5722. Dean Lane skate park (672)

Chill, Face 1st and Zake, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2023
Chill, Face 1st and Zake, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2023

This might be the last time I post about the PWA crew this year, and what a productive year it has been from this fabulous group of artists who have kept us entertained and enthralled during 2023. This collaboration, tucked behind the fence of the swimming pool, is by Chill, Face 1st and Zake.

Chill, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2023
Chill, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2023

To the left, chill says it all next to his character piece with the words ‘last one or not, 2023 was hot’. Chill’s cartoon character takes on something of a surreal appearance with lots of eyes, everywhere, and an extra mouth in the ear. Interesting and fun stuff from Chill.

Face 1st, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2023
Face 1st, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2023

In the middle is a little girl character by Face 1st, and guess what… she is having a lot of fun with a couple of spray cans, one in each hand. A small nod to the vampire genre, with fangs and blood dripping from her mouth, this girl is perhaps not as happy as most that Face 1st paints.

Zake, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2023
Zake, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2023

On the right, Zake, who I think has run Klashwhensober pretty close as Bristol’s most productive artist of 2023, has painted a rather grotesque laughing face. Lots of mouth and teeth to deal with in this one, and the rather haunting eyes with no pupils that Zake often paints, adding mystery and some edge to the character. All good stuff from the PWA folks. I can’t wait to see what they create in the new year.

5684. M32 roundabout J3 (533)

Laic217, Soap, Zake and Face 1st, M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 2023
Laic217, Soap, Zake and Face 1st, M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 2023

The Pirate Wall Art (PWA) crew have been a constant presence throughout 2023, adding to their ranks and adapting/growing/improving their artwork along the way. This is a lovely combination of pieces from Face 1st, Zake, Soap and the recently adopted Laic217.

Laic217, M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 2023
Laic217, M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 2023

Starting on the left is a fabulous melting face piece from Laic217. The disintegration of faces is a common theme in much of his work, and in this one the purple skin is dripping off, revealing a pink skull beneath. I love the addition of arrows piercing the smiley’s eyes on the bucket hat, although the beautifully worked shadows of the shafts are not consistent… where is the light source?

Soap, M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 2023
Soap, M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 2023

Next up is an outstanding piece of animated writing from Soap. He has incorporated characters from the cartoon show Adventure Time, namely Jake the Dog and, I am guessing, a Princess, but I don’t know which one. The letters spell SOAP in an imaginative way, and although painted in my least favourite spray paint colour are utterly awesome.

Zake, M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 2023
Zake, M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 2023

Zake has been switching things up lately, and in this piece he has painted a three-quarter cartoon profile, and this change of aspect means he has to think about shadings for a slight profile and the side of the head. He has managed to transition pretty well and incorporated tons of depth and texture with light and dark shading.

Face 1st, M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 2023
Face 1st, M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 2023

Finally, we have Face 1st, who has written the word FACE with a deep drop shadow, giving the impression that the letters are cut from a deep block. No girl’s happy faces on this one, but he has included a nice shout out to chill. Great work, once again from the PWA crew.

5664. Dean Lane skate park (662)

Laic217, Zake, Face 1st and Chill, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2023
Laic217, Zake, Face 1st and Chill, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2023

Lately, Laic217 seems to have been adopted as a member of the ever-lively PWA crew, and certainly he appears to enjoy painting with them. This was a joyous paint jam, which Paul and I were lucky enough to witness in action (I returned a few days later to get the completed pieces), with all the contributors in great form.

Laic217 and Zake, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2023
Laic217 and Zake, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2023

To the left, Laic217 painted a small skull character, for which he can be forgiven, having already painted his Halloween piece on a nearby wall. Next to Lic217, Zake has painted another of his expressive face pieces. It is interesting to watch how Zake is slowly inching towards characters that are a little more realistic and I wonder if in five more years he will be dabbling with photorealism in the way that Shade One has.

Face 1st, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2023
Face 1st, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2023

Face 1st is and always will be one of my favourite Bristol artists, my landmark and barometer of the graffiti art scene in the city. This fun piece has a girl with a particularly gloopy face holding some laughing girl balloons. Chatting to Face 1st, it turns out that he is working for a while only a stone’s throw away from my house, and I have seen him at work on at leat one occasion.

Chill, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2023
Chill, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2023

Chill rounds off this wonderful collaborative wall with a nicely designed character piece with some interesting Picassoesque undertones and a mouth that Sweet Toof would be proud of. The leafy tendrils from Chill’s piece stretch across the whole collaboration as a bit of a golden thread. This was painted for Halloween, but the only references seem to be the graves under Face 1st’s girl. A great piece on a great wall.

5643. Hepburn Road (21)

Face 1st and Soap, Hepburn Road, Bristol, November 2023
Face 1st and Soap, Hepburn Road, Bristol, November 2023

A week or so ago I was drawn into Hepburn Road, because I could see two graffiti artists at work at the far end of the lane. It turns out that it was Biers and Bags painting together, which was a welcome surprise because, although I have met Biers many times, I have never yet met Bags, an artist horribly underrepresented in Natural Adventures. As I walked back up the street, I spotted this rather nice throwback piece by Face 1st and Soap.

Face 1st and Soap, Hepburn Road, Bristol, November 2023
Face 1st and Soap, Hepburn Road, Bristol, November 2023

I call this a throwback piece because it looks like the sort of collaboration that these two used to churn out regularly a few years back. Face 1st’s faces are simple, although decorated with a few splatters of green goo and Soap has reverted to his recognisable mega-tag of two mouths, that also have the overall appearance of a skull. Some lovely retro stuff in this somewhat overlooked spot.

5513. Dean Lane skate park (638)

Chill,Fade/Face 1st, Soap and Zake, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2023
Chill,Fade/Face 1st, Soap and Zake, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2023

This is a wonderful collaborative wall from the PWA crew from a little while back, and includes a subsequently added piece from Fade, which is both good and bad. Good in that his work is always great and bad because he painted over Face 1st’s section before I had had a chance to see it. This wall has played host to some outstanding collaborations this year, of which this is one.

Chill, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2023
Chill, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2023

The left-hand-side bookend is by Chill, and sets the tone (for those of us who view things from left to right), of the collaboration which has a theme relating to bed time and sleep. Chill’s wonderful character, complete with night cap and a five o’clock shadow, is holding a candle, all looking a little Dickensian to me.

Fade/Face 1st, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2023
Fade/Face 1st, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2023

Next up would have been Face 1st’s contribution, which looks like it was the letters FACE, with a frame of disintegrating green gloop. Fade has overwritten the piece with a nice tidy and sharp piece of writing, spelling out FADE. I have to say I was surprised to see this, but perhaps there is a little history there.

Soap, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2023
Soap, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2023

The third piece, by Soap, looks like a bit of a nightmarish scene, inspired by characters from the cartoon series Adventure Time, I think. I can’t identify the horned character, but the one holding the sword looks like Finn the Human, with a skull face. As with so many of Soap’s pieces, there is a whole story going on here, as well as some perfectly crafted writing, with the letters SOAP.

Zake, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2023
Zake, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2023

Finally and bookending the collaboration on the right-hand-side is Zake’s sleep-time character also with a night cap, but instead of a candle, the face is holding, with its only arm, a spray can, perhaps for a bit of an evening paint session. As ever, the shading and contrast have created enormous depth to the piece. What a lovely PWA paint jam.

5442. M32 roundabout J3 (504)

Face 1st, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2023
Face 1st, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2023

Face 1st going solo, perhaps none of his PWA friends were free to paint or maybe he simply fancied painting on his own for a change. It looks like Face 1st needed to scratch an itch and managed to do just that with these two pieces on the roundabout.

Face 1st, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2023
Face 1st, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2023

The red/orange and green colours of the first piece work exceptionally well and have a rather natural feel about them. The piece takes us back to the standard form for a Face 1st piece, that is a laughing girl (with gloop) and the letters FACE making up her big hair. I suspect Face 1st could probably paint these in his sleep.

Face 1st, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2023
Face 1st, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2023

The second piece is not dissimilar in its overall form, but the smiling girl is more of a toothy girl and her hair has sprinkles and candles, which makes me wonder whether this is a quick birthday celebration piece for somebody close to the artist. Both pieces are full of fun and mischief, as we would expect from the prolific PWA man.

5390. St Werburghs tunnel (375)

Chill, Zake, Face 1st and Soap, St Werburghs, Bristol, July 2023
Chill, Zake, Face 1st and Soap, St Werburghs, Bristol, July 2023

I am writing this last night in the full expectation that I will be heading off to the Cheltenham Paint Festival this morning, which means that in a short while, Natural Adventures will be awash with fabulous pieces from Cheltenham by artists from nearby and far, far away. On to this fine collaboration from the PWA crew, Chill, Zake, Face 1st and Soap.

Chill, St Werburghs, Bristol, July 2023
Chill, St Werburghs, Bristol, July 2023

There is a bit of a pirate theme going on (perhaps linked to PWA – Pirate Wall Art), and Chill kicks things off perfectly with this wonderful cartoon character wearing a bandana and brandishing a cutlass and crying out ‘AAARRRGH!!!’ The scar on the cheek and terrible teeth finish the character off brilliantly. A superb piece.

Zake, St Werburghs, Bristol, July 2023
Zake, St Werburghs, Bristol, July 2023

Next up, Zake goes a little bit off-topic both in terms of a pirate theme and indeed the colour scheme too. His piece is fantastic and a bit of a return to the kind of faces he was painting a year or two ago. Tons of depth is achieved with clever use of shading, which is a speciality of the artist.

Face 1st, St Werburghs, Bristol, July 2023
Face 1st, St Werburghs, Bristol, July 2023

Face 1st duly returns us to the pirate theme with his character, complete with skull and crossbones eye patch, makes off with a treasure chest full of gold and jewellery. It is a brilliant piece full of mischief and movement and so utterly Fac 1st.

Soap, St Werburghs, Bristol, July 2023
Soap, St Werburghs, Bristol, July 2023

Finally, Soap sticks with his graffiti writing, and continues the pirate theme and colour scheme. The letters spell out SOAP, and the Ice King ‘O’ is wearing an eye patch. The letter fills and dynamism of the piece are perfectly presented and add a distinctive element to the quartet of styles. A truly magnificent collaboration, so full of fun and mischief.

5345. St Werburghs tunnel (371)

Face 1st, St Werburghs, Bristol, June 2023
Face 1st, St Werburghs, Bristol, June 2023

Ha ha! Face 1st always cheers me up, and doubly so with this lovely piece at the farm end of the tunnel in St Werburghs. The spot is one that is often favoured by Mr Klue (who has gone a little quiet again), but Face 1st has more than done it justice.

Face 1st, St Werburghs, Bristol, June 2023
Face 1st, St Werburghs, Bristol, June 2023

The running girl is blowing a huge bubble with some yellow bubblegum in which another girl’s face appears as if a reflection. The greyscale piece is packed with energy, movement and fun – a pleasure to find.

5311. St Werburghs tunnel (369)

Chill and Face 1st, St Werburghs, Bristol, June 2023
Chill and Face 1st, St Werburghs, Bristol, June 2023

I have a moment on the train to draft up this post, but it is an arduous task, with zero space to type due to the chronic overcrowding and dreadful telephone signal, and I have just lost my first draft of this post going through a tunnel and had to start over.

Chill, St Werburghs, Bristol, June 2023
Chill, St Werburghs, Bristol, June 2023

I was only thinking recently that I hadn’t seen a new Chill piece in a while and then bang! I got slapped in the face with this beauty alongside Pirate Wall Art pall Face 1st. I have seen Chill cartoon triplets before, but this is the first one I have seen where each of the faces are replicas. I am guessing it is probably a difficult thing to do, but Chill has done a great job of it.

Face 1st, St Werburghs, Bristol, June 2023
Face 1st, St Werburghs, Bristol, June 2023

Next to Chill is a classic trademark piece from Face 1st in which a smiling girl is sporting a FACE haircut. The addition of green leaves by way of decoration I am guessing is influenced by Chill, who often adorns his work with flowers and leaves. this is a fine collaborative wall from the PWA duo.

5249. Coach and Horses

Face 1st, Coach and Horses, Bristol, May 2023
Face 1st, Coach and Horses, Bristol, May 2023

Although I regularly post pieces by Face 1st, it is probably only about half of everything I photograph. He has been a consistently prolific artist in Bristol since I started writing about this stuff back in 2015 and has brought me personally a lot of joy with his constantly evolving themes and ideas, based on a face.

Face 1st, Coach and Horses, Bristol, May 2023
Face 1st, Coach and Horses, Bristol, May 2023

This is a wonderful example of Face 1st’s work, a really tidy piece with sumptuous colours that work son well together. Some of Face 1st’s throw ups can be a little untidy, but this is crisp and sharp and beautifully finished. The smiling girl with earrings has the word FACE for hair, with not a little gloop going on. This is classic Face 1st, classily painted and presented.