More Merny mirth. The utterly unique style of this storytelling artist is always enjoyable, and forces the viewer to stop and think for a moment or two. Here the subject is busy, fixated on his phone. My interpretation is that he is telling himself he will go to sleep in one minute, knowing that his addiction to social media will not allow that to happen.
Merny, Greenbank, Bristol, March 2023
The naive style combined with the numbered tags are so much a part of Merny’s work, that there really is no need for a signature. Some may dismiss his work, but I consider it to be thoughtful, challenging and deliberate, and am cheered up every time I find a new piece.
It is possible, in fact it is absolutely the case, that in documenting street art and graffiti, one can have a blind spot, and believe me I have had many over the years. This particular blind spot relates to the work of Raid, whose work I simply hadn’t registered until I met the artist while he was painting this piece in Dean Lane a little while back.
Raid, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2023
Of course, I have since found two more of his pieces, and I suspect there are plenty in my archives – something else to look out for next time I go archive-surfing. What makes my omission even more crazy is that this is the work of a superb writer. His letters are beautifully presented, and have a good proportionality about them. The lines are nice and sharp and fills solid, and his wispy decorations add a touch of flair. Watch this space for more from Raid.
I follow Wispa (Willo the Wisp) on Instagram, and it seems that not only is she talented and prolific with her art, but she seems to travel extensively to paint with friends wherever she pitches up. Fortunately, she appears to have some RBF friends in Bristol, and we are treated to her work every now and again.
Wispa, Brunel Way, Bristol, March 2023
This piece under Brunel Way is a real cracker, with so much to enjoy. The first impression is how bright and colourful the piece is, but it is so much more than that. The fills in the letters are strong and the lines between colours straight and sharp. Of course, the character on the left tops the piece off beautifully, but it would be just as strong without it, demonstrating the quality of her writing. I hope she returns soon, although there is a little extra piece she painted on this visit.
Back to the here and now, I bring you this magnificent large piece from the visiting SkyHigh. Although it was only painted a few days ago, it has already been painted over, which I have to say I find a little disrespectful, but I guess most graffiti writers don’t know how long the piece they are overpainting has been there. Some though are resentful and malicious and deliberately target work superior to their own to exert some kind of childish power… when that happens we are all losers.
SkyHigh, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2023
Sky High has absolutely nailed his style of writing, choosing different block styles for each letter of the word. He also manages to keep everything so clean and tight, even down to the white frame for this piece.
SkyHigh, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2023
The colour selections are great and there is an element of symmetry in their deployment. I particularly like the style of the ‘Y’, which I think is probably the most challenging letter technically in the piece. I’m already looking forward to his next visit to Bristol (with Roo, of course).
Trawling through the archives is actually immensely enjoyable, but also very distracting. Another piece I rescued from incarceration is this rather fun scene, painted by Stiff.
Stiff, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2020
As with some other artists in Bristol, aliens feature very strongly in Stiff’s work, and here we have an alien and a human interacting with some electricity generating equipment. There is a story here being told, but I’m not sure that I quite get it. Time machine perhaps? Anyhow, Stiff has a great knack for creating interesting and absorbing scenes like this one.
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
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
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
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
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.
This is only the second piece by Lazo that I have seen, and I was fortunate enough to meet him when he was painting this column. As with his first piece, there is something very captivating about this portrait, and the style is quite different to that which we might expect to see in Bristol.
Lazo, M32 Spot, Bristol, February 2023
Lazo’s long face is perfect for column artwork and looks amazing, especially if you crop out the yellow paint at the top of the piece. I particularly like the depth and tone he achieves with his ‘brushstrokes’. The eyes too have something rather special about them. I am looking forward to seeing more from Lazo this year.
Another piece from the archive, this one is from December 2020, which, although it feels like a long, long time ago, isn’t really, it is just that so much has happened since then. This piece, on the flakiest wall in Bristol, is by Trafficity.
Trafficity, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2020
His striking style and unwavering loyalty to his letter shapes makes Trafficity’s work some of the most recognisable in Bristol. The letters spell ZIOM, which is Polish means ‘dude’, ‘man’, ‘mate’ and so on – a nice inoffensive thing to write. As I always mention with Trafficity’s letters, it looks like there is a top and bottom half, each with smaller words, but I would need to ask the artist if this is the case. It is nice to release this one from the archive.
The next few posts are images taken out of my archives. I got distracted. I was actually looking for something specific from roughly December 2020, but then stumbled upon a whole bunch of pieces which had been left behind and that I simply had to publish.
Bnie, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, November 2020
First up is this beauty from Bnie on the cycle path photographed in November 2020. This is not the only unpublished piece by Bnie in my archive, and I will get round to publishing the others at some point. There are some outstanding fills in this piece, and the trademark mouth in the letter ‘B’. I simply can’t think how I let this one slip through the net.
Another DJ Perks piece from my last visit to Lawrence Weston (L Dub), and another quality piece at that. In a way I am a little disappointed that I hadn’t visited sooner, as the Dun Sum piece underneath DJ Perks’ looks rather spectacular.
DJ Perks, L Dub, Bristol, February 2023
DJ Perks has a natural talent as a graffiti writer and seems to make turning out crisp and clean pieces look absolutely effortless. The fills are beautifully done, the borders tight, The drop shadow is excellent and the little white flashes add depth. Overall, this is an outstanding piece from DJ Perks.
Natural adventures 