Tag: Monster

3881. Cumberland Basin

As a long-time admirer of Flava136’s work, it was a real treat to meet the artist for the first time during a paint jam on the long wall at Cumberland Basin. As is so often the case when meeting these folk, he was an awful lot younger than I had expected, but isn’t that what old people say about everyone?

Flava136, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2021
Flava136, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2021

Watching Flava136 bring this piece together was an education, and his skill and technique shone through in his ability to keep such clean lines throughout. The design and colour selections of this one are quite exceptional, and I think this might be my favourite of his yet.

Flava136, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2021
Flava136, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2021

Featuring a kind of mash-up of a monster and some abstract artwork, Flava136’s work is always instantly recognisable and definitely a crowd-pleaser. Although he doesn’t live in Bristol, he manages to visit reasonably regularly which can only be a good thing. Excellent piece.

3825. Purdown HAA Battery (28)

It is always great to see pieces in Bristol by DFC1848, whose work over the last three years has just gone from strength to strength. His cartoon character pieces have developed from two rather basic forms into a wide portfolio of different animals and monsters, all with a element of goodness about them.

DFC 1848, Purdown Battery, Bristol, July 2021
DFC 1848, Purdown Battery, Bristol, July 2021

This is a particularly creative monster on one of the concrete walls of the Purdown Battery. DFC1848 tends to do solid fills in hie pieces, but the incorporation of details is adding sophistication. I am really enjoying the progress of this artist whose footsteps I’d like to follow.

3721. St Werburghs tunnel (241)

It would seem that with a little encouragement from Daz Cat, CD.TC has managed to get out and paint a little in the last few weeks, which is great to see, and here the two combine in this rather nice collaboration in the middle of the tunnel.

CD.TC and Daz Cat, St Werburghs tunnel, Bristol, May 2021
CD.TC and Daz Cat, St Werburghs tunnel, Bristol, May 2021

On the left CD.TC’s monster character is spraying upwards to creat the letters CD.TC and on the right a Daz Cat is dipping a piece of pizza into a can of something with GYS on the side. The cat has two left arms, don’t ask me why. I don’t know what GYS stands for in this piece, but a quick Google search revealed it can mean ‘Get your stuff’ or ‘get you some’ or ‘graveyard shift’. You can decide for yourself what you think it might mean in this context. A nice low-key collaboration.

3716. M32 Spot (114)

One of the particularly nice things about this column piece from CD.TC is that I was able to watch the artist at work, meeting him for the first time in the process. Although, by his own admission,  he is not the most productive of Bristol’s artists, his pieces are memorable and tend to have quite a long lifespan which might be attributed to the spots he chooses to paint.

CD.TC, M32 Spot, Bristol, May 2021
CD.TC, M32 Spot, Bristol, May 2021

This double monster face piece works perfectly on the column and shows off the artists talents to perfection. His work is usually neat and tidy and in some way quite compelling to look at. He has done himself a lot of favours by prepping the wall nicely before commencing with this piece.

CD.TC, M32 Spot, Bristol, May 2021
CD.TC, M32 Spot, Bristol, May 2021

CD.TC painted this alongside Daz Cat, a painting pal, whose piece I posted a week or two back. In terms of style (rather than content) I would liken CD.TC’s work to Conrico’s in that both have a bit of a paintbrush style to their work. That might not be very clear, but I think I know what I mean. Expect this one to be around for a while.

3688. Dean Lane skate park (414)

I can’t be a hundred percent certain whether this was a collaboration or simply two pieces that had been painted adjacent to one another, but the black background leads me to believe it is the former.

Flava136, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2021
Flava136, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2021

On the left is another wonderful piece from Flava136 painted on a recent visit to Bristol from his native Cheltenham/Stroud kind of area. It is an absolute scorcher with a lot of complex things going on in the fills and shadings of the goofy monster. Lovely precise work.

Veks, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2021
Veks, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2021

To the right of the curved wall is a rather nice chrome set of letters spelling out VEK with a fine blue and green border, reflecting the colours of the 2DAE piece at the top of the wall, which I don’t think is a part of the collaboration, although I wouldn’t swear to it. Veks is having a bit of a busy time at the moment. I wonder how much all of these artists will be getting out once we resume a more ‘normal’ pre-Covid situation.

3646. Dean Lane skate park (409)

It looks like Flava136 may have spent a few days in Bristol a week or two back and during that visit he left us two very nice pieces indeed, this being the first one. Flava136 has worked hard on perfecting his monster style and his execution seems to improve with each new piece I see.

Flava136, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2021
Flava136, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2021

Although this piece didn’t last too long, it certainly made a lasting impression. When I took this picture, Varo was painting next to it. He offered to move his trolley, but I said that trolleys were all part of the picture and he needn’t bother. It almost looks like Flava136’s monster is about to devour the trolley. I love the way that Flava136’s work is becoming this mash-up of abstract and character art. Great colours too. This is a lovely fresh piece.

3577. Cumberland Basin

I am going to be honest with you. My excitement at finding this collaboration piece by Nugmoose and Mudra was a little offset by the rather creepy and unsettling nature of the images. Nugmoose likes to experiment with alien forms and Mudra’s work is always pushing creative boundaries. The result in this case is decidedly odd, and the location slightly dingy.

Nugmoose and Mudra, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2021
Nugmoose and Mudra, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2021

Having said all that is it great that these two, and Slakarts too, have hit upon a friendship that is highly productive just at the moment. In this piece, Nugmoose’s figure is being drawn towards a hand clutching some flowers. The monster appears to have lost its eyes and is navigating its way forward using the sense of smell. Is that what is going on here? A weird piece, but a nice one to have found.

3551. The Bearpit (191)

The same place, the same artist, the same year (2017) as my last post, but a different character piece. Many readers will be familiar with Nevergiveup’s rabbits, but fewer might remember that he went through a phase of painting monsters. It is funny how he abandoned these in favour of the bunnies.

Nevergiveup, The Bearpit, Bristol, June 2017
Nevergiveup, The Bearpit, Bristol, June 2017

This one in The Bearpit (RIP) is beautifully sprayed in chrome on a red background… a rather gentle looking monster, not very menacing. These framed boards in The Bearpit were a perfect place for artists to showcase their work. Unfortunately taggers and some antisocial behaviour ultimately led to the removal of these boards and application of anti-graffiti paint. I haven’t been to The Bearpit for about two years, but nobody can take away my memories.

3380. St Werburghs tunnel (214)

On a recent trip to St Werburghs tunnel it was so very nice to be greeted by this monster face piece from CD.TC. There has definitely been an uptick in the frequency with which CD.TC has been hitting the walls this year, unless I have been missing something in the past.

CD.TC, St Werburghs, Bristol, December 2020
CD.TC, St Werburghs, Bristol, December 2020

This was painted at the same time as a Daz Cat piece a few yards away and the two will often be found painting together. I haven’t yet had the pleasure of meeting either of them, but they are out so often, it is only a matter of time.

This particular piece by CD.TC is rather more elaborate than usual, and I am guessing he took a little more time over it. The addition of horns creates an even more terrifying character. There is sure an influence of tribal masks in his pieces. Nice work.

3359. M32 Cycle path (93)

It was during a recent impromptu paint jam along the M32 cycle path that I was lucky enough to meet Zake for the first time. I had seen him paint once before, but not stopped for a chat. Luckily I arrived just as everyone was finishing off, so I had the double delight of not only meeting so many artists, but also taking photographs of the pieces in their freshest possible state.

Zake, M32 cycle path, Bristol, November 2020
Zake, M32 cycle path, Bristol, November 2020

This is a rather likeable monster figure with long arms extending from a stumpy body. I like the direction his work is taking and it has come a long way from his earlier column pieces at the M32 spot. I like to look at details in pieces and here he has added a little window to the right of the piece, and the light cast has given a little bright highlight on the monster’s back. These little things matter. Lovely piece.