The Mole (or to give him his full name, Inca the Mole) has been fairly busy lately with a few pieces in Bristol and elsewhere, which is always good to see. This lovely bit of graffiti writing is on the M32 cycle path, unseen by the motorway traffic above.
The Mole, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, August2022
From what I have seen, The Mole likes to use softer tones in his work, and appears to be a fan of world peace, as much of his work is decorated with peace symbols incorporated into the colour schemes of his fills. This is very nice, tidy and clean writing, typical of The Mole’s apparent conscientious approach.
Stivs has been knocking it out of the park lately, even more so than usual. Following on from his hugely impressive Sear tribute pieces he has created this wonderful birthday shout-out for a friend, Jane Barrow.
Stivs, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2022
The beautifully colourful letters in calligraffiti style spell out POGE or PAGE, I think, but I don’t know the relevance of the letters. It matters not what they say, because the colours, design and overall composition are outstanding. Can Stivs attain a higher level yet? I expect so.
Biers, has been doing some brilliant pieces recently, and this one in Dean Lane really tickled me. My mother and I often discuss Mr Magoo, and our own age-related comical mishaps, a conversation that I expect not many people have these days, as Mr Magoo is probably quite unknown to younger audiences. I can’t help thinking that he was central to the creation of Rowan Atkinson’s Mr Bean.
Biers, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2022
The piece has been really beautifully finished and it would seem that Biers put a lot of time and effort into this one. Some of his other ‘quicker’ pieces can look a little untidy. The fills and colours have been done well, but it is the Mr Magoo character that steals the show for me, appearing in the 0 of the WD40 letters.
I managed to bump into DJ Perks several times over the two days of Upfest this year, which is always a pleasure, and we swapped notes about some of the pieces being painted at the festival. This Popeye piece was DJ Perks’ official Upfest piece, but he did another quick one on the afternoon of the second day (to come).
DJ Perks, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
DJ Perks is making great progress with his writing and character pieces, and this one featuring the spinach-eating sailor standing in front of some chiselled rocks spelling PE(R)KS tells a lovely story, the letters and the character being directly related tom one another. More great fun from DJ Perks.
It is amazing how quickly an artist can make an impression and become part of the norm. It really isn’t all that long ago that I posted the first piece by Marckinetic that I had been aware of, and now he is turning out quality piece after quality piece almost as if he has been painting in Bristol forever.
Marckinetic, Greenbank, Bristol, August 2022
This is a nice solid piece, which deliberately or otherwise has a metallic feel about it. The main body of letters is filled with a kind of sky-scape on the top half and a black lower half, giving the impression of being a mirror, reflecting the scene behind the viewer. The writing is set on a dark pink cloudy/bubbly background. This is an exceptionally good piece, and might be my favourite from the artist so far. He seems to be a real specialist in atmospheric/cosmic/sky-scape backdrops/fills.
Stivs has painted another tribute piece to Sear, and it is an absolute belter. In this piece, Stivs has used his skills at calligraffiti to great effect, creating an astounding backdrop of the word Sear written in patterns. I can’t think how long this would have taken to paint, but it is clearly a labour of love.
Stivs, Dean Lane skate park, Bristol, August 2022
The decorative calligraffiti patterns serve as ‘host’ for the magnificent multicoloured ‘SEAR’ in the centre of the piece. The letters stand out proud from the rest of the wall and are a welcome feast for the eyes. It is touching to see how artists have marked the loss of one of their friends. What a great gift a tribute can be.
Hemper and Benjimagnetic, St Werburghs, Bristol, August 2022
Hemper does seem to love his collaborative walls, and has partnered so many Bristol graffiti writers over the years. In this piece in the tunnel he has paired up with Benjimagnetic, who has been a little quiet of late.
Hemper, St Werburghs, Bristol, August 2022
To the left is a superb piece of organic writing, so organic in fact that it is sprouting shoots and leaves, from Hemper. Spelling out HEMS, this is an utterly awesome piece of writing and shows off his talents to the maximum. I cannot really express how this piece is close to technical perfection and incredibly beautiful to boot, which is not always the case with technically great pieces. A masterclass in writing from Hemper.
Benjimagnetic, St Werburghs, Bristol, August 2022
To the right of the collaborative space is a bright and colourful piece that really brings out the best in Benjimagnetic. The letter fills, using straight lines, create a wonderful structural effect that gives the writing so much depth and texture. It is always a great pleasure to see any new pieces from Benjimagnetic.
Today I might get a chance to investigate a spot or two for the first time in 11 days. I wonder how much new stuff there is out there…
Today’s posts are the last of my holiday posts, and then tomorrow, I am back to work and the humdrum routine until our next break. First up today are a couple of pieces from Klashwhensober (surely a gallery coming up soon…) from Greenbank.
Klashwhensober, Greenbank, Bristol, August 2022
The first is a nice black-lettered SOBER with a yellow and green blotchy 3D shadow. There is a pink string running about the piece with some rather nice bubbles in various places.
Klashwhensober, Greenbank, Bristol, August 2022
The second piece, possibly painted around the same time, is a stunning, energetic piece in orange and red, also spelling out SOBER, and the composition and colour choices really work for me. The fills and use of colours in them are some of his finest, and the letters lifted with the very tidy light blue 3D shadow. The stars and lines around the perimeter are the icing on the cake of a first-class piece. An excellent bit of writing from Klashwhensober.
This is a very fine tribute piece by Dott Rotten, one in a series from several Bristol Graffiti writers in honour of Sear, who appears to have been a popular friend in the community of artists. This is an absolute banger from Dott Rotten and does Sear proud.
Dott Rotten, M32 Spot, Bristol, July 2022
On the left are the letters SEAR written in Dott Rotten’s beautiful style, with deep 3D shadows in grey tones. The fills are outstanding and the transitions across the letters expertly done. The whole piece is set on a cosmic background, with a kind of super-hero character on the right-hand side. A work of love from Dott Rotten.
This piece from Teao One was painted on the same wall as the Hire piece I posted yesterday, and only lasted a short while before being painted over. I have to confess to having no idea what is going on in this piece. It looks like Teao One has written TETE, but I am not sure, and the piece is headed with the phrase: ‘Gunshot in the area’, which might be a lyric or something.
Teao One, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2022
The elephant in the room in this piece is the can of special brew, which, when I was growing up was the beverage of choice for alcoholics, or heavy drinkers due to its super strength. Here the can reads ‘Special Bren’. Too many local cultural references for me to unravel. Nice to see work from Teao One though.
Natural adventures 