Chill

5101. Dean Lane skate park (577)

Zake, Chill and Face 1st, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2023

The Pirate Wall Art (PWA) crew have already produced some outstanding collaborations this year, but this surely has to be the most striking so far. Zake, Chill and Face 1st have teamed up to produce this triptych of stylised faces.

To the left is a curious pair of faces which feel like they are symbolic of something, but I am not quite sure what – sun and moon or light and dark? Who knows. The flower face is something new that I haven’t seen from Zake before, but he carries it off really well.

In the middle of the triptych is a cartoon face by Chill. When Chill moved away from his black and white pieces, I wasn’t sure how long it would last, but I am pleased to say that his inclusion of several colours once again might indicate that this is a new direction of travel for the artist. I love the inclusion of some greenery and flowers in most of his pieces, showing a sensitive connection with nature.

Face 1st, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2023

To the right, Face first has painted another group of faces, in which he continues to explore ways of peeling back the layers of our facades to reveal what lies beneath. In this case, the face with yellow hair has been split open to reveal a laughing girl emerging from inside. Some might see these pieces as gory or grotesque, I see them as a joyful exploration of emotions unearthed in a rather surgical, but playful way.

Plenty to think and enjoy about in this fine PWA collaboration.

5067. St Werburghs tunnel (358)

Zake and Chill, St Werburghs, Bristol, March 2023

I love the irrepressible nature of Bristol street artists. There has been a bit of a war on this wall recently, with Bristol City Council buffing the wall with grey paint, only to be painted over moments later by artists and writers. For goodness’ sake, BCC, make this a legal wall and save your (our) money. Two of Bristol’s best character artists, Zake and Chill, have combined to decorate this wall, and have absolutely smashed it.

I go away for a couple of days, and what happens? This audacious piece appears, to engage and entertain passers-by. Zake has been on fire recently, and is arguably the busiest artist in town. His portraits are becoming more expressive and adventurous with each outing. Watching his work develop is one of the great pleasures of what I do.

Chill, St Werburghs, Bristol, March 2023

Chill has also now become firmly established in the Bristol scene, which doesn’t equate to him being establishment (just in case you were wondering). In this piece, Chill is continuing his experimentation with colour, instead of presenting us with the black and white we are more accustomed to seeing. I think the colours are working, although it takes a little bit of getting used to. What a wonderwall from these PWA artists.

5032. Greenbank (72)

Chill, Greenbank, Bristol, February 2023

It took me a little while to work out what was different about this Chill piece from his other work to date, and once I worked it out, I am baffled why it took so long, because it is so obvious. The character is not black and white, but has been filled with pink and yellow, something of a departure for Chill.

The character portrait is really tight, all the lines as sharp as can be, and the fills nicely done. The detail work, for example on the teeth is first class, and it is quite easy to see his tattooing skills and attention to detail and precision shine through. The piece is bookended with some delicate flowers, another feature of Chill’s work. A lovely piece from a recent PWA paint jam.

4870. Dean Lane skate park (546)

Face 1st and Chill, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2022

Face 1st and Chill appear to be collaborating quite a lot at the moment, and it is a joy to behold. In this piece the collaboration takes the form of a merger of pieces, rather than simply painting adjacent spaces on a wall.

The frame of the piece, set on a pink backdrop, is the letters FACE in chrome from Face 1st, something we are familiar with seeing. What is different in this instance is that the A of FACE, instead of being one of Face 1st’s laughing girls is a fine cartoon character face from Chill. You can’t help but feel a sense of joy emanating from their work, and their friendship shines through in the collaboration. More to come from these two.

4827. River Avon (35)

Chill, River Avon, Bristol, November 2022

I really should know, by now, not to visit Sparke Evans Park or the River Avon on a sunny day. It makes photography nigh on impossible. This was my second attempt at photographing this piece, after the sun had moved a little, and the foliage that was casting a shadow was out of the way. Still, the light was reflecting off the piece a little too much for my liking.

There isn’t too much I can say about Chill that I haven’t said before. The tattooist inspired designs in black and white are pretty unique in Bristol, and I haven’t seen anything quite like them anywhere else either. I like the way Chill incorporates flowers into his pieces, marrying up urban culture with a love for nature. Another fine piece from Chill.

4733. Greenbank (54)

Face 1st and Chill, Greenbank, Bristol, September 2022

Pirate Wall Art (PWA) has been quite a dynamic crew over the last couple of years, with the inclusion of Nightwayss and Chill, and then the departure of Nightwayss (not from the crew, but from Bristol). Chill has embraced the group of friends with gusto, and regularly paints collaborations, often in the company of Face 1st, who I get the impression is always up for a paint.

Chill, Greenbank, Bristol, September 2022

The collaboration is beautifully presented on a grey buffed background with green foliage, flowers, clouds and a little bird by Chill. His cartoon character is wonderful, but it is the hand gently holding the flower that works so well… some real tenderness.

Face 1st, Greenbank, Bristol, September 2022

Face 1st has reverted to his girl with FACE for hair, written in a chunky block script. The shading on the letters F and E gives them a 3D effect, while the A and C are flatter, sitting back. It shows you what you can do with shading to make elements of a piece stand out. Of course, the girl is smiling, and the piece is a happy one. This is a fine collaboration from the PWA pair.

A gallery of fantastic cartoon-style work from Bristol street artist and tattooist, Chill (PWA)

Instagram: @chill.works

Chill, Peel Street Green, Bristol, July 2022

Face 1st, Chill and Soap, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2022

Chill and Smut, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2022

Chill, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2022

Chill, St Werburghs, Bristol, December 2021

Chill, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, November 2021

Chill, M32 roundbout, Bristol, January 2022

Nightwayss and Chill, The Carriageworks, Bristol, December 2021

Face 1st, Chill and Soap, The Carriageworks, Bristol, December 2021

Chill, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2021

Chill, St Werburghs, Bristol, September 2019

Chill, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, September 2021

4602. Brunel Way (164)

It feels like Groundhog Day every time I write about a Chill piece, in that I wanted to start this piece with the words “Hardly a week goes by without a new piece from Chill” but I fear I might have used this form of words previously when talking about the artist. I think you get where I’m coming from though.

This one is on the long support wall under Brunel Way, which is always a bit of a challenge to photograph, because of the light conditions and also a certain amount of glare that reflects off the wall. Chill has smashed it again with his black and white cartoon character, but he has also managed to sneak in a bit of colour with his palm tree for added interest. There is so much detail in this piece, that it is worth dwelling on every aspect of all the features on the character. A craftsman at work.

4525. Dean Lane skate park (501)

I genuinely thought that this wall would become redundant when work began on redeveloping the building about a year ago, a suspicion exacerbated when they put some windows in the wall. My fears may have been unfounded, as the wall appears to be intact and has regular makeovers, many of them quite fantastic, like this PWA collaborative wall from a short while ago.

The three artists are Face 1st, Chill and Soap, and together they have created an upbeat and rather fun triptych. Face 1st on the left ha painted one of his traditional smiling face characters whose hair is made up of the letters FACE – full of joy.

In the middle, Chill has created one of his cartoon-style line drawings with quite a story going on. I don’t know what the story is, but it includes a bird, a rose and a scroll with the artist’s name on it. More mischief and fun.

To the right is Soap’s contribution in which he continues the colour selections, backfilling his letters spelling SOAP and featuring (a many of his posts do) the Ice King from Adventure Time – a cartoon series that sadly passed me by. Nice work from this PWA trio.

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.

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