I have a very busy day ahead today, so I only have time to do a really quick couple of posts. When I last met Mote a couple of weeks back, he was rediscovering his mojo, after a quiet period. These monsters in my favourite Moon Street are evidence of his newly rediscovered enthusiasm.
Mote, Moon Street, Bristol, April 2023
Mote has not only been painting with a high frequency, but he has also been visiting a few new spots too. I believe this is his first piece in Moon Street, and he has filled the space here with a nice cheeky quick one.
I have a feeling that we are going to see a lot more of Bbygwya’s work on Natural Adventures over the coming months. This RBF crew member has only recently arrived on my radar, but I know I already have a handful of her works in my photograph folders.
Bbygwya, Moon Street, Bristol, March 2023
I haven’t yet worked out what the letters spell, but I am sure that Paul H will be able to help me out with that (it seems obvious now, but Paul H informs me it says FLUKS). This is accomplished writing, with a pleasing form and nicely crafted fills, drop shadow and background elements. I am also happy to see that Moon street is having a little bit of a renaissance at the moment. Watch this space for more from Bbygwya.
This is another piece from the archive, and is an absolute classic from RAW’s Ryder. Ryder is at the very heart of everything that is great about graffiti writing in Bristol. His work is consistently brilliant, there is always an element of edge and the style of writing has a really strong local identity to it. If you look at graffiti writing from around the world there are clearly local styles and influences, and Ryder is central to the Bristol look.
Ryder, Moon Street, Bristol, April 2018
Painted in April 2018, in red and gold, the letters RYDER stand out and smack you in the face. It is weird looking at the finished piece, but it feels like the creation was effortless, maybe because of his modesty and lack of fuss. Punchy and direct, this is a no nonsense statement from the wonderful Ryder.
I am definitely coming to the conclusion that it is time for a Lee Roy gallery. He appears to have had a little bit more free time to paint recently, and there are pieces appearing in all parts of Bristol. I often wonder what it is that creates these moments for artists, is it family circumstances, is it a job situation, mental health, affordability or inspiration that dictates the peaks and troughs in activity.
Lee Roy, Moon Street, Bristol, February 2023
This piece in my beloved Moon Street is painted in his anti-style unruly lettering, spelling out LROY on this occasion. The dark colours give it a fairly austere appearance, and there are one or two little narratives going on – a burning candle, a stairway, the sun and stars and a face with four eyes, all stories to be told. Gallery to come soon I hope.
I first became aware of Cartoonneros when he painted a Kurt Cobain piece in Dean Lane in February 2019. I followed him on Instagram and have been intrigued by his work ever since. It is quite unlike anything we tend to see in Bristol, and although on first inspection it looks a bit untidy, his work is always really creative and imaginative.
Cartoonneros, Moon Street, Bristol, February 2023
His decision to paint in Moon Street was a good one, as this little alleyway, my favourite spot in Bristol, which is suffering slightly from neglect, is in need of some TLC from artists.
Cartoonneros, Moon Street, Bristol, February 2023
This stencil is a fabulous take on the iconic Rene Magritte “Ceci n’est pas une pipe” painting, but instead with the words “Este no es un stemal”, which literally translates as this is not a stem, although I guess stemal means pipe. Great stuff from Cartoonneros here in Bristol. He will be welcome here anytime.
There was a period early last year, when it felt like every available space in multiple spots was being filled with a portrait mega-tag by Asre, aka Runaway Joey. These distinctive characters are based on the same central core elements, but they are ‘pimped’, so that each has a distinctive look and theme. This is a mini-gallery of pieces by Asre from April last year. At another point in time, I will have to do another of these galleries to sweep up a bunch of other Asre pieces in the first half of 2022.
Asre, Jamaica Street, Bristol, April 2022
This was a small piece in Jamaica Street that reflects the basic character template.
Asre, Moon Street, Bristol, April 2022
A Moon Street cheeky character wearing a red hat, beautifully picked out with the customary three layered thick border.
Asre, M32 Spot, Bristol, April 2022
Asre shows his versatility with this quick column piece under the M32.
Asre, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2022
Rounding off this mini-gallery with a piece behind the fence in Dean Lane, this time the character is wearing a blue hat.
One of the curious things is that Asre’s prolific activity simply dropped off a cliff later in the year, so I guess there might have been a lifestyle change at some point. It would be nice to think that he will return to our streets in due course.
How has it taken me so long to post one hundred pieces from my beloved Moon Street? I guess, in recent years, painting here has reduced as the gentrification of the area has taken a grip, and so it is not so much of a graffiti destination, with artists preferring St Werburghs, Bedminster, St Paul’s or the River Avon. However, we do stopill get some beauties down there, including this very Zake, Zake character piece.
Zake, Moon Street, Bristol, December 2022
The rather disturbing face, exaggerated by its asymmetry, is arresting to say the very least. A slight reversion to his early form of portrait, his strengths come to the fore, especially his use of shading and highlights to create depth of features on the face. A worthy piece for my one hundredth Moon Street post.
One of the most enjoyable things about Kid Krishna’s work is that he has breathed a little bit of life back into Stokes Croft. Over the years, gentrification of the area has led to a decline in available graffiti walls and a commensurate dwindling interest in spray-painting in the area. Not Kid Krishna though, he seems to favour Stokes Croft, and that is a good thing.
Kid Krishna, Moon Street, Bristol, October 2022
This piece perfectly illustrates Kid Krishna’s style of long straight letters on a single colour background. I still find his cryptic writing very difficult to read, but I am sure the penny will drop one day. I am guessing that this says KRISHNA, and I can see elements of those letters, but who knows? More to come from this relatively new-to-Bristol artist.
On one of my favourite walls, in one of my favourite streets, by one of my favourite artists. This is a lovely piece by Face 1st, and something of a new idea, with a bit of fragmentation going on in the girl’s smiling face. As is usually the case, the hair spells out FACE.
Face 1st, Moon Street, Bristol, October 2022
This is a piece that is not only well painted, but also is full of energy and movement. It is pieces like this one that remind me how much I love photographing and following street art in Bristol, seeing and capturing talent and beauty. Time to update my Face 1st gallery, as he has been on a very productive streak lately.
Often associated with Face 1st, Moon Street has a new kid on the block in the shape of Kid Krishna, whose work has been appearing all over Bristol over recent months. This is the first of his pieces to appear on Natural Adventures and highly unlikely to be his last.
Kid Krishna, Moon Street, Bristol, August 2022
Kid Krishna’s writing is very distinctive, with long thin letters, looking like planks of wood stacked in a pile. I believe the letters spell out KRISHNA, but I could be mistaken, such is the disguise. Expect to see a whole lot. Ore from the artist in this blog, I already have a considerable back-catalogue of his work in my archive. Definitely something creative and different.
Natural adventures 