The turnout for Ryder’s paint jam in the tunnel at the end of February was impressive, so much so, that I am way behind with posting many of the pieces, and some will inevitably get left behind in my archive. I felt it important to post this beauty from Stivs though, as it is a really great piece of calligraffiti writing.
Stivs, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2024
This piece reverts to Stivs’ former letters which spell ‘KRAP’ or some variant of it. What is nice about this piece is that he has matched the colours with the Inkie piece from the same paint jam, which I posted a little while back. Set on a starry background, this is yet another classy piece from Stivs.
Sub and Bloem, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2024
It took me a little while to work out, but should have been obvious from the start that Sub and Bloem usually paint together, and this collaborative space on the roundabout was adjacent to another that they were painting as I photographed this one. It is great to see two young artists out there pushing boundaries and practicing their skills.
Sub and Bloem, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2024
To the left, Sub has painted another of his distinctive pieces with very large letters, lifted with a thick drop shadow and accompanied by some wispy smoke, in the Mr Klue style. On the right, Bloem has painted a hand, as she likes to do, holding a pair of her trademark cherry devils (with smiley faces). Although the two pieces are discrete, they share a cloudy background, and there is a suggestion that the hand emanates from Sub’s ‘B’. Always good to find their work.
It seems that as soon as I post a piece by Mind 49, I get to photograph another one, such is the rate at which he is painting at the moment. His portrait pieces always have a sense of mystery about them, with the faces often being partially obscured. He leaves much to the imagination, which is clever stuff really, and which reminds me a little of Caro Pepe’s approach to her art.
Mind 49, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2024
This is a writing/portrait combination which is really striking in its orange and red colouring. I am not sure that the portrait is of anyone specific, and in his Instagram feed Mind 49 says that this was ‘experimenting’. Well it seems to have been a successful experiment from what I can see. More to come soon.
Mr Underbite and Herman Creates, River Avon, Bristol, March 2024
This is a rather nice tribute piece to the late Lazo, who will be much missed in Bristol, by Mr Underbite (MUB) and Herman Creates. Both halves of the collaborative wall hang together really well, and definitely stand out on the pathway alongside the River.
Mr Underbite, River Avon, Bristol, March 2024
On the left is a beautiful rendition of Mr Underbite in blue against an orange background. The joy of this piece is its simplicity. Nothing fancy, nothing pretentious, just Mr Underbite doing what Mr Underbite does, and does very well.
Herman Creates, River Avon, Bristol, March 2024
To the right is a debut piece from Herman Creates on Natural Adventures, and she has painted some more-than-decent block letters with rather nicely done fills. Herman Creates doesn’t do an awful lot of street pieces, but I do have one or two examples of her work in my archive which I will try to unearth, if ever I get a chance. A lovely tribute. And below some work by Lazo:
Lazo, New Stadium Road, Bristol, November 2022Lazo, M32 Spot, Bristol, February 2023
Andy Council and Acer One, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2024
Andy Council and Acer One are having a productive 2024, which is so good to see, and this is one of several collaborations that they have painted recently. This one is a bit of a play on words, altering the well known cliché ‘one love’ to ‘one dove’ and illustrating it accordingly.
Andy Council, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2024
The dove (rock pigeon), rather hidden behind a bush, is beautifully painted by Andy Council, and has beautifully captured the colouring of the bird, and represented the iridescence of the collar with greens, reds, oranges and yellows. The typical style that Andy Council uses includes the ‘stitching together’ of component parts with threaded lines. Great pink feet.
Acer One, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2024
The writing is by Acer One, and deliberately or otherwise reflects the raining above the piece, with the vertical lines dominating. The stylised letters are beautifully picked out with the use of a dark shadow dropped behind them, giving them a bit of a lift. This is another wonderful collaboration and continuation of this purple patch the artists seem to be enjoying.
Ceus, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2023Ceus, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2023Ceus, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2023Ceus, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2023Ceus, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2022Ceus, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2022Ceus, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2022Ceus, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2022Ceus, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2022Ceus, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2021
Evey, Pekoe and Bnie, M32 Spot, Bristol, March 2024
This is a pleasurable post to write because it involves one of my favourite walls with one of my favourite groups of artists. The RBF ladies have been a little quiet this month, but this collaboration from Evey, Pekoe and Bnie has laid that to rest pretty well.
Evey, M32 Spot, Bristol, March 2024
Evey continues to smash it each time she paints and her improvement from piece to piece is so gratifying to witness. The letters here are nicely designed and cleanly finished, with good fill transitions and well organised spotty details. She appears to be building her confidence with is an important part of improvement.
Pekoe, M32 Spot, Bristol, March 2024
In the middle is another Pekoe portrait piece, full of fun and style. The subject has beautifully painted big hair and a rather smart yellow cap or beret. The blue face is rather RBF, if you know what I mean and the whole piece has an interesting dot – dash border. For me though, the hoop earrings steal the show, they are brilliant.
Bnie, M32 Spot, Bristol, March 2024
Finally, Bnie never ever disappoints with her beautiful letters. This is classy writing, with stunning fills, a wonderful drop shadow and yellow border complete with drips. The colour selection of pinks and oranges works really well against the green patterned background. It is good to note a small Palestinian flag under the ‘B’, should we forget what is happening in Gaza right now. A wonderful collaboration from this RBF trio.
I am so far behind with my posts that since this piece by Dibz and Fade was painted, the left hand side has gone, and the right hand side augmented. The more these two work together, the more difficult it becomes to determine who has painted what, and I was lucky enough to meet them yesterday and Fade said that the both contribute to both bits of their work, and that it might be easier to attribute the pieces to both of them, rather than trying to isolate one artist from the other.
Fade, Brunel Way, Bristol, March 2024
Having said all of that, on the left, the writing is the work of Fade, containing plenty of spots from the cheetah. Some great letter shapes and the crossover fade from orange to black is expertly handled.
Dibz, Brunel Way, Bristol, March 2024
On the right the letters spell out Dibz, and the character, which I have only just realised as I write this, is the cheetah from the Cheetos snacks brand, hence the words “it’s not easy… being cheesy”. The cheetah and the writing have been incorporated into a full wall Alice in Wonderland piece from the pair, which I hope to be able to stitch together from several visits. There is no stopping this Dibz/Fade juggernaut.
Marckinetic and Kid Krishna, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2024
Marckinetic and Kid Krishna have been having a rather productive spring following what might be described as a reasonably lean winter. This collaborative pair of pieces, sharing a background and elements of a colour palette, is on the long wall at Cumberland Basin.
Marckinetic, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2024
To the left Marckinetic has written the letters FFS, which would be difficult to know if you didn’t already know, if you know what I mean. His trademark galactic space cloud kind of fill is incorporated in the letters and the semicircle, to great effect. He has also painted a very nice black shadow, in the same mode as often used by Acer One. This is a creative and, as ever, interesting piece.
Kid Krishna, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2024
Kid Krishna, who has recently changed his Instagram account to @name_dropin, has been smashing it of late, and here he is again with one of his CRIE pieces so full of colour and interest in a fairly abstract presentation. I particularly like the ‘canyon’ at the bottom of the piece. I have so many unpublished pieces by Kid Krishna in my archive, and I am trying to figure out how I can post them all. A very nice collaborative wall.
Collaborations from Fade and Dibz are becoming part of the furniture these days, and it would be easy to slip into complacency or to take their work for granted. What I have to remember is that we are very lucky in Bristol to have two artists of this calibre at the top of their game and painting on at least a weekly basis.
Dibz and Fade, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2024
It is becoming increasingly difficult to determine who paints which bits of their collaborations these days, but my guess is that Dibz painted the letters FADE and Fade painted the character piece. It appears that the pair are on a bit of a Dragon Ball frenzy at the moment, as this is the second recent character from the cartoon series to appear in Dean Lane. This time it is the turn of Majin Buu.
Dibz and Fade, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2024
The work of Dibz and Fade is pretty much always tight, and rarely, if ever, do they turn out anything that looks scruffy or rushed. This is what they do and they look like they are absolutely loving doing it. The benefactors of their labours are those that seek out and find their work.
Natural adventures 