Oh dear! Mr Crawls’ gull is looking a bit glum in this piece on the long hoarding at Greenbank. Painted on a favoured chrome background, the usually happy or cheeky gull looks like he is down in the dumps. It is clever that Mr Crawls can portray different emotions with tweaks to his ‘archetypal’ bird.
Mr Crawls, Greenbank, Bristol, March 2025
The stylised cartoon character has a downturned (mouth) bill and heavy-lidded eyes, dripping with sadness. The piece is really well presented and clean and tidy, and another in a wonderful series of character pieces by Mr Crawls.
This is an outstanding piece of graffiti writing from Minto, and is a great example of what is not there as being as important as what is there – if that makes any kind of sense. There is a lot of empty space alongside multiple illustrations and decorations throughout.
Minto, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2025
The letters spell out MINTO, and there are some regular motifs that the artist has used before, such as the character and a pair of sneakers at the base of the letter M. I’m not sure whether there is a coherent story or whether the piece is simply a collection of ideas and thoughts bundled up together. Either way, there is plenty to look at in this energetic piece.
Lis seems to do herself proud every time she goes out to paint, and this is another fine outing, with a couple of small pieces in Dean Lane. Here she has painted one of her mushrooms, but this time as a rather cute skateboarding character, which is totally appropriate for the spot.
Lis, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2025
I anticipate a great future for Lis, who I am sure will start to attract commissions, the more she practices and the more exposure she gets. As well as this character piece, she also left behind a little ‘extra’ on a nearby wall, featuring a cluster of toadstools. This is going to be a most enjoyable journey as Lis goes from strength to strength.
A quick couple of posts today, written last night, because I have an early start today, running a workshop in the middle of nowhere, somewhere in rural Shropshire. This is another fine piece from my short visit to Liverpool from one of my favourite wheatpasters, LostHills.
LostHills, Jamaica Street, Liverpool, March 2025
You might notice that this isn’t a paste up, but a painting, something LostHills has been doing more of in recent years. His characters are based on Jake the Dog from Adventure time, but I am not sure what the cultural reference is in the piece. A nice one to find.
Although I have only posted one other piece by Coloquix before, I am familiar with the artist’s work, and have been following their Instagram feed for years. I was surprised to find this painted shutter piece, because More often I am used to seeing wheatpastes by Coloquix.
Coloquix, Kitchen Street, Liverpool, March 2025
The stylised character is the trademark of the artist, and here she nestles in a quarter moon with a friendly face. The horizontal bars of colour run across the piece nicely and overall it is a happy soulful piece and a good find during my stroll in Liverpool.
Liam Bononi, Jamaica Street, Liverpool, March 2025
There are many parallels between Bristol and Liverpool, in part due to the established trading routes with America and the West Indies. Unfortunately, both cities prospered through the trade in slaves, alcohol and tobacco, along with a huge amount of other less controversial goods. Place and street names tend to reflect the development of a city, and it is no surprise that both Bristol and Liverpool have a Jamaica Street, and that both are in areas that have seen a lot of change.
In Liverpool, the area around Jamaica street is a hotspot for street art, and I was lucky enough to find some superb pieces during my recent visit there, including this old piece by Liam Bononi.
Liam Bononi, Jamaica Street, Liverpool, March 2025
Liam Bononi has become one of the great high-end artists in Europe and is a favourite for premium walls and festivals, and this piece, I think, was painted sometime last year. Much of his work contains contorted, agonised or corrupted portraits, perhaps reflecting an inner struggle. This beautiful portrait piece appears to be cracked and disfigured as if it were a broken mirror, and as a result is a little unsettling. Although based in the North of England, Liam Bononi does manage to travel around the country a little, which is great news.
Unknown artist, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, April 2025
Regular readers will know that I don’t like to post work by artists unknown to me, and I will often hold photographs of pieces back until I know who they are by. In some instances, particularly when I don’t think I will ever find out, I relent and post the piece anyway. This beautiful horse is one such example.
Unknown artist, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, April 2025
I don’t often see horses painted in Bristol, there is not much crossover between equestrians and street artists. This is a nicely painted two-tone piece in which the horse appears to be almost ghost-like, or in the form of a ‘patronus’ (for Harry Potter fans). The words ‘Lotty is horsey’ might give some clues about the originator, but I am left none the wiser. The piece was too good and unusual not to post.
In the Dean Lane skate park there are a lot of ramps and slopes that provide a perfect canvass for street artists. There are two drawbacks: the first is that they are a challenge to paint and the second is that they get scuffed up pretty quickly by the skating, scootering and biking activity.
Zake, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2025
I think I got to this cheeky Zake portrait piece reasonably soon after it was painted, because it is in quite good condition. This is a classic Zake portrait, with lots of expression, and plenty of contours and depth. A fine small piece from the cartoon character specialist.
Now that Face 1st isn’t living in Bristol, and he paints less frequently, he appears to be a little more judicious in what he paints, and seems to be experimenting a lot more with his writing and his fonts.
Face 1st, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2025
This is a wonderful chrome combination piece with Face 1st’s trademark laughing girl character and hair made up of the word FACE. This time though the letters have more of a calligraffiti style to them, and are nicely finished. Somehow, Face 1st is, for me at least, emblematic of the Bristol scene, and I am so pleased that he comes back reasonably regularly to remind us of his talent and style.
Natural adventures 