River Avon – Page 7 – Natural adventures

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This piece really made me laugh, taking the brilliant partnership between Mr Crawls and Mote into new territory in this rendition of a couple of fish monsters. Their work is always fun and usually tinged with a touch of humour that brings a smile to your face.

Mr Crawls, River Avon, Bristol, February 2024

This is one of those collaborative pieces from the pair, where their influence on one another makes it quite difficult to know who painted which character. There are some tell-tale signs that give each of the artists away, and the yellow anglerfish is by Mr Crawls, and an absolute beauty.

Mote, River Avon, Bristol, February 2024

The fish monster is by Mote, and consistent with so many of his characters in his vast portfolio. The fill patterning, and little hashtag symbol on the edge of the monster’s mouth give him away. This is a wonderful collaboration from the pair, which took me quite a while to hunt down. Well worth being persistent in my search.

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Mr Underbite and Herman Creates, River Avon, Bristol, March 2024

This is a rather nice tribute piece to the late Lazo, who will be much missed in Bristol, by Mr Underbite (MUB) and Herman Creates. Both halves of the collaborative wall hang together really well, and definitely stand out on the pathway alongside the River.

Mr Underbite, River Avon, Bristol, March 2024

On the left is a beautiful rendition of Mr Underbite in blue against an orange background. The joy of this piece is its simplicity. Nothing fancy, nothing pretentious, just Mr Underbite doing what Mr Underbite does, and does very well.

Herman Creates, River Avon, Bristol, March 2024

To the right is a debut piece from Herman Creates on Natural Adventures, and she has painted some more-than-decent block letters with rather nicely done fills. Herman Creates doesn’t do an awful lot of street pieces, but I do have one or two examples of her work in my archive which I will try to unearth, if ever I get a chance. A lovely tribute. And below some work by Lazo:

Lazo, New Stadium Road, Bristol, November 2022

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Laic217, River Avon, Bristol, March 2024

Well I never! This is a really unusual piece, on several counts, the first of which is a bit of a Bristol thing. It is quite rare to find ‘saucy’ street art, and nudes are almost non-existent. I was chatting with Inkie and Sepr about this a week ago and they suggested that the reason for this is that such pieces get dogged and ‘censored’ very quickly – it would seem that the city is generously populated with prudish activists. Another reason that this is unusual is that I think it is by Laic217, but there is no signature, and it is without many of his usual trademarks.

I would say that I am about 95% certain that this piece is by Laic217, and I base this on the style of artwork, which includes the folds in the material of the girl’s jacket, the tones of the flesh and the thin white border around the piece. In my experience, though, this subject is something I have not seen from the artist before, and I very much welcome it. Laic217 is having something of a purple patch at the moment, and is definitely experimenting and pushing a few boundaries. An unusual find.

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Mena, River Avon, Bristol, December 2023

It has been a while since I last posted a piece by Mena, and in fact, I think that she is rather underrepresented on Natural Adventures overall. I am sure that I have several photographs of her pieces in my archives that I never posted, which feels kind of wrong really and I am minded to do something about it when I find the time.

It would be quite easy to walk past this piece and dismiss it, but that would be quite wrong. This is classy writing of the highest level. Great letters, with a nicely worked drop shadow and a brilliant and intricate fill pattern that runs throughout. The icing on the cake is the brilliant white accents to the right of the letters helping the piece to pop from the wall. This is great stuff from Mena.

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The Mole, River Avon, Bristol, December 2023

I walked past this piece by The Mole, when I first saw it, thinking that it was an old one that I had posted before, but I did a double-take and returned to it, because although it was similar to another piece by the artist, it was new and in a different location. It was one that nearly got away.

The writing says INCA, referring to the artist’s full name Inca the Mole. Painted in colours that he often uses, the letters are supported by the mole character. The Mole generally paints three forms of his work, The mole alone, the letters INCA or, as in this case, a writing/character combination. The piece is nicely rounded off with peace symbols, which usually accompany The Mole’s work. A fine and rather unexpected piece, from the frequent visitor to Bristol.

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I find it hard to believe that I have only posted 54 pieces from the walls that run alongside the River Avon, but that is perhaps a measure of the task I have set myself. I would guess that I photograph between 20 and 40 new pieces every week, but have the capacity to post a maximum of 21, more commonly 14. As you can see, there is a large deficit, which is actually considerably larger than that, because there will be many pieces that I don’t find at all. Notwithstanding this challenge, I shall continue to push that bolder up the hill, because I enjoy it.

Raid has been a little quieter than when I first became aware of his work, but is still turning out some lovely pieces from time to time. This piece stands out with its big bold letters and super colour scheme. It is interesting how some colour combinations really stand out, such as orange and green as in this piece, pink and light blue (the colours of the 2023 season) and black and red. Everything about this piece has been done well. Great letter shapes, lovely fills which are interesting but not over-busy and a well worked drop shadow and neat border. All in all, this is a very tidy piece from Raid.

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More fun painting from the playful Pl8o. This modest piece is located on the cycle path between Sparke Evans Park and Temple Meads station alongside the tidal River Avon. What I like about Pl8o is the complete absence of ambiguity in his work. What you see is what you get and that is that.

It is possible that this is a Halloween piece as it was most likely painted in October and has a ghostly skull character, it is also possible that it has nothing to do with the festival and any ghostly link is coincidental. Big fat solid letters, big fat yellow fills and a cheeky character. This piece does what it says on the tin.

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Laic217, River Avon, Bristol, October 2023

We live in a crazy world. On the one hand there is everything to be excited about, all the beautiful things that our planet has to offer – nature, culture, science, poetry, art, landscape, architecture, sport, friendship and so on, the list is almost endless, and yet, on the other hand I feel stifled by all the horrors that surround us, from wars to disease to the rise of authoritarianism, the grip of advertising, selfishness, profit and greed, that list too is almost endless. My small gesture of kindness to myself is to keep writing this blog, all elements of it, as an antidote to the evil and to bring a little focus on the good things that I am grateful for.

Laic217 among many, many others brings me pleasure and happiness, both on discovering his work and then on recording and writing about it. This is a particularly good one from him on the cycle path between Sparke Evans Park and Temple Meads station.

The character, wearing a wooly hat and smoking, has a dark and sinister appearance, cleverly created by the absence of any white in the eyes, which is unsettling. The brilliantly painted skull tattoo adds a little threat and menace. No need to sign this one as it is pure Laic217 at his best, and although his choice of subject might not suit everyone, his mastery of technique is a sight to see.

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A graffiti writer and artist who regularly pops up on Natural Adventures, Pl8ohas recently had a bit of a purple patch, painting several pieces in the space of a month or two. This is a large burner on the cycle path that runs along the river Avon between Sparke Evans Park and Temple Meads station.

This large (larger than it looks), bold and humorous piece is a great example of Pl8o’s work, always well executed and fun to look at. The letters/number he uses are so easy on the eye, and here he has added an extra ‘o’ to create an excellent pair of eyes, a mechanism used by artists with ‘oo’ letters to great effect, such as Boogie and Scooj (hah!). Over the years, Pl8o’s contribution has not been insignificant as evidenced by this gallery of his work.

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Wxttsart, River Avon, Bristol, August 2023

With the turnover of art in Bristol being such as it is, I get an awful lot of pieces left behind in my archives, and then I forget whether I have posted them or not. I guess that this is a bit of a first-world problem, but it troubles me a little. I was certain that I had posted this piece by Wxttsart, but it would seem as though I hadn’t. It is still in great condition, so perhaps it is relatively recent, and I am mistaking it for another similar piece. Anyhoo, it is a bit of a blinder.

I describe Wxttsart’s work as a bit of a blend of calligraffiti with a touch of anti-style. I’m not too sure how the artist would describe it, but it is unique and always recognisable. The red script letters spelling MILK are nicely proportioned (a feature of calligraffiti) and have been bestowed with a deep 3D drop shadow in lilac shades. The whole thing is set on a fine green cloudy backdrop which contrasts well with the letters. This is another great piece from Wxttsart.

	beth on So, farewell then
	hitandrun1964 on So, farewell then
	hitandrun1964 on 7516. Berwick Road
	Sheree on 7516. Berwick Road
	paulh121 on 7505. Brunel Way (350)

	beth on So, farewell then
	hitandrun1964 on So, farewell then
	hitandrun1964 on 7516. Berwick Road
	Sheree on 7516. Berwick Road
	paulh121 on 7505. Brunel Way (350)

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