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.

5096. Dean Lane skate park (576)

Acer One, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2023
Acer One, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2023

There have been many tributes to Shimmer, since he passed away, indicating the loss felt by the street art community in Bristol. This is the second tribute piece by Acer One on this wall to Shimmer, who appears to have felt the loss particularly strongly.

Acer One, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2023
Acer One, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2023

As always, Acer One’s execution is clean and precise, geometry being his modus operandi. As we might expect, the beautifully designed letter font, of hollow letters, has two shadows, one black and one purple, giving the writing depth. Some tight colour transitions in the letters themselves, completes this fine work, which I expect to occupy this wall for some time.

Acer One, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2023
Acer One, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2023

5020. Dean Lane skate park (565)

Acer One, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2023
Acer One, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2023

I just happened to be in Dean Lane skate park as Acer One was starting this piece. It was quite busy down there at the time, with Silver (thank you, Paul H for reminding me) painting opposite, DJ Perks who had just finished a piece on the pool wall (I think) and Peggy was on the sloping wall near the raised skate park, painting a floral piece. I do like it when there are lots of people to chat with.

Acer One, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2023
Acer One, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2023

The wonderful piece, by Acer One, is a tribute to Shimmer, another artist taken away from us far too early in life. It is clear that Shimmer was a popular character, and there are tribute pieces all over the city dedicated to him. There is a lovely sense of order and geometry in this piece, but of course there is, it is by Acer One after all. Acer One uses a long ruler with a handle to achieve his straight lines, but you can see that he has also used the brick course to keep everything flush. A fine tribute.

5010. Chatterton Square (7)

Acer One and Andy Council, Chatterton Square, Bristol, December 2023
Acer One and Andy Council, Chatterton Square, Bristol, December 2023

Although I photographed this piece reasonably recently (back in December), it actually dates from October 2022. It is yet another fine combination from painting pals Acer One and Andy Council, and what a productive year they both had in 2022.

Acer One and Andy Council, Chatterton Square, Bristol, December 2023
Acer One and Andy Council, Chatterton Square, Bristol, December 2023

To the left is a rather nice birthday shout out by Acer to fellow graffiti writer Ziml, painted in the stylised font that is by now so familiar on the streets of Bristol. To the right is a Cheech Wizard, by Andy Council, constructed out of buildings and other component parts. It has just occurred to me while writing this column that the way Andy Council composes his work resembles the work of the incredible 16th Century Italian artist Giuseppe Arcimboldo, who painted portraits composed of fruit and vegetables. I never thought I’d be writing that in Natural Adventures, but there you go.

4928. Temple Way (5)

Acer One and Andy Council, Temple Way, Bristol, December 2022
Acer One and Andy Council, Temple Way, Bristol, December 2022

I have driven past this piece countless times on my way to Temple Meads station, and always meant to stop for a couple of pictures, but I only got round to it about a month ago…it sometimes happens you know.

Acer One and Andy Council, Temple Way, Bristol, December 2022
Acer One and Andy Council, Temple Way, Bristol, December 2022

The innovative collaboration is by Acer One and Andy Council, who have done so many collaborative pieces in recent years, and rarely produce anything other than outstanding work. The piece is entitled Hybrid, and I am guessing that it is a reference to their different styles working together. The collaboration feels a bit like a half-finished page from a colouring in book, and I wonder whether Andy Council has considered producing a colouring book… on this evidence he could probably create a whole new income stream.

A fabulous collaboration, shared with you at last.

4920. St Werburghs tunnel (332)

Acer One, St Werburghs, Bristol, December 2022
Acer One, St Werburghs, Bristol, December 2022

Happy New Year! I am in good shape this morning, as my boozing days are largely over and I had a quiet night in last night with just me and Mrs Scooj and the dog. We had been planning a small party, but Mrs Scooj was hit with a rather nasty bug, so that put an end to that.

It was a very cold day indeed when I met Acer One prepping this piece so I was able to stop for a chat and ask him about the piece, as he was using letters I was not familiar with. Acer One explained that it was a tribute piece for a recently deceased friend to many artists in the Bristol community, Dring.

Acer One, St Werburghs, Bristol, December 2022
Acer One, St Werburghs, Bristol, December 2022

The colours used in this piece are sober and the design gentle, without quite so many straight lines and angles that we are used to seeing from Acer One. A fitting tribute to a man who obviously had a profound impact on the artist. RIP Dring.

4911. Dean Lane skate park (554)

Acer One and Andy Council, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2022
Acer One and Andy Council, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2022

Here is more prof that we do occasionally get the odd sprinkling of snow here in Bristol. I took these pictures about two weeks ago, and this collaboration is a very nice tribute to a close friend of many artists, Dring, who sadly passed away recently. You couldn’t want for a finer tribute than this one by Acer One and Andy Council.

Acer One and Andy Council, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2022
Acer One and Andy Council, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2022

The letters are by Acer One, beautifully designed with a sensational two-part graded fill and double shadow. The robot monster character (iconic character Chechen Wizard – thank you Paul H) in the middle is by Andy Council and is representative of a new direction being adopted by the artist – it will be interesting to see where this leads. OK – I have to sign off now for a couple of days of family revelry.

4858. Dean Lane skate park (543)

Dibz and Acer One, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2022
Dibz and Acer One, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2022

Two of the greats of the contemporary street art scene in Bristol, Dibz and Acer One, have come together to create this magnificent collaborative wall in Deal Lane. You could hardly get two more contrasting styles of writing side-by-side – perhaps the inclusion of someone like Stivs or Mudra might just do it.

Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2022
Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2022

Set on a buffed duck-egg blue wall, Dibz has painted one of his outstanding wildstyle pieces, which would normally spell DIBZ, but in this case it says EVIE. Using the tried and tested pink and blue (lilac) combination for the letters, Dibz has contrasted it with little yellow/orange squares, which personally speaking, I don’t think work very well with the background wall colour, and leaves me feeling a little queezy.

Acer One, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2022
Acer One, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2022

To the right, Acer One, who I was fortunate enough to have a long chat with yesterday in the tunnel, has also written something different. The name TOBY is the focus of this piece, which was a birthday tribute piece for his son. What better present could a person wish for? Some great colours in the letters, and the customary double shadow together create an amazing 3D effect, with the letters really standing out from the wall. Happy belated birthday, Toby.

4801. Cumberland Basin

Andy Council and Acer One, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, October 2022
Andy Council and Acer One, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, October 2022

There is something very comforting about the collaborative efforts from Andy Council and Acer One, particularly as their styles are so utterly different, and yet they find ways to combine them or create a read-across between them.

Andy Council, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, October 2022
Andy Council, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, October 2022

Andy Council’s contribution is an unusual piece, bilaterally symmetrical, that appears to have a skull at its centre. Everything else appears to be decorative, but there might be significance – I can only see wings, possible. As I mentioned before, the segue into Acer One’s work is the white line behind Andy Council’s piece.

Acer One, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, October 2022
Acer One, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, October 2022

In a temporary departure from geometric letters, Acer One gives us a rather pleasing geometric pattern with his current passion for using rainbow colours emanating out from the centre (Richard Of York Gave Battle In Vain). The collaboration is set to remain for a while, as this particular spot is rarely tagged or painted. Great work from the pair.

4714. Chatterton Square (5)

Acer One and Andy Council, Chatterton Square, Bristol, September 2022
Acer One and Andy Council, Chatterton Square, Bristol, September 2022

One of the great joys of the long hot summer has been the frequency of pieces and collaborations from Acer One and Andy Council, two of Bristol’s best established and well know artists. Their sharply contrasting styles seem to work so well together, and this piece is one of the best examples of a truly collaborative effort.

Acer One and Andy Council, Chatterton Square, Bristol, September 2022
Acer One and Andy Council, Chatterton Square, Bristol, September 2022

Acer One is responsible for the incredible geometric background and the rainbow curve (with all the right colours in the right order), creating a perfect backdrop for Andy Council’s prehistoric creatures. Andy Council has been painting these ammonites an awful lot recently, but these ones are absolute beauties. I love the way the tentacles of the ammonites interact with Acer’s rainbow line. A very classy piece indeed.