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Wimbledon tennis
quintessentially British
strawberries and cream
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by Scooj
Tag: Bristol
5344. Peel Street Green (14)
The wall at Peel Street Green is, in my opinion, rather underutilised by artists, and the turnover quite slow, which is strange, because the broad pattern in Bristol is one of massively increasing turnover, due in part to the growth in the number of artists painting over the last few years. It was refreshing to see an RBF takeover recently at this spot that included this rather lovely piece of graffiti writing from Bbygwya.
The letters, in a rolling script, spell out FLUKZ, I think. Set on a pink background, the dark blue letters are brought to life with some interesting cosmic patterns and a thick 3D white drop shadow. Thee is a confident sense with her writing, and although this is only her second appearance on Natural Adventures, you can be certain it won’t be her last.
5343. Cumberland Basin
The Bristol Mural Collective, formerly the Bristol Womxn Mural Collective, is a loose aggregation of artists in Bristol, organised by women and with a focus on creating a safe space for women and others to paint on the streets of Bristol. Through their paint jams, they provide an access point for artists to transfer their studio skills to a street scenario, and also for wannabe street artists to gain confidence with expressing themselves and getting a toe hold in the slightly intimidating scene.
The most recent paint jam was held on the 25/26 June 2023 and took up half the long wall at Cumberland Basin, involving some 9 or 10 artists, one of whom was the lovely Esme Lower.
Esme Lower’s highly stylised figures are in a yoga pose and have exaggerated hands and feet, and tiny little heads, a theme/concept that Esme told me she enjoys painting. When I watched her roughly half way through painting this superb mural, I wasn’t quite sure how it would all come together, but she absolutely smashed it in my view. The design is one that I could easily see gracing the front of a greetings card or as a wall poster. There is definitely a Matisse influence in there somewhere.
The paint jam was enjoyable if not a little windy, but with superb views of the Clifton Suspension Bridge and the River Avon, it must be one of the best spots for artists in the city.
Si
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Rest in peace my friend
our paths crossed for a short while
and I am grateful
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by Scooj
5342. Cumberland Basin
Formerly painting under the name Mind Control, Mind 49 (his current moniker) appears to have matured and mellowed a little. His raw talent used to focus on passionate causes, such as animal rights, however recently, he has brought some other themes and elements into his portfolio which is seeing him grow as an artist.
This portrait piece on the long wall at Cumberland Basin features a singer, with baseball cap and brilliantly painted glasses. As if to prove that he is not a one-trick pony, Mind 49 has sprayed a little bubble throw up to the left of the piece with the number ’49’. Since painting this great piece, Mind 49 has returned to Bristol with another superb work – to come.
5341. M32 Cycle path (219)
Taboo is an artist who makes me laugh out load, not just because his anti-style letters are a great antidote to perfect wildstyle writing, and his often psychedelic characters full of weirdness and charm, but also because from time to time he paints some epic blockbusters, and this one on the M32 cycle path is quite breath-taking.
Clearly visible from the M32 motorway above, this piece offers drivers into Bristol a true Taboo welcome. Even on this massive scale, Taboo sticks to his style, with an irregular letter font, mid-line markings through the letters, and a druggy smiley character representing the first ‘O’. Huge and obvious, this is a great piece of work from Taboo.
5340. Brunel Way 214.
I caught up with Mr Draws when he was painting this piece, and he told me it was going to be something a little bit different and he was right. Mr Draws has always had a strong environmental conviction running through his work, and he says that he wants to do more of this kind of messaging work in the future.
Drawing attention to contemporary issues is something that street art does very well, and Mr Draws doesn’t pull any punches in this piece which states “No art on a dead planet”. The whole thing is simply done with big bold letters on a striking background. The colour fades in the big letters have been worked very nicely, and although not painted in his usual style, there is something so very Mr Draws about the piece.
5339. Dean Lane skate park (615)
One of the things that I really like about Peggy’s floral works is that she likes to occupy little niches or modest walls, rather than commanding a large ‘in your face’ space. I think that these smaller spots lend themselves really well to her finely crafted designs, which she can adapt to the selected space, which is more difficult to do with writing or character pieces.
I am not a big fan of brown and dark colours in street art, don’t ask me why, it is a personal taste thing, but in this case, Peggy has worked her magic on me and I like what she has done. Her floral pattern, naturally, has an eye at the centre, keeping watch over the skate park. Lovely work from Peggy, who perhaps ought to have a gallery on Natural Adventures – watch this space.
5338. Brunel Way (213)
By the time this post is published I will be midway through leading a workshop for a partnership in Lincolnshire. I arrived in Lincoln yesterday evening, and have never been here before. I was pleasantly surprised by the old town, and the cathedral is one of the most impressive I have seen in England. It is a pity I will be here only for a day, and returning home immediately after the workshop. I digress… Maybe wasn’t very impressed with this piece, when he posted it on Instagram, and was minded to go over it, but he hasn’t so far, so maybe he has some affection for it after all.
The subtle colours and gentle interlocking shapes make this more of an abstract piece than anything else, and as such does a good job, I think. The green shape has something of the pachyderm about it, and once seen can’t be unseen. I rather like this modest and gentle piece. My kind of thing.
5337. Dean Lane skate park (614)
This is an absolute epic piece that didn’t last nearly as long as it deserved, and the artists who over painted it should have, in my view, been a little bit more respectful, however everyone knows it is a jungle out there. The Wild West triptych is by Mudra, Kosc and Saor, all of NTS crew.
I managed to catch up with the artists while they were painting the piece, and watched as they went about it. There was a lot of planning involved, and they managed to get the proportions right to take out the whole wall in magnificent style.
To the left, and adopting the collaboration colour scheme, Mudra has written his name in reverse, I mean why not? The letters, in a block style, with each having a different design, a la SkyHigh look like a jumble of rocks in front of a saloon, on which Kosc and Mudra have left tags.
In the centre Kosc has painted a wonderful generic western portrait piece, pointing a smoking six-shooter at the viewer. I asked him if it was anyone in particular, and he said that it wasn’t, which saved me having to guess when writing it up.
Completing the triptych, Saor has painted yet another tight, highly graphic set of letters, which closely resemble Epok’s style of writing, but with his own unique stamp. On the buildings on this side, the crew name NTS and a Saor tag adorn the facade. The piece is so clean, and the colours perfectly matched – his work is stepping up to a higher level, without doubt. this is such an impressive epic piece which it is unusual to see outside of a festival, so the boys did really well. Bravo!
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