5200. St Werburghs tunnel (367)

Mr Klue, St Werburghs, Bristol, April 2023
Mr Klue, St Werburghs, Bristol, April 2023

It must be time now to declare Mr Klue the ‘King of St Werburghs tunnel’. I am guessing that he must live locally, because you don’t get to see his work elsewhere in Bristol very often. In the days when The Bearpit was a thing, we would see Mr Klue pieces there and in the Stokes Croft area, but not now.

Mr Klue, St Werburghs, Bristol, April 2023
Mr Klue, St Werburghs, Bristol, April 2023

This piece spells KLUE in the artist’s preferred colouring and ephemeral abstract style. It is beautifully presented on a black background, and it is great to see one of his pieces in daylight, rather than under the tunnel lighting which distorts the colours so much. Mr Klue has certainly hit a rich vein of form and productivity, which is great news for admirers of his work.

5109. St Werburghs tunnel (632)

Mr Klue, St Werburghs, Bristol, March 2023
Mr Klue, St Werburghs, Bristol, March 2023

When this piece was painted, it was the fourth by Mr Klue in a row. That sequence has now been broken, with the first piece having recently been painted over. It is something of a miracle that he had four joined pieces in the first place.

Mr Klue, St Werburghs, Bristol, March 2023
Mr Klue, St Werburghs, Bristol, March 2023

Painted in his wispy abstract style, this KLUE writing has a fabulous colour scheme, picking up like green and shades of purple and pink, with white highlights on the upper part of the word. Truly inspiring and thoughtful stuff from Mr Klue.

5098. St Werburghs tunnel (360)

Mr Klue, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2023
Mr Klue, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2023

Mr Klue has been smashing it in the tunnel this year, and at the time of writing has five pieces there, all of them intact, four of which are adjacent to one another. This is a really unusual state of affairs for the tunnel and speaks to two things; his work is respected and; he manages to paint frequently enough to gain a space advantage over other artists.

Mr Klue, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2023
Mr Klue, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2023

This wonderful abstract writing piece picks up on warm and cold colours competing for space, with the bluer colours being top lit and the warmer ones under lit. Spelling out KLUE, the piece also incorporates some floating steps, which are a favoured theme in many of his pieces and sketches. More to come from Mr Klue.

5065. St Werburghs tunnel (357)

Mr Klue, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2023
Mr Klue, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2023

Mr Klue has always enjoyed painting in the tunnel, but recently he has started to ‘own’ the place, with this beautiful offering being the third piece in a gallery of three. If he continues at this rate, he will have the whole wall to himself, which would be pretty impressive. Of course that will never happen, because of the turnover in the tunnel, but to have three, and another one at the other end is going some.

Mr Klue, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2023
Mr Klue, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2023

In this piece, with its stunning colours, it is possible to read the letters KLUE, especially if you are looking out for them. As is often the case with Mr Klue’s work, he has included his Mad Hatter character (invisible head) to the right, rounding the piece off nicely. Can he extend this streak to a fourth panel, before it all gets overpainted? Watch this space.

5011. St Werburghs Tunnel (351)

Mr Klue, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2023
Mr Klue, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2023

How nice it was to see Mr Klue again, when he was painting a new piece adjacent to this one last week in the tunnel. At first, I didn’t recognise him, as it has been a few years since we last met. During the course of our conversation, I managed to establish that he always writes KLUE in his pieces, and never deviates, which is great to know, because there have been times when I thought he has written something else altogether.

Mr Klue, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2023
Mr Klue, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2023

This, I think, is one of my favourite Mr Klue pieces, Mainly on account of the colour selection. I love the reds, yellows and oranges, which combined with the wispy, smokey style of Mr Klue’s work give the impression of fire. Now that I know it definitely says KLUE, I can see it so much more clearly – funny how the mind can fill the gaps when you have a little bit of information/confirmation. A wonderful piece from a lovely man.

4989. St Werburghs tunnel (346)

Mr Klue and Hana, St Werburghs, Bristol, January 2022
Mr Klue and Hana, St Werburghs, Bristol, January 2022

It looks like Mr Klue has a new painting partner, which is great to see. This small collaboration appeared in the tunnel a couple of weeks ago and has colour coordinated pieces by Mr Klue and Hana (an artist I have not encountered before).

Mr Klue and Hana, St Werburghs, Bristol, January 2022
Mr Klue and Hana, St Werburghs, Bristol, January 2022

To the left is a characteristic wispy KLUE (I think), ephemeral as ever and looking like it might evaporate at any moment, and to the right, pulling the colours across, is a beautiful floral design piece by Hana. It would seem that ‘Floral’ is ‘in’ at the moment, and I am fully in favour of it. I know that these two have paired up again since this piece was painted, but I can’t recall where – I’ll need to investigate.

4922. Gloucester Road

DNT, Tymb and Mr Klue, Gloucester Road, Bristol, December 2022
DNT, Tymb and Mr Klue, Gloucester Road, Bristol, December 2022

Not very far away from where I live is this magnificent new mural, which I only became aware of when I was doing a little Christmas shopping. The mural captures so much of why I love living in this city. It is not only a big bold piece, but it is a big bold statement too – ‘the free city of Bristol’, which tells you a lot about the independent sentiment that Bristolians have.

DNT, Tymb and Mr Klue, Gloucester Road, Bristol, December 2022
DNT, Tymb and Mr Klue, Gloucester Road, Bristol, December 2022

The mural is a collaboration between DNT, Tymb and Mr Klue. I know the work of DNT and Mr Klue intimately, but have not encountered Tymb before. The decorative border is the work of DNT, I would think, and the castle is probably by Mr Klue. The fact that it is uncertain who painted what makes this piece in my eyes a true collaboration between the artists, where their work merges. A piece to be proud of.

4868. St Werburghs tunnel (326)

Mr Klue, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2022
Mr Klue, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2022

Artists like Mr Klue are the bedrock upon which this blog is built. I have been writing about his wonderful abstract work for several years, and over that time he has gone through productive periods and quiet periods, and right now he is out there painting pretty regularly.

Mr Klue, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2022
Mr Klue, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2022

This mesmerising abstract writing piece contains several of the characteristics we would expect from Mr Klue. The wispy and smokey letters, some floating steps on the left and a coil to the right of the piece. You might need to use your imagination a little, but the letters most likely spell out KLUE. This is a pleasing piece with a great colour palette that combines really well in this fine piece from Mr Klue.

4638. St Werburghs tunnel (303)

 

Mr Klue, St Werburghs tunnel, Bristol, July 2022
Mr Klue, St Werburghs tunnel, Bristol, July 2022

Just a quick write up of a quick ‘dregs’ piece by Mr Klue. I guess that one of the advantages of being an abstract writer is that it is easier to do a ‘dregs’ piece without it being recognisably so. Some artists use up their dregs to quite disastrous results, but other than being a bit small, this one by Mr Klue has turned out just fine.

Mr Klue, St Werburghs tunnel, Bristol, July 2022
Mr Klue, St Werburghs tunnel, Bristol, July 2022

Sometimes his letters can be so disguised, that they are invisible, but in this one it is possible to make out KLUE. Unsurprisingly the colours are Mr Klue’s favoured one’s, but of course that would be the case, if he was using up old spray cans.

4563. St Werburghs tunnel (300)

This is a fine collaborative wall from Mr Klue, and The Cat Came Back (who has possibly one of the best street art names in Bristol, although it is a competitive field). Mr Klue has been painting these walls more regularly of late, but it is a long while since I last saw much from The Cat Came Back.

Mr Klue, St Werburghs, Bristol, June 2022
Mr Klue, St Werburghs, Bristol, June 2022

To the left, and well within Mr Klue’s ‘safety zone’ is another fine abstract piece from the artist, in which it is possible to decipher the letters KLUE, if you look carefully. The whispy elements, and organic shapes are so unique to Mr Klue, and unlike anything else we see in Bristol.

The Cat Came Back, St Werburghs, Bristol, June 2022
The Cat Came Back, St Werburghs, Bristol, June 2022

To the right, is a beautifully executed and proportioned set of letters, I think spelling out MEAT, with a cat face for the ‘A’. The fill patterns, on alternate letters are well done, and the white accent lines are very effective in lifting the letters out of the wall, a trick used by writers to create a 3D effect. Great to see these two painting together.