Bristol – Page 84 – Natural adventures

6881. Cumberland Basin

#DFTE and Dave Sharp, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, April 2025

These two artists collaborated on almost this exact spot back in July 2022 – how time flies, I had it in my mind that it was last year. From what I can gather #DFTE and Dave Sharp are good friends, and this fine collaboration ‘anxious iron giants’ combines the distinctive writing of #DFTE with the artistic talents of Dave Sharp.

I would love to see more from #DFTE – the power of words is so beautifully presented with his unique style, going big on the drips, but he doesn’t seem to paint all that often. Dave Sharp, I don’t know much about, but he has captured the Iron Giant robot really well, perhaps tinged with a little anxiety… who knows. Their combination works really well, and as a bonus, here is their last one…

Dave Sharp and #DFTE, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2022

6880. Greenbank (154)

Mr Crawls, Greenbank, Bristol, March 2025

Oh dear! Mr Crawls’ gull is looking a bit glum in this piece on the long hoarding at Greenbank. Painted on a favoured chrome background, the usually happy or cheeky gull looks like he is down in the dumps. It is clever that Mr Crawls can portray different emotions with tweaks to his ‘archetypal’ bird.

The stylised cartoon character has a downturned (mouth) bill and heavy-lidded eyes, dripping with sadness. The piece is really well presented and clean and tidy, and another in a wonderful series of character pieces by Mr Crawls.

6879. M32 roundabout J3 (675)

Minto, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2025

This is an outstanding piece of graffiti writing from Minto, and is a great example of what is not there as being as important as what is there – if that makes any kind of sense. There is a lot of empty space alongside multiple illustrations and decorations throughout.

The letters spell out MINTO, and there are some regular motifs that the artist has used before, such as the character and a pair of sneakers at the base of the letter M. I’m not sure whether there is a coherent story or whether the piece is simply a collection of ideas and thoughts bundled up together. Either way, there is plenty to look at in this energetic piece.

6878. Dean Lane skate park (824)

Lis seems to do herself proud every time she goes out to paint, and this is another fine outing, with a couple of small pieces in Dean Lane. Here she has painted one of her mushrooms, but this time as a rather cute skateboarding character, which is totally appropriate for the spot.

I anticipate a great future for Lis, who I am sure will start to attract commissions, the more she practices and the more exposure she gets. As well as this character piece, she also left behind a little ‘extra’ on a nearby wall, featuring a cluster of toadstools. This is going to be a most enjoyable journey as Lis goes from strength to strength.

Venetian blinds

Striated light beams

from the late afternoon sun

dust particles float

by Scooj

6874. Cumberland Basin

Unknown artist, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, April 2025

Regular readers will know that I don’t like to post work by artists unknown to me, and I will often hold photographs of pieces back until I know who they are by. In some instances, particularly when I don’t think I will ever find out, I relent and post the piece anyway. This beautiful horse is one such example.

I don’t often see horses painted in Bristol, there is not much crossover between equestrians and street artists. This is a nicely painted two-tone piece in which the horse appears to be almost ghost-like, or in the form of a ‘patronus’ (for Harry Potter fans). The words ‘Lotty is horsey’ might give some clues about the originator, but I am left none the wiser. The piece was too good and unusual not to post.

6873. Dean Lane skate park (823)

In the Dean Lane skate park there are a lot of ramps and slopes that provide a perfect canvass for street artists. There are two drawbacks: the first is that they are a challenge to paint and the second is that they get scuffed up pretty quickly by the skating, scootering and biking activity.

I think I got to this cheeky Zake portrait piece reasonably soon after it was painted, because it is in quite good condition. This is a classic Zake portrait, with lots of expression, and plenty of contours and depth. A fine small piece from the cartoon character specialist.

6872. M32 roundabout J3 (674)

Face 1st, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2025

Now that Face 1st isn’t living in Bristol, and he paints less frequently, he appears to be a little more judicious in what he paints, and seems to be experimenting a lot more with his writing and his fonts.

This is a wonderful chrome combination piece with Face 1st’s trademark laughing girl character and hair made up of the word FACE. This time though the letters have more of a calligraffiti style to them, and are nicely finished. Somehow, Face 1st is, for me at least, emblematic of the Bristol scene, and I am so pleased that he comes back reasonably regularly to remind us of his talent and style.

6871. Dean Lane skate park (822)

I have met ESKA on a couple of occasions, and he is a genuinely nice bloke. In our chats, I was under the impression that he was passing through Bristol, as he has quite an itinerant lifestyle. However, it seems that he is hanging around longer than I thought, which is brilliant news, because his work is outstanding, and quite different from the Bristol style we are used to seeing here.

This is a fine piece on the back of the long ramp in the skate park. Normally, his letters spell out ESKA, but I am not convinced that is the case here. His colour choices are superb, and there is a remarkable anamorphic effect, with great depth in the piece.

One of the special features of Eska’s writing is hidden in the small details, such as the little figures watching on at some futuristic spaceships or something like that. Always, his work contains plenty of hidden messages and symbolism, and of course they are finished to an incredibly high standard. Long may his stay in Bristol last.

Field Horsetail

Spore-bearing fertile

non-photosynthetic stem

natural marvel

by Scooj

also a really annoying pernicious weed.

	beth on Icarus
	Sheree on Shock
	Sheree on Thursday Doors – 16 Apri…
	Suzette Benjamin on Thursday Doors – 16 Apri…
	Dan Antion on Thursday Doors – 16 Apri…

	beth on Icarus
	Sheree on Shock
	Sheree on Thursday Doors – 16 Apri…
	Suzette Benjamin on Thursday Doors – 16 Apri…
	Dan Antion on Thursday Doors – 16 Apri…

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