Since the first lockdown, my daughter and I have watched quite a few old shows by Bob Ross, and been mesmerised by them. Our viewing is interspersed with comments like ‘how does he do that’ or ‘that is just ridiculous’. As amazing as his landscapes are, they are not really my cup of tea, but watching him create them is truly awe-inspiring. This reference piece by John D’oh is a nice nod to the talent of Bob Ross.
John D’oh, Gloucester Road, Bristol, November 2021
This stencil is one of many by John D’oh adorning the walls of Bishopston Tiles, and if you are in the area, it is well worth stopping by for a few moments to enjoy them. The words are another witty commentary on the disastrous state of deforestation, something that the COP26 climate agreement might at long last be starting to address. Our role in all of this is not to let our Government off the hook, even for a moment, and to continue to campaign hard for systemic policy changes in how we do things in the UK. Plastic bag tax was just a start, but shows what can be done.
This is the first of many posts I’ll be writing about this wall.
Zake is fast becoming one of the most prolific artists in Bristol. His wonderful stylised faces are appearing all over the place with regularity, and of course improving all the time. This lovely recent piece is at the curved end of the concrete support wall under Brunel Way.
Zake, Brunel Way, Bristol, November 2021
Zake’s work is typified by his extraordinary understanding of light and shadow, and the features on his faces are accentuated by the shading, gaining real depth. Often, his work will be under-lit or side-lit, but this one has a fairly uniform front-lit aspect. This piece is beautifully presented too.
This domestic wall was first painted during Upfest 2018, when a few artists clubbed together and had a paint jam on this unofficial space. I believe they had the permission of the owner to do it, and these pieces remained in pretty good condition until fairly recently when they were on the wrong end of quite a lot of tagging. Recently, several artists, including Laic217, Nightwayss, Tack Jucker and Zake, refreshed the wall to great effect, including this fine piece from Laic217.
Laic217, Catherine Mead Street, Bristol, November 2021
Laic217, as regular readers will know, is a particular favourite of mine and this piece is a reversion to some of the recurring themes seen in his work. The brick wall glasses, the ghetto-blaster, the bucket hat and of course, skeleton, all point towards it being a Laic217 piece. The colours are a good match with the fairly benign purple backdrop helping to lift the gold colours incorporated in the character.
It is always worth going the extra mile, or a few hundred yards at least. I recently followed the River Frome from the M32 roundabout into town, because I wanted to stretch my and the the dog’s legs a bit. What we found was a little green with a long wall covered in graffiti writing, that I have long been aware of, but never actually found before. Well now I have found it and the spot will be assimilated into part of my regular ‘rounds’ when I have a little extra time on my hands (some chance these days).
3Dom, Peel Street Green, Bristol, November 2021
Opposite the long wall and on the other side of the green is a small wall with this single recent piece from 3Dom. This is so typical of his surreal style, featuring a character with a cloud head, dotted with a string of alternating happy and sad smiley emojis. This beautifully painted and colourful piece probably has a back story going on, but I am not too sure what it is. Might it have something to do with the changing climate?
I knew about this piece, by Lemak, a long time ago, but never actually knew exactly where it was. I never found out at the time and then forgot it had even existed, so I was super happy to find it a week or two back, and although it has been a bit tagged, the quality of the piece shines through.
Lemak, Brunel Way, Bristol, November 2021
Lemak is an artist who spends a lot of time in his studio, but occasionally he treats us with one of his highly complex multi-layered stencils on the streets. I’ve not seen anything new since lock down, but that doesn’t mean to say there hasn’t been anything.
This piece, on the Greville Smyth Park side of Brunel Way was painted way back in April 2019 and features Daddy’s Lil Monster, Harley Quinn, a DC comics character. Superb work from a superb artist.
Life has become uncomfortably cluttered and busy in recent weeks, both at home and at work, and I am struggling a little to keep on top of my daily blog posts. Today for example I am using my lunch break to write this post, because I simply ran out of time last night and early this morning.
Pl8o, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, November 2021
So here we have a delightful piece of graffiti writing from Pl8o, possibly the tightest I have seen from him. The clean lines of the letters are somewhat eclipsed by the fabulous orange border. Beautifully designed and executed. Surely it must be time for a Pl8o gallery.
Feek doesn’t paint nearly as a often as I would like him to, but just often enough to keep me interested and on my toes. Dean Lane Hardcore and Halloween seem to be occasions that he likes to mark. The other thing about Feek’s work is that, like many other street artists, it is very often associated with skating.
Feek, M32 Spot, Bristol, November 2021
This long wall is part of the M32 Spot DIY skate park, and tends to get fairly marked fairly quickly. Feek has made a little joke with his letters, spelling out M32 OOOH, in a ghostly way to mark Halloween, and in the centre of the piece is a nice big pumpkin.
Feek, M32 Spot, Bristol, November 2021
The pumpkin is cleverly painted, incorporating a hole in the panel as the open mouth of the scary fruit. The writing is covered in warts and eyes providing a cartoony scary scene, just what Feek does so well. A nice seasonal piece.
Regular readers of Natural Adventures will know that I am really enjoying the work of Maybe . His small murals are improving all the time and he is starting to make his mark in spots all over Bristol, spreading out from his ‘safe space’ under Brunel Way.
Maybe, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2021
This first piece on a ramp at Dean Lane skate park might just be my favourite yet from Maybe. The colours are superb, and the blends from dark to light in each colour tone are exceptional. Calm and pleasing, it has the appearance of an Eastern European children’s cartoon that were so much a thing in the 1970s and 1980s about it.
Maybe, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2021
The other two pieces in Dean Lane are small Yin and Yang badges composed of interlocking faces, which is the ‘trademark’ of Maybe. Some really great creative stuff here, and he just keeps on producing.
In this piece on the long wall under Brunel Way, we see Claro_que_sssnoh doing what Claro_que_ssnoh does so well – that is create distinctive interesting writing that creates a wonderful pattern of shape and colour.
Claro_que_sssnoh, Brunel Way, Bristol, October 2021
His work usually spells out HONS and his combination of curvy and straight lines are decorated with lines, patterns and dots in equal measure. In this piece it is the colour palette that is most notable, brightening up this drab and dingy corner. Painted as part of an HMR paint jam, it was the pick of the bunch alongside Dabuten Tronko.
Natural adventures 