Category: 5. Street Art

4277. Dean Lane skate park (469)

I have a feeling that Tuco would approve of this piece from Veeez, an artist I have been calling Veee, but am in the process of updating. Tuco, another Bristol graffiti writer has a thing for mattresses, and I sense there could be some mattress-envy going on here.

Veeez, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2022
Veeez, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2022

Veeez has been working like a beast, getting his rather special mega-tags embedded all over the city. There is barely a nook or cranny that hasn’t been visited by the artist. He has two or three variants, and in this post he has both the face, as shown on the mattress and his little ‘mushroom’ character below.

Veeez, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2022
Veeez, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2022

I think I will have to start multiple posting his pieces, like I do with Maybe, because otherwise Natural Adventures would be in danger of becoming the Veeez show. It is great to see how quickly and how well the artist has made himself at home.

4276. M32 cycle path (167)

The unannounced visits from Kleiner Shames are probably my favourite surprises in documenting street/graffiti art in Bristol. Kleiner Shames, who writes FOIS, lived in Bristol for a while before moving to London a few years ago. I understand he now lives in Cornwall (a wise man, if it is true), which would explain why some of his w (the St Mawes ferry, for example) has appeared down that way.

Kleiner Shames, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, February 2022
Kleiner Shames, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, February 2022

This is one half of a collaborative wall with Ysae, I think, a friend Kleiner Shames often used to paint with when he lived here. The beautiful flowing letters are perfectly set off with a nicely done 3D shadow, blue border and striking red background. Aah, reminds me of the old days.

4275. Peel Street Green (4)

Angry Face seems to paint in fits and starts. You’ll see nothing for months and then he will paint a spate of maybe five or six of his trademark angry faces about the place, and then dissolve back into a fleeting memory.

Angry Face, Peel Street Green, Bristol, February 2022
Angry Face, Peel Street Green, Bristol, February 2022

This one is rather nicely placed adjacent to a tree in Peel Street Green. I think I might pop up there this afternoon with the dog, because I believe there are a few new pieces there since my last visit. What you see is what you get with Angry Face. He is another artist without whom the Bristol scene simply wouldn’t feel complete.

4274. St Werburghs tunnel (281)

It is very easy to get complacent when artists regularly produce great work, which is something I try to guard against. We can take it for granted sometimes without recognising that each piece is a discrete and unique work, we just expect it. I felt this when starting this post, that this was another nice piece from Pekoe, but it is so much more than that, and requires a great deal of thought and effort on her part.

Pekoe, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2022
Pekoe, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2022

The piece was painted as the central part of an RBF collaboration with Bnie to her left and Evey to her right. Pekoe has returned to a theme she has used many times before of the portrait having a third (all seeing) eye. I just had a flashback to my biology lessons as a youngster and recalled the pineal body… also known as the third eye. Read up on it if you care to, it is interesting stuff. Great hair and a great piece that has been enhanced with colour correction as the original photograph is very yellow/orange.

4273. Dean Lane skate park (468)

This is the last archive piece for a while and is from the much underrepresented artist on Natural Adventures, Lewse. I think I have rather a lot of her pieces lurking in my archives, and I hope to liberate them all in the fullness of time.

Lewse, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2017
Lewse, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2017

This one from the Deaner dates back to November 2017 and is full of colour and movement. Of course, no Lewse piece is complete without a cartoon character, and here she has incorporated Disney’s Goofy for good measure. A lovely piece from several years ago.

4272. Thomas Street

This bright and breezy mural by Haka has been around for a long while and includes a tribute to DJ Derek, a Bristol celebrity and much loved character, who sadly passed away in 2015, although his remains weren’t found until March 2016. I have been meaning to post this piece forever, and finally dug it out last week.

Haka, Thomas Street, Bristol, April 2016
Haka, Thomas Street, Bristol, April 2016

The whole mural is rather different from the stuff we usually see from Haka and may well have been painted to a brief. The soft colour selection allows the piece to be noticed without being brash or garish. There is so much detail through the piece and plenty of local references, such as the Banksy bear throwing a Molotov cocktail, the original of which is just around the corner.

Haka, Thomas Street, Bristol, April 2016
Haka, Thomas Street, Bristol, April 2016

I am guessing that the piece was a commission from the householder, and remarkably for the area remains largely untouched by taggers. A wonderful testament to Bristol culture and of course DJ Derek.

4271. Upper Byron Place

Another dabble in my archive threw up this old piece (photographed in 2016) by Jody on the side of what was once a magic club, and I think, a comedy club at the top end of Park Street. I don’t know why I never posted it before, but then again I could probably say that about most of my unseen/unpublished archive.

Jody, Upper Byron Place, Bristol, February 2016
Jody, Upper Byron Place, Bristol, February 2016

The piece has long-since gone, but is a reminder of Jody’s takent and versatility, as well as admiring the impact his work has had on the city over the years. I am not very good with the magis scene, but am guessing that the magician portraits are of Houdini and David Blaine. For a long time this mural was part of the furniture on Park Street, and it is a pity it is no longer there.

4270. Greenbank (27)

In this piece we have something a little different from Kool Hand, different and really interesting. Painted alongside the unforgettable sushi box by Conrico, this is a letter/portrait combo.

Kool Hand, Greenbank, Bristol, February 2022
Kool Hand, Greenbank, Bristol, February 2022

The letters are ‘KH’ for Kool Hand and are being sprayed by the character. The character is unlike anything I have seen from Kool Hand before and may mark a shift in direction for his work. I am excited to see where this development takes us. A work nicely done.

4269. Dean Lane skate park (467)

In recent months, Mr Draws has really been enjoying going big on his walls. The letters are getting bigger and the whole wall preparation and decoration seems to be in an expansion phase too. What we end up with is large complete walls bursting with colour and fun.

Mr Draws, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2022
Mr Draws, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2022

This recent piece in Dean Lane skate park, has rather nice and crisp letters, spelling ‘DRAW!’ in black letters with a clean and tidy white 3D shadow. The black and white lettering contrasts perfectly with the multicoloured surround, bursting with random happiness. A nice one from Mr Draws.

4268. M32 roundabout J3 (387)

What a very nice piece of classic wildstyle writing this is from Soker, especially welcome as he has been fairly quiet in recent months, and as one of the godfathers of graffiti writing in Bristol, things just don’t feel quite right when he isn’t out there painting.

Soker, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2022
Soker, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2022

The class and confidence ooze from this piece, which reads PUKE. I am not too sure about the back story to this one and I’m not too sure I want to know. Some classic features, the arrow and star, have been incorporated in this nicely proportioned piece. Great to see Soker out and about.