Brunel Way – Page 9 – Natural adventures

6164. Brunel Way (274)

After what feels like a long absence, I have noticed one or two new Mest pieces appearing about the place, which is good news, and this is a recent one from Brunel Way. His journey can be applied to so many other artists with peaks and troughs in activity, which can happen for all sorts of reasons.

I have always liked Mest’s graffiti writing. For me he falls into the school of artists who present their letters clearly, without too much disguise, and concentrate on fill patterns and other details. Other artists that I would liken his work to are Phour, Mr Draws, Raid, Nips, Oner and Mates, and I am sure there are a host of others too. Mest has crated some nice letters with fabulous fills, and appears to have hit the ground running on his return. Looking forward to seeing more from Mest.

Common green capsid – 30 Days Wild (20/30)

Common Green Capsid, Lygocoris pabulinus, Brunel Way, Bristol, June 2024 — Common Green Capsid, *Lygocoris pabulinus*, Brunel Way, Bristol, June 2024

An oxeye daisy

hosts a tiny speck of green

common green capsid

by Scooj

30 Days Wild is an initiative organised by the Wildlife Trusts. It is an annual challenge event, for those who choose to participate, to do one ‘wild’ thing a day throughout the month of June. I will try to write a nature haiku every day if I can, as my contribution to this celebration of wildlife and biodiversity. I did this back in 2015 and thoroughly enjoyed the challenge

6099. Brunel Way (273)

Abbie Laura Smith, Brunel Way, Bristol, May 2024

In recent weeks, Abbie Laura Smith and I exchanged a few messages, discussing some posts about her paste ups that I had written. During the course of the conversation, I asked whether she would be pasting up any more, as I hadn’t seen any new ones for a while. She said yes… imminently, and true to her word she released a bunch more. This is the first in her recent series that I came across.

The art of wheatpaste work is a two part process, the first part is the creation itself, usually carried out at home or in a studio, and the second part is to find the right spot to paste it up. Abbie Laura Smith manages to do both very well. This piece features a couple of portraits constructed in part by script writing, perhaps quotes or thoughts, I haven’t yet tried to untangle the words. The portraits are set on a leaf, which looks like a Swiss cheese plant leaf to me, a common motif used by artists. There is a lot of emotion in this piece, and maybe one day I’ll get to know the backstory.

6048. Brunel Way (272)

Mr Tanner, Brunel Way, Bristol, May 2024

I have said it many times, and it continues to be my firm belief, that visiting artists add an extra sparkle to the vast spectrum of street/graffiti art that we see in the city, and they are always welcome. Mr Tanner appears to have taken a bit of a shine to the city of Bristol recently and long may it last, as his pieces are original and quirky, and each one utterly different from the last.

This is a fabulous organic piece of graffiti writing from Mr Tanner, which spells out ‘TOPIA’, don’t ask me why, but it is the letters that he writes. The design is original and flows very nicely, with fill transitions that work really well and are reversed in the ‘O’. I reckon that buffing the wall might have helped the piece to stand out a little more from the Pura Decadencia piece underneath it, as the two colour palettes are competing a little. Nonetheless, this is a wonderful piece from Mr Tanner.

5992. Brunel Way (271)

Pura Decadencia, Brunel Way, Bristol, April 2024

Although she doesn’t paint walls all that often, Pura Decadencia nearly always makes an impact when she does. Her unique bubble writing style combined with vampire teeth sinking into letters and long tongues makes her work instantly easy to spot.

Pura Decadencia’s work is most endearing; despite the potentially gruesome theme and blood drops, there is something that is gently and warming about her work. Perhaps it is the bubble letters, or the bubbly background, I don’t know, but the bitter-sweet presentation works very well indeed. Nice work.

5986. Brunel Way (270)

The wonderful thing about art is that you can create situations or landscapes or portraits and so on that are utterly fictional, unlikely, impossible, weird and that you are in control of this creative universe. Alternatively, some artists try to capture real life either through accurate representations or abstract interpretations. Bean has painted something verging on the weird side with this piece.

The character, who is wearing a rather curious hat, is holding his, or somebody else’s severed legs from which blue gloop is gushing. I’ll not attempt to interpret the piece, which is exceptionally painted in Bean’s trademark two-tone colour cartoon style. An entertaining and curious piece.

5970. Brunel Way (269)

Todoaciem, Brunel Way, Bristol, April 2024

We are blessed in Bristol with having not one, but three calligraffiti artists, each bringing their own take on the style. The three are Stivs, Wxttsart and Todoaciem. There may be others, but if so, they are a little under my radar. This outstanding piece under Brunel Way was painted beneath Brunel Way, next to a piece painted by compatriot Pura Decadencia (to come).

The letters spell CIEM, as you might expect, but what is really special here is the additional decorative scrolls on the edges of the script, creating a wonderful flourish. The colours blue and gold give it a regal look that works surprisingly well on the backdrop of black and pink spots. This is a top piece of calligraffiti from a confident and technically very skilled artist.

5964. Brunel Way (268)

Mr Crawls, Brunel Way, Bristol, March 2024

Everything about this piece by Mr Crawls is good. Utility box painting, in my view is providing a public service, and indeed in some countries is actively promoted, to turn these utilitarian metal monstrosities into something attractive and a talking point. This artwork is of course illegal and considered subversive, and yet what joy it brings.

Mr Crawls has been using chrome backgrounds a lot lately and it works especially well here, providing a neutral backdrop to a stunning red and grey bird character piece. I think that the way this has come together and the location contribute towards making it my favourite piece by the artist so far (I think).

5938. Brunel Way (266)

Abbie Laura Smith, Brunel Way, Bristol, June 2023

Trawling through my archives in search of a particular piece definitely has some extra benefits, which mainly consist of unearthing ‘lost’ work that was either by an unknown artist at the time or simply got left behind due to the volume of photographs coming in each week. I was so pleased therefore, to stumble on this lovely wheatpaste by Abbie Laura Smith from last summer during my last rummage.

The small paste up, looks like it is slightly out of focus, but that is due to the double line outline of the portrait. I love the way that Abbie Laura Smith has placed this colourful piece on a colourfully tagged column, almost disguising it, and as I have said before, the placement of paste ups is just as important as the artwork, and she has smashed both elements with this one. I am so pleased to have been able to share this, albeit ten months late.

5912. Brunel Way (265)

Abbie Laura Smith, Brunel Way, Bristol, March 2024

It is such a pleasure to have a wheatpaster in Bristol, and one who pastes her pieces just often enough to make discovering each one an exciting event. This is a small one by Abbie Laura Smith on the bridge (Ashton Avenue Bridge) that crosses the River Avon, joining the south bank with Spike Island.

The black and white portrait is beautifully drawn and conceals a whole ton of writing in the hair, which I am guessing is a poem or lyrics to a song. I can make out some phrases, but not the whole thing. I have a feeling that the piece might be called “When you can’t sleep…”, as that is the label Abbie Laura Smith gave the piece on her Instagram, although that might be a reference to when she created the portrait. All good stuff and I am looking forward to finding more.

	hitandrun1964 on My Dog Sighs
	Suzette Benjamin on 7551. Greenbank (184)
	M. on 7550. M32 Roundabout J2 (…
	scooj on 7550. M32 Roundabout J2 (…
	scooj on 7548. M32 Spot (217)

	hitandrun1964 on My Dog Sighs
	Suzette Benjamin on 7551. Greenbank (184)
	M. on 7550. M32 Roundabout J2 (…
	scooj on 7550. M32 Roundabout J2 (…
	scooj on 7548. M32 Spot (217)

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