A gallery of fantastic characters and graffiti writing from Bristol-based artist Werm (formerly Eman).
Instagram: @wermpaints
All photographs by Scooj
Werm
Tag: Character
6979. Cumberland Basin
This piece by Zake is something a little different, a variation on a theme from the artist. It is rare to see Zake paint anything approximating to letters, but here we are with an unusual combination piece.
Two letters and two faces, making up the vowels, are nicely designed and set on a grey background with watery bubbles. For once, I will forgive the use of brown paint, because it is subtle and in keeping with the ‘slatey’, earthy, feel of the whole composition. It is always a pleasure to see artists try something new.
6978. M32 roundabout (690)
There is something rather special and unique about Dun Sum’s incredible creations. He doesn’t come into the centre of Bristol often, but when he does, his work always makes an impact. Often, Dun Sum will paint approximations of real creatures, but there is usually a bit of a twist, and sometimes complete fantasy. This chameleon, however, is identifiable as such, with only a little artistic cartoon licence.
Having had a household chameleon pet ‘George’ a few years back, I am rather partial to any piece representing the charming little lizards. There is plenty of charm and humour in this piece, something Dun Sum excels at, and great to see him paint on the roundabout for Hypo’s birthday paint jam.
6975. Dean Lane skate park (840)
One of the best pieces of the year so far (in my view), this is an outstanding production triptych by Fade, Acid Face with a Brace and Dibz. What is difficult to convey is the scale of the collaboration, because not only is it wide, but it is also tall as well.
There is so much happening here, and it starts off with a superb piece of writing from Fade. The letters are complex and multilayered, with great fills, deep 3D drop shadows that appear to be translucent and some ‘tape’ wrapped around the ends of the word. The purple bubbly background is present through the whole piece.
Arguably the most eye-catching part of this collaboration is the central character by Acid Face with a Brace, a writer from Birmingham. The scary, hooded mummy-type character is superbly painted, with tons of movement, and brilliant folds in the fabric and bandages. The blue face and big red eyes are superbly crafted. This is simply awesome.
Rounding off the collaboration is a mirroring of Fade’s writing to a large extent, but with enough signature elements to be different and ‘Dibzy’ enough. The way these three have combined their talents to create this amazing production is a testament to their individual and combined skills. A little bird tells me that wall may get a facelift while retaining the character – you heard it here first.
6974. St Werburghs tunnel (504)
Scrapyardspec has been back in town with a raft of new wacky faces, including this long piece just outside St Werburghs tunnel. Over the last week or two, I have been finding more and more of these goofy monsters, which has been rather fun, and you can expect to see more here soon.
This piece fits the size and shape of the wall perfectly, being squashed and elongated, affording space for three eyes, and a very long toothy smile. I love the way that Scrapyardspec manages to maintain an incredibly consistent style with all different shapes and sizes of characters. A creative idea/theme nicely executed.
6970. Greenbank (161)
This is a fine collaboration from two artists who never seem to stop, both totally dedicated to their art and sharing it with us. This is the kind of collaboration which is more about artists painting together rather than any kind of fusion between their styles, colours or design.
On the left, Conrico presents a portrait of a woman in the foreground, who looks like she is taking a selfie in front of an island paradise – probably a Japanese island in the East China Sea. Conrico’s portraits are improving all the time and becoming more of a feature of his work. Of course, he has enough paint to add in his letters, with a feint reflection in the inviting sea.
To the right, Werm’s letters are beautifully presented, with the middle two letters a little smaller and ‘sitting on top’ of the rest of the piece. Lots of depth and intricate design work in this graffiti writing. Both artists have very different technical styles, but this collaboration works incredibly well.
6968. M32 roundabout J3 (687)
I cannot think of a time when I haven’t been utterly delighted to come across a PWA collaboration, and this beauty filled me with good cheer a couple of weeks back. There is a good chance that the collaboration will; remain intact for a while, as this stretch of wall tends to have quite a slow turnover.
The three artists contributing to the collaboration are Face 1st, Zake and Soap. Face 1st needs no introduction and is probably the artist who has appeared most on Natural Adventures, and deservedly so. This is a classic theme for the artist, with a laughing girl’s face and big hair spelling out FACE, with some diamonds chucked in for good measure.
In the middle is this wonderful cartoon character piece from Zake which also fits into his archetypal style, with so much depth, the face seems like it could roll off the wall and into the pathway. Zake seems to be painting at least once a week at the moment and is smashing it.
The triptych is completed with a lovely piece of writing from soap, who doesn’t get out as much as he used to, but still manages to collaborate reasonably often with his PWA chums. His letters and fills are sublime and, as is usually the way with his work in recent years, has an Adventure Time influence with the incorporation of the Ice King. Superb collaboration with a shared inclusion of a colour scheme throughout.
6967. Dean Lane skate park (838)
I am so pleased to see that Bean is back in town and doing his stuff, which he does so well. The last piece I posted was a portrait piece that couldn’t be more of a departure from his ‘house’ style, and it was great to see. Here he returns to more familiar territory, with this wonderfully colourful character piece.
The character, like so many he creates, has no pupils in his eyes, which gives him a bit of a haunted look. Old Bluebeard here is wearing a kind of gilet over a green t-shirt, with a gold chain and cap accessories. The whole thing is beautifully painted, and tight as a nut. There is great separation from the piece (by Turoe) beneath it, with red, black and white bordering, bringing his character to the forefront. I don’t think that Bean particularly believes/enjoys wall preparation or buffing – perhaps it takes too long, or maybe detracts from the subversive nature of street art. Another great piece from an artist whose work I really like.
6961. M32 roundabout J3 (686)
Although this piece is a little bleached out by the strong sun, I am so pleased to have captured it at all. So many times when Kid Crayon has painted a new piece, I get down to photograph it, and it has gone. I don’t know if this is purely coincidental, or whether there is something more sinister going on. Suffice it to say that I have missed at least two pieces by him this year.
It is fantastic to see Kid Crayon getting out more often this year, after quite a long period of low productivity – due in part to his real work being very busy. In this piece, the letters CRAYON can be seen with a little reversed out KID at the start. Each letter has an individual paint treatment, with the base colours alternating through the word. The ‘O’ is represented by a character with a blue face, donning a rather fetching Eat crew baseball cap. A floating crayon in front of the character’s mouth rounds the piece off nicely. There are so many KC trademarks in this fun and uplifting piece.
6960. St Werburghs tunnel (503)
Zake has been smashing it consistently for months and years. His cartoon-style characters peer out from walls all over the city and have become a familiar sight for anyone who chooses to open their eyes.
This is an eye-catching piece in the tunnel, painted alongside numerous other artists, during a paint jam about two or three weeks ago. In this rather sinister piece, the character is wielding a dripping syringe, looking as if there is some ill intent at work. As ever, lots of light and shade creating depth in the character, and a little bit of a story too.
Natural adventures 