I am not 100 percent sure that this piece by Mr Draws is quite there, but I fully admire what he is doing and that he is stretching himself, moving into new and challenging territory. He tells me he is going to be doing more of this environmentally themed work in future, although he will also still be creating his unique writing.
Mr Draws, Brunel Way, Bristol, September 2023
The inspiration for this cow piece came from a picture by George Stubbs, an artist who Mr Draws has recently come across. The cow-zebra drifts in and out of the green background that has a kind of aurora borealis look to it. An interesting and unusual style that I am assured we will be seeing more of from Mr Draws.
Mr Draws appears to have found a new energy this summer, which is great to see, and he has been painting both his writing pieces and some interesting studies, mostly linked to nature. This is a colourful piece, notable mainly for its wonderful patchwork of fills.
Mr Draws, Brunel Way, Bristol, August 2023
If I were to categorise Mr Draws’ work I would call it right out of the ‘Bristol School’ of street art. His style and that of others, like the PWA crew and RAW, is a stamp that, while not unique to Bristol, definitely belongs in Bristol. The colour fills appear to be random, not following any particular pattern, but have a freedom that lightens any intensity. A piece that is easy on the eye and full of positive vibes. Off to catch some more fish today.
Dibz, Cheo and Fade, Brunel Way, Bristol, September 2023
I don’t often place work in progress (WIP) shots as the feature image, preferring to have the completed piece in all its glory, but in this instance I have gone for it, showing three masters at work, Dibz, Cheo and Fade.
Dibz, Brunel Way, Bristol, September 2023
The turnover on this wall this year has been quite staggering, and the bar has been raised a few notches on the quality of pieces that appear there. On the left Dibz has done his stuff with pin-point accuracy and a crispness that is synonymous with his work.
Cheo, Brunel Way, Bristol, September 2023
The beast of a piece in the middle is by Cheo, and is frankly utterly brilliant. The overweight character is holding a spray can (a popular theme I have commented on many times in this blog) and looking like he might have had a beer too many the night before. The genius of the piece is the ‘Hello Kitty’ underpants creeping out of the top of the character’s trousers. The hairy belly and five o’clock shadow are nice touches too.
Fade, Brunel Way, Bristol, September 2023
To the right, Fade reflects the colours, and to a certain extent the style, of Dibz’ writing on the other side of Cheo’s character. There is some mirroring of fills and drips too. The key difference between the two is the complexity of the design and thickness of the letters. Perhaps one day it will not be possible to distinguish between the two. A superb Triptych.
Bean has more than made his mark in Bristol, and his characters have livened things up a great deal. He is on a roll and there doesn’t seem to be any stopping him. This colourful piece under Brunel Way, featuring two characters and some writing, shows how the young artist is quickly growing in confidence and improving his technical skills.
Bean, Brunel Way, Bristol, September 2023
The characters that Bean paints have a very distinct look in a cartoon style that relies on using two tones of each colour in each section of the piece, light and dark, to create some depth. There isn’t much blending of colour or use of highlights, that some artists use to create depth. Bean’s writing is free in form, and very nicely filled. This is an artist who seems to be in a hurry and is turning out imaginative pieces at an alarming rate.
I am in Cleethorpes. This is something I never imagined I would say. I am here for work, and of course using the opportunity to find some street art and photograph a door or two. Watch this space in a month or two. This wall that Mr Crawls has chosen was painted three times in the space of a week, having been unpainted for months before that.
Mr Crawls, Brunel Way, Bristol, September 2023
I really like this one from Mr Crawls, a return to the gull character in parrot colours. It is really well finished with sharp lines. What is new is the signature, it is the first time I have seen one, and now he seems to be sticking with it. We have seen a gull, a goose and a parrot. Does Mr Crawls have some more birds in his closet?
I really enjoy the work of Solar, and his work feels all the more enigmatic because I have never met him and know practically nothing about him other than his artwork. His lettering verges on anti-style, without going the full hog, it touches on abstract, but not quite.
Solar, Brunel Way, Bristol, September 2023
It is often the colour palette that first invites you to look closer at Solar’s pieces, and this scorching colour combination has an earthy, lava, fiery feel to it, tempered by the green fragments around the edges. The piece spells out Solar, and by chance the yellow patches reflect the sun splashed dapples of light to the bottom left of the wall. Great stuff from Solar.
I caught up with Dopes and Fade for a little while as Dopes was finishing off this piece on the long wall alongside the River Avon. We chatted for a while, which was enjoyable and informative. Just as Dopes was packed up and leaving, he glanced at the piece and commented that the ‘D’ was all wrong and looked a little distorted. I have to say that I hadn’t noticed, but there you have it, artists know what they want and are deeply critical of their own work, and they always notice the little defects.
Dopes, Brunel Way, Bristol, August 2023
Chrome pieces are prized in the graffiti community, but I have to say that they are not my favourite, and I think they are probably more of a graffiti culture thing as much as anything else. As I would expect from Dopes, this is neatly done with consistent patterning and styling throughout.
It feels like Pl8o has slowed down a little, especially compared to previous years, although that may be in part due to the fact that I haven’t seen much of his work, which doesn’t necessarily equate to a slowdown in activity by an artist. It was great therefore to find this piece on the long wall under Brunel Way.
Pl8o, Brunel Way, Bristol, August 2023
I think that Pl8o hit the jackpot when he selected his letter/number combination, as there is something aesthetically pleasing about the shapes of the letters that flow together brilliantly, especially the way he paints them. These letters are filled nicely and the ‘8’ is represented by an alien cartoon style character. A fun and welcome appearance from Pl8o.
Fade, Jody and Dibz, Brunel Way, Bristol, August 2023
We are blessed in Bristol to have so many outstanding graffiti artists, and I have to remind myself how privileged we are to be able to enjoy such awesome free art, that most towns and cities in the country simply don’t get to experience. Three of the best artists, Dibz, Jody and Fade combined to give us this amazing Ghostbusters triptych, alongside Ryder, whose piece I will post soon.
Fade, Brunel Way, Bristol, August 2023
To the left in spooky blue and green colours is writing by Fade, but just to confuse things, he has written DIBZ in a sot of mutual respect thing going on between the artists. Underneath are the letters RDA and RFK, which, if I am honest, I don’t know what they stand for, but are presumably crew names. Great crisp clean letters with a glow of green ghostly ectoplasm.
Jody, Brunel Way, Bristol, August 2023
In the middle is a piece by Jody, which convinces me that he is one of the most talented and versatile character/portrait artists in Bristol, has painted Slimer, the iconic ghost from the film franchise. The fact that this year Jody has painted a range of pieces including a demon, a hooded woman, a renaissance portrait (using brushes) Barbie and now Slime, simply demonstrates that he can turn his hand to pretty much anything.
Dibz, Brunel Way, Bristol, August 2023
To the right, the letters from Dibz are as perfect as ever. Dibz has been smashing it all year long and shows no signs of slowing down. He is painting so fast that some of his pieces are getting left behind in my archive – an unthinkable state of affairs. Yet another epic wall in this year of epic walls.
Absolutely brilliant! It feels like a long time since Mr Underbite last hit the streets and here he is on a wall that he has occupied at least twice before now. Looking splendid on a lavender background, this black and white version of our hero looks very fine.
Mr Underbite, Brunel Way, Bristol, August 2023
There are a number of similarities between the look and feel of Mr Underbite, and Asre’s character portraits from a year or two back, but I think I have come to the conclusion that they are not the same artist. In this piece our hapless friend is wearing a flat beanie, the best kind, which we used to call a Bennie hat, after the character in Crossroads. Indeed, the rather unflattering name that the squaddies in the Falkland Islands bestowed upon the Falklanders was ‘Bennies’ a term that had become naturalised by the time I arrived there in 1987.
Natural adventures 