5559. Mina Road (12)

Stivs and Vane, Mina Road, Bristol, August 2023
Stivs and Vane, Mina Road, Bristol, August 2023

I was fortunate enough to be driving by when Stivs and Vane were pretty much finishing off this piece, but couldn’t take any pictures at that time, because Vane had parked his van in front of it while they were clearing away all their gear. I didn’t go back immediately, knowing that it was a commission piece that would be respected by taggers.

Stivs and Vane, Mina Road, Bristol, August 2023
Stivs and Vane, Mina Road, Bristol, August 2023

The fantasy woodland piece is a true collaboration, where it is not possible to disentangle which artist painted which bits of the extraordinary work. The piece is quite unusual in Bristol, as we don’t get to see many of this kind of collaborative mural. Each of the artists has included some letters, with Stivs writing DSC on the left and Vane writing TAF on the right.

Stivs and Vane, Mina Road, Bristol, August 2023
Stivs and Vane, Mina Road, Bristol, August 2023

The almost Disneyesque style of the piece, it reminds me a little of Sleeping Beauty, is compelling to look at and beautifully executed. So absorbing is the piece that it is difficult to see that there is a garage door right in the middle. A garage door that once played host to an outstanding piece by Silent Hobo. This is something you might usually associate with Upfest and a premium wall in Bedminster, but here it is in Mina Road, thanks to an enlightened resident. Bravo gentlemen!

Silent Hobo, Mina Road, Bristol, October 2020
Silent Hobo, Mina Road, Bristol, October 2020

5323. St Werburghs tunnel (370)

Stivs, St Werburghs, Bristol, June 2023
Stivs, St Werburghs, Bristol, June 2023

I have missed several recent Stivs pieces (wrong place, wrong time), so it was good to find and photograph this one . The artist has returned to his calligraffiti, having spent some weeks painting portrait pieces, although this one is a little more stylised and mainstream than his typical calligraffiti style.

Stivs, St Werburghs, Bristol, June 2023
Stivs, St Werburghs, Bristol, June 2023

The strange orange and green colour combination  works surprisingly well, but why wouldn’t it? I guess they are colours often seen together in nature. Instead of writing STIVS, he is playing with us and has written STYVZ. This is a nice quick one from Stivs.

5214. M32 roundabout J3 (476)

Stivs, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2023
Stivs, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2023

‘Who duh fook is dat guy?’ asks Stivs whose portrait pieces are truly outstanding – who knew about this incredible versatility, when he was pretty much exclusively painting his calligraffiti pieces? This portrait piece has very quickly established itself as something of a classic and definitely stands out from the crowd.

Stivs, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2023
Stivs, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2023

I didn’t have any idea who was featured in the piece, that was until Paul H posted this piece on social media and helped me out with identification. It is Conor McGregor – UFC champion, which explains why I didn’t know. Although I like to think of myself as having my finger on the pulse, I am not a wrestling/UFC/boxing fan, it simply isn’t in my nature to watch alpha males (or females) knocking seven shades of sh*t out of each other for our entertainment. Great portrait piece though.

5184. Dean Lane skate park (592)

Stivs, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2023
Stivs, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2023

This is a rather unusual piece by Stivs, and I have to say I’m really not very sure what it all means, so I decided to do a bit of a Google Interweb search. I think that the piece splits into two. On the left is a reference to an Australian film called Chopper and a character called Mark ‘Chopper’ Read who I assume says at some point in the film “Neville Fuck’n Bartos”. One for a quiet evening maybe. The other half is some stunning calligraffiti spelling out Jules.

Stivs, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2023
Stivs, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2023

Stivs has been pushing the boundaries recently with character pieces and portraits, mostly linked to films, and his portfolio is about so much more than just his outstanding calligraffiti. The writing looks like it might be a tribute to Jules – I don’t know much more than that about it. My only reservation about this piece is the background, I can only guess that it has some significance.

5057. M32 roundabout J3 (455)

Stivs, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2023
Stivs, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2023

Stivs has been absolutely smashing it with his character pieces lately. Better known for his calligraffiti writing, who knew that his artistic skills are so much broader than that. He really is an exceptionally talented and diligent artist.

Stivs, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2023
Stivs, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2023

This beautiful girl character piece forms the letter ‘S’ in the middle of DSC, his crew letters and he has named this piece Dodgy Sheila Crew – playing with the letters. Stivs is using these orange tones in his character pieces at the moment, and they are extremely effective, in a way that greens, blues and greys etc might not be.

Stivs, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2023
Stivs, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2023

I am including an almost complete piece that Stivs painted a day or two before this one, which had been painted overt by the time I went back to get a clean shot of the finished work. It is another stunning portrait piece. In recent weeks Stivs has taken his work onto another level.

5042. Sparke Evans Park (63)

Stivs, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, February 2023
Stivs, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, February 2023

Stivs is definitely best known for his calligraffiti writing, which is straight out of the top drawer, but recently he has been treating us to his talents as a character artist, and I am seriously impressed with what he is painting, including this new belter in Spark Evans Park.

Stivs, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, February 2023
Stivs, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, February 2023

I have met Stivs with his dog, Mozarella, a couple of times in recent days, and he definitely seems to be enjoying his character pieces as much as his calligraffiti. The piece is entitled ‘Chop’ and in his Instagram post Stivs references the film Ninja Scroll, and it would seem this is an homage to the Japanese animation. The artwork is outstanding, with brilliant use of shading on the flesh, to give depth. What a privilege to have such a talented artist in Bristol.

4979. M32 Cycle path (194)

Stivs, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, Jnuary 2023
Stivs, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, January 2023

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, Jnuary 2023
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.

4828. Brunel Way (180)

Stivs, Brunel Way, Bristol, November 2022
Stivs, Brunel Way, Bristol, November 2022

Writing about street art and graffiti here on Natural Adventures isn’t a very slick operation. Because of the volume of artwork appearing on the streets of Bristol every day, it is pretty much impossible for me to keep up and report on pieces photographed yesterday or the day before. The time-lag is about three weeks, and that is why you are seeing this magnificent Halloween piece from Stivs on 21 November!

Stivs, Brunel Way, Bristol, November 2022
Stivs, Brunel Way, Bristol, November 2022

As ever, the calligraffiti offered by Stivs is of the highest order, and spells out ‘Halloween’, in the colours of the festival – green, purple and orange. It is funny how these colours have become adopted as the colours of Halloween… I guess the orange and green come from the pumpkin, and the purple is just a colour that complements them well. Anyhow, this is an absolute belter from Stivs.

4752. M32 roundabout J3 (433)

Stivs, M32 roundabout, Bristol, September 2022
Stivs, M32 roundabout, Bristol, September 2022

This piece is another fabulous tribute to Sear by Stivs. Hidden behind a small tree on the M32c roundabout, this calligrafitti piece brings out all that is best in Stivs, including his compassion for a fellow artist.

Stivs, M32 roundabout, Bristol, September 2022
Stivs, M32 roundabout, Bristol, September 2022

The rich colours painted on a black background have a rather sombre tone and are perfectly fitting for a tribute piece.  The letters are beautifully proportioned and regular in size, with near-perfect accuracy and tightness. The drips simply add a great finishing touch.

4725. St Werburghs tunnel (311)

Stivs, St Werburghs, Bristol, September 2022
Stivs, St Werburghs, Bristol, September 2022

It is always tough to lose those we love and care about, and no matter how often it happens, it doesn’t seem to get any easier. Grief is a powerful and important emotion, and through it we remember what we have lost. Stivs has painted several tribute pieces for his friend Sear, and each one is a touching reminder.

Stivs, St Werburghs, Bristol, September 2022
Stivs, St Werburghs, Bristol, September 2022

This piece, at the farm-side entrance to the tunnel combines Stivs’ calligraffiti with a little bit of landscape in the orange circles. The colours are eye-catching and the whole thing on-point, although the lettering and the circles look a little bit out of balance, but maybe that is just me. A fine tribute from a loyal friend.