6263. M32 roundabout J3 (612)

Dime, Jody and Turoe, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2024
Dime, Jody and Turoe, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2024

What a wonderful triptych piece on the roundabout which is what I would describe as a unique collaboration between Dime, Jody and Turoe. I am not familiar with Dime and am guessing that he was visiting Bristol and made contact with artists in the city to see who’d like to have a paint. That is how I imagine these kind of things happen.

Dime, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2024
Dime, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2024

The collaboration starts with a stunning piece of graffiti writing from Dime, with nicely defined letters, beautiful fill colours and a deep 3D drop shadow. The borders are nice and thin and flawless, and the letters are lifted with contrasting orange and red blobby decorations around the outside. The way I think about decorations in a piece is to try and imagine what it would look like without them – often they enrich what might have been something a little ordinary. Decorations are part of the composition, not just an afterthought.

Jody, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2024
Jody, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2024

Jody has been smashing it all over the place for a sustained period, and I understand from talking to Fade, is really enjoying himself. In this piece he provides the filling in a graffiti writing sandwich and features a cartoon style cool character striking a pose with a cloudy background. I love the sparkle on the sunglasses, a brilliant touch.

Turoe, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2024
Turoe, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2024

Rounding off the collaboration is a piece of writing from a Bristol legend, Turoe, although I originally thought it was by Soker it is actually a tribute collaboration to Soker who had a cycling accident recently (Thanks to Jay for the background information). If ever you want to know what outstanding graffiti writing looks like, then look no further than Turoe, and this piece demonstrates why. Perfect colour selection, superb interlocking letters without being over-engineered, a deep and contrasting 3D drop shadow and tight border. All the elements are there and they are brought together by a master of his craft. All in all, this is a fabulous and quite unexpected collaboration. We are blessed, and a fabulous tribute.

6111. Dean Lane skate park (723)

Soker, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2024
Soker, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2024

Unfortunately, I missed Soker when he was painting this unexpected piece in Dean Lane, because he had disappeared for a break, and I couldn’t hang around too long. This was extra unlucky (so near and yet so far) because he doesn’t paint all that often these days.

Soker, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2024
Soker, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2024

As I would expect, the writing from Soker is outstanding, with some quite thin script-like letters spelling out his name. What transforms a good piece into a great piece is the attention to small details, such as the yellow and orange tips to the letters. A beautiful drop shadow lifts the letters away from the luscious pink background, and the whole piece is an exemplar of great graffiti writing. Soker remains one of the very best in Bristol.

5432. M32 roundabout J3 (503)

Soker, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2018
Soker, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2018

You’d need to go back to 2018 to remember this beauty from Soker. I don’t know how, but this piece got stranded and forgotten deep within my archive, and a quick delve has unearthed it for me to post today. Soker is one of the very best writers in Bristol, which is why it is a little surprising that I never posted this one.

Soker, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2018
Soker, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2018

The first thing to grab the attention is the classy colour palette. The fills in the seamlessly intertwined letters are of the very highest class, drifting from which, through yellow to oranges with consummate ease. The letters spelling SOKEM are pretty much perfect, and so cleanly finished. The buffed wall helps the piece to stand out and the pink and purple spots the cherry on the top. As close to perfect wildstyle writing as you will see.

5183. Norfolk Place (6)

IMG_1245_edited
IMG_1245_edited

Soker is an artist who has definitely slowed down a little bit in terms of his graffiti writing over the last couple of years, but he has certainly made up for things with this immense piece in Norfolk Place, replacing one of his own pieces there.

Soker, Norfolk Place, Bristol, April 2023
Soker, Norfolk Place, Bristol, April 2023

This is a top-notch piece of classic wildstyle graffiti writing, spelling SOKEM. The colour selection and progressions are superb, as is the 3D drop shadow in purple and lilac with its central vanishing point. The whole thing oozes class, and one can be pretty sure that the piece will remain untagged and intact until such time as Soker chooses to repaint it (probably years).

5078. Coach and Horses

3Dom, Soker, Sepr and Epok, Coach and Horses, Bristol, February 2021
3Dom, Soker, Sepr and Epok, Coach and Horses, Bristol, February 2021

How, oh how, did I manage to overlook this piece for posting? I surprise myself when trawling through my archives and I find stuff like this, and it is also quite a pleasurable experience, because it gives me the perfect excuse to talk about some outstanding artwork. This long wall is a collaboration masterclass from 3Dom, Soker, Sepr and Epok which dates back to February 2021 (actually that is when I took the pictures, I think the artwork had been there for some time already).

3Dom, Coach and Horses, Bristol, February 2021
3Dom, Coach and Horses, Bristol, February 2021

First up is this amazing character piece from 3Dom, featuring an unicyclist juggling bombs, with his arms weighed down with lead wights, and avoiding landmines. I imagine that this is a metaphor for the tightrope we are navigating as individuals, as a nation and as humanity itself. At least this is how I read it. As we would expect, it is beautifully painted.

Soker, Coach and Horses, Bristol, February 2021
Soker, Coach and Horses, Bristol, February 2021

The second piece is some incredibly tight graffiti writing from Soker, one of the very best writers around. It is especially gratifying to dig this piece out from the archives, because he is going through a rather quiet period at the moment.

Sepr, Coach and Horses, Bristol, February 2021
Sepr, Coach and Horses, Bristol, February 2021

Next up is the magnificent Sepr with a whole story unfolding. Aliens in a spaceship are trying to drag a cow into the sky, but finding the going difficult. The aliens are contacting their base with the words, “Easton… we have a problem” – a local corruption of the famous quote. Brilliant and witty.

Epok, Coach and Horses, Bristol, February 2021
Epok, Coach and Horses, Bristol, February 2021

Finally, we have something of a rarity, an amazing piece of writing from Epok. I can’t think when I last saw a new piece from Epok, but this must have been one of his last in Bristol. I hope that the break in his productivity will at some point come to an end and that he will once again bless us with his unique geometric designs. What a collaboration, and what a wait.

4746. Dean Lane skate park (531)

Soker, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2022
Soker, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2022

Soker is painting more often and that can only be a good thing. His quality always stands out and he really is one of the godfathers of the Bristol street art scene.

Soker, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2022
Soker, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2022

This is a piece of pure beauty. Letters in two main colours and several shades interlock in a way that flows and is so easy on the eye. With some spotty details and drip features, this is a fine example of what outstanding graffiti writing can look like.

4677. Brunel Way (171)

Soker, Brunel Way, Bristol, August 2022
Soker, Brunel Way, Bristol, August 2022

There isn’t an awful lot more that I can say about the work of Soker that I haven’t already said in multiple previous posts. This one is uncomplicated but so utterly on point.

Soker, Brunel Way, Bristol, August 2022
Soker, Brunel Way, Bristol, August 2022

This is a fantastic piece of writing, with well proportioned letter shapes, fabulously subtle shade progressions in the fills and a nice mauve bubble background. Perfection from Soker.

4608. Dean Lane skate park (514)

Collaborative walls don’t often get more prestigious than this one, with Soker and Dibz combining in a green buffed wall. There was a time when Soker was painting all the time and Dibz occasionally, over the last couple of years their roles have reversed slightly. It seems I post a couple of Dibz pieces every month, but Soker rather rarely.

Soker, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2022
Soker, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2022

To the left is an absolute belter from Soker, spelling out SOKEM, a variant of his name, simply to give him some variation in lettering. Every element of the piece is technically superb, but I am drawn to the rather special fill, and colour selections from bottom to top. Classy stuff from Soker.

Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2022
Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2022

On the right is a piece from Dibz. Nothing too fussy or big, just some nice black (purple tinged) letters with a cream 3D shadow set on some bursts of orange and red splashes. A nice Example of Dibz’ work and expertise. And great to see these two coupling up.

4498. M32 roundabout J3 (412)

Like many other established artists in Bristol, Soker is emerging from a rather quiet couple of years, and we are beginning to see his work about the place more frequently. This, for any fan of top-drawer graffiti writing, is good news indeed.

Soker, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2022
Soker, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2022

This fine piece, on the M 32 roundabout, is classic Soker, spelling out SOKEM, with beautifully presented letters sharply contrasting with the fully buffed and decorated background. It is easy to spot great quality when you see it, and this is right up there with the best.

4268. M32 roundabout J3 (387)

What a very nice piece of classic wildstyle writing this is from Soker, especially welcome as he has been fairly quiet in recent months, and as one of the godfathers of graffiti writing in Bristol, things just don’t feel quite right when he isn’t out there painting.

Soker, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2022
Soker, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2022

The class and confidence ooze from this piece, which reads PUKE. I am not too sure about the back story to this one and I’m not too sure I want to know. Some classic features, the arrow and star, have been incorporated in this nicely proportioned piece. Great to see Soker out and about.