Tag: Mote

5696. Peel Street Green (23)

Mr Crawls and Mote, Peel Street Green, Bristol, November 2023
Mr Crawls and Mote, Peel Street Green, Bristol, November 2023

One of the most entertaining and, on reflection, most likely collaborative partnerships is that between Mote and Mr Crawls. The biggest surprise is perhaps that this coming together hadn’t happened Sooner. This is the second collaborative piece that I have posted, and I have another waiting to post, although that one is rather badly tagged.

Mr Crawls and Mote, Peel Street Green, Bristol, November 2023
Mr Crawls and Mote, Peel Street Green, Bristol, November 2023

To the left, Mr Crawls has come up with something really unusual, and for once not a bird. Quite what it is, though, I am not sure. Bones, horns, a muzzle with sharp teeth – a rather nasty monster. Next tom this imaginary beast is a bird monster by Mote, looking a little more evil than some of his character creations – perhaps it is the company it is keeping. This motley duo (the characters, not the artists) prop up the far end of the long wall at Peel Street Green.

5633. Brunel Way (245)

Mr Crawls and Mote, Brunel Way, Bristol, October 2023
Mr Crawls and Mote, Brunel Way, Bristol, October 2023

How could I not have seen this coming? Perhaps one of the most obvious collaborations in Bristol has happened, and it has taken place right under our noses. Mr Crawls and Mote have painted their distinctive birds side-by-side in this wonderful and ‘made-in-heaven’ collaboration.

Mr Crawls and Mote, Brunel Way, Bristol, October 2023
Mr Crawls and Mote, Brunel Way, Bristol, October 2023

Mr Crawls’ bird head is one of several versions of his bird, this one having horns and a hooked beak. His style is rather cartoony and the expression of the bird enhanced by the use of heavy eyelids. Mote’s style is a little bit more doodle-based and his bird is tending to the monstrous. The hatch markings in the eyes and downturned beak create a slightly grumpy appearance. It is amazing that although the basic elements are similar in the two birds, my/our response to each of them is quite different. I’m definitely looking to more collaborations from these two.

5550. Brunel Way (237)

Mote, Brunel Way, Bristol, September 2023
Mote, Brunel Way, Bristol, September 2023

Mote is another artist who appears to have taken his foot off the pedal a little bit of late, after a very busy summer indeed. Having said that, he has simply returned to a more steady flow, rather than standstill. I am not sure that this piece survived for very long, as both sides of this wall have encountered very high turnovers recently.

Mote, Brunel Way, Bristol, September 2023
Mote, Brunel Way, Bristol, September 2023

Another in the bird monster series of pieces, Mote has managed to create a humorous creation composed of five or six discrete components. The highlight of the piece for me is the decorative fill in the pink section on the bird’s back, Mote is beginning to make these patterns something of a trademark in his work. A very nice piece.

5459. Feeder Road (3)

Mote, Feeder Road, Bristol, August 2023
Mote, Feeder Road, Bristol, August 2023

When he’s not busy painting them, I am busy finding them. Mote tends to paint in pulses of activity, although to be fair his ‘quiet’ periods never last very long, which means that it is almost impossible to keep on top of his work during his bust times. The end result is that it would seem that there are always pieces out there to find, and this beauty on Feeder Road is an example of that.

Mote, Feeder Road, Bristol, August 2023
Mote, Feeder Road, Bristol, August 2023

I love the site selection for this piece, almost as though the monster is lurking with intent to surprise passers-by. A friendly looking monster, in spite of his fierce teeth, beautifully painted with creative doodle fills, this is a really fine example of Mote’s work and a demonstration of how far he has come in a short time and how sophisticated his work is becoming.

5398. Cumberland Basin

Mote, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2023
Mote, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2023

Cumberland Basin is a bit of a generic area name that I use to describe quite a large space north of the bridge over the River Avon. This particular piece from Mote is on the Eastern edge of the Cumberland Basin area, adjacent to one of the very large warehouses that fringe this part of the river.

Mote, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2023
Mote, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2023

The large piece is another bird-monster character, this time double-ended and with a fluffy thing in the middle. I am not too sure the middle section works too well, as it interrupts the flow through the creature. Mote might have added it in to fill the space, but more conventional patterns and colours might have done the job. It is clear that the middle section is by Mote, but it looks like it could have been a creative addition by a different artist altogether. Still an immensely enjoyable piece though.

5380. River Avon (46)

Mote, River Avon, Bristol, July 2023
Mote, River Avon, Bristol, July 2023

It is difficult to make it through a week without coming across something wild and wonderful from Mote. Not only is he becoming one of Bristol’s most prolific artists, but he is also improving and pushing his boundaries with incredible pace, and I am thoroughly enjoying the journey he is taking us on.

Mote, River Avon, Bristol, July 2023
Mote, River Avon, Bristol, July 2023

This magnificent bird beast is on the larger side for a Mote creation, but fills the space really well. The face and beak are picked out in red and pink colours, separating them from the rest of the head, in shades of blue and green. The monster has three eyes, each decorated with Mote’s unique take on pupil representation. The decorations are interesting and eradicate any danger of too much solid fill space. This is an attractive piece that adds to the artist’s growing and improving portfolio. Time to see him at a festival or two?

5373. Peel Street Green (17)

Mote, Peel Street Green, Bristol, June 2023
Mote, Peel Street Green, Bristol, June 2023

Mote has taken a bit of a shine to this spot on Peel Street Green, and the wall lends itself really well to his work, because it is square. It isn’t quite so good for graffiti writers, who in the main prefer rectangular spaces for their letters.

Mote, Peel Street Green, Bristol, June 2023
Mote, Peel Street Green, Bristol, June 2023

This Mote monster is armed with an array of extremely sharp teeth, and three eyes (the central one more of a pineal body than an eye). Usually Mote creates happy-go-lucky monster characters, but this one isn’t quite as light as some of his others. Colourful gums and lovely fills, Mote just keeps on getting better and better.

5361. Brunel Way (216)

Mote, Brunel Way, Bristol, June 2023
Mote, Brunel Way, Bristol, June 2023

A really short one today, written last night, while trying to sort out the impacts from our cancelled flight home to Bristol, and packing etc. Mote has done a wonderful thing with this large, rather cuddly monster, complete with four legs and an underslung jaw with a couple of goofy teeth.

Mote, Brunel Way, Bristol, June 2023
Mote, Brunel Way, Bristol, June 2023

The fills are dreamy and the design quirky and unique. There is something very loveable about this monster, and the execution is top drawer.

5346. Purdown (59)

Mote, Purdown, Bristol, June 2023
Mote, Purdown, Bristol, June 2023

More from Mote, who isn’t showing any signs of slowing down at the moment. This piece is another in his series of bird monsters and fits the square concrete slab perfectly. One of the aspects of Mote’s work that I really like is the clarity and crispness. The fills are solid, with nice patterns, and his black borders and details are always sharp. I imagine that there is a perfectionist in there somewhere.

Mote, Purdown, Bristol, June 2023
Mote, Purdown, Bristol, June 2023

This bird monster has a green bill and pink eyelids, which stand out against the blues and purples of the rest of the bird. Even though it is not so long ago that I published a gallery of his work, I have to keep on my toes with updating it. The production line of pieces continues.

5329. Brunel Way (211)

Mote, Brunel Way, Bristol, June 2023
Mote, Brunel Way, Bristol, June 2023

There is no doubt about it, Mote is in a very rich vein of form, not only with productivity, but also with his series of bird monsters, which appear to have inspired him greatly, and which I must say are rather appealing. I also like the way that Mote has grown the range of formats, from thin columns to squares to landscape orientation.

Mote, Brunel Way, Bristol, June 2023
Mote, Brunel Way, Bristol, June 2023

Mote has drawn on nature itself, recognising the delineation between a bird’s face and the rest of its plumage, more apparent in some species than in others, for example parrots and vultures. There is some interesting fill work in the two halves of green, reversing the drip colours, and some of the drips falling out of the monster’s face and on to the floor. I have loads more to post from Mote, just from June, let alone pieces that are loitering in my archive.