Tag: Mr Draws

7297. Dean Lane skate park (885)

Mr Draws, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2025
Mr Draws, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2025

At first sight, this wide piece by Mr Draws looks a little confused, but look a little closer and you will see a compelling scene unfolding of four blue whales drifting gently across the wall.

Mr Draws, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2025
Mr Draws, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2025

Each of the whales has some red splodges and drips which I guess symbolise blood. They could be a reference to the savage whaling, so dominant in the 1970s when the International Whaling Commission stepped in and massively curtailed the hunting and slaughter, or could reflect other challenges our oceans face due to pollution and climate change. Powerful and evocative stuff from Mr Draws.

7109. Brunel Way (331)

Mr Draws, Brunel Way, Bristol, June 2025
Mr Draws, Brunel Way, Bristol, June 2025

The two most prominent conflicts (although there are countless others) of our time that have mobilised public attitudes in the UK are the Israeli occupation of Gaza and The West Bank, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, both of which are barely out of the news at the moment. The Nobel Peace Prize nominee-in-waiting, Donald Trump has appeased the aggressors and most powerful forces in both conflicts and achieved absolutely no progress towards peace since he took office. Shame on him. Siding with bullies and looking for a favourable deal (for him and his cronies) is all he appears to care about.

Mr Draws, Brunel Way, Bristol, June 2025
Mr Draws, Brunel Way, Bristol, June 2025

Meanwhile, protests continue and are powerfully expressed through graffiti art, which has a capability to commentate on the injustices of the world in a way that has a lasting impact. Mr Draws has done himself proud with this huge ‘Free Palestine’ piece in chrome, sitting on the red white and green colours of the Palestinian flag. I guess the black drop shadow makes up the black from the flag. (Note to self – prepare some protest galleries).

7058. Cumberland Basin

Mr Draws, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2025
Mr Draws, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2025

Mr Draws has had a very good spell of painting, both in terms of productivity and quality of his work. I have always admired his unpretentious approach to finding the joy in his graffiti writing.

Mr Draws, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2025
Mr Draws, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2025

This colourful piece is notable perhaps for its enormous black drop shadow, which gets a little lost without reference lines to the protruding points of the letters DRAWS. The fills have great colours and are nicely sone, and he has added a smily face, which he seems to be rather fond of at the moment. An uplifting piece.

7015. M32 roundabout J3 (695)

Mr Draws, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2025
Mr Draws, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2025

It has to be said that Mr Draws, in his own quiet and modest way, has had a banging year so far. He has been painting as frequently as I can remember and turning out some great pieces, large and small, all over the city. As well as his distinctive writing, he has also painted some of his nature and wildlife pieces recently too. Looking through his updated gallery, reminds me of just what a brilliant artist he is.

Mr Draws, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2025
Mr Draws, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2025

This is a wonderfully colourful splash, looking great in the summer sunshine (shame about the tree shadow). The playful letters DR3WS are surrounded with some wibbly smiley acid faces, a common stamp used in street art. The words ‘good vibrations’ kind of sum up the whole piece, which exudes an uplifting summer feel. Great work from Mr Draws.

6966. Brunel Way (317)

Mr Draws, Brunel Way, Bristol, May 2025
Mr Draws, Brunel Way, Bristol, May 2025

Mr Draws has been a long-standing green campaigner, and every once in a while he reminds us of that, often with the help of Whales, the symbol of the global need for conservation, alongside the polar bear and panda. Indeed, whales have been something of a success story, with populations of most species recovering since the ban on hunting for whales. The success could only be achieved through a global agreement, which had a couple of unhelpful exceptions, and cooperation, which is a lesson we need to take forward for other global issues.

Mr Draws, Brunel Way, Bristol, May 2025
Mr Draws, Brunel Way, Bristol, May 2025

This piece has a wonderful sense of peace about it, and a tone of regret and remorse. The whale is set in a nicely presented sea of blue and chrome, frames in a pink box. Keep up the good work, Mr Draws… keep reminding us.

6954. Dean Lane skate park (836)

Mr Draws, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2025
Mr Draws, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2025

Although the style and composition are familiar from Mr Draws in this piece in Dean Lane, the words are rather refreshing and different. Italian, the language of love, is just so good to listen to, and who can say the phrase ‘Bella Ciao’ or more commonly ‘Ciao Bella’ without doing so in a charming Italian accent?

Mr Draws, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2025
Mr Draws, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2025

The colour scheme is a curious one, especially as the top horizontal slice matches the background dark tone. Typically unpretentious and unfussy, this is a a nice piece from Mr Draws that occupies this long space rather well.

6914. St Werburghs tunnel (495)

Mr Draws, St Werburghs, Bristol, April 2025
Mr Draws, St Werburghs, Bristol, April 2025

This is an interesting wall at the entrance to St Werburghs tunnel. It is a space that can be filled with one or two or even more pieces, because of its length. There is a bit of a difficulty with the full length pieces, like this beauty from Mr Draws, and that is there is quite a bit of street furniture in the way that makes it a little challenging to photograph.

Mr Draws, St Werburghs, Bristol, April 2025
Mr Draws, St Werburghs, Bristol, April 2025

The spot also suffers from shading on sunny days, so being there at the right time is quite important. On the day I took these pictures, it was dazzlingly bright, indicative of the remarkable spring we are enjoying. Mr Draws has written his joined up letters DRAWS with a very nice horizontal striped fill pattern of magenta, turquoise, blue and yellow, which works remarkably well. The letters are broken up with a shower of ‘leopard’ spots, which offer a really interesting texture to the piece. There are some nice drips too. This is a really good large piece from Mr Draws, no messing.

6868. Brunel Way (313)

Mr Draws, Brunel Way, Bristol, April 2025
Mr Draws, Brunel Way, Bristol, April 2025

Mr Draws is an artist who never seems to fuss or bluster, rather he goes about his painting in a deliberate and consistent manner, almost like clockwork. Modest and never showy his familiar pieces are part of the fabric of Bristol city.

Mr Draws, Brunel Way, Bristol, April 2025
Mr Draws, Brunel Way, Bristol, April 2025

This is  really nice piece under Brunel Way, with four horizontal colour layers running through the letters DRAWS, the uppermost one of which is dripping, like a chocolate sauce topping. A deep 3D drop shadow separates the letters from a contrasting red background, and the piece is finished with some horizontal yellow and grey oval lines dotted across the piece. A really nice piece from Mr Draws.

6751. St Werburghs tunnel (476)

Mr Draws, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2025
Mr Draws, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2025

It must be fun ‘going big’ from time to time, and on a bad-weather day there is no place better than St Werburghs tunnel to spread yourself out a bit. Mr Draws has made the most of the space with this long piece of graffiti writing, which even with a wide-angle shot is impossible to photograph head on.

Mr Draws, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2025
Mr Draws, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2025

Under the lights of the tunnel, this chrome piece takes on all sorts of colours, from silver through to gold. Decorative arrows point inwards to the letters spelling Mr Drawers, the long format version of his name. The impact of the letters is enhanced with a colourful background using that effective combination of blues and pinks. Going large can be fun.

6672. Cumberland Basin

Mr Draws, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, January 2025
Mr Draws, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, January 2025

I have met Mr Draws a great many times, which is not surprising, given the frequency with which both of us are out and about in the more popular graffiti spots of Bristol. I can honestly say that he is a gentle and really decent man, who’s good nature comes out in his light-hearted writing.

Mr Draws, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, January 2025
Mr Draws, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, January 2025

This transition piece was painted at the end of 2024 and start of 2025 (I hope not on New Year’s Eve itself). Some nice letters spelling out DRAW, and a rather tired and emotional looking Smiley positioned in the centre of the piece, perhaps representing some exuberant celebrating and welcoming of 2025.