What a stunning piece by Mind 49 painted at the Lucky Lane paint jam a couple of weekends ago. The theme for the mini-festival, organised by the Bristol Mural Collective, was luck, although I’m not sure how Mind 49’s piece plays into this, if at all.
Mind 49, Lucky Lane, Bristol, September 2025
The obscured portrait, a feature of Mind 49’s work, shows the eyes of a person peering through what appears to be a floral balaclava or headdress. It is an incredibly powerful piece, which is not only painted beautifully, but also conveys a raft of possible emotions – grief? contempt? sadness? resignation? stoicism? – there is certainly something downbeat about it, and yet it is surrounded with beautiful flowers. Lots to think about in this amazing portrait piece.
Mr Crawls and Mote, Brunel Way, Bristol, August 2025
It has been a little while, but I think I can safely say that the painting duo of Mr Crawls and Mote are back, and painting together again, which in my book is a great thing. The pair have painted a few collaborations lately, but I have struggled to keep up with them.
Mr Crawls and Mote, Brunel Way, Bristol, August 2025
On the left, Mr Crawls has painted a bird, looking rather startled, in his stylised cartoon form, in which he has incorporated a couple of Mote design ideas, such as the line through the beak and the horizontal lines on the eyes. I think the bird might be a pigeon.
To the right, Mote has gone to town with his portrait piece of a moustachioed man. The composite style isn’t one I have seen before, and I rather like it. A nice purple theme is rounded off with a chrome background, something of a signature for this pair.
Tera and Kid Crayon (credit: Kid Crayon), Stapleton Road, Bristol, August 2025
I am going to break with tradition in this post and contravene my primary rule, that all photographs are taken by me. This is a rare occurrence and it has been necessitated by the fact that I visited this collaboration from Kid Crayon and Tera less than 24 hours after it had been painted, but I was met by a rather disappointing and talentless tag stating that Jesus loves me. While that may or may not be true, it rather scuppered my photo opportunity. Fortunately, Kid Crayon took some of his own pictures, and I have used them for this post. Exceptional circumstances.
Tera and Kid Crayon, Stapleton Road, Bristol, August 2025
This pair have been smashing it all summer long, but I think somebody has it in for them, because few of their collaborations have lasted more than a few days. The two outstanding portraits are painted in the dia de los Muertos tradition, although there are a couple of months before we get to that celebration.
Tera and Kid Crayon (credit: Kid Crayon), Stapleton Road, Bristol, August 2025
On the left, Tera, who I might remind you only started painting walls this summer, has painted a face that reminds me of the band Kiss in it’s makeup styling. He has created some superb depth in the contours of the face with clever reflections of the candles in the lips and cheeks. Utterly brilliant work.
Kid Crayon (credit: Kid Crayon), Stapleton Road, Bristol, August 2025
Kid Crayon, who has been mentoring Tera (and let’s face it has done a great job of that), has gone for a more traditional styling in the facemask makeup, with some nice flowers (mirrored in the hair) and black patterning. Lots of wrinkles in the neck and black nails on the ends of the woman’s fingers poised while she takes a drag on ger cigarette. Kid Crayon offers a slightly different take on candles, but both are superb. One of my favourite collaborations of the year so far.
Nice One has been producing some outstanding sketch-style portraits recently, and this is an absolute belter on the long hoarding at Greenbank. Incidentally, it looks like this hoarding might be around for a little longer, as the building work on one of the developments appears to have halted for a few months now – perhaps they ran out of money. It is a bizarre sight, almost as if time is standing still, with supplies and equipment simply left in situ and not a worker anywhere to be seen.
Nice One, Bristol, July 2025
Back to the portrait piece. Nice One creates these sketches using spray cans, almost as if they are pencils on a piece of paper, scaling up his drawings in a unique and effective way. Nice One brings something thoughtful and different to the Bristol scene, which has such a wide spectrum of styles and talent. We are privileged.
I don’t visit Montpelier Park all that often, but every time I do go, there seems to be new stuff there, so maybe I ought to increase the frequency of my trips so that I don’t miss out on beauties like this one from Stivs.
Stivs, Montpelier Park, Bristol, August 2025
Stivs is something of an enigma. His work is so varied, he is unbelievably talented, and you never really quite know what he is going to come up with next. He used to be heavy on the calligraffiti, but these days he is painting more of these portrait pieces. This one is a real stunner, and drifting ever-closer to photorealism. I am very much enjoying the ride.
Joe Greenaway s not an artist I know much about at all, so I went to his Instagram account to see if I could find out more. I didn’t find much, but I did discover that this paint jam arranged by Mind 49 was organised to raise funds for @thegrandappeal Children’s Hospital Charity. Further searches on the Interweb revealed that Joe Greenaway is an up-and-coming artist from St Ives in Cornwall (a place with a rich artistic heritage).
Joe Greenaway, Knowle West, Bristol, July 2025
The stunning greyscale portrait piece features a woman with a date ‘1958’, and I wonder if it might be a relative of the artist. Alongside the stunning portrait is a superb reference to Bristol in the form of balloons drifting over the Clifton Suspension Bridge. This is a beautiful piece that deserves to be shouted about. Oh, and damn the car!
It looks like Stivs will once again be dividing opinion with this combination piece on the long wall at Sparke Evans Park. Although it was painted alongside the countless Paroe tribute pieces, it is not clear that this is one of them, and even if it were, it would seem a little inappropriate.
Stivs, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, July 2025
This is not the first time Stivs has painted a topless woman, but I worry that he might have missed the mark with this one, accompanying it with the words ‘Equal opportunities’. I’m not too sure what point he is trying to make, but it doesn’t sit all that comfortably with me. Don’t get me wrong, I am not a prude and am all for nudity in street art (as in all art), it is the messaging that worries me. The artwork is good, and the calligraffiti spelling out DSC – 25 – Stivs is totally in keeping with his style and talent.
It looks as if the building work at the development alongside the Bristol to Bath cycle track has ground to a halt, for whatever reason. This has offered a stay of execution for the long hoardings that provide a wonderful spot for graffiti/street artists. Painting on borrowed time. These two pieces from Nice One are a curious pair that bookended existing pieces (I think).
Nice One, Greenbank, Bristol, June 2025
Nice One has a wonderful touch that is quite unlike other artists in Bristol. His work looks much more like charcoal sketches or paint brush watercolour sketches, and bring something totally different for us to admire.
Nice One, Greenbank, Bristol, June 2025
The two pieces are hidden portraits in greyscale that speak of threat and suffering, and I wonder if they are an oblique reference to the appalling situation in Gaza. Both are superbly presented and such unusual examples of artwork at this spot. Although the pieces are not signed, the appearance of an ‘N’ and an ‘e’ give him away. Classy stuff.
This is a tribute piece, one of many to the late Paroe, on the long wall at Sparke Evans Park. Pekoe’s stylised portrait pieces are no stranger to Natural Adventures and I have observed over the years that emotions underpin her pieces and that is for sure the case here.
Pekoe, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, July 2025
The woman has a sorrowful expression, somewhat amplified by the tear of sadness. Tears used to be a common feature of Pekoe’s pieces, but of late they have been less common, perhaps reflecting her own happier disposition.
Pekoe, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, July 2025
This piece is archetypal Pekoe, and that is a wonderful thing. A beautiful portrait with strong features, especially eyes and lips, and some great shading. The wonderful hair is a trademark element of Pekoe’s work which is nicely coloured with green and yellow bands. Another fine portrait piece from Pekoe.
Mind 49 and Wxttsart, Knowle West, Bristol, July 2025
I believe that it was Mind 49 who was responsible for organising this paint jam in a sleepy close in Knowle West, and he certainly managed to assemble some great talent to decorate these suburban walls. In this amazing portrait piece he has collaborated with Wxttsart (Milk), although it is difficult to know which bits the latter contributed to, perhaps the sign of a true collaboration.
Mind 49 and Wxttsart, Knowle West, Bristol, July 2025
The portrait itself is clearly the work of Mind 49, whose subjects are often in natural poses, as if caught off-guard, and their faces often partially obscured, in this case with a hat and sunglasses. Pure class is how I would describe the piece. I believe that Wxttsart’s contribution is to the right-hand side, with the abstract designs and ‘rips’ through the piece. Certainly the end result is a winning combination, and a stunning addition to the house.
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