I am Stephen. I live in Bristol, UK. I decided to shorten my profile...to this: Wildlife, haiku, travel, streetart, psychogeography and my family. Not necessarily in that order.
When you immerse yourself in the world of street art and graffiti writing in the way that I and many others do, you develop a deep sense of how good the art is in terms of technical skills, emotional grab, story telling, colour sense and so on. And sometimes you need only glance at a piece for a second to realise that it is truly outstanding and on a different level. This is how I felt when I saw this from Smak in Dean Lane a week or so back.
Smak, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2020
It feels like seeing something in CinemaScope for the first time when you are used to a smaller format. The letters spelling SMAK are perfectly arranged and the colours and fills, with a metallic feel, are outstanding. For me, this is a great example of perfect graffiti writing, and such a wonderful Christmas gift from Smak.
Holiday breaks are good for so many reasons, especially the opportunity to free up some time to do the things we love. There has been a big upsurge in productivity of street/graffiti art over the Christmas period in Bristol and my photograph folder for December is heaving. Having only seen a few pieces this year from Mr Sleven and Mr Klue, it was great to see this collaboration, the second in as many weeks from this pair in the St Werburghs tunnel.
Mr Sleven and Mr Klue, St Werburghs, Bristol, December 2020
These two create fully integrated collaborations, which I love, where their art becomes a synthesis of their styles, rather than two adjacent pieces in similar colour schemes. The Grinch has made a lot of appearances on the walls of Bristol this year, perhaps as a conscious/unconscious reference to COVID-19 spoiling things a bit. Here, Mr Sleven’s nicely drawn Grinch is emerging from a wispy Mr Klue atmosphere. This is a fine piece and there is a nice reference to COM.64 – the crew that these two belong to.
Rosalita has been smashing it out of the park lately and this new column piece under the M32 is just the latest in a string of fine works she has created in the area. From what I have seen, Rosalita is particularly fond of painting carnival faces which she does on walls but also with the application of makeup on people, which she has a talent for.
Rosalita, M32 Spot, Bristol, December 2020
Rosalita (who often signs her pieces RAW, has nothing to do with the Bristol-based crew Read and Weep, and that the use of the same initials is entirely coincidental) has used the column space perfectly and flooded it with colour and drama. The piece is a little unsettling, with the orange eyes dripping onto the cheeks. Great to see more from Rosalita. Keep it up!
Rezwonk is an artist whose work I simply haven’t seen enough of this year, I guess we have been spoilt previously by the frequency with which he was hitting walls, and it was inevitable that it would slow down at some point. A similar pattern has been shown by Decay, and it is interesting that these two who used to collaborate a lot, haven’t done so for a long while.
Rezwonk, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2020
This Fabulous piece of graffiti writing in a frosty cold blue (to match the winter temperatures) looks like it was painted n collaboration with a Pekoe piece just to it’s left (coming soon). As well as the technical brilliance of the piece with it’s riveted sections, the prep work has made all the difference with the fully buffed wall in a neutral colour lending support and focus to the writing. A fine piece from Rezer.
It is very difficult for me to keep up with the massive productivity of street/graffiti art in Bristol. As it is, I only post a fraction of the pieces I photograph here on Natural Adventures. The rest go into the archives, which is a real shame but that is how it is. Seasonal pieces, such as this one from Mr Draws are nearly always out of sync because I have a queue of pieces waiting to post – an artefact of the system I use.
Mr Draws, Brunel Way, Bristol, December 2020
I love this one from Mr Draws – it has a generous and kind spirit about it and manages to convey the moments of Christmas cleverly by incorporating Christmas puddings, lights and a Christmas tree. The letters are sharp, and it looks like Mr Draws has put a lot of love into this one. I only wish I had been able to post it at Christmas, but you’ll have to make do with it now.
The third piece from an outstanding recent paint jam on the long wall at Cumberland Basin that I have posted on Natural Adventures is by Sled One, and features a Raccoon (something that SPZero76 is a specialist in painting) off on its travels.
Sled One, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, December 2020
I saw a little video clip on Sled One’s Instagram feed which had a little raccoon dropping a piece of ice into some water and getting utterly confused when the ice just disappeared like magic… so beyond the poor mammal’s comprehension. I think this piece is a retelling of that little snippet of film through the imaginative lens of Sled One. This surreal piece is rooted in experience and naturally has been painted with supreme expertise. Classic Sled One.
This is the perfect way to end 2020 with a spanking new and rather beautiful mural on the Cheltenham road just before the Arches heading north. The mural is by Alex Lucas and covers the entire wall of what was Flour and Ash but is now a new vegan Mezze bar called Koo Cha
Alex Lucas, Cheltenham Road, Bristol, December 2020
I had been anticipating the unveiling of this piece for some time as I live nearby and had seen Alex painting it on a large scaffold erected in front of the building. It certainly didn’t disappoint, in fact I think it might be one of my favourite pieces by the illustrator/muralist.
Alex Lucas, Cheltenham Road, Bristol, December 2020
The cheetahs are absolutely stunning and stand out well on the blue background and the flowers are a beautiful touch that ‘glue’ the whole thing together. We are so lucky in Bristol to have Alex Lucas whose work lights up the city and brings such happiness to its citizens. Bravo Alex, bravo!
It has been an extraordinary year for street art and graffiti in Bristol and around the country. A succession of lockdowns and an extended period of social distancing behaviours haven’t done anything to stem the tide of wonderful artwork and I have had difficulty keeping up with it all. I think this year has been the most productive since I started Natural Adventures almost six years ago. The quality of work has increased too and there has been an influx of artists from the UK and beyond.
Some artists have gone to ground for periods this year, reflecting what had been a troubling time, and work patterns have gone haywire too which will have affected some people’s ability to choose when they can make time for street art. In spite of it all, it has been an outstanding year on Bristol’s streets. Here’s to more in 2021.
