6215. Brunel Way (279)

Acer One, Dibz, Jody and Fade, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2024
Acer One, Dibz, Jody and Fade, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2024

I don’t think that I have ever seen so many production pieces as I have this year. The driving force behind these productions is the Dibz/Fade FUA brotherhood, and they have been oh so busy over the last eighteen months or so. In this full wall piece, they have been joined by Acer One and Jody, and what an amazing piece it is (gone now of course – overpainted by further FUA productions).

Acer One, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2024
Acer One, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2024
Acer One, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2024
Acer One, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2024

The production is bookended by two pieces by Acer One using his highly designed lettering spelling out ACER on the left-hand side and JODY on the right-hand side, thus ensuring that all four artists are named overtly in the production. The writing is painted over a moon/sun icon, and commensurate with the oriental feel of the entire collaboration.

Dibz, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2024
Dibz, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2024
Fade, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2024
Fade, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2024

There is a second set of inner bookends provided by Dibz and Fade, who present their wildstyle writing in a similar style and adopting an identical colour palette and decorations. In terms of painting, these two are brothers from different mothers, and while it is possible to tell the art of one from the other, it is becoming more difficult to do so.

Jody, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2024
Jody, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2024

Everything about the production points towards the centrepiece which is provided, as is often the case, by Jody, and he has surpassed even his very high standards with this astonishingly beautiful portrait piece. Jody has been working on this robot/human interface a fair bit lately, and this follows on from his remarkable Upfest piece (not yet posted here). It is the detail in the piece here that is so admirable, the hair and garland, the features of the face, machinery in the neck and patterns on the kimono. The portrait is a fitting climax to the whole production and shown how the coming together of different elements complement one another in perfect balance. Awesome stuff.

Jody, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2024
Jody, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2024

6160. Dean Lane skate park (728)

Fade, Andy Council and Acer One, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2024
Fade, Andy Council and Acer One, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2024

What I love about recording and writing about street/graffiti in Bristol is the enormous array of quality, experience and styles that I get to see – it is never boring, and I love to try and represent it all here. This is an extraordinary ‘high-end’ production from Fade, Andy Council and Acer One. I get the feeling from the balance of the piece that Fade may have been an opportunistic addition to this piece, but has integrated perfectly with the colour scheme and tone,

Fade, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2024
Fade, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2024

Fade, using all his experience, manages to create such a tight finish to all of his work, and it feels like there is never any part of it that is untidy or out of place. His letters spell FADE, and are filled beautifully in black fading to brown. The writing is set on a stunning grey/brown cloud that runs through the whole collaboration.

Andy Council and Acer One, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2024
Andy Council and Acer One, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2024

The balanced symmetry of the Acer One and Andy Council element of the collaboration is what makes me think that Fade was an add-on. It comprises one of Acer One’s designs that he is currently favouring, which is accompanied by two of Andy Council’s famous Ammonites.

Acer One, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2024
Acer One, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2024

Acer One has come up with this incredibly clever and intricate concept, where two words are incorporated into one design – something he has done before, but is now more refined. Some of the words are easier than others to see. The upper chrome lettering spells ACERONE and the lower black letters spell COUNCIL. If you block off the upper or lower part, it is easier to read the names.

Andy Council, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2024
Andy Council, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2024

I love it that Andy Council will often return to his ammonites in his mural work. They obviously hold an important part in his work because his signature incorporates one. These creatures are ‘composites’ made up of elements ‘stitched’ together in Andy Council’s unique and inimitable style. This is overall a brilliant production, and a precursor to a larger one including Dibz and Jody… watch this space.

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.