Nips is known for her wonderful colour selections and fill patterns and with this chrome piece on the cycle path, the question is could she carry it off with such colour limitations, the answer is unequivocally yes.
Nips, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, October 2024
Nips’ letters do not change an awful lot from piece to piece, but her decorative artwork does, and here she has made the most of a simple fill pattern of black blobs. The overall effect works very well. Normally you’d expect the tittle (a word I learned last night, meaning the dot above the i or j) in Nips’ pieces to have a little character face, but here she has substituted it with a heart. Great work from Nips.
Fade (Jody and Acer One)) and Dibz, Brunel Way, Bristol, October 2024
This is a wonderful production wrap-around Halloween piece from Dibz and Fade. In fact this is the second time that the pair have bookended their former tribute collaboration with Jody and Acer One, to musician and DJ Randall. The central portrait by Jody and letters from Acer One have remained intact each time.
Fade and Jody, Brunel Way, Bristol, October 2024
To the left Fade has painted a wonderful combination piece, along with Jody, with the letters FDE either side of a creepy pumpkin character. The purple, black and green colours together with the pumpkin orange are commonly used in Halloween pieces.
Jody, Brunel Way, Bristol, October 2024
The pumpkin is super-fierce and beautifully painted by Jody (thank you Paul H for your unflinching reminders that I completely missed this) with the light overflowing from the lantern and spilling onto the floor and spelling out the crew letters THK. Clever stuff.
Dibz, Brunel Way, Bristol, October 2024
To the right, Dibz has similarly created a combination piece, but his character is a cartoon-style Grim Reaper, altogether less threatening than his pumpkin partner. The letters offer up wildstyle writing at its best, and contrasts somewhat with the comic character, but as ever, Dibz gets the two to work well together.
Dibz, Brunel Way, Bristol, October 2024
Overall a superb seasonal augmentation of an existing collaboration.
With this character piece, Omie is demonstrating his versatility. We would normally associate his work with graffiti writing that isn’t tied down to any particular pattern or style, but here he has painted something altogether different, a robot.
Omie, Greenbank, Bristol, October 2024
I think that the character is the Iron Giant from the animated film released in 1999, and a popular subject in street art and youth culture. In this nicely crafted and tender piece, the giant is holding a spray can, ready to do some decorating. A fine departure from Omie.
By the time this post is published I’ll be somewhere between Bristol and Leeds, on our way to visit our daughter who is in her first term at university there. The upshot of this is that I wrote this post last night after work, a little tired and not particularly inspired. Basically I am making excuses for a waffling post.
Mr Draws, M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 2024
Mr Draws represents the constant beating heart of Bristol graffiti writing. I have said it many times and my view hasn’t changed. Regular and dependable. This set of fused DRAWS letters in dark blues has a devilish theme running through it with horns and an inverted cross. I wonder what is going on here. I might need to have words with Mr Draws.
One of the highlights of 2024 has been the appearance and constant presence of the brilliant wildstyle graffiti writer Grimes. I am fascinated and excited by his writing that contains so much energy that it looks likely to burst in an explosion of coloured paint at any moment.. he has a very special talent.
Grimes River Avon, Bristol, November 2024
This stunner spells GRIMES, which if you look hard is actually quite easy to see, once you have your eye in. The colour selection is, as ever, spot on, but the magic is in the way that all the components come together to create a coherent whole. This is outstanding writing at its best.
One of the great benefits of having a very strong street art and graffiti culture in Bristol is that we receive a great many visiting artists who are drawn to the city to catch the vibe. This is great for me because I get to see the work of talented artists from all over the country and the world, without even needing to leave town.
5kin, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, November 2024
I don’t know where 5kin (the Instagram tag, which I presume is skin) comes from, but this piece on the long brick wall at Sparke Evans Park is really welcome. The chrome letters, spelling SKIN, are wonderfully dynamic and further brought to life by the inclusion of the horizontal red stripe and blue bubble writing. Somehow the piece works really well with the bed of autumn leaves in front of the wall. I hope 5kin returns to drop more graffiti writing in the future.
At the L Dub spot, there are two main areas for painting. There is the long tunnel that runs underneath the M5 motorway, and at the southern end is a disused water pumping station. Each of these offer different opportunities, with the tunnel lending itself more to graffiti writing, with the low long wall, and the pumping station offering more opportunities for character or other artistic pieces.
Kool Hand, L Dub, Bristol, October 2024
Kool Hand has taken advantage of one of the taller walls on the pumping station to create this combination piece. The orangutan character has grown a couple of Shrek ears and is resting on top of the words ‘Last radical souls’ which is the name of the LRS crew. Great use of the space, and a nice tribute to the crew.
Unknown Artist, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2024
I tend not to post too many pieces by unknown artists, but sometimes you just have to go for it… I can’t know everything (indeed, I don’t know very much). This haunting piece at the farm end entrance to the tunnel features a girl with a ball and a crow flying towards her. There is something rather tender and innocent about the piece, and it would not be out of place as an illustration in a children’s book.
Unknown Artist, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2024
While the artwork might lack sophistication, it is captivating, and probably deliberately vague. It feels ghostly and ephemeral, almost as if it would disappear if you glanced away. I haven’t seen any other artwork like this around Bristol, although I could be mistaken, but I certainly hope that more such pieces appear – perhaps with a signature.
Sled One is another artist whose street work comes in peaks and troughs… nothing for ages and then several come along in quick succession. He is on a roll at the moment, and this beautiful combination piece was painted alongside the Smak piece that I posted a day or two ago.
Sled One, M32 roundabout, Bristol, October 2024
This surreal piece is quite magnificent, featuring a skull character smoking a cigarette whose lighter appears to have quite a high flame setting, The humorous piece is beautifully composed and clean as a whistle. The letters SLED are interesting in that they are large for a signature or small to be on terms with the character, but that is Sled One for you, he does what he does, and always does it brilliantly.
Mr Crawls and Mote, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2024
Although they appear to have slowed down ever so slightly, Mote and Mr Crawls continue to keep us entertained with their creative monster collaborations. This one on the swimming pool wall has quite a festive feel about it, although it is a little early for Christmas, not that anyone told the supermarkets!
Mr Crawls, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2024
Set on a gold background, which is a progression from their recent penchant for chrome, Mr Crawls has painted one of his bird characters, it might be a penguin, looking mighty cold, wearing a woolly hat and with icicles dangling from its bill. The coloured blobs dotted around the character work incredibly well, adding a dimension our feathered friend.
Mote, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2024
Mote has created a monster unlike any other, but which holds a certain fascination in its unusualness. Some aspects of the character resemble ET, but I think that this is coincidental rather than planned. There is something a little haunting about this monster, which I guess is appropriate for the Halloween period.
Natural adventures 