No Frills – Natural adventures

4999. Dean Lane skate park (564)

This wall is a little tiresome to photograph, especially as my camera doesn’t have a wide angle setting. The wall is in a narrow space opposite the wall of a ramp on the skate park, meaning that getting decent shots of anything painted here is a challenge. Biers, AKA WD40 has set me the challenge on this occasion.

With his WD40 letters, Biers has incorporated a cartoon character, and I have to say I have drawn a blank on this one, so if you have any idea who he is, please feel free to drop his name in the comments. This is a particularly tidy piece from Biers, who can sometimes be a little rough around the edges, but not here, this is clean and on-point. A really lovely piece by Biers.

4659. Dean Lane skate park (521)

Biers, has been doing some brilliant pieces recently, and this one in Dean Lane really tickled me. My mother and I often discuss Mr Magoo, and our own age-related comical mishaps, a conversation that I expect not many people have these days, as Mr Magoo is probably quite unknown to younger audiences. I can’t help thinking that he was central to the creation of Rowan Atkinson’s Mr Bean.

The piece has been really beautifully finished and it would seem that Biers put a lot of time and effort into this one. Some of his other ‘quicker’ pieces can look a little untidy. The fills and colours have been done well, but it is the Mr Magoo character that steals the show for me, appearing in the 0 of the WD40 letters.

4615. River Avon (32)

One of the things that is happening on Natural Adventures of late is that some artists are simply not being represented as much as they might deserve, because of the sheer volume of new pieces being painted every day of the week. One of those artists is Biers, whose WD40 pieces continue to appear all over town.

This is a decent orange and green piece with a grey spotty feature running through it. I am not too sure what the character is, but he looks like he is up to no good, as if he is a gangster or burglar or something like that. It is his work that has turned the green colour to grey. This is a nice piece from Biers that has a story to tell.

4393. Sparke Evans Park (40)

Just because this is the first appearance from Tes (Slim Pickings) for quite a long while, it doesn’t mean that he hasn’t been painting much recently. On the contrary, there are many of his pieces in my archives that I haven’t managed to post, such is the stiff competition at the moment. It is a crying shame that so many outstanding pieces may never see the light of day on Natural Adventures, but it just indicates the quantity of artists out there at the moment.

Slim Pickings (Tes), Sparke Evand Park, April 2022

These are quite recent works by Tes and they show a playful reversal or mirror image of his usual mega-tag. Well if you’ve only got three letters, you have to find some way of switching it up a little, and this is just the ticket.

These pieces were painted alongside some No Frills crew friends during a paint jam, that included Bags, Turoe and Biers in early April. Both pieces are nicely executed, as one would expect, and demonstrate that even with quite a formulaic approach, Slim Pickings manages to bring variety to his work through colour selections and details.

4366. M32 Cycle path (173)

It is great that Turoe manages to paint reasonably regularly in spite of some health challenges, and when he does paint he still has the ability to surprise. This rather retro piece is a bit of a beauty down on the cycle path, and I suspect it will be there for some time.

Turoe, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, April 2022

The block letters overlap one another and are on the lean, but each one is perfectly finished with crisp, clean lines and borders. You can date the piece from around the time of the Oscar ceremony thanks to the reference to Will Smith. I love the way that street art does this, chronicling contemporary events before being irreversibly wiped from the ‘canvass’ through being buffed, bombed, tagged or replaced.

4228. M32 Cycle path (161)

This is another piece from Dybe, part of a spate of No Frills crew collaborative efforts painted in recent weeks. I am trying to make amends for the terrible underrepresentation of Dybe’s fine work in Natural Adventures. I feel an archive trawl coming on sometime.

Dybe, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, January 2022

The most noticeable thing about Dybe’s work is that his simple letters (full caps) are always really crisply and neatly finished. Nothing here is rushed or slap-dash, and although I have never met the artist, it is clear from his work that he is conscientious. The brick wall is nicely done, but it is the white highlights that give Dybe’s letters that 3D effect and lift away from the wall. A really nicely presented piece.

4199. M32 Cycle path (160)

I have found it a little difficult to identify some of the little characters in Biers’ pieces recently, but there is absolutely no mistaking this grey man, former Prime Minister John Major. A long time ago, when I lived in Godmanchester, I used to see John Major and Jeffrey Archer drinking together in my local pub. Goodness knows what plans they were cooking up.

Biers, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, January 2022

So Biers has portrayed John Major brilliantly peering out of the ‘0’ in WD40 with his laser stare. Major must be wondering what on earth is happening to his political party at the moment, they are such a rotten lot, and the Johnson defenders, by lining up behind him, are hanging themselves. It is the quiet ones we have to watch (Sunak, Gove, Hunt).

Biers is favouring the wobbly border at the moment, something that the PWA crew were playing with a little while back. This is a lovely piece painted during a rich vein of form from the artist.

4179. M32 roundabout J3 (378)

An artist, whose work I have photographed many, many times, but rarely, if ever posted on Natural Adventures is Dybe. Well I am putting that wrong right with this post today. I believe Dybe is part of the No Frills crew, and he has certainly been busy alongside Slim Pickings, Biers and Bags all over Bristol lately.

Dybe, M32 roundabout, Bristol, January 2022

Dybe’s writing is superbly presented, and seems always to be very tight and clean. The letters are not the kindest for graffiti writing, but he always presents them really well. There is usually a little character that emerges somewhere in his letters, and in this piece it is on the ‘Y’. There are loads of elements to admire, such as the fades of colour fill, the brick wall and the drips. An all round excellent piece of writing. More to look forward to from Dybe.

4178. MoonStreet (90)

Without doubt, Moon Street is my favourite graffiti spot in Bristol. It was where I cut my teeth discovering the joys of the art form, taking little detours on my walks to work (I haven’t been to the office for nearly two years now, imagine that!). Although the frequency of new pieces in Moon Street has been low for some time, I still like to swing by now and again for old time’s sake.

Biers, Moon Street, Bristol, January 2022

Imagine my happiness when I came across this Biers piece on my most recent visit. I can’t think I have ever seen any of his work here before, so it was a double surprise. The piece adopts his WD40 moniker with a musician emerging from the ‘0’. The colours are nice and the whole thing really works for me. Great fun from Biers.

4172. M32 roundabout J3 (375)

I told you a few posts ago that Biers has been hitting the streets pretty hard recently, and here is another of his WD40 pieces from the M32 roundabout. If I am honest, I’d say that Biers seems to be a man in a bit of a hurry. He virtually stopped painting since the first lock down, and has only recently started up again but would appear to be making up for lost time. While he has massively increased the quantity of his work he has perhaps let his quality go a touch, but I am sure that will come back when he settles into a new rhythm.

Biers, M32 roundabout, Bristol, January 2022

The piece is a classic letters/character combo. Sometimes Biers’ characters are based on personalities or known cartoon characters, but I can’t identify this one at all. He reminds me a little of the ‘calm down Scousers’ parodied by Harry Enfield. Lots more to come from Biers…

	paulh121 on 5000. Greenbank (69)
	scooj on 5001. Cumberland Basin
	scooj on 5000. Greenbank (69)
	scooj on 5000. Greenbank (69)
	slideyfoot on 5000. Greenbank (69)

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