Nips is known for her wonderful colour selections and fill patterns and with this chrome piece on the cycle path, the question is could she carry it off with such colour limitations, the answer is unequivocally yes.
Nips, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, October 2024
Nips’ letters do not change an awful lot from piece to piece, but her decorative artwork does, and here she has made the most of a simple fill pattern of black blobs. The overall effect works very well. Normally you’d expect the tittle (a word I learned last night, meaning the dot above the i or j) in Nips’ pieces to have a little character face, but here she has substituted it with a heart. Great work from Nips.
One of the great benefits of having a very strong street art and graffiti culture in Bristol is that we receive a great many visiting artists who are drawn to the city to catch the vibe. This is great for me because I get to see the work of talented artists from all over the country and the world, without even needing to leave town.
5kin, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, November 2024
I don’t know where 5kin (the Instagram tag, which I presume is skin) comes from, but this piece on the long brick wall at Sparke Evans Park is really welcome. The chrome letters, spelling SKIN, are wonderfully dynamic and further brought to life by the inclusion of the horizontal red stripe and blue bubble writing. Somehow the piece works really well with the bed of autumn leaves in front of the wall. I hope 5kin returns to drop more graffiti writing in the future.
At the time this post is published, I hope to be casting a line into the surf of Lantic Bay, and picking out the occasional bass. A man can dream can’t he? As I plod along from day to day, week to week, year to year, it is comforting to know that Mr Draws is doing the same, and his regular drumbeat of pieces has become something of a landmark or reference point for me.
Mr Draws, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, October 2024
Mr Draws has painted this wonderful chrome piece pierced with three chunky yellow arrows. A deep drop shadow and pink highlights help the letters pop, and the blue background works surprisingly well with the rest of the piece. All the colours of the piece are not in my view natural bedfellows, in particular pink and yellow, but mr Draws has carried it off, so I tip my hat in his direction. Nice work from Mr Draws.
Mr Crawls and Mote, Redcliffe Way, Bristol, October 2024
A quick one today as I need to get myself sorted for a day of fishing. This is a magnificent pair of characters from Mr Crawls and Mote… the gift that keeps on giving. The piece can be found on the hoardings opposite Temple Meads station.
Mr Crawls and Mote, Redcliffe Way, Bristol, October 2024
The trademark chrome background helps to lift the characters and give them prominence. A bird with a hat from Mr Crawls, and a lovesick monster from Mote. What’s not to like about these characters?
Don’t expect too much from me today. I am on holiday and paradoxically have less time than usual to compose a blog post than usual. This is a rather nice piece from the anti-style graffiti writer Whos.
Whos, Brunel Way, Bristol, October 2024
There is a charm about Whos work, and this chrome piece certainly makes an impact. The fills and chrome character provide a rather fun overall effect, and it is great to see Whos out and about again.
Whos, Brunel Way, Bristol, October 2024
The letters spell out WHOS and include a little character portrait in what looks like a rather psychedelic piece. The most striking part in this chrome arrangement are the stars and tears that appear in the fill of the letters. A nice piece from Whos.
I am still a little under the weather with Covid this morning, so only short posts today. This is a wonderful piece of chrome graffiti writing from Kosc in a spot that he has painted before, but I don’t usually associate with him.
Kosc, Brunel Way, Bristol, September 2024
The letters are made up in the style of riveted sheets of metal, a device used by many writers and one that is very effective. Kosc has perfected this style.
Klashwhensober, Brunel Way, Bristol, September 2024
Klashwhensober is consistently one of the most prolific graffiti writers in Bristol, tracing out his SOBER letters wherever he finds a free wall. Some of his pieces are obviously rather hurried while others, like this one are a little bit more considered and tidy.
Klashwhensober, Brunel Way, Bristol, September 2024
The way that Klashwhensober has overwritten the piece underneath is quite clever in that instead of buffing out the wall completely he has created a cloudy covering obscuring it enough to nullify it. The chrome letters are really nicely worked with a tidy two-tone drop shadow and clean black border. Definitely one of Klashwhensober’s better ones.
When Logoe hits town, he tends to hit it pretty hard. When this collaborative piece was painted earlier in the month, I think it might have been a one-off, because I didn’t find any other pieces in all the spots he usually decorates so freely. It is a collaboration with Nova, about whom I know absolutely nothing, but it is a beauty nonetheless.
Logoe, M32 Spot, Bristol, September 2024
More often than not Logoe writes with thin script letters, but he has switched things up in this piece of graffiti writing with great big fat chrome letters with a bold solid black drop shadow. The whole piece is very neat and tidy and well presented on a red cloudy background. Of course, there is a sprinkling of small oval dots running through the piece, just in case we weren’t sure it was by Logoe.
Nova, M32 Spot, Bristol, September 2024
Nova has painted letters using the same colour scheme, and also incorporated little ovals, although arranged a little more orderly than Logoe’s. Another cross-reference feature is the yellow ‘o’ in both pieces. Nova’s writing is also nicely presented, and I am intrigued to know more about the artist, but that might need to wait until the next time I bump into Logoe. A fine collaboration an a favourite wall.
Two things I really enjoy about Mr Crawls’ work are his desire to grow and develop his ideas, while underpinning them with his magic style and the frequency with which he paints, constantly keeping the interest going in locations all over the city.
Mr Crawls, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2024
I haven’t seen anything quite like this from Mr Crawls before, although the head, hat and chrome background are reasonably familiar themes. It is the bottom half of thee piece that introduces a whole new aspect that is different and one which it will be interesting to see if he replicates or uses again. Definitely an eye-catching design in a great spot.
What better way to start the day than with a nice, crisp chrome piece from Nips. What a pity I didn’t get there before the tagger, but that is all part of the way of life in this jungle. Everyone knows what the rules are, and whatever existing rules can be broken at any time by anyone.
Nips, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, July 2024
There is an uncomplicatedness about this piece that speaks of an artist who is comfortable with their work. No need to embellish or over-decorate. Sometimes less is more, and I would suggest that is the case here. I haven’t yet met Nips, and look forward to the day when I might just be in the right place at the right time to do so.