Character – Page 13 – Natural adventures

6957. Cumberland Basin

Lis, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2025

Lis (Le Imposter Design) continues on her street art journey, developing new ideas and techniques along the way. Imagination and creativity seem to come quite easily to her and every new piece is distinct and quite different from the last.

Described as a ‘silly one’ by Lis, this looks like an alien piece, with the words ‘They’re coming’ in rather nice neon-style writing at the top. The character shows some development, and although perhaps not the greatest piece of art in the world, it demonstrates her desire to push boundaries and try out new ideas and styles. I am so much enjoying her journey.

6948. St Werburghs tunnel (501

I wrote this last night, because I had a very early start this morning (1:30am) taking my daughter to Heathrow airport followed by a full day at work. The things we do! So a couple of quickies today.

This is a fun combination piece by Buser in the tunnel. I don’t recognise the character and think it might be from the artist’s imagination. The writing is of the highest order with great fills and an exceptional ice-blue drop shadow. I’ll be looking out for more from Buser.

6946. Brunel Way (315)

Mr Underbite, Brunel Way, Bristol, May 2025

Mr Underbite’s appearances are few and far between these days, so it was great to find this one in one of his favourite spots recently. I’ll not make reference to the brown background.

The Hapless character is painted in vibrant green, has his customary underslung jawline and is wearing a baseball cap for good measure. Signed MUB (Mr Underbite) and dated 2025, this is a piece without pretension or complication – what you see is what you get.

6944. Dean Lane skate park (864)

Dibz and Fade, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2025

This combination piece from Fade and Dibz is outstanding, and really ticks all my boxes. I watched them as they started painting this and knew, even when it was in draft that it was going to be an absolute blinder.

This is straight out of the black book, a sketch come to life with a clever twist and superb early Disney character. I love seeing works in progress as it shows just how unbelievably talented these artists are, and how they build the picture up into something quite magnificent.

The writing is by Dibz, and has a beautiful, deep 3D drop shadow, with additional shading to create perfect depth and lift. The fox character, by Fade, looks like he is reading Dibz’ black book, maybe at this actual picture, which would be a clever twist. The whole thing is set on a piece of lined paper, which adds another whole dimension to the collaboration. Bravo! Gentlemen.

6938. M32 roundabout J3 (682)

Microsoft

Mr Crawls and Kool Hand, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2025

Mr Crawls and Kool Hand have been painting together more regularly of late, and it is good to see. Their character styles, although quite different do complement one another rather well.

Mr Crawls, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2025

Mr Crawls has painted one of his ‘skeleton’ bird characters, which look slightly creepy if I am honest, but are very much part of his repertoire. He has shown another side to his talent here though, with some very nicely presented writing, spelling out JIM. I expect that this is a shout out to a friend/family member.

Kool Hand, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2025

Kool Hand presents his orangutan character, who over the years has developed and become ever so slightly more sophisticated. The solid fills haven’t changed much, but the clean lines have improved and the overall shape of the head has softened. Some nice white flashes add to the 3D appearance of the character. A rather nice collaboration.

6932. Greenbank (158)

Normally, when Haka paints one of his graffiti writing/character combination pieces, I recognise the character from a children’s picture book. This time Haka has stumped me – I am not familiar with any books containing a lizard, and can’t tell you too much more about it.

Some classic HAKA letters sandwich the lizard, although I note that only the right-hand side has been decorated with stars. I wonder if that is an omission, or whether it is the lizard that has emitted the stars from its claw. The lovely piece was difficult to photograph on such a sunny afternoon, something that has been a constant problem during our glorious spring.

6931. Purdown (89)

Only a few days ago I posted a piece by Mr Penfold, a collaboration with Mul that was at least a year old, and now I present a contemporary piece by the artist containing the same endearing character, that has a passing resemblance to Disney’s Pluto.

I love it when artists who make a living from their commissions and studio designs and illustrations, take a little bit of time out and decorate our streets. It feels like they are doing it for love and joy rather than for money, and there is something about that that is a refreshing break from the avaricious world that we live in. Thank you Mr Penfold for brightening up my day.

6926. Peel Street Green (41)

3Dom, Peel Street Green, Bristol, May 2025

Ordinarily, I would expect a 3Dom piece to stick around for a month or two at least, but this wonderful piece only lasted a couple of weeks, which is a shame, but at least it was painted over with a decent piece, and it wasn’t tagged or bombed.

There is always a great deal of symbolism in 3Dom’s work, and here is a large eye character bearing the heavy weight of a skull. There is so much more going on here than simply the idea. The colour selections, light cast, shadows and perspectives are all impeccably presented and sets a bar for character artists across the land. You might spot a yellow Mr Bloopy in the background too.

6924. Greenbank (157)

Scrapyardspec, Greenbank, Bristol, May 2025

There are a number of artists who have a signature piece or style that through repetition become recognised, and lean towards iconic. Examples in Bristol would include Full Time Ghoul, Mr Underbite and perhaps most famously, Slim Pickings, who writes TES. The visiting Scrapyardspec is one of these artists.

This is a fine double character piece from Scrapyardspec, looking a little golden in the late afternoon sun. His endearing, wibbly/goofy characters haven’t deviated much from the archetypal form and are beautifully filled with green and yellow colours that match the parched grass verge perfectly. His regular visits to Bristol are more than welcome.

6919. East Street

Mr Penfold and Mul, East Street, Bristol, April 2025

This is a recent picture of a piece that I think was painted during Upfest last year, when Mul was visiting and dropped a few pieces about town. Here he has teamed up with Mr Penfold to create a fun and colourful collaboration.

Mul is known for his heart characters with legs and an eye. I’m not sure where Mul calls home, but occasional visits to Bristol are always very welcome. Mr Penfold is perhaps more commonly associated with his abstract commissions on shopfronts, but he intermittently produces these wonderful cartoon characters, presumably for fun. A tidy collaboration.

	scooj on Thursday doors – 12 Febr…
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	Dan Antion on A dog’s life
	Suzette Benjamin on Thursday doors – 12 Febr…

	scooj on Thursday doors – 12 Febr…
	equinoxio21 on Waterlogged
	Cethru Cellophane on A dog’s life
	Dan Antion on A dog’s life
	Suzette Benjamin on Thursday doors – 12 Febr…

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