Month: September 2023

5484. M32 roundabout J3 (508)

Pekoe, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2023
Pekoe, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2023

Pekoe has undergone something of a step change in her work this year, making a bold decision to start concentrating on her letters and moving a little away from her portraits. A part of me is a little saddened by this, because I love her portraits, however I am also excited that she is developing her writing, which usually incorporates a small portrait within it, such as in this piece.

Pekoe, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2023
Pekoe, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2023

The first thing that jumps out at you about this piece is the happy and colourful design. Some of the colour is picked up from the piece she has overwritten, but somehow they blend rather nicely. Pekoe’s blue full capital letters spell PEKOE, with the ‘O’ being replaced with a slightly sad/grumpy looking portrait (it’s in the mouth), are nicely filled with shapes and symbols we associate with her work. I am looking forward to seeing where this change in direction takes us.

Warty Knight

Warty Knight Mushroom, Redland, Bristol, September 2023
Warty Knight Mushroom, Redland, Bristol, September 2023

.

Dormant spores in peat

burst into life with gusto

warm humid weather

.

by Scooj

5483. Dean Lane skate park (634)

Chill, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2023
Chill, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2023

2023 has been a very good year for PWA (Pirate Wall Art) so far, with dozens of pieces being painted either individually or as part of a paint jam. Chill, a reasonably new member of the crew, has been super-busy this year with his really cool cartoon sketches.

Chill, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2023
Chill, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2023

This character in green and orange, surprisingly good bedfellow colours, is holding a delicate and rather beautiful flower, perhaps demonstrating his caring/compassionate nature. Chill has come a long way from his rather small black and white pieces to these larger and more colourful works. I was lucky enough to catch up with Chill, a lovely bloke, shortly after he had completed this piece which he had painted alongside a Danish (I think) visiting graffiti writer Wizer.

5482. St Werburghs tunnel (381)

Teao One, St Werburghs, Bristol, August 2023
Teao One, St Werburghs, Bristol, August 2023

There are several artists that are underrepresented on Natural Adventures, and Teao One is definitely one of them. I feel that, downtime permitting, I will have to dig out more of his work from my bulging archives.

Teao One, St Werburghs, Bristol, August 2023
Teao One, St Werburghs, Bristol, August 2023

This upbeat piece on the entrance to the tunnel reminds me of a picnic cloth, with bright colourful square patterns inside the letters. The writing is bordered with red and black, creating a tidy finish set on a white, cloudy backdrop. The letters spell tEROK, but I don’t know what this means, but it is similar to letters he has written in other pieces. Lots of shout-outs around the piece, which is fairly typical of Teao One. Fun and happy work.

5481. Brunel Way (226)

Fade, Jody and Dibz, Brunel Way, Bristol, August 2023
Fade, Jody and Dibz, Brunel Way, Bristol, August 2023

We are blessed in Bristol to have so many outstanding graffiti artists, and I have to remind myself how privileged we are to be able to enjoy such awesome free art, that most towns and cities in the country simply don’t get to experience. Three of the best artists, Dibz, Jody and Fade combined to give us this amazing Ghostbusters triptych, alongside Ryder, whose piece I will post soon.

Fade, Brunel Way, Bristol, August 2023
Fade, Brunel Way, Bristol, August 2023

To the left in spooky blue and green colours is writing by Fade, but just to confuse things, he has written DIBZ in a sot of mutual respect thing going on between the artists. Underneath are the letters RDA and RFK, which, if I am honest, I don’t know what they stand for, but are presumably crew names. Great crisp clean letters with a glow of green ghostly ectoplasm.

Jody, Brunel Way, Bristol, August 2023
Jody, Brunel Way, Bristol, August 2023

In the middle is a piece by Jody, which convinces me that he is one of the most talented and versatile character/portrait artists in Bristol, has painted Slimer, the iconic ghost from the film franchise. The fact that this year Jody has painted a range of pieces including a demon, a hooded woman, a renaissance portrait (using brushes) Barbie and now Slime, simply demonstrates that he can turn his hand to pretty much anything.

Dibz, Brunel Way, Bristol, August 2023
Dibz, Brunel Way, Bristol, August 2023

To the right, the letters from Dibz are as perfect as ever. Dibz has been smashing it all year long and shows no signs of slowing down. He is painting so fast that some of his pieces are getting left behind in my archive – an unthinkable state of affairs. Yet another epic wall in this year of epic walls.

Thursday doors – 7 September 2023 – Lincoln

Doors 233 – Lincoln City doors (Part VI) – Lincoln, Steep Hill area

The doors just keep on coming from my short stay Lincoln in July this year. These doors are mostly on Steep Hill, a street that heads down from the Cathedral and castle towards the station. Unfortunately I didn’t get time to visit the castle, maybe next time.

I have a very busy day ahead, and little time to prepare this post, so I will get straight in to it:

Archway leading to the Cathedral, Lincoln, July 2023
Archway leading to the Cathedral, Lincoln, July 2023

Black door on a hill, Lincoln, July 2023
Black door on a hill, Lincoln, July 2023

Bright blue door on a timber framed building, Lincoln, July 2023
Bright blue door on a timber framed building, Lincoln, July 2023

Three black doors on an old stone building and incredible windows, Lincoln, July 2023
Three black doors on an old stone building and incredible windows, Lincoln, July 2023

Black door on a red-brick building, Lincoln, July 2023
Black door on a red-brick building, Lincoln, July 2023

Black door on a red-brick/timber-framed building, Lincoln, July 2023
Black door on a red-brick/timber-framed building, Lincoln, July 2023

Small grey cellar door and timber lintel, Lincoln, July 2023
Small grey cellar door and timber lintel, Lincoln, July 2023

I think there will be a couple more weeks of Lincoln doors before I launch myself into doors of Umbria, Italy… brace yourself. Have a great weekend ahead.

If you have made it this far, you probably like doors, and you really ought to take a look at the No Facilities blog by Dan Anton who has taken over the hosting of Thursday Doors from Norm 2.0 blog. Links to more doorscursions can be found in the comments section of Dan Anton’s Thursday Doors post.

by Scooj

Door logo, Thursday doors

September II

Shadow, Bristol, September 2023
Shadow, Bristol, September 2023

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Loitering unseen

an unnerving sense of threat

a predator waits

.

by Scooj

5480. M32 roundabout J3 (507)

Lee Roy, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2023
Lee Roy, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2023

Lee Roy is no stranger to Natural Adventures, nor is he a stranger to this spot on the M32 roundabout, and I have a feeling that he might have overwritten one of his own pieces to paint this one, or at least a short while after.

Lee Roy, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2023
Lee Roy, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2023

In this piece we see Lee Roy’s free approach that touches on anti-style, full of energy and activity. The colours are rich and complementary, but the eye is immediately drawn to the skull, with red ‘lightening’ coming from its bloodshot eyes. This feels like a good old-fashioned piece of graffiti writing.

5479. Cumberland Basin

Kool Hand, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2023
Kool Hand, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2023

Such is the volume of pieces dropping in Bristol these days, that I am still posting pieces from Werm’s birthday celebrations, like this one by Kool Hand, from some weeks ago. I don’t think that I am ever going to get close to getting on top of this and perhaps need to be a little more judicious in my selections, although this is a challenge, because part of the point of the graffiti/street art posts on Natural Adventures is to showcase the range and diversity of pieces, from high-end to beginners, without prejudice.

Kool Hand, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2023
Kool Hand, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2023

In this piece, which is pink, consistent with the colour choice for the paint jam, Kool Hand has reverted to his staple orangutan character and the letters KH. As Kool Hand has developed his artwork, so this character, which has a three-quarter profile and loads more depth than some of his earlier renditions, shows off how far he has come and continues to improve. A nice piece with a familiar face.

Kool Hand, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2019
Kool Hand, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2019

5478. Cheltenham 2023 (10)

Inkie, Cheltenham Paint Festival, Cheltenham, July 2023
Inkie, Cheltenham Paint Festival, Cheltenham, July 2023

You can be pretty certain that Inkie will have a presence at the Cheltenham Paint Festival, which is great. What is even better is that although this piece was from the 2022 Festival, I managed to find it this time round… only a year late, but better than nothing I suppose.

Inkie, Cheltenham Paint Festival, Cheltenham, July 2023
Inkie, Cheltenham Paint Festival, Cheltenham, July 2023

The character/writing combination is along the lines that you would expect to see. A beautiful girl with long flowing hair alongside some large block writing. I am not too sure what the ‘St Pauls’ refers to. There is a St Paul’s church very near where this was painted, but it could I suppose be a reference to Bristol’s St Paul’s district. Unmistakably Inkie, the piece is still looking fresh as a daisy. Nice Tribute to Julian too.