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.

3648. Greenbank (7)

Set on the backdrop of a dramatic and moody sky is this lovely piece of graffiti writing from Bnie was painted a few weeks back during an RBF paint-in. Bnie is a writer whose work I really admire, it has a freshness and simplicity that works for me. That is not to say it is simple, far from it, more that it comes across cleanly and is easy to enjoy.

Bnie, Greenbank, Bristol, April 2021
Bnie, Greenbank, Bristol, April 2021

The colour combinations in the letters contrast nicely with the patterned 3D shadows, and the ‘tie-dye’ effect of purples and whites is quite magnificent – more of that please! There is only one thing that I’m not too fond of, and that is the chocolate brown decoration on the perimeter – it is not my favourite street art colour. All in all another blinder.

3647. Dean Lane skate park (410)

I don’t know how he does it, but Dibz just keeps on turning out pieces of the highest quality with the minimum of fuss. No fanfare, no selfies, just a modest and quiet approach to his outstanding work.

Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2021
Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2021

This is a magnificent piece that draws on the genius of the Jurassic Park film franchise. I’m not sure what the ‘From up Above’ tag line refers to, probably a musical reference that is way over my head. The dinosaur logo is fantastically done, and in such sharp detail.

Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2021
Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2021

The writing too is skilfully done with two main colours fading horizontally, and the top half incorporating some red stripes into the green. Such a striking piece and another in a series that has kept people like me very happy over the last six months or so.

3645. St Werburghs tunnel (235)

This is a very nice piece that was fairly short-lived by visiting Liverpool artist Fierfear. I met him a couple of years ago at the other end of the tunnel, and it would seem that he makes annual pilgrimages to Bristol to do a spot of painting. Maybe he has friends or family here too. It is always good to see his work.

Fierfear, St Werburghs, Bristol, April 2021
Fierfear, St Werburghs, Bristol, April 2021

This piece, which I think reads ‘the FEAR rocker’ is nicely worked, and interestingly looks different from The styles you see in Bristol. I wonder if there is a regional difference in styles rather like dialects of the same language. I rather like the pink blobby fills that give structure to the piece. Nice work.

3642. M32 roundabout J3 (313)

Now who was it that said a leopard can’t change its spots? Because they were wrong. This particular leopard is Elvs and this piece is quite unlike the intricate and flamboyant pieces we are used to seeing from him.

Elvs, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2021
Elvs, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2021

This was painted a couple of weeks back and certainly came as a bit of a surprise. The bubble writing spelling ELVIS is topped with a satanic cartoon character amidst some fiery flames, so utterly not the customary fare from Elvs. Something more typical is in the photograph below. Great to see a bit of versatility from this superb graffiti writer.

Elvs, St Werburghs, Bristol, June 2020
Elvs, St Werburghs, Bristol, June 2020

3641. Dean Lane skate park (408)

It took me several goes to get a half-decent photograph of this rather nice piece from Dott Rotten. The first set of pictures were very dark for some reason and the second set had the palette board completely in the way. It kind of came together on the third attempt.

Dott Rotten, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2021
Dott Rotten, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2021

I learned a lot about Dott Rotten when I met him recently at the other end of town and told him that I was very much enjoying his current productive spell on the street, which he seemed to be enjoying too. This ska nice SPOILT piece with the 3D shadow dropping down vertically in blues and purples. One of a very fine series of pieces.

3634. Cumberland Basin

It would appear that this wall, after a considerable period of neglect is becoming a little popular. A week or two back there was a nice new collaboration from Mudra and Nugmoose. This has now been replaced with this more than half-decent piece from Pl8o.

Pl8o, Cumberland Bain, Bristol, April 2021
Pl8o, Cumberland Bain, Bristol, April 2021

I am very pleased to see that Pl8o seems to be active again after quite a long absence – he is another artist who has gone to ground for much of the lock down period. This is a delightful deep-shadowed piece of graffiti writing spelling out the artist’s moniker yellow to orange to black fades. His letters lend themselves very nicely to writing and there is something very easy on the eye about them. Great to see Pl8o back hitting walls again.

3632. M32 roundabout J3 (310)

Claro_que_sssnoh (grief… his name is difficult to type) and his Spanish fellows have been busy of late, actually it seems that most artists have, and my archive for March and April are swelling with unpublished pieces that will probably keep me busy well into retirement.

Claro_que_sssnoh, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2021
Claro_que_sssnoh, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2021

This is a lovely colourful HONS by this busy member of the HMR crew. His pieces are usually quite busy, with a lot going on in the letter and colour transitions, and his style is fairly distinctive, combining lots of curves with angular and regular straight lines. Always fun to see.