Tag: Monkey

7037. L Dub (71)

Dun Sum, L Dub, Bristol, June 2025
Dun Sum, L Dub, Bristol, June 2025

There are a few artists who are synonymous with the Lawrence Weston (L Dub) spot, including DJ Perks, Hypo and of course Dun Sum. This is one of his fictional creatures, a monkey -type character conjured up by his fertile imagination.

Dun Sum, L Dub, Bristol, June 2025
Dun Sum, L Dub, Bristol, June 2025

There is a lot of expression and movement in the piece, with the monkey appearing to be yelling or screeching, in the way that chimpanzees do. The shaded tones in the animal’s fur and on the teeth and tongue are expertly done, creating loads of texture and depth. This is a brilliant wildlife character piece from Dun Sum.

5595. Cheltenham 2023 (14)

Unify, Cheltenham Paint Festival, Cheltenham, July 2023
Unify, Cheltenham Paint Festival, Cheltenham, July 2023

One of the very earliest street art pieces I posted on Natural Adventures was by Unify, painted on the side of the Highbury Vaults in Kingsdown. Both Unify and I have come a long way since then. This wonderful monkey in a spacesuit stencil piece is perfectly presented on the side of a ramp in the Cheltenham skate park.

Unify, Cheltenham Paint Festival, Cheltenham, July 2023
Unify, Cheltenham Paint Festival, Cheltenham, July 2023

The freehand background is very dramatic and sets the scene perfectly for the intricate stencil work. I love the reflection of the earth in the space helmet. I don’t know why, but I have seen a lot of space monkey street art over the years and it appears to be a really popular theme (note to self – potential for a themed gallery). This is a classy piece from Unify, whose work can be found all over London where I think the artist lives.

Unify, High Kingsdown, Bristol, June 2016
Unify, High Kingsdown, Bristol, June 2016

5497. L Dub (46)

Dun Sum, L Dub, Bristol, August 2023
Dun Sum, L Dub, Bristol, August 2023

Many artists have favourite spots, and Dun Sum seems to like painting in L Dub, in fact I don’t think I have ever seen his work in any of the other Bristol Spots. Because of this, he is an artist who is probably underrepresented in this blog, because I only make it up to L Dub about three or four times a year.

Dun Sum, L Dub, Bristol, August 2023
Dun Sum, L Dub, Bristol, August 2023

This is a fabulous and imaginative piece featuring a monkey, complete with arm rings, and a frog, alongside what looks like toadstools. What is clever about the piece is that it gives the sense of disintegration into a datasphere, with lots of binary zeros and ones drifting away from the edges of the characters. Perhaps a Matrix influence going on here? A lovely and memorable piece from Dun Sum.

5174. M32 Cycle path (211)

Bean, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, April 2023
Bean, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, April 2023

When I first found this falling monkey on the M32 Cycle path, I was left pondering whom it was painted by, and although it was signed, I didn’t have enough to go on to be able to post the piece at that time. It is by Bean, who has been making a bit of an impact this April, hitting the walls of Bristol pretty hard.

Bean, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, April 2023
Bean, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, April 2023

Bean has painted several different characters and certainly has a versatile approach and creative imagination. I am a big fan of monkeys in street art, and since Nightwayss left us, there has been a shortage of simian artwork, so it was good to find this piece. I am expecting great things from Bean this year, if April is anything to go by.

5035. Cumberland Basin

Nightwayss, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, February 2023
Nightwayss, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, February 2023

The monkeys are back – at least for a fleeting moment. This piece was painted by Nightwayss, who recently returned to Bristol for a visit and kindly left us this reminder of the talent that we lost last year. It is always good when artists return the their former home city and drop a piece.

Nightwayss, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, February 2023
Nightwayss, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, February 2023

Even the dog was pleased to see this graffiti writing piece. The departure of Nightwayss has left a hole in the street art scene and the PWA crew that he used to enjoy painting with. I hope that this will be the first of many return trips.

Nightwayss, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, February 2023
Nightwayss, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, February 2023

The piece spells out NIGHT in a nicely selected palette of blue pink and red colours, but it is the monkey that continues to steal the show for me. I do miss them.

4821. River Avon (34)

Tack Jucker, River Avon, Bristol November 2022
Tack Jucker, River Avon, Bristol November 2022

This magnificent pipe-smoking monkey by Tack Jucker, must be one of the most overlooked pieces in Bristol. It is on a warehouse door and is incredibly feint. I don’t know if it has always been this way or whether it has been bleached by the sun. I don’t even know how long it has been there, but am please to have spotted it.

Tack Jucker, River Avon, Bristol November 2022
Tack Jucker, River Avon, Bristol November 2022

Photographing street art is all the more gratifying for the surprises that you encounter, and this piece definitely fell into that category. Had it been painted on a buffed background, it would have been much more noticeable, but instead, it simply blends into the graffiti swirl and remains hidden. Tack Jucker is a great artist, and finding his work is always a genuine pleasure. Gallery coming soon…

4548. Brunel Way (161)

Tack Jucker has been painting in Bristol for a little under a year now, but in that time he has made a great impression with his animal and hand pieces, he especially seems to favour his monkeys and apes, and perhaps will fill the void left behind by Nightwayss in that respect.

Tack Jucker, Brunel Way, Bristol, June 2022
Tack Jucker, Brunel Way, Bristol, June 2022

This piece is on the same wall where I first met the artist in October last year, and like the piece he was painting then, features a monkey. The structure of the portrait is skilfully done, with loads of depth in the features of the face contrasting with the textures of the fur. Although the monkey appears to be a little fierce, it certainly grabs the attention and there is no question that passers-by would notice it. I am looking forward to more from Tack Jucker.

4526. The Full Moon

When Zake first appeared on my radar a few years ago, I managed to pretty much keep on top of his work, only rarely missing a piece in Bristol. These days, he is painting so much in so many spots, it is difficult to keep up. I have been meaning to photograph this one in the Full Moon in Stokes Croft for some time, and finally got round to it a week or two ago.

Zake, The Full Moon, Bristol, June 2022
Zake, The Full Moon, Bristol, June 2022

Zake has sprayed this fine monkey in a spacesuit (a theme I have seen before) with a happy moon behind on a gate at the back of the pub courtyard garden. As ever, the faces are beautifully painted and Zake has used his highlighting technique to great effect, with blue shadowing in the creases of the features on both faces. Very nice work from Zake.

4116. Catherine Mead Street (3)

This is the third piece I have posted from this favourite wall of mine in Bedminster. It is also another example of the great work from Tack Jucker, who has embedded himself quickly into the Bristol graffiti art scene with relative ease.

Tack Jucker, Catherine Mead Street, Bristol, November 2021
Tack Jucker, Catherine Mead Street, Bristol, November 2021

Tack Jucker is an artist who seems to enjoy painting wildlife, and in particular monkeys and apes, and in this respect he shares an interest with Nightwayss. Now I’d love to see a collaboration of monkeys from these two.

This piece from Tack looks a lot like a chimpanzee, with a rather aggressive expression, and sharper than normal teeth. The absence of pupils in the eyes, gives the character a bit of a distant and ghostly look. This is a lovely piece painted in pink and rose shades and is as good as anything else I have seen from the artist.

4019. Brunel Way (126)

There is a relatively new artist in town (at least he has been painting more frequently) who in a few short months has been making an impression with some lovely character/animal pieces. He is Tack Jucker (see what he did there with his name?) and made his debut on Natural Adventures with a monkey piece in Sparke Evans Park, a week or so back.

Tack Jucker, Brunel Way, Bristol, October 2021
Tack Jucker, Brunel Way, Bristol, October 2021

Here we have another monkey piece, and I managed to catch up with the artist and a friend while he was finishing this one off. He is friends with Nightwayss and that is rather apt as both appear to enjoy painting monkeys. This melting-face individual has smoke discharging from its eyes and seems to be more horror-based than natural history-based. It is a fine piece and one of several in the pipeline.