6103. Greville Smyth Park (2)

Acer One, Andy Council and Paul Monsters, Greville Smyth Park, Bristol, May 2024
Acer One, Andy Council and Paul Monsters, Greville Smyth Park, Bristol, May 2024

Although this outstanding collaboration piece from Andy Council, Acer One and Paul Monsters was painted a little while ago, I only got to photograph it during Upfest 2024, however it is not an Upfest piece (although many visitors won’t know that). This is what I call a true collaboration, where the distinct styles of the three artists are combined into one story, and they have achieved this fusion expertly.

Acer One, Andy Council and Paul Monsters, Greville Smyth Park, Bristol, May 2024
Acer One, Andy Council and Paul Monsters, Greville Smyth Park, Bristol, May 2024

The three components are a wonderful geometric background design from Paul Monsters, which creates a colourful backdrop and tone, while also providing some depth with light and shadow tricks. The writing ‘New Story’ and circle are beautifully created by Acer One, whose precision and accuracy are unsurpassed. Note the subtle shadow to the lower and left sides of the letters, lifting them ever so gently from the wall. Finally, the greyscale monster in thee middle is painted by Andy Council and stands out against the colour of the background and is framed by the circle. Brilliant composition from the three of them. The piece was painted on the Spring Equinox on 24 March 2024 and a film and full explanation of the collaboration is given on Andy Council’s Instagram feed.

6085. Cumberland Basin

Acer One, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2024
Acer One, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2024

A bit of a quick one today, because I have an early start and a very long day running another workshop, so today’s posts were (are being) written last night after a long weekend away. This is a shame, because there is quite a lot to say about this unusual and very clever piece by Acer One.

Acer One, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2024
Acer One, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2024

There are two words in this circle, ‘CONRAD’ in gold and ‘BUKEM’ in black. These names relate to Acer One’s love of drum and bass and are tributes to MC Conrad and LTJ Bukem. At that point my knowledge about this piece drops off a cliff. How Acer One conceived and then executed this piece is what makes him so very special. This is the work of a very talented artist.

Acer One, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2024
Acer One, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2024

Not content with this triumph, Acer One also had a little play with some anamorphic art just around the corner, I mean, why not? Many attempt and fail with this king of trickery, but Acer One has managed to do a good job, and if only my photography was up to scratch you’d see how well he did. Acer One is an artist who is always pushing boundaries and developing his technical skills. Great work.

Acer One, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2024
Acer One, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2024

5976. Chatterton Square (8)

Acer One, Chatterton Square, Bristol, January 2024
Acer One, Chatterton Square, Bristol, January 2024

I don’t get to visit this spot all that often, but in fairness neither do many artists, so what gets painted here tends to last a reasonably long time, and although I photographed this beauty by Acer One back in January this year, I think it had been painted some time before that.

Acer One, Chatterton Square, Bristol, January 2024
Acer One, Chatterton Square, Bristol, January 2024

The piece is obviously a protest statement about the war in Gaza and a powerful reminder of just how long innocent Palestinians have been suffering for since Hamas attacked Israel on 7 October 2023. When I think about what is happening over there, my head bursts, and like so many people I simply want the suffering to stop.

Acer One, Chatterton Square, Bristol, January 2024
Acer One, Chatterton Square, Bristol, January 2024

The letters spell out BRISTOL 4 PEACE, speaking loudly and clearly to the people of Bristol. The letters are beautifully designed and cleverly concealed, and the incorporation of the colours of the Palestinian flag speaks for itself, really. A fine piece of commentary art from Acer One.

5913. Cumberland Basin

Andy Council and Acer One, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2024
Andy Council and Acer One, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2024

Andy Council and Acer One are having a productive 2024, which is so good to see, and this is one of several collaborations that they have painted recently. This one is a bit of a play on words, altering the well known cliché ‘one love’ to ‘one dove’ and illustrating it accordingly.

Andy Council, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2024
Andy Council, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2024

The dove (rock pigeon), rather hidden behind a bush, is beautifully painted by Andy Council, and has beautifully captured the colouring of the bird, and represented the iridescence of the collar with greens, reds, oranges and yellows. The typical style that Andy Council uses includes the ‘stitching together’ of component parts with threaded lines. Great pink feet.

Acer One, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2024
Acer One, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2024

The writing is by Acer One, and deliberately or otherwise reflects the raining above the piece, with the vertical lines dominating. The stylised letters are beautifully picked out with the use of a dark shadow dropped behind them, giving them a bit of a lift. This is another wonderful collaboration and continuation of this purple patch the artists seem to be enjoying.

5890. Cumberland Basin

Andy Council and Acer One, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2024
Andy Council and Acer One, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2024

You can definitely tell that spring is in the air when Acer One and Andy Council start teaming up with their wonderful collaborations, and this is one of a couple of recent walls they have painted in the Cumberland Basin area. Their contrasting styles are blended together perfectly in this piece, which really is an outstanding work.

Andy Council and Acer One, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2024
Andy Council and Acer One, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2024

Andy Council’s dragon, stitched together out of hundreds of detailed component parts, is on its own quite stunning, but when combined with Acer One’s geometric 3D cube and double impossible triangles, is utterly magnificent. This piece is a triumph, even by the high standards of the two artists, and has been painted in a spot that is likely to remain undisturbed for a while, so if you live in Bristol it is well worth a visit.

5826. Purdown (66)

Acer One, Purdown, Bristol, January 2024
Acer One, Purdown, Bristol, January 2024

Acer One struck gold with this concept of building a geometric design around an impossible triangle, and this is a sister piece to one he painted about a month or so back. The piece plays tricks with the eyes, because everything inside the concentric hexagonal stripes is three dimensional , which makes the centrepiece stand out from the wall.

Acer One, Purdown, Bristol, January 2024
Acer One, Purdown, Bristol, January 2024

There is a lot of skill to designing and painting geometric pieces like this and there is absolutely no room for error. Unfortunately there were some people sitting on top of the concrete block, and so I have tried to crop them out of the photographs, which is a pity, because it would have been nice to get a shot from a little more distance. These studies by Acer One are a rather fine direction of travel in my view.

Acer One, Purdown, Bristol, December 2023
Acer One, Purdown, Bristol, December 2023

5811. Greville Smyth Park (1)

Acer One and Andy Council, Greville Smyth Park, Bristol, January 2024
Acer One and Andy Council, Greville Smyth Park, Bristol, January 2024

The bunch of small buildings in the southeast corner of Greville Smyth Park have served as a canvas for the last few Upfest festivals, and this wall has recently been ‘dressed’ with this outstanding collaboration from Acer One and Andy Council. From the colours, you might pick up that this piece recognises and supports the plight of the Palestinian people, and Acer One offers a full explanation of the piece in his Instagram feed.

Acer One and Andy Council, Greville Smyth Park, Bristol, January 2024
Acer One and Andy Council, Greville Smyth Park, Bristol, January 2024

The letters SPEAK BIRD are beautifully presented by Acer One with his characteristic black shadow. The birds, which look like bee eaters to me, are by Andy Council. The one on the right is rather disturbingly composed of bombs and missiles. Both elements of the piece are beautifully painted and the words poignant once you know the back-story to the piece. I wish it would all just end.

5743. Purdown (63)

Acer One, Purdown, Bristol, December 2023
Acer One, Purdown, Bristol, December 2023

I’m not sure that I have seen any work by Acer One at the Purdown spot before, but with this piece I think he has earned the freedom of the City (metaphorically speaking at least). An utterly mesmerising piece with a pink triangle interlocking with a white cube with hexagonal holes – a masterpiece of geometric design.

Acer One, Purdown, Bristol, December 2023
Acer One, Purdown, Bristol, December 2023

The pink works so well against the black and white hexagons in this piece, and the whole thing is a beacon of classy artwork on the top of a bleak hill. This looks like a bit of a new direction for Acer One, and another new piece (to follow I hope) has some similar design ideas. 2024 could be an exciting year for the artist.

5349. Cumberland Basin

Acer One, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, June 2023
Acer One, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, June 2023

The first time I saw this piece from Acer One, I was puzzled by it, because it was a simple black piece of writing, and if I am perfectly honest I was slightly underwhelmed. I was also being incredibly thick, because it was a work in progress, and a few days later he returned to complete it. It turns out that the black was the shadow, and I should have known that. It also provides a little insight into how Acer One layers his work.

Acer One, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2023
Acer One, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2023

The writing says ‘it’s all love’, which I think most people could probably rally behind. The letters adopt Acer One’s favoured colour palettes of the moment, showing the light spectrum sequence of colours. Appropriate too, perhaps, as we mark Pride Month, which I am guessing this piece might have been a precursor to.

Acer One, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, June 2023
Acer One, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, June 2023

It is always great to see Acer One’s work, and he has made this particular spot his own. I thought I’d include this shot of my dog’s rear end for good measure.

5209. Brunel Way (205)

Acer One, Dibz, Jody and Turoe, Brunel Way, Bristol, April 2023
Acer One, Dibz, Jody and Turoe, Brunel Way, Bristol, April 2023

This is an absolute classic collaboration from the crème de la crème of Bristol graffiti writing and street art, from Acer One, Dibz, Jody and Turoe, taking up the entire length of the bridge support wall under Brunel Way.

Acer One, Brunel Way, Bristol, April 2023
Acer One, Brunel Way, Bristol, April 2023

First off is aclean and ticy ACER from Acer One, with a lovely colour transition from top left to bottom right. The stylised font is accompanied by a trademark shadow, giving the illusion that the letters are standing out from the wall.

Dibz, Brunel Way, Bristol, April 2023
Dibz, Brunel Way, Bristol, April 2023

Next up is a wonderful piece of writing from Dibz. I hardly need to say too much about Dibz’ writing that I haven’t said before. Tight and classy – perfection itself really. It is a miracle that something like this is created using spray cans.

Jody, Brunel Way, Bristol, April 2023
Jody, Brunel Way, Bristol, April 2023

Jody has definitely come up trumps with an outstanding Satanic portrait piece, that is as good a character piece that I have seen anywhere this year. There is so much texture and depth in the face, which seems to be bursting through the wall and coming at ya. Just brilliant.

Turoe, Brunel Way, Bristol, April 2023
Turoe, Brunel Way, Bristol, April 2023

The collaborative wall is rounded off with a superb piece of graffiti writing from Turoe, who doesn’t hit the streets too often these days, but when he does, turns out high quality pieces like this. The black background, blue bubbles and cosmic cloud theme run through all four pieces drawing them together as part of a collaborative presentation. An absolute treat for the people of Bristol.