Mr Draws has certainly made a great comeback since losing his mojo sometime back in July around the time of Upfest. This piece in The Bearpit harks back to a piece he did in Dean Lane a few months back, where he has corrupted his name into ‘Zieht’ which is German for draws.
Mr Draws, The Bearpit, Bristol, September 2017
This is a colourful piece that has a layer of sophistication behind the ‘light’ style that Mr Draws tends to use. He really is one of the artists I most enjoy seeing about the place – always up for a chat and happy to talk about his work.
I met Mr Draws at Upfest, and he seemed to be rather down in the dumps, and indicated that he was off spraying. This seemed to be a bit out of character for one of our most prolific street artists in Bristol. I guess it happens to everyone from time to time…getting fed up with the same old things. So it filled me with some joy to see that after a short break, he is ‘back at it’.
Mr Draws, The Bearpit, Bristol, August 2017
He even says as much on this quick piece in the Bearpit. I have noticed from his Instagram feed that he has been spending a lot of time recently on his drawings and is enjoying mountains all over again, which is a good thing. I think this story serves as a reminder that life is tough, inspiration comes and goes, but there is still so much to enjoy. Glad that he is back on the streets again – I’ll be looking out for more.
This use to be one of the graffiti spots that I wrote about most frequently, but alas, the taggers have done their bit to deter a great many artists from spraying here. It is a pity, because these arches are probably the best feature walls in Bristol for street art.
Mr Draws, Stokes Croft, Bristol, July 2017
This piece is a quick one from Mr Draws, that although probably not one of his best, is eye-catching nonetheless. You can make out the word ‘draw’ arising from a vanishing point to the left of the piece. I like the way that Mr Draws is fairly fearless about where he places his work, knowing that it is all ephemeral and that his own will in time be overwritten.
I am so very much enjoying the journey Mr Draws is on at the moment. His trademark mountains seem to be a distant memory, and he is vigorously experimenting with his letters. This is a lovely piece, sprayed over the top of a Kid Crayon work (recently featured) which had been tagged.
Mr Draws, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2017
Mr Draws is always looking to stretch himself, and uses the walls of Bristol to practice and modify. All the time he is improving his technique and mastery of his craft. This one has a childlike quality to it – candy or marbles or something like that.
Is this really the fiftieth post from Dean Lane? (Answer…no it is the fifty first…I cocked up) I have at least another fifty pictures in archive that have never made it onto this blog. This is an interesting piece by Mr Draws, which he sprayed on the same evening that the Graffiti Nation exhibition opened in North Street in May.
Mr Draws, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2017
I stopped for a quick chat with Mr Draws, and he told me that he was playing with the letters of his usual DRAWS lettering, having read about some Russian graffiti artists and the techniques that they use. In this piece, Mr Draws has used the German for ‘draws’ which is ‘zieht’ and then used a 3 and 1 for the first two letters. Playful stuff, and a nice bity of insight into this work. It is nicely executed too with a lovely chrome spray and some good cracks.
I include these pieces by Mr Draws, because they represent a strong reference point for the role street/graffiti art play in social commentary. In Bristol, and I imagine in cities all over the World, we face changes to our local communities happening at a rate faster than ever before. Globalisation and the advent of the Interweb have driven change, and along with the ‘progress’ this affords us, it also brings with it casualties.
Mr Draws, The Bearpit, Bristol, March 2017
The Bearpit sits at the end of the A38 (Cheltenham Road/Stokes Croft/Gloucester Road), which is famed for being one of the longest continuous ‘independent’ high streets in Britain. This is a claim that is disputable since a number of supermarket chains and coffee shops have moved in. As independent shops have struggled with the economic downturn, their premises have been bought up by supermarket ‘local’ outlets and by global coffee chains. It is this ‘changing of the guard’ that vexes so many citizens, particularly in a fiercely independent part of a fiercely independent city.
Mr Draws, The Bearpit, Bristol, March 2017
As for the works themselves, these are quick pieces from an artist normally associated with his stylised mountains. I like this political twist to his work which is becoming more and more creative as time goes on.
This was a quick one by Mr Draws in The Bearpit. Mr Draws is another Bristol street artist who is hitting something of a purple patch in terms of productivity. I had always assumed that the Winter and early Spring were not particularly busy times for street/graffiti artists, but that has not been the case this year. I wonder if some of that is attributable to the relatively dry winter period we have had this year.
Mr Draws, The Bearpit, Bristol, March 2017
So we come back to mountains by Mr Draws, although these are a little more stylised than some of his previous peaks. If I were to be critical I would say that this looks like it was done really quickly. I remain, however very fond of his pieces…they are so different from the norm, and easily identifiable.
Mr Draws has, it would appear, had an epiphany. Only a few months ago he was a little bit in danger of becoming a ‘one-trick-pony’ with his colourful mountain scene murals. It was a theme he played with for some time, gaining confidence spraying more walls in more areas of Bristol.
Mr Draws, The Bearpit, Bristol, January 2017
The big change in his work appears to have happened in November/December time, when he started painting letters and playing with those, then on to rather different mountainscapes like this one. He is now churning out works like a man possessed and some contain quite different subject matter. It is like the shackles have been removed and we are seeing a new Mr Draws. I am really looking forward to documenting this progression and constant search for something new. I’m not sure what has led to this significant shift in his work, but it is to be celebrated.
It would appear that Mr Draws has recently had an epiphany. The master of drawing mountains has started to do some writing, which is all rather exciting really. I have seen several of his new pieces in the Stokes Croft area, and this one in Dean Lane is rather good.
Mr Draws, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2016
I enjoy his selection of colours and the block capitals. Turning the A upside down seems to work really well. Adding this new dimension to his portfolio can only be a really good thing. I wonder where this adventure will take him. I note it has recently taken him to Leake Street in London.
Mr Draws is a busy Bristol street artist who specialises in spraying colourful impressionist mountain ranges. His style is simple and at times appears to be naive, but it is far from that, and some of his pieces demonstrate his sophistication.
Mr Draws, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016Mr Draws has been spraying a lot since Upfest in July, but I haven’t been out as much as I would like recently and so have missed lots of his work. I know he is not everyone’s cup of tea, but like so many of the Bristol street artists his work has grown on me. I also like it that in amongst all the international ‘big name’ artists invited to Upfest, there are dozens of local artists upholding the Bristol graffiti tradition. Good work.
Natural adventures 