Chrome – Page 5 – Natural adventures

6260. Leonard Lane (48)

Grimes, Leonard Lane, Bristol, July 2024

He gets absolutely everywhere, does Grimes, and what a delightful thing that is. He has even made it into the narrow Leonard Lane with this fine chrome piece. You might spot some double yellow lines, that could possibly be the most useless yellow lines in the country, given that it is a dead end, incredibly narrow and if a driver was stupid enough to drive into the lane, they might never get back out again.

Even when he paints in a single colour, Grimes manages to generate great energy from the form of his letters and in this case some orange ‘flame’ decorations around the perimeter. The letters spell out GRIME and are beautifully finished with a decent 3D drop shadow border. Still more to come from this relative newcomer to Bristol.

6231. Brunel Way (281)

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 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.

6178. Dean Lane skate park (730)

Another quick rifle through my archive turned up this beautiful chrome piece by Elvs in Dean Lane from March this year. There was a time not so long ago that Elvs was a regular visitor to Bristol from his native Wales, but his appearances have dwindled lately, and I guess he has other things on his plate that makes travel and painting more challenging.

I like to think that this wonderfully elaborate graffiti writing is archetypal Elvs, a complex and beautifully picked out design simply delivered. Everything here is on point, a fine chrome fill, superb fine line detail, great black 3D drop shadow, tidy light blue border, white starbursts, a bubble background set on a blue buffed wall and a little yellow halo to finish with. Certainly worth waiting for.

6148. Cumberland Basin

Raid, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, June 2024

Another of Bristol’s writers who creates the foundations upon which the graffiti and street art culture is built is Raid, who, although a relative newcomer to the city, has established himself as a regular contributor of beautifully designed writing, that appears to be on an ever-upwards trajectory.

Raid’s work is straightforward and unpretentious, and often marked out for his wonderfully creative fill patterns. In this piece though he has gone for a straightforward solid chrome fill, with a yellow accent running through the midline of the letters. The blue drop shadow and black border are nice and tight and the whole thing is as tidy as I would expect from Raid. Great work.

6068. St Werburghs tunnel (427)

Mr Draws, St Werburghs, Bristol, May 2024

I would truly love to post all of Mr Draws’ pieces, but unfortunately, like so many others, I simply don’t have the bandwidth to do so, and many remain in my archive. I think that the only solution is to have ‘sweep up’ posts in which I trawl through unpublished pieces over the last few months and create a mini gallery in a single post. It is a tactic I have used for posting Klashwhensober’s pieces, because of his extraordinary productivity rate.

This is a nicely presented classic Mr Draws piece, written in his easy and familiar style. A chrome fill dominates, with yellow and lilac patterning. The red drop shadow is very neat and tidy as is the yellow border. The final additional touch is in the form of tly disrupting the form to add interest. Nice stuff from Mr Draws.

6031. St Werburghs tunnel (423)

Turoe is nowhere near as productive as he has been at certain times in the past, so it is always great to come across a new piece. Although the frequency has dipped, the quality of his writing hasn’t diminished one iota.

This is a lovely chrome piece in the tunnel, which is really brought to life with the steel blue border, without which the writing would disappear on the wall, and struggle to be noticed. Small things like this come so easily to experienced writers, and the thought that goes into design, colours and site location contribute to the final outcome. A fine piece of graffiti writing from one of the best.

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).

5936. Cumberland Basin

Mr Crawls and Mote, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2024

One of the great joys of the last six months has been the thriving partnership between Mote and Mr Crawls. Rarely do you get the chance to watch on as two artistic talents arrive at a confluence and thrive as collaborators, while maintaining their individual identities.

This collaboration, on the ‘wet wall’ on the north side of the river underneath Brunel Way features two toothy monsters set on a chrome background (a strong feature of their recent work). On the left, Mr Crawls has a go, and smashes it, at painting a monster, which is a bit of a departure from his birds. The purple-faced monster, in spite of the array of sharp teeth, looks gentle enough. On the right Mote has created a monster, also with sharp teeth, in which the fill patterns give the piece away as one of his. As I have said before, they tend to bounce ideas off one another, and you can see how they have both shared an approach to painting the eyelids. So much fun from these two.

5830. St Mark’s Avenue (11)

Phour and Mates, St Mark's Avenue, Bristol, January 2024 — Phour and Mates, St Mark’s Avenue, Bristol, January 2024

For a little while, now, I have been aware that Phour has been painting with a new companion, Mates. Their combinations can be seen in walls and fences all around Bristol, but I think that this is the first post with both of them on Natural Adventures.

Phour, St Mark's Avenue, Bristol, January 2024 — Phour, St Mark’s Avenue, Bristol, January 2024

This collaborative wall is themed with chrome lettering on a red background. Phour, painting his distinctive and clean letters in a way that is very pleasing on the eye, kicks things off in this straightforward piece. Judging from the little bit of greenery in the letter ‘O’, I would guess that the piece has been here for a little while.

Mates, St Mark's Avenue, Bristol, January 2024 — Mates, St Mark’s Avenue, Bristol, January 2024

To the right, Mates makes his debut on Natural Adventures with some very nice letter shapes in chrome, with a black drop shadow on the red background. The letter design feels very familiar, and reminds me of the kinds of fonts you would see in children’s comics like Beano, The Dandy, Beezer and so on. Watch this space for more from this pairing.

5756. Picton Lane (16)

Mind 49, Picton Lane, Bristol, December 2023

It was dark when I took these pictures. I had been doing a little Christmas food shopping in the wonderful Italian delicatessen C&T Licata and Son Ltd in Picton Street, just around the corner. I figured I’d walk home via Picon Lane, just on the off chance that there might be something there that I hadn’t seen before, and was rewarded with this amazing Mind 49 piece alongside Kosc.

The light conditions are a little poor, but the quality of the piece from Mind 49 is clear to see. He has painted a fabulous transition halfway along the frog where it changes from full colour to chrome and grey, while maintaining the patterning and depth. The piece is rounded off with a nice big chrome 49 and an interesting patterned green background. I daresay the whole thing looks rather better in the daylight, but I don’t pass by this way all that often and thought I’d post these pictures rather than delay.

	beth on So, farewell then
	hitandrun1964 on So, farewell then
	hitandrun1964 on 7516. Berwick Road
	Sheree on 7516. Berwick Road
	paulh121 on 7505. Brunel Way (350)

	beth on So, farewell then
	hitandrun1964 on So, farewell then
	hitandrun1964 on 7516. Berwick Road
	Sheree on 7516. Berwick Road
	paulh121 on 7505. Brunel Way (350)

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