There is something really charming about Zeks’ work that makes it accessible and enjoyable. I don’t quite know how he achieves it, but perhaps it is the naive graffiti writing style that makes it so welcoming, and in this piece there is a kind of narrative around the letters.
Zeks, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2024
The stylised letters spelling ZEKS form the core of the piece, and the story unfolds around that core. It almost feels like a travel diary, with houses, snow-capped mountains and octopus tentacles all featured. The design of the houses have a South American appearance – it would be great to know the backstory to this one. More from Zeks to come.
At the end of each month I tend to dig out a few pieces that have managed to get trapped in my vast archive, which is organised into monthly files, and this is a piece by Grimes that I photographed back in March, but never quite got round to posting.
Grimes, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2024
I think it is fair to say that Grimes has now fully bedded down as a Bristol graffiti writer, and his lively style is appearing reasonably frequently in most of the main graffiti spots in town. This yellow piece is full of energy, which is created by the shapes of his letters, highlights, and in this instance a dynamic background of cartoon pink flames. Two or three starbursts also create a sense of movement and dazzle. It won’t be too long before I have enough Grimes pieces to create a gallery.
Face 1st and Zake, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2024
Although it didn’t last a very long time, this is a nice collaboration from PWA’s Face 1st and Zake. I think that I would be the first to say that it is an unusual collaboration, but in the same breath a really interesting one too.
Face 1st, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2024
Face 1st has been experimenting a lot lately, especially with his 3D block writing, and this piece demonstrated perfectly the kind of writing he is producing at the moment. The writing appears to be cut in to a long block of machinery or a device, indicated by the numerous red filament bulbs along the length. The letters spell out FACE, of course, and although a little rough at the edges, the concept is a great one. I love the light bulbs.
Zake, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2024
Zake has painted one of his cartoon character faces, full of depth and relief. I don’t feel that the two pieces work terribly well together, but they don’t need to, because each stands alone perfectly well. I do enjoy the constant creativity and unrelenting effort from the PWA crew – and ever-present heart-beat of the Bristol scene.
Mind 49 and SPZero76, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2024
A couple of weeks back, there was a superb paint jam on the M32 roundabout. I am not sure if it was to celebrate something specific, or simply a whole bunch of artists enjoying a sunny day (what are those?), but whatever it was all about, it resulted in some cracking pieces, including this meeting of styles collaboration between Mind 49 and SPZero76.
Mind 49, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2024
Mind 49 has been smashing it with each new piece he produces. His portrait work, often from unusual angles and with faces partially obscured is painted in a soft photorealistic style, if that makes sense. The character in this particular piece is looking away, but immediately catching the eye is the addition of a large swallow flying by, utterly unexpected, and quite brilliant. This is a wonderfully conceived piece which segues nicely to something completely different via a multicoloured strip.
SPZero76, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2024
The two pieces have nothing in common at all, and SPZero76’s animated comic style is not something I would expect to see adjacent to Mind 49 soft-portrait style. The multicoloured strip is the only thing that unites them. The piece entitled ‘after the robot apocalypse’ features a dog? character and a feline robot toting large weapons, in some dystopian future setting. A wonderful and lively animation piece from a truly gifted artist.
Pekoe and Bnie, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2024
Of course, it is a terrible cliché, but when I see pieces like this that are both pretty and pink, I like to describe them as ‘pretty in pink’ stealing from the celebrated 1986 teen film, and then I get the earworm of the Psychedelic Furs and the song that the film was named after. This PIP collaboration is a peach from Pekoe and Bnie.
Pekoe, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2024
Pekoe has been mixing up her portraits and her writing recently, but I have to express my slight preference for her portraits, because, well, I just love them. The figurative piece is nice and clean, with solid fills and strong black lines, and there is something a little more stylised about the face, especially around the eyes. A classy piece of work.
Bnie, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2024
Bnie is so consistent in the quality of her work, and all the elements of these letters come together perfectly. The pink background provides a great canvass for the writing to stand out. The golden drop shadow adds depth to the beautifully designed and filled letters. A clever touch is the subtlest dark shading at the base of the letters, creating a bit of shadow and lifting the writing further. What a fine collaboration.
I am getting rather excited about an exhibition of Merny’s work in Bristol running from 12-18 July 2024, in other words, starting on Friday this week, entitled ‘A Waste of Paint’. Time enough to enjoy this recent piece that was painted during a paint jam a couple of weeks ago. It is great to see that Merny is able to get out and paint from time to time as he has to juggle his painting free time with parental duties.
Merny, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2024
The piece tells its own story, that you don’t really need to hear from me, because you can work it out for yourself. The naively painted characters, which look like they have been painted with brush work are sharing a tender moment of illness and care, but in a humorous setting. The trademark bullet labels are there and accompanied by steps 1 and 2. A wonderful piece, and so different from much of what you tend to see in Bristol.
Pekoe and Jody, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2024
This is another installation from the recent paint jam to celebrate Wispa’s (in absentia) birthday. I can’t recall whether Pekoe and Jody have collaborated before, but they have done so spectacularly well in this writing/cup-cake combination piece.
Pekoe and Jody, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2024
Pekoe has been working more on her letters over the last year or so and is clearly gaining in confidence. There is a uniformity and discipline here which is good to see, She has added a sprinkling of ‘love hearts’ in line with the confection theme for the paint jam. The cup-cake by Jody is nothing short of perfect… topped with a swirl of cream a cherry, mint leaves and some chocolate sprinkles. A superb collaboration from the pair – I hope Wispa was suitably impressed/touched.
This is an unusual, but also rather pleasing piece painted by Kid Crayon, alongside his friend I am Ian, who featured on Natural Adventures yesterday. The whole piece is relatively simple in its construction and made up of only five colours; a yellow background, white letters, green border, grey accents and some random orange squiggles.
Kid Crayon, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2024
The bubbly/cloudy letters spell out CRAYON, with the letters KID written backwards, a regular device used by Kid Crayon. There is a lightness of touch and ease about the piece and although simple in design it is beautifully executed. I know that Kid Crayon is extremely busy at work, getting paid for what he loves doing, and that makes his street pieces all the more welcome. Nice one.
The dry, and occasionally hot, weather we have been experiencing during this so-called English summer has seen artists out and about in large numbers, with several recent very well attended paint jams. This beauty, by I am Ian, was painted on the roundabout wall during one of these paint jams.
I am Ian, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2024
I get the feeling that I am Ian, who doesn’t paint walls all that often, was coaxed out of his studio to paint next to his friend Kid Crayon. Furthermore, I have never seen an I am Ian piece that isn’t adjacent to or a collaboration with Kid Crayon. The character looks a bit like one of the evil alter-egos spawned from Gizmo in the 1980s ‘horror’ film ‘Gremlins’. The mischievous character, who is spraying the wall with red paint, is nicely presented and definitely brings something fresh and interesting to the paint jam. I am looking forward to seeing more of these events through the summer period.
Grimes is a graffiti writer who burst onto the Bristol scene a few months back, and has already had a significant impact. His energetic pieces tend to be full of vibrant colour and movement, this one being a great example. The wall he has chosen at one of the underpass entrances on the M32 roundabout is not the easiest to paint because of the slope, but Grimes has done a good job.
Grimes, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2024
The orange, red and green combination of colours has worked really well and the fills patterns, which are a bit of a trademark, are really on point. The letters, spelling GRIMES are perfectly set on an aquatic blue bubbly backdrop and wispy grey ‘flames’. A really accomplished and enjoyable piece.
Natural adventures 