I have only ever found a handful of pieces by Sam Brentnall, but it doesn’t take many to make a really strong impression. There is something very endearing about this simple naïve style, so clean and crisp. I think it must have been quite recently finished when I found it, because there are no mud splashes, goat damage or tagging to be seen.
Sam Brentnall, Purdown, Bristol, July 2005
The beautiful illustration is of a man with a hat playing a guitar, and to use up the space of the concrete slab, Sam Brentnall has playfully bent the neck of the guitar back on itself, in a way that only cartoon illustrations can. Refreshing and fun.
Lis (Le Imposter Design), Greenbank, Bristol, December 2024
It is an interesting discussion to try and determine what constitutes graffiti or street art, and I don’t intend to go into a long essay about it right now. Within the community, there are all kinds of tribal differences, between graffiti writers, stencil artists, wheatpasters, character artists, muralists and studio artists. My take is that if it is on the street, then it all comes under the banner of street art, and I am always happy to feature it here on Natural Adventures. I’ll leave it to others to argue the finer points. I mention this because of an emerging talent, Lis (formerly Le Imposter Design), whose hand painted mushroom pieces are causing a little bit of a stir.
Lis (Le Imposter Design), Greenbank, Bristol, December 2024
Lis’ illustrative style is so very different from anything else we see on the street and, in my view, adds to the richness of the street art culture in Bristol. Her talent as an illustrator is obvious, and I love the way she is occupying small spaces on walls all over the city, treating us to interesting fungus-scapes. These orange mushrooms are accompanied by some smaller toadstools and plants as well as some little white symbols around the piece. Great work from Lis and a taste of more to come in 2025 (I dearly hope).
It is my birthday today. It is a busy day of packing, sightseeing and travelling. We are due to return to Bristol at around midnight, when our little break will sadly be over. Some great experiences and memories will remain with us and sustain us through the rest of the winter, I hope. I found this piece by Billy a little too late I fear, it would have been nice to have seen it without the tags.
Billy, Braggs Lane, Bristol, December 2024
Billy’s no nonsense simplicity and story-telling illustrative pieces are a real strength, and this piece shines through the tags with class. My guess, and it is a guess, is that this is a mural about peace in Palestine. The bird might be a dove, the semi-circular shapes might be watermelons, a motif of Palestine. Of course, it could be something else entirely. Whatever it is, there is a story in the illustration. Nice work from Billy.
This is a wonderful one-off piece that simply appeared in Exeter Road recently, and is something of an enigma. It is by an artist, Greg Stobbs, who from what I can make out is an illustrator. It turns out on digging a bit deeper that Greg Stobbs is Squirl of Squirl Art, who has appeared on these pages in the context of his Upfest pieces.
Greg Stobbs, Exeter Road, Bristol, September 2024
I am guessing that the piece is a commission, perhaps brokered by the Upfest team. However it came to be painted, it is absolutely wonderful and straight out of the children’s picture book style of street art. The branch and bird look very much at home on this rather tatty wall, and I very much hope that we see more of Greg Stobbs’ illustrative work in Bristol before too long.
Ailish Beadle, Muriel Alleyway, Bristol, August 2024
Painted on a sunny and warm day at Bristol’s smallest street art festival, this is a debut piece (in Bristol) by Ailish Beadle, who had only moved to Bristol a few days previously. It was great to be able to chat to her and welcome her to the city and its art scene.
Ailish Beadle, Muriel Alleyway, Bristol, August 2024
Ailish Beadle was refreshing/reimagining a piece that had been painted here before by Rtiiika, but which had been tagged and abused. She was able to breathe new life into the great words in her own illustration style, which as it turns out is rather good and totally in keeping with the Bristol Mural Collective’s ‘look’.
Ailish Beadle, Muriel Alleyway, Bristol, August 2024
A rather nice touch, and nod to the original piece, is the incorporation of the smiley face. The words in red in the centre are complemented perfectly with an array of designs and patterns in black and a sprinkling of dots, creating plenty of energy and movement. I very much look forward top seeing more from Ailish Beadle on the streets of Bristol.
Although Exeter doesn’t have quite the same volume of street/graffiti art on offer as Bristol, nor as many spots/locations, it does have one or two resident artists whose work can be found, if you keep your eyes open. One of these artists is None Here.
None Here, Exeter, October 2023
If you fins a street or area with street art bin Graffiti, it is highly likely to have a piece by None Here somewhere. His work is pretty much always nature-based, often featuring birds. His style is very recognisable, looking like illustrations, and I am not convinced they are painted using spray cans, but more likely paint brushes with sprayed backgrounds. This door is typical of the work I saw on my recent trip. I would say that None Here is the beating heart of the Exeter street art scene.
He’s only gone and done it again, Haka has smashed it on one of his favourite walls, at the far end of the St George skate park. Another wonderful recreation of a children’s picture book, faithfully recreated with a little bit of a Haka twist.
Haka, St George, Bristol, January 2023
The book is called Peace at last, by Jill Murphy, and was a particular favourite of my daughter when she was little. Haka has entitled his work “A Piece at Last”, playing with us. I love this series of children’s illustrations that Haka has been painting over the last year or so, and it demonstrates that the Bristol graffiti scene is a vibrant and diverse one. A lovely piece.
With the onset of spring, the turnover of art on the concrete walls up at Purdown Battery has noticeably increased. It is amazing just how much the improvement in the weather drives street art activity, and already we have had a bumper year… it could be the best ever year for Bristol street art if things continue like this.
Antikki, Purdown Battery, Bristol, March 2021
This is a lovely, happy-go-lucky piece from Antikki with all the ingredients for that summer holiday we are all dreaming of. I love Antikki’s illustrative style which could so easily adorn the pages of a children’s picture book. There is a lot to admire in this beach scene, the stylised figure in particular. Superb energetic and fun work.
At the far end of the bowl in the skate park is this fantastic illustration piece by Squinty. I’ve not come across the artist before, but this is a real beauty in a style that you don’t see in Bristol all that often.
Squinty, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2020
In his Instagram profile, Squinty describes himself as an artist, film maker, graffiti artist and illustrator. He describes this piece as a quick throw up. How can that be? This is a lovely piece and I’d love to see a whole ton more from the artist.
Every now and then, a significant piece of street art is created, one that becomes a landmark or a statement in the locality. This commission piece, Turbo Island’s coral reef, by Alex Lucas is one of those significant works. Turbo Island is a little patch of green created by a fork in the main road with Jamaica Street, directly opposite.
Alex Lucas, Stokes Croft, Bristol, December 2017
The piece was completed on Christmas Eve 2017 and took some six weeks to complete. I am not entirely sure who the commission was from, but I think it is the company who own the building/offices.
Alex Lucas, Stokes Croft, Bristol, February 2018
Alex is steadily brightening up Bristol building by building and I think that this is one of her finest yet. Of course, my marine biology background means that I am particularly fond of this one.
Alex Lucas, Stokes Croft, Bristol, February 2018
The detail on the piece is typical of Alex’s work and each of the creatures is crammed with its own character from the rather grumpy shark at the top of the piece to the little hermit crab at the bottom right.
Alex Lucas, Stokes Croft, Bristol, February 2018
This is a piece that can be studied over a long while, making little discoveries each time you look at it. A huge asset to the area and worth hunting down if you happen to be visiting Bristol. Thank you Alex Lucas!
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