4338. St Werburghs tunnel (285)

Rarely has an entrant to the Bristol street art scene been as dramatic as that of Asre. Although this is the first piece of his to appear on Natural Adventures, it most certainly will not be the last. In the last week or two, I have photographed more than ten of these character faces, most of which, if not all, will have been painted this year.

Asre, St Werburghs, Bristol, March 2022
Asre, St Werburghs, Bristol, March 2022

Asre is one of several new character artists in Bristol, and their numbers seem to be swelling. I wouldn’t quite call it a school or a movement, but it is definitely a thing. Asre’s cartoon-style characters are very nicely finished with thick line borders, but the feature details are really nicely worked too. I suspect the artist could probably create one of these with his eyes shut, given the amount of practice he puts in. Watch this space for more. A nice shout out to Bogat and and Klashwhensober too.

4337. New Stadium Road (39)

She’s not been painting for all that long, but already Desi has established herself on the Bristol scene, and her short ‘desi’ pieces are appearing at all the popular spots in the city. Desi’s USP is to keep her letter designs broadly similar, with the rather special little heart over the ‘i’, but to fill the letters with experimental combinations of colours and fill styles, often blending in all sorts of curious ways.

Desi, New Stadium Road, Bristol, March 2022
Desi, New Stadium Road, Bristol, March 2022

The colour selection for this piece; black, pink, purple, white helps the letters to stand out from the wall without the need to buff the wall first. I am looking forward to watching on as Desi develops and improves, as I think there is headroom to work with here.

4336. Sprke Evans Park (36)

There are currently two top-drawer calligraffiti artists in Bristol at the moment. Stivs and Todoaciem. Both have their distinct styles, and both pay incredible attention to detail in their craft. This is a superb piece from Todoaciem, spelling CIEM on the long wall at Sparke Evans Park.

Todoaciem, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, March 2022
Todoaciem, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, March 2022

The letters of this piece are incredibly regular and to the untrained eye might be very hard to read, but all becomes quite clear when you know what the letters spell out. Todoaciem has chosen his colours well, with two tones of blue for his letters and black and yellow 3Dshading to help the letters pop. I cannot be sure if the blue and yellow colours have been chosen to support Ukraine, but even if they weren’t consciously, perhaps there was something unconscious about it. I’ve not seen one of these for a little while.

4335. Jamaica Street (25)

Jamaica Street is one of the more vibrant and interesting streets in Bristol; it is a spur running off Stokes Croft at Turbo Island and is well known for its addiction clinic, and the People’s Republic of Stokes Croft. There is a row of houses that over the years have been heavily tagged, adding to the rather grubby feel of the place, but recently Hazard has been commissioned to paint the front of these houses, in an effort to breathe new life into and respect for the area. Her subtle pieces are just the ticket, and thoroughly uplifting. They are, however, also almost impossible to photograph. I managed to capture one recently and am sharing it with you now.

Hazard, Jamaica Street, Bristol, March 2022
Hazard, Jamaica Street, Bristol, March 2022

In addition to her remarkable portrait pieces, Hazard has a supreme talent for painting flowers, and she has worked wonders with these roses and other leaves/flowers on this building. This work reminds me of the kind of decorative painting you see on buildings on the continent, but is much less common here in the UK. Superb work that is utterly uplifting in a place that benefits so much from kindness, love and decency.

I am now getting a little nervous in case this isn’t by Hazard, because I can’t find any verification on the interweb. I am sure I shall be corrected if it isn’t by her.

Shooting star

.

Brilliant moment

razor slash through the night sky

and orange sparkles

.

by Scooj

4334. Brunel Way (148)

If you see the word ‘Milk’ written in a streaky script style on a Bristol wall, the liklihood is that is is by Wxttsart. In recent months the number of these pieces has swelled significantly, and Wxttsart would appear to be a rather busy man.

Wxttsart, Brunel Way, Bristol, March 2022
Wxttsart, Brunel Way, Bristol, March 2022

This fine piece is on the long wall under Brunel Way, and showcases Wxttsaet’s fine skill as a graffiti writer. His style is unorthodox, and very much his own, and is beautifully worked. What is quite clever about his work is that at first glance it looks a bit untidy, but on closer inspection it is very carefully crafted and finished. Watch out for more milk art in coming weeks.

Neil

.

We were not good friends

but your passing has shocked me

to the very core

.

Your mid-life crisis conduct

hard to forgive, even now

.

by Scooj

4333. M32 roundabout J3 (400)

It is fitting that the 400th piece I have posted from the M32 roundabout should be by one of Bristol’s most established and respected artists, Andy Council. This is a superb piece that was part of a collaborative effort alongside Hemper.

Andy Council, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2022
Andy Council, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2022

Andy Council’s work is easily identifiable by its composition. His creations usually feature an animal that is made up of component parts; he used to paint small buildings and architecture, but these days he uses ‘blocks’ threaded together, almost like a child’s toy. He manages to turn a 3D concept into a completely credible piece of wall art – amazing really. This beast looks a little bit like something from a horror film. Always good to see Andy Council’s imaginative work.

4332. M32 Cycle path (169)

One of the most noticeable things about Bristol street and graffiti art over the past two years has been the sheer volume of new artists either trying their hand at spaying walls or moving to the city famed for its graffiti culture, either way, it all adds to the vast melting pot we are privileged to observe.

Bogat, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, March 2022
Bogat, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, March 2022

This is the first of many pieces, I’m sure, by Bogat to appear on Natural Adventures, but already I have several more lined up and in the archive. I am rather drawn to this style of street art, faces and portraits are always interesting. Bogat is ideally suited to columns and doors, because his work is often vertically drawn out and sometimes bleeds onto the ground. This is a birthday shout-out to his fiend and painting pal Asre (another new artist to Bristol).

This piece is on one of my favourite doors which has hosted many artists – I feel a special post coming up featuring this door. So much more to come from Bogat.

Thursday doors – 31 March 2022

Doors 179 – Doors from the Temple Meads area of Bristol

I managed to take a short trip to some streets I rarely visit over the weekend, and while I was there I took a few door photographs.  The area lies between Temple Meads railway station and St Phillip’s Marsh and is mostly turned over to light industry that must have built up around the station over the years. Much of the area is fairly run down, and there are bridges and tunnels underneath the railway all over the place.

Black door, yellow steps, Temple Meads, Bristol, March 2022
Black door, yellow steps, Temple Meads, Bristol, March 2022

Door and beautiful arc awning, Temple Meads, Bristol, March 2022
Door and beautiful arc awning, Temple Meads, Bristol, March 2022

Door with fancy stonework, Temple Meads, Bristol, March 2022
Door with fancy stonework, Temple Meads, Bristol, March 2022

No way in through this door, Temple Meads, Bristol, March 2022
No way in through this door, Temple Meads, Bristol, March 2022

Secure door, Temple Meads, Bristol, March 2022
Secure door, Temple Meads, Bristol, March 2022

Not a door, but one of many tunnels in the area, Temple Meads, Bristol, March 2022
Not a door, but one of many tunnels in the area, Temple Meads, Bristol, March 2022

So there we have it for another week – my work is still extraordinarily busy, so not too many words or research accompanying the pictures. May I wish you all a very happy week until next time.

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.

by Scooj