3928. M32 Cycle path (140)

Ah! Sweet joy – another splendid piece from Bristol’s reliable and faithful Laic217. Of all the artists in Bristol, I think that the one that brings me most pleasure is Laic217, because I have been following his progress closely and watched him develop into a first class graffiti artist.

Laic217, M32 cycle path, Bristol, August 2021
Laic217, M32 cycle path, Bristol, August 2021

This classy piece on the M32 cycle path returns to a melting face theme that Laic217 was rather fond of a few years ago, but it is now embellished with so much more detail and technique. His name is concealed in the melting face, and there is a nod to his crew PAD too. The bucket hat has some slightly peculiar eyes peering through, and I love the way he has painted the ridges in the brim. Another wonderful piece from Laic217.

3900. M32 Cycle path (138)

As if things weren’t busy enough on the streets of Bristol, I take a week’s holiday, and the turnover of pieces has been phenomenal. Possibly the pick of the bunch (but I am biased) is this door piece from Laic217.

Laic217, M32 cycle path, Bristol, August 2021
Laic217, M32 cycle path, Bristol, August 2021

Laic217 seems to have settled into a pattern of painting that I can just about keep up with, roughly a couple per month, which seems sensible to me. This piece is perhaps a little more unsettling than some of his skeleton pieces, because of the satanic references. The face is a design idea I have not seen from Laic217 before, but it has a horror film feel about it.

Laic217, M32 cycle path, Bristol, August 2021
Laic217, M32 cycle path, Bristol, August 2021

As always the execution of the piece is first class and the detail in the character’s coat, the creases and yellow cord, are fabulous. The blue smoke too is nicely done. Laic217 keeps on turning out brilliant work, no fuss, no bother.

3890. M32 Cycle path (137)

In the midst of all the excitement of the Upfest 75 walls in 75 days summer event, it is easy to forget about the beating heart of the Bristol graffiti art scene. Writers like Phour put in the hard graft day in, day out, honing their skills, making adjustments and having fun. Without these people, Bristol would simply be a high-end clinical showcase of wall art, and I could name one or two towns and cities in the UK that are just that, where there is no sub-culture to speak of.

Phour, M32 cycle path, Bristol, August 2021
Phour, M32 cycle path, Bristol, August 2021

Phour’s letters are distinctive and regular, spelling out the name. In this piece there is a fine horizontal transition running across the letters with some decorative bubbles. The green bubble background and bright green border help to give the letters a bit of a lift. A nice piece from Phour.

3884. M32 Cycle path (136)

When I saw this piece for the first time, I was instantly drawn to it – there was something about the form and colours and of course the penguin. It had been painted alongside work from LRS artists Eman and 3F fino, but I didn’t know who the artist was. I got lucky a week or two later when I met the artist, Apex_aloy, during a paint jam at Cumberland Basin and was able to put a name to the piece.

Apex_aloy, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, July 2021
Apex_aloy, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, July 2021

I believe Apex_aloy comes from a town near Bristol and visits from time to time, which is something I’ll have to look out for. I had difficulty making out the letters initially, but they spell out STIKA, and have been worked nicely to complement the colours of the penguin. The piece was painted freehand and has turned out rather well. A few more minutes working on the backwash would have taken it up a level… small details. Looking forward to seeing more from Apex_aloy.

3851. M32 Cycle path (135)

One of Bristol’s most prolific writers of recent years has recently moved out of the city, and don’t we know it. There was a time when hardly a week would go by without a new piece from Decay, but now they are something of a rarity. This one was painted alongside LRS crew fellow Eman a little while ago.

Decay, M32 cycle path, Bristol, June 2021
Decay, M32 cycle path, Bristol, June 2021

Decay seems to reinvent his basic design every year or so, and this is his 2021 look with the letters D and K and a more prominent ‘Chuck’ character in the middle. There are some lovely design features in this writing, and I love the neon pink triangle on the K. I hope that as things return a little bit to a new normal, Decay will be able to come in to Bristol a little bit more often, his work is missed.

3820. M32 Cycle path (135)

Laic217 – or old faithful as he should be called, has turned out yet another outstanding piece to add to his vast collection. Just to get a feel for his talent, it would be worth taking a quick look at this newly revised gallery to refresh your memory.

Laic217, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, July 2021
Laic217, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, July 2021

In this piece, we see Laic217 return to his trippy, psychedelic facial disruption theme, with doubling eyes vertically and mouth furnished with an additional row of teeth, not forgetting the duplication of smoking joints. I don’t think we have to look too far to understand where Laic217 gets his inspiration from.

Laic217, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, July 2021
Laic217, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, July 2021

The character looks a little worse for wear, his bloodshot eyes adding to the overall look, and the pink gunge dripping from his bucket hat rather neatly spells out Laic217 before settling on his shoulder. For Laic217 connoisseurs, this is a gem.

3812. M32 Cycle path (134)

Some might not have noticed the ‘changing of the guard’ piece on this wall as it is by the same artist and is not dissimilar to its predecessor. It is unmistakably by Claro-que-sssnoh and spells out his signature HONS letters.

Claro_que_sssnoh, M32 Cycle Path, Bristol, July 2021
Claro_que_sssnoh, M32 Cycle Path, Bristol, July 2021

His work is almost maze-like and the letters a combination of regular straight lines and curves which almost seem to compete with one another for the space. His fills are beautifully done and contain several of his favoured dots in a line, each smaller than the one before. It is always good to see new work from this Spanish artist living in Bristol.

Claro_que_sssnoh, M32 cycle path, Bristol, October 2020
Claro_que_sssnoh, M32 cycle path, Bristol, October 2020

3801. M32 Cycle path (133)

This piece, and one or two other recent ones, mark a slight change in style for Pl8o, whose large block letters might be more familiar to regular readers. This time he has gone with something more akin to script lettering and it all comes together rather well.

Pl8o, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, June 2021
Pl8o, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, June 2021

It is always refreshing to see artists try something different, switching things up a bit. I like this piece a lot, but I think that prepping the wall with a slightly more solid wash would have been beneficial. Other than that a fun new direction from Pl8o.

3779. M32 Cycle path (132)

I first met Eman in almost this exact spot back in November 2020, and I would say that since then he is an artist who has had a significant impact on the Bristol street art scene. He is a prolific artist, and he is totally open to pushing his boundaries, equally at home with his writing or his character pieces. I cannot think of a more versatile artist in the city at the moment.

Eman, M32 cycle path, Bristol, June 2021
Eman, M32 cycle path, Bristol, June 2021

This rather attractive pink and grey combination of writing with a character is bright and cheerful and skilfully painted. The character, a gecko, is one that Eman has taken a liking to and is appearing all over the place. Great to see so much artwork coming from this really decent bloke who seems to enjoy what he does.

M32 Cycle path (131)

Irrepressible is probably the word I would use to describe Turoe’s current mood. For about a year now he has been interchanging his usual Turoe wildstyle pieces with his ‘shyte’ series, of which this is a recent example.

Turoe, M32 cycle path, Bristol, June 2021
Turoe, M32 cycle path, Bristol, June 2021

I actually really like this one… a lot. It has been written with rather slim letters on a thick white border which makes it look a bit like a giant sticker. The colour selections are very nice indeed and the horizontal transitions very nicely blended. Overall this is a rather splendid piece.