3735. St Werburghs tunnel (243)

When you get to see the work of particular artists again and again it becomes incredibly easy to be complacent or even blazé and you need to stop, think and take stock of what is in front of you. I am guilty of this day in day out because we are so spoilt with talent in Bristol. This lovely Elvs piece in St Werburghs tunnel is a case in point.

Elvs, St Werburghs, Bristol, June 2021
Elvs, St Werburghs, Bristol, June 2021

Elvs is one of those artists whose work I like to post every time, and to date I don’t think I have failed to post any of his pieces that I have photographed. This is a lovely piece, beautifully painted with his customary unique style and a lovely blend of horizontal fills from blue to white. The cartoon character is a mystery to me, but probably featured on TV during the 1990s I would guess. Altogether another outstanding work from Elvs.

3734. Dean Lane skate park (419)

There are two or three artists vying for top spot as the most productive artist in Bristol at the moment, and possibly leading the field is Turoe with his combined TUROE and SHYTE pieces cropping up just about everywhere around the city.

Turoe, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2021
Turoe, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2021

This piece at Dean Lane is from back in April, but I managed to retrieve it from my archives on the last trawl through that I did. Spelling TUROK the piece is very clean and tight, in fact everything you’d expect from this very experienced writer. The letters are great and the two colour shading is nicely done with a few rather nice drips about the place. The yellow splatter in my view could have been a little bit brighter to give more impact, but I am nit-picking. Quality stuff.

3733. St Werburghs tunnel (242)

I think that this is the third MOTEL piece that I have posted from the fabulously named Dog Bless the Band. I believe he is a relatively new entrant on to the Bristol scene, but obviously an accomplished writer, so he must have been writing elsewhere before starting up in Bristol.

Dog Bless the Band, St Werburghs, Bristol, April 2021
Dog Bless the Band, St Werburghs, Bristol, April 2021

I love his muted, modest colours that blend into the background. There is nothing garish or showy about his work, but that is not to say it is boring. Far from it. The large organic letters are filled with a wonderful range of blended colours and subtle patterns looking more like a watercolour than a spray painted wall. Fabulous stuff.

3731. Cumberland Basin

Over the last few months I have seen quite a few of these TES pieces from Tes (Slim Pickings) but haven’t posted all of them, simply because there have been so many other pieces to post. Perhaps I’ll have to do a Tes sweep up post with all of them in it.

Slim Pickings, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, June 2021
Slim Pickings, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, June 2021

I have included this one because it is a particularly bright and summery example, although I was a little disappointed that he painted it over the lovely Jelly piece that had only been there for a couple of days. The Tes is, as always, nicely worked and I love the little blue-white flashes on the red 3D shadow providing a little bit of depth.

3730. Brunel Way (107)

Aah, a classic piece of Taboo writing to keep everyone cheery. Last week I posted a gallery of Taboo’s work, and it really is extraordinary in so many ways. His letters are nice and organic and non-uniform creating a freedom and expression that some more anally retentive artists could not cope with.

Taboo, Brunel Way, Bristol, June 2021
Taboo, Brunel Way, Bristol, June 2021

As well as his unusual letters which spell TABOO, albeit upside down and backwards, there is a clue in his shout-outs, Taboo nearly always gifts us an interesting character to add to the mix. In this case the character is a melting Mickey Mouse. This is not the first Mickey Mouse that Taboo has painted and he certainly seems to like his classics, such as Tom and Jerry and Popeye. A great fun piece.

3729. M32 Cycle path (130)

Like so many graffiti writers in Bristol I just don’t seem to post nearly as much from Alos as I could or should. I have a lot of pieces in the archive, and perhaps I’ll have to dig them out sometime. Thanks to Paul H, I know that the pronunciation of Alos name is like aloes, as in hellos, which is all rather nice.

Alos, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, June 2021
Alos, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, June 2021

Alos is another artist whose letters are irregular and unconventional and more often than not written in monochrome, with some nice little details running through the letters. The style is similar to Whos and their work can often be found side by side.

3728. Brunel Way (107)

Another new artist, who is without doubt causing a stir at the moment in Bristol, is Petro, whose Instagram handle is delightfully @intheallotment. I’m not sure where Petro has come from, but there is a lot of experience in this work, and while new to Bristol, Petro is no stranger to throwing paint at walls.

Petro, Brunel Way, Bristol, May 2021
Petro, Brunel Way, Bristol, May 2021

Petro likes to go big and all the work I have seen so far is large. Big letters and earthy colours characterise Petro’s work. There is also something about the unruly nature of the letters that reminds me a little of Taboo, Alos and Whos, all of whom seem to break conventional rules of letter shapes and designs. This is a lovely organic piece, and I have several more beauties to share with you.

3726. M32 roundabout J3 (325)

There are a handful of graffiti writers in Bristol that I would group together in terms of what they paint and how they go about it. They would include TES (Slim Pickings), Phour, Pl8o, Bnie, Mena and in this example Mest, to name but a few. What these artists tend to do is write the same set of letters, usually in a similar font or style, but play with the fills and decorations. This is graffiti writing, but not wildstyle graffiti writing which tends to be much more elaborate and unique each time.

Mest, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2021
Mest, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2021

I think that this piece from Mest is very nicely finished and has some unusual but rather nice fills. I particularly like the pink dots that offset the rest of it. The green border helps to lift the letters a little. Overall a pleasing piece.

3724. Cumberland Basin

This is another piece from a paint jam in April this year on the long wall at Cumberland Basin. I have posted a couple of pieces from the collaborative wall already, but this one from Bnie is a little gem that I left behind.

Bnie, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, April 2021
Bnie, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, April 2021

I don’t know an awful lot about Bnie and have never had the pleasure of meeting her, but the more of her work I see, the more I like it. The element that she absolutely excels at is the 3D shadow fills, which are usually patterned in a way that few other artists do. It is the part that gives her away, no signature needed. The colour scheme was replicated along the whole length of the wall by all the artists but worked particularly well for Bnie. Always good to see.

3723. M32 roundabout J3 (324)

This gorgeous piece of graffiti writing from Ryder very nearly got left behind in the archives, however I am trying to go back and dig out such lost treasures which is a real challenge due to the sheer volume of street art being painted at the moment.

Ryder, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2021
Ryder, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2021

I haven’t seen too many Ryder pieces lately (until the day before yesterday, that is) but what he lacks in quantity he has more than made up for with quality. Spelling out RYDER, this is a classic piece of writing from the RAW man with five horizontal fills running through the letters and some rather nice black spot decorations. This is a really classy piece, and there is a little shout out to King Robbo which is rather nice.