In recent weeks I have been enjoying a new walk route with the dog, up at a little nature reserve called Narroways which rises high above St Werburghs is nestled in between railway tracks and crosses over St Werburghs tunnel. There are a couple of railway bridges along the pathway, and this piece by Dazcat was on a wall alongside one of them.
Daz Cat, Narroways, Bristol, August 2025
A cat with two heads, possibly Siamese twin cats, stare out from the wall at passers-by. As Daz Cat pieces go, I imagine he painted this quite quickly, and it has the simple charm of his earlier works, no complex story underpinning the portraits, just a couple of cats. A nice find.
The first piece that you see as you approach this Knowle West spot is a wonderful combination work by Daz Cat, who has been flirting with mixing his famous cat characters with portrait pieces, and the result is something quite ‘dazzling’.
Daz Cat, Knowle West, Bristol, July 2025
The portrait of a woman with a blue face is sandwiched between two charming orange cats, it looks like a boy and girl cat. What is also great to see is the iconic Clifton suspension bridge making it into the piece, something that a uniquely Bristol kind of thing to do. Note to self: do a special gallery post on Clifton suspension bridge pieces. Just thinking about it… it is odd that it is always referred to as the Clifton suspension bridge, and rarely, if ever, as the Clifton bridge. Wonderful work from Daz Cat.
What a beauty by Daz Cat. My first thought was who has he been collaborating with? – but there was only one signature and I realised pretty quickly that Daz Cat was trying out something a little new. I can confidently say that his portrait/cat character combination is a huge success, and I look forward to seeing more pieces like this from him.
Daz Cat, St Werburghs, Bristol, June 2025
There is a lot to talk about in this ‘self-collaboration’ and I’m sure I won’t be able to do it justice. Starting with the portrait, there are some obvious Daz Cat trademarks, particularly in the patterning in the eyebrows and hair. The proportions and perspective are near perfect, and I think that it demonstrates what I already knew, that Daz Cat is a very talented artist.
The cat character is more along the lines of what I’d expect to see. There is a story here. The cat is holding a snail which has a flower growing out of its shell – what it means, who knows? But it looks great. I look forward to more of these self-collaborations in the future.
It would seem that Daz Cat is rather partial to the concrete blocks up at Purdown, and whyever not? The spot is a wonderful oasis away from the bustle of the streets and has some stunning views over the north and east of Bristol, the dog particularly likes it up there, perhaps it is the lure of the stinky goats.
Daz Cat, Purdown, Bristol, April 2025
Daz Cat has switched things up a bit by painting this cat portrait upside down, which would completely goof me up, but I am not an artist, and maybe it is concepts like this that separate out the ways artists and non-artists see the world. The purple cat has a fine gold nose ring and a vapour trail from eyes to ears, which must be symbolic of something, and is an idea Daz Cat has used before. This is a fun piece from the cat supremo.
Back to work today after the Easter break, and, of course, it is a bit of a struggle getting my head around returning to work. Getting back into the routine of writing my blog posts before work is helpful in recalibrating and preparing my mind.
Daz Cat, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2025
This is a fine example of a quick(ish) one from Daz Cat. Painted in chrome on a dramatic red background with some imaginative decorations, this three-quarter profile of a cat is just the ticket for starting off the short week positively. I imagine that Daz Cat can knock these characters off in his sleep – goodness knows how many he has painted over the last decade or so.
I have spoken ad nauseam about how Daz Cat’s work has become more sophisticated in recent years, so I won’t go on about it now except to say that this is a wonderful, complex piece that encapsulates the new level that he has found for himself.
Daz Cat, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2025
A cat-human character, wearing bright yellow sunglasses, is playing host to a cat character nestled in her hair. There is a story, but I can’t fathom it out. Daz Cat has selected some calming purples and oranges for this piece, which work very nicely together. There is plenty of depth in the portrait, which the three-quarter profile helps to achieve. A really cracking piece from Daz Cat.
Cornico and Daz Cat, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2025
The curved wall at Dean Lane has played host to so many fabulous pieces (and some not so fabulous). This collaboration from Conrico and Daz Cat is a wonderful piece, full of creativity and colour, with the two distinct styles coming together in great harmony.
Cornico and Daz Cat, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2025
The left hand side of the wall belongs to Conrico, who has written his name in one of his familiar landscapes, with a distant monster that might be Godzilla emerging from the stylised choppy sea. To the right, Daz Cat has painted a sage-like old fish/axolotl type character watches on as if he might have the answer to an unknown question. Is that an orange platypus in his packet? Lots of stories in this brilliant collaboration.
Mr Crawls, Kool Hand and Daz Cat, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2025
This is something of a rarity, a character collaboration. Often you get combinations of characters and graffiti writing in small or large collaborative efforts, but exclusively character pieces is unusual and just how brilliant is this collection from Mr Crawls, Kool Hand and Daz Cat?
Mr Crawls, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2025
Mr Crawls has hit the ground running this year with some outstanding pieces and a slight change in direction or modification of his characters. He is always looking to move things forward and adding new ideas around his central theme of a bird wearing a hat. This most recent phase I would describe as stylised cartoon work.
Kool Hand, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2025
Another artist who has been busy over the winter is Kool Hand, and what a good artist he is, I have just updated his gallery and there are some really fine pieces to enjoy there. This piece features a three-quarter profile of his famous orangutan character, this time in green. Crisp and clean and really well presented.
Daz Cat, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2025
An artist whose work has become more sophisticated and complex over the last few years is Daz Cat. In the early days his cat pieces were fairly two-dimensional, and although fun to find, had plenty of headroom for improvement. Now Daz Cat is operating at an entirely different level, turning out first class portrait pieces (mostly of cats) with every outing. This smiling cat is a perfect example of his work, so full of character and detail and a enjoy to behold. Below is an example of his early work to give you an idea of what I am talking about. This is a very fine character collaboration.
The derelict gun emplacement at Purdown is located within a fenced-off area which is home to a small herd of goats. I think that they are ‘employed’ to help the vegetation down. The presence of the goats makes my trips with the dog something of a challenge, because their smell and very existence drives him crazy, and I have to keep him on a very tight lead. This of course makes taking photographs all the more difficult, with many images blurry of at jaunty angles, when the dog pulls just as I take the shot. I did manage to get a couple of decent pictures of this fabulous goat character piece by Daz Cat.
Daz Cat, Purdown, Bristol, January 2024
Daz Cat continues to develop his style and his pieces are so much richer in content and style and offer a great deal of depth and context that was absent from his early ‘flat’ pieces. He is a great example of an artist who learns and improves all the time. There are other artists who tend to remain quite static and comfortable doing what they do. Both approaches are legitimate, although as an observer, watching the development is an added bonus. I hope the goats of Purdown appreciate this homage.
A few years ago, Daz Cat was painting charming cat portraits, but compared to the pieces he is turning out today, they were flat and unsophisticated and his work since then has elevated several levels. He is now turning out complex pieces that tell stories and have amazing depth to them.
Daz Cat, Greenbank, Bristol, January 2025
This cat with ginger hair and plenty of attitude contains so many interesting features and details. I love the wristwatch and the zip on the tracksuit top, small things that add so much to the story. Also interesting is the creative border, which, rather than being a solid black line, is a dynamic red interface between the character and the background. A very nice piece from Daz Cat.
Natural adventures 