Mr Draws is not being quite as busy on the streets these days, so it was a welcome surprise to come across this recent piece in The Bearpit on my way in to work, especially as Bristol City Council are making it very difficult for anyone to do anything beautiful in The Bearpit at the moment.
This piece just screams out ‘doughnuts’ to me…I’m not sure if it is meant to, but it does. It is alwats great to see these happy pieces by Mr Draws, whose colourful works definitely brighten up the place.
I arrived at this piece a little too late to see it in its original condition. It had been a collaboration between Mr Draws (in the middle) bookended by Tasha Bee. However, before I managed to get to see it, Oner had made a little contribution of his own.
I have to admit that I rather like Oner’s burners. There is a certain honesty about them, unpretentious but nicely turned out and often just a little bit edgy. Tasha Bee has rapidly made it into my group of favourite Bristol artists with her stylised characters and pretty flower motifs.
She is very prolific, and even today on a long walk with the dog I found a couple more of her pieces. There is something rather spiritual about her characters, it might be something to do with the simplicity of the lines or the closed eyes or the little peace and love signs, I’m not sure, but they ooze serenity. It is a pity I didn’t see the Mr Draws bit in the middle, but I can imagine it.
I became aware of this piece of work when I saw an Instagram post from Tasha Bee describing a collaboration on Turbo Island, Stokes Croft with Mr Draws. I decided to walk home…I usually get the bus because I don’t feel as fresh as in the mornings…and what a good decision that was.
By the time I got to Turbo Island I had already found two new pieces in roads I don’t often visit, which was a great start, and Mr Draws and Tasha Bee were just finishing off and tidying up.
This wall hasn’t been sprayed for a long time, and a collection of artists supported by the People’s Republic of Stokes Croft (PSRC) are trying to resurrect it as a ‘legal’ wall with a regular turnover. This is a risk, because the site is prone to impromptu parties and gatherings and often gets pretty messed up.
The collaboration itself is rather lovely, with Mr Draws’ multicoloured mountains and two figures by Tasha Bee and the message in both Latin and English ‘All things are in common’, which expresses the idea that the world belongs to everyone, rather than the way society is organised where the disposessed and dominated are overlooked to the benefit of the few.
Sadly the piece was tagged less than 24 hours later – predictable but annoying really.
Mr Draws is an artist I have always rather liked. His work always brings a smile to my face…it is bright and cheerful, simple and striking and it has a habit of cropping up anywhere in Bristol.
This is one of his faviurite spots in The Bearpit, and this quick one uses the space perfectly. Never too sophisticated, but always really easy on the eye. Mr Draws has plans to leave the UK for Germany soon, but I’m not sure if that is still going ahead. If so, I will surely miss his cheerful work – I still have loads in my archive that will keep me going for a while.
Tireless and irrepressible, words I am sure I have used to describe Mr Draws in the past. His habit must cost him an absolute fortune in paint. Until I had a go myself, I hadn’t realised how much paint one can get through to cover quite a small area of wall.
This quick one in the Bearpit has an interesting ‘bleed’ from the shadow into the letters, giving it the effect of degrading in front of our eyes. More to come from Mr Draws, before he moves to Germany.
A collection of street art by Mr Draws
All photographs taken by Scooj
I am suffering a little from Draws withdrawal (see what I did there?) because it has been 45 posts since I last wrote about him. He or I must be losing our touch. This piece, at the end of St Werburghs tunnel, hence the light differential, is a cheerful quick one using an interesting patchwork style to fill the letters.
I really like the colour palette that Mr Draws has used for this and the way he has managed to distribute the colours in a way that pleases the eye. What I like most about Mr Draws is how utterly in love with his craft he is, and it comes across in his work.
There is absolutely no stopping Mr Draws at the moment, everywhere I go I am presented with another of his distinctive burners. I would hate to think how much paint he gets through. This is a nice colourful piece on the M32 roundabout, where the turnover of work is quite high at the moment. I love the fill in this particular piece, it is like a child’s painting, full of colour and freedom.
I recently bought some sketches from Mr Draws, and it turns out he lives just round the corner, literally, from me – it seems strange that we have never bumped into each other in the street, only at graffiti spots. So much more to come from Mr Draws.
On the lovely curved wall of Dean Lane skate park, this bright and cheery piece by Mr Draws was sprayed on 20 April to mark the 420 campaign. Regulars will know that I have long enjoyed the work of Mr Draws, and although his freestyle is not to everyone’s taste, it works for me.
Mr Draws is going through one of his incredibly productive phases at the moment and I simply can’t keep up…there is too much in Bristol to cover in two posts per day, let alone all my other material from New York, Barcelona and London. I’ll do my best to keep it all coming.
This is another piece from the recent Spring paint jam in The Bearpit. It is something of a change from the norm for Mr Draws, who usually sprays his name or mountains. Here he has sprayed one of his favoured boards with a training shoe. It is rough, and vibrant, and my guess is that Mr Draws probably freestyled it.
It is a fun piece, and very much in the spirit of the paint jam, which was to ensure that The Bearpit continues as a street art gallery and spray paint area. Of course, Mr Draws has managed to incorporate some mountains just for good measure. I believe the piece was dogged after a few days, which is a pity as it is a rather uplifting work.
Natural adventures 