Sometimes she writes FLUX, but on this occasion she has written LUXE, that is how Bbygwya rolls. Although she hasn’t painted a character for her piece, her letters are very well executed in this contribution to Bnie’s birthday and Vozie’s Baby celebration paint jam underneath the M32.
Bbygwya, Frome Side, Bristol, November 2023
Bbygwya has done a great job with her fills in this piece, that I don’t quite know how to describe, magenta squiggles on a purple base I guess. The stars are very clever, giving off a kind of yellow glow or aura. A nice contribution from Bbygwya on what must have been a great, fun day.
Dibz, Fade and Smak, Brunel Way, Bristol, November 2023
Here we have yet another classy collaboration between Dibz and Fade only this time they are joined by Smak in this Halloween extravaganza. The wall, as I have mentioned several times in the past, might be great fun to paint, especially if it is raining a little, but it is a devil to take decent photographs of unless the light conditions are perfect.
Dibz, Brunel Way, Bristol, November 2023
On the left, Dibz has painted a creepy ‘zombie’ hand clutching at a spray can, putting a finishing touch on the writing to the right of it. The letters are beautifully worked, and Dibz has adopted the traditional colours of Halloween pieces, namely, Orange, purple and black.
Fade, Brunel Way, Bristol, November 2023
In the middle section, Fade has kept things simple with sticking to writing only with what looks like FADER, but could be something else altogether. All is neat and tidy with the piece as we’ve come to expect.
Smak, Brunel Way, Bristol, November 2023
On the right-hand side, Smak has joined in with the festive fun with some very fancy letters and a skull character peering over the K to the right. The backdrop to the whole thing is a wonderful spooky silhouette of dead trees and towers, finished off with some autumn leaves sweeping across the entire length f the wall. A classy collaboration from three fabulous writers.
Abbie Laura Smith, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2023
On the side of a bin in Dean Lane, we make a return to the lone wheatpaster operating in Bristol, Abbie Laura Smith with her distinctive style of single black line drawing. The portrait piece is simple and beautiful and sits well in its location.
Abbie Laura Smith, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2023
There is a lot of thought that goes into wheatpasting in both the composition of the piece and deciding on the final location, and some consideration has to go into the formulation of the glue too. Abbie Laura Smith has managed well on all counts with this paste-up. I would definitely like to see more from her, and will be keeping my eyes peeled.
Well this one took me a little bit by surprise, because it is a piece of graffiti writing from Mind 49 who doesn’t usually major on his writing, in fact I think this is the first writing only piece I have seen from this talented artist. Some of his portrait and other pieces have included a few letters, but nothing on this scale.
Mind 49, M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 2023
Everything that you’d expect to see from a good graffiti writer is here… nice letter shapes, great colours and fills. The only thing that I think he needs to work on, and I am being super-picky, might be his outer border, which can be really unforgiving if the line is very thin. All in all, great to see something different from Mind 49, although, to be fair, all of his work is different from piece to piece. The piece fits a time context, with the ‘Free Palestine’ shout out.
Over the last year or so, we have become used to seeing Peggy’s wonderful floral works, starting with a few modest pieces in Dean Lane, to now, and some large, complex and bold pieces. I love watching street artists grow in confidence and ambition, and Peggy is establishing herself, while sticking to her essential floral designs.
Peggy, Leonard Lane, Bristol, November 2023
Leonard Lane is a bit of a ‘go to’ destination at the moment and is as colourful and vibrant as I have ever seen it. This piece bursts with energy and colour, lighting up the rather dimly lit alleyway. Lots of designed curls in pink, orange and yellow surround a central eye, in this piece that definitely grabs the attention. Great work from Peggy.
A year or two ago, Slakarts was one of the more prolific artists in Bristol. I have a feeling that he is busy with work these days, which is, of course, good thing, but it means we get to see fewer pieces on the streets. These days, every piece is a very welcome surprise, like this one on the M32 roundabout.
Slakarts, M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 2023
Slakarts has developed his style considerably, developing his trademark faces into something altogether more sophisticated. This sophisticated abstract piece incorporates his face design into a busy mash up of facial features, letters and symbols to create a bright and exciting experience. I would love to see more of his work, but have to be grateful for small mercies.
Roo, Lighthouse Community Garden, London, April 2023Roo, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2023Roo, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2023Sky and Roo 0007 5 March 2023_editedSky and Roo 0007 5 March 2023_editedRoo, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2022Roo, Brunel Way, Bristol, September 2021Roo, East Street, Bristol, July 2021, Upfest 21Roo, East Street, Bristol, July 2021, Upfest 21Roo, East Street, Bristol, July 2021, Upfest 21Roo, East Street, Bristol, July 2021, Upfest 21Roo, Upfest 2016, Bristol, July 2016SkyHigh and Roo, Upfest 2016, Bristol, July 2016Roo, Leake Street, London, July 2019Roo, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2018Roo, M32 Spot, Bristol, February 2018
I am only an occasional visitor to the Frome Side spot, which sits underneath the M32, adjacent to the M32 Spot, and access is a little tricky, especially in the wet weather, but particularly for the dog. I tend to save up my visits for a time when I can go alone, which these days isn’t all that often. I actually combined this one with a big shop at the Eastville Tesco.
Pekoe, Frome Side, Bristol, November 2023
What a treat awaited, a full wall of RBF paint jam pieces to celebrate Bnie’s birthday with a Rugrats theme. Pekoe absolutely came up trumps with this piece. She has smashed it here, combining her writing with a brilliant portrait of a Rugrats character (Susie Carmichael), and painting each of the letters in the style of the cartoon series, including a letter brick, a ball and a skipping rope. What a brilliant piece from Pekoe, demonstrating her talents with both characters and writing.
Awkward is an artist who pops up from time to time, pretty much always in the Dean Lane area. Most, if not all, of his work appears to contain a rather stressed looking character, the face only, often with a speech bubble with the word Awkward in it.
Awkward, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2023
This piece comes with a further two messages, the first is ‘Free Palestine’ and the second might be an observation of the weather when he was painting, ‘Then came the rain’. Awkward seems to be well acquainted with a few of the established writers in Bristol, but just doesn’t seem to paint as often, which is a bit of a shame.
About a week ago I posted a piece by Biers which was not too dissimilar to this one. Similar colours and of course overall design of WD40, and incorporating a to cartoon character with ginger hair and glasses. The character from last week’s post was Dexter from Dexter’s Laboratory, but I am stumped by this character.
Biers, Hepburn Lane, Bristol, November 2023
I was lucky enough to bump into Biers while he was painting this alongside Bags, but he hadn’t started the character, so I couldn’t ask him directly who it was. It is good to see that Biers is out and about again with his very ‘Bristol’ style of graffiti writing. I have mentioned this before, and I don’t know if this is a perception or a real thing, but I think that different cities and districts have ‘house’ styles, and Biers typifies the Bristol ‘house’ style.
Natural adventures 