Tag: Bean

5589. Greenbank (98)

Bean, Greenbank, Bristol, October 2023
Bean, Greenbank, Bristol, October 2023

Another fine character piece from the irrepressible Bean, on the long hoardings (getting less long by the month) along the Bristol to Bath cycle path. Subsequent to my visit to thak this picture, he has added another character piece adjacent to this one.

Bean, Greenbank, Bristol, October 2023
Bean, Greenbank, Bristol, October 2023

The character, painted in his distinctive two-tone style, is representative of a sub-culture, with baseball cap, gold ring and chain and spray can to hand – I hasten to add that most street/graffiti artists don’t look like this, but they certainly paint like this. Still more to come from the prolific Bean.

5578. M32 Cycle path (230)

Bean, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, October 2023
Bean, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, October 2023

A normal week wouldn’t be a normal week without posting something by Bean, and so here is this week’s offering. This one is something a little different from Bean, and he certainly gets tons of credit for constantly dreaming up new characters, no two pieces being alike.

Bean, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, October 2023
Bean, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, October 2023

It is high time this wall was refreshed, and Bean has done it in style with this weird butterfly graffiti writer wearing a basketball shirt (naturally!?) and spraying pink dollops on either side of the piece. Creative and imaginative, I still think that his work would really benefit from a little bit of prep work with a buffed wall to help his pieces stand out even more.

5564. Brunel Way (239)

Bean, Brunel Way, Bristol, September 2023
Bean, Brunel Way, Bristol, September 2023

There are absolutely no signs of Bean slowing down at all. The young artist has been smashing out his character/writing pieces with incredible regularity throughout the summer, and I already have easily enough for a gallery of his work, although I have a pipeline in preparation, and his gallery might need to find a slot in the queue.

Bean, Brunel Way, Bristol, September 2023
Bean, Brunel Way, Bristol, September 2023

This piece combines Bean’s central character with writing that spells out BEAN. The blue-faced cartoon character fits the Bean style perfectly, with each colour block containing a light and dark tone to bring out a bit of depth. The writing is really accomplished and has excellent fills in three horizontal sections. I feel like Bean is a man in a hurry, and perhaps he should draw breath and develop some elements of his work. I think that his pieces would definitely benefit from a buffed background, to remove competing distractions, for example. If he keeps developing and learning, Bean will go far.

5521. Brunel Way (231)

Bean, Brunel Way, Bristol, September 2023
Bean, Brunel Way, Bristol, September 2023

Bean has more than made his mark in Bristol, and his characters have livened things up a great deal. He is on a roll and there doesn’t seem to be any stopping him. This colourful piece under Brunel Way, featuring two characters and some writing, shows how the young artist is quickly growing in confidence and improving his technical skills.

Bean, Brunel Way, Bristol, September 2023
Bean, Brunel Way, Bristol, September 2023

The characters that Bean paints have a very distinct look in a cartoon style that relies on using two tones of each colour in each section of the piece, light and dark, to create some depth. There isn’t much blending of colour or use of highlights, that some artists use to create depth. Bean’s writing is free in form, and very nicely filled. This is an artist who seems to be in a hurry and is turning out imaginative pieces at an alarming rate.

5492. Dean Lane skate park (636)

Bean, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2023
Bean, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2023

I really love it when a new artist becomes a regular on Natural Adventures, as it switches things up a little bit, and Bean has certainly made a massive impression in the short time he has been in Bristol. Bean is a master at creating character pieces, each one quite different from the last, but all of them in his very recognisable cartoon style.

Bean, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2023
Bean, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2023

Bean uses a two-tone colour approach to each element of his work, to define light and shade, for example, two tones of pink for the character’s face, two tones of green for the hair, two tones of blue for the clothing and so on. I imagine that he drafts up his work digitally, using design software, and then faithfully recreates his work at scale. Of course, I might be wrong, as I frequently am.

5470. Brunel Way (224)

Bean, Brunel Way, Bristol, August 2023
Bean, Brunel Way, Bristol, August 2023

It was while he was finishing off this writing/character piece that I first met Bean, and what a decent bloke he is too. We chatted for a while, and I was impressed by his knowledge of other artists in the city, which believe me, isn’t always the case with graffiti writers or street artists, who can sometimes be locked into their own work or crew and immediate friends.

Bean, Brunel Way, Bristol, August 2023
Bean, Brunel Way, Bristol, August 2023

I don’t know where Bean refined his skills before coming to Bristol, but he has definitely hit the ground running with immaculately finished work. This piece combines his character skills with a lovely piece of writing in great colours. The whole thing might have benefited from buffing the wall, to help it stand out a little from the fairly busy wall beneath it. There is an awful lot to like about this piece, and indeed the others that are adjacent to it. For a short while, this stretch of wall was ‘owned’ by Bean. I am definitely enjoying what he has to offer, and look forward to more from him.

Bean, Brunel Way, Bristol, August 2023
Bean, Brunel Way, Bristol, August 2023

5440. Brunel Way (223)

Bean, Brunel Way, Bristol, August 2023
Bean, Brunel Way, Bristol, August 2023

It was a great pleasure to meet Bean for the first time recently, and this was one of the three pieces he has painted side by side under Brunel Way on three separate occasions. It really is important to emphasise just how good an artist Bean is, and what a significant impact he is making on the Bristol scene in such a short time, having only arrived in the spring this year.

Bean, Brunel Way, Bristol, August 2023
Bean, Brunel Way, Bristol, August 2023

Bean is equally comfortable with characters or writing, and here he has combined both. His original  characters are creative and imaginative and always on point. Solid fills, great shading and sharp lines contribute to well worked and finished pieces. This particular character appears to be popping out of a spray can, like a Jack-in-a-box, holding a spray can of the same colour. The letters are fabulous too, with great fills and some cool shading at the edges to give a 3D effect. Altogether this piece showcases the talents of this remarkable artist.

5437. Dean Lane skate park (632)

Klashwhensober and Bean, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2023
 Klashwhensober and Bean, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2023


In my experience it is unusual to find a Klashwhensober collaborative piece, so this one painted with Bean was a bit of a treat. The letters, spelling S BER, by Klashwhensober, have been augmented with a fabulous cartoon character by Bean, replacing the ‘O’.

Klashwhensober and Bean, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2023
Klashwhensober and Bean, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2023

Altogether the whole piece is a lot of fun, and is a coming together of two artists who are rather busy with their painting at the moment. Klashwhensober’s letters are filled with a gentle blend of red and pink set on a lilac background. Bean creates some wonderful cartoon characters in a style that is both beautifully finished and recognisable. This is a wonderful collaboration from the two artists.

5421. Brunel Way (221)

Bean, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2023
Bean, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2023

It was an enormous pleasure to meet Bean for the first time recently in this exact spot. He was painting a third piece alongside this and another one. The young artist hasn’t been in Bristol very long, but his character pieces have already made an impression, and he is fast building a reputation. It is funny that some artists don’t seem to know too much about the other artists around them, but it would seem that Bean is aware and admires the work of many artists in the city, and much of our conversation focussed on the art scene here.

Bean, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2023
Bean, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2023

This piece depicts, in a fabulous cartoon style, a young man complete with spray can in hand, setting about spraying some graffiti. There is something almost old-school about this piece that makes it the work of more than just a character piece, there is a sense of heritage blended with the contemporary. The piece is great fun and really nicely finished. If he carries on like this, Bean has a fantastic street art future ahead of him.

5305. M32 roundabout J3 (482)

Bean, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2023
Bean, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2023

Tucked away, hidden by a bush on the M32 roundabout, is this fun little character piece by Bean. Although each of Beans pieces that I have seen so far are different characters, there is something about his style that it quite distinctive. It might be the colour palette that he uses, which often includes lots of bright yellow, orange and red.

Bean, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2023
Bean, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2023

This cartoon character, with a green moustache is sporting a fine headdress of flowers and toadstools. The piece it really neat and tidy, and beautifully drafted, with great use of light and shade to create depth in the facial features. I am very much enjoying Beans’s work, which seems to crop up at reasonably regular intervals.