I came across this artist for the first time earlier this year, and I have to say I am rather taken with their work. I have said before that some letters and words lend themselves really well to graffiti writing, and the word ‘SQUIRE’ seems to work very nicely indeed.
Squire, Brunel Way, Bristol, January 2025
There is nothing snazzy or pretentious about this piece, written on a DIY skate ramp under Brunel Way. The letters are almost cartoony, with solid green fills and yellow spots for decoration. Basic and appealing. I will be keeping my eyes peeled for more from Squire.
Stivs, Fade and Dibz, L Dub, Bristol, February 2025
A common collaborative presentation, which so many of my posts feature, is a three-way triptych between two writers and a character artist. Dibz and Fade have played out this structure with numerous fellow collaborators, often Jody. In this piece, however, it is Stivs who performs the honours with consummate skill.
Stivs and Fade, L Dub, Bristol, February 2025
The three artists have taken over the entire corner wall of the pumping station with a bright scene incorporating the film/TV/merchandise franchise ‘Transformers’. On the left Stivs and Fade share the space, with a large robot character on the left by Stivs, and some beautiful ‘flat’ lettering from Fade (with the ‘A’ upside down?), all set on an urban silhouette scene.
Stivs and Dibz, L Dub, Bristol, February 2025
On the right-hand elevation, Stivs and Dibz have combined with the ‘Bumblebee’ character to the left and some classy bright writing from Dibs in the middle. To the right of the writing is a ‘metallic’ emblem, so beautifully crafted, with the letters THK fashioned into a robot mask. A very impressive piece by these three artists in a place that receives very little foot-fall, so seen by relatively few people.
Another H-bomb of colour and energy from Grimes, this time in Dean Lane. He really is quite incredible, the way that he generates so much movement through his pieces, which dazzle and amaze.
Grimes, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2025
The colours in this piece are warm and fiery, with so many elements, each beautifully interlocking with its neighbours. If I were to liken this work to any other artist it would be Deamz, who left Bristol some years ago now, but who also created complex graffiti writing pieces. This is praise indeed for Grimes’ work. The finishing touch of a blue plasma border is nothing short of brilliant, offsetting the warm colours with a chilly edge.
Tao Create and Big Hev, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2025
Of interest, but not really of much importance, is the gender split of street artists and graffiti writers in Bristol which I would say is around the 60:40 Men to women, but it is noticeable that a higher proportion of women are painting now than were ten years ago, when I first started this blog. This is a fabulous collaboration from Tao Create and Big Hev, who have painted together before, and I assume are friends.
Tao Create and Big Hev, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2025
To the left is a portrait piece by Tao Create, who underwent something of a transformation in her style over the last year or so, taking her to a new and much higher level. I can’t find any information about whom this is a portrait of, but it is stunning nonetheless, with superb depth and texture in the greyscale shades. Big Hev’s words ‘I’ve been ghosted by a ghostboy’ are equally mysterious. The piece appears to be a tribute to GB perhaps? This is a striking collaboration, which sadly has been overpainted, but was a delight while it was there.
Mr Crawls has had a good start to the year, but rather surprisingly, he hasn’t been painting with his friend Mote – I’m sure there are all sorts of good reasons why. I have loved watching the way Mr Crawls has been evolving his bird characters, and it feels like it is a journey that is still in its early stages.
Mr Crawls, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2025
Here, Mr Crawls has painted one of his gulls (I am using the orange beak as an identifier, as there isn’t much more to go on), which is in a stylised cartoon form. Beautifully simple, but full of interest, with a fine bucket hat, asymmetric eyes and a couple of letters thrown into the bird’s neck. A wonderful character piece in the Deaner.
There are a few ‘sure things’ in the Bristol street art world, and one of them is that you will always find pieces by DJ Perks in the Lawrence Weston spot. This is partly due to some legacy pieces that just never seem to get painted over, but also because he paints there frequently enough for me to find new pieces each time I visit.
DJ Perks, L Dub, Bristol, February 2025
I would consider DJ Perks to be a natural, when it comes to graffiti writing. He is so incredibly modest, but his work is technically excellent, and always nicely presented. Here he has painted the letters ABC (Art Beat Crew) with blended blue fills, and a nice pink ‘ribbon’ running horizontally through the piece. The scarlet background dusted onto the wall offsets the piece perfectly.
Very occasionally we are lucky enough to find pieces by Piewaste. His work tends to blend in with its surroundings, and it can be quite easy to pass on by without noticing it – unless you are like me, and wired to sniff out such pieces wherever they might be.
Piewaste, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, January 2025
Piewaste has written three thin-edged letters (WSE) interspersed with two pink-filled letters (AT) to spell out WASTE, but all elements of this writing kind of disappear unless you are concentrating. The three green-bordered letters are filled with an incredible scene, as if you are looking through letter-shaped windows. This is a brilliant piece that is so modestly presented. This is why I like to keep my eyes open and really study what is around me.
Mr Two Gram and Desi, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, January 2025
Wherever you find a piece by Desi, you are likely to find a Mr Two Gram piece nearby. Like many partners (Ryder and T-Rex, Bloem and Sub), they paint alongside one another all over town, leaving their ‘household’ stamp.
Mr Two Gram, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, January 2025
I haven’t posted many pieces by Mr Two Gram, but have dozens in my archives, so I need to do a little better at posting them. His writing is distinctive, and depending on the size of the wall carries variants of his name. I suggested to him once that he might like to try character pieces, and although receptive to the idea, I haven’t seen anything in that direction.
Desi, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, January 2025
This pairing was of course one part of a larger collaboration celebrating Desi and Even’s birthday and carried a theme of Studio Ghibli – a Japanese animation studio, hence the cartoon cat. Desi, who often writes VEIL, has painted a combination piece, which is quite unusual and something that would be great to see more of. Reflecting back to when I first started seeing Desi’s work, there has been a constant improvement, and this piece is truly one of her best, with tidy, clean letters and fabulously presented fills.
Natural adventures 