Tag: Andy Council

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.

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.

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.

4668. Dean Lane skate park (522)

Andy Council, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2022
Andy Council, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2022

You have to be quick these days to photograph pieces before they get tagged. I decided to post this piece, by Andy Council, in spite of the tags, because most of it is intact. I completely missed another piece by Andy Council in collaboration with Ments in Cumberland Basin, which had been tagged and abused recently, after only a day or so. Furthermore, I get that it is a jungle out there and that there are ‘no rules’ but the toys who show so little respect are pathetic really, dissing artists whilst having zero talent of their own. Ever was it thus.

Andy Council, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2022
Andy Council, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2022

This is a lovely ‘quick one’, I imagine, from Andy Council with some trilobites and an ammonite – trademark creatures from the artist. I rather like the shot of the skater in the first photograph – Dean Lane at its best.

4627. Dean Lane skate park (517)

Andy Council, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2022
Andy Council, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2022

I can’t think of a time when Andy Council was busier painting murals on our streets, although he might well have been more active before I started writing about street art in 2015. I’m not complaining, moind, I am always super-happy to see his work.

Andy Council, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2022
Andy Council, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2022

This is a wonderful rendition in his customary style of an archaeopteryx, I would guess from memory of dinosaur books I used to read as a kid. Andy Council has captured all the elements of the beast with a collection of shapes, which when viewed as a whole create this amazing precursor to birds. So good to see and beautifully painted.

4607. Dean Lane skate park (513)

It is so obvious that most street artists do what they do because they love doing it. It is as simple as that. This is perfectly demonstrated by a scattering of small pieces by Andy Council recently in the Dean Lane and Brunel Way spots.

Andy Council, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2022
Andy Council, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2022

Andy Council has had a long fascination with prehistoric creatures, he even incorporates an ammonite into his signature. His dinosaurs and other creatures can be found all over the city, but these are small, fleeting, fun pieces painted for the sheer hell of it.

Andy Council, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2022
Andy Council, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2022

I think that the creatures are trilobites or at least related to them and seem to blend in so well in all of the locations selected, it is as if they were always meant to be there in this urban ecosystem.

Andy Council, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2022
Andy Council, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2022

Beautifully observed and nicely painted, these four pieces (there may have been some others that I missed) add colour and interest to our great city. Thank you Andy Council.

4559. Dean Lane skate park (507)

It has been observed by many that Andy Council is absolutely on fire this year. There seems to be no stopping him. Maybe he has more free time on his hands, maybe the commissions have dried up or maybe he is just getting out more doing what he loves with his friends. The upshot, whatever the reason, is that there are some sensational pieces coming from Andy Council and this double ammonite/nautilus piece is simply wonderful.

Andy Council, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2022
Andy Council, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2022

What is interesting about Andy Council is that he seems to be really modest. As one of the best known artists in Bristol, he doesn’t seem to be ‘bigger’ than any wall, and he seems to be as happy painting smaller walls as he would be on some of the larger ‘feature’ walls. This playful piece has, I believe, been recently ‘augmented’ so I am happy to have got a clean copy of it. More to come soon.

4538. Sparke Evans Park (49)

I am not well today and don’t feel particularly inclined to write any posts or do anything, frankly. Then I saw who was up next for today’s posts and felt a little better.

Andy Council, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, June 2022
Andy Council, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, June 2022

This piece by Andy Council Looks like a beautiful Chinese dragon, and has been painted in muted colours using his stitching style. A pink tongue cleverly joins this piece to the writing next to it, both of which were painted during a paint jam in Sparke Evans Park. The pictures were taken in the evening, and the colours haven’t ‘travelled’ very well.