Tag: Kid Crayon

5162. M32 roundabout J3 (467)

Kid Crayon and I Am Ian, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2023
Kid Crayon and I Am Ian, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2023

I was really fed up when I missed the last collaboration from these two in Dean Lane a short while ago. I was just too slow, and in this game if you snooze, you lose. So I didn’t hang around this time, making sure I got down to the roundabout as soon as I knew this had been painted. The collaboration is from Kid Crayon and I Am Ian, whose street work I have only ever seen alongside his friend.

Kid Crayon, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2023
Kid Crayon, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2023

Kid crayon has gone for some straightforward writing in pink shades, which is very much a favoured tone he uses. The letters are clean and tidy, with some fun fills adding interest to the two pinks he has used. The lines along the top offer a sense of movement. The words ‘sit up’ segue nicely across to the adjacent I Am Ian piece.

I Am Ian, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2023
I Am Ian, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2023

I have seen a lot of designs on I Am Ian’s Instagram account, and he manages to transition them really well to large walls, retaining his bold colours and exaggerated features. In this piece, we see a red-faced character doing sit-ups, building up a sweat and whose eyes are popping. Fun stuff from these two, who really ought to get out more and paint walls together this summer (easy for me to say).

5117. Cattle Market Road (14)

SPZero76 and Kid Crayon, Cattle Market Road, Bristol, March 2023
SPZero76 and Kid Crayon, Cattle Market Road, Bristol, March 2023

Sometimes I am so far behind the curve I actually surprise myself. I think I was aware of this wonderful winter wonderland piece by SPZero76 and Kid Crayon, otherwise known as the EAT crew, from last Christmas, but I simply haven’t visited the hoarding in such a long time.

SPZero76, Cattle Market Road, Bristol, March 2023
SPZero76, Cattle Market Road, Bristol, March 2023

The whole piece is a continuous story and a great collaboration, with the left-hand side painted by SPZero76 and the right-hand side by Kid Crayon. Inevitably, SPZero76 has included a robot snowball-launcher alongside a woman throwing a snowman’s head.

Kid Crayon, Cattle Market Road, Bristol, March 2023
Kid Crayon, Cattle Market Road, Bristol, March 2023

Kid Crayon has painted a couple of young lads throwing and launching their own snowballs back. Beautifully sprayed by both artists, this is a fun, cartoon-style piece that really captures the spirit of winter, and snow that most Bristolians can only dream of (even though we had a little bit of the white stuff this year). We just don’t get to see enough by the EAT crew these days. Perhaps they will get busy on the streets this year.

4522. Upfest 2022 (19)

How wonderful to see a familiar Bristol artist taking up one of the semi-permanent walls at Upfest this year. The artist in question is the magnificent Kid Crayon with the first of two Upfest pieces, the other being on a temporary board in Greville Smyth Park.

Kid Crayon, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Kid Crayon, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

This rather rare (these days) street piece by Kid Crayon features his name in blues and pinks, nicely worked around the notice board on the wall and a beautiful cartoon-style portrait. The portrait of a silver-haired woman wearing a choker round her neck, is a fine portrait indeed and works so well with his style. The best bit is a return of a floating crayon just in front of the woman’s mouth. It is so good to see Kid Crayon hitting walls again, I only hope he finds time to keep up the momentum.

4507. Brunel Way (160)

I don’t think that there has ever been a time when I have not been excited to find a piece by Kid Crayon. His work has been at the heart of my love for street art, and he is probably the street artist I have followed most closely over the last six years or so.

Kid Crayon, Brunel Way, Bristol, May 2022
Kid Crayon, Brunel Way, Bristol, May 2022

This piece is quite unlike anything we might expect from Kid Crayon, but there is a reason for that, He painted it as a part of the Secret Writer name exchange idea, where writers wrote the name of another artist (supposedly anonymously – although Kid Crayon signed this one). He was honouring the artist Rasexone1 and in turn Kid Crayon’s name was written by Magnesone. What a stupendous idea and one that binds the street art community, but a bit confusing for people like me who are trying to untangle and make sense of the whole scene.

In addition, this was the first Kid Crayon piece I had seen in a long time and I asked him, at the Upfest festival, why he has hardly been painting lately. His answer was great news… he has been working flat out with some big commissions, and that for an artist is something to cherish. More posts of his even more recent work coming soon.

4008. St Werburghs tunnel (263)

Hurrah, hurrah, hurrah! It has been such a long time since I have seen a street piece from Kid Crayon, although he has been doing a lot of studio and digital work over the last few months, it is refreshing to see something big and bold. In this collaboration, Kid Crayon has teamed up with Nightwayss, who conversely doesn’t seem to have stopped hitting walls this year, he is a machine.

Kid Crayon, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2021
Kid Crayon, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2021

To the left of this ‘Finger Trap’ piece, Kid Crayon has painted a brilliant character (is it a self-portrait?) poking his finger into the trap while tipping his red baseball cap. The character is brilliant and so uniquely Kid Crayon.

Nightwayss, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2021
Nightwayss, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2021

To the right and making up the other half of the collaboration, joined with the central trap, is an unusual piece by Nightwayss. I love this recent experimental style from Nightwayss that seems to be exploring the fragmentation and interruption of a portrait and other elements, such as a parrot in this case. The fine artist in Nightwayss is coming to the fore in exploring new ideas and forms. Pity about the tag, but hey, you snooze, you lose!

Lovely and most welcome collaboration.

3676. North Street

Hurrah! It made my day when I saw this wonderful collaboration from Kid Crayon and Zubieta on social media, and I couldn’t get down to North Street fast enough. This boarded up shop front has had some fabulous pieces on it over the years, but has the disadvantage, from a photography point of view, of cars being permanently parked outside – an occupational hazard in Bedminster.

Kid Crayon, North Street, Bristol, May 2021
Kid Crayon, North Street, Bristol, May 2021

Of course I know Kid Crayon well, but this is the first time I have seen anything by Zubieta. The colours and style of the whole collaboration is very ‘Crayonesque’ but it is clear that the left hand side is by Kid Crayon and the right hand side by Zubieta. The theme would appear to be alcohol fuelled as both characters appear to be semi-immersed in a sea of booze. The Crayon character is wearing a trademark paper hat which is always nice to see.

Zubieta, North Street, Bristol, May 2021
Zubieta, North Street, Bristol, May 2021

Zubieta is an artist/designer based in Bristol but originally from Seville in Spain as far as I can make out. This is the first street piece I have seen by her, and what a perfect way to start alongside Kid Crayon. Zubieta’s character is a mermaid that seems to be equally happy with the alcoholic environment. This is a fun piece and it is great to see Kid Crayon hitting the streets again after a pretty long absence.

Kid Crayon and Zubieta, North Street, Bristol, May 2021
Kid Crayon and Zubieta, North Street, Bristol, May 2021

3262. M32 Spot (85)

I have said it before and will repeat myself. I love this modest board underneath the M32. Turnover is quite slow, maybe one new piece a month and the quality of work here is usually pretty good, and that fine tradition continues with this zany collaboration from Kid Crayon and I Am Ian

Kid Crayon, M32 Spot, Bristol, October 2020
Kid Crayon, M32 Spot, Bristol, October 2020

I can’t begin to know what the story is in this piece and I will not attempt to unravel it, but it is full of fun and colour. On the left is a male head sporting a rather nice paper hat with a blue and white flag. All around the face are swords firmly planted in the blue substrate. The words between the two heads say Cloth Mother – I don’t know wat that is, maybe their crew name.

I Am Ian, M32 Spot, Bristol, October 2020
I Am Ian, M32 Spot, Bristol, October 2020

On the right is a face from I Am Ian, one that has ben severed from its body, presumably by one of the many swords. The character has horns and might be satan, but I’ll not guess any further because I said I wouldn’t try to unravel the collaboration. Instead I will sit back and enjoy it. Crazy people, crazy piece.

3226. John Street (5)

When have I not liked a Kid Crayon piece? An easy answer… never. Some double negatives there, but what I am saying is that I love Kid Crayon’s work and this Archway piece in John Street is a real gem.

Kid Crayon, John Street, Bristol, September 2020
Kid Crayon, John Street, Bristol, September 2020

This open air gallery of ten archways is a fantastic showcase for some of Bristol’s great street artists and Kid Crayon has seized the opportunity and come up with this piece that resembles a stained-glass window. Crayon, cat, cup and cactus, are all here in this portrait piece set in front of a blue glass window. Absolutely wonderful.

3105. M32 roundabout J3 (245)

You will know that I have a very large soft spot for the work of Kid Crayonm, and what makes it extra good is that he is a seriously nice bloke too. I managed to catch up with him while he was painting this trpical protrait piece at the M32 paint jam back in July.

Kid Crayon, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2020
Kid Crayon, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2020

We stopped for a while to chat and KC told me that this section of wall is a little tricky for him because of his height and he needs to stand on stuff to reach the top. I love the way that over the last couple of years, the party hat has become almost as much of a thing in his work as the crayon, both featured here.

Kid Crayon, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2020
Kid Crayon, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2020

I have enjoyed this little spate of pieces from KC and am looking forward to hunting down a collaboration piece he has just finished with SPZero76. There are some things that have been great about this summer and this is one of them.

3067. M32 roundabout J3 (234)

It seems such a pity when a lovely collaboration like this one from I Am Ian and Kid Crayon only lasts a day or so, but this wall has been in high-demand recently and turnover very fast indeed. I have already missed recent Laic217, Kid Crayon and Mr Draws Pieces right here in the last few days. I spoke with Kid Crayon the day after I took this photograph (he was painting a new piece – to come) and he told me that he and I Am Ian had trained together as graphic designers and remained friends and although they have taken slightly different paths they get together occasionally to paint a wall.

I am Ian and Kid Crayon, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2020
I am Ian and Kid Crayon, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2020

This collaboration is a lot of fun and a time-lapse video from Kid Crayon’s Instagram feed shows how the whole piece came together and is well worth a view. Kid Crayon has woken up and is painting like a mad thing which can only be great news. I am less familiar with I Am Ian’s work, but that is because he rarely hits the streets with his art. Their last collaboration was a fabulous piece in St Werburghs tunnel. There is so much to love about this.

Kid Crayon and I Am Ian, St Werburghs, Bristol, January 2020
Kid Crayon and I Am Ian, St Werburghs, Bristol, January 2020