Tag: Creature

6891. St Werburghs tunnel (490)

DFC1848, St Werburghs, Bristol, April 2025
DFC1848, St Werburghs, Bristol, April 2025

It is always a pleasure when DFC1848 comes to visit, and sometimes I even manage to catch up with him, but unfortunately not on his most recent visit, during which he dropped a few pieces about the place, including these ones.

DFC1848, St Werburghs, Bristol, April 2025
DFC1848, St Werburghs, Bristol, April 2025

He has become an accomplished character painter, coming up with a raft of different cartoon-style creatures for us to enjoy. I’m not sure what this little fellow is, a beaver? A meerkat? It doesn’t really matter. The animal is holding up a placard which simply reads ‘smile’. Unfortunately, yellow text on a white background is a real  ‘no no’ in the world of communications, as for many people it is difficult to pick out the writing.

DFC1848, St Werburghs, Bristol, April 2025
DFC1848, St Werburghs, Bristol, April 2025

Not content with his first creature, DFC1848 also painted a ‘sticker’ character a few yards away, for good measure. Decent fun stuff.

6515. St Werburghs tunnel (457)

Dun Sum, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2024
Dun Sum, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2024

I was fortunate enough to watch on for a little while as Dun Sum was painting this imaginary beetle-like insect, in the tunnel, and I am not sure that I would have twigged that it was Dun Sum had Hypo not been there to inform me.

Dun Sum, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2024
Dun Sum, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2024

Dun Sum’s fantasy creatures are the hallmark of his outstanding artwork, most of which is displayed in L Dub, but occasionally we get to enjoy his work in central Bristol. This clever piece might well go unnoticed by many, as it is an augmentation of a Stivs piece that has been here in the tunnel for several months. It is so good to see this kind of creative work from Dun Sum.

Stivs, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2024
Stivs, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2024

6480. L Dub (58)

Dun Sum and Hypo, L Dub, Bristol, October, 2024
Dun Sum and Hypo, L Dub, Bristol, October, 2024

Because I don’t go to L Dub (Lawrence Weston) all that often, there is always something new to look at when I do make it. I had been tipped-off to get myself over to L Dub by DJ Perks, before the heavy rains that were forecast flooded the tunnel, which was just the nudge I needed to go take a look. This fine collaboration from Dun Sum and Hypo on the Water Company building.

Dun Sum, L Dub, Bristol, October, 2024
Dun Sum, L Dub, Bristol, October, 2024

Dun Sum is unlike any other artist in the Bristol area. His work pretty much always depicts imaginary creatures, which draw on the anatomy of real creatures, giving them credibility over the  fantastical. This bug-like character, sitting on a toadstool, is looking rather glum with its large eyes and downturned mouth. The piece is beautifully painted with affection for the character that comes across in the artwork.

Hypo, L Dub, Bristol, October, 2024
Hypo, L Dub, Bristol, October, 2024

Hypo, who has been on fire lately, has come up with this chrome and white piece of graffiti writing that works brilliantly with the contrasting pink background. There is a degree of bilateral symmetry about the piece, especially at the two ends, the ‘H’ and the ‘O’.  Hypo has once again smashed it with this piece.

5524. BB Gallery (5)

Object..., BB Gallery, Bristol, September 2023
Object…, BB Gallery, Bristol, September 2023

I don’t often visit the BB Gallery (Bristol to Bath cycle path), mainly because the turnover there is fairly slow, and it is a bit of a death trap, especially while walking the dog. The bicycles, e-scooters and e-bikes, whizz along this stretch of the cycle path, making navigation more like running the gauntlet. It is only a matter of time before there are some serious accidents. (Sounding like the old man I am becoming).

Object..., BB Gallery, Bristol, September 2023
Object…, BB Gallery, Bristol, September 2023

What a thrill to find this small piece by one of my favourite Bristol artists and all round nice guy Object…. The curious imaginary beast is all eyes and fingers, creating a rather grotesque image which is somewhat softened by the speech bubble and the words: “Nah, this has gone all wrong, where’s my rubber gone…”. I love the way this has been painted on an old piece of scrap wood and screwed onto the posts as a contribution to this free outdoor gallery. Utterly unusual (unless you are Object…), slightly disturbing and understatedly brilliant. A classic piece.

4597. Cumberland Basin

All I can think of when I see this creature is that it looks like a Mote version of Big Bird. I am pretty certain that it was not his intention, but like an earworm, I just can’t shake it off, so I’ll just have to settle for that.

Mote, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2022
Mote, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2022

There is no stopping Mote at the moment, and I seem to be meeting him on a fairly regular basis these days – our clocks appear to be in sync. I like the way that Mote really seems to take care with his work, and likes to buff the wall first, before carefully putting down the layers of his piece. Always finished nicely, his work is tight – no blurred lines, no sloppiness, tight.

3711. Cumberland Basin

This particular secluded spot near the long wall in Cumberland Basin has been ‘occupied’ by Eman and there are currently six or seven of his pieces crammed into this particular space, of which this is one.

Eman, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2021
Eman, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2021

Eman is currently playing around with all sorts of designs and seems to be having a lot of fun with creating new characters. This simple and cute creature is fast becoming a ‘thing’ and I wonder if Eman might fill the gap left behind by Followmyrabbits and start populating Bristol’s streets with these loveable alien/imagined animal things. I like the reversed colours and spots that Eman has used to great effect and the simplicity and clean lines. Look out for more of these creatures right here on Natural Adventures.

3666. Purdown HAA Battery (27)

This is a curious piece up at Purdown by an artist that doesn’t yet seemed to gained any traction with the community of followers of street art in Bristol – Skronius. This is only the second or third piece I have seen by the artist, and I haven’t seen anything beyond this particular spot.

Skronius, Purdown, Bristol, May 2021
Skronius, Purdown, Bristol, May 2021

I have to say that I rather like what I see, although it is on the unusual side. This particular piece reminds me a little of Conrico’s work in terms of the rather free style employed. The piece features some kind of wolf-like creature with a double mouth, which is pretty hard to work out. I can’t put my finger on it, but there is something I like about the piece and it certainly adds to the wonderful diversity of art we have in This magnificent city.

2802. L Dub (14)

I think that the uncrowned king of L Dub is probably Dun Sum. You can scarcely find a wall down there that hasn’t seen some of his paint at some point. What is interesting about that is that I have never seen any of his work anywhere else. This is the sign of an artist well within his comfort zone (and possibly driving range).

Dun Sum, L Dub, Bristol, January 2020
Dun Sum, L Dub, Bristol, January 2020

I can’t tell if this wonderful character is an established cartoon figure or something from Dun Sum’s imagination, either way it is rather a fine creature. His work is always creative and imaginative and he seems to enjoy incorporating lots of colour, adding interest to his menagerie.

2748. L Dub (13)

The unofficial king of L Dub, Dun Sum has created this magnificent and rather weird long fantasy seascape, making excellent use of a wall that is otherwise difficult to paint. He has skilfully written his name – somewhat disguised – to the left of his main character. In the feature picture you might be able to make out SUM, the DUN is a little too far away.

Dun Sum, L Dub, Bristol, January 2020
Dun Sum, L Dub, Bristol, January 2020

The character is a wonderful imagined creature of the sea, part hermit crab, part jelly fish, part squid wearing a fine pair of what look like ski-goggles. the character is accompanied by a couple of other creatures including a six-armed starfish (not as uncommon as you might think in the natural world. A fun and unusual piece.

836. Dean Lane skate park

This is a wonderful small piece – stylised and anarchic by Lumagro at the far side of one of the Dean Lane walls. I love his line drawings and the humour he brings to this piece. The colours too are fantastic.

Lumagro, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2017
Lumagro, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2017

This is only the second piece I have seen by this magnificent artist, and it was sprayed on the same occasion as his first. These are so different and really add something to the Bristol scene. More please Lumagro.