Visiting artists are always welcome in Bristol, and how nice it is to see a calligraffiti artist to add to the talents of Stivs and Todoaciem. There is something appealing about writing beautiful letters in beautiful fonts, with accuracy and attention to detail, and Elroy has done a particularly fine job here.
Elroy, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2022
The letters are nicely proportioned, although I wonder if the ‘r’ and ‘o’ could be a little closer to each other. The addition of a twisted rope and a framed pink background add a crispness to the whole piece. I would love to see more from this sign-writer murallist.
Two artists that you could probably set your watch by are Face 1st and Mr Draws – both produce pieces with reassuring regularity, providing some stability and reference points in this topsy-turvy world.
Mr Draws, St Werburghs, Bristol, June 2022
This piece is quite typical of Mr Draws’ work, although it feels a little bit laterally compressed, he usually likes to spread his letters out a little more. If this was by a different artist, I might describe it as a ‘dregs’ piece, meaning that it was an opportunity to finish up almost empty cans. However, Mr Draws loves to use lots of colour in his pieces, so this might simply be a joyful burst of colour.
This is a fine collaborative wall from Mr Klue, and The Cat Came Back (who has possibly one of the best street art names in Bristol, although it is a competitive field). Mr Klue has been painting these walls more regularly of late, but it is a long while since I last saw much from The Cat Came Back.
Mr Klue, St Werburghs, Bristol, June 2022
To the left, and well within Mr Klue’s ‘safety zone’ is another fine abstract piece from the artist, in which it is possible to decipher the letters KLUE, if you look carefully. The whispy elements, and organic shapes are so unique to Mr Klue, and unlike anything else we see in Bristol.
The Cat Came Back, St Werburghs, Bristol, June 2022
To the right, is a beautifully executed and proportioned set of letters, I think spelling out MEAT, with a cat face for the ‘A’. The fill patterns, on alternate letters are well done, and the white accent lines are very effective in lifting the letters out of the wall, a trick used by writers to create a 3D effect. Great to see these two painting together.
Felix Braun or FLX as he is known is one of the godfather’s of street art in Bristol and author of the wonderful ‘Children of the Can’ books. His street work these days tends to be commission-based or the occasional appearance at a festival. He has been rather busy in Bristol lately, which is obviously good news.
Felix Braun, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, June 2022
This piece on the M32 cycle path is highly unusual because it appears to be a sanctioned commission (who else gets to paint behind temporary railings?) on a wall that normally plays host to high turnover graffiti and tagging. I don’t know how Felix Braun has swung this, not do I know how long it will remain untagged, but for the meanwhile it is a case of sitting back and admiring this huge piece.
Felix Braun, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, June 2022
The overall message is ‘Love Bristol’ or ‘Bristol loves you’ which is preaching to a converted audience. The piece itself is a showcase for FLX’s themes of silhouetted people, and of overlapping letters in different colours, creating third colours where the overlap occurs.
Felix Braun, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, June 2022
In the heart section, the word love appears in several different languages and scripts, most of which I cannot read, but I am pretty sure they all say love. This is a positive message and one that we are in desperate need of in the UK right now.
Felix Braun, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, June 2022
Let’s hope that the positive messaging translates into positive outcomes, starting with a total change in government… that would be nice.
There is never a time when I am not excited to find a piece by Hire (pronounced Hee Ray, just in case you were wondering), whether it is one of his character rabbits or some of his highly technical writing, it always brings a smile to my face and it feels like life is good, in spite of the turbulent landscape.
Hire, Brunel Way, Bristol, June 2022
This gorgeous piece under Brunel Way is an absolute beauty. The letters are easy to read and the artwork less frenetic than we might be used to. Set on a clean, buffed grey wall and with glowing orange tones, the red letters and deep grey and white 3D shadow are clearly defined and stand out. This is a finely crafted piece from a talented graffiti writer.
You might recall that almost two weeks ago I posted a piece by Whysayit, commenting that I haven’t seen much of his work in recent years. It would seem that he is becoming a little more active, and this is one of two pieces by the artist on the Bristol to Bath cycle track at Greenbank.
Whysayit, Greenbank, Bristol, June 2022
Whysayit has a very organic style, spelling out YSAE, with letters that look like they have been squeezed out of a tube. The colour combination is a bit iffy in my view, with a solid, pale sandy yellow for the letters and a turquoise blue for the deep shadow. Yellow and red colours have been splashed in for letter shadows and drips. This is an interesting piece that has elements of Miro or Tanguy in it. I’ll be on the look out for more from Whysayit.
Anyone who reads these posts regularly will know that I consider Dibz to be one of the best wildstyle writers, in Bristol and indeed in the country. In this outstanding piece in Dean Lane he has combined his talents with the elusive Ulow, who treats us to his talents from time to time.
Ulow and Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2022
The letters, in a dazzling transition from yellow to dark red, spell out DIBZ. The letters are so clean and crisp, and the fades between shades so seamless, there are few words that can describe the expertise on show. Just to cap it all, the pink highlights at the bottom of some of the letters create the most fantastic 3D effect of reflected light. Just brilliant.
Ulow, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2022
The character, I am guessing it is Wolverine, is by Ulow, and demonstrates his fantastic shading skills that give his pieces a soft, rounded appearance, almost organic. Ulow is definitely an artist whose street art work I’d like to see more of.
The most consistently prolific artist over the last seven years is without doubt Face 1st. His tireless drive to keep producing wonderful pieces is enviable and really rather awesome. I don’t know where he gets the energy, or the cash for paint from. I guess I don’t need to know, but simply enjoy the benefits of his heroic efforts.
Face 1st, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, June 2022
This is a rather nice FACE piece with a girl’s face in place of the ‘A’. The letters are large and bold, as if carved out of stone, and the grey of the letters contrasts wonderfully well with the Orange hair of the smiling girl. When the world grinds to a halt, Face 1st will still be out there painting letters and smiling girls on walls. It is just what he does.
I was going to run this post as an extra one yesterday for our American friends and use the cheesy pun “Happy Phourth of July”. I’m rather pleased I didn’t though, although quite happy to run with it today.
Phour, New Stadium Road, Bristol, June 2022
Phour continues to plug away at his aesthetically pleasing letters (and the sound they make as a word), leaving them at numerous spots around the city. There are some letters that work really well with graffiti writing, and Phour pretty much hits the jackpot. This piece has some great colours and is neatly finished with strong, clean black boundaries. This is a nice one to add to the collection.
This is a fine piece of graphic writing from Acer for Upfest on a permanent wall, although the permanence of the wall is no guarantee for the permanence of the piece and sadly this has already been dogged, which is a pity, because it is a classy piece that commands this spot overlooking Greville Smyth Park.
Acer, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
It is something of a joy to watch Acer’s work and how it progresses from month to month and year to year. His theme these days seems to be based on a highly stylised font or series of fonts that incorporate black base-lettering with transitioning rainbow colour outlines, creating both high design and depth. The sentiment is a good one… PARTY, which is what Upfest 2022 turned out to be, and a great one at that.
Natural adventures 