Don’t expect too much from me today. I am on holiday and paradoxically have less time than usual to compose a blog post than usual. This is a rather nice piece from the anti-style graffiti writer Whos.
Whos, Brunel Way, Bristol, October 2024
There is a charm about Whos work, and this chrome piece certainly makes an impact. The fills and chrome character provide a rather fun overall effect, and it is great to see Whos out and about again.
Whos, Brunel Way, Bristol, October 2024
The letters spell out WHOS and include a little character portrait in what looks like a rather psychedelic piece. The most striking part in this chrome arrangement are the stars and tears that appear in the fill of the letters. A nice piece from Whos.
I prepared today’s posts yesterday, because I am (at the time of scheduled publication) on my way to Cornwall for a few days away with a fine friend who I have been fishing with every year for more than 35 years. My posts may become a little erratic over the next few days, but with the earlier dark evenings I should have a little time to write them.
Corupt, M32 roundabout, Bristol, October 2024
I really don’t get to post enough work by Corupt, so it feels good when I do get round to it. This is a lovely piece spelling STICK, but this time he has taken a homonym approach and replaced the ‘I’ with a ‘Y’. The letters are blocky and rigid and beautifully filled with colourful spots, stripes and drips. The whole thing is bordered with a thick black line and then reinforced with a red outline a couple of inched further out, framing the piece nicely. It is always great to see Corupt’s work, and to chat when I bump into him, which seems to be quite frequently these days.
One of the most powerful and energetic introductions to Bristol has been the emergence of Noise, over the last eighteen months or so. Since his arrival, he has been producing no end of pieces in his distinctive fat-letter style and collaborating successfully with several different artists. He is productive and talented, and fits into the Bristol way of things really well.
Noise, St Werburghs, Bristol, September 2024
In this piece, in the tunnel, Noise has compressed his writing slightly, but has managed to do this without compromising his chunky letters. The colours work nicely, although being slightly on the dark side, they are a little difficult to do justice to in the murk of the tunnel. A gallery is long overdue… watch this space.
Mr Tanner, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, September 2024
I am really pleased that I managed to capture this piece by Mr Tanner, especially as the last one he painted under Brunel Way, when I met him for the first time while he was painting it, was overpainted by the time I returned. Such is the way of things. He was rather excited about a different style that he was working on, and I think that this piece represents that style.
Mr Tanner, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, September 2024
There is something rather organic about this writing (and a bit lobsterish too, although I don’t think that is intentional) – there is definitely a life form there… but not as we know it, Jim. The red letters spell out TOPIA and pop beautifully against the green, cosmic charged background. I’ve said it before that green and red make great graffiti writing bedfellows. A very nice, original piece by Mr Tanner.
This piece was painted back at the end of July at the Muriel Alleyway mini paint festival organised by Rtiiika by an artist I have not encountered before called HNH. This is the first piece I am aware of that she has painted in Bristol, and I am really looking forward to watching her development. She has already dropped a few more pieces about the place and I think she brings something very different to the graffiti writing scene.
HNH, Muriel Alleyway, Bristol, August 2024
Shutter pieces are never easy to paint, but HNH has had a bloody good go with this one, and although the piece may seem a little rough around the edges, this is a great start. If I could use a parallel, what she does with graffiti writing reminds me of what the Cocteau Twins did with music and lyrics, if that makes any sense at all. Watch this space for more from HNH.
My first thought when I saw this piece was ‘who the hell is Remy’ this was not an artist I was familiar with, but very quickly the style, signature and characters leapt out making it blindingly obvious that it is by Haka. I am not sure who Remy is, but this is a rather lovely tribute to them.
Haka, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2024
Haka paints an awful lot of characters from children’s picture books and I suspect the characters here are more of the same, but I can’t identify them. The fills and patterns in the letters are rather more elaborate and tidy than I would expect from a Haka piece, and they look really fantastic. This is a lovely piece, full of fun and joy.
I took a little wander into my archive and unearthed this little beauty by Mest at the end of St Werburghs tunnel painted back in August. It has been really great to see his work again in Bristol, albeit only occasionally, after what feels like quite a long absence.
Mest, St Werburghs, Bristol, August 2024
There is something very pleasing about Mest’s letters, and he has presented them beautifully in this tight and clean piece. A little bit more background would have masked out the bits of the previous piece distracting around the edges, however the focus remains on his beautiful fills, afforded lots of space inside his fat letters. Nice to see this one.
We are in the midst of another Logoe blitz, that is to say that a couple of weekends ago he visited Bristol and dropped in excess of six pieces about the place, which is the way he rolls. He saves up all his painting energy, there aren’t many opportunities where he lives in Wales, and paints for England on his weekend visits to our city.
Logoe, New Stadium Road, Bristol, October 2024
This is a particularly nice example of his script writing style – a lovely clean piece in beautiful copper tones, really brightening up this fairly dreary spot that still bears the smoke damage on the ceiling from an arson car blaze in this little underpass a couple of years ago. Logo is a Trojan, who simply doesn’t know when to stop, and I love it.
Klashwhensober, M32 roundabout, Bristol, October 2024
Klashwhensober is as busy as ever, and I only tend to post a fraction of the pieces he produces, I expect I’ll need to go back through the archives and do a couple of sweep-ups of his work in due course. Every now and then one of his pieces catches the eye, and this one on the roundabout is one of those.
Klashwhensober, M32 roundabout, Bristol, October 2024
This modest spot is tucked away behind a tree, and isn’t easily seen without looking for it. Klashwhensober has written the word SOBER in ribbon letters, filled skilfully in blue and yellow, with a variety of well-painted patterns and features. There is some menace lurking in the form of clutching hands and fingers wafting from the cloudy background. I think that Klashwhensober’s pieces often indicate a busy and cluttered mind, and it would be interesting to see if he could create a piece of writing that was simpler in structure and could show off his skill as an artist. Unlikely to happen methinks.
Kosc and Humor, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2024
Every now and again, something very special appears on the walls of Bristol, without warning or fanfare, and when you find them they blow your socks off. This collaboration between Bristol artist Kosc and Tunbridge Wells-based artist Humor is one such collaboration.
Kosc, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2024
The collaboration, I gather, celebrates the birthday of actor Jenna Ortega, who I must admit is a little bit off my radar, although I faintly recognise her from her Wednesday Addams character, and the 2021 film The Fallout looks like it might be worth watching. She clearly has a large fan base, which I assume would include Kosc and Humor. Kosc has painted a gorgeous piece of graffiti writing which picks up the colours used for the birthday candles.
Humor, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2024
I haven’t come across Humor’s work before, but this photorealistic portrait of Jenna Ortega is quite stunning, and something we don’t see nearly enough of in Bristol, outside of festivals or commissions.
Humor, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2024
On the day I originally photographed this collaboration, there was quite a lot of glare on the wall, it can be a difficult wall to photograph, because it gets impacted by shadows and sunlight at all times of the day. I did return on a duller day, and think I got a slightly better picture with less glare (and a few more autumn leaves on the ground). Stunning work, especially when you consider it is a greyscale portrait. I would love to think that this might be the first of many visits to Bristol by Humor, but I won’t be holding my breath.
Natural adventures 