Tag: Paul Monsters

4226. Clift House Road (5)

There is a little bit of magic in this remarkable collaboration between Paul Monsters and Ments. The more obvious style is that of Paul Monsters with his colourful geometric patterns, but look a little closer and you can see some distortions in the patterns which are the work of Ments.

Paul Monsters and Ments, Clift House Road, Bristol, January 2022
Paul Monsters and Ments, Clift House Road, Bristol, January 2022

I’m not sure if I can remember these two collaborating before, but it seems to be a match made in heaven. This is what I would call a true collaboration, where the whole piece is seamless and complete and there is total fusion between the artists.

Paul Monsters and Ments, Clift House Road, Bristol, January 2022
Paul Monsters and Ments, Clift House Road, Bristol, January 2022

The effect of the regular patterns melting away in the middle works so well and plays to Ments’ strengths of creating fluid patterns that look at times like molten metal. I could look at this piece for hours, such it it’s mesmerising effect.

Paul Monsters and Ments, Clift House Road, Bristol, January 2022
Paul Monsters and Ments, Clift House Road, Bristol, January 2022

Paul Monsters building a reputation as something of a collaboration king, and I am aware of a new collaboration with Tom Miller that I will be hunting down over the next few days. An awesome piece.

3937. Upfest 2021 75×75 (60)

This magnificent collaboration was one of the earlier ones to be completed for Upfest’s 75 walls in 75 days summer event, and these pictures have languished in my archives since June. The collaboration is by Koeone and Paul Monsters and plays magnificently to each of their strengths.

Koeone and Paul Monsters, West Street, Bristol, June 2021, Upfest 21
Koeone and Paul Monsters, West Street, Bristol, June 2021, Upfest 21

The beautiful portrait in greyscale is by Koeone and is painted with such care and attention to tones and shading, which brings an incredible calmness and grace to the piece. The hand is amazing, and perfectly in proportion.

Koeone and Paul Monsters, West Street, Bristol, June 2021, Upfest 21
Koeone and Paul Monsters, West Street, Bristol, June 2021, Upfest 21

The overall piece is very typical of a Koeone production, where the hair is separated from the face, being decorated with a highly colourful design or pattern, in this case perfectly painted by Paul Monsters.

Koeone and Paul Monsters, West Street, Bristol, June 2021, Upfest 21
Koeone and Paul Monsters, West Street, Bristol, June 2021, Upfest 21

Paul’s geometric design in greens, blues, purples, browns and oranges lends itself perfectly to a collaboration with Koeone. I think that these two should get together again, because the complementary styles have created something very special here. A lovely collaboration.

3918. Upfest 2021 75×75 (55)

I think I am right in saying that Paul Monsters is the only artist at Upfest’s 75 walls in 75 days event to have painted more than one wall, although I still haven’t posted his first collaboration yet. This is his second collaboration, and this time he has combined delightfully with The Hass.

The Hass and Paul Monsters, Ashton Road, Bristol, August 2021, Upfest 21
The Hass and Paul Monsters, Ashton Road, Bristol, August 2021, Upfest 21

The collaboration is painted on two sides of a building on Ashton Road, not far away from the Ashton Gate football stadium. The portrait, which looks a little bit like a self-portrait, is by The Hass, but the way it blends into the geometric patterns of Paul Monsters is what makes this a proper collaboration in my eyes.

The Hass and Paul Monsters, Ashton Road, Bristol, August 2021, Upfest 21
The Hass and Paul Monsters, Ashton Road, Bristol, August 2021, Upfest 21

The Hass is a super-talented artist who writes under another name for his graffiti pieces. The portrait has such amazing depth, with perfect use of different tones and shading to bring out the features and highlight all the wrinkles and contours of the face. A masterful piece of wall art.

The Hass and Paul Monsters, Ashton Road, Bristol, August 2021, Upfest 21
The Hass and Paul Monsters, Ashton Road, Bristol, August 2021, Upfest 21

It is quite unusual to see this colour combination used in the geometric work of Paul Monsters. More often he works with yellows, greens, browns, oranges and purples, but here he has gone for a rather more subtle colour palette which works really well on this particular space.

The Hass and Paul Monsters, Ashton Road, Bristol, August 2021, Upfest 21
The Hass and Paul Monsters, Ashton Road, Bristol, August 2021, Upfest 21

I am not too sure about the significance of the owl, but The Hass has absolutely smashed it. The owl appears to be wearing a little red cap, shared by the self-portrait, and I wonder if The Hass is the owl. Who knows? I’ll have to ask him next time I see him.

All in all, another outstanding wall in this summer series. We citizens of Bristol are a lucky bunch really.

The Hass and Paul Monsters, Ashton Road, Bristol, August 2021, Upfest 21
The Hass and Paul Monsters, Ashton Road, Bristol, August 2021, Upfest 21

3754. Waterloo Place (5)

This is a very special wall, indeed all the walls around the Sofa Project are special. A special wall deserves special treatment and this fabulous recent collaboration from Paul Monsters, Andy Council and Soker, is, I would say, very special.

Andy Council, Soker and Paul Monsters, Waterloo Place, Bristol, June 2021
Andy Council, Soker and Paul Monsters, Waterloo Place, Bristol, June 2021

To the left of the collaboration is a stunning nautilus or ammonite piece by Andy Council, who seems to have strayed from constructing his creatures from architecture to painting blocks that are ‘stitched’ together with bits of ‘chord’. The outcome is a very clever effect of life that is constrained from inanimate parts. Andy Council has been unbelievably busy on the streets over the last year, and I can’t remember a time when I have seen so much of his work. This is very good news.

Andy Council, Soker and Paul Monsters, Waterloo Place, Bristol, June 2021
Andy Council, Soker and Paul Monsters, Waterloo Place, Bristol, June 2021

To the right of the creature is a high-end piece of wildstyle writing from Soker painted in shades of blue with a white border/3D shadow. Spelling SOKEM, the whole thing is very easy on the eye and so obviously painted by a creative master. It is near perfect.

Andy Council, Soker and Paul Monsters, Waterloo Place, Bristol, June 2021
Andy Council, Soker and Paul Monsters, Waterloo Place, Bristol, June 2021

This collaboration just wouldn’t be anywhere near as good without the outstanding geometric pattern piece from the fabulous Paul Monsters acting as a backdrop, but contributing so much more than that. Paul Monsters pieces might just be the most recognisable in Bristol, and he has really carved out a niche for himself with this unique style and palette.

Overall an outstanding collaboration and a real treat.

3701. Anchor Road (4)

The slowness with which I have photographed and posted some pieces this year is an artefact of the lockdown as there are some parts of town that I simply don’t go to any more since I stopped going into the office. Anchor Road is one of those places. This piece by Paul Monsters was painted quite some time ago, but I only photographed it last weekend.

Paul Monsters, Anchor Road, Bristol, May 2021
Paul Monsters, Anchor Road, Bristol, May 2021

This container has had some memorable pieces on it, notably from Andrew Burns Colwill and SPZero76, so it is fitting to have an eye catching geometric design from Paul Monsters here too. Using his customary colour shades and shapes Paul has turned a drab surface into a vibrant living 3D piece of art for the citizens of Bristol to enjoy, and keeps up the fine tradition associated with this otherwise rather ugly storage unit. Excellent work.

Andrew Burns Colwill, Anchor Road, Bristol, January 2017
Andrew Burns Colwill, Anchor Road, Bristol, January 2017
SPZero76, Anchor Road, Bristol, October 2017
SPZero76, Anchor Road, Bristol, October 2017

3680. Bedminster Parade

It has taken me a while to get round to posting this wonderful facade piece from Paul Monsters which in its short lifetime has become a bit of a landmark on Bedminster Parade. What a fabulous boost murals can give to an area, and this is a prime example, I am only surprised that it doesn’t happen an awful lot more than it does.

Paul Monsters, Bedminster Parade, Bristol, April 2021
Paul Monsters, Bedminster Parade, Bristol, April 2021

Paul Monsters’ designs are instantly recognisable and combining his shades of colours with geometric patterns lift the work creating a clever 3D effect. Definitely eye catching even for those with their heads buried in their mobile devices. Let’s get the whole city brightened up! More like this please Paul.

3258. M32 roundabout J(3) (258)

A beguiling and very clever collaboration brings together the complementary skills of Paul Monsters and Soker in a piece that has a little secret that isn’t at first inspection very obvious. It is a secret I’ll let you in to. The writing by Soker spells the word TRUE, but upside down it spells FALSE. Very clever stuff and very much in the domain of Graffiti writers who love this kind of letter-play.

Paul Monsters and Soker, M32 roundabout, Bristol September 2020
Paul Monsters and Soker, M32 roundabout, Bristol September 2020

Of course the writing is top notch, but that is what we expect from Soker. The background design is unmistakably the work of Paul Monsters whose distinctive geometric designs and colour selections adorn walls all over Brisol. Note to self – time for a Paul Monsters gallery?. This is an outstanding collaboration from two great artists and fine fellows.

2645. Leonard Lane (23)

Well, well, well, this piece by Paul Monsters only goes to show that it is always worth making the effort to go off the beaten track from time to time, rather than only visit the ‘sure things’.

Paul Monsters, Leonard Lane, Bristol, December 2019
Paul Monsters, Leonard Lane, Bristol, December 2019

Last week I only had a short lunch break so rather than strolling off to Bedminster I took a quick butcher’s at Leonard Lane. This was my reward, a large colourful geometric design piece by Paul Monsters.

Paul Monsters, Leonard Lane, Bristol, December 2019
Paul Monsters, Leonard Lane, Bristol, December 2019

It is rare to see such large ‘commissiony’ type pieces in Leonard Lane, rather it is well known for tagging and practice pieces. I am guessing that it was permitted by Centrespace, the owners of the wall. What is most interesting about this excellent piece is that it is the first I have seen by Paul Monsters that is in such a narrow street. It works extremely well and seems to bring extra light to this dark and dingy place. A great find.

2399. South Street

This summer has been so very busy for street art in Bristol and I am really struggling to keep up with it all. For every piece that I write about in these posts there are at least another seven or eight that never make it out of my archives, and all of this without the hunderds of pieces I would normally be writing about from Upfest at this time of year. All this means that I have an inevitable backlog.

L7M and Paul Monsters, South Street, Bristol, July 2019
L7M and Paul Monsters, South Street, Bristol, July 2019

This not-so-recent collaboration is yet another extraordinary piece to have been organised by Upfest for their Summer Editions event. Who’d have thought of bringing together L7M and Paul Monsters? But here they are working together with their hugely contrasting styles.

L7M and Paul Monsters, South Street, Bristol, July 2019
L7M and Paul Monsters, South Street, Bristol, July 2019

The centrepiece by L7M is a delicately, wispily painted finch (I’m not sure which species) full of movement and colour, a skilful mixture of fine detail and blurry ‘smoke’. His work is truly exceptional and we have been lucky in Bristol to see quite a bit of it in this area thanks to Upfest.

The geometric surround is the work of Paul Monsters and is typical of his 3D blockwork, but notably different from anything I have seen from him before in that it is black, white and grey, when I normally associate his work with oranges, greens, browns, yellows and mauves. The whole thing makes for a clever juxtaposition which challenges the norm. Great collaboration.

2306. Waterloo Place (4)

This wall at the back of Sofa Project has played host to some of the tightest street art in Bristol, and it is most pleasing to see that tradition continuing with this new collaboration between Paul Monsters and Soker.

Paul Monsters and Soker, Waterloo Place, Bristol, June 2019
Paul Monsters and Soker, Waterloo Place, Bristol, June 2019

when I spoke to Paul Monsters about it, he was full of compliments for his collaboration partner and explained how Soker had worked the horizontal shade in his writing to match up with Paul’s geometric design with complete ease. Looking at it knowing this adds context and insight into the strength and thoughtfulness of this piece.

Paul Monsters and Soker, Waterloo Place, Bristol, June 2019
Paul Monsters and Soker, Waterloo Place, Bristol, June 2019

The geometric backdrop by Paul Monsters is in my view masterful work and creates a most extraordinary illusion that the wall is made of coloured blocks that have bevelled peaks that jut out, and no matter how hard you look at it it is difficult to see it as flat.

Genuinely, this is one of the most enjoyable collaborations I have seen in quite a while. Classy and diverse.