Slightly coincidentally, I published a gallery of Mr Crawls’ work this morning, which included this wonderful bird character as the most recent picture in the gallery. Scroll back eighteen months or so, and this piece feels like it is a modernised version of one of the first pieces I saw by Mr Crawls. Something that both he and his painting partner Mote have done exceptionally well is gently upgrade their styles, and this one may be setting the scene for Mr Crawls for the year to come.
Mr Crawls, Greenbank, Bristol, January 2025
The bird portrait is highly stylised, rather than caricature, and the boxy look creates a completely different sensation for the viewer. Even though the lines are straight, for the most part, Mr Crawls has managed to squeeze out some expression and emotion in the bird’s face. There is a lot to like about this style, and I’ll be interested to see if he takes us in a new direction.
Mr Crawls, Greenbank, Bristol, January 2025Mote and Mr Crawls, Cattle Market Road, Bristol, December 2024Mr Crawls, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2024Mr Crawls, Redcliffe Way, Bristol, October 2024Mr Crawls and Mote, Redcliffe Way, Bristol, October 2024Mr Crawls, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2024Mr Crawls, Purdown, Bristol, August 2024Mr Crawls, M32 Spot, Bristol, July 2024Mote and Mr Crawls, Cumberland Basin, Bristol,July 2024Mr Crawls, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2024Mr Crawls, Ashton Avenue, Bristol, July 2024Mr Crawls, Ashton Avenue, Bristol, July 2024Mote and Mr Crawls, Jubilee Street, Bristol, July 2024Mote and Mr Crawls, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, June 2024Mr Crawls, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2024Mr Crawls and Mote, Cattle Market Road, Bristol April 2024Mr Crawls, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2024Mr Crawls, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2024Mr Crawls, Brunel Way, Bristol, March 2024Mr Crawls and Mote, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2024Mr Crawls, River Avon, Bristol, February 2024Mote and Mr Crawls, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2024Mr Crawls and Mote, Cattle Market Road, Bristol, February 2024Mr Crawls and Mote, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, January 2024Mr Crawls, Greenbank, Bristol, January 2024Mr Crawls and Mote, St Werburghs, Bristol, January 2024Mr Crawls and Mote, St Werburghs, Bristol, January 2024Mr Crawls, Greenbank, Bristol, January 2023Mr Crawls, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, January 2024Mr Crawls and Mote, Jubilee Street, Bristol, December 2023Mr Crawls, M32 roundabout, Bristol, December 2023Mr Crawls and Mote, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2023Mr Crawls, St Werburghs, Bristol, December 2023Mr Crawls and Mote, Peel Street Green, Bristol, November 2023Mr Crawls, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2023Mr Crawls and Mote, Brunel Way, Bristol, October 2023Mr Crawls, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, October 2023Mr Crawls, M32 Spot, Bristol, October 2023Mr Crawls, St Werburghs, Bristol, September 2023Mr Crawls, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, September 2023Mr Crawls, Brunel Way, Bristol, September 2023Mr Crawls, M32 roundabout, Bristol, Agust 2023Mr Crawls, Brunel Way, Bristol, August 2023Mr Crawls, St Werburghs, Bristol, May 2023
Mr Crawls and Mote, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2024
Although they appear to have slowed down ever so slightly, Mote and Mr Crawls continue to keep us entertained with their creative monster collaborations. This one on the swimming pool wall has quite a festive feel about it, although it is a little early for Christmas, not that anyone told the supermarkets!
Mr Crawls, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2024
Set on a gold background, which is a progression from their recent penchant for chrome, Mr Crawls has painted one of his bird characters, it might be a penguin, looking mighty cold, wearing a woolly hat and with icicles dangling from its bill. The coloured blobs dotted around the character work incredibly well, adding a dimension our feathered friend.
Mote, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2024
Mote has created a monster unlike any other, but which holds a certain fascination in its unusualness. Some aspects of the character resemble ET, but I think that this is coincidental rather than planned. There is something a little haunting about this monster, which I guess is appropriate for the Halloween period.
Mr Crawls and Mote, Redcliffe Way, Bristol, October 2024
A quick one today as I need to get myself sorted for a day of fishing. This is a magnificent pair of characters from Mr Crawls and Mote… the gift that keeps on giving. The piece can be found on the hoardings opposite Temple Meads station.
Mr Crawls and Mote, Redcliffe Way, Bristol, October 2024
The trademark chrome background helps to lift the characters and give them prominence. A bird with a hat from Mr Crawls, and a lovesick monster from Mote. What’s not to like about these characters?
The curved wall in Dean Lane skate park is one of the most iconic and popular in Bristol as evidenced by the thick layers of paint that periodically peel off, often more than a centimetre thick. You can get a feel for the popularity of the wall from my updated ‘one wall many faces’ gallery of this wall
Mr Crawls, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2024
Mr Crawls has done us proud with one of his bird characters that have become so familiar around the city. One of the things that I love about his work is that he is constantly evolving and that even though he may return to former themes and subjects he always incorporates new elements that he has picked up along the way. This is a particularly attractive bird.
This is a wonderful one-off piece that simply appeared in Exeter Road recently, and is something of an enigma. It is by an artist, Greg Stobbs, who from what I can make out is an illustrator. It turns out on digging a bit deeper that Greg Stobbs is Squirl of Squirl Art, who has appeared on these pages in the context of his Upfest pieces.
Greg Stobbs, Exeter Road, Bristol, September 2024
I am guessing that the piece is a commission, perhaps brokered by the Upfest team. However it came to be painted, it is absolutely wonderful and straight out of the children’s picture book style of street art. The branch and bird look very much at home on this rather tatty wall, and I very much hope that we see more of Greg Stobbs’ illustrative work in Bristol before too long.
When I first encountered Mr Crawls, it was his pieces of birds that first caught my eye, and although he has come on quite a way from his early Bristol pieces, with the encouragement of his painting partner Mote, this particular piece up at Purdown is a bit of a throwback.
Mr Crawls, Purdown, Bristol, August 2024
The particular type of bird is a little difficult to nail down. The colour of the beak and head would suggest a gull, but the shape of the beak is far more raptor-like. I guess it doesn’t actually matter, because the joy of creative art is that you can conjure up imaginary things and situations. This is a fun piece from the productive Mr Crawls.
Epod 3000, Cheltenham Paint Festival 2024, Dunalley Street, Cheltenham, July 2024
Good morning and welcome to another brand-new week. What better way to kick off than with the third trio of pieces photographed at this year’s Cheltenham Paint Festival? One of the notable things about the festival, which I am sure I will return to at some point, is that Andy ‘Dice’ Davies and his organising team are constantly finding new walls to decorate, meaning that existing murals get to stay where they are, constantly growing the outdoor gallery, which becomes an increasing draw for visitors and inward investment. If only the festival was able to gain more confidence from funders, which I know was a real struggle this year.
Epod 3000, Cheltenham Paint Festival 2024, Dunalley Street, Cheltenham, July 2024
Fresh from his appearance at Upfest in Bristol, Epod, who is firmly on the festival circuit, produced this beauty on the side of the Holiday Inn Express, enhancing the visual value of the building tenfold at least. A stunning portrait of a beautiful woman with a sound system in her hair… and why not?
Fark, Cheltenham Paint Festival 2024, North Place car park, Cheltenham, July 2024
Next up is this very neat and tidy piece from Fark, who has become a CPF favourite and who managed to wheatpaste up his name pretty much everywhere I went in the town. A view, a rainbow and a bird – you cannot go wrong.
Wolfskulljack, Cheltenham Paint Festival 2024, Two Pigs, Cheltenham, July 2024
Finally, another favourite at the CPF is Wolfskulljack whose Gothic-style Posca pen sketches are utterly captivating and technically brilliant. Her study of animals and their form is a joy to behold, and there is always a sense of menace or threat about her work.
I’ll be posting more from Cheltenham in due course.