It is a bit of a shame, but Smoke Perfume’s work never seems to last very long, which might be a feature of where and when he chooses to paint. My advice would be to not paint a high-turnover wall at the beginning of a dry spell of weather. It sounds obvious, but when it is wet, it is only the covered areas that get painted.
Smoke Perfume, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2021
This is a very nicely worked piece from Smoke Perfume with some interesting colour choices that contrast rather strongly – a deliberate use of prime colours I wonder. I think that he writes WINE, often toyed with or distorted in some way, but it is his trademark flames in the letter fills that give him away. I really rather like his work and look forward to finding more of it.
Over the last six months or so, these foxes have been appearing pretty much all over the city, but with a concentration down by the river on both sides. Some of these foxes are a bit quick and dirty, but others, like this one, have been painted beautifully by yet another artist new to Natural Adventures, Nebeldac.
Nebeldac, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, April 2021
This was painted of a large paint jam on the long wall at Cumberland Basin, most of which I still haven’t posted (a wealth of riches). The fox is a creature synonymous with Bristol which is famed for its urban fox population. I mentioned it once before, but when I first moved to this fine city, I was lucky enough to get an allotment and at that time the population density of foxes there was the highest recorded anywhere in the country. Sadly the introduction of wheely bins and an outbreak of mange all but decimated the population. We now have a healthy population of healthy foxes.
Expect to see more of these foxes from Nebeldac, I have dozens in my archive.
Doors 148 – Another plunge into some archive street/graffiti art doors
Still swamped with work, and although I did actually go on a doorscursion last weekend, I haven’t had time to upload the photographs yet. What this means is that I have had to have a very rapid rummage in my archives for some street art or graffiti doors from last year. Here they are:
Varo, Leonard Lane, Bristol, September 2020 Nathan Bowen, Jamaica Street, Bristol, September 2020 Nathan Bowen, Hepburn Road, Bristol, September 2020
DazCat, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, September 2020 Hazard, Jamaica Street, Bristol, September 2020 Getting Up To Stuff, Jacob’s Wells Road, Bristol, September 2020 Inkie, M32 Spot, Bristol, September 2020
It has taken me a while to get round to posting this wonderful facade piece from Paul Monsters which in its short lifetime has become a bit of a landmark on Bedminster Parade. What a fabulous boost murals can give to an area, and this is a prime example, I am only surprised that it doesn’t happen an awful lot more than it does.
Paul Monsters, Bedminster Parade, Bristol, April 2021
Paul Monsters’ designs are instantly recognisable and combining his shades of colours with geometric patterns lift the work creating a clever 3D effect. Definitely eye catching even for those with their heads buried in their mobile devices. Let’s get the whole city brightened up! More like this please Paul.
A week wouldn’t really feel like a complete week without posting a piece from Pekoe, so here, to complete the circle is a small recent column piece under Brunel Way from the RBF warrior.
Pekoe, Brunel Way, Bristol, May 2021
Although Pekoe isn’t turning out pieces at quite the rate she was a few weeks back, she continues to remind us she is there. This is a rather nice quick one, portrait style, well suited to columns. Blue face, salmon hair, what’s not to like?
To deliberately misquote a biblical phrase, ‘the Lord taketh away and the the Lord giveth’. The whole area of small businesses and light industrial units in the Upper York Street and Wilder Street area have been knocked down for new developments including housing and student accommodations, depriving street/graffiti artists from some premium walls. The gentrification programme is moving at pace and sweeping all around it aside.
Gage Graphics, Upper York Street, Bristol, May 2021
It would appear that the developers of this block, which has been build with alarming speed during the coronavirus pandemic, have offered a small gesture that acknowledges the area’s street art heritage with this incredible mural from Gage Graphics. We know what an accomplished artist Ollie Gillard is and his outstanding murals can be found on private houses, restaurants and businesses all over Bristol. This is another fabulous addition to his portfolio that contributes to the whole Bristol USP thing.
Gage Graphics, Upper York Street, Bristol, May 2021
The piece itself is a wonderful tropical paradise scene in which creatures of the forest admire a circus act being performed by a little mouse in the wooded foothills of a small mountain. Ollie Gillard transports us to a different place with this mural and there is so much detail to look at and admire. Well worth a visit, but does it compensate for the loss of the local street art walls, I guess only partially. It will be interesting to see whether this new build gets tagged and bombed, once all the hoardings come down.
Every artist brings something different to the walls of Bristol, some high end world-class pieces, others quick and dirty throw-ups, but in between there is a vast contribution of different styles, subject and quality, which makes the whole scene so interesting. 3F Fino first entered my radar about a year ago in Cumberland Basin, and since then has hit walls all over the city with his unique character pieces.
3F Fino, Brunel Way, Bristol, May 2021
This column character piece picks up on a theme he has used a lot n his work, of partially hidden faces. I am not sure if this is a COVID-19 thing or totally unrelated to that, and maybe more to do with clandestine activity. This character has been popping up in central Bristol too, so watch this space for more posts from 3F Fino.
Natural adventures 