Category: 5. Street Art

4173. M32 Spot (129)

Think big, and think ceiling and you might then be thinking Risco, if you follow street art in Bristol that is, otherwise you might be thinking Michelangelo. There the similarity ends. This is only the third Risco piece to appear on Natural Adventures, which is a bit disappointing really, because I have pictures of several others… time to raid the archives.

Risco, M32 roundabout, Bristol, December 2022
Risco, M32 roundabout, Bristol, December 2022

This piece is not the easiest to photograph due to being on the ceiling and also the light quality is challenging with light from outside bleeding into the pictures. The subject is a fabulous skeleton of a mythical creature, a fish or a dragon or something. The two tone work is exceptional given it is painted high up on the ceiling. I’m not sure how Risco painted these pieces, but it must be with long poles and rollers, with the detail added from a ladder?

Risco, M32 roundabout, Bristol, December 2022
Risco, M32 roundabout, Bristol, December 2022

I am constantly struck by the incredible creativity and energy of street art in Bristol, and pieces like this simply add to my sense of awe and admiration.

4172. M32 roundabout J3 (375)

I told you a few posts ago that Biers has been hitting the streets pretty hard recently, and here is another of his WD40 pieces from the M32 roundabout. If I am honest, I’d say that Biers seems to be a man in a bit of a hurry. He virtually stopped painting since the first lock down, and has only recently started up again but would appear to be making up for lost time. While he has massively increased the quantity of his work he has perhaps let his quality go a touch, but I am sure that will come back when he settles into a new rhythm.

Biers, M32 roundabout, Bristol, January 2022
Biers, M32 roundabout, Bristol, January 2022

The piece is a classic letters/character combo. Sometimes Biers’ characters are based on personalities or known cartoon characters, but I can’t identify this one at all. He reminds me a little of the ‘calm down Scousers’ parodied by Harry Enfield. Lots more to come from Biers…

4171. Stokes Croft

This magnificent piece, by Stinkfish, is arguably the most iconic piece of street art in Bristol. This is the second appearance of this mural in Natural Adventures, but a totally legitimate one. The original was painted by Stinkfish some years ago, and at the back end of last year the artist was brought back to the city to refresh this and another of his fine works in Mina Road, St Werburghs.

Stinkfish, Stokes Croft, Bristol, December 2021
Stinkfish, Stokes Croft, Bristol, December 2021

The result of this refresh is absolutely stunning, bringing the old piece back to life and restoring a sense of pride in this extraordinary wall. Some may feel that restoring a piece goes a bit against the grain of the lifecycle of street art, but I am not amongst them. In this piece not only has Stinkfish refreshed the black and yellow elements, but he has embellished the piece with his trademark patterns that add so much more to the whole.

Stinkfish, Stokes Croft, Bristol, September 2015
Stinkfish, Stokes Croft, Bristol, September 2015

For comparison I include a picture of the piece from my original post, and even then the piece wasn’t particularly new. It is wonderful to see new life breathed into the old girl.

4170. Dean Lane skate park (452)

Back to one of our regulars today, Mr Draws, who is having to compete much harder to make it into Natural Adventures than he did a couple of years back, simply because of the quantity and quality of street art and graffiti that is appearing in Bristol at the moment. It is a strong field.

Mr Draws, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2021
Mr Draws, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2021

Notwithstanding this, Mr Draws has been ticking along very nicely and producing pieces with reasonable regularity. Recently he has been painting larger pieces on larger walls drawing out his letters. Always full of ideas and thinking of different ways to present his letters, Mr Draws is a central pillar of the Bristol scene.

Mest

A gallery of great graffiti writing from Bristol’s Mest.

all photographs by Scooj

Mest, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, September 2022
Mest, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, September 2022
Mest, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2022
Mest, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2022
Mest, River Avon, Bristol, April 2022
Mest, River Avon, Bristol, April 2022
Mest, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, December 2021
Mest, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, December 2021
Mest, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, November 2021
Mest, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, November 2021
Mest, Mina Road, Bristol, December 2021
Mest, Mina Road, Bristol, December 2021
Mest, St Werburghs, Bristol, December 2021
Mest, St Werburghs, Bristol, December 2021
Mest, M32 roundabout, Bristol, October 2021
Mest, M32 roundabout, Bristol, October 2021
Mest, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, July 2021
Mest, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, July 2021
Mest, New Stadium Road, Bristol, June 2021
Mest, New Stadium Road, Bristol, June 2021
Mest, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2021
Mest, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2021
Mest, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2020
Mest, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2020
Mest, M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 2020
Mest, M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 2020
Mest, M32 cycle path, Bristol, November 2020
Mest, M32 cycle path, Bristol, November 2020
Mest, M32 roundabout, Brisol, August 2020
Mest, M32 roundabout, Brisol, August 2020

4169. Sparke Evans Park (26)

Not many Christmas pieces, and then (on January 9) two come along at once. This Christmas cheer was brought to you from Sparke Evans Park in the form of this graffiti writing from Biers. I call Biers ‘Biers’ because they were the letters he used when I first started seeing his work. Since then, he has moved through ‘OhYeah’ to his current preferred set of letters ‘WD40’. I still call him Biers though.

Biers, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, December 2021
Biers, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, December 2021

The letters can be difficult to pick out, but once you know what they are, you can start to pick them out. As well as the Christmas theme, Biers has also contextualised the piece with a lateral flow Coronavirus test, showing a positive result. It is funny to think that a little over two years ago none of us had ever heard of such a thing, and now it dominates our every waking moment. I guess the ‘Merry Shitmas’ message is linked to the Covid-19 situation. A nicely done piece. Expect to see a whole lot more from Biers as he has been hitting walls with gusto in recent weeks.

4168. Dean Lane skate park (451)

Ok, ok, so Christmas was a little time ago now, but I am still so far behind with my posts that this delightful Christmas message from Pekoe in Dean Lane is coming to you a little later than I would have liked. The sentiment is still well-meant though and beautifully delivered.

Pekoe, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2021
Pekoe, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2021

I didn’t see nearly as many Christmas pieces this year as I would have expected, so this was a sight for sore eyes. The portrait almost has a comic book look to it, especially with the speech bubble, and the dark colours used for the features add to that school of art. Something almost ‘Lictensteiny’ about it. The three TLAs (Three Letter Acronyms) at the end of the Christmas message relate to three of the places Pekoe loves to paint. This piece was the cherry on the top of a very nice Christmas break.

4167. St Werburghs tunnel (270)

An infrequent, yet most welcome, artist is Smut – ‘everyone loves a little bit of Smut’ remember? Recently Smut has hit a couple of walls with his characteristic clean and tidy script writing.

Smut, St Werburghs, Bristol, December 2021
Smut, St Werburghs, Bristol, December 2021

Although the tunnel at St Werburghs is a honey pot for graffiti and street art, it is a beast for getting decent photographs, and I am disappointed with these ones which are a little blurred. His other piece on the M32 roundabout (to come) is altogether more satisfying. It is always a pleasure finding a Smut piece.

4166. River Avon (24)

Tes, or Slim Pickings as I call him, is one of the most consistent writers in Bristol with his familiar TES super-tag, but every once in a while he throws something different at us, and this piece is an example of how he switches it up.

Slim Pickings (Tes), River Avon, Bristol, December 2021
Slim Pickings (Tes), River Avon, Bristol, December 2021

The letters are the same, but aren’t presented in his usual very prescriptive form, they are more uniform and spread further horizontally, but the fills and lines are solid and clean, just as we would expect. Great to see something a little different from Slim Pickings.

4165. M32 Cycle path (154)

Each time I see a piece from Pl8o, they just seem to get better and better. Apart from the odd throw up, there is a more considered and designed approach to his work, and this piece, I think really demonstrates the progress made. I recently published a gallery of Pl8o’s work, and you can see the improvements over time, although frankly, his work has always been pretty good.

Pl8o, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, December 2021
Pl8o, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, December 2021

I have said before that his letters are very kind on the eye, and he has certainly made the most of them. The numeral 8 in particular is great to have in graffiti writing, it is a bit like OO which also works… Look out for those SCOOJ toy letters next summer (maybe). I am still loving Pl8o’s work