I photographed this piece a little while back, in May this year actually, and was lucky enough to meet Pura Decadencia while she was painting. There is something very fulfilling about meeting artists while they are at work, and gaining little insights into their world and inspirations.
Pura Decadencia, Brunel Way, Bristol, May 2024
Although this is a classic piece of writing complete with vampire mouth and teeth, I believe it to be the tightest piece I have seen from her yet, with beautifully sharp borders and lines and strong, tidy fills and patterns. I absolutely love it, and can’t understand for the life of me why it has taken me so long to post it.
Once you get your eye in with a particular artist, you start to see their work scattered all over the place, as well as digging their stuff out of the archives. Nice One has been painting some great stuff around Bristol in recent months, and I am trying to catch up a little with their work.
Nice One, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2024
This column piece under Brunel Way is a fabulous portrait, modestly placed out of the way by the DIY skate park. The pastel shades are difficult to photograph especially in the dappled light, but I think these pictures give some idea of just how good and different this sketch-like piece is. I am very much looking forward to Nice One becoming a regular contributor to Natural Adventures.
I think that this is the last in my recent series of wonderful paste-ups by Abbie Laura Smith – some I found, all of which I have now posted, and some I didn’t. The good news is that I believe Abbie is going to be ‘out and about’ in her words, soon, so that will be a lot of fun trying to hunt them down.
Abbie Laura Smith, Brunel Way, Bristol, June 2024
This portrait paste-up is notable for its inclusion of a pink/blue/purple colour wash in the subject’s hair. I have a feeling that there might be some concealed writing in the girl’s hair, although I can’t be sure. The portrait is beautifully drawn, and the girl has the faintest sultry look about her. This is a nicely crafted piece, well placed on one of the concrete columns underneath Brunel Way. I have a feeling it might still be there.
Dibz, Jody and Fade, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2024
If ever you want an example of the perfect triptych graffiti writing/character portrait piece then look no further than this magnificent piece by Dibz, Jody and Fade underneath Brunel Way bridge. As always, these three have smashed it, and I just don’t know how many more ceilings they can break with their work.
Dibz, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2024Fade, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2024
To the left, Dibz’ writing in black and pink is reflected on the right-hand side by Fade, where their writing is almost becoming indistinguishable except to the most experienced eyes. The key difference is that Fade’s letters tend to be ever so slightly softer than Dibz’. Both have created something special and finished it off with a splash of ‘liquid’ gold running behind the collaboration.
Jody, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2024
Sitting pretty between the graffiti writing is this outstanding skull painted by Jody. One of the great benefits of Jody joining these writers over the last couple of years is that we get to see so much more of his work on the streets, which I dare say we wouldn’t see so much if he was painting alone. When I see Jody’s work, I am still baffled how he manages to get such extraordinary detail and texture using a spray can. A trio at the top of their game.
So, after a rush of high-end Upfest murals, I feel it is time for a switch back to some of the more grounded and authentic street pieces that are rolled out every day for those who choose to find them. This is a really nice piece of writing under Brunel Way, by Sorts.
Sorts, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2024
Sorts presents some nice irregular letters, with a chrome base which are augmented with some really nice pink and purple fill sections decorated with red spots. The whole thing is nicely balanced and works really well. The letters are set on a creative green background with ‘cracks’ painted into it. Great honest stuff from Sorts.
One of the great joys of being a street art hunter and chronicler is the sheer number of endorphin ‘mini-snacks’ one gets exposed to on each exploratory walk. Some artists elicit slightly more excitement than others, and there doesn’t seem to be any logical explanation for why that might be. One artist whose work I particularly enjoy seeing is Nips, and it feels like there is progression with every new piece.
Nips, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2024
I would say that Nips is a bit of a fills specialist, keeping her general letter shapes constant, while experimenting with colours and patterns in the fills and in that respect, she has excelled in this stunner. Her selection of colours and outstanding designs within the letters is utterly joyful. The whole thing looks rather like a sophisticated wallpaper design, and that is meant as a compliment. Nips continues, I am pleased to say, with her trademark face appearing as the dot of the ‘i’. More endorphins please.
Acer One, Dibz, Jody and Fade, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2024
I don’t think that I have ever seen so many production pieces as I have this year. The driving force behind these productions is the Dibz/Fade FUA brotherhood, and they have been oh so busy over the last eighteen months or so. In this full wall piece, they have been joined by Acer One and Jody, and what an amazing piece it is (gone now of course – overpainted by further FUA productions).
Acer One, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2024Acer One, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2024
The production is bookended by two pieces by Acer One using his highly designed lettering spelling out ACER on the left-hand side and JODY on the right-hand side, thus ensuring that all four artists are named overtly in the production. The writing is painted over a moon/sun icon, and commensurate with the oriental feel of the entire collaboration.
Dibz, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2024Fade, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2024
There is a second set of inner bookends provided by Dibz and Fade, who present their wildstyle writing in a similar style and adopting an identical colour palette and decorations. In terms of painting, these two are brothers from different mothers, and while it is possible to tell the art of one from the other, it is becoming more difficult to do so.
Jody, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2024
Everything about the production points towards the centrepiece which is provided, as is often the case, by Jody, and he has surpassed even his very high standards with this astonishingly beautiful portrait piece. Jody has been working on this robot/human interface a fair bit lately, and this follows on from his remarkable Upfest piece (not yet posted here). It is the detail in the piece here that is so admirable, the hair and garland, the features of the face, machinery in the neck and patterns on the kimono. The portrait is a fitting climax to the whole production and shown how the coming together of different elements complement one another in perfect balance. Awesome stuff.
Sage is an artist who emerges every once in a while in Bristol, and could never be described as prolific, indeed he has been rather quiet for some time now, so is was great to see this piece, which was part of a larger collaborative paint a week or two back.
Sage, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2024
I know that I have several of his pieces in my archives that for some inexplicable reason I have never published. He is a talented writer, and for a while dotted the streets of Bristol with his capped character mega tag. This writing has a bit of a retro-psychedelia feel to it and is accompanied by a couple of interesting characters on the right. This is a classy piece, and I rather hope it might indicate increased activity from Sage.
This is not the first time that Haka has painted characters from the series of extraordinary children’s picture books by Richard Scarry, and I can’t express how happy I was to see this. Haka has faithfully reproduced this little pastiche featuring Huckle Cat and Lowly Worm.
Haka, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2024
Haka has captured Richard Scarry’s style really well and brightened up this dark corner of Brunel Way. These books have played an important part in my childhood, and one of the books which I owned made it onto a TV commercial I was in with my sister back in the 1970s… but that is another story.
This piece by Grimes once again confirms how he is establishing himself on the Bristol street/graffiti art scene and becoming part of the furniture round here. There is an incredible amount of energy that is emitted by his pieces, which is difficult to pin down, but the combination of colours and design really hit the mark.
Grimes, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2024
I don’t know where Grimes came from before he became really active in the city, but his Instagram feed which goes back to 2019 suggests he has always been here, perhaps just waiting for the moment and confidence to hit our walls big time. He painted this as part of a four-way paint jam with Sage, Zaxer One and Alker. Bright, colourful, vibrant and very welcome, I am convinced you’ll be seeing plenty more from Grimes on Natural Adventures.
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