6507. Dean Lane skate park (775)

Sled One, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2024
Sled One, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2024

Sled One has made a few appearances on Natural Adventures recently, but this Halloween piece, painted on 30 October, trumps the lot of them. It isn’t often that this whole wall is painted – lots of ladder-work, so when it is you can expect something pretty special.

Sled One, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2024
Sled One, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2024

The piece is painted on a jaunty angle, which is unsettling in itself. The backdrop is a gloomy street scene, with cars dimply lit under some street lights. The star of the piece is the scary pumpkin character, the unconventional shape of which adds to the sense of unease and edge. Shaped like a skull, the melting pumpkin face is dropping seeds like teeth falling out, and resembles the lanterns left out to rot after the Halloween festival itself. A wicked piece that doesn’t give in to the sentimental portrayal of a pumpkin, but turns it into an evil protagonist.

6162. Sparke Evans Park (99)

Laic217, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, June 2024
Laic217, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, June 2024

If I were only allowed to keep my galleries of say ten street artists, Laic217 would be close to the top of the list. I feel like I have grown up (in terms of my interest in street/graffiti art) with him, and as he has improved and expanded his horizons, I have learned more and grown my expertise. We both have plenty of headroom, but our journeys have taken a parallel pathway, and that feels good.

Laic217, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, June 2024
Laic217, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, June 2024

This is a great piece on the long wall at Sparke Evans Park which reminds me a lot of the Hollywood horror film genre. I think it is the check shirt and baseball cap that do it along with the disfigured melting face, of course. This is what Laic217 does so well, and although the subject might not be to everyone’s taste, the technical skills must surely be admired. I loved stumbling across this one.

2560. M32 roundabout J3 (176)

A Halloween double bill from the fabulous Biers from a week or two back. I got lucky enough to catch Biers while he was still painting the piece on the right featuring a cartoon Jason Voorhees from ‘Friday the 13th’.

Biers, M32 roundabout, Bristol, October 2019
Biers, M32 roundabout, Bristol, October 2019

Biers gave no indication that he was going to paint a second character piece (is it from the ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre’?) but paint one he did to create this double set. He seems to be enjoying the letters OYEAH at the moment although he didn’t rule out writing Biers again in the future.

Biers, M32 roundabout, Bristol, October 2019
Biers, M32 roundabout, Bristol, October 2019

Biers did explain to me the colour choices in his letters and that they were very deliberately chosen from the colours used in a game or something. If I am honest he lost me a bit on the story. I knew I should have written it down at the time. my memory is like a sieve at the moment.

Biers, M32 roundabout, Bristol, October 2019
Biers, M32 roundabout, Bristol, October 2019

Anyhow this is a pleasurable Halloween romp and a fine pair from Biers. Hats off!

452. Tropicana, Weston-super-Mare (5)

Even if you haven’t seen the film series – ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street‘ you will almost certainly have seen representations or images of Freddy Krueger, the villain of the piece. If you haven’t, then here he is in all his nightmarish glory. This is a magnificent stencil piece by JPS (who else), that faithfully conveys the Krueger character.

JPS, Tropicana, Weston-super-Mare, August 2016
JPS, Tropicana, Weston-super-Mare, August 2016
I have written a lot about JPS and how much I admire his work, and it is when you get up close to pieces like this that you really appreciate his incredible skill. His love for the entertainment industry and the characters it creates provides him with plenty of material.

JPS, Tropicana, Weston-super-Mare, August 2016
JPS, Tropicana, Weston-super-Mare, August 2016
JPS seems to enjoy the horror, sci-fi and adventure genres as well as straying occasionally into cartoon characters. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again…JPS is pretty much responsible for me writing about street art in the first place, so he is in my view, a bit of a hero, an inspiration. 

Nightmare

 

Sitting bolt upright

in bed, too frightened to sleep;

shadows leave the room.

 

by Scooj