faced character, wearing a baseball cap, appears to be resting on a wonderfully painted red cloud (emanating from his ear) and has a trademark speech bubble with the word AWKWARD spread over two lines. The large saucer eyes and wobbly lines to the left add a nervous energy to the piece. Awkward’s characters are quite unique and always come across as fairly wired or fraught. This is a nice piece.
Doors 279 – Street art and graffiti doors of Bristol – July to October 2023
It has been a little while since I last posted street art and graffiti doors, so before I resume with doors from towns and cities I have visited, I will dwell on my home city (and Exeter) with some photographs of decorated doors. All of these doors have appeared on Natural Adventures before, but in graffiti and street art posts – the photographs were taken between July and October last year. I hope you like them:
Inkie, Cheltenham Paint Festival, Cheltenham, July 2023
Andy Council, East Street, Bristol, August 2023
Aspire, Queen’s Road, Bristol, August 2023
Taboo, East Street, Bristol, August 2023
Rose Popay, Queen’s Road, Bristol, August 2023
Cheba, Queen’s Road, Bristol, August 2023
None Here, Exeter, October 2023
Martin D’Acy, Queen’s Road, Bristol, August 2023
Stivs and Vane, Mina Road, Bristol, August 2023
I will return to more conventional doors next time, but haven’t yet decided which of my folders to unlock – a surprise for you. May I wish you a happy weekend.
If you have made it this far, you probably like doors, and you really ought to take a look at the No Facilities blog by Dan Anton who has taken over the hosting of Thursday Doors from Norm 2.0 blog. Links to more doorscursions can be found in the comments section of Dan Anton’s Thursday Doors post.
This is the third piece by Butch that I have posted, and although I can’t put my finger on exactly why, I really like what I see. There is a consistency to the letters from piece to piece, which means that the main focus is always likely to be on the fills and background.
Butch, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2024
This work by Butch, is on the cusp between casual throw up and a polished tight piece, which is an interesting space to inhabit, and I see that there is potential to create some high class finishing, but perhaps not the desire to go full-on high-end. The letters are composed of solid ‘plates’ of light blue and dusky yellow, riveted together, a device used by some artists, and a very effective one too. This is great work from the PLB graffiti writer.
Painted as part of the World Wall Stylers ‘Who Framed Roger Rabbit’ paint jam, this is an absolute beauty by Sait Bare, and possibly the best piece I have seen from the artist yet. Although there is no character, Sait Bare has adhered to the colour scheme, and thrown himself into the collaborative effort.
Sait Bare, Cumberland Bain, Bristol, August 2024
The colours are expertly blended with beguiling patterning running through the letters which spell out SAIT. There is a smoky, ephemeral feel to the whole piece, all very atmospheric. There is a bit of a juxtaposition between the wispy fills and the solid 3D drop shadow, but I think it comes together nicely.
Unknown artist, M32 roundabout, Bristol, September 2024
I photographed this piece before I knew that Mena had had an accident and that she couldn’t have possibly painted this piece. I initially thought it was hers, but had doubts, because it isn’t really in her style. This leaves me with a bit of a problem, in that I don’t know who to attribute this shout-out piece to, hence the label of ‘unknown artist’.
Unknown artist, M32 roundabout, Bristol, September 2024
There are some clues in the piece as to who painted it… there are lots of graffiti arrows, used a lot by artists such as Hypo. There are also some nice subtle stars in the fill patterning, which many artists use. This one will remain a mystery until somebody tells me who painted it, but the sentiment is, I’m sure, much appreciated by Mena and her family/friends.