How absolutely brilliant is this? I used to read the Snail and Whale to my kids when they were little, along with several other Julia Donaldson classics. Having a close association with the sea for much of my childhood and my working life, I particularly enjoyed reading this picture book to them.
Haka, M32 Spot, Bristol, February 2023
Haka has absolutely nailed the style of the illustrator, Axel Scheffler, in several pieces around the city, but this somehow feels even more authentic than some of the others. I am absolutely loving this ‘period’ in Haka’s street art journey, and expect it to continue for a few years yet. Bravo!
The whole of the M32 spot has become really untidy lately, and the flyposters have been very busy covering every surface with irritating posters. I never thought I’d say it, but I reckon the whole place could do with a bloody good buffing, tidy up and starting over again. Bogat has managed to find some space on this column to paint one of his trademark faces.
Bogat, M32 Spot, Bristol, February 2023
Although relatively simple in design, Bogat’s work is captivating and packs a punch, and he has a look and feel that is quite unique in Bristol. I particularly like the red cap, which reminds me of my own personal super-hero Jacques Cousteau, who was rarely seen without one. A nice column piece from Bogat.
Dopes, Jaksta and Neddy Ned Ned, M32 Spot, Bristol, January 2023
Well lookee here, on one of my favourite walls we have a fabulous three-way collaboration from Dopes, Jaksta and Neddy Ned Ned. The whole thing is painted in Autumnal colours (although a winter collaboration), and provides more than a little contemporary commentary.
Dopes, M32 Spot, Bristol, January 2023
To the left is a fine piece of writing from Dopes, offering his beautifully proportioned letters in a metallic style with plenty of shading fades and highlights, neatly finished off with a tidy blue border and some arrows thrown in for good measure.
Jaksta, M32 Spot, Bristol, January 2023
The most eye-catching element of the triptych is the portrait of Prince Harry, painted by Jaksta. This mischievous send-up of the Prince directly relates to the revelations in his autobiography ‘Spare’ and is a play on the word Charlie (cocaine) and Charles (his father the King). The portrait is nicely worked, but very different from the style I would normally associate with Jaksta.
Neddy Ned Ned, M32 Spot, Bristol, January 2023
I have never (knowingly) come across Neddy Ned Ned before, although his work does look slightly familiar. It is always great to have visitors to the city, especially when they are clearly as talented as Neddy Ned Ned is. There is a nice flow and confidence to the shapes of the letters, and there is a bit of a fill-fest going on too. Altogether, this is a banging collaboration.
A quick message today from the Grinch, via the skill of John D’oh, for all you dog lovers out there – ‘a dog is not just for Christmas and should not just be given away or discarded’.
John D’oh, M32 Spot, Bristol, December 2022
A beautiful stencil piece featuring the Dr, Seuss character.
This is a fine and rather unexpected collaborative wall from Mudra and Saor on a hoarding that I really love. This pair, are members of the very strong NTS crew, and when they get together to paint, the results are usually pretty awesome.
Mudra, M32 Spot, Bristol, November 2022
Mudra has been super-busy painting walls lately, and this is another in a series of outstanding pieces of graffiti writing. He has his own unique style where each letter of the word is painted in an individual format, although the whole thing hangs together really well. His pieces remind me of the Monty Python sketch about the theory of the Brontosaurus, which is that they are thin at one end, thick in the middle and thin at the other end. Great colours and a nice character skull face in the middle of the piece.
Saor, M32 Spot, Bristol, November 2022
Saor has been smashing it recently too, although, to be fair, he had been smashing it for rather a long time, prior to changing his moniker to Saor. This is a highly designed piece with smatterings of Epok and Mr Penfold in there. Spelling out SAOR, the piece contains a lovely toothy monster, which makes a return appearance from time to time. A wonderfully presented collaboration.
There was a time when I could barely step outside my house without bumping into Klashwhensober, but I have not seen him now for a few months. I guess our body clocks are out of sync. Sometimes not meeting artists regularly is a sign that they are going through a fallow period, but that is certainly not the case with Klashwhensober, who appears to be as prolific as ever.
Klashwhensober, M32 Spot, Bristol, November 2022
This reasonably recent piece, on one of my favourite walls, is a scorcher. There is a lot to like about this one. The piece is an explosion of colour, with the SOBER letters in green and blue and the background in orange and yellow. The fabulous thing that Klashwhensober is adding to his pieces these days is a feature aspect emanating out of the letters, and in this example is is a green cloudy element spreading out from the centre. A classy Klash piece.
This is a cheeky piece from John D’oh in the style of a saucy seaside postcard but drawing in some political commentary about our current economic crisis, and he carries if off really well, in my view.
John D’oh, M32 Spot, Bristol, November 2022
This piece was painted on a column that previously played host to a Boris Johnson stencil, also by John D’oh, and reminds us of the important role played by political commentators, whether writers or artists, in documenting current events and the impacts of political decisions on society as a whole. Something a little different from John D’oh to enjoy.
Bristol has an international reputation for being a graffiti and street art hub. Because of this, we get an awful lot of visitors, who come to paint one time, never to be seen again. I got lucky and managed to catch Cuomo, just as he was finishing off and photographing this piece. Cuomo is an Italian graffiti artist, and whether he was being evasive or whether there was a language barrier, he was reluctant to let on too much about himself. Perhaps he didn’t realise that there was little or no risk painting this board.
Cuomo, M32 Spot, Bristol, October 2022
Cuomo has an interesting style, often combining characters with his writing. His writing is often black, as in this example, with angular shapes. What is clear is that there is a significant difference in design to the kinds of things we are used to seeing in Bristol. Vive diversity.
The third in a rash of Logoe pieces from his recent visit to Bristol, this piece is on the container under the M32 and a surface that Logoe has painted before. I think that, with their corrugated sides, containers must be very difficult to paint, but Logoe has done a fine job of it here.
Logoe, M32 Spot, Bristol, October 2022
What really seems to help with this piece is the black background, which removes any distractions. As we would expect, the piece consists of Logoe’s own brand of script writing accompanied by an array of different sized dots liberally dispersed horizontally along the piece. I would love to see if Logoe could paint dome different letters and switch things up a bit, only because I know it would look amazing.
It is a joyful thing when Logoe comes to town, because he doesn’t imply come and paint one piece, oh no, he absolutely sweats it out with several pieces over a weekend. These blitzes have become a bit of a highlight or interruption in the steady flow of new work that we see every week in the city.
Logoe, M32 Spot, Bristol, October 2022
This is the first of several wonderful pieces of graffiti writing by Logoe that I will be sharing over the next month or so, all painted over one weekend. Logoe has painted a real beauty of one of my favourite walls, showcasing his distinctive thin script letters spelling out his name in beautifully complementary colours, finished with a horizontal splash of little oval dots running through the whole piece. It is so good that he keeps returning to Bristol to share his talent with us all.
Natural adventures 