Tag: Writer

3368. M32 roundabout J3 (269)

One of the pleasures of photographing street art and graffiti is that you get to meet many artists as they paint their creations. Most will make time for a quick chat, and over time you become acquaintances and sometimes friends. This was the first time I had met Any and indeed it was the first time I had seen his work in Bristol, which is not all that surprising as he has only recently come to Bristol from Poland. It is great to welcome yet another artist from Poland to join the merry throng in Bristol.

Any, M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 2020
Any, M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 2020

Any is a graffiti writer who freestyles his work, which means that he paints from his head rather than a sketch in a black book. He said that it gives him freedom. I like the way that he has prepped the wall first and has taken care with this bright piece. The short word ‘ANY’ means that his pieces can take on an abstract look and I rather like that. There are some elements that are similar to Benjimagnetic’s work, particularly the triangles with single-line outlines.

Any, M32 roundabout, Bristol, December 2020
Any, M32 roundabout, Bristol, December 2020

Although this was the first piece I have seen by Any, I have noticed a couple more in the Stokes Croft area, which leads me to believe he probably lives in North Bristol somewhere. Welcome to the city of street art.

3365. M32 roundabout J3 (268)

Well this just about sums it up – another in the series of ‘Shite Year’ pieces by Turoe, this time on the M32 roundabout. When I first saw this piece I was a little bit miffed because it had been painted over a wonderful EAT collaboration piece from January this year, but then I thought, hey, it is about time something new was painted here.

Turoe, M32 roundabout, Bristol, December 2020
Turoe, M32 roundabout, Bristol, December 2020

The way the two halves of the piece have been written gives the impression that this is a collaboration between two artists, but it is in fact the work of a single artist.

Turoe, M32 roundabout, Bristol, December 2020
Turoe, M32 roundabout, Bristol, December 2020

Since returning to painting after a period away, there has been no stopping Turoe, and there are more pieces from this theme still to come. Let’s hope for everyone’s sake that next year brings a little more joy and peace. At least Trump won’t be in power to destabilise things further.

SPZero76 and Kid Crayon, M32 roundabout, Bristol, January 2020
SPZero76 and Kid Crayon, M32 roundabout, Bristol, January 2020

3364. Dean Lane skate park (368)

Mr Draws continues to experiment and try new things, which is one of the reasons I love his work. His writing is perhaps less conventional than some writers in Bristol, but it has a freedom and joy about it, an unpretentiousness if you like.

Mr Draws, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2020
Mr Draws, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2020

I like the way the colours overlap from one letter to the next and the random positioning of the letters adds interest. Great colours, simple and effective. Always great to see work from this Bristol legend.

3362. M32 roundabout J3 (267)

There has been a renaissance of sorts in Bristol over the last couple of years or so with the arrival of a merry band of Spanish artists, several of whom are outstanding graffiti writers. Front and centre of this throng is Todoaciem whose near-perfect writing form is a joy to behold.

Todoaciem, M32 roundabout, Bristol, December 2020
Todoaciem, M32 roundabout, Bristol, December 2020

This piece on the M32 roundabout is typical of his structured ornate calligraphy style which spells out CIEM1, although it takes a trained eye to work this out – I am still learning. The colour selection works well and this combination of shades of pink and blue are often used by street artists because they make a piece stand out. Great graffiti writing.

3361. Sparke Evans park (4)

On the long wall at Sparke Evans park is this lovely chrome and black piece from Dott Rotten who more often than not spells out SPOILT in his pieces. I don’t know how long the piece has been there, because I visit so infrequently, but it looks reasonably fresh and untagged, so I don’t think it is too old.

Dott Rotten, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, November 2020
Dott Rotten, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, November 2020

I think that Dott Rotten is an artist whose work we just don’t get to see enough of. These letters are perfectly formed and the black 3D shadows exact. To cap it off, the black decorative fills around the outside, and variants in the ‘O’ add depth. As fine a piece of two-tone graffiti writing that you will see.

3356. River Avon (11)

I haven’t posted a Rapt piece for quite a while, even though I have several in my archives – I’m not sure why, sometimes it just breaks down that way. This is quite an old piece by the artist, but one I only recently photographed while walking the dog alongside the River Avon.

Rapt, River Avon, Bristol, November 2020
Rapt, River Avon, Bristol, November 2020

Rapt is one of those artists who usually incorporates a little character alongside his writing and here it takes the form of a ghost wearing round sun specs. The writing is nicely done although the purple and green don’t work too well together in my eyes, especially with the red and black 3D shadow on the letters. The yin yang symbol works nicely though. Colour selections are a very personal thing, but to the viewer some combinations work much better than others. I need to dig more of his work out of my archive.

3352. Cumberland Basin

This is simply wonderful. Clean, crisp, beautifully designed work from Pl8o on the wall overlooking the Cumberland Basin on the north side. There were several eye-catching pieces along this stretch when I took these pictures, including this one.

Pl8o, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, October 2020
Pl8o, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, October 2020

The colours chosen and bold letters scream out from the wall – no wallflower this one. I am really enjoying Pl8o’s pieces, in particular his creativity and although the central design stays similar from piece to piece, the execution and details vary considerably. I particularly like the way the letters are broken up by black lines, giving a block effect, almost like stone cladding. So much more to come.

3348.St Werburghs tunnel (211)

I had to have two goes to get photographs of this piece because it was raining the first time and when I got home to check the images, they were obscured by a rather annoying water drop on the camera lens – it happens from time to time.

Mes One, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2020
Mes One, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2020

On the left of this collaboration is a rather tidy piece of graffiti writing spelling out MES from Mes One. I’m not sure if I have posted anything by the artist before, but he seems to do the odd piece occasionally, and he has collaborated with Slakarts on more than one occasion. I love the red dots at the base of the letters, a very nice touch.

Slakarts, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2020
Slakarts, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2020

On the right, Slakarts gives us another of his three-quarter character portraits that he seems to be so fond of at the moment. Together these two fill this particular space at the entrance to the tunnel really well. Looking forward to more collaborations from these two.

3343. M32 Cycle path (91)

Last weekend, a chance meeting with Sam Spade (a street art hunter) in St Werburghs tunnel, led to one of those perfect moments for photographing street art and meeting artists. He told me that there was a lot of activity on the M32 cycle path, behind the Black Swan and that I ought to get myself over there. I was heading in that direction anyway, but the light was fading and I might just as easily have headed home. Luckily I went to take a look and there was a paint jam of about seven or eight artists just coming to an end, many of whom I hadn’t met before (more on that in posts to come).

Sled One, M32 cycle path, Bristol, November 2020
Sled One, M32 cycle path, Bristol, November 2020

This piece from Sled One had already been completed, and he was just hanging around watching the other artists as they completed their work. Sled One is one of the most gifted artists I know, and he seems to be able to create stunning work, graffiti writing or character pieces, with consummate ease. Here the letters spell out SLED (although it almost looks like he has slipped in  an extra D) in a selection of letter shapes and colour shadings. The red and blue cloud clumps add an extra dimension to this fine piece of writing.

3340. M32 Cycle path (89)

Another little trip into my archives to share this outstanding piece of graffiti writing from Spanish artist Claro_que_sssnoh from August this year. At the time I took the photograph, I’m not certain I knew who the artist was and so it stayed in my archives waiting to be freed.

Claro_que_sssnoh, M32 cycle path, Bristol, August 2020
Claro_que_sssnoh, M32 cycle path, Bristol, August 2020

Claro (I am shortening the name to save my sanity) has produced an absolutely stunning piece with so much to admire. The joyful pinks and blues set a happy tone for the writing which is out of the top drawer. It is those pink spots though that grab the eye and make this a memorable piece. Mouthwatering.