It is always nice to see a new piece from Rapt and I have become rather fond of his little motifs that he incorporates alongside his letters. In this piece he has painted a small yin-yang to the right of the letters that provides extra interest.
Rapt, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2020
The letters are nicely done with three horizontal layers of shading fill in varying hues of pink. Rapt has also included some nice little clusters of coloured circles and stars that I think works really well and is quite an original decoration. A fine piece of work.
Cort is one of Bristol’s regulars who will often be found painting alongside Laic217 but occasionally paints alone. His writing is quite different from other people’s and has a very distinctive font which is perfectly demonstarted in this piece.
Cort, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2020
Painted on a grey-buffed wall the letters spell out KORT . These have a nice 3D shading off to the left and contain some nicely painted red dots. Adding a bit of interest behind the lettering is a red splosh and some little orange circles for good measure. A nice touch is the two yellow rings joining the O and R of the piece. Great work.
What the world needs more of in these difficult times is great collaborative happy street art like this magnificent recent collaboration from Soap and Face 1st. These PWA (Pirate Wall Art) friends have been painting together for a long while now and their work is so perfectly in tune. They have their own identities, but when they paint together the work is seamless.
Soap, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2020
On the left is a classic piece of soapiness from Soap with the characteristic mouths spelling out SOAP. The squiggles between the A and the P are superbly done and the arrows just add that touch of graffitiness about it all. A very fine bit of painting from Soap.
Face 1st, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2020
On the right Face 1st treats us to one of his charming cheery faces with big hair spelling out FACE. The matching colours with Soap and white highlights on the curves create teriffic read-across between the artists. A lovely collaboration.
Just when you think you have got your head around all the new artists in Bristol, more seem to appear out of the ether. Some will be one-off visitors, some will be emerging new talent some may have been around for a while but I just haven’t picked up on their work yet. I am not sure which category Elv8 fits into, but this is a lovely recent piiece from under Brunel Way bridge.
Elv8, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2020
The portrait piece is really striking probably due to its fantastic use of bold colours, the dark blue and red making a very strong statement – no wallflower this piece. There is a simplicity that is attractive, but also some complexity in the white shading that offers some relief on the girl’s face and shoulders. Great to see and I hope there will be more.
This is yet another stunning piece from Dibz in Dean Lane. I can honestly say that I can’t remember such a productive period from this artist before in my (sometimes limited) experience.
Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2020
Superb writing with a green surround is brought to life with delicate red thread encircling the whole piece. This is classy writing of the highest calibre and really something to behold. Great work from a great artist.
John D’oh’s busy summer just keeps on delivering time and time again, and the theme of his work continues to be dominated by coronavirus. This piece is a warning to those who might appear hypocritical having clapped for the NHS and then failing to be careful as restrictions ease.
John D’oh, Purdown Battery, Bristol, July 2020
The warning has already proven to be a sensible one as we are seeing localised increases in infection rates across the UK and beyond. The simple single layer stencil shows Walt Disney’s Dopey enjoying a pint of beer. I am guessing that the Aberdeen football club players are wishing they had heeded such a warning.
I’m not entirely certain I have seen a collaboration between Andy Council and Soker before so this recent piece on North Street is something of a wonderful surprise. The whole thhing is beautifully balanced and the colour selections work perfectly. The Soker burner in the middle is book-ended with the front and back of a dragon with parts of the back running the length of the whole piece for continuity.
Soker, North Street, Bristol, July 2020
I’ll start with the Soker writing, which as ever is top notch with a five colour horizontal fill that works really well and some pink/mauve 3D shading that adds real depth to the lettering. On its own this is remarkable.
Andy Council, North Street, Bristol, July 2020
The front end of the dragon by Andy Council is made up of individual components stitched together with pink looping thread. There is movement and power in this dragon, but its form is a figment of our imaginations. Very clever.
Andy Council, North Street, Bristol, July 2020
The rear end of the dragon is more of the same, but some of the component parts begin to resemble feathers flutteing away, which I am sure is no accident, because Andy Council’s usual preference for dinosaurs woud include scales and primitive feathers (derived from scales). A wonderful collaboration from thes two godfathers of Bristol street art.
You will know that I have a very large soft spot for the work of Kid Crayonm, and what makes it extra good is that he is a seriously nice bloke too. I managed to catch up with him while he was painting this trpical protrait piece at the M32 paint jam back in July.
Kid Crayon, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2020
We stopped for a while to chat and KC told me that this section of wall is a little tricky for him because of his height and he needs to stand on stuff to reach the top. I love the way that over the last couple of years, the party hat has become almost as much of a thing in his work as the crayon, both featured here.
Kid Crayon, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2020
I have enjoyed this little spate of pieces from KC and am looking forward to hunting down a collaboration piece he has just finished with SPZero76. There are some things that have been great about this summer and this is one of them.
This was a quiet one from Decay that snuck out without fanfare. It is great to see Decay experimenting with some new paint textures and ideas, such as spraying large clouds of paint on the wall as a kind of backdrop to his writing.
Decay, M32 cycle path, Bristol, July 2020
The white shading in the letters has a kind of distressed effect, something interior decorators were particularly fond of in the 1980s. The whole thing is high-class and exactly what you’d expect from Decay. There are two crew names on the piece that are HTM – Hold the Mustard, and LRS – Last Radical Souls, they are a loosely based crew operating all over the world since 2001.
It is always great to catch up with Rusk, a real gentleman if ever there was one. On this occasion he was joining in with the M32 paint jam that included Tizer, Inkie, Soker, Hemper and Minto last month. The sun was against me for the final photographs, but the work in progress shot shows off the colours a little better.
Rusk, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2020
Attention and care are what I associate Rusk’s work with. He is always diligent and tidy with his pieces and takes his time to get things right. I can’t imagine my stopping for a chat was particularly helpful, but he didn’t seem to mind.
Rusk, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2020
The letters are typically Rusk, spelling out RUSKY and are given a horizontal tricolour fill, with some nice spots in the middle section. If I am honest I am not sure the three colours work too well, especially the bottom two as there is not enough contrast between them, but that is nit picking really, this is a fine piece of graffiti writing.
Natural adventures 