I had meant to post this piece some time ago, but it just didn’t happen. The first time I photographed this rather special piece by Stivs, the lighting conditions were shocking and my pictures rendered useless. I got there in the end.
Stivs, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, January 2023
The vibrant piece seems to have a lot of robot action going on, almost in the style of Transformers. This is far removed from the calligraffiti we are used to seeing from Stivs, and shows us a completely different string to his artistic bow. All in different shades of orange and red, this is a stunner on the cycle path.
Acesartworld, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2022
It is curious that one of the most arresting pieces of 2022, never actually made it onto the pages of Natural Adventures. I know that I delayed publishing the amazing piece at the time because I was unsure about the artist. However, as I know to my cost, the risk of delaying posting is that pieces get overlooked and eventually disappear under the weight of newer pieces landing in my image folders.
Acesartworld, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2022
This is by Acesartworld, and is quite unlike much of his other work. What I particularly like about this (robot/alien?) headshot is the way the burning orange pupils of the character’s eyes have projected light onto eye surrounds and cheeks. There is a lot of depth and texture here, provided by some clever shading. I have other pieces by the artist that also haven’t been published, and will need to dig them out.
Just when you’ve forgotten all about him, Stiff turns up with another interesting piece, this one tucked away on the swimming pool wall behind the fence. Although not a green monster this time, the robot character does align with his ‘other world’ theme that he is so fond of.
Stiff, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2022
Stiff has prepped his wall well, which I like, in a dark blue, almost glossy colour which brings out the character’s red really well. The robot itself is nicely done, and is rounded off perfectly with a plasma bolt running through its head. A nice piece and reminder of the vast pool of talent we have in Bristol.
From time to time unusual pieces appear in the regular spots in Bristol, unusual not only for the content or subject matter but also for the rarity of the artist’s work. This is a piece from a street artist called Stif or Stiff, who I know absolutely nothing about, but who has hit this Dean Lane wall a couple of times over recent months.
Stiff, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2021
This piece from January this year features a kind of of robot wasp creature in grey and lime green. Definitely an unusual piece but set out nicely on the black background. I have another more recent piece from the artist which I will try to post soon.
I got rather lucky with this piece, managing to time my walk perfectly to be able to catch up with the artist mid way through painting it. The very large piece is by an artist I had never met before and didn’t even know about, Vents137. For an artist who specialises in painting trains, this was something of a departure (no pun intended), but very impressive nonetheless. Vents137 wasn’t at all happy with the colours though and just wanted to get it finished quickly, and he was very quick.
Vent137, Brunel Way, Bristol, May 2021
The piece is a classic writing and character arrangement with the letters spelling out VENT and the character taking the form of a hooded robot kind of thing, reminding me a little bit of a Snub23. It is all quite unlike anything I am used to seeing in Bristol and I hope that Vent137 takes to the walls more often.
Vent137, Brunel Way, Bristol, May 2021
Yet another debut on Natural Adventures from an experienced artist. How on earth am I expected to keep on top of all of this, I ask you? Great piece that unfortunately didn’t last too long.
Life is full of surprises, which on balance is a fantastic thing, and finding this piece by SPZero76, which had been so totally off my radar, was a joyful moment. This is a part of town I rarely visit and I was passing through between two spots that I more regularly visit. This piece has a ‘sister’ which I will post in due course.
SPZero76, Thomas Lane, Bristol, March 2021
This pirate scene is on the wall of the Seven Stars Inn, adjacent to the music venue The Fleece. I think SPZero76 probably has an arrangement with the landlord, because on Google maps, there is a different piece by him here. These pirates follow a sort of convention that the artist likes to paint, with a combination of human characters and part-mechanised characters. It is a theme he returns to again and again. The execution as ever is spectacular. A good find.
This was the central part of a recent three-way collaboration in St Werburghs tunnel by DNT. Fellow collaborators were Mr Klue to the left and Mr Sleven to the right. This was a collaboration in the sense that the three were painting together, but each of the paintings was discrete from the others.
DNT, St Werburghs, Bristol, January 2020
DNT is an interesting artist who has a reasonably identifiable style, but his subject matter is ecclectic to say the least. He is creative and imaginative and has produced a number of these organic robot types of pieces before and I have to say I rather like them. I’m not quite sure what this robot is all about, but he seems to be quite busy.
Well what a lovely surprise from a few days ago. I took a quick trip to St Werburghs tunnel and right next to one of the Fiva (Fiver) pieces was this fabulous Robot face by Snub23.
Snub23, St Werburghs, Bristol, March 2019
I have only known Snub23 to come to Bristol for Upfest, so it was extra special to find a piece here at this time of year. Snub23 adopts two instantly recognisable styles… this one of cartoon-style robots and sci-fi scenes and his geometric patterning which is similar to the work of Bristol’s Paul Monsters. Sometimes he combines both styles in a single piece. Brilliant to find this nice piece.
On a frequently painted wall this amazing picture of a robot appeared recently. The piece is by DNT and is deceptively large. I love the way he has painted directly over any pre-existing artwork, rather than buffing the wall first, to give the whole thing quite a busy look.
DNT, Moon Street, Bristol, February 2019
I have seen quite a few of DNT’s robot pieces before, but none as big as this one. It all came as something of a surprise in my beloved Moon Street. He seems to be quite busy at the moment, which can only be a good thing.
This is a piece that passed me by in many ways. I hadn’t been aware of it on social media and only found it on a recent mission to seek out the Muckrock piece at the far end of North Street. In fact I had walked straight past it, and only saw it on my return. What a treat.
SPZero76, Greville Street, Bristol, December 2018
This is a large commission by SPZero76 at Beaver Electrical on North Street and is a scene that conflates all sorts of ideas, with a robot, a Samurai warrior, A tiger/robot and some ladies and in the centre of it all a paddle boat/junk sort of thing.
SPZero76, Greville Street, Bristol, December 2018
I am sure there is a wonderful story to all of this, but I expect it resides in SPZero’s mind and we can just sit back and admire the whole thing. To round it all off and as a little nod to the owners of the store, SPZero76 has added some beavers at the bottom right corner of the work.
SPZero76, Greville Street, Bristol, December 2018
All in all this is a magnificent piece with so much to look at. A real treat for anyone strolling through this part of Bedminster – just remember to look behind you in case you walk past it.
Natural adventures 