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
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.
Grrr! it is so annoying when the sun shines on days when I take a stroll to photograph urban art. I am so stupid, and get caught out all too often. This is the only piece that I can post from a wonderful Easter RBF paint jam on the Greenbank hoardings. I will have to return to photograph the rest again on an overcast day, and in the meantime just hope that they haven’t been tagged or bombed.
Bnie, Greenbank, Bristol, April 2023
Bnie is a brilliant writer and artist, and her characteristic pieces are such a joy to find. This clever piece has two separate colour combination elements, one of yellow and pinks and the second is a zig-zag stripe of light blue and lilac colours running through the piece. I have seen this kind of inverse design technique before and it is always a winner. The eggs are a nod to Easter. Great work from Bnie.
What a lovely and rather original piece this is from Sprat, who really doesn’t paint on our streets nearly as often as I would like to see. I think I have photographed four of his works, of which this is one, but that is over a period of a year or two. His work always makes an impression because of its originality.
Sprat, Greenbank, Bristol, March 2023
The first thought that came into my head when I saw this, was the film ‘mask’ starring Jim Carry, but the more I look at it, the more I realise how this piece is nothing like the Mask character. The overall image is striking, and the colour of the hat contrasts so well with the sickly green of the face. This is a nicely designed and stylised portrait piece, and I’d love to see more like this.
ut Claro_que_sssnoh, is always troublesome, because his name is difficult to type at the best of times, but when I am in a rush (which I usually am when writing my posts) it is extra difficult. Perhaps I should have paid better attention at the touch-typing classes my mother made me do in a classroom above a shop in Oxford Street, when I was in my early 20s.
Claro_que_sssnoh, Greenbank, Bristol, March 2023
Claro’s work (see what I did there?)Â is always good to see as it offers a unique take on graffiti writing. The letters HONS laid down in an almost continuous line of joined up writing with equal measure of long straight lines and curvy lines is a unique style here in Bristol, and makes his work easy to identify (most of the time. The dark blue background is a little unusual, but contrasts well with the ‘fruit salad’ colours of the writing. A lovely piece from Claro.
I love artists who visit Bristol and leave behind something a bit different, and wow, this piece by Olek McBolek is definitely a bit different. What’s not to like about a smoking seal sipping on a cocktail?
Olek McBolek, Greenbank, Bristol, March 2023
The seal is nicely presented with good perspective, and the composition is hilarious (a word I don’t use very often). It is the smoke in the large red space that definitely catches the eye though. I’m not quite sure what it spells, but it looks like there is a P or a D, a U or L or an E and an H or a K. Make of it what you will, or just enjoy a seal having a fag.
More Merny mirth. The utterly unique style of this storytelling artist is always enjoyable, and forces the viewer to stop and think for a moment or two. Here the subject is busy, fixated on his phone. My interpretation is that he is telling himself he will go to sleep in one minute, knowing that his addiction to social media will not allow that to happen.
Merny, Greenbank, Bristol, March 2023
The naive style combined with the numbered tags are so much a part of Merny’s work, that there really is no need for a signature. Some may dismiss his work, but I consider it to be thoughtful, challenging and deliberate, and am cheered up every time I find a new piece.
Doors 212 – A selection of doors from Greenbank in Bristol
I am taking a little bit of a break from Croatia doors this week, to share some doors from an area in Bristol called Greenbank, which is perhaps best known for its large cemetery. It would appear that this residential area of terraced houses has a distinct and tight community. Every time I walk around the area, there are always neighbours stopping for a chat, and the people here smile and are friendly.
The community spirit overflows and is reflected in themed front doors and tiny front gardens, and I get a real sense of pride in their neighbourhood, which is a heart-warming thing to see.
No more chat from me… here are the doors:
“Seen better days” garage doors, Greenbank, Bristol, February 2023Yellow door with cats on the cornice, Greenbank, Bristol, February 2023Green door with a bottle on the cornice, Greenbank, Bristol, February 2023Green door with dragons and a lump hammer on the cornice, Greenbank, Bristol, February 2023Yellow door with a dodo and planters on the cornice, Greenbank, Bristol, February 2023Plain white door with remains of a fancy surround, Greenbank, Bristol, February 2023
So that’s about it for this week, from a cols and unusually snowy Bristol. May I wish you a great rest of week and weekend.
This is the final piece from a joyful collaborative paint jam from the PWA crew a few weeks ago. This section is by Soap, and rounds off the whole thing perfectly. It will be a sad day indeed when the last remaining hoardings are removed from Greenbank, and this creative space is returned to bland indifference.
Soap, Greenbank, Bristol, February 2023
Soap spells out his name in chrome and yellow, with a thick blue and thin white border, set on a pink background shared by all the pieces in the collaborative space. The inclusion of the Ice King and a Face 1st inspired girl, making up the ‘O’ and ‘A’ respectively is something Soap seems to be working on at the moment and is consistent with a piece of his that I posted a few days ago. This was a rip-roaring PWA paint jam.
Soap, Face 1st, Chill and Zake, Greenbank, Bristol, February 2023
The PWA crew have had a few joyful paint jams this year, and this wonderful piece from Face 1st is part of a collaboration on the Greenbank hoardings. I cannot express how much pleasure it gives me to chronicle the work of Face 1st, and since I first started writing about street art in 2015, Face 1st has been an ever-present, growing and adapting his style.
Face 1st, Greenbank, Bristol, February 2023
I have no idea what the ‘spicy beef’ thing is all about, but it made me smile. Face 1st’s cheeky girl is having a lot of fun, and like so many of his pieces in the last year or two, her face is covered in mess, but it doesn’t seem to bother her. There is so much to enjoy in this piece.
It took me a little while to work out what was different about this Chill piece from his other work to date, and once I worked it out, I am baffled why it took so long, because it is so obvious. The character is not black and white, but has been filled with pink and yellow, something of a departure for Chill.
Chill, Greenbank, Bristol, February 2023
The character portrait is really tight, all the lines as sharp as can be, and the fills nicely done. The detail work, for example on the teeth is first class, and it is quite easy to see his tattooing skills and attention to detail and precision shine through. The piece is bookended with some delicate flowers, another feature of Chill’s work. A lovely piece from a recent PWA paint jam.
Natural adventures 