A gallery of fabulous writing and character pieces from Lawrence Weston’s DJ Perks
Instagram: @djperks71
All photographs by Scooj
DJ Perks
Tag: Character
4486. Dean Lane skate park (498)
One of the highlights of the last few weeks has been the appearance of a couple of Cheo pieces, something there has been a distinct lack of over the last two years. Here he has combined with Kopsky, an artist I am not familiar with.
The central character is classic Cheo. A caricature in a cartoon style with all the trappings of hip-hop culture. Beautifully painted and finished. It really has been way too long without his quality on the streets. I hope that this pieces is something of a renaissance.
The letters Arne by Kopsky and are obviously the work of a very accomplished writer. I’m not too sure what the letters spell out, but the greyscale tones are a perfect foil for Cheo’s colours. I love the tape and plasters ‘attaching’ the piece to the wall. Fine work indeed in this collaboration.
4451. M32 Spot (138)
DFC1848 doesn’t really need much of an introduction on these pages, but it has been a little while since he last painted in Bristol. This rather cute column piece is a reversion to his ‘go to’ character that he has been nurturing for a few years now. However, DFC 1848 has been developing and improving so much, with each new piece and I would recommend a quick look at his Instagram account to get a sense of what I mean.
The cheeky character is very nicely done with string solid fills, clean lines and a rather nice twinkle on his tooth. It is obvious that DFC1848 is very comfortable and confident with his work. Great to see.
4448. St Werburghs tunnel (292)
On the same day that I met Asre for the first time, I also met Chill and although he wasn’t painting at the time, he had come along to watch his friends paint. There is something really nice and supportive about the graffiti/street art community. Chill, although he has been around for a year or two, has definitely upped his game in recent months, and we tend to see something new once a fortnight or so.
This character in the tunnel proved to be a bit tricky to photograph because of a car parked in front of it. I have since taken better pictures, but have left these in to demonstrate the challenges of photographing street art… I wouldn’t want you to think it was too easy. The character is nicely painted, with plenty of detail on the cartoon-style features. The inclusion of spray cans is common in character street art, and balances the piece out nicely. More great work from Chill.
4443. Dean Lane skate park (493)
Cort is an intriguing artist. He is a quiet ever-present who just gets on with doing what he likes doing with the minimum of fuss, and then once in a while he produces what I would term ‘statement’ pieces like this one, which shout loud and clear to all who view them ‘I am Cort and I was here’.
This is the second highly memorable piece from Cort on this wall in the last few weeks and clearly demonstrates his talent. PAD is the crew he belongs to that includes Laic217 and Trafficity, and is given centre stage in this piece. The character is nicely done and is clean with great solid fills. I believe Cort’s modesty belies his talent, and his work is often overlooked on the Bristol scene, which is a pity.
4436. Brunel Way (157)
To reach this wonderful piece by Mr Underbite, you need to trample through some dense spring vegetation, but it is utterly worth the effort. I find it impossible not to love this character, and the way he is presented. The shared name of the artist and character is a clever piece of branding/presentation, but might also become a constraint if the artist decides to develop or create new characters or styles. For the moment though, that doesn’t matter, because the concept is a good one, and it is lovingly created.
Mr Underbite definitely operates in this area, I haven’t seen anything further afield yet, but I’m pretty sure it won’t be too long before he spreads his wings. In green tones with yellow borders, Mr Underbite is looking as forlorn as ever, but his ‘Yo!’ exclamation would seem to indicate that all is well. Another fine and touching piece from Mr Underbite.
4434. L Dub (37)
At the edge of the tunnel at L Dub, we can see from this tidy piece, just what an accomplished artist DJ Perks is becoming. DJ Perks is never one to shy away from pushing the envelope and in this piece he has created a superb writing/character combination that is unlike other pieces he has created. He really is a talent.
I have a feeling that this piece was painted alongside artists from the LRS crew during a bit of a paint jam in April. The letters ‘L Dub’ are beautifully designed and have a strength about them, as well as being superbly filled. The character is something of a classic, but more than that it is painted with wonderful shades and shadows, offering some depth to the character. This is great work from an artist on the up.
4428. St Werburghs tunnel (291)
Last Saturday was one of those very special red-letter days for me. I took the dog for a walk, that ended up being a bit of a marathon, during which I visited four spots and met nine or ten artists, several of them for the first time. Among the artists, it was an enormous pleasure to meet Asre, or Runaway Joey as he is known, for the first time, and very touching to find out that he knew who I was and had been keen to meet me and had even read some of my posts… my work here is done.
This is one of a multitude of variations on a theme by Asre, with the stylised cartoon face that we are becoming accustomed to seeing all over the place. This poor fellow looks like he has come a poor second in a boxing bout, with a severe black eye. Once again, the strong clean lines and solid fills are nicely worked, and the boxing glove provides additional interest – I like the way Asre has highlighted the glove with pink and white, giving it a cool 3D effect. There is so much more to come from this prolific artist and all round great bloke.
4423. Brunel Way (155)
To my shame, I didn’t spot this piece the first time I passed by. At that time I was busy marvelling over a new column piece by Pekoe… it was only when I was uploading the photographs of Pekoe’s work that I spotted this small Mr Underbite piece on a wall behind the column. Of course, I had to go back to find and photograph it.
I don’t know why, but I have taken a real shine to Mr Underbite and his character Mr Underbite. There is a simplicity and a charm to these pieces that strikes a chord with me. Perhaps I feel sorry for Mr Underbite, I don’t know, but there is a clever connection there that the artist has achieved. There is more to come from Mr Underbite, which is really good news.
Pekoe piece with Mr Underbite in the background.
4398. Dean Lane skate park (484)
In recent months, tattooist and street artist, Chill, has firmly established himself as a great cartoon character artist almost out of nowhere. His pieces have always been great to look at, but it is the frequency with which he has been painting them that has become so noticeable.
This fine piece in Dean Lane is typical of his distinctive work. Chill typically paints black and white characters that look like they have been lifted from a cartoonist’s sketchbook, set on a red or orange background, creating great contrast which helps the characters to stand out. Chill has stretched his usual modus operandi by including some green foliage and some decorative dotty spheres, that look like dandelion heads. Plenty of fun and action in this piece and cartoon-style eyes to die for.
Natural adventures 