5234. River Avon (44)

Werm, River Avon, Brtistol, May 2023
Werm, River Avon, Brtistol, May 2023

A lush scene, photographed at the beginning of this rather glorious spell of weather we are having. This is not, however, the first time I have photographed this piece, but I never got round to posting it, so I thought I’d have another go. It is, of course, by the tireless Werm.

Werm, River Avon, Brtistol, May 2023
Werm, River Avon, Brtistol, May 2023

I rather like the way that the encroachment of greenery complements the greens in the piece, and that the purples and oranges almost resemble flower petals. Spelling out WERM, the letters are beautifully crafted and filled, and demonstrate just how quickly this artist has developed and keeps improving.

5233. Lighthouse Community Garden, London (8)

Apparan, Lighthouse Community Garden, London, April 2023
Apparan, Lighthouse Community Garden, London, April 2023

I have only once before seen work by Apparan and that was on a collaborative gate piece at Upfest last year with Jelly. Finding this piece on a work trip to London was therefore a real treat. The portrait is really beautifully done, although the hair looks a little more abstract than the rest of the portrait.

Apparan, Lighthouse Community Garden, London, April 2023
Apparan, Lighthouse Community Garden, London, April 2023

There is a lot of depth in the piece, and the shadows around the lady’s neck are very nicely painted. I also really like the leaf print dress, and the folds in the material. There is something very summery about the piece, augmented by the verdant mini-meadow in front of it. Wonderful work from Apparan.

Jelly and apparan, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Jelly and apparan, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

5232. Lighthouse Community Garden, London, (7)

Eyesaw, Lighthouse Community Garden, London, April 2023
Eyesaw, Lighthouse Community Garden, London, April 2023

What finer subjects for street art than Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble? I have seen a few pieces by Eyesaw at festivals in Bristol and Cheltenham, and his work plays on the concept of 3D images that can be viewed using blue and red 3D spectacles. However, I don’t have a pair and am not convinced these pieces work, but are illustrative only, to create an effect.

Eyesaw, Lighthouse Community Garden, London, April 2023
Eyesaw, Lighthouse Community Garden, London, April 2023

The piece also includes some pixelation and glitching, creating the illusion of being a video piece. I rather like the anarchic touch where these two, usually harmless characters, are wielding a baseball bat with nails and a Molotov cocktail. Great fun from Eyesaw.

5231. Cumberland Basin

Laic217, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2023
Laic217, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2023

Laic217 is on fire at the moment, and painting fairly regularly, which is great to see. This portrait piece takes us back to a theme that Laic217 particularly enjoys, which is the distortion and disintegration of the face.

Laic217, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2023
Laic217, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2023

Set on a red background, the skin is melting away to reveal the skull underneath. Of course, a baseball cap with an ‘L’ on it is a required accessory and shows off the artist’s skill with recreating the illusion of fabric and materials. A great example of Laic217’s work, with more to come on Natural Adventures soon.

Thursday doors – 25 May 2023

Doors 222 – Bristol street art and graffiti doors

I am definitely under the cosh at work at the moment, and simply haven’t had enough time to sort out Thursday doors, so for the second consecutive week I am serving up some street art doors from my archive – these ones were originally posted in August and September 2022.

Here we go:

Mote, M32 cycle path, Bristol, July 2022
Mote, M32 cycle path, Bristol, July 2022
Zabou, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Zabou, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Taker One, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Taker One, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Taker One, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Taker One, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Taboo, Lower Ashley Road, Bristol, August 2022
Taboo, Lower Ashley Road, Bristol, August 2022
Tanith Gould, Elton Street, Bristol, September 2022
Tanith Gould, Elton Street, Bristol, September 2022

OK, so you might have to search for the doors in these pictures, and in the last one the picture itself features a doorway, but it is the best I can do this week. I hope to collect some new doors this weekend.

Enjoy the rest of your week.

If you have made it this far, you probably like doors, and you really ought to take a look at the No Facilities blog by Dan Anton who has taken over the hosting of Thursday Doors from Norm 2.0 blog. Links to more doorscursions can be found in the comments section of Dan Anton’s Thursday Doors post.

By Scooj

Door logo, Thursday doors

5229. Louisa Street (1)

Dog bless the band, Louisa Street, Bristol, May 2023
Dog bless the band, Louisa Street, Bristol, May 2023

You can expect to see more pieces from Dog Bless the Band on Natural Adventures over the coming weeks, for two reasons; He appears to be painting more frequently, and I have found an area where he likes to paint that has been off my radar, and where there are several older pieces.

Dog bless the band, Louisa Street, Bristol, May 2023
Dog bless the band, Louisa Street, Bristol, May 2023

I love two things about Dog Bless the Band, his name, and the fact that he writes MOTEL – both apparently random elements, but probably with significance for the artist. This piece, all in green, is nicely put together with its super-chunky letters. The thin, and rather subtle, pink spotty 3D drop shadow lifts the piece from being ordinary, to another level altogether. It is funny how these small details can alter a piece completely.

5228. Greenbank (80)

Raid, Greenbank, Bristol, May 2023
Raid, Greenbank, Bristol, May 2023

It is not all that long ago that Mudra moved to Bristol and since he arrived, his work has been getting bigger, bolder and more sophisticates. Another more recent arrival is Raid, whose work has made a significant impact, and who is developing his style as he goes along.

Raid, Greenbank, Bristol, May 2023
Raid, Greenbank, Bristol, May 2023

This piece is an upper case RAID, which is the first I have seen, all his other works being written in lower case. The two-tone green fills are different for each letter, and all work rather nicely, and the colour contrasts nicely with the splash of pink background. I expect Raid to be a reasonably regular contributor to the pages of Natural Adventures.

5227. M32 Cycle path (216)

Face 1st, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, May 2023
Face 1st, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, May 2023

One of my life’s great pleasures has been finding and cataloguing graffiti art pieces by Face 1st. For the duration of this blog, Face 1st has been a constant presence, gently evolving his style and boundaries, but sticking fairly rigidly to his basic concept of a smiling girl’s face. I try to post as many of his pieces as I can, but inevitably some get left behind. I might have to do a trawl through my archives and write an ‘amnesty’ post with all the pieces that never made it.

Face 1st, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, May 2023
Face 1st, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, May 2023

In this vibrant piece, Face 1st has painted four laughing girls, appearing to have lots of fun, there is also quite a lot of stickiness on their faces. I would like to think that each of the faces is a letter of the word FACE, but I think that is probably stretching things a little. Face 1st continues to spread joy.

5226. Cumberland Basin

Maybe, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2023
Maybe, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2023

Maybe is an artist who has brought something totally new and fresh to the streets of Bristol over the last couple of years, starting with some very modest interlocking face pieces and now branching out into a large portfolio of creative ideas. This new piece on the Ashton Avenue Bridge, over the River Avon, takes us in another creative direction.

Maybe, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2023
Maybe, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2023

Maybe has painted a view out of a window of an aeroplane wing (in this case, Easyjet), using the shape of the bridge inspection hatch really creatively. It is always great to see street artists incorporating the surrounding elements to augment their work.

Maybe, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2023
Maybe, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2023

Opposite the aeroplane window piece is a more ‘traditional’ offering from Maybe, complementing his work on the inspection hatches at the other end of the bridge. It would appear that Maybe is on a bit of a roll after quite a quiet winter.

5224. Barton Road (1)

Merny, Barton Road, Bristol, May 2023
Merny, Barton Road, Bristol, May 2023

In this game, exploring definitely pays off. We have been clearing out the house recently, and on one of my two trips to the recycling centre, I drove a different route home, and was rewarded with a block of hoardings and a couple of warehouse buildings with graffiti art of varying ages. Finding a spot like this is both exciting and also a little bit embarrassing, because it has taken me so long to find it.

Merny, Barton Road, Bristol, May 2023
Merny, Barton Road, Bristol, May 2023

Merny’s work beautifully reflects the Bristol textile quarter – something I never knew even existed. The colourful piece features bobbins, cloth and sewing machine parts in beautiful design, brightening up the shutter door of the Bristol Weaving Mill. The piece is actually twinned with a Billy piece – to follow.