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Long overcast days
just two feet high and rising
low expectations
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by Scooj
6149. Dean Lane skate park (727)
There has been no let up from Dibz and Fade, and although their pieces don’t appear as regularly on Natural Adventures as they used to, it doesn’t mean they aren’t painting as frequently, it simply means they are having to compete for space with so much other art including Upfest 2024.
This is a classic presentation by the two artists with Fade on the left, Dibz on the right and a co-created character in the middle. They have cleverly reversed the fill colour layers between the two pieces of graffiti writing, with Fade starting with green at the top transitioning through dark blues to a light blue, while Dibz starts with the light blue at the top.
The writing is, of course, of the absolute highest standard, painted by two artists who are at the top of their game. I don’t know who the green dog character is, and my Google searches haven’t turned up any clues, which is a pity, but he is nonetheless magnificent. Naturally, there is more to come from these two… watch this space.
6148. Cumberland Basin
Another of Bristol’s writers who creates the foundations upon which the graffiti and street art culture is built is Raid, who, although a relative newcomer to the city, has established himself as a regular contributor of beautifully designed writing, that appears to be on an ever-upwards trajectory.
Raid’s work is straightforward and unpretentious, and often marked out for his wonderfully creative fill patterns. In this piece though he has gone for a straightforward solid chrome fill, with a yellow accent running through the midline of the letters. The blue drop shadow and black border are nice and tight and the whole thing is as tidy as I would expect from Raid. Great work.
6147. M32 roundabout J3 (588)
The dry, and occasionally hot, weather we have been experiencing during this so-called English summer has seen artists out and about in large numbers, with several recent very well attended paint jams. This beauty, by I am Ian, was painted on the roundabout wall during one of these paint jams.
I get the feeling that I am Ian, who doesn’t paint walls all that often, was coaxed out of his studio to paint next to his friend Kid Crayon. Furthermore, I have never seen an I am Ian piece that isn’t adjacent to or a collaboration with Kid Crayon. The character looks a bit like one of the evil alter-egos spawned from Gizmo in the 1980s ‘horror’ film ‘Gremlins’. The mischievous character, who is spraying the wall with red paint, is nicely presented and definitely brings something fresh and interesting to the paint jam. I am looking forward to seeing more of these events through the summer period.
3 Sleeps
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Opportunity
I’ve been waiting a long time
fourteen painful years
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by Scooj
- We have a general election in the UK on Thursday, and with any luck we will have a Labour Government on Friday. Being realistic, I think it will be several years before we start to see improvements, because the Conservatives have asset stripped the country, made off with the money in their back pockets, and left the old place in a far worse state than they found it 14 years ago. It is incredible to think just how much poorer we are as a nation and how our international reputation has plummeted while they have been in power. The richest have got richer (don’t they always) and are completely protected from the cost of living crisis that the rest of us face. I genuinely hope that the incoming Labour administration live up to their aspiration to serve the country first, because the Conservatives have been serving themselves for way too long. It looks like, while we are leaning to the left, the rest of the world is lurching to the far right, which is all rather worrying.
- I genuinely can’t think of a single part of my life that has been improved by the Tories, not one, but that is no surprise, I work in the service of my country, and always have. I am part of the squeezed middle – the cash cow that has been exploited when the millionaires and billionaires are laughing, and the multinational corporates avoid their tax contributions.
- I’ll stop there, because I could write a very long essay about all of this. Suffice it to say the winds of change are on the way.
6146. Peel Street Green (33)
Sure and steady, Trafficity is probably the most dependable and consistent graffiti writer in Bristol, and although he doesn’t paint all that often, he has a rhythm, and you can be pretty sure to find two or three of his pieces every year. His consistency is evident in the gallery of his work that I have compiled.
The letters ZIOM are fairly heavily disguised, and as I have observed many times before, there appears to be another word sitting along the top, in lime green in this piece, that looks like it spells MUMM, but I might be imagining things. The colour palette is easy on the eye and the piece nicely presented. I rather like the little shout-out to Haka, whose long-standing piece here was overpainted.
6145. Dean Lane skate park (726)
It has been a while since I last saw a piece by Stiff, and while finding his work is always a great pleasure, I don’t think that this is one of his finest. The main problem I have with this piece is that I am not quite sure what it is, as the colours are rather dark and the elements not clearly defined.
Stiff usually paints weird and wonderful aliens and monsters, and I guess that this is another one to add to his menagerie. I feel it is important to post as much as I can from all artists, warts an all, because I like to reflect the full spectrum of art and graffiti writing in the city. Looking forward to Stiff’s next piece.
6144. M32 roundabout J4 (587)
Grimes is a graffiti writer who burst onto the Bristol scene a few months back, and has already had a significant impact. His energetic pieces tend to be full of vibrant colour and movement, this one being a great example. The wall he has chosen at one of the underpass entrances on the M32 roundabout is not the easiest to paint because of the slope, but Grimes has done a good job.
The orange, red and green combination of colours has worked really well and the fills patterns, which are a bit of a trademark, are really on point. The letters, spelling GRIMES are perfectly set on an aquatic blue bubbly backdrop and wispy grey ‘flames’. A really accomplished and enjoyable piece.
Morning – 30 Days Wild (30/30)
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Where sea and sky meet
and thoughts turn to my forebears
hungry gulls paddle
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by Scooj
- That concludes my 30 Days Wild series of Haiku. I hope you enjoyed them.
- 30 Days Wild is an initiative organised by the Wildlife Trusts. It is an annual challenge event, for those who choose to participate, to do one ‘wild’ thing a day throughout the month of June. I will try to write a nature haiku every day if I can, as my contribution to this celebration of wildlife and biodiversity. I did this back in 2015 and thoroughly enjoyed the challenge.
6143. St Werburghs
Most of the photographs that appear on Natural Adventures are taken while I am out walking the long-suffering dog. Just occasionally, when he is in one of his more stubborn moods, he drags me in a different direction to my well trodden beat, and on this occasion he discovered this Zake piece on the side of a caravan in St Werburghs.
I have no idea how old the piece is, but it looks like some of Zake’s older work. Three wonderful cartoon-style face characters are bobbing on a splashy sea, or that is how it looks to me. His work is centred around light and shade and reflection, and it is brilliant to see how the blue of the water is reflected on the underside of the faces. A nice discovery by Rover.
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