Tag: Chrome

4991. M32 Cycle path (195)

Ryder, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, January 2023
Ryder, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, January 2023

At some point, in the not too distant past, some kindly people or group installed a little raised bed in this dark, dank corner below the M32 motorway. Unfortunately, for many reasons, the bed has not been maintained, and has become a dumping ground (see the razor wire, that seems to reside here) and public toilet. Even in these rather revolting conditions, street artists and writers continue to paint the walls, at risk to their own health, to brighten the place up a bit.

Ryder, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, January 2023
Ryder, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, January 2023

This is a lovely chrome burner from Ryder, a true gentleman of Bristol, that through its apparent simplicity and sharpness provides a little eye candy in this desperate spot. It was painted alongside a T-Rex piece (to follow). I like the way the chrome picks up and reflects the light in this dingy space.

4969. Brunel Way (189)

Cobo, Brunel Way, Bristol, January 2023
Cobo, Brunel Way, Bristol, January 2023

One of the artefacts of the way I plan my blog posts is that I am always running a few weeks behind the time that the pieces were painted. So here we are on Sunday 21 January and I am posting a Christmas piece by Cobo.

Cobo, Brunel Way, Bristol, January 2023
Cobo, Brunel Way, Bristol, January 2023

This is an absolute chrome beauty by New Zealand artist Cobo, whose writing is out of the top drawer. In this piece, his wonderfully stylised letters are accompanied by a cat and a sign saying merry Christmas. I love a street art cat, and must, one day, get my act sorted out and d a gallery of street art cats. It will happen. In the mean time you’ll just have to enjoy this lovely fella.

4665. Sparke Evans Park (52)

Laic217, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, August 2022
Laic217, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, August 2022

Laic217 is painting roughly every three to four weeks at the moment, which is great as it keeps a constant stream of his work in the limelight, and allows me to publish pretty much every piece I see.

Laic217, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, August 2022
Laic217, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, August 2022

This artistic piece features a chrome Satan Japanese Oni (thank you, Paul) crushing a spray can with his teeth, and some bronze paint/fumes wafting from the can in a rather stylised design. The chrome work is fantastic because it isn’t chrome at all, but looks like it. The colours used are actually black, grey, white and light blue, which used skilfully create an illusion of metal. Brilliant work from Laic217.

4630. M32 roundabout J3 (423)

Mr Draws, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2022
Mr Draws, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2022

There was a time when I endeavoured to publish every piece that I found by Mr Draws, however, with the emergence of so many artists in recent years, it has become almost impossible to show that loyalty to some of my favourites of days gone by. Mr Draws still paints them, but I only post maybe one I three, which is a real pity.

Mr Draws, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2022
Mr Draws, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2022

This one on the M32 roundabout is a real beauty in chrome, with a straightforward design concept… chrome letters, blue caps with drips, a pink ‘electric’ ribbon and a few cracks in the letters for interest. The whole thing is nice to look at and great to see from ‘old faithful’.

4374. Sparke Evans Park (38)

Dopes is an artist who appears to like spraying in tight little spots tucked away on the margins of popular graffiti spots, or maybe I just happen to find his pieces in such places.  This one is underneath the bridge in Sparke Evans Park, alongside a Maesyhook piece that until a week ago had been there forever (to make an appearance on Natural Adventures soon).

Dopes, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, April 2022
Dopes, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, April 2022

Set out in chrome on a turquoise background, Dopes spells out his name, with a rather curious character figure making up the ‘O’. A subtle splash of pink decoration and border gives the piece a little bit of zing and lifts it up above other chrome throw ups.

4313. M32 roundabout J3 (394)

Teao One is one of the senior writers in Bristol, and by that I don’t mean he is old, but rather is one of those that has been writing for many years, even though he only crept into my radar last year (how did that happen?), which tells me I still have so much to learn and understand about this craft in Bristol.

Teao one, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2022
Teao one, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2022

There is something very distinctive about Teao One’s writing style, lots of well crafted letters in a uniform style, beautifully crisply finished. It took me a while, but the letters appear to spell out GENERAL, although I’m not too sure what that means or refers to. A banging chrome piece from a skilled writer.

4238. Dean Lane skate park (461)

At the back end of 2021 Daz Cat went through something of a purple patch, producing some of his best work to date, in my opinion. What is comforting to see is that he continues to paint his ‘bread and butter’ smaller cats all over the place of which this is a great example.

Daz Cat, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2022
Daz Cat, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2022

Nicely done in chrome on an existing red background, this throw-up cat brightens up the end of this ramp, and puts his stamp out there loud and clear. Plenty more smaller pieces from Daz Cat in the pipeline.

4232. St Werburghs tunnel (277)

I was lucky enough to bump into Mr Draws just as he was prepping for this wall; it was a busy day for artists in the tunnel. I understand that Mr Draws has a good supply of chrome in his paint store and that is why several of his pieces of late have heavily featured chrome.

Mr Draws, St Werburghs, Bristol, January 2022
Mr Draws, St Werburghs, Bristol, January 2022

Mr Draws has been favouring these larger walls lately, and seems to be enjoying the freedom that they afford. The design of this piece is relatively straightforward and the fills and drips nicely done. In common with many of his recent pieces Mr Draws has included his horizontal bars, in red, to add interest to the piece. More great work from one of the nicest artists in Bristol.

4170. Dean Lane skate park (452)

Back to one of our regulars today, Mr Draws, who is having to compete much harder to make it into Natural Adventures than he did a couple of years back, simply because of the quantity and quality of street art and graffiti that is appearing in Bristol at the moment. It is a strong field.

Mr Draws, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2021
Mr Draws, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2021

Notwithstanding this, Mr Draws has been ticking along very nicely and producing pieces with reasonable regularity. Recently he has been painting larger pieces on larger walls drawing out his letters. Always full of ideas and thinking of different ways to present his letters, Mr Draws is a central pillar of the Bristol scene.

4089. Peel Street Green (2)

There are so many artists in Bristol whose work has never appeared in Natural Adventures before. The reasons for this are complex, but are not related to a quality or standard that needs to be met, rather to a familiarity with the work and the ‘right time’ for me to embrace them in these pages.

Krops, Peel Street Green, Bristol, November 2021
Krops, Peel Street Green, Bristol, November 2021

The latest debutant is Krops whose work is all over Bristol, with this lovely chrome piece featuring a Mario Bros. Mario in the middle. Typically, Krops uses the letters/character combination to great effect usually with the character in the middle. I have plenty of his pieces in my archives and hope to share them with you in time.