At first glance I was fooled into thinking that this piece was by Conrico, mainly based on the subject matter, but also a little o the style, but it didn’t quite feel right. It turns out it is by visiting artist Quale, as part of a chapter 17 World Wall Stylers paint jam challenge with the theme Ninja Scroll. Ninja Scroll is a 1993 Japanese animated jidaigeki–chanbara film written and directed by Yoshiaki Kawajiri – who knew?
Quale, Frome side, Bristol, November 2024
This piece (sorry about the glare, this wall is difficult to photograph) is stunning. It is so full of movement, and little pastiches from the film. I don’t know anything about Quale, but hope to see more in Bristol in the future.
Zaki Dee, Nicer, Fade and BG183, Ikea wall of fame, Bristol, October 2024
Something big happened in Bristol over 17-20 October in the Ikea car park, just off junction 2 of the M32. Goldie, a British music producer and DJ who is also an accomplished graffiti writer and whose work has appeared in Natural Adventures several times, organised an international paint jam to celebrate the 30th anniversary of his record label Metalheadz. In doing so, he invited artists from the New York-based Tats Cru to join a selection of Bristol artists, and some others from the UK and beyond.
The challenge was to paint a themed collaboration – the yellow brick road from The Wizard of Oz (more on this another time) on this enormous wall. In doing so a new wall of fame was created, and one which I hope will host further such productions. This is the first in a series of photographs from the wall, starting at the left-hand end.
Zaki Dee, Nicer, Fade and BG183, Ikea wall of fame, Bristol, October 2024
In this first section, The writing is from Fade, who is no stranger to Natural Adventures, and he is accompanied by the rather gory witch character by Nicer, some floral decoration, running through the entire production, by Zaki Dee and a section of New York skyline by BG183.
I will be posting more from this incredible paint jam in due course, and hope to provide some sense of scale of the production.
Doors 287 – Doors from Exeter, Devon – Part IV, October 2023
My doorscursion in Exeter from October 2023 continues with this selection of doors primarily from the Exeter Cathedral area of the city. Of course, I have focussed my attention on some of the older and more characterful doors of the city, but unlike other places, there is quite a high proportion of these special doors. I am a little busy this morning, so my introduction is brief, but I hope you enjoy today’s offering. I think there are one or two very special doors here:
Exeter Cathedral doors, Exeter, Devon, October 2024Exeter Cathedral central door surrounded by dozens of stone statues, Exeter, Devon, October 2024Exeter Cathedral side door (North side), Exeter, Devon, October 2024White door and black frame, Number 1, Exeter, Devon, October 2024Blue doors, Exeter, Devon, October 2024Arched double doors, Exeter, Devon, October 2024Cathedral Close door, Exeter, Devon, October 202410 Cathedral Close door, Exeter, Devon, October 2024
This last door at number 10 Cathedral Close is a carved oak door from the 16th or 17th century. The studded door has a small postern door to allow pedestrian access, without having to swing the heavy weight of the main door open. This is special.
Well, that’s it for another week. Still more doors to come from the wonderful city of Exeter next time. Have a great weekend.
If you have made it this far, you probably like doors, and you really ought to take a look at the No Facilities blog by Dan Anton who has taken over the hosting of Thursday Doors from Norm 2.0 blog. Links to more doorscursions can be found in the comments section of Dan Anton’s Thursday Doors post.
Neddy Ned Neddy, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, October 2024
Neddy Ned Neddy is one of those artists who paints from time to time in Bristol, but never enough to grace the pages of Natural Adventures all that often. It is always a pleasure to include his work, though, because his writing style is quite special and beautifully executed.
Neddy Ned Neddy, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, October 2024
In most of his pieces, the vanishing point for his drop shadow is located centrally behind the letters, which gives the illusion that they are hurtling towards you from the background. The flaming colour selection works well against the blue, and this is an all-round stonking burner.
This post is written in haste. By the time I publish it, I will be in the Derbyshire countryside looking at a beaver release scheme. The reintroduction of beavers in the right places is a huge asset for local communities. The dams create wetlands, slowing the effects of flooding downstream, and during droughts the water retention where beavers live create oases where all around has dried up and withered, and for the nature lovers, who doesn’t love having beavers back in the English countryside?
Stivs, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2024
This outstanding piece, by Stivs, is another of his epic character pieces. I don’t know who the character is, and a Google search has thrown up nothing. The character is painted in beautiful colours and has come together perfectly, with some sideways on perspective too. Alongside the robot (is it a robot?) are the words ‘Kill all humans’ which isn’t very friendly. The piece has survived pretty well, on a wall with a high turnover, and was still there when I last checked a couple of days ago. Great work from Stivs.
This is yet another colourful outburst of joy and movement from Grimes, and a piece to enjoy and savour. Grimes has been smashing it with every piece he paints, and Bristol spots are without a doubt more colourful places when one of his pieces is present.
Grimes, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, November 2024
The three dimensional effect that Grimes creates in his work is outstanding, and this whole thing has the appearance of bursting out from the wall towards the viewer. Such is the energy in the piece it almost feels like an animation. The ‘fruit salad’ colours are beautifully distributed throughout the writing (Spelling GRIMES), and are set on a watery blue background, which is also full of swirling movement. In my eyes, this is a masterpiece of wildstyle writing.
Scrapyardspec, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, November 2024
I am seeing an awful lot more crazy character pieces by Scrapyardspec appearing on the streets of Bristol, which, as I said in a previous post, leads me to believe that he might have moved somewhere more local to the city. I am finding new piece almost on a weekly basis now.
Scrapyardspec, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, November 2024
This is quite a large specimen from Scrapyardspec on the long wall at Sparke Evans Park, squeezed in between writers. The monster character has all the features of a piece by the artist, that is to say, wibbly wobbly lines, crazy eyes, in this case three of them, and a tong hanging out from a goofy toothy mouth. More to come from Scrapyardspec soon.
It’s a funny thing, but I don’t know whether I simply haven’t registered Oust much in the past, or whether he is painting a little bit more often in Bristol, but I seem to be finding more Oust work about town these days.
Oust, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, October 2024
This is a superb piece of writing, with all elements working well in harmony, although I think that the light blue of the letters is slightly washed out by some of the stronger colours around it. Obviously, the letters spell OUST and they have been filled with loads of patterning and symbols, mostly stars. There is a complex drop shadow in black and yellow and a busy red background. I’ll definitely be looking out for more from Oust.
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