Tag: Mr Klue

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.

4497. St Werburghs tunnel (295)

More abstract fantasticness from Mr Klue, who after a long absence from the streets has now hit a rhythm and it turning out some lovely pieces in the St Werburghs tunnel on a regular basis.

Mr Klue, St Werburghs, Bristol, May 2022
Mr Klue, St Werburghs, Bristol, May 2022

This one is in his prime spot, which I am sure will have made him very happy, and reintroduces another of his recurring themes, floating stairs or steps. I don’t quite know the significance of the steps, but Mr Klue uses them in a lot of his work. A stairway to heaven perhaps? Such is the new productivity of the artist, I am struggling to keep up with posting his work, especially with Upfest and a trip to Porto to report on. Never been so blog-busy.

4470. St Werburghs tunnel (294)

It is going to have to be a bit of a quick one this morning, because this weekend is Upfest, and I have to get myself off to the second day to see the completion of the board pieces in Greville Smyth Park. What a festival. The weather yesterday was gorgeous, and it was amazing to catch up with so many artists. I have enough material to keep this blog going for at least six months, which is going to be something of a challenge.

This Mad Hatter piece from Mr Klue is in his favourite spot, and what is really gratifying about it is that it looks like he has painted over a rather ordinary throw up that had been painted over his previous piece in this spot. What comes around goes around.

Mr Klue, St Werburghs, Bristol, May 2022
Mr Klue, St Werburghs, Bristol, May 2022

It is so good to see that Mr Klue is back on the streets painting his ethereal abstract work, and seems to have found his rhythm again after a long period away from painting walls. This particular character is one the Mr Klue paints often, and includes a ticket in the hat, this time with the number 23 in it, the significance of which I don’t know. All is well with Mr Klue.

4427. St Werburghs tunnel (290)

Every year, it seems that Mr Klue takes some time out from painting walls, which is a pity, but it makes his return all the sweeter when it does happen. Mr Klue has been busy lately creating his outstanding pieces at the ‘farm end’ of St Werburghs tunnel, which seems to be his safe, ‘go-to’ spot.

Mr Klue, St Werburghs, Bristol, April 2022
Mr Klue, St Werburghs, Bristol, April 2022

This piece returns to a running theme in Mr Klue’s art, which is a portrayal of the Mad Hatter from Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland – a rich source of inspiration for many street artists. The exaggerated top hat with the 10/6 ticket is matched up with a shirt and tie along with a smoking cigarette. There is something slightly unsettling, but also endearing about this piece. It is always good to see Mr Klue’s work, and I hope this will be a sustained effort from the fabulous abstract artist.

4360. St Werburghs tunnel (286)

Finding Mr Klue pieces these days is a real treat, as they have become a bit of a rarity in recent months. I only know of one other piece he has painted this year, which I missed, on Turbo Island. So coming across this one rather made my day.

Mr Klue, St Werburghs, Bristol, April 2022
Mr Klue, St Werburghs, Bristol, April 2022

Mr Klue certainly hasn’t lost his touch, nor his knack for selecting beautiful colour palettes. This wall had played host to a magnificent 3Dom piece, which had remained intact for a very long time, but had recently been bombed. Once this happens, a wall will tend to undergo a renaissance and rapid turnover, so taggers and bombers play a role in rejuvenating walls, even if it is irritating. Beneficiaries of this new start are Mr Klue, being able to paint in one of his favourite spots, and passers by who can enjoy a fresh piece of work from one of our very best abstract artists.

3532. Bragg’s Lane (2)

Bragg’s Lane is a little bit off the main drag of street art spots, and although there are pieces here from time to time, I can’t think of quite such a good ‘gallery’ as there is at present. This is a fine contribution from Mr Klue and Mr Sleven, who often collaborate and who were very busy in the tunnel at the back end of last year.

Mr Klue and Mr Sleven. Brigg's Lane, Bristol. February 2021
Mr Klue and Mr Sleven. Brigg’s Lane, Bristol. February 2021

I’m not entirely clear when this collaboration was painted, but it is looking bright an clean and is I tagged, so it must be relatively new. Mr Klue provides the foundation for the collaboration with his inimitable abstract style in his preferred purple and pink tones with dashes of yellow. One of his key motifs, the mad hatter’s hat, makes a welcome appearance to the right of the piece.

Mr Sleven. Brigg's Lane, Bristol. February 2021
Mr Sleven. Brigg’s Lane, Bristol. February 2021

Mr Sleven has made great use of the shutter door to frame his bright and vibrant piece. The face appears to be that of a very unscary monster with three eyes and a mouth displaying four gold teeth spelling out LOVE. The multicoloured skin of the monster is stitched together a la Frankenstein’s monster, and the artist has spelled out his name using the same stitch technique. This is a fine collaboration and well worth seeking out, but it is a bugger for parking.

3421. St Werburghs tunnel (218)

There has been a surge of activity by Mr Klue over the last month, most of it at the farm end of the tunnel which he seems to favour. This one is a tribute piece, and the first of several from an assortment of artists, to the late rapper MF DOOM whose passing in October last year seems to have been made public only recently.

Mr Klue, St Werburghs, Bristol, January 2021
Mr Klue, St Werburghs, Bristol, January 2021

MF DOOM was famous not only for his music, but also for his face mask which is the central Icon in the tribute pieces being paid to him. In this ephemeral work by Mr Klue, the mask is picked out in the middle in reds and whites, emerging from the wispy swirls all around. A fine tribute piece.

3401. St Werburghs tunnel (216)

Holiday breaks are good for so many reasons, especially the opportunity to free up some time to do the things we love. There has been a big upsurge in productivity of street/graffiti art over the Christmas period in Bristol and my photograph folder for December is heaving. Having only seen a few pieces this year from Mr Sleven and Mr Klue, it was great to see this collaboration, the second in as many weeks from this pair in the St Werburghs tunnel.

Mr Sleven and Mr Klue, St Werburghs, Bristol, December 2020
Mr Sleven and Mr Klue, St Werburghs, Bristol, December 2020

These two create fully integrated collaborations, which I love, where their art becomes a synthesis of their styles, rather than two adjacent pieces in similar colour schemes. The Grinch has made a lot of appearances on the walls of Bristol this year, perhaps as a conscious/unconscious reference to COVID-19 spoiling things a bit. Here, Mr Sleven’s nicely drawn Grinch is emerging from a wispy Mr Klue atmosphere. This is a fine piece and there is a nice reference to COM.64 – the crew that these two belong to.