4866. St Werburghs tunnel (325)

Hemper, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2022
Hemper, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2022

There have been quite a few new Hemper pieces lately, but I have been slow to post them. I’m afraid, even the most talented artists are competing for my time to publish posts on Natural Adventures. Writing only two or three posts a day is very limiting, and in no way represents the daily activity of street artists and graffiti writers in Bristol.

Hemper, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2022
Hemper, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2022

This is a gorgeous piece by Hemper in the tunnel, looking a little like soapy suds escaping from a washing machine or a bubbly bath. Beautifully painted in shades of blue with white highlights, the letters spell HEMS, and the piece simply adds to Hemper’s extraordinary and vast repertoire. This is outstanding graffiti writing.

4862. St Werburghs tunnel (324)

Tao.create, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2022
Tao.create, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2022

St Werburghs tunnel is a funny spot. Sometimes you can go for long periods when not much changes, and then you go through a rush of activity, and need to be on top of it pretty much every day.

Tao.create, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2022
Tao.create, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2022

This glorious piece by Tao.create was painted with the LRS crew, only a short while after the Bnie paint jam on the opposite wall. I haven’t seen much from Tao for a long while, so this was most welcome. There is talent and a style here that we definitely need to see more of on Bristol’s streets. The portrait is captivating, and beautifully shaded in purple tones. More practice will add confidence with regard to proportions and scale of the features. Welcome back… more please.

4847. St Werburghs tunnel (323)

Acer One, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2022
Acer One, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2022

On the day that sees England play Wales in the football world cup, I find myself a little distracted. Before the tournament started, I was indifferent about England, and was rather more concerned that all the Arsenal players involved in the tournament come home unscathed and safe, but now I find myself caring. I’d like England to do well, despite their poor performance against the USA. As I say – distracted.

This is a fine piece from Acer at the entrance to the tunnel, painted in collaboration with Benjimagnetic (post to follow). Acer One has had an exceptional year on the streets, modifying and developing his style with outstanding results.

Acer One, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2022
Acer One, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2022

This piece, spelling out ACER 1, has all the components that he has been working on, such as the rainbow fill in his letters, the minimalist design of his letters, and the double drop shadows that serve to give depth and perspective. A real beauty, and a lovely touch to the right with a rainbow scale bar. A classy piece.

4846. St Werburghs tunnel (322)

Vozie, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2022
Vozie, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2022

I was rather late to the party regarding Vozie, which is embarrassing at best, but better late than never. I might have to trawl through some archives to see if I have overlooked any of her pieces from before my ‘awakening’ at Upfest this year. What is clear is that Vozie is a massively talented and accomplished writer whose work is both beautiful and compelling.

Vozie, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2022
Vozie, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2022

This one in the tunnel, painted as part of Bnie’s birthday paint jam, is an absolute banger. Painted in the paint jam colours, the letters VOZIE are sensationally filled with fabulous transitions between the colours and delicious accent lines and patterns on the edges of the letters. Fast becoming a fave.

4841. St Werburghs

Stinkfish, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2022
Stinkfish, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2022

Every now and then you get lucky, being in the right place at the right time. This is particularly true of finding street art on vehicles, and I was fortunate enough to see this Stinkfish piece on the side of a van parked up outside St Werburghs City Farm around a week ago.

Stinkfish, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2022
Stinkfish, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2022

Some readers might remember that Stinkfuish visited Bristol in October 2021 to tidy up a couple of his long-standing pieces in the City, and while he was here he left a few other little ‘surprises’ about the place. I imagine he painted this small portrait piece at around the same time, as it is still in great condition.

Stinkfish, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2022
Stinkfish, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2022

If you look carefully, you can just see a black line on the left where paint spilled over from the stencil used to create the black and yellow elements of the portrait. The decorative aspect I think light have been painted on with a brush, although it might be a stencil too, I am not sure. Finding pieces like this is so rewarding, and gives me the same tingle of excitement I get when I find a large shark tooth fossil on Bracklesham Bay beach, on my occasional trips to West Sussex.

4832. St Werburghs tunnel (321)

Kosc, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2022
Kosc, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2022

I was once told that to assume something will make an ‘Ass’ of ‘U’ and ‘Me’, a very helpful tip in the communications world. The assumption here, is that this unsigned piece is by Kosc. The evidence supporting my assumption is that NTS is a crew he belongs to, and he is the only artist I can think of who produces accurate anatomical pieces.

Kosc, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2022
Kosc, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2022

I am no expert, but looking at this magnificent skull, I would say the dentition suggests a grazing lifestyle and the horns would lead me to think this was an ungulate (a hoofed mammal). I would plump for some kind of bovine, possibly a buffalo of some kind, maybe an African buffalo. A lovely piece, and something a little different.

4825. St Werburghs tunnel (320)

Evey, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2022
Evey, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2022

Ooh, Ahh! This is a stunner from Evey, painted during Bnie’s birthday paint jam, described by Paul H as the paint jam that keeps on delivering, and he is right. I would suggest that this might be Evey’s most ambitious piece to date, and she has carried it off with style and competence.

Evey, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2022
Evey, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2022

This is an ambitious piece with lovely large letters spelling EVEN, and within the letters a picture of people hanging out under a stretch of arches, in front of a setting sun. A story within a story, if you like. The letters are rounded off with a colourful 3D drop shadow. Big respect to Evey for this one.

4820. St Werburghs tunnel (319)

Rusk, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2022
Rusk, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2022

A graffiti writer, whose work I simply don’t get to see enough of, is Rusk. I think this is mainly due to the fact that he paints a lot of walls I simply don’t get to see. When he paints in the more regular spots, there is a good chance I’ll get to see his work, and there are plenty of examples in this gallery. The problem is he likes to paint in different and unusual places, so I have to resort to his Instagram stream to enjoy much of his work.

Rusk, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2022
Rusk, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2022

This is a lovely piece painted in the tunnel for Bnie’s birthday paint jam is a beauty. The letters spelling RUSK are beautifully proportioned, but it is the fill that steals the day. A graded horizontal colour transition with stripes of adjacent colours thrown into the mix. The yellow/orange transition reminds me of the colour swirl in marbles… is that just me? This is another fine example of Rusk’s great writing.

4818. St Werburghs tunnel (318)

Pekoe, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2022
Pekoe, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2022

There are a handful of artists whose work fills me with a little tingle of excitement each time I came across their work, and Pekoe is right up there with the best of them. Her portraits feel like part of the furniture of the Bristol scene, and represent what is so good about the range and diversity of the city’s street art.

Pekoe, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2022
Pekoe, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2022

This piece was another RBF contribution to Bnie’s birthday celebrations a week or so back. A three-quarter view portrait with a blue face and ginger hair… what’s not to like about this colourful piece? The downturned mouth makes the woman look a little grumpy perhaps, but there is a friendly sparkle in the eyes. Pekoe has added in some clever shading, both on the face and in the hair, to give the whole portrait depth and texture. This is another fine piece from the wonderful Pekoe.

4812. St Werburghs tunnel (317)

Bnie, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2022
Bnie, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2022

The RBF crew are very popular among other artists in Bristol, and birthdays are often an excuse for a whole group of artists to come together for a paint jam. Recently it was the turn of Bnie to celebrate, and there was a great turnout of artists in St Werburghs tunnel to join in the festivities.

Bnie, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2022
Bnie, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2022

Bnie, certainly pushed the boat out with this design, which incorporates her customary beautiful letters, slightly jazzed up, and with a beautiful five colour horizontal fade across the letters. The letters (as if they weren’t already great) are brought to life under a white zig-zag line across the piece, where the colours appear where the white is, and outside the line, the letters are simply black with white outlines. A complex and beautiful piece of writing. Belated Happy Birthday Bnie.