Although this piece by Mr Crawls was painted some time ago and not intended as a Halloween piece, it fits the bill nicely and is serendipitously next in the production line of pieces I have prepared in advance.
Mr Crawls, Redcliffe Way, Bristol, October 2024
It is incredible how Mr Crawls has become so established and known around Bristol for his character pieces and his collaborations with Mote. This stylised skull piece is a slight departure from Mr Crawl’s customary bird-themed work, but carries so many of the distinguishing features that he has been developing over recent months, such as the recessed eyes, and thin vertical lines, bringing emphasis to certain parts of the piece. Lovely work from Mr Crawls.
Kool Hand, Conrico, Pekoe and The Art of Sok, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2024
This year, Dean Lane has hosted a whole bunch of Halloween pieces, and this is the largest of the lot. The festive collaboration is from a line up of artists I would never have expected, and I don’t think that they have painted as a foursome together before. Kool Hand, Conrico, Pekoe and the Art of Sok have brought four distinctive styles together in this eclectic celebration.
Kool Hand, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2024
Kool Hand starts the wall off with one of his customary baseball cap-wearing orangutans, although there is a touch of menace about the ape. Usually Kool Hand’s characters are rather fun, but this one is sinister, with bloodshot eyes missing pupils and a maggot crawling out of its nose. There is nice use of solid tones bringing light and shadow, and hence depth, to the piece.
Conrico, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2024
I have no idea what is going on in the Conrico piece, but it looks like a werewolf-type character is leaning against a gravestone on which the words “Here lies graveyard shift… a very naughty…” You’ll have to make up the rest yourself. The character is clutching a carved pumpkin and the whole thing is set in a Japanese landscape. Curious and wonderful.
Pekoe, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2024
Next up is a great piece of writing from Pekoe in an altogether lighter style, where each of the letters is painted in an individual design and colour scheme. The ghost forming the letter ‘O’ is the obvious concession to the Halloween theme. Over the last couple of years, Pekoe’s writing has improved immeasurably and her confidence with it… you can sense there is an ease and comfort with the creation of this piece.
The Art of Sok, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2024
Finally, something evil from The Art of Sok. I have seen plenty of cartoon characters from the artist, but nothing quite like this. The monster looks like some kind of orc-inspired creature and provides edge to the collaboration. The Art of Sok’s style is so clean and crisp… There is a simplicity in his use of solid fills that betray incredible sophistication and skill, transferring cartoon-book sketches onto full sized walls. All in all a superb and varied collection of Halloween pieces from the quartet.
Rusk and Elvs, Dean Lane skate park, Bristol, October 2024
Getting into full swing with Halloween-related pieces, I bring you this magnificent collaboration from two great graffiti writers, Rusk and Elvs. Neither of these artists seem to be quite as productive as they have been in the past, but their presence is always good news, because of the quality of their work.
Rusk, Dean Lane skate park, Bristol, October 2024
Dark colours, predominantly purples and blues, are the order of the day, or should I say night. Rusk has opted for a combination piece including both graffiti writing and a little cartoon Count Dracula character. The letters are clear and obvious and given emphasis with a layered 3D drop shadow. The character is a fabulous accompaniment and I wonder why Rusk doesn’t do more character pieces than he does. The piece is set on a spooky haunted house style background, which stretches across both pieces.
Elvs, Dean Lane skate park, Bristol, October 2024
To the right is a sensational piece by Elvs, whose work is utterly unique. Watching Elvs paint his pieces is fascinating because he starts with the fill shape, and then adds in all the borders and detail, bringing the letters ‘ELVS’ to life. The colour choices are amazing and work superbly well, that green drop shadow doing a great job. A wonderful spooky collaboration.
Kid Crayon, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, October 2024
Kid Crayon has launched himself headlong into the Halloween season with this mildly creepy scene, underpinned with his CRAYON letters, that perhaps resemble stone carvings. I can’t really explain what the ladder and chair are doing, but they act as good bookends to the piece.
Kid Crayon, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, October 2024
The spooky atmosphere is provided by the leafless dead trees in the background, and the long-haired character emerging from a well… what is happening here? The same character (?) is seen reflected in a mirror. There is a story, and a creepy one at that, without even a whiff of a pumpkin in sight. Well done KC.
Anyone who knows me will know that I am not a fan of ‘over-celebrating’ Halloween. The festival is so commercialised and has veered away from the modest affair that it used to be when I was a child. It is a generational thing, I know, but it doesn’t really ‘do it’ for me. One aspect that I am prepared to get excited about, rather predictably, is the Halloween-themed street art that always appears around this time of year, starting with this ghostly piece by Biers.
Biers, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2024
Biers has been writing his WD40 moniker quite a lot recently, although without his accompanying characters, which is a bit of a pity, because his combination pieces are part of his USP. The graffiti writing is accompanied on this occasion by a cute-looking ghost who looks a little embarrassed, judging from his red cheeks. The whole piece is nicely finished and achieved without the need for borders, which is great to see.
More from the irrepressible Logoe, this time behind the bush on the M32 roundabout, where he has painted before. What is remarkable about Logoe’s most recent Bristol blitz, is that all of the pieces, and he painted many over a weekend, are really well finished, looking clean and crisp.
Logoe, M32 roundabout, Bristol, September 2024
This piece of script writing is in yellow shades with a deep green drop shadow, and tidy white outline. The letters spelling LOGOE could easily be mis-read if you weren’t sure what you were looking at. As with most, if not all, of Logoe’s pieces, the writing is adorned with a scattering of brown, grey and yellow oval spots, complementing the colour palette perfectly.
I first saw this portrait piece from a distance, and couldn’t for life of me think who the artist was and it was only when I got close enough to take some pictures that I could see it was by Bogat, of course. There is a little clue in the central panel of the baseball cap.
Bogat, M32 Spot, Bristol, October 2024
This is an archetypal cartoon character piece the likes of which you might see anywhere in the UK, what is a little different from Bogat in this one is the speech bubble with the rather unsavoury words “Ya mum smells like prawn cocktail”. And there we have it… subversion, art, expression, talent and fun all plastered up on a small column under the M32. It is what it is all about.
There are several graffiti writers in Bristol who simply write their letters in a broadly similar style and format from piece to piece. Nips is one of these artists, and her forte is in the colours and fill patterns she chooses.
Nips, Greenbank, Bristol, October 2024
Photographed late afternoon on a rather sunny day, the photographs have a bit of glare and probably don’t do the piece justice. Nips has used yellows, oranges and pinks, and blended them skilfully throughout the piece. Some contrasting squiggles and fabulous white feature lines finish what piece well. I am an admirer of her work, and have yet to meet the artist… it is simply a matter of time.
This wonderful piece by Merny has been outside Bristol Temple Meads station for ages, but I only recently managed to photograph it. The problem with the station area is that I tend to save the pieces there for when I am going to be travelling by rail, but of course I never leave enough time to photograph them.
Merny, Lower Approach Road, Bristol, October 2024
Painted in 2022, the tender piece depicts a man leaning over another who is in a sleeping bag, saying the words “I’ll wake you up when it is over John”. I am not sure what the piece is about but I amguessung that it is a commentary on the state of rough sleeping in our country. The naive style that Merny uses some makes the message even more poignant. A thought-provoking piece.
At the time this post is published, I hope to be casting a line into the surf of Lantic Bay, and picking out the occasional bass. A man can dream can’t he? As I plod along from day to day, week to week, year to year, it is comforting to know that Mr Draws is doing the same, and his regular drumbeat of pieces has become something of a landmark or reference point for me.
Mr Draws, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, October 2024
Mr Draws has painted this wonderful chrome piece pierced with three chunky yellow arrows. A deep drop shadow and pink highlights help the letters pop, and the blue background works surprisingly well with the rest of the piece. All the colours of the piece are not in my view natural bedfellows, in particular pink and yellow, but mr Draws has carried it off, so I tip my hat in his direction. Nice work from Mr Draws.
Natural adventures 