I just don’t seem to see enough of Soge’s work, but it is great to know that he is still in Bristol and taking a can to a wall once in a while. This recent piece was painted alongside Hire and other artists I am not so familiar with in a session in the tunnel
Soge, St Werburghs, Bristol, May 2022
The scratchy writing spelling out SOGE is typical of his writing, and the pink and yellow-bordered purple letters appear to be sitting on a cosmic nebula-type setting. A fine piece of writing from a great writer who needs to get out more (IMO).
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
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.
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
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.
You can rely on Mr Draws to come up with something light and cheerful, and this recent piece at the far end of the tunnel does just the trick. In this piece he has diverged from his usual DRAWS letters and written, in thin lettering, Kunst, which in German means arts.
Mr Draws, St Werburghs, Bristol, May 2022
Mr Draws had flirted with the idea of living in Germany a few years back, but it all fell through. Germany’s loss was Bristol’s gain, but this might be harking back to a desire to go there still. The letters are characteristically colourful and the whole thing very tidily painted. This blog would not be what it is without the likes of Mr Draws.
On the same day that I met Asre for the first time, I also met Chill and although he wasn’t painting at the time, he had come along to watch his friends paint. There is something really nice and supportive about the graffiti/street art community. Chill, although he has been around for a year or two, has definitely upped his game in recent months, and we tend to see something new once a fortnight or so.
Chill, St Werburghs, Bristol, May 2022
This character in the tunnel proved to be a bit tricky to photograph because of a car parked in front of it. I have since taken better pictures, but have left these in to demonstrate the challenges of photographing street art… I wouldn’t want you to think it was too easy. The character is nicely painted, with plenty of detail on the cartoon-style features. The inclusion of spray cans is common in character street art, and balances the piece out nicely. More great work from Chill.
Last Saturday was one of those very special red-letter days for me. I took the dog for a walk, that ended up being a bit of a marathon, during which I visited four spots and met nine or ten artists, several of them for the first time. Among the artists, it was an enormous pleasure to meet Asre, or Runaway Joey as he is known, for the first time, and very touching to find out that he knew who I was and had been keen to meet me and had even read some of my posts… my work here is done.
Asre, St Werburghs, Bristol, April 2022
This is one of a multitude of variations on a theme by Asre, with the stylised cartoon face that we are becoming accustomed to seeing all over the place. This poor fellow looks like he has come a poor second in a boxing bout, with a severe black eye. Once again, the strong clean lines and solid fills are nicely worked, and the boxing glove provides additional interest – I like the way Asre has highlighted the glove with pink and white, giving it a cool 3D effect. There is so much more to come from this prolific artist and all round great bloke.
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
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.
Conrico, or Conrico Steez to give him his full name, is going through a bit of a purple patch and is both painting alone and collaborating in spots all over North Bristol at the moment. This Chinese dragon character intertwined with the word Conrico harks back to a dragon piece I photographed in August 2019 (pre-Covid, remember that?).
Conrico, St Werburghs, Bristol, March 2022
I say this every time I write about Conrico’s work, but he has a certain quality and style that makes his work look like it has been painted using a brush rather than a spray can, there is a certain texture and depth that he manages to get that is fairly unique. There is much to admire in this piece, and I am enjoying his high productivity at the moment.
The last time I met these two, Benjimagnetic and Acer, they were painting this exact spot with an epic piece that regrettably had been painted over by the time I went back to photograph it. I wasn’t going to make the same mistake again, and having seen it on Instagram, made the tunnel my first port of call.
Benjimagnetic, St Werburghs, Bristol, April 2022
The left hand of this collaborative wall is a superbly clean and light piece of wildstyle writing from Benjimagnetic, spelling out BEN. The colours and shapes are inspiring, and the little grey shaded areas provide a little bit of solidity to the frame. Lovely work.
Acer, St Werburghs, Bristol, April 2022
On the right, Acer continues to dazzle us with his highly stylised rainbow lettering, spelling out CHAOS. Is this a random word, or a description of the mad, mad world we live in? This is a thing of beauty and great skill, I love the grey shadows of the black shadows. An absolutely fabulous collaborative wall.
Benjimagnetic and Acer, St Werburghs, Bristol, April 2022
This is definitely one of those occasions when you get more for your money, to loosely use an expression, because as we already know, street/graffiti art is completely free… imagine that, completely free art for all to enjoy, no entrance fee required. A double helping from Klashwhensober, which is surely a treat to savour. In this double act, we have two of his monikers, ‘Klash’ and ‘Sober’.
Klashwhensober, St Werburghs, Bristol, April 2022
To the left is Klash written in his long slim lettering and a gorgeous transition fill from blue to pink, with some lovely patterns spanning the letters. The whole thing is coated in a kind of green goo, that Face 1st would approve of.
Klashwhensober, St Werburghs, Bristol, April 2022
To the right of the pair of the work is the word Sober which again has lovely slim curvy letters and a superb red/orange 3D shadow shared across both words – with regard to the 3D shadow, Klashwhensober has a vanishing point somewhere behind the piece and the shadows work in both directions. The imaginative patterns and fills are a joy to behold, and a specialism that Klashwhensober works really hard on.
Klashwhensober, St Werburghs, Bristol, April 2022
I met Klashwhensober again yesterday on the M32 cycle path, and it was another pleasurable experience. We chewed the fat for a little while, and discussed different pieces and styles, amongst other things. I think that we must have similar body clocks, as we keep meeting – three times now in just over a week.
Natural adventures 