6049. Peel Street Green (31)

Desi and Mr Two Gram, Peel Street Green, Bristol, May 2024
Desi and Mr Two Gram, Peel Street Green, Bristol, May 2024

Peel Street Green is a really great spot for showcasing your work, and Desi and Mr Two Gram have absolutely smashed it with this colourful and cheerful themed collaborative wall. I particularly like the inclusion of characters, which is something neither of these artists does all that often, but they should, because these are brilliant.

Desi, Peel Street Green, Bristol, May 2024
Desi, Peel Street Green, Bristol, May 2024

Desi has returned to writing DESI, after a spell of writing VEIL, and appears to write with such confidence and flair these days. Her work has really come on in leaps and bounds, and her finishing has improved no end. The character, with pink overtones, in keeping with the writing, looks, stylistically, like a character from the Dexter’s Laboratory cartoon series. A great combo piece.

Mr Two Gram, Peel Street Green, Bristol, May 2024
Mr Two Gram, Peel Street Green, Bristol, May 2024

Mr Two Gram and I had a long conversation a little while ago, under the M32, during which I asked him whether he ever painted characters, and he replied that it was something he was considering… well I am glad that he did, because this combination of writing and cartoon character is superb. Mr Two Gram’s letters are so distinctive and always neatly turned out, and the colour scheme works well here too. As with Desi’s piece, the hair and eyes match the writing, ensuring the character is relevant to the piece. Great work and a wonderful collaborative extravaganza.

5986. Brunel Way (270)

Bean, Brunel Way, Bristol, April 2024
Bean, Brunel Way, Bristol, April 2024

The wonderful thing about art is that you can create situations or landscapes or portraits and so on that are utterly fictional, unlikely, impossible, weird and that you are in control of this creative universe. Alternatively, some artists try to capture real life either through accurate representations or abstract interpretations. Bean has painted something verging on the weird side with this piece.

Bean, Brunel Way, Bristol, April 2024
Bean, Brunel Way, Bristol, April 2024

The character, who is wearing a rather curious hat, is holding his, or somebody else’s severed legs from which blue gloop is gushing. I’ll not attempt to interpret the piece, which is exceptionally painted in Bean’s trademark two-tone colour cartoon style. An entertaining and curious piece.

5985. M32 Cycle path (263)

Biers, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, April 2024
Biers, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, April 2024

Biers has been rolling out a good deal of wonderful writing/character combination pieces over the last year or so, and is deeply embedded in a rich vein of form. This piece is painted along the narrowest stretch of cycle path and getting pictures, even with wide angle capability, is tricky at best.

Biers, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, April 2024
Biers, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, April 2024

The WD40 letters are filled with a magnificent blue patterning, with some awesome designs floating on rippled blues. The character is Courage the Cowardly Dog, from a cartoon series screened in the late ’90s early ’00s, which passed me by completely – I was too busy trying to be a grown up. Set on a deep red background, this is a classy piece of work from Biers.

Bean

A gallery of outstanding cartoon characters and writing from Bristol artist Bean

Instagram: @ceelo_bean

All photographs by Scooj

Bean, Brunel Way, Bristol, April 2024
Bean, Brunel Way, Bristol, April 2024
Bean, M32 Cycle path, Bristol April 2024
Bean, M32 Cycle path, Bristol April 2024
Bean, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2024
Bean, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2024
Bean, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2024
Bean, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2024
Bean, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2023
Bean, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2023
Bean, Greenbank, Bristol, October 2023
Bean, Greenbank, Bristol, October 2023
Bean, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, October 2023
Bean, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, October 2023
Bean, Brunel Way, Bristol, September 2023
Bean, Brunel Way, Bristol, September 2023
Bean, Brunel Way, Bristol, September 2023
Bean, Brunel Way, Bristol, September 2023
Bean, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2023
Bean, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2023
Bean, Brunel Way, Bristol, August 2023
Bean, Brunel Way, Bristol, August 2023
Bean, Brunel Way, Bristol, August 2023
Bean, Brunel Way, Bristol, August 2023
Klashwhensober and Bean, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2023
Klashwhensober and Bean, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2023
Bean, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2023
Bean, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2023
Bean, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2023
Bean, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2023
Bean, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2023
Bean, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2023
Bean, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, April 2023
Bean, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, April 2023
Bean, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2023
Bean, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2023

5949. Dean Lane skate park (705)

Bean, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2024
Bean, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2024

The Easter break from his studies has been a productive time for Bean, and I expect we’ll be fortunate enough to see a whole load more in the summer holiday. With each piece, Bean’s work appears to get more sophisticated in both composition and execution.

Bean, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2024
Bean, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2024

In this piece he features a man, who looks like he might be a little upset, with steam coming out of his ears. On his finger, he is dangling a tomato(?) which is of course normal behaviour… not. There is so much great detail in the piece and plenty of perspective, and the medallion with his signature is a fabulous touch. I am pleased to see again that Bean has put a bit of a buffer background to differentiate his work from the noise of previous graffiti on the surrounding wall. Outstanding work from a young artist who I think will be wowing us for some years to come.

5930. Cumberland Basin

Bean, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2024
Bean, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2024

I suspect that this is just a little taster of what is to come from Bean later on this year, as he dropped a couple of pieces during what I suspect was an early spring break from his studies. His work is really developing well, and his stylised cartoon characters are each so unique.

Bean, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2024
Bean, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2024

I like the way that Bean has added a bit of a buffer around his character, allowing it to stand out a little better from the ‘noise’ or artwork that he has overpainted, it certainly makes a significant difference to the outcome. I would love to see some of his work on a fully buffed wall, maybe this summer. This piece is a cracker, and the character feels really animated, with lots of movement in his hair and from the spray can.

5835. M32 Cycle path (251)

Slakarts, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, February 2024
Slakarts, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, February 2024

This is not the first time that Slakarts has painted this flaky board, and I suspect it won’t be the last time either. I think it would be fair to say that Slakarts is now a rather occasional painter of Bristol’s walls compared with a couple of years ago, and this is a bit of a pity. I guess that it means he has less time to paint, which implies that he is busy with other things, which is probably a good thing.

Slakarts, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, February 2024
Slakarts, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, February 2024

The stylised cartoon face that Slakarts has painted is rather more colourful than some of his earlier versions, but the same basic design remains, which is comforting in a way, perhaps more so knowing that he is capable of painting other things too. The flaky nature of the board makes pieces painted on it look rather old, but in actual fact this was quite freshly painted. I’ll be hoping for more from Slakarts as the year unfolds.

5793. Greenbank (103)

Mr Crawls, Greenbank, Bristol, January 2023
Mr Crawls, Greenbank, Bristol, January 2023

It’s that wonderful Mr Crawls again, treating us to another of his cartoon birds, this one on what’s left of the hoardings along the Bristol to Bath cycle path at Greenbank. This rather jolly bird character is a reminder of the wide range of birds that Mr Crawls has in his armoury.

Mr Crawls, Greenbank, Bristol, January 2023
Mr Crawls, Greenbank, Bristol, January 2023

The blue colour of the plumage decorated with darker dots gives the bird an almost comical appearance. More nice work from Mr Crawls.

5753. M32 Cycle path (246)

Jevoissoul, M32 Cycle path, Brisol, December 2023
Jevoissoul, M32 Cycle path, Brisol, December 2023

It is my birthday – a significant one, and I have slightly taken my eye off the ball with writing my blog, so this will be an exceptionally quick one. Here we have a fun cartoony piece from Jevoissoul who emerged on the scene as recently as October last year.

Jevoissoul, M32 Cycle path, Brisol, December 2023
Jevoissoul, M32 Cycle path, Brisol, December 2023

The character has a cartoon Picassoesque feel to it and reminds me of an artist who used to paint in Bristol called Panskaribas (see below). Jevoissoul often accompanies his work with the word Slow, and he has done so in big letters in this piece – I expect to see a lot more from the artist this year.

Panskaribas, New Stadium Road, Bristol, October 2018
Panskaribas, New Stadium Road, Bristol, October 2018

5682. Leonard Lane (43)

Ejits, Leonard Lane, Bristol, November 2023
Ejits, Leonard Lane, Bristol, November 2023

Ejits is an artist I associate more with legal festival murals and commissions than with a paint jam in Leonard Lane, and yet here she is rubbing shoulders with all sorts of artists in this central Bristol spot. I suspect that it was painted as part of the recent paint jam in the Lane.

Ejits, Leonard Lane, Bristol, November 2023
Ejits, Leonard Lane, Bristol, November 2023

The stylised cartoon face is typical of Ejits’ work, characterised by dark outlines and solid fills, with no blending of colours. In this piece she has added a whole load of yellow doodles surrounding the face and adding interest to the piece. Annoyingly, the piece has been tagged, although it is not entirely unsurprising in this spot. I would love to see more of her work on the streets in addition to her commissions.