Tag: St Werburghs

4106. St Werburghs tunnel (267)

I like the work of Mind Control very much, although the theme of his pieces often carry an underlying threat of violence, which I am not so keen on, and this piece in the gloom of St Werburghs tunnel is one of those pieces.

Mind Control, St Weburghs, Bristol, Novemmber 2021
Mind Control, St Weburghs, Bristol, Novemmber 2021

It turns out though, that it is a tribute piece to a young man called Josh Schoolar who died last year, in Manchester. Josh was an activist who had been out to Syria (joining the International Freedom Battalion) to fight against Isis, and this piece is painted from a photograph of Josh from that time.

In his memory, Josh Schoolar’s family set up an annual fund of £300 for an up and coming young street artist, and Mind Control was the first recipient of this award, and painted this tribute piece as a thank you.

I have learned that it is important to understand what lies behind a piece of artwork as well as simply seeing what is in front of you. This is not a violent piece at all, but a fond and heartfelt recognition of a young life lost.

4077. St Werburghs tunnel (266)

To get the colours right in these pictures, I had to do a bit of manipulation, which if I hadn’t would have left them as yellowy-orange stains on the wall which really wouldn’t do. Instead, you can see the colours, which you can see with the naked eye, but in photographs are negatively impacted by the orange lighting in the tunnel.

Corupt, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2021
Corupt, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2021

The letters STICK are by Corupt, who is going through a bit of a purple patch at the moment which means that you should look out for more of his work appearing on these pages soon. Corupt is an artist who keeps himself to himself, and although I have seen him paint, at the top of a ladder, I still haven’t met properly.

From a technical point of view, this piece is on-point and skilfully crafted, but it is also rather beautiful too, with some excellent blended shading in the letters. More outstanding work from Corupt is in the pipeline.

4049. St Werburghs tunnel (265)

I have a feeling that this mask-like face may have been a Halloween piece from Laic217, at least it was certainly painted around that period at the end of October. The piece is far from typical of Laic’s work but contains his recognisable style.

Laic217, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2021
Laic217, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2021

Set on a vibrant pink background the grey scale demon stares out from the wall menacingly. The mask-like structure is rather static and fixed, which is different to most of his other work which tends to be full of animation and movement. Great to see something a little bit different.

4036. St Werburghs tunnel (264)

As mentioned recently, Stivs has been absolutely smashing it recently, and this pair of pieces, on either side of the entrance to St Werburghs tunnel, is a wonderful recent addition to his expanding repertoire.

Stivs, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2021
Stivs, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2021

To the left as you enter the tunnel is a fine bright greeting ‘good morning’ with dawn colours in the background. Cheerful and revitalising. This contrasts with the piece opposite.

Stivs, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2021
Stivs, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2021

To the right is the ‘good night’ piece in black writing, set on a sunset background. The two complementary pieces are a perfect pair and a creative way of painting this particular spot. There seems to be no limit to Stiv’s ambition and energy at the moment, and that is a good thing.

Stivs, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2021
Stivs, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2021

4008. St Werburghs tunnel (263)

Hurrah, hurrah, hurrah! It has been such a long time since I have seen a street piece from Kid Crayon, although he has been doing a lot of studio and digital work over the last few months, it is refreshing to see something big and bold. In this collaboration, Kid Crayon has teamed up with Nightwayss, who conversely doesn’t seem to have stopped hitting walls this year, he is a machine.

Kid Crayon, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2021
Kid Crayon, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2021

To the left of this ‘Finger Trap’ piece, Kid Crayon has painted a brilliant character (is it a self-portrait?) poking his finger into the trap while tipping his red baseball cap. The character is brilliant and so uniquely Kid Crayon.

Nightwayss, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2021
Nightwayss, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2021

To the right and making up the other half of the collaboration, joined with the central trap, is an unusual piece by Nightwayss. I love this recent experimental style from Nightwayss that seems to be exploring the fragmentation and interruption of a portrait and other elements, such as a parrot in this case. The fine artist in Nightwayss is coming to the fore in exploring new ideas and forms. Pity about the tag, but hey, you snooze, you lose!

Lovely and most welcome collaboration.

4006. St Werburghs tunnel (262)

Although rather small and modest in scope, this little collaboration is very significant in the history of street art in Bristol. Veee, an artist from Weston-super-Mare and Stinkfish joined forces to bomb a couple of walls at the tail end of a trip that Stinkfish had made to the city. A crowd-funded project had brought the artist back to Bristol to tidy up a couple of iconic pieces he painted here some years ago.

Veee and Stinkfish, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2021
Veee and Stinkfish, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2021

I had actually met the artists very briefly as they sprayed a wall in Dean Lane – unfortunately, when I returned a day later their work had been over-painted, so I only have this WIP shot. It was great to meet Stinkfish, in particular, because of his global reputation – he is a street art rock star, no doubt about it.

Stinkfish, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2021
Stinkfish, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2021

The St Werburghs piece by Stinkfish is similar to the Dean Lane one, and it is like a mega tag. I wonder how many people know who it is by. It is interesting that Stinkfish would want to spray these little anonymous pieces about the place, but then again, I guess that is all part of the fun of spray-painting. There is another one of these that I will share soon, and of course I have to go and photograph the two renovations too.

Veee seems to be making quite a big noise at the moment, and I know that there will be plenty more pieces from him in Natural Adventures before long.

Vee and Stinkfish, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2021
Vee and Stinkfish, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2021

3998. St werburghs tunnel (261)

Seeing tribute and birthday pieces is always great to see, and it demonstrates the joy of painting for others, that selflessness that is a common trait in many street/graffiti artists, at least in my experience.

Stivs, M32 roundabout, Bristol, October 2021
Stivs, M32 roundabout, Bristol, October 2021

This piece for Shosh by Stivs at the entrance of St Werburghs tunnel is an absolute beauty and shows just how wide Stiv’s range of calligraffiti is. The pink lettering looks like it has been applied with a wide paint brush, but is actually really nicely finished. Great shadows and decorations. A lovely piece that is very easy on the eye.

3978. St Werburghs tunnel (260)

Here is one from the archive which I dedicate to Paul H, because he helped me to find it by supplying a date (late September 2019). It is by Chill, who made his debut on Natural Adventures about a week ago. It was following comments on that post that Paul pointed me in the direction of this piece, which I am pleased to share with you now. I love it the way things work out like this.

Chill, St Werburghs, Bristol, September 2019
Chill, St Werburghs, Bristol, September 2019

I believe Chill is a tattoo artist who occasionally paints walls, and you can see from the black and white colours and general design the tattooist’s hand. It is a bright and vibrant piece and confirms my view that Chill ought to hit Bristol’s walls more often.

3977. St Werburghs tunnel (259)

What a fabulous treat this piece was. I haven’t seen anything from Nugmoose for a while, and certainly never in the tunnel at St Werburghs. Obviously encouraged by collaboration partner Slakarts, no stranger to this spot, the pair have produced this wonderful dual piece.

Nugmoose and Slakarts, St Werburghs, Bristol, September 2021
Nugmoose and Slakarts, St Werburghs, Bristol, September 2021

On the left is a curious (as always) alien maggot kind of creature with some alien hieroglyphs sitting on a cloud. The whole thing is a little weird, but Nugmoose does weird really well. To the right is Slakart’s contribution which is also a little odd, but tells a rather nice story. It looks to me as if an alien space ship is dropping rain down on the character, who is holding hands(tentacle) with the alien. Imaginative fun from this creative pairing.

3959. St Werburghs tunnel (258)

Stivs has presented me with another golden opportunity to feature his work on Natural Adventures by painting this cracker in St Werburghs. His calligraffiti writing is improving with every piece, and this is an outstanding example of what he is capable of.

Stivs, St Werburghs, Bristol, September 2021bday 034 12-16 Sept 2021_edited
Stivs, St Werburghs, Bristol, September 2021bday 034 12-16 Sept 2021_edited

Painted in black and red with a blue border, the letters have the appearance of having been painted with brush strokes – an effect perfected by Voyder in some of his Bristol works. There is so much to like about this, particularly the crispness and the thin yellow lines running through the piece. Lovely stuff.