Once again I have been doing a little bit of cleaning up of my archives, and I came across this rather unusual Kid Crayon piece from Kid Crayon last July. I am finding that Bristol art from July is often under-represented in my posts, because they get hijacked by Upfest and will remain unshared and unloved in my July folder.
Kid Crayon, The Bearpit, Bristol, July 2017
This piece reminds me very much of the wheatpastes he used to do and which I used to take great pleasure in hunting down when I first became interested in all this malarkey. A classic Kid Crayon work.
In the partial light of one of the tunnels leading out of The Bearpit a little while back, there was this rather lovely collaboration between Kid Crayon and Ugar. I had caught up with Ugar a few days later and he talked about his collaboration partner most fondly and touchingly called him Crayon Kid. Well it works for me.
Kid Crayon, The Bearpit, Bristol, November 2017
It is not often that Kid Crayon takes to writing, but I guess this was one of those days. What is lovely about his piece here is that he has included his signature crayon, which has been missing (and much missed) of late.
Ugar, The Bearpit, Bristol, November 2017
I am really enjoying finding Ugar pieces around the place. As a relatively new entrant into the Bristol scene, his work adds to the incredible diversity of street art that the city has to offer. He mostly works with the letters of his name, although not always, and here gives us an UG, beautifully filled and decorated. Nice collaboration.
I don’t know an awful lot about Lopes…I think I have sen his name once or twice around Bristol, but can’t be sure. His burner here is nicely executed, but it is the Kid Crayon character to the left that makes this wall.
Kid Crayon and Lopes, M32 roundabout, Bristol, October 2017
I am not sure if this was a deliberate collaboration or if Kid Crayon added his work afterwards. I suspect the latter. However it came about, the KC character with his funny accent in the speech bubble adds so much to the writing of Lopez, bringing the most out of it by drawing attention to it.
Kid Crayon and Lopes, M32 roundabout, Bristol, October 2017
This is a witty and fun piece and so very typical of the understated brilliance of Kid Crayon. Perfect.
At the Ashton Gate Upfest site, which was opened up for the first time in 2017, there was a very long wall running down the entire side of the stadium. Certain sections of this wall were allocated to crews, who sprayed together to create their pieces. This one is by Kid Crayon who was joining up with the Lost Souls crew and Eat.
Kid Crayon, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
I am a big fan of Kid Crayon’s work, and it was his wheatpastes that originally stoked my interest in Bristol street art in the first place, so I have a lot to thank him for. This is a wonderful and colourful piece of a big fish in a sardine can. I don’t know the meaning of the piece, but I know I like it a lot.
Kid Crayon, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Anything to do with fish tends to tick my box, so street art with a fish is a bit of a bonanza.
Let me introduce you to an artist realtively new to the Bristol scene, who has worked in collaboration with Kid Crayon to produce this rather fun piece in The Bearpit. His name is Ugar and he comes from Budapest, Hungary.
Kid Crayon and Ugar, The Bearpit, Bristol, November 2017
I first became aware of Ugar about three months ago, when I saw some of his lettering in Dean Lane, and then was lucky enough to meet him there a couple of weeks ago on one of my lunchtime walks. He told me he wasn’t very pleased with this piece (he did the dog on the right hand side) but that he really enjoyed working with Kid Crayon.
Kid Crayon and Ugar, The Bearpit, Bristol, November 2017
I rather like this collaboration and I certainly look forward to seeing more from this pairing.
Kid Crayon is a busy man at the moment, and seems to really be enjoying his work and his collaborations. This piece was sprayed the day after his rain-interrupted exertions at Upfest 2017. A little bit of decent weather and he creates this fantastic blue face.
Kid Crayon, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2017
I really like this piece, and two things stand out for me. The first is the crazy eyes – like ping pong balls and an interesting take on the iris. The second is the signature, that looks rather different from ones I have seen before…perhaps he is experimenting with it.
Kid Crayon, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2017
This is a fun, creative piece that, for me at least, shows Kid Crayon’s enthusiasm for his art. Love it.
This piece was one of a series of ‘quick ones’ from Kid Crayon, and if I understood correctly, part of passing his skills on to another aspiring street sprayer. I love the way the community has a social structure of its own where artists respect and look after one another. Of course, like any society, it is not all easy; there are codes, ‘territories’, legality, status and hierarchy and so on to contend with every day.
Kid Crayon, The Bearpit, Bristol, July 2017
This is a really nice simple piece by Kid Crayon, and something of a reversion to his wheatpastes that were so influential in getting me interested in all this stuff in the first place. Respect.
Another fine piece at this relatively new location at Temple Meads station. This is a lovely work from Kid Crayon featuring a group of people and their obsessions with their mobile phones. Possibly representative of the crowds of people departing from and arriving at the station each and every day.
Kid Crayon, Lower Approach road, Bristol, June 2017
I am not sure if any of these characters are based on real people, but the fellow on the right eating his phone has an uncanny resemblance to Paul Monsters (Paul Roberts) who painted a collaboration with Copyright just around the corner.
Kid Crayon, Lower Approach road, Bristol, June 2017
Somehow no Kid Crayon piece feels complete without purple or blue-faced people, and here he offers lashings of them. The young girl actually looks quite sinister, reminiscent of the character from The Addams Family played by Christina Ricci.
Kid Crayon, Lower Approach road, Bristol, June 2017
Quite who the pretty lady with the squinty eye at the centre of the picture is I don’t know, but I love the detail of her necklace and freckled nose. All in all this is a superb piece from Kid Crayon…full of stories and beautifully executed.
Kid Crayon, Lower Approach Road, Bristol, June 2017
I am absolutely loving this EAT crew partnership of Kid Crayon and SPZero76. As street artists go, their styles are quite different, KC tending to have softer lines and whose characters have a kind of lumpy quality to them…I’m not sure I have used the right term there, but I know what I mean. SPZero76 tends to use sharper lines and his characters are altogether more angular and prickly (another dodgy art term).
Kid Crayon and SPZero, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2017
I mention their styles, because, of all the works they have done together that I have seen, this is the one where their art is starting to merge or rub-off on one another. The left hand side id by Kid Crayon and the right hand side by SPZero76.
Kid Crayon and SPZero, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2017
I have absolutely no idea what is going on in this piece, but love the sort of Summer watery feel to it all. A purple giant, some little ‘ginger bread man’ type figures and a pretty lady bathing with a rubber duck. KC is clearly bonkers.
Kid Crayon and SPZero, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2017
On the other side of things, SPZero76 gives us a couple of snorkelers a flamingo rubber ring and a pirate ship. The couple are in love. SPZero too is completely bonkers.
Kid Crayon and SPZero, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2017
I absolutely love this collaboration and even more enjoy the way that these two just seem to love to paint all the time, about anything. This is one of my favourite pieces so far this year. Bravo.
Aloha! Domestic Drain Services can be found just off the end of Millpond Street. I like the name of the street because it tells us something about the history of the area, I guess it all looked very different here a hundred years ago.
SPZero76, Millpond Street, Bristol, May 2017
This is a wonderful collaborative curtain-raiser to Summer by SPZero76 and Kid Crayon of the EAT crew. The left hand side is characteristically SPZero76 and features a fine lady playing a ukulele next to one of his face masks that he paints a lot.
Kid Crayon, Millpond Street, Bristol, May 2017
On the right hand side we have a fabulous ‘island life’ collection by Kid Crayon. I think the geography of the piece is a little confused however, Hawaii and Easter Island, but who cares about that, it is the cheery welcome and thoughts of Summer that appeal.
SPZero76 and Kid Crayon, Millpond Street, Bristol, May 2017
These two artists are working really well together at the moment, and I look forward to seeing more collaborations from the EAT crew.
