I haven’t seen Elvs for an absolute age, and his visits to Bristol seem to be on the scarce side, so coming across this wonderful piece of graffiti writing last month was a real treat.
Elvs, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2025
There are a few artists that I have seen about the UK who use a similar style to Elvs, but he is the only one I know of in the Bristol area. His solid letters are broken up by fine lines that provide the letter shapes, and the fill is a nicely joined pair of red colours that bleed into one another without fuss. Elvs has painted a rather nice contrasting blue drop shadow, and of course the whole thing is finished with a clean and crisp black border. I look forward to the next one.
Squire has only recently come on to my radar, and I think this is the third Squire piece I have posted in recent weeks, each of them quite different, and I think I’m going to enjoy finding their pieces. It feels like having something new to collect, if that makes sense.
Squire, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2025
Painted onto a skate park ramp, these blue and black letters have a rather nice irregular, almost cartoony style. A nice white surround and red/yellow border finish the writing nicely, which, without highlights or starbursts, looks quite flat, but nonetheless interesting. I think I got to this piece while it was still quite fresh, because it hasn’t been too scuffed. Upwards and onwards with Squire.
I have spoken ad nauseam about how Daz Cat’s work has become more sophisticated in recent years, so I won’t go on about it now except to say that this is a wonderful, complex piece that encapsulates the new level that he has found for himself.
Daz Cat, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2025
A cat-human character, wearing bright yellow sunglasses, is playing host to a cat character nestled in her hair. There is a story, but I can’t fathom it out. Daz Cat has selected some calming purples and oranges for this piece, which work very nicely together. There is plenty of depth in the portrait, which the three-quarter profile helps to achieve. A really cracking piece from Daz Cat.
This is the last post from my trip to Buxton, and we say farewell to this beautiful Derbyshire town with a set of doors that includes the famous Buxton Opera House, an outstanding building and vibrant concert venue, that punches well above its weight in terms of its location, probably reflecting a more prosperous period when the wealthy would flock to the spa town.
Although this is the last post from Buxton, the good news is that I have doors lined up from Copenhagen, Marrakesh, Rochester and from a trip to Godalming on Tuesday this week amongst many other folders of doors ready for posting. In fact, my archive is growing faster than I am able to post… something to keep me going at least. I hope you enjoy this swan song from Buxton:
Rotating door and beautiful stone entrance to the Old Hall Hotel, Buxton, Derbyshire, April 2024
Double doors to St Ann’s Well Water Pump Room (for Devonshire hospital patients only), Buxton, Derbyshire, April 2024
Beautiful shopfronts with green doors and superb tile work, Buxton, Derbyshire, April 2024
Doors and stunning architecture of the Buxton Opera House and Gardens, Buxton, Derbyshire, April 2024
Two double doors and side entrances to the Buxton Opera House, Buxton, Derbyshire, April 2024
An original door in the ‘hot house’ of the Buxton Gardens, Buxton, Derbyshire, April 2024
Doors and entrance to the Devonshire Dome building, Buxton, Derbyshire, April 2024
On this last building, here is a snippet from Wikipedia with some really interesting facts about the place:
The Devonshire Dome building (previously known as the Devonshire Royal Hospital) is a Grade II* listed 18th-century former stable block in Buxton, Derbyshire. It was built by John Carr of York and extended by architect Robert Rippon Duke, who added what was then the world’s largest unsupported dome, with a diameter of 44.2 metres (145 ft). It is now the site of the Buxton Campus of the University of Derby.
That’s it for this week. I now have to consider what doors to bring to the party next time. Have 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.
Benjimagnetic, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2025
I am well used to seeing outstanding pieces by Benjimagnetic, but I think that this recent one in the tunnel is the cream of the crop so far. The graffiti writing is so striking in form and colour, and it is difficult to walk past without stopping and admiring it.
Benjimagnetic, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2025
When I look at the design elements, I am reminded of a kind of 1960s retro feel about it, bringing things like magazine racks and shelving units that were oh so modern when I was growing up. There were a few TV cartoons at that time that really picked up on this modern style. Perhaps I am imagining things, but that is what I see in this amazing work. I’m not entirely certain what the letters spell, but I have a good feeling that it spells GRO. Tight, colourful, beautifully designed and superbly presented. What more could a man want?
Hemper’s odyssey continues with this rather nice chrome piece alongside the M32 motorway. He seems to be omnipresent at the moment and is stretching his creativity to the maximum.
Hemper, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, February 2025
This piece is perhaps a little bit more conventional for Hemper, in so much as it is not too different from pieces he has been producing in the past. What makes it special is that as chrome pieces go (which are often a little rushed or crude) this is one of the best examples you will find. The writing, spelling HEMS is relatively low-key, but decorated to a higher standard than most chromies, and the finishing, borders etc, is completely on-point. More to come soon from a man on a mission.
Although he has been present across the city for a few years, Foksymoron (great name) has upped his game in the last few months and is becoming more prominent in both placement and size of his pieces.
Foksymoron, River Avon, Bristol, February 2025
This fox, alongside the River Avon fits the space really well, looking as if the for is loitering with intent. Hands in pockets and looking rather pleased with his cool look, the fox is a simple design which Foksymoron seems to be able to replicate with considerable ease. Bristol foxes… part of our urban furniture, both real and painted.
Today’s posts will have to be the quickest ever. I am staying in Godalming and running a workshop today and forgot to write the blog posts last night, so am squeezing these ones in before breakfast. This is a fine symmetrical piece by Werm on the long wall at Cumberland Basin.
Werm, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, February 2025
At first glance, this doesn’t look too much different from many of his other pieces, but look a little closer and you can see that the subtle fill to the letters is contiguous throughout all the letters, which is a tried and tested technique by graffiti writers, and executed really well here by Werm.
If, like me, you are interested in numbers, today’s post contains a rising sequence of numbers – 6789. In our base ten counting system, this is the last time this true sequence will be possible, because 78910 doesn’t work, and also even if it did I’d have to be writing posts for the next 100 years or more. Actually, I am wrong, so ignore that. The next number that will work is 12345, which I might reach if I carry on for 10 more years. Enough with the numbers already.
I am always delighted when Bean returns to Bristol and lets us know that he is alive and well. I hope that when he is finished for the summer with his studies, he will get busy on our streets.
Bean, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2025
I believe Bean to be one of the great talents emerging from the Bristol scene. His character pieces are growing in sophistication and here he has combined a joyful youth with the letters BEAN, which are reversed out on his T-shirt. There is a message ‘positivity and all that jazz’ which is either speaking to the viewer or to himself or, perhaps, both. I take energy and hope from this piece.
Natural adventures 