This is a neat and tidy piece of Winter writing from Werm painted in his symmetrical theme design. What is particularly attractive about this piece is that the proportions work really well, and it is really tight.
Werm, River Avon, Bristol, January 2025
Orange and green are common colour combinations in graffiti writing and are colours that work extremely well together. It looks like Werm too his time with this piece, as all the lines are nice and straight, the fills accurate and the highlights very nicely placed. First-class writing from Werm.
Lis (Le Imposter Design), Greenbank, Bristol, December 2024
It is an interesting discussion to try and determine what constitutes graffiti or street art, and I don’t intend to go into a long essay about it right now. Within the community, there are all kinds of tribal differences, between graffiti writers, stencil artists, wheatpasters, character artists, muralists and studio artists. My take is that if it is on the street, then it all comes under the banner of street art, and I am always happy to feature it here on Natural Adventures. I’ll leave it to others to argue the finer points. I mention this because of an emerging talent, Lis (formerly Le Imposter Design), whose hand painted mushroom pieces are causing a little bit of a stir.
Lis (Le Imposter Design), Greenbank, Bristol, December 2024
Lis’ illustrative style is so very different from anything else we see on the street and, in my view, adds to the richness of the street art culture in Bristol. Her talent as an illustrator is obvious, and I love the way she is occupying small spaces on walls all over the city, treating us to interesting fungus-scapes. These orange mushrooms are accompanied by some smaller toadstools and plants as well as some little white symbols around the piece. Great work from Lis and a taste of more to come in 2025 (I dearly hope).
A little while back, it looks like Ryder and Rowdy had a bit of fun in the north side of the Cumberland Basin area, with lots of small pieces dotted about the place. I am assuming this column piece was part of that session.
Rowdy, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, January 2025
This is so Rowdy… three crazy colourful cats, looking a little bit like children’s drawings. The colours work incredibly well on the pinky red colour of the column. A piece full of mischief and joy from one of the most established street artists in Bristol.
Many times in the past, I have described Mr Draws as being the beating heart of the Bristol street/graffiti art scene. Regular and dependable, his artwork could not be described as ‘high end’ and there is nothing pretentious about what he does, and there is a Bristol charm lurking in his work.
Mr Draws, Brunel Way, Bristol, January 2025
This piece is obviously inspired by the latest Aardman Wallace and Gromit film that was screened over Christmas, and featured the penguin villain ‘Feathers’. The combination of chrome writing and the penguin character surprisingly combine rather nicely, and Mr Draws has done a great job.
Mr Draws, Brunel Way, Bristol, January 2025
I haven’t seen the movie, but I am guessing that the diamond has some significance in the plot line. Great fun from Mr Draws.
Time flies. I can’t believe that it was November 2023 when I went on tour with my daughter to check out potential universities. Since that time she decided to go to Leeds and has just successfully completed her first term there. I have to say that I was quite taken with Sheffield, a city I hadn’t been to before, and would have been quite happy if she had accepted a place there. As it is, Leeds is my paternal ancestral home and I am very happy that she is there.
The doors this week were snapped up during the short visit we made, and unlike most of my city doorscursions, this is a one-off post from Sheffield, which I hope you enjoy:
Modern green door on an Art Deco style building – the balcony door is original, Sheffield, November 2023Green doors on an Art Deco style building, Sheffield, November 2023, Sheffield, November 2023Back street door with tags and stickers/paste ups (skeleton by D7606), Sheffield, November 2023, Sheffield, November 2023Raven Silverware Co Ltd door, Sheffield, November 2023, Sheffield, November 2023Red electric meters door, and interesting stone surround, Sheffield, November 2023, Sheffield, November 2023Leader House black door, Sheffield, November 2023Fine black door and steps, Sheffield, November 2023, Sheffield, November 2023The Sheffield School of Gin sounds fun – two black doors, Sheffield, November 2023, Sheffield, November 2023Mount Zion gate and doors, Sheffield, November 2023, Sheffield, November 2023
So that’s it for another week. May I wish you a very happy weekend.
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.
This is the first time I have visited this spot, and it looks like a fairly new one, with a long hoarding that is mostly in mint condition. So far, it looks like Mote and Mr Crawls are the first to ‘colonise’ it. This is a wonderful character piece from Mote, who has had a quiet Winter so far, but appears to be kicking into gear now.
Mote, Greenway Bush Lane, Bristol, January 2025
This monster piece, by Mote, resembles a cat who looks both sad and scary in the same moment. The state of the cat reminds me a little of the feral cats that can be found everywhere in Marrakesh (still fresh in my mind and nourishing me). It must feel rather nice being the first to a new spot and painting some ‘virgin’ boards. It will be interesting to see if this becomes a recognised spot, or just occasional. I don’t know what the letters WYWH stand for, but will try to find out.
Kool Hand and Werm, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, January 2025
I am tired, really tired. Returning to work from a week on leave is tough, and expectations on me are high. Over the Christmas period, I was informed that I would be ‘on loan’ to another team for 2 days a week. I was given no clear instruction, there was no discussion, and today I will be finding out what the tasks expected will be. I am unhappy about the situation, and it is causing me all sorts of unnecessary anxiety, but I will of course be professional and try to do the best job I can. My biggest concern is that I was already working at maximum capacity, and I am worried about the work I will have to drop, and the ‘clients’ I will have to let down. On a more cheery note (thank God I have street/graffiti art to lean on) here is a fine Christmas collaboration from Kool Hand and Werm.
Kool Hand, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, January 2025
A frosty, cold background is a fine setting for both pieces, and Kool Hand has gone for some big KOOL letters which are nicely filled and have some snowy white accents to give a little bit of a 3D perspective. Very festive.
Werm, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, January 2025
Werm presents his letters in the symmetrical form he has been painting throughout 2024, but it is the festive colour selection that is the talking point of this piece. The two-red colour stripes are slightly reminiscent (consciously or otherwise) of Christmas candy sticks, and the green 3D drop shadow completes the holiday mood. Some nice star bursts complete the piece very nicely indeed. A good Christmas piece in a year when there were fewer than usual around the city.
Amy Hutchings, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, January 2025
I have been aware of this piece by Amy Hutchings, a Bristol artist, for at least a couple of years, but until recently I haven’t got up close and paid attention to it, which is my loss really. The line drawing piece was originally much pinker, but some of the colour has bleached out by many days of sunshine on this exposed spot.
Amy Hutchings, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, January 2025
The beautifully illustrated piece depicts a scene from the floating harbour and incorporates several local landmarks as well as some small boats. Amy Hutchings has a lovely touch, and although I am not aware of other street art pieces, she has a fabulous Instagram account which is well worth a visit. I am kicking myself that it has taken me so very long to acknowledge this perfect piece of Bristol art in the middle of Cumberland Basin.
Unknown Artist, Braggs Lane, Bristol, December 2024
Sometimes I have no idea who painted a particular piece but like to post it, because it is simply too good not to post. This is an unusual stencil and writing combination piece that I am assuming is by a single artist, but it is quite possible that this is the work of two people.
Unknown Artist, Braggs Lane, Bristol, December 2024
Of course, the point of the piece is to write a one-liner gag, which I have to admit I haven’t heard before, and it made me laugh when I saw it. There are a lot of words in this piece of writing and each of the letters has a 3D shadow, so I would say it is the work of an accomplished writer. The writing is accompanied by a stencil of a woman holding a spray can, implying that she sprayed the writing.
Unknown Artist, Braggs Lane, Bristol, December 2024
I have seen better single-layer stencils, but there is a charm about this one, and the whole combination, that I have slightly fallen for. My guess is that this wall was painted some time ago… I say that, because I rarely visit this area. A bit of fun for Tuesday morning.
Natural adventures 