Monster – Page 8 – Natural adventures

4680. Brunel Way (172)

A rather nice, clean and tidy piece from the very productive Mote. In fact, I only post a fraction of his work, not because I don’t appreciate it (I really do) but because I don’t make it out to all the spots that he paints.

This one, under Brunel Way, is a corker, made all the more enjoyable by being painted on a buffed wall without distractions. Mote’s doodle-character style is constantly developing and growing, and his pieces are becoming more complex and larger. Although it is rather subtle, Mote has filled the character’s face with two shades of green, transitioning horizontally, and exchanging spots/dots. A very nice piece.

4623. Upfest 2022 (38)

On meeting Saor recently at the Cheltenham Paint Fesitval recently, he said that he would prefer me to refer to him as Saor in my blog posts rather than by his previous name. I said that I would do it, even if it gives me a bit of a headache in terms of tagging and cataloguing things. So Saor it is.

This Upfest piece is an absolute beauty. Crisp and clean and with a wonderful colour colour palette. the form of Saor’s letters remind me a little of Epok’s writing style, which is praise indeed. The letters spell out the name SAOR. It was very sweet, watching Saor’s little assistant helping out.

The monster face seems to be back now, having been left out of a few recent pieces, and you can see that Saor hadn’t quite finished off the wispy circular cloud (a halo?) when I took these WIP shots. Saor is definitely an artist who continues to up his game with each new piece.

4613. Brunel Way (166)

I was lucky enough to run into Mote when he was painting this larger-than-usual piece on the long wall under Brunel Way. And managed to have a good chat until the dog decided he’d had enough and started barking, he can be a real conversation-killer sometimes that dog of mine, although he was brilliantly behaved in Cheltenham the whole time we were there.

Mote is possibly the most productive artist in Bristol at the moment, and his pastel shades that he tends to use are a real hallmark of his work – If you’re looking for brash reds or gold or chrome, you’re unlikely to find them in his work, and you’ll have to settle for subtle.

This monster piece seems to show a monster snacking on a double ended other monster, although it is not altogether clear. As always with Mote’s work, the lines are precise and clean, the fills solid without underlying work seeping through. Creative and imaginative, Mote continues to dazzle us with his work.

4598. Dean Lane skate park (512)

I have encountered a small dilemma, it happens quite a lot in the world of documenting street art. Flava136 is making a deliberate move towards refreshing his moniker to Saor. Part of me feels that I should follow his lead, but the other part of me feels like it will simply muck up all my tagging and labelling which is a nightmare for archiving, searching etc. So as you will see I have decided to stick with Flava136, even though it is now Saor.

The name is somewhat irrelevant when it comes to his artwork, which is always presented to the highest possible standards. The piece is horizontally bisected with different colour transitions either side of the line. We also see a return of the toothy monster character, which is becoming a less central part of his work these days. This is yet another sharp, on-point piece from an outstanding artist.

4583. M32 roundabout J3 (415)

It has been more than just a little fun watching Mote’s work develop over the last few months. His characteristic monsters and beasts are becoming something of a feature in many of the popular spots as well in some rather more remote places.

Mote, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2022

Mote’s designs are all incredibly original, and he never seems to paint the same character twice. His can control is really good and all of his works, which tend to be quite small, have some fine detail and are on point. This one on the M32 roundabout, his first in the spot, is one of his best yet.

4571. Upfest 2022 (29)

You couldn’t want to meet two nicer, albeit slightly bonkers, artists than Jimmer Willmott and Guts, who don’t paint the streets all that often, but when they do really bring things to life with their imaginative work.

Jimmer Willmott and Guts, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

It was genuinely a real pleasure to catch up with them just as they were finishing off the piece, and we chatted for a while, and they asked me to take the obligatory ‘artist selfies’ in front of the finished work, which was great fun. Unfortunately, the pictures were on their phone and not mine. On the left of the piece is a rather curious, and slightly disturbing character, looking a bit like Mr Potato Head given some Picasso treatment.

To the right is a busy gathering of monsters and things, with a bit of slime thrown in, so typical of the bright and ‘happening’ pieces that Guts paints. I am not even going to try and interpret the piece, to do so would be foolish. The collaborative effort as a whole is so full of energy, joy and creativity, and it is such a pleasure to see more of their street work.

4554. Porto (6)

There is something perfect about this picture, and it is one I like very much. It was taken on our first day of exploring Porto while we were just finding our bearings. I don’t know who the artist is, but his charming monster character reminds me a lot of Mote’s work in Bristol.

The framing of the piece is what makes it so appealing, and while it isn’t exactly the best piece of street art you’ll ever see, it is highly memorable and simply good fun.

4551. Cattle Market Road (12)

On my tours of different spots around Bristol, I have bumped into Mote several times now, and each time it has been a genuine pleasure to converse with him. I am really enjoying his solid fill monsters, each quite different from the last. It is always good to see an artist turn out variations of an idea instead of perfecting an idea, although both approaches are completely ok.

These two monsters are lurking behind a scooter stop, which I actually feel adds to the overall composition. It is as if they are looking after the scooters, and almost feels like a deliberate coming together, and the red colours match so well. I like the cartoon style that Mote uses that has the faintest touch of Gerald Scarfe about it – probably those swirly lines.

4544. Dean Lane skate park (504)

I have an unwritten rule about taking pictures of street art, and it that one should always take a picture when you have the opportunity, even if the light is bad, or there are obstructions, because when you return to the spot, for a cleaner shot, it might have been overpainted. These photographs of a recent Stiff piece in Dean Lane have dappled sunlight across them, but they are the only pictures I have, it didn’t last long and wasn’t there when I went back.

I was lucky enough to meet Stiff for the first time just over a week ago, while he was painting with the Bristol Womxn Mural Collective in Cumberland Basin, and he confirmed to me that he enjoys painting monsters and using the colour green. Stiff doesn’t paint very often, so the chances of meeting him are rather slight. This piece, like his others, is creative, fun and monsterish, and painted with a lightness of touch that is without pretension. Another one for the collection of beasts.

4502. Upfest 2022 (14)

Nol is another artist who is no stranger to Upfest and appears to really enjoy himself with his lighthearted and rather geeky monsters. This year Nol introduced an element of gamification to his work. His main piece was an identification parade of four monsters, each of which could be found dotted around Bedminster, and could be ‘collected’.

I managed to find three of the four monsters, and I have a feeling that the fourth had been painted over before I ever managed to photograph it, which I guess is the story of street art all over… you snooze, you lose.

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