Now this is a rare thing indeed, a piece by DNT, an artist who hasn’t painted too much in Bristol over the last few years, but who at one time was one of the central artists painting in the Stokes Croft area of the city. His unusual and creative pieces have always been on the margins of the mainstream art we see so much of here.
DNT, Montpelier Park, Bristol, May 2024
This piece was painted alongside Klashwhensober recently, and is most welcome. The character is a bull, smoking a rather large joint, reminding me a little of the ‘Camberwell carrot’ from the outstanding film ‘Withnail and I’. There is detail and accuracy in the piece that gives away his skills and experience as an established artist. I sincerely hope that this might be a renaissance from one of my favourite artists. You can see more of his work in this gallery.
DNT, Tymb and Mr Klue, Gloucester Road, Bristol, December 2022
Not very far away from where I live is this magnificent new mural, which I only became aware of when I was doing a little Christmas shopping. The mural captures so much of why I love living in this city. It is not only a big bold piece, but it is a big bold statement too – ‘the free city of Bristol’, which tells you a lot about the independent sentiment that Bristolians have.
DNT, Tymb and Mr Klue, Gloucester Road, Bristol, December 2022
The mural is a collaboration between DNT, Tymb and Mr Klue. I know the work of DNT and Mr Klue intimately, but have not encountered Tymb before. The decorative border is the work of DNT, I would think, and the castle is probably by Mr Klue. The fact that it is uncertain who painted what makes this piece in my eyes a true collaboration between the artists, where their work merges. A piece to be proud of.
I got super-lucky a couple of weeks ago when I bumped into DNT just as he was finishing off this outstanding piece just outside the M32 roundabout. I didn’t recognise him or his work at first, until we started chatting. What an absolute pleasure it was to meet him, and although I had met him before, he didn’t recognise me. I like his work very much, and it was a privilege to be there just as he was wrapping up.
DNT, M32 roundabout, Bristol, October 2022
The piece, on the side of a food wagon, features a woman in an elaborate headdress with an Aztec or Mayan feel about her. It is an outstanding and vibrant piece, beautifully designed and executed, and knowing who it is by after the event, so obviously a DNT work. Superb work and a red-letter day.
DNT has been one of those artists who has pretty much gone to ground over the last year and I have seen very little of his work. It was a lovely surprise then to find this delightful and somewhat out-of-character piece from him on the side of an eatery that has had a bit of a makeover.
DNT, Nine Tree Hill, Bristol, April 2021
The El Jeffe José Cubans sandwich shop is so perfect for its Stokes Croft location and it is wonderful that they have turned to a local artist to decorate its side wall, which is at permanent risk of being tagged. A great piece like this from a local artist might see it given some respect.
DNT has painted some lovely flowers on a yellow cloud background, which is far removed from his robotic-monster pieces that we are more accustomed to. This is perfect for this spot and outlet and adds some colour and brightness to this little corner of Stokes Croft.
Well I’m not sure how I missed this one first time round, but I just had a little potter around in my archives and once I found it I couldn’t really ignore it. It is a tidy collaboration from Mr Klue and DNT, who quite often get together to paint, from those heady days before coronavirus was a thing in the UK… remember that?
Mr Klue and DNT, Turbo Island, Bristol, February 2020
I can’t decide whether the shopping trolley is really annoying or actually adds a little bit of character to the photograph. No matter, it is there. The very ‘DNT’ monster embedded within the Mr Klue writing is a window into the artist’s mind and like so many of his characters is part organic, part mechanical. It looks likes the puffs of yellow smoke are puffing out of one of the legs of the character. A nice collaboration.
This is something of an iconic piece at The Carriageworks by DNT and Hoax, and possibly other collaborators. The wall can be dated as pre-2019 because it has been behind protective scaffolding due to the development of the site for a long time now.
DNT, The Carriageworks, Bristol, October 2016
The figure is by DNT and he has produced something similar since in Hepburn Road. I think that the beautiful patchwork background is by Hoax or maybe Sheva or maybe the whole thing is by DNT. This uncertainty might be the reason I never published these pictures before.
DNT, The Carriageworks, Bristol, October 2016
I think it is a beautiful piece and in some way really represents this area well. It is a great pity that this wonderful wall has been lost to street artists, but I guess it has ever been thus.
DNT, Hepburn Road, Bristol, August 2017
MGB stands for Matchbox Gallery, a little gallery shop that DNT used to run in Stokes Croft.
This one is not for the easily offended, and if graffiti cock ‘n’ balls are not your thing, I think you might need to move on pretty swiftly. This is a rather mischievous collaboration between The Cat Came Back and DNT on the Turbo Island wall.
The Cat Came Back, Turbo Island, Bristol, January 2020
On the left is the cock – one of graffiti’s most enduring images – that is part cock, part cat. I can’t quite make out the writing, but I think it says ‘I’m Cat’. You can make up your own minds about this one.
DNT, Turbo Island, Bristol, January 2020
On the right is another kind of robot sort of creation from DNT. The whole collaboration looks like it was painted in a bit of a hurry or under the influence of alcohol/other. A bit of fun for some.
I truly believe that DNT is one of the unsung heroes of the Bristol street art scene. He is creative, edgy and prolific, with a style all of his own and a kind of artistic determination that is uncomprimising. I think that for some, his artwork is hard to like because it is unfamiliar and unusual, but scratch under the surface and there is so much to like.
DNT, Richmond Road, Bristol, February 2020
This piece would appear to be a commission for a friend or ‘patron’ and can be found at the bottom of Richmond Road. The rather organic letters, spelling out DNT, bear a similarity to some of Object…’s work in that there is a weirdness and fragility to them. Painted in 2019, I have only recently come across this piece.
This was the central part of a recent three-way collaboration in St Werburghs tunnel by DNT. Fellow collaborators were Mr Klue to the left and Mr Sleven to the right. This was a collaboration in the sense that the three were painting together, but each of the paintings was discrete from the others.
DNT, St Werburghs, Bristol, January 2020
DNT is an interesting artist who has a reasonably identifiable style, but his subject matter is ecclectic to say the least. He is creative and imaginative and has produced a number of these organic robot types of pieces before and I have to say I rather like them. I’m not quite sure what this robot is all about, but he seems to be quite busy.
Natural adventures 