I have a feeling that I never posted this piece by Stiff at the time (June 2022) it was painted, because it wasn’t quite finished, and when I returned to photograph it in its final glory it had already been painted over. I have decided to share it now, simply because I like his unique take, and enjoy his art. Furthermore, I was lucky enough to meet him for the first time when he painted this piece, as he tends to be quite elusive.
Stiff, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, June 2022
Stiff usually paints some kind of alien character as the subject of his work, and I think that artists choose to paint aliens or monsters, because there are no references against which they can be judged, and you can be as creative as your imagination allows, in a way that portrait artists, for example, can’t. Nice work from Stiff.
Although Rtiiika has moved away from Bristol for the time being, her work remains very much in our memories. It was a pleasure reacquainting myself with these pictures of a piece that she painted in Leonard Lane back in May 2022. Many pieces that were painted in May were bumped because of Upfest, which always impacts on the number of posts I can write. This moment of reflection at the start of 2023 has enabled me to share some great pieces that got left behind.
Rtiiika, Leonard Lane, Bristol, May 2022
Rtiiika’s work is pretty much unique in Bristol, although this piece leans heavily on the cubists and artists like Picasso. It is an absolute beauty of a musician playing a cello or double-bass. The musician is female, as denoted by the ‘W’ representing breasts, a motif that Rtiiika has used in her work before. This is a really classy piece and I do hope that she decides to return to Bristol.
As with other prolific artists, I have had to group a bunch of pieces by Klashwhensober together to make sure that they get to see the light of day. This selection of pieces were all photographed in May 2022, although some may have been painted some time before then. It looks like I photographed the first ‘Sober’ piece before it was completed, and then again once finished (see Feature image). This was entirely accidental, and I only noticed they were different when I was putting this post together.
Klashwhensober, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2022
This red Klash writing, with squishy green bubbles, lasted rather a log time in this tunnel of the M32 roundabout as I recall.
Klashwhensober, St Werburghs, Bristol, May 2022
Another Klash piece, this time in the tunnel, with some nice blue transitions and decorations in the fills. I think that I would like to see Klashwhensober start to buff his walls first, because it would give his talent more of an opportunity to shine through, but this is kind of hard core writing and that is OK.
Klashwhensober, M32 spot, Bristol, May 2022
This piece presents us with a feast of colour and explosive elements, something that Klashwhensober excels at.
Klashwhensober, St Werburghs, Bristol, May 2022
Another Sober piece, again with a blue fill, but rather less frenetic than some of his work. Calm and concentrated.
Klashwhensober, St Werburghs, Bristol, May 2022
Finally, another burst of energy in the tunnel, this time with the added bonus of a curious red figure peeping over the SOBER letters. I don’t know how Klashwhensober finds the energy or affords the paint for his work, but I am only glad that he does.
It is extraordinary and quite unforgivable that this isn’t the only Hazard piece that hasn’t made it onto Natural Adventures over the last year, and I will have to go back and find the others, because no self-respecting chronicler of Bristol street art, would have allowed this to happen. I can’t explain myself. Perhaps this appalling situation arose because the first time I photographed the piece, there were railings up against it. Who knows?
Hazard, Upper York Street, Bristol, May 2022
The portrait piece is superbly painted, especially when you consider the heavily textured stonework on the wall, and is a tribute to the late Skibadee who died at the very young age of 47 last February. The portrait is a great one and hints back at some of her earlier works in which the two sides of the face are bathed in different colours. This is just one of so many outstanding pieces by Hazard.
This is another piece I have salvaged from the archives, mainly because I love Maesyhook’s work and always try to post it when I find it. This one fell through the net. The column piece is under the M32, next to the channelled River Frome, and has had a little bit of augmentation performed to the eyes, which is a pity. Why do people do things like that? If they want to bugger up someone else’s work, at least go over the whole thing, or better paint something equally good or superior over it.
Maesyhook, Frome Side, Bristol, May 2022
Maesyhook’s Kawaii style works brilliantly with this character from The Mandalorian Star Wars offshoot. A mini Yoda type character causing mischief, I am sure. The force is strong in this one, make no mistake.
There was a period early last year, when it felt like every available space in multiple spots was being filled with a portrait mega-tag by Asre, aka Runaway Joey. These distinctive characters are based on the same central core elements, but they are ‘pimped’, so that each has a distinctive look and theme. This is a mini-gallery of pieces by Asre from April last year. At another point in time, I will have to do another of these galleries to sweep up a bunch of other Asre pieces in the first half of 2022.
Asre, Jamaica Street, Bristol, April 2022
This was a small piece in Jamaica Street that reflects the basic character template.
Asre, Moon Street, Bristol, April 2022
A Moon Street cheeky character wearing a red hat, beautifully picked out with the customary three layered thick border.
Asre, M32 Spot, Bristol, April 2022
Asre shows his versatility with this quick column piece under the M32.
Asre, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2022
Rounding off this mini-gallery with a piece behind the fence in Dean Lane, this time the character is wearing a blue hat.
One of the curious things is that Asre’s prolific activity simply dropped off a cliff later in the year, so I guess there might have been a lifestyle change at some point. It would be nice to think that he will return to our streets in due course.
I’m glad I took this photograph when I did, back in April 2022, because much of this magnificent piece by Gage Graphics is now obscured with bins and advertising hoardings. The commission for Stokes Croft Takeaway is an outstanding scene featuring Disney’s Goofy character.
Gage Graphics, Stokes Croft, Bristol, April 2022
Goofy is faithfully recreated in this piece, but it isn’t just the character or the writing that makes this piece a great one, but also the magnificent tree rising high into a sunset sky. I also love the detail of the little bird sitting on the roof. Gage Graphics is one of the most versatile artists in Bristol, and one who receives some significant commissions about the place.
The primary reason for pieces being left behind in my archive is that I couldn’t identify the artist at the time of taking the photographs, and then the moment passes and that is that. I am sure that my archives are full of gems, and if I had more time I would mine them out on a regular basis, but at the moment that is not possible. And while I am spending time digging out archive images, I am not posting the New Year pieces, which makes life difficult. Anyhow, this is an absolute beauty from Vozie back in April last year.
Vozie, Greenbank, Bristol, April 2022
Vozie has a great eye for her colour combinations, and has chosen some great letters for writing. The ‘V’ at the start is a strong letter and allows for all sorts of variations, and the ‘O’ and ‘Z’ also allow a certain amount of play. Vozie is clearly very accomplished and her fades, highlights and borders are always on-point. This is a lovely piece painted pre-Truss (remember her?).
Acesartworld, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2022
It is curious that one of the most arresting pieces of 2022, never actually made it onto the pages of Natural Adventures. I know that I delayed publishing the amazing piece at the time because I was unsure about the artist. However, as I know to my cost, the risk of delaying posting is that pieces get overlooked and eventually disappear under the weight of newer pieces landing in my image folders.
Acesartworld, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2022
This is by Acesartworld, and is quite unlike much of his other work. What I particularly like about this (robot/alien?) headshot is the way the burning orange pupils of the character’s eyes have projected light onto eye surrounds and cheeks. There is a lot of depth and texture here, provided by some clever shading. I have other pieces by the artist that also haven’t been published, and will need to dig them out.
Natural adventures 