There are two or three artists vying for top spot as the most productive artist in Bristol at the moment, and possibly leading the field is Turoe with his combined TUROE and SHYTE pieces cropping up just about everywhere around the city.
Turoe, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2021
This piece at Dean Lane is from back in April, but I managed to retrieve it from my archives on the last trawl through that I did. Spelling TUROK the piece is very clean and tight, in fact everything you’d expect from this very experienced writer. The letters are great and the two colour shading is nicely done with a few rather nice drips about the place. The yellow splatter in my view could have been a little bit brighter to give more impact, but I am nit-picking. Quality stuff.
I think that this is the third MOTEL piece that I have posted from the fabulously named Dog Bless the Band. I believe he is a relatively new entrant on to the Bristol scene, but obviously an accomplished writer, so he must have been writing elsewhere before starting up in Bristol.
Dog Bless the Band, St Werburghs, Bristol, April 2021
I love his muted, modest colours that blend into the background. There is nothing garish or showy about his work, but that is not to say it is boring. Far from it. The large organic letters are filled with a wonderful range of blended colours and subtle patterns looking more like a watercolour than a spray painted wall. Fabulous stuff.
This it the third and final post from this outstanding wall down near Temple Meads station, this section being by Acer One and Sepr. I kind of wish I had posted the whole wall in one go, but I didn’t and there is no point in crying over spilled milk.
Sepr an Acer One, Chatterton Square, Bristol, April 2021
Acer One has had such a busy year so far and has collaborated with so many different artists as well as doing solo pieces. Here he has written Hood, which is the first part of the full phrase Hood Rats. The collaboration which included Rowdy and Andy Council had a bunch of rats, including this rather sweet clockwork rat by Sepr. Sepr is another artist who has had an outstanding year so far, but his work has quietened down recently now that his band is back in rehearsal, preparing for the easing of restrictions, and of course there is also his day job as a tattooist.
Over the last few months I have seen quite a few of these TES pieces from Tes (Slim Pickings) but haven’t posted all of them, simply because there have been so many other pieces to post. Perhaps I’ll have to do a Tes sweep up post with all of them in it.
Slim Pickings, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, June 2021
I have included this one because it is a particularly bright and summery example, although I was a little disappointed that he painted it over the lovely Jelly piece that had only been there for a couple of days. The Tes is, as always, nicely worked and I love the little blue-white flashes on the red 3D shadow providing a little bit of depth.
Aah, a classic piece of Taboo writing to keep everyone cheery. Last week I posted a gallery of Taboo’s work, and it really is extraordinary in so many ways. His letters are nice and organic and non-uniform creating a freedom and expression that some more anally retentive artists could not cope with.
Taboo, Brunel Way, Bristol, June 2021
As well as his unusual letters which spell TABOO, albeit upside down and backwards, there is a clue in his shout-outs, Taboo nearly always gifts us an interesting character to add to the mix. In this case the character is a melting Mickey Mouse. This is not the first Mickey Mouse that Taboo has painted and he certainly seems to like his classics, such as Tom and Jerry and Popeye. A great fun piece.
Like so many graffiti writers in Bristol I just don’t seem to post nearly as much from Alos as I could or should. I have a lot of pieces in the archive, and perhaps I’ll have to dig them out sometime. Thanks to Paul H, I know that the pronunciation of Alos name is like aloes, as in hellos, which is all rather nice.
Alos, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, June 2021
Alos is another artist whose letters are irregular and unconventional and more often than not written in monochrome, with some nice little details running through the letters. The style is similar to Whos and their work can often be found side by side.
Another new artist, who is without doubt causing a stir at the moment in Bristol, is Petro, whose Instagram handle is delightfully @intheallotment. I’m not sure where Petro has come from, but there is a lot of experience in this work, and while new to Bristol, Petro is no stranger to throwing paint at walls.
Petro, Brunel Way, Bristol, May 2021
Petro likes to go big and all the work I have seen so far is large. Big letters and earthy colours characterise Petro’s work. There is also something about the unruly nature of the letters that reminds me a little of Taboo, Alos and Whos, all of whom seem to break conventional rules of letter shapes and designs. This is a lovely organic piece, and I have several more beauties to share with you.
In Bristol, one of the most anticipated festivals each year is Upfest, where much of Bedminster turns its attention to a celebration of street art over a long weekend. Upfest is the largest festival of its kind in Europe and attracts artists from all over the globe as well as many closer to home. The last festival was held in 2018. In 2019, the Upfest organisers, Steve and Emma, decided to have a gap year to give all the people involved in the festival a break and prepare for 2020. We all know what happened next…
This year Upfest are hoping to hold a live event in Greville Smyth Park in August, but this looks to be in jeopardy because of the continued likelihood of restrictions due to the Delta variant of COVID-19. However, Upfest have also instigated another initiative called 75 walls in 75 days, which starting on 15 May aims to complete 75 walls by 75 different artists, thus spreading the activity and keeping it appropriately coronavirus-friendly. Although this piece by JXC is not the first to be completed, it is the first that I am posting.
JXC, Greville Road, Bristol, May 2021
JXC is an outstanding artist whose mastery of the spray can is legendary and his ability to create such fine detail is his trademark. This piece of a fly and his block capital letters and with dents smashed in the wall is absolutely outstanding, and it is difficult to know how he manages to do it. This is real high-end street art at its very best. World-class.
JXC, Greville Road, Bristol, May 2021
This piece shows not only the incredible skill of the artist, but the willingness of the very best in the game to come to Bristol and participate in Upfest. Look out for more of the 75 over the summer.
There are a handful of graffiti writers in Bristol that I would group together in terms of what they paint and how they go about it. They would include TES (Slim Pickings), Phour, Pl8o, Bnie, Mena and in this example Mest, to name but a few. What these artists tend to do is write the same set of letters, usually in a similar font or style, but play with the fills and decorations. This is graffiti writing, but not wildstyle graffiti writing which tends to be much more elaborate and unique each time.
Mest, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2021
I think that this piece from Mest is very nicely finished and has some unusual but rather nice fills. I particularly like the pink dots that offset the rest of it. The green border helps to lift the letters a little. Overall a pleasing piece.
I don’t visit this area nearly as often as I used to. In the olden days when I walked to the office (a dim and distant memory) I would often take a little detour up Nine Tree Hill and along Armada Place. My reduction in walking this way has coincided with a significant downward shift in turnover of pieces in the locality, indeed across much of the Stokes Croft area. It was rather a nice surprise therefore to come across these three little tag-pieces from PWA crew’s Face 1st, Soap and Nightwayss.
Nightwayss and Face 1st, Nine Trees Hill, Bristol, May 2021
I am a bit of a fan of decorating utility boxes, which in their regimented green or black monochrome colours are eyesores that pollute every street in every village, town and city in the UK. Decorating these boxes is not legal, but in my view most welcome, and in some cities around the world is actively welcomed or even commissioned… imaging that. The three pieces here are quick throw ups, probably painted in haste. The monkey is by Nightwayss, the face by Face 1st and the mouth/skull by Soap. These are the key signature elements of each of the three artists.
Soap, Nine Trees Hill, Bristol, May 2021
The three artists have decorated one box each and brightened up this little corner immeasurably. I am sure that some people will see this as thoughtless vandalism and be quite angry about it. This is the spice of life.
Natural adventures 