Category: 5. Street Art

3243. St Werburghs tunnel (196)

What a lovely surprise to come across this Tizer piece so soon after his last visit to Bristol. I rather hope that this is going to become a bit of a ‘thing’. This one was painted alongside Inkie and is in the expected writing/character format that Tizer favours.

Tizer, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2020
Tizer, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2020

The colours are a little comprimised due to the lighting in the tunnel, particularly on the left side of the piece where the yellow tones start to dominate. Consistent with his way of working, I suspect that the piece is freestyled, which gives the letters a freedom that some rather more formulaic writers might struggle with. The multi-coloured fills are superbly well done and the female character on the left is sporting a fine pair of specs. More please.

3242. Mina Road (6)

It seems that Silent Hobo is on a bit of a roll at the moment, especially in the St Werburghs area – I am guessing that he must live nearby judging from the number of new pieces in recent months.

Silent Hobo, Mina Road, Bristol, October 2020
Silent Hobo, Mina Road, Bristol, October 2020

I spotted Silent Hobo painting this piece as I was driving home a couple of weeks ago, but there weren’t any parking spaces nearby and I was in a bit of a hurry, so regrettably I didn’t get a chance to stop for a chat. I returned the following day to take these pictures.

Silent Hobo, Mina Road, Bristol, October 2020
Silent Hobo, Mina Road, Bristol, October 2020

This is an outstanding and uplifting piece, bringing an ordinary and drab doorway to life with a stunning coastal view that dreams are made of. How much we all yearn to get away from it all in these pandemic days. Silent Hobo offers just a tiny moment of escape with this mural. I love, love, love this – if only more drab doors and walls were decorated in this way.

3241. North Street

It took a little while to get there, but this outstanding mural from Sophie Long has been well worth the wait. The row of shops in North Street, which includes the Upfest shop in the middle, is becoming a bit of a showcase, with four of the five similar buildings now boasting a fine mural. Most interestingly all of these murals are by female artists. I reckon that we should be lining up Hazard for the remaining slot… That would be my first choice.

Sophie Long, North Street, Bristol, October 2020
Sophie Long, North Street, Bristol, October 2020

Sophie Long is well known for her paintings of wildlife and use of bright colours and in this mural she doesn’t disappoint. Four bumblebees surround the top window of the building with rays of bright colour shooting out from the centre. Often Sophie Long will pay attention to anatomical accuracy, but in this mural, the bumblebees have a slightly cartoonish appearance. This is a fine addition to the existing murals in this row.

Zoe Power, Gemma Compton and Sophie Long, North Street, Bristol, October 2020
Zoe Power, Gemma Compton and Sophie Long, North Street, Bristol, October 2020

Bex Glover, North Street, Bristol, July 2020
Bex Glover, North Street, Bristol, July 2020

3240. St Werburghs tunnel (196)

You know that the world has gone all topsy-turvy when Inkie hits so many walls in Bristol in such a short time. I am not complaining mind, and it is perhaps one of the few upsides of the coronavirus epidemic that Inkie seems to be spending more time in his native Bristol.

Inkie, St Werburghs, Bristol October 2020
Inkie, St Werburghs, Bristol October 2020

This is a recent piece in the tunnel painted alongside Tizer who has made two visits to Bristol in as many months. This is a lovely four-colour filled piece blended horizontally in two contrasting hues. Slightly less elaborate than some of his Oieces, but beautifully decorated with hearts and stars. Always, always great to find an Inkie piece.

3239. St Werburghs tunnel (195)

Yep, he’s back. This is just one of several new pieces by Slim Pickings (Tes) to appear over the last couple of weeks in Bristol. After a long quiet period, he has let loose again and there seem to be one or two adjustments to his ‘normal’ form of letters.

Slim Pickings, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2020
Slim Pickings, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2020

This one in the tunnel is slapped over another piece, almost like a sticker, in the fine tradition of throw ups, but this is a classy and beautifully finished type of throw up. Unfortunately the light in the tunnel kind of bleaches out any colours, so the piece looks a little bland. One of the variations that has crept in is the tightness in the curve of the S, an interesting development for those who study such things.

Slim Pickings, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2020
Slim Pickings, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2020

3238. Brunel Way bridge (61)

It is always a pleasure meeting an artist for the first time and I was lucky enough to catch Mudra, just as he had finished this unusual and striking piece. This young artist has recently moved to Bristol from Bournemouth (I think that is what he said) and lives locally, hence choosing this spot. This is one of two recent pieces by Mudra and I will be posting the other one soon.

Mudra, Brunel Way, Bristol, October 2020
Mudra, Brunel Way, Bristol, October 2020

Most interestingly it seems that Mudra and Slakarts have been in contact with each other, and if they get together we could be in for some mouthwatering collaborations… I’m keeping my fingers crossed. This style of portrait falls into the Slakarts/Lobe arena which is really rather exciting.

I like the bold colours and solid fills, and I haven’t seen so much pink in a piece since Stupid Stupid Meathole was active a year or two ago. Particularly interest.ing is the little icon, a bit like an @ with a hat. I am guessing that this is like a signature for the artist. It is always great to report on artists breaking through into the Bristol scene. Look out for more from Mudra.

3237. Alfred Street (7)

This wall has been something of a treasure trove since it was painted at the Raw Wax paint jam at the back end of August. It is great to have a business in Bristol, in this instance Dare To, that welcomes street artists to decorate its walls, particularly in this rather dreary industrial estate.

Ware, Alfred Street, Bristol, September 2020
Ware, Alfred Street, Bristol, September 2020

This piece is by Ware who is one of the RAW artists that seems to paint less regularly than some of the others in the crew. Such rarity adds value, and it is great to see a piece of intricate writing like this. The character is the Cheshire Cat from the Disney adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland. Each piece in this particular wall is composed of writing with a character and it is so worth a visit.

3236. Jamaica Street (23)

Tucked away in a doorway on Jamaica Street is the third of three recent pieces in Bristol by London-based artist Nathan Bowen. All three have been roughly the same size and in portrait orientation, which is quite unusual for street art, most of which is in landscape.

Nathan Bowen, Jamaica Street, Bristol, September 2020
Nathan Bowen, Jamaica Street, Bristol, September 2020

The scribbled cartoon character is holding a sign with the words ‘I am a Man’ on it. I don’t know what this piece might refer to nor whether it has any political significance but I really like it. I am a fan of Nathan Bowen’s unique style and would surely love to see him hitting the walls of Bristol more often. Pitu about the rather useless ‘plus’ tag in blue, but it goes with the territory.

3235. John Street (7)

Regular readers of Natural Adventures will be very familiar with this artist although may not have seen anything even remotely like this from him before, indeed I am not too sure I have. It is by Nevergiveup or Followmyrabbits – he has several names, and I think he might also go under the name of Eldey.

Nevergiveup, John Street, Bristol, September 2020
Nevergiveup, John Street, Bristol, September 2020

The battle of Britain is beautifully commemorated in this mural featuring a spitfire and Union flag and Polish flag. Nevergiveup is Polish and of course Poland was an ally during the second world war and many Poles joined the RAF and became fighter pilots – there is a story being told here. The piece has a lot of movement going on and the spitfire itself is really well done – such an unusual piece for Bristol and from this artist. Great to see.

3234. M32 roundabout J3 (256)

The work of Benjimagnetic is so very distinctive, but as I mentioned before, I find it very tricky to decypher the letters in his writing. The density and compactness of the work with so many intricate lines and patterns make it hard to pick the letters out.

Benjimagnetic, M32 roundabout, Bristol, September 2020
Benjimagnetic, M32 roundabout, Bristol, September 2020

Sometimes with certain artists, your eyes become accustomed to their style and you become better at translating or working out the words, but I have a total fail when it comes to Benjimagnetic. My guess here would be ‘B, X or M, R’. The letters do not matter too much, the colour selection is great and those white-bordered angular shapes, so unique to the artist, are superbly done. A nice piece.