A gallery of fabulous dinosaurs and writing from Bristol’s very own T-Rex
Instagram: @rawtrex
All photographs by Scooj
T-Rex
Tag: Writer
4810. Brunel Way (177)
I was lucky enough to meet Cobo recently while he was spraying another piece of graffiti writing on the other side of this wall under Brunel Way. It turns out that he is a lovely bloke who has come to Bristol from New Zealand very recently and is looking for walls to paint. I hope I was able to help him with that in a small way. I’m not sure how long he will be staying, but expect to see more from Cobo in the coming weeks.
Cobo is clearly an accomplished writer, using the letters ‘COBER’ in this piece, although I know he likes to switch things up a little bit. These solid, strong letters, looking like a rocky outcrop, are beautifully laid out in two shades of blue, the darker shade with additional decoration. The dark green background sets the letters up really nicely, providing a buffer between them and the overpainted works beneath. A nice introduction to another talent to hit Bristol.
4806. Cheltenham 2022 (20)
The pavilion in Cheltenham is an absolutely perfect place for long wall pieces and collaborations. Set on the edge of a football field, the building plays host to some of the most memorable pieces from the Cheltenham Paint Festival over the last few years. This year, Smak and The Art of Sok painted this awesome collaboration.
To the left is a remarkably tight piece of wildstyle writing from Smak. The sensational colour scheme combined with a crisp design, delineated with white and black borders, contribute to an outstanding eye-fest of colour and form, clearly the work of a super-talented graffiti writer.
I haven’t come across The Art of Sok before, but I am guessing from the dragon on the character’s chest that there is a Welsh connection. The piece itself is outstanding, so clean and crisp, full of character and movement. The blocked-out colours are very stylised, presenting a highly designed feel to the work. Overall, this is a superb and compelling collaboration. Bravo!
4804. Cheltenham 2022 (18)
One of the delights of street art festivals is that they introduce you to a whole bunch of artists you haven’t encountered before and new styles and ideas, which is most refreshing. This piece is by Dawn, who is a bespoke signwriter based in the Cheltenham/Gloucester area.
The sign, painted in the backyard of the Two Pigs Club, is beautifully crafted and contains all the hallmarks of a skilled sign writer. It is funny, but the cross-over from signwriting to street art is not as straightforward as one might think, but Dawn has made a great job of it here.
4803. Cheltenham 2022 (17)
I always feel a little surprised when I see some Elvs graffiti writing that isn’t in his usual highly elaborate and cryptic style, and it demonstrates what a great artist he is that he can switch it up so dramatically, presenting a very different style of writing here.
The writing is in large block letters, once again seeing the use of pink and blue – a superb combination and contrast between the letters and the cloudburst background. Although the wizard character feels familiar, I don’t know who it is. I’ll be back in a moment after a pause to Google…
…no luck I’m afraid. Perhaps someone out there can let me know.
This is a great piece from a superb artist whose versatility is powerful.
4800. St Werburghs tunnel (316)
Something that can be always relied upon is that any piece, large or small, by Sled One will always ooze class. This recent work at the entrance to the tunnel is proof enough of that. I particularly like this piece because it came as a complete surprise.
When I first saw this, I thought that there might be a suggestion of Sepr involvement, because the character would fit the Sepr style, but the eyebrows give it away as a Sled One character. The chef skeleton is full of character movement, holding his hand in a gesture of culinary perfection, perfect. Another thing I love about Sled One’s work is that he slaps classy ‘ASK’ mega tags (After Skool Klub) all over the city, often without signature. Another notable piece from Sled One.
4798. Leonard Lane (37)
Leonard Lane used to be a street with only a few pieces of graffiti, street art or tags, but over recent years it has become popular with writers and for paint jams, and now there is little bare wall left, although the quality of work there is highly variable.
You have to look quite hard at this one to make out the letters MOTEL which tells you that it is by Dog Bless the Band. Although the piece looks a bit messy, not helped by the un-buffed wall, it is actually rather nicely put together. Dog Bless the Band has used his usual low-key colours, with a hint of blending, for his letters and added a few ‘shock sparks’ for added interest. A nice touch is the picking out of the mortar lines in the brickwork of the wall into his letters. A nicely considered piece.
4797. Greenbank (59)
It is getting very difficult to keep on top of the street art scene in Bristol at the moment. The sheer number of artists and the frequency with which they are painting, means that many pieces never see the light of day on the pages of Natural Adventures. An artist who doesn’t appear as much as he should is 3F Fino, and I have a great many of his pieces lurking in my archive.
I have managed to include this recent one from Greenbank, painted alongside LRS crew friends. The letters FINO are half decorated in a bubble style, that 3F Fino has used before at L Dub, if my memory serves me right. The design as very effective and unusual. Alongside the letters, the artist has painted a masked character jumping out of the side of a spray can with a brick wall motif, used a lot by street artists. All good work from 3F Fino.
4796. Cumberland Basin
Unsigned pieces are always tricky because it is quite easy to attribute them to the wrong artist and end up with egg on your face. I am, however, pretty certain that this ‘Brat’ piece is by Bnie, and I say this, because the style of letters is consistent with hers and she has written brat at least once before, some time ago.
The piece was written as part of a wonderful paint jam, that included outstanding works from Sepr and Sled One. What can I say about this writing? Great letters, great colours, nicely worked fades, effective white highlights and a tight border. What more is there to like from classy writing?
4795. Dean Lane skate park (537)
As well as being a fabulous graffiti writer, Dibz also recreates beautifully worked characters, and he has excelled with this Halloween piece recently in Dean Lane. The whole thing is a cleverly devised mash up of Groundskeeper Willy from the Simpsons and Freddy Krueger from A Nightmare on Elm Street.
The festive work is a belter and another example of just what an exceptional graffiti writer Dibz is. The Krueger jumper is reflected in the letters of the piece lifted with a purple 3D drop shadow. Another clever detail is the way Willy’s rake is a direct reference to Krueger’s creepy glove. A brilliantly conceived piece, perfectly executed.
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