Life has become uncomfortably cluttered and busy in recent weeks, both at home and at work, and I am struggling a little to keep on top of my daily blog posts. Today for example I am using my lunch break to write this post, because I simply ran out of time last night and early this morning.
Pl8o, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, November 2021
So here we have a delightful piece of graffiti writing from Pl8o, possibly the tightest I have seen from him. The clean lines of the letters are somewhat eclipsed by the fabulous orange border. Beautifully designed and executed. Surely it must be time for a Pl8o gallery.
Feek doesn’t paint nearly as a often as I would like him to, but just often enough to keep me interested and on my toes. Dean Lane Hardcore and Halloween seem to be occasions that he likes to mark. The other thing about Feek’s work is that, like many other street artists, it is very often associated with skating.
Feek, M32 Spot, Bristol, November 2021
This long wall is part of the M32 Spot DIY skate park, and tends to get fairly marked fairly quickly. Feek has made a little joke with his letters, spelling out M32 OOOH, in a ghostly way to mark Halloween, and in the centre of the piece is a nice big pumpkin.
Feek, M32 Spot, Bristol, November 2021
The pumpkin is cleverly painted, incorporating a hole in the panel as the open mouth of the scary fruit. The writing is covered in warts and eyes providing a cartoony scary scene, just what Feek does so well. A nice seasonal piece.
Regular readers of Natural Adventures will know that I am really enjoying the work of Maybe . His small murals are improving all the time and he is starting to make his mark in spots all over Bristol, spreading out from his ‘safe space’ under Brunel Way.
Maybe, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2021
This first piece on a ramp at Dean Lane skate park might just be my favourite yet from Maybe. The colours are superb, and the blends from dark to light in each colour tone are exceptional. Calm and pleasing, it has the appearance of an Eastern European children’s cartoon that were so much a thing in the 1970s and 1980s about it.
Maybe, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2021
The other two pieces in Dean Lane are small Yin and Yang badges composed of interlocking faces, which is the ‘trademark’ of Maybe. Some really great creative stuff here, and he just keeps on producing.
In this piece on the long wall under Brunel Way, we see Claro_que_sssnoh doing what Claro_que_ssnoh does so well – that is create distinctive interesting writing that creates a wonderful pattern of shape and colour.
Claro_que_sssnoh, Brunel Way, Bristol, October 2021
His work usually spells out HONS and his combination of curvy and straight lines are decorated with lines, patterns and dots in equal measure. In this piece it is the colour palette that is most notable, brightening up this drab and dingy corner. Painted as part of an HMR paint jam, it was the pick of the bunch alongside Dabuten Tronko.
I posted a piece by Biers last week, that was actually painted after this one in Dean Lane, both representing a bit of a come back from this No Frills artist. Thanks to Paul H, I now know that Biers is writing WD40, it would have taken me a long time to work that out on my own.
Biers, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2021
This piece comes with a little bit of text saying: “I can’t wait to feel the weight of nothing on my shoulders” – a message that certainly chimes for me. The letters/character combination is tight as always, and the ‘0’ lends itself to all sorts of character opportunities which Biers has grabbed in this instance. It is so good to see his work appearing again.
This piece is from another birthday celebration, this time for Nightwayss. I am sure that these birthday jams are becoming more of a thing than they were a few years ago. Maybe there is a safety in numbers thing or perhaps there are simply more friendships emerging from the growing pool of talent in Bristol.
Morph, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, September 2021
This small piece is by Morph, who more commonly paints at the M32 Spot, is beautifully painted and really powerful, which is made all the more impactful by its modesty. A young woman dressed in a kimono is brandishing a gun and there are target sights dotted around the piece. Disturbing, edgy and beautiful all in one piece. Very nicely done.
I took these pictures a little while back, and the beautiful collaboration featured is by DFC1848 and Peanutsdeli, painted as part of the DJ Perks 50th birthday paint jam. I am very familiar with DFC1848’s work, but this is the first time I have seen anything by Peanutsdeli, but on this evidence I’d love to see more.
DFC1848, Ldub, Bristol, September 2021
The central characters are a familiar sight on Natural Adventures and DFC1848 has switched things up a bit by positioning the second character upside down and separating the two with a yellow “f”. Stepping back, you can see the whole thing spells out DFC. Nice tidy work.
Peanutsdeli, Ldub, Bristol, September 2021
The centrepiece is bookended by two remarkable characters by Peanutsdeli. These mischievous little folk are great fun and beautifully painted. They represent that clever crossover from illustration to street art. The characters would not look out of place in a children’s story book.
Peanutsdeli, Ldub, Bristol, September 2021
I will definitely keep my eyes peeled for more from Peanutsdeli, but I don’t think he paints much in Bristol, and I am guessing he is probably from the Cheltenham/Gloucester/Stroud area. Lovely work and a fine collaboration.
Farrah is an artist who I have only been aware of only for a short time, after her stunning Upfest piece from earlier in the year. Since then, I have noticed a lot more of her work about the place, possibly because I am now following her on Instagram and have been looking out a bit more.
Farrah, Richmond Street, Weston-super-Mare, September 2021
This outstanding mural in Weston-super-mare was part of the Westonwallz initiative, ably assisted by Upfest, and is called Oxygen. Definitely a topical piece given the COP26 talks at the moment. Farrah’s works are inspired by the natural works an have a calm and inspiring quality about them. This particular piece seems a little incongruous sited above a pizza and kebab joint, but perhaps it brings with it a touch of class, which is never a bad thing. A stunner, for sure.
You will be seeing a lot of work by John D’oh on Natural Adventures over the coming weeks, for which I make no apology. I love his stencils and the contemporary commentary accompanying them that give us a sense of time and place, important for chronicling our political and societal landscape.
John D’oh, Princess Street, Burnham-on-Sea, September 2021
This piece in Burnham-on-Sea was painted a little while back, but seems so very timely, and the message is clear, it is just such a shame that we need reminding. Greta, behind the mask, has been instrumental in galvanising the popular discourse on climate change and I’m sure she will not stop now. If anything the hard work of putting pressure on governments, and holding them to account, begins now.
Natural adventures 