This is just wonderful, a large organic piece from Petro and the second to appear on Natural Adventures. Petro is an artist that I have taken an instant liking to. His unusual, subdued colour selections and desire to fill as much space as possible with his writing really appeals to me.
Petro, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2021
In this piece, it is the 3D purple shading that catches the eye as it sucks everything from the right to the left. As well as spelling out PETRO, he also includes the letters TFWH, although I don’t know what these relate to – a crew possibly. Big, bold, psychedelic and modestly outrageous – I love it.
It is great to see these two painting together again, in particular Cort, who has rather gone to ground during the Covid-19 pandemic. Laic217, on the other hand, has been painting in fits and starts, but appears to have settled into a more regular rhythm recently.
Cort, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2021
Cort’s writing takes on his familiar form of irregular letters combining straight forms with curvy ones and spelling CORTOS. The letters are decorated with red blobs and Cort has used some thin yellow lines to add emphasis.
Laic217, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2021
Laic217 gives us a rather chilling scene of two characters looking like something from a dystopian future with a pile of small rocks in front of them. There is a story here, but I don’t quite know what it is. The characters are fabulously created from shades of purple and pink with lots of shadow in the creases of their clothes. Laic217 is raising his game week after week and it is so good to see.
There are a handful of graffiti writers in Bristol that I would group together in terms of what they paint and how they go about it. They would include TES (Slim Pickings), Phour, Pl8o, Bnie, Mena and in this example Mest, to name but a few. What these artists tend to do is write the same set of letters, usually in a similar font or style, but play with the fills and decorations. This is graffiti writing, but not wildstyle graffiti writing which tends to be much more elaborate and unique each time.
Mest, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2021
I think that this piece from Mest is very nicely finished and has some unusual but rather nice fills. I particularly like the pink dots that offset the rest of it. The green border helps to lift the letters a little. Overall a pleasing piece.
This gorgeous piece of graffiti writing from Ryder very nearly got left behind in the archives, however I am trying to go back and dig out such lost treasures which is a real challenge due to the sheer volume of street art being painted at the moment.
Ryder, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2021
I haven’t seen too many Ryder pieces lately (until the day before yesterday, that is) but what he lacks in quantity he has more than made up for with quality. Spelling out RYDER, this is a classic piece of writing from the RAW man with five horizontal fills running through the letters and some rather nice black spot decorations. This is a really classy piece, and there is a little shout out to King Robbo which is rather nice.
What a delightful surprise it was to come across this unheralded piece from Haka on the M32 roundabout. Haka is one of those artists who very much does his own thing in his own way, and pretty much every piece is a tribute to his friend CK One, which is really touching.
Haka, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2021
This particular vibrant and wild portrait is, according to Haka’s own Instagram feed, a self-portrait. Having never met the artist, I can’t vouch for its accuracy, but I haven’t seen anyone looking like this in the Bristol area before. Great fun piece.
An outstanding calligrapher who is possibly a little underrepresented in Natural Adventures is Stivs. This beautiful piece of calligraphic writing from not too long ago so perfectly demonstrates his extraordinary ability to paint such beautifully formed letters.
Stivs, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2021
The whole shape and size of this piece is really most aesthetically pleasing and easy on the eye. The writing which spells STIVS is elaborate and complex, but in the hands of the artist is expertly executed. Note to self – time for a Stivs gallery?
This large collaboration goes back a few weeks, and I have already posted the fourth element, the Daz Cat character, a little while ago. The remaining triptych is by Face 1st, Sage and Soap, and is really rather special.
Face 1st, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2021
To the left is the familiar work of Face 1st painted in a dazzling chrome. The letters FACE contain a feature used by Face 1st before, the introduction of a couple of swords. Quite what these swords symbolise I can’t say, but they appear to be driven into the smiling girl’s head, which is a little unsettling to say the least.
Sage, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2021
The middle section is, in my view, outstanding. The character by Sage just has something about it that really chimes for me. It is the perfect centrepiece to the triptych and really shows off Sage’s talent. The cartoon-style character somehow seems to fit the PWA ‘brand’ really nicely and reminds me of a very early PWA wall in St Paul’s (now gone)
Soap, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2021
On the right, as is so often the case in these PWA collaborations is a very nice piece of writing, also in chrome, from Soap. Lots off bones and gems in this veritable archeological/geological piece. The soap tag forms the centrepiece of tis complex piece.
Another wonderful PWA collaboration for us all to enjoy.
What a lovely surprise it was to come across this fabulous collaboration from Andy Council and Hemper when doing my rounds a week or so back. Two fabulous artists coming together to create this poignant piece.
Andy Council, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2021
Andy Council has been doing more street (non-commissioned) work at the moment than I can remember for several years, and I am definitely not complaining about that. The collaboration is a tribute piece to artist and friend Wayne, although I am not too sure about the reference ‘save the wheals’. Andy Council has painted a rather sad looking whale with his customary ‘stitching’ together of components to make the whole. Very nice work indeed.
Hemper, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2021
On the right, Hemper has written WAYNE with extraordinary skill with such beautiful letter shapes and and clever fills. There are never enough words to be able to describe Hemper’s work, and he is an artist who seems to be raising his own very high bar. Great to see this amazing collaboration.
It is a bit of a shame, but Smoke Perfume’s work never seems to last very long, which might be a feature of where and when he chooses to paint. My advice would be to not paint a high-turnover wall at the beginning of a dry spell of weather. It sounds obvious, but when it is wet, it is only the covered areas that get painted.
Smoke Perfume, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2021
This is a very nicely worked piece from Smoke Perfume with some interesting colour choices that contrast rather strongly – a deliberate use of prime colours I wonder. I think that he writes WINE, often toyed with or distorted in some way, but it is his trademark flames in the letter fills that give him away. I really rather like his work and look forward to finding more of it.
The number of ‘new entrants’ into the Bristol street/graffiti art scene over the last six months has been utterly staggering, and quite a handful to keep up with. One artist making a bit of a name for themselves (figuratively and literally) is Dog Bless the Band.
Dog bless the band, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2021
The artwork is very much in the school of unconventional letter shapes and textures practised by Taboo, Whos and Alos all of whom use this irregular form to great effect. I can’t quite make the letters out, but it looks like MO?EL or something like that. I love the M, which has real charisma. The dull colours work nicely together in this low-key piece. Looking forward to posting a lot more from this artist.
Natural adventures 