It would seem that Slakarts has been busy with real life lately, and his pieces are few and far between and tend to be ‘quick ones’ in contrast to the more sophisticated and designed pieces he was painting throughout 2021, 2022 and at the start of this year.
Slakarts, M32 Spot, Bristol, July 2023
In this piece, Slakarts returns to his base character, cunningly fitted onto the column, with a slight stretch. Great fills and superb cutting-in of the black outlines throughout the piece. The selfish part of me wants to see more Slakarts pieces on the street for me to enjoy, but I am also happy that he might be busy with work/family or other distractions keeping him off the streets.
By the time this post is published I will be midway through leading a workshop for a partnership in Lincolnshire. I arrived in Lincoln yesterday evening, and have never been here before. I was pleasantly surprised by the old town, and the cathedral is one of the most impressive I have seen in England. It is a pity I will be here only for a day, and returning home immediately after the workshop. I digress… Maybe wasn’t very impressed with this piece, when he posted it on Instagram, and was minded to go over it, but he hasn’t so far, so maybe he has some affection for it after all.
Maybe, Brunel Way, Bristol, June 2023
The subtle colours and gentle interlocking shapes make this more of an abstract piece than anything else, and as such does a good job, I think. The green shape has something of the pachyderm about it, and once seen can’t be unseen. I rather like this modest and gentle piece. My kind of thing.
I have a feeling that Zake might be slowing down a little, having had an incredible start to the year with an increase in both quality and quantity of his original character pieces. This incredible piece is painted on one of the columns (if not, a different face of the same column) where I first encountered Zake’s work back in July 2018, so it feels like a bit of a full circle, and my goodness, how he has developed over that time.
Zake, M32 Spot, Bristol, May 2023
The long face (an inevitability on columns) has a double set of eyes, which are thankfully closed, and is spewing fiery water from the mouth. The colour selection works beautifully, and as ever Zake’s work is so full of depth, afforded by clever use of light and shade. This is a really striking piece, noticeable from quite some distance.
How truly wonderful to see a Skor85 piece for two big reasons; the first is that I haven’t seen any of her work in an absolute age, and secondly, she is one of the nicest, kindest and most bubbly artists in Bristol. Even better is that this is one of two pieces she painted during this paint jam organised in the M32 Spot by Conrico.
Skor85, M32 Spot, Bristol, May 2023
The column piece looks like a mash-up of a portrait with a design idea, and kind of comes in a top and bottom half. The portrait below seems to portray happiness, but is somewhat at odds with the deer design above, which is more stylised and looks ready to go onto the front of a Christmas card. I am puzzled by the rune on the deer’s forehead… is it an expression or is it a tag? I think the former. The whole thing is a welcome return from Skor85.
I think that the Bristol artist who has stretched the most so far this year is Zake. He has consistently been expanding his repertoire pretty much with each new piece and is becoming more original with his designs and ideas. This recent wizard piece at the M32 Spot is a great example of how varied his work is becoming.
Zake, M32 Spot, Bristol, April 2023
Although it is easy to see, in this column piece, the traits for which Zake is best known, namely the use of light and dark shading to create depth, it does not scream out Zake on the surface, and had it not been signed, it would have taken me a little while to work it out. An unusual and fun piece from the Spanish face specialist.
Conrico organised a paint jam under the M32 a week or so back, and a great many of the columns there were given a fresh coat of paint, including this banging vertical piece of writing from Ryder. The slogan accompanying this fiery piece is “play with fire – get burnt”, an apt phrase for the graffiti community.
Ryder, M32 Spot, Bristol, May 2023
Some artists have pure class, which is a gift that can’t be manufactured, and Ryder has class. There is a confidence and assertiveness about his work that eclipses others around him, and this is a great example of that. The fun piece (spelling out RYDER) incorporates character faces into the letters, something Ryder does a fair bit, and has a delicious colour selection with perfect fills, and a steady black outline. This is one of the best column pieces I have seen in a long while. Simply the best.
Some artists are so prolific, that the only way for me to keep up with them is to post several pieces at once, and so I present to you a series of column pieces under Brunel Way by monster specialist, Mote.
Mote, Brunel Way, Bristol, February 2023
This first piece is one of his more recent productions, incorporating three wobbly-lined monsters, stacked like a totem pole. The wobbly lines are a recent introduction in his work introduced this year, which give him freedom to be a little bit more creative. I am still sitting on the fence about them, because his original USP was based on the clean lines and bold curves. These might take a little bit of getting used to.
Mote, Brunel Way, Bristol, February 2023
It is difficult to date some of these pieces, because although I photographed them in February (some of them not for the first time), several have been around for quite a while. I think this one, which looks like a bit of a monster mash-up, is relatively recent.
Mote, Brunel Way, Bristol, February 2023
This column piece, with the big eye and wonky teeth, has been around for quite a while, but is surprisingly intact, because these columns are a favourite with taggers.
Mote, Brunel Way, Bristol, February 2023
Another one that might date from the back end of last year is this purple gentle and rather goofy giant. The poor thing doesn’t look in the greatest condition, and has a pot-belly not too dissimilar to my own.
Mote, Brunel Way, Bristol, February 2023
Finally, this is a small piece at the southernmost end of this stretch of columns and is probably the oldest piece in this selection. It obviously pre-dates the new bit of wall that has been added as part of the Daveside DIY skate park extension. Phew… I hope you have had your fill of Mote for now.
This is only the second piece by Lazo that I have seen, and I was fortunate enough to meet him when he was painting this column. As with his first piece, there is something very captivating about this portrait, and the style is quite different to that which we might expect to see in Bristol.
Lazo, M32 Spot, Bristol, February 2023
Lazo’s long face is perfect for column artwork and looks amazing, especially if you crop out the yellow paint at the top of the piece. I particularly like the depth and tone he achieves with his ‘brushstrokes’. The eyes too have something rather special about them. I am looking forward to seeing more from Lazo this year.
A little while ago, I was taking a Japanese friend on a tour of street art and graffiti spots around Bristol. She is writing an article on street art for a Tokyo journal and was getting a feel for the Bristol scene. Over the course of the day we were lucky enough to meet several artists, including Object… who was blitzing the columns under the M32 with his distinct expressive fingers and hands.
Object…, M32 Spot, Bristol, February 2023
In this first piece, Object… has managed to work his fingers around existing pieces, making very good use of the Boris Johnson head, originally painted by John D’oh, creating something of a grotesque figure (not too difficult in the case of BJ).
Object…, M32 Spot, Bristol, February 2023
It was an education watching Object… paint these pieces (more to follow in another post), which he did with rollers and brushes. He would create the rough shape of the fingers with the roller in white, and then add outlines and some definition, resulting in these extraordinary gnarly digits. Of course, it was really great to catch up with the artist, as always.
It is nice to see a Mote piece by the River Avon, demonstrating that he really does get out and about to share his art with the citizens of Bristol. This monster piece follows a recent theme in his work of rather more organic characters with wobbly outlines, rather than the clean lines of his earlier works.
Mote, River Avon, Bristol, February 2023
I think that Mote’s work lends itself well to illustration, and I wonder if that would ever be a direction he might consider. This particular toothy monster isn’t his best, in my opinion, but is another part of his growing menagerie.
Natural adventures 