3671. M32 roundabout J3 (318)

The number of ‘new entrants’ into the Bristol street/graffiti art scene over the last six months has been utterly staggering, and quite a handful to keep up with. One artist making a bit of a name for themselves (figuratively and literally) is Dog Bless the Band.

Dog bless the band, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2021
Dog bless the band, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2021

The artwork is very much in the school of unconventional letter shapes and textures practised by Taboo, Whos and Alos all of whom use this irregular form to great effect. I can’t quite make the letters out, but it looks like MO?EL or something like that. I love the M, which has real charisma. The dull colours work nicely together in this low-key piece. Looking forward to posting a lot more from this artist.

3668. St Werburghs tunnel (240)

Pl8o who also goes by the Instagram moniker of westernmiddleages has resurfaced in Bristol after a rather quiet period, and he has come back with bigger, bolder and brighter pieces. His letter/number choice has always leant itself well to graffiti writing, but now he has added much deeper 3D shadows into the mix.

Pl8o, St Werburghs, Bristol, May 2021
Pl8o, St Werburghs, Bristol, May 2021

Although the St Werburghs tunnel never photographs particularly well you can see the quality and creativity in this piece. My favourite part, probably because it looks a little incongruous is the red and black dot shading… really eye-catching. Nice to see him back.

3663. M32 Cycle path (123)

As a matter of pragmatic protocol I shall refer to Claro_que_sssnoh as Claro for the duration of this post, although very interesting, his name is without doubt the most difficult to type, especially on an iPad. Fortunately, his street art work is much easier to enjoy and assimilate.

Claro_que_ssnoh, M32 cycle path, Bristol, March 2021
Claro_que_sssnoh, M32 cycle path, Bristol, March 2021

This reasonably recent piece from the HMR man is so typical of his unique style. Interlocking letters spelling out HONS are formed with a combination of straight and curvy lines in equal measure and he decorates the piece with a plethora of graffiti arrows. Always good to see work from one of our talented Spanish writers.

3660. Dean Lane skate park (411)

Ticking over quite nicely and occasionally reminding us he is still out there is Hire with this rather rich BF piece. I believe BF is Hire’s crew name as his Instagram account is @hireonebf although I am not too sure what the letters stand for.

Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2021
Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2021

What appears to be rather different about this piece from his normal fare is the inclusion of a 3D shadow which really isn’t in his regular repertoire. It is a nice tidy piece, and I guess one directed as much at the crew as at the Dean Lane audience. A hardy perennial and one I wouldn’t be without.

3658. M32 roundabout J3 (316)

I recently featured Footloose for the first time on Natural Adventures and said then that I would need to post more of her work and so, true to my word, here is another recent piece from her up on the M32 roundabout.

Footloose, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2021
Footloose, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2021

Her letters, spelling LEWSE, are always pretty clear to read and follow quite a standard pattern, with a long base on the L and a curl at the top of the W, so it is her colours, fills and patterns that distinguish one piece from the next. In this piece the letters are filled very nicely with different shades of blue in an array of different patterns from spots to drops to lines.

I don’t think I have ever really given Lewse nearly as much credit for her work as I ought to have done and will be trawling back through my archives when I have a bit of slack to find some older pieces.

3657. Chatterton Square (2)

This wall presented a dilemma for me. It is one contiguous collaboration piece and I could have presented it as that, however my photographs were compromised by extraordinarily bright sunlight and I could only get decent shots of sections of the piece rather than the whole, and so I have split it into separate posts of which this is the second.

Acer One and Andy Council, Chatterton Square, Bristol, April 2021
Acer One and Andy Council, Chatterton Square, Bristol, April 2021

This panel in by Andy Council and Acer One who collaborated several times very successfully over quite a short period this spring. The two rats are by Andy Council and show his composite approach to creating creatures, where the whole is definitely greater than the sum of the parts. The geometric writing from Acer One has completely stumped me, and every time I try to decipher it my eye goes funny and the pattern goes flat – it looks like it might say A2. I am fully expecting chapter and verse from Paul H on this one (no pressure Paul).

The final effect is a stunning one and there is still more to come from this wall just across the road from Temple Meads Station.

3653. M32 roundabout J3 (315)

I don’t understand what is going on in Bristol at the moment, but some truly magnificent pieces are being painted over far too quickly. Maybe we have too many artists (is that a thing?) or maybe we don’t have enough ‘safe’ walls (probably), whatever the reason, there is a lot of great art that has a very short lifetime. This collaboration from Hemper and Benjimagnetic is one of these ephemeral pieces.

Hemper, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2021
Hemper, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2021

The artists have worked really well together here and their pieces appear to be a bit of a fusion, each mimicking the other one’s style. They have matched the colour scheme across the two pieces, and on the left is this exquisite HEMS (difficult to see) so skilfully crafted.

Benjimagnetic, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2021
Benjimagnetic, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2021

To the right is the Benjimagnetic half spelling BEN and equally expertly sprayed. It would seem that in working together on this, both artists have raised their game, particularly Benjimagnetic, whose work at the moment is entering a new level. This is simply a beautiful collaboration.

Hemper and Benjimagnetic, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2021
Hemper and Benjimagnetic, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2021

 

 

3652. Brunel Way (98)

This piece has quenched my thirst a little. Over the last year I haven’t seen too many Rusk pieces, and although he was never a ‘once a week’ artist, I would expect to see more from him in a normal year. Of course this is not a normal anything.

Rusk, Brunel Way, Bristol, April 2021
Rusk, Brunel Way, Bristol, April 2021

This is quite a large burner, on a wall I hate to photograph because of the light reflections and poor light quality. Rusk has written a beautifully finished intertwining set of letters with magnificent fills along with a bonus character of Mighty Mouse, although he has swapped his customary red cape for a blue one. Really nice stuff from Rusk.

3650. St Werburghs tunnel (236)

I seem to remember from my school days that Lee Roy (Leroy) was a corruption of Le Roi, or The King in French. I did a little fact check on Wikipedia and I was kind of right, although the name is Norman in origin. The Normans brought the surname to England, which in medieval times was used as a nickname for a person that behaved in a regal fashion or who had earned the title in a contest of skill. So there you have it. Lee Roy is the king.

Lee Roy, St Werburghs, Bristol, April 2021
Lee Roy, St Werburghs, Bristol, April 2021

Our Lee Roy has been very busy of late and is hitting walls across Bristol irrespective of the north/south of the river thing. This black and white piece at the entrance to St Werburghs tunnel is a cheerful affair with his trademark circles in the fill and a rather nice cheeky character in the ‘O’. More to come soon from The King.

3649. M32 roundabout J3 (315)

There are so many outstanding artists in Bristol, which is a bit of a contradiction in terms, because if there are lots of them, then by definition they are not outstanding, but I think you probably know what I mean. One of them who seems to be at the top of his game at the moment is Acer One.

Acer One, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2021
Acer One, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2021

This relatively recent piece (gone already) is in his two-tone 3D geometric lettering style and appears to spell out ‘CLEO 4PCC’ although I am not certain about that, nor what it means. These pieces create a dazzling effect, and to some passers-by may not be seen as letters, but simply shapes and patterns. So wonderfully distinctive. I need to catch him painting one of these so I can watch how he does it.