Chill left Bristol a little over a year ago, having been a prolific member of the PWA crew, so it was wonderful to see this small piece in Dean Lane skate park, which I think was painted for, or at, the Dean Lane Hardcore (DLH) event (an annual skate and music extravaganza).
Chill, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2025
This piece features two of his cheeky characters side by side with tongues hanging out. That Chill is able to duplicate these faces with such ease demonstrates his skill as an artist and steady can control. I miss these characters.
It is always a little sad when street/graffiti artists move away from Bristol, but some consolation that new artists are emerging or moving to the city, generally at a faster rate, growing the incredible pool of talent. PWA (Pirate Wall Art) took a double hit at the end of 2024, with both Face 1st and Chill leaving town and leaving behind a significant void. Face 1st, it should be registered, has returned several times to paint, just as he said he would. This piece by Chill, however, I think was painted before he left, which made it all the sweeter to find.
Chill, M32 roundabout J2, Bristol, January 2025
Chill has managed to squeeze one of his stylish cartoon characters onto a column with great skill and without making it look too distorted or contrived. I will miss his urban street-wise people with their caps and ear discs. If you miss them too, here is an updated gallery of his outstanding work.
Zake, Face 1st and Chill, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2024
When the PWA boys get together, you often end up with something quite quirky, and this fine collaboration from last month is an peculiar as they come. This piece on the bricked up rear of the large ramp in Dean Lane skate park has been decorated by Zake, Face 1st and Chill.
Zake, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2024
Zake has been pushing the boundaries a lot with his cartoon portrait pieces lately, and this crazy character is no exception. Big teeth and wild hair generate a sense of madness in this character, which is further exaggerated by the lack of pupils in the eyes. Adding to this sense of the unhinged, yer man is holding onto a rat by its tail. Weird fun.
Face 1st, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2024
The centrepiece is beautifully occupied by a classic piece of writing and character combination work from Face 1st. His letters are in a 3D block style, topped with a giggling girl character that we have come to know and love.
Chill, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2024
Rounding off the wall is a cartoon character complete with detailed fine lines and coloursul solid fills. The character is a nicely observed caricature of a young man with a baseball cap, short back and sides and plenty of piercings. A little bird sitting on the forefinger of the character rounds things off nicely. As ever a fine collaboration from this threesome.
Usually when I photograph collaborative work, especially from the PWA crew, I tend to post all of the pieces together, which risks a little, the dilution of impact of each of the contributing artists. Sometimes I like to decouple the collaboration to be able to concentrate on a single piece and this is what I have done with this fine cartoon piece by Chill.
Chill, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2024
This piece by Chill was painted as part of the celebratory paint jam for Werm’s birthday, an event that generates a great turnout every year. Chill has come on such a long way over the last few years and his cartoon-style character pieces betray his tattoo artist background, with strong clear black (ink) outlines and interesting designs. He also includes some ornamentation, usually little birds and greenery, but here in the form of skulls with plasma bursts emanating from them. This is a great example of Chill’s fabulous work.
It is nice to be able to single out a piece by Chill, without having to share the post with other PWA crew artists, which is usually the case. It feels like a while ago when I first came across Chill’s cartoon character work, in St Werburghs tunnel, if I recall correctly. Back then, he tended to work in black and white with a red background. Over the months and years he has massively developed his characters, his colours his detailed background accessories, and continues to grow with each new piece, which cannot be said for all artists, for sure.
Chill, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2024
I wouldn’t say that this was my favourite piece that Chill has painted, but it carries all the hallmarks of the tattoo artist. The black lines (ink lines) create plenty of detail around the ear and eyes. The eyes themselves are interestingly presented where the pupils have a wedge cut out of them and there are larger white circles above them, which in this piece I don’t think work all that well. There is plenty of colour dividing up the different elements of the face, which really is a huge contrast from his early pieces. Nice and slightly weird work painted alongside Zake’s equally weird piece posted a few days ago.
Soap, Zake, Face 1st and Chill, Coach and Horses, Bristol, April 2024
This production collaboration from the PWA crew was photographed in April this year, and nearly got left behind, had I not carried out one of my occasional archive ‘sweep ups’. Soap, Zake, Face 1st and Chill have combined to create this zany and energetic piece.
Soap, Coach and Horses, Bristol, April 2024
Starting off with Soap, who has been a little quiet of late, and this writing/character combination. I have spent way too long trying to find out who the character and cat are and what cartoon series they belong to (possibly Adventure Time?). Some beautiful blue letters here spelling SOAP set on a green and pleasant background that Chill has enhanced with his silhouetted plants along the ground.
Zake, Coach and Horses, Bristol, April 2024
Next up is a very curious character piece by Zake, which unusually has the whole character and not just the head. The character’s body is brilliantly drafted, with some lovely detail around the knuckles, stitching on the trousers and shoes, but then you get to the head… What has happened here. Expressive it might be, but I find it slightly grotesque, but that is the joy of cartoon characters, you can make them do unreal things.
Face 1st, Coach and Horses, Bristol, April 2024
Face 1st gives us a classic laughing girl piece with the letters FACE staked up in her hair. The letters follow the recent interest that Face 1st has shown in creating 3D blocks, and works very well in this piece. It is so good to observe Face 1st pushing his boundaries and expanding his repertoire.
Chill, Coach and Horses, Bristol, April 2024
Chill, I feel, is an underrated and underrepresented artist on the Bristol scene. I rarely see his pieces shared on social media, and I feel he doesn’t get the recognition he deserves. His characters are always on point, full of fine detail and comic expressions, and he combines his urban ‘geezers’ so well with his beautiful and fragile nature silhouettes that accompany this entire production and others. This is a fine collaboration from the PWA boys.
You don’t often see the PWA crew paint this particular wall in Dean Lane, I guess because there are usually three or more of them painting together, but this time it is only Chill and Zake, so there is room here for both of them. The two portraits, in very different styles, are interacting really well together and integrated using a common background.
Chill and Zake, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2024
Chill’s portrait is both colourful and full of fine detail, and has that accuracy that is common in artists who are also tattooists. He is also responsible for the wonderful silhouette plants and signature song bird. Zake’s portrait, is a little softer and full of depth, with a slightly odd scene of fish and water flying out of the character’s mouth. While I am not too sure what is going on, it makes for entertaining viewing. The pairing is great to see, and this is certainly a memorable collaboration from them. I’m not too sure it lasted very long though, which is a pity.
Chill, Face 1st and Zake, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2024
One of the strong themes of Bristol street art in 2023 was the continuing presence of the PWA crew as a major force in the city’s graffiti scene. That presence has seamlessly continued into 2024. This February triptych from Chill, Face 1st and Zake in Dean Lane is part of that contiuity.
Chill, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2024
I feel that I rather take Chill for granted a little, simply expecting every piece he paints to be as brilliant as the last, and in this respect he never disappoints. He has been introducing more colour into his pieces and adding more points of interest in beautiful doodle formats around his characters, such as the flower and little bird here. I feel that Chill has or desires to have a strong connection with nature, which I applaud.
Face 1st, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2024
Face 1st is a hero of Bristol street art, and an ever-present throughout the nine years I have been writing about it. In this piece, a girl with big FACE hair, Face 1st has chosen some bright and striking colours that scream out very loudly from the wall behind the fence. There is some revisiting his brain theme and lots of splodges and drippy bits. Lots of fun here, although this girl doesn’t seem to be too happy.
Zake, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2024
Rounding off the triptych is an unusual piece by Zake, who has incorporated a couple of ideas I haven’t seen from him before. I love it that artists often choose to push the boundaries of their craft. The orange lenses of the glasses the character is wearing work very nicely, the challenge here being to keep the face intact and seamless behind the orange colour. The other weirdness is the eye in the mouth, for which I have no explanation, it is just a bit odd and unsettling. The three PWA boys have smashed it once again.
Laic217, Zake and Chill, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2024
This is an unusual collaboration from the PWA crew notable by the absence of either Face 1st or Soap, the driving forces behind the crew for some years. Not that the absence diminishes in any way this curious collection of character pieces from Laic217, Zake and Chill.
Laic217, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2024
On the left is something of a trippy throwback from Laic217, with one of his face distortion pieces that are both admirable and disturbing in equal measure. A welcome return of the bucket hat badged with a smiley face sits on top of a stretched out portrait, made up of three faces. I suspect this party animal is enjoying some hallucinations in this captured moment. Weird and wonderful stuff from Laic217.
Zake, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2024
The middle section of the collaboration is occupied by another slightly weird character piece from Zake this time. A buxom silver-haired lady is pictured in front of a rural house, with a porch and smoking chimney. I have no idea what the story is here, but I think that Zake is enjoying pushing boundaries.
Chill, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2024
Rounding off the collaboration is a charming portrait of what looks like a Mid-West farmer from the early 20th century with a pitchfork in hand and some chickens. The piece is absolutely brilliant, and all the more admirable for being painted in its entirety in greyscale. I have tried to look for a theme that binds the three pieces but cannot find one. Perhaps the theme is having fun painting together.
Laic217, Zake and Chill, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2024
Natural adventures 