Tag: Inkie

4621. Upfest 2022 (36)

Inkie, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Inkie, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

Two Inkie posts in a row… It happens you know from time to time, sometimes by design and other times quite by accident. This was an accident, but nothing to stress about, there are no rules on Natural Adventures, and if there were I wouldn’t stick to them anyway.

Inkie, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Inkie, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

I watched Inkie as he was painting this stunner, and was reminded of the incredible pace he works at. I watched him paint the lower left hand quadrant for a couple of minutes, walked the dog up the road for five minutes, came back and he had virtually finished the segment, awesome to witness.

Inkie, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Inkie, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

Somehow Upfest wouldn’t feel like Upfest without a landmark Inkie piece, and the area plays host to several of his pieces still, from years gone by. Inkie – Bristol – ASK (After Schook Klub) – Vikki. Says it all. A true beauty.

4620. M32 roundabout J3 (422)

The day I went to photograph this piece by Inkie, painted as part of a paint jam in honour of Mr Jago’s Birthday, Corupt just happened to be finishing his piece above Inkie’s. What I like about Corupt is that he tends to respect other artist’s work and on this wall in particular, paints along the higher level using a ladder.

Inkie and Corupt, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2022
Inkie and Corupt, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2022

The Inkie piece itself couldn’t be by anyone else. a lazy squint at it might make one believe it says INKIE, because that is what most of his work says, but a closer inspection shows that it spells out Mr JAGO. Beautifully painted with a very nice vertical transition, this is just another example of Inkie’s exquisite work.

4408. Dean Lane skate park (486)

Unusual and unexpected, this writing in Dean Lane is an untypical piece from Inkie that appeared about a week ago, at the same time as a Rusk piece on a nearby wall (coming soon). At first glance, the writing is not obviously Inkie’s and certainly doesn’t have many of his trademark elements.

Inkie, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2022
Inkie, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2022

Take a closer look though and certain motifs are there. The quality of the piece is outstanding and although it might look a bit busy and eclectic, everything that is there is carefully placed, like the green hoops, the purple bubble writing around the edges and the shout-outs. This is a skilfully painted piece designed to look a bit raw, and Inkie has carried it off perfectly.

4158. Hotwell Road (4)

I don’t know what has happened to time recently, but there seems to be an awful lot less of it, or my life is just filling up with too much stuff. It doesn’t help that I have gone back to work today and there is a lot of catching up to do. I am getting my excuses in early as to why this post is late.

Inkie, Hotwell Road, Bristol, November 2021
Inkie, Hotwell Road, Bristol, November 2021

I haven’t had time to research this piece by Inkie, so I am not too sure I can tell you much about it. I do know that it was painted for the Vanguard street art and Toward 2030 project, both of which organise walls for environmental/social themes. ‘Always seeking knowledge’ seems to be an admirable message and one that works well in Inkie’s characteristic writing on such an enormous wall.

Inkie, Hotwell Road, Bristol, November 2021
Inkie, Hotwell Road, Bristol, November 2021

The wall is not only large, but is also very uneven, with loads of ridges and raised areas that Inkie has had to navigate. There are two studious characters at the bottom of the piece clearly seeking their own knowledge. This is classic Inkie at his very best, and well worth seeking out.

3942. The Pump House

At the western end of the floating harbour on the north bank is a pub called the Pump House, a place I have walked past a hundred times but never been in, which probably reflects the fact that I am not much of a pub person, not because I don’t like pubs, but because I have got out of the habit, probably since having children.

Inkie, The Pump House, Bristol, August 2021
Inkie, The Pump House, Bristol, August 2021

Inkie painted this fabulous commission around the same time as he painted his ‘I can’t get you out of my head’ piece for Upfest 75×75. You often see this with Inkie, that when he is in town, he will paint several walls over a few days, before returning to London.

Inkie, The Pump House, Bristol, August 2021
Inkie, The Pump House, Bristol, August 2021

This wall is an absolute gift for Inkie who is known for both his ‘signwriting’ skills and his stylised portraits of women with stunning hair. This whole piece is embellished with some beautiful patterns and flowers and is a ‘must see’ wall for anyone walking the Harbourside circuit. Good on the Pump House for tapping into and supporting Bristol’s fine tradition of celebrating street art and street artists.

3832. Upfest 2021 75×75 (25)

I feel another ear worm coming on. What is it with these street artists and music anyway…? Inkie has returned to his native Bristol to paint for Upfest, as he does every year and this time he was handed a nice new wall to play with.

Inkie, Argus Road, Bristol, July 2021, Upfest 21
Inkie, Argus Road, Bristol, July 2021, Upfest 21

I have a feeling that Kylie sand this line followed with ‘na na naa, na na na na na, na na naa’ if my memory serves me well. I suspect that Inkie’s reference might be a different one. The piece itself is rather special, with the words written out in the big hair of the female character, and a lot of mystery in the air. No features on the woman’s face and a question mark medallion around her neck. I’m not sure hat the reference ’84 21′ is, although that might be the dates that Inkie started painting and today.

Inkie, Argus Road, Bristol, July 2021, Upfest 21
Inkie, Argus Road, Bristol, July 2021, Upfest 21

Although the basic design ideas are there from Inkie, I feel like the piece is a bit of a departure from his normal style, particularly the block letters. Excellent stuff.

3821. St Werburghs tunnel (246)

Inkie has been back in town, mainly, I think, to paint his contribution to Upfest 75×75, but he has also painted at least one commission and had some fun in the tunnel with this piece during Sunday Funday from mid-July.

Inkie, St Werburghs, Bristol, July 2021
Inkie, St Werburghs, Bristol, July 2021

Inkie is inextricably linked with everything that is good about the street art scene in Bristol, and here is another wonderful piece to add to his collection. It looks like there is a bit of a birthday celebration going on with this too. I love the contrast in writing style with the inclusion of ‘BIZ in the top left of the piece.

3565. M32 roundabout J3 (291)

Inkie and his ASK compatriots have been smashing it in recent weeks, and it is a very good thing to see. I can’t remember a time when so many classy pieces have been painted in such a short space of time. 2021 is shaping up to be one hell of a year for street/graffiti art in Bristol.

Inkie, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2021
Inkie, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2021

This lovely piece is in colours favoured by Inkie and seen many times on Natural Adventures before. It is the intricacy of the piece that I find rather special about this one. There is so much interlocking and cross-over of the letters, it becomes impossible to work it all out in your head… goodness only knows how Inkie manages to do it. Yet another very nice piece from that man Inkie.

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3556. St Paul’s

Anyone over a certain age will probably remember the cartoon series Hong Kong Phooey, I certainly do, but what is incredible is that there were only 16 episodes made. How is that possible, at one point in my life, I would have been about 10 years old, this cartoon seemed to be on all the time? Inkie has breathed new life into this hapless undercover crime solver in this breathtaking new piece in St Paul’s.

Inkie, St Paul's, Bristol, March 2021
Inkie, St Paul’s, Bristol, March 2021

Painted on a new hoarding, this piece is in the very good company of Soker and Sepr (to follow). This is a beautifully finished high-quality piece from Inkie set on a blue star background with bright orange and red lettering to match the skin tones and costume worn by our hero. Great to see Spot the cat making an appearance too.

Street art in Bristol seems to have undergone a renaissance over the last few months, something that I suspect will calm down a little as artists return to their day jobs and a form of normality resumes. If not, then I am in big trouble because I simply can’t cope with the amount of new art being produced each and every day.

3498. Dean Lane skate park (390)

Unheralded and therefore unexpected, was this sumptuous recent piece from Inkie in Dean Lane. On his own Instagram feed Inkie describes this piece as a ‘Wildstyle painting in Boogie Down Bristol for new @sam_krats & @mc_craig_g NYC track ‘Culture’ coming soon’. So that gives us a little clue to what the writing says – CULTURE.

Inkie, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2021
Inkie, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2021

Inkie paints quite a few of these music-linked pieces, and I am never quite sure if they are commissions or simply promoting music for his friends. In a way I don’t really care what his motivation is, more the high quality of his outstanding artwork – years of hard graft and huge talent make this stuff look quite easy, the sign of a master at work.