5379. Brunel Way (218)

Unknown Artist, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2023
Unknown Artist, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2023

I don’t often post pieces by unknown artists on Natural Adventures, but when I do, it is in the hope that perhaps I might find out in due course and be able to update the post. Some pieces are too good or unusual to ignore, and this stunning fish piece on the floor at the southern end of Brunel Way is both.

Unknown Artist, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2023
Unknown Artist, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2023

The fish, which looks like a koi carp, has been painted in subtle shades, and almost looks like a pastel colouring. I am not sure what materials were used to paint it, but it doesn’t look like spray paint, more likely brush painted with poster paints or acrylics. Anatomically, the fish is pretty sound, but it is the graceful flow that is captured so well in this piece. Definitely something a little different to the usual fare on Natural Adventures. I will update this post if I find out anything more on the artist.

5368. Brunel Way (217)

Pura Decadencia, Brunel Way, Bristol, June 2023
Pura Decadencia, Brunel Way, Bristol, June 2023

What an absolute pleasure to see Pura Decadencia back painting walls in Bristol, after quite an absence, with this magnificent piece on the long wall under Brunel Way. I think that she must have either been out of the country or busy with real life, but whatever the absence, it is great to see her back painting walls.

Pura Decadencia, Brunel Way, Bristol, June 2023
Pura Decadencia, Brunel Way, Bristol, June 2023

This piece reminds me of the first of hers that I posted in January 2021. She spells out her name with nice curvy bubble style letters and combines them with a couple of wicked mouths, complete with vampire teeth, biting into the letters or licking them with a long tongue. The background and fills are really nicely worked too. I look forward to more from Pura Decadencia.

Pura Decadencia, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2021
Pura Decadencia, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2021

5361. Brunel Way (216)

Mote, Brunel Way, Bristol, June 2023
Mote, Brunel Way, Bristol, June 2023

A really short one today, written last night, while trying to sort out the impacts from our cancelled flight home to Bristol, and packing etc. Mote has done a wonderful thing with this large, rather cuddly monster, complete with four legs and an underslung jaw with a couple of goofy teeth.

Mote, Brunel Way, Bristol, June 2023
Mote, Brunel Way, Bristol, June 2023

The fills are dreamy and the design quirky and unique. There is something very loveable about this monster, and the execution is top drawer.

5351. Brunel Way (215)

Dai_luk_tattoo, Brunel Way, Bristol June 2023
Dai_luk_tattoo, Brunel Way, Bristol June 2023

A brief one this morning, there is just too much beauty and history around me. I sit in an ancient medieval library, part of a monastery that has been converted into a holiday let in Umbria. It is difficult not to become entirely enveloped in the culture of the place. Also I need breakfast, I am hungry. This piece is something rather different, and a first on Natural Adventures from Dai_luk_tattoo.

Dai_luk_tattoo, Brunel Way, Bristol June 2023
Dai_luk_tattoo, Brunel Way, Bristol June 2023

I can’t tell you much about the artist, but this is a beautifully designed work of a woman arched backwards in a graceful pose and with plentiful hair. I am not sure what the orange shapes by her feet are, but they look like teeth. Surely not. Based on this I would dearly love to see more street art from this tattooist.

5340. Brunel Way 214.

Mr Draws, Brunel Way, Bristol, June 2023
Mr Draws, Brunel Way, Bristol, June 2023

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.

Mr Draws, Brunel Way, Bristol, June 2023
Mr Draws, Brunel Way, Bristol, June 2023

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.

5338. Brunel Way (213)

Maybe, Brunel Way, Bristol, June 2023
Maybe, Brunel Way, Bristol, June 2023

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.

Maybe, Brunel Way, Bristol, June 2023
Maybe, Brunel Way, Bristol, June 2023

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.

5332. Brunel Way (212)

Lee Roy and Waste, Brunel Way, Bristol, June 2023
Lee Roy and Waste, Brunel Way, Bristol, June 2023

This was my third attempt at photographing this fine collaboration from Lee Roy and Waste, under Brunel Way, because of the rather irritating light and shadow that is cast on sunny days from the left. I got there in the end. I was lucky enough to be there when the artists were painting the piece and I got to meet Lee Roy for the first time, and what a genuinely lovely person he is – we chatted plenty.

Lee Roy, Brunel Way, Bristol, June 2023
Lee Roy, Brunel Way, Bristol, June 2023

The collaborative wall is clever in that each side is a reversed-out colour version of the other, and how different they look, using the same powerful pink and black colour scheme. Lee Roy talked to me about his rather free style and said that he used to write really tight letters, in a more traditional graffiti manner, but that he found it increasingly unenjoyable, striving for perfection and instead has adopted a more liberated style, tending towards anti-style. He certainly seems to be happy with his current work, and has been churning out pieces at a terrific rate so far this year.

Waste, Brunel Way, Bristol, June 2023
Waste, Brunel Way, Bristol, June 2023

I don’t know much about Waste, other than that he is a friend of Lee Roy’s from out of town. I forget where… Cardiff? Swindon? I should have made a note. I like this piece a lot, and note that Waste has made things easy for himself, using the ‘tram-lines’ in the wall to keep his letters regular. All in all a very nice collaborative wall, which fortunately remained undogged long enough for me to get some decent photographs.

5329. Brunel Way (211)

Mote, Brunel Way, Bristol, June 2023
Mote, Brunel Way, Bristol, June 2023

There is no doubt about it, Mote is in a very rich vein of form, not only with productivity, but also with his series of bird monsters, which appear to have inspired him greatly, and which I must say are rather appealing. I also like the way that Mote has grown the range of formats, from thin columns to squares to landscape orientation.

Mote, Brunel Way, Bristol, June 2023
Mote, Brunel Way, Bristol, June 2023

Mote has drawn on nature itself, recognising the delineation between a bird’s face and the rest of its plumage, more apparent in some species than in others, for example parrots and vultures. There is some interesting fill work in the two halves of green, reversing the drip colours, and some of the drips falling out of the monster’s face and on to the floor. I have loads more to post from Mote, just from June, let alone pieces that are loitering in my archive.

5308. Brunel Way (210)

Mr Draws, Brunel Way, Bristol, June 2023
Mr Draws, Brunel Way, Bristol, June 2023

I had a nice chat with Mr Draws over the weekend in this exact spot while he was buffing over this piece in preparation for a new one. At least he was going over his own work – how often does that happen?

Mr Draws, Brunel Way, Bristol, June 2023
Mr Draws, Brunel Way, Bristol, June 2023

The bright colours in the letters and background have a hint of confection about them, almost good enough to eat. The whole thing calls out jelly to me, but I think that that might just be me. I know that Mr Draws wasn’t too happy with the neon pink colour, as it seemed to strip away the paint beneath. My advice is to steer clear from the neon colours, they are tricky and in the sunlight they decompose really quickly.

5299. Brunel Way (209)

Mr Underbite, Brunel Way, Bristol, June 2023
Mr Underbite, Brunel Way, Bristol, June 2023

I would definitely like to see more from Mr Underbite on the streets. His versatile, if rather unfortunate, character definitely adds a touch of butter sweet humour to the streets of Bristol. Although this is a small piece, probably a little old and slightly out of the way, I thought I would post it, because it has a charm about it and is very much a part of the everyday street art experience in the city.

Mr Underbite, Brunel Way, Bristol, June 2023
Mr Underbite, Brunel Way, Bristol, June 2023

Technically, this piece is more Daveside than Brunel Way, but I use the latter as a generic area description, in much the same way that I use Cumberland Basin to describe the large area just north of the river. Nicely painted, the hapless character, with his comb-over hair, makes me smile, just as all of Mr Underbite’s pieces do. I only found this by mistake, reminding me always to walk the few extra yards and to be inquisitive… the rewards are out there.