A superb gallery of wonder-beasts by Lawrence Weston artist Dun Sum.
Instagram: @dun_sum
All photographs by Scooj
Dun Sum
Tag: Character
7186. Dean Lane skate park (867)
Bogat only paints occasionally, but his pieces are instantly recognisable and impactful. He is not a ‘high-end’ character artist, but he manages to capture a down-to-earth style, without which the diversity of street art in Bristol would be all the poorer.
In this piece, the pink-faced character appears to be snarling a little. There is some nice shading and lines, especially round the cheeks. The ‘Bennie’ hat with the word BOGAT is nicely painted, but it is the zigzag eyes that grab the attention. I think the piece was painted for the Dean Lane Hardcore event held a week or so ago.
7180. St Werburghs tunnel (524)
I can’t quite remember if this combination piece from Mr Klue was painted in one session or two, but since they are by the same artist, it doesn’t really matter that much. It is quite unusual to find writing and the Mad Hatter character by Mr Klue adjacent to one another, so this is quite special.
Mr Klue’s gift for creating ephemeral graffiti writing is unparalleled in Bristol and his character is iconic, especially in this area. There are some great colours here and a lightness of touch that is a signature of his work. A real treat in the tunnel.
7171. M32 roundabout J3 (711)
Lots to see and admire in this wonderful triptych from Cheo, Dibz and Ulow, painted during a ‘high end’ paint jam celebrating the latter’s birthday. The whole wall, (see last photograph) was sheer class.
First up in this little sequence of three is a brilliant B Boy character by Cheo, with his second piece of the paint jam. A perfect cartoon-style, with so much detail to enjoy, and of course the trademark bee.
In the middle of this triptych is an outstanding piece of graffiti writing by Dibz which appropriately spells out ULOW. Beautifully designed letters and fills have to give way a little to some amazing exploding pink bubbles. A nicely balanced piece.
Finally, all eyes are on the amazing character by the birthday boy himself. Ulow has painted an extraordinary comic-style full portrait of a young woman dancing, or so it appears. Ulow has created enormous depth with his perspective, and accentuated the muscle-tone incredibly skilfully. Truly stunning work from all three artists.
7169. Cumberland Basin
What a strange piece from Daz Cat. A cat and a character, but what brings these two together? I can’t figure out the story at all. I think this is the first cartoon-style figure I have seen of a person like this from Daz Cat.
The character reminds me of Cletus Spuckler from The Simpsons, he has that kind of hillbilly look about him. I love the way that Daz Cat is always pushing his own boundaries, and loves to tell a good story through his art.
7167. L Dub (80)
I met Ayup about a year ago in St Werburghs tunnel when he was visiting Bristol, and I remember asking him if he visited often. I think he said only occasionally. I recall that he comes from Derbyshire, hence the name.
This superb character piece was painted during a paint jam, which I think was for somebody’s birthday, but I forget who. The large-headed character has had his roller out and been buffing walls, always a good theme for character pieces. Ayup has done a great job, creating a believable and rather grumpy looking character. All good.
7165. Dean Lane skate park (865)
Asre has a new Instagram handle, @azre_returns which is a great description of his status as a street artist in Bristol. He was pretty busy a couple of years back and then abruptly stopped. Good things come to those who wait, and at last Asre has rewarded us with one of his trademark character portraits.
The character is wearing a baseball cap with the letters AEK which might relate to the Greek football club AEK Athens. Google searches didn’t give me an answer to the word ‘Trelenomai’, so the theme to the piece remains a bit of a mystery. The character itself is grimacing a little and has crosses for pupils, a tell-tale sign the piece is by Asre. Great to see him back.
7164. Boiling Wells Lane (5)
Tunnel entrances are always difficult to photograph, especially on sunny days, as you can see from this light/shadow image taken at the second tunnel in St Werburghs. The poor photo doesn’t detract from the quality of the graffiti writing by Hemper.
Writing in his short-form HEMS, Hemper has provided a checked background, which is inspirational, and, using three colours, one step age and of the simple concept. The yellow letters, incorporating two characters, are outstanding, with brilliant use of black and white highlights to give 3D depth to them. The work of a genius (I rarely use the term, but in this case I believe it to be true).
7161. M23 roundabout J3 (709)
This superb little character piece by Cheo was painted in celebration of Ulow’s recent birthday. Although the piece is unsigned, it looks like it is by Sled Onebut is actually one of two by Cheo. It piece depicts a cheeky spray can eating a taco. Quite why I do not know, but it doesn’t matter.
Cheo has had a busier than usual year, and it was great to see this piece, celebrating Ulow’s recent birthday. One of a number of superb pieces from a gathering of some of the best and most established artists in Bristol. Top work.
7160. Cumberland Basin
A few of the pieces that were painted as part of Werm’s birthday celebration didn’t last more than 24 hours, including a rather striking piece by Zake and some writing by 3F Fino. Fortunately, however, this character piece by DFC 1848 remained untouched.
Spot the difference
There are two differences between the two photographs, taken about three minutes apart. Can you see them? Clue, one is on the elephant, the other is not. DFC1848 continues to expand his repertoire, and this elephant is quite a beauty.
There is something about the style of this piece that reminds me of 1960s and 1970s TV cartoon shows. It is really nicely painted, with good solid fills, some great three colour shading and a superb thick border. It was really good too to be able to catch up with the artist, just as he was finishing up.
Natural adventures 