It must be time now to declare Mr Klue the ‘King of St Werburghs tunnel’. I am guessing that he must live locally, because you don’t get to see his work elsewhere in Bristol very often. In the days when The Bearpit was a thing, we would see Mr Klue pieces there and in the Stokes Croft area, but not now.
Mr Klue, St Werburghs, Bristol, April 2023
This piece spells KLUE in the artist’s preferred colouring and ephemeral abstract style. It is beautifully presented on a black background, and it is great to see one of his pieces in daylight, rather than under the tunnel lighting which distorts the colours so much. Mr Klue has certainly hit a rich vein of form and productivity, which is great news for admirers of his work.
I’m not sure that I have seen an Elvs/Dibz collaboration before, so this one in Dean lane recently is a bit of a rarity. The two have combined to share a colour scheme and theme, which I think is based on Disney’s Beagle Boys characters. These characters are familiar to me, but I don’t think I have ever read or watched anything with them in.
Elvs, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2023
You can always tell a good collaboration when you don’t know who has painted certain bits of it, and while it is obvious who painted the writing, it is not so clear with regard to the characters. My guess would be that the two around the ELVS were by him, and the one popping out over the top of DIBZ was by Dibz. As always, Elvs’ writing is first class, and instantly recognisable with his very fat, elaborate lettering. The fill fades are pretty decent too.
Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2023
Dibz is no stranger to writing/character combinations, and his skills are on show here. His wildstyle graffiti writing can be difficult to decipher if you don’t know what it says, but usually it is DIBZ, so you are on fairly safe ground. Talking of safes, there is a story in the piece, which involves the cracking of a safe using explosives. The character on the left is plunging the detonator, while the one on the right blocks his ears… the cartooniest of cartoon plots. This is a fabulous collaboration from two immensely talented artists.
Kosc is always on fire, whether it is his graffiti writing or his character pieces, he never disappoints. This is another outstanding piece of writing painted in day glow orange tones, a colour that he favours, but one that fades if left out inn the elements for too long.
Kosc, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2023
The letters spell out Kosc and have his trademark ‘rivets’ in place at certain junctions in the lettering, making the whole thing look like a piece of metalwork. The transition of fill colours is exceptional, and the shading within each letter creates a fabulous 3D effect. I think that Kosc may have missed a bit of shading on the far left part of the letter ‘K’, a minor detail, but you can’t unsee it.
Hicka, Pekoe and Maes, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2023
At first inspection, this ‘Goosebumps’ collaboration looks like it was painted by three artists; Hicks, Pekoe and Maes, and that would be a fair assumption, but there was another hand in the piece provided by Still, who I met with Maes while they were finishing off the piece. Pekoe and Hicka has just left, moments before I arrived.
Hicka, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2023
To the left is a fabulous creepy piece of writing by Hicka, augmented by Still, who was adding some finishing touches the first time I passed by. There is a lovely bubbly organic feel to the letter fills, and the whole thing oozes from the wall. The clever purple shading gives it a bit of a 3D lift too.
Pekoe, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2023
Pekoe is always a delight, and her green portrait piece sits beautifully with the theme. The piece is a bit creepy, but also really attractive and I think that Pekoe has absolutely smashed it. The red lips and pupils of her eyes really stand out from the green skin tones, and the white zig-zags on the black hair give it a shiny look.
Maes, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2023
Finally on the right is some writing by Maes. You can probably tell that Maes is at the start of his journey with graffiti writing, but is doing really well. He was receiving some coaching from Still. His chunky letters have drips and dots and a little bit of what looks like snow-capping on the top left of each letter. With regular practice, I can see Maes improving, he certainly already is making his mark about the place. Overall this is a really decent collaboration.
Another instalment from the Burberry check paint jam in Sparke Evans Park, and this one is by Smak. The artist has really gone to town on this one and spread himself out a bit, with a truly awesome piece of graffiti writing.
Smak, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, April 2023
You can make out the letters SMAK, although with all the patterning, if you didn’t know what you were looking for it could be a bit tricky. As you might expect, the technique and skill in this piece are second to none, and you are seeing graffiti writing at its absolute best. It is great to see a spike in activity from Smak.
Javiceus, to give Ceus his full name, has undergone as slight reinvention, and returned from his winter slumbers with a different look to his work, which is altogether lighter and more airy, if that makes sense. He continues to write the letters CEUS, but they somehow feel different.
Ceus, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2023
There is a heavenly appearance to this piece, probably conveyed by a background of blue and white, looking a little bit like clouds on a sunny day. The letters in a light lilac colour are nicely formed and executed, with an orange disc, which looks a little like a disfigured smily face, making up the ‘E’. More in this style to come from Ceus very soon.
Slim Pickings (TES), Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2021
I mentioned a few days back that In hadn’t posted anything like as many pieces by Slim Pickings (TES) as I should have done over the last few years, so I set out to remedy that by doing a trawl through my archives. This is what I came up with, and this is just for 2021, so I expect to do another of these mini-galleries for subsequent years.
Writing TES, Slim Pickings (the name of his Instagram account when I first encountered his work) maintains the exact same general form for his letters, tinkering at the edges with colour changes and some other playful additions. Here are the pieces I should have posted before:
Slim Pickings (TES) Brunel Way, Bristol, January 2021Slim Pickings (TES), Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2021Slim Pickings (TES), M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2021Slim Pickings (TES), L Dub, Bristol, March 2021Slim Pickings (TES), Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2021Slim Pickings (TES), Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2021Slim Pickings (TES), Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, June 2021Slim Pickings (TES), M32 Cycle path, Bristol, June 2021Slim Pickings (TES), Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2021Slim Pickings (TES), Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2021Slim Pickings (TES), Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2021Slim Pickings (TES), Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2021
Rusk is a lovely bloke, and although I have to remind him who I am pretty much every time I meet him, he always makes time for a chat. I was in the right place at the right time when he and several other artists were having a bit of a paint jam on the St Paul’s side of the M32 roundabout. This was one of a really classy gallery of pieces.
Rusk, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2023
Rusk has painted a graffiti writing and character combination with a little slogan and probable theme of ‘born to die’. The writing is, as always, first class and as neat and tidy as you’ll ever see. The metallic feel is worked hard with combinations of white and grey and clever highlights and stars. Along the top of the piece, the grim reaper is calling out to bypassing pedestrians and cyclists… you’re next. Beautiful work from Rusk.
At a guess I would say that I only post about a quarter of all the Werm pieces that I find, and tht is probably only a half of what he paints, so I will have to find a way to remedy that. I think I might have to do a trawl through my folders and publish a mini gallery to get back up to speed.
Werm, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2023
In the short three or four years when I first met Werm, who was writing EMAN at the time, he is in my view, one of the most improved artists and graffiti writers in Bristol. The technical skills he displays with his work is of the highest order, and it just shows what talent combined with dedication can do. There is more to this piece of graffiti writing than just the stunning colour combination.
Consistently brilliant and brilliantly consistent, Trafficity manages to paint the exact same structural form of letters spelling ZIOM. As I have said in previous posts featuring his work, I suspect there is a hidden smaller word running along the top of the letters, but until I next meet him to ask him, I cannot be sure.
Trafficity, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2023
There is something very reassuring about Trafficity’s work, a constant landmark that reappears, when all else around us in in complete turmoil and chaos. The colour selections and transitions are near perfect, and the border and outlines clean and tight. It is always great to find a Trafficity piece.
Natural adventures 