Abbie Laura Smith, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2024
I am getting close to the end of the latest batch of wonderful paste-ups by Abbie Laura Smith, and genuinely can’t wait for her next release, which might not be for a while as I imagine it probably takes quite a lot of time to draft and assemble her wheatpaste pieces, and to find suitable locations for them too.
Abbie Laura Smith, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2024
This is another amazing portrait piece in black and white, where large parts of the face and hair are taken up with words, which might be lyrics to a song, but I haven’t yet deciphered them. I can read some of the phrases, but when I Google them I don’t get anything that makes sense. I will keep trying. This is the skill of ALS’ pieces, they ask questions and create curiosity. Clever and beautiful stuff.
This is the second piece by Butch that I have found and posted and I am very much hoping to find and share a whole bunch more. I like this kind of writing a lot, I am not sure why. The letters cascade down from left to right, increasing in size as you traverse along. The fills are interesting and unconventionally but effectively applied.
Butch, Greenbank, Bristol, August 2024
PLB (Placebo) are an interesting crew of artists, managing to keep below the radar, enjoying their anonymous status, unlike many other artists and crews in Bristol. Butch has used the ‘rivet’ look which makes the letters look like metal plates bolted together. The whole thing would look better with a bit of background or a buffed wall, but I have a feeling that is not Butch’s style.
Annika Pixie, Jee See and Pekoe, St Werburghs, Bristol, August 2024
As well as being a year when so many new artists have started painting in Bristol it has also been a period of collaboration. Whilst collaborations have always been a thing, I think that I have seen an increase in the number of them and a mixing up of collaborators, with new friendships and partnerships being formed or old ones renewed. This is an eclectic collaboration of styles from Annika Pixie, Jee See and Pekoe.
Annika Pixie, St Werburghs, Bristol, August 2024
To the left, the ephemeral portrait style of Annika Pixie is a welcome return to the streets of Bristol, along with a piece in Brunel Way (to come). I am not sure where she has been for the last few years, but it is a pleasure to see her unique pieces appearing once again. Mysterious as ever, the portrait is quite beautiful and haunting, painted with a lightness of touch that is Annika Pixie’s trademark.
Jee See, St Werburghs, Bristol, August 2024
In the middle Jee See presents us with his customary SEISMIC writing and accompanies it with a little demonic figure and the name Mr Nobody next to it. I’ll be honest and say that I don’t really know what is going on in this piece, but I have always liked his work and know to expect the unexpected.
Pekoe, St Werburghs, Bristol, August 2024
To the right a rather more familiar portrait piece from Pekoe rounds off the collaboration. The wonderful portrait, complete with amazing bunches (is that what they are called? – I am no expert in hairstyles) is accompanied by the magnificent words Pekoe has used before “Hot girls hate fascists”. It is noticeable that her work appears to be more joyful than it has been in the past, and I wonder whether this reflects the artist’s disposition in any way.
Katie Fishlock produces small, bold and really impactful pieces, and although she doesn’t create street art work all that often, you certainly know when she has produced a new piece – you generally can’t miss them.
Katie Fishlock, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2024
This bright piece is on one of the ramps at Dean Lane skate park, a spot she has favoured before. The piece is more of a statement stamp than anything else. It says ‘Thirsty’ and there is a drop of water landing between bright red lips of a horizontal face profile. Impactful and mildly sensual. Great work from Katie Fishlock.
Lokey (Lokea) and Ember, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2024
It is so good to see Lokey painting a little more often these days, and I wonder if the frequency of his painting is related in any way to his daughter joining him and ‘collaborating’ with him – pester power can be a very compelling force. This is one of several recent collaborations that Lokey has painted alongside Ember.
Lokey (Lokea) and Ember, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2024
Lokey has taken to writing LOKEA, which I suppose is simply switching things up a little, which writers like to do from time to time. His distinctive anamorphic writing style lifts wonderfully well from the wall. His daughter, Ember, has painted a cat, her character of choice, and I have to say it is rather good. I don’t know how old she is, but I can see that there is great potential. It looks like naïve, childish art because that is exactly what it is. Fantastic!
Slim Pickings (Tes) and Biers, M32 Spot, Bristol, August 2024
It feels good to give these two a bit of attention, especially Slim Pickings (Tes), because although they are out there painting fairly regularly, I don’t tend to feature them on Natural Adventures as much as I should. I am pleased to see this collaboration between Tes and Biers because it is on one of my favourite spots in Bristol.
Slim Pickings (Tes) and Biers, M32 Spot, Bristol, August 2024
This is a particularly fine example of Slim Picking’s work, with the letters TES beautifully filled in two shades of orange with bubbles. Cleverly the drop shadow and the white spot highlights really make this one pop, fantastic stuff. Biers has incorporated little flashes of orange (upside down crosses) which work really well with his green shades WD40. A fine collaboration from two great graffiti writers.
Abbie Laura Smith, Brunel Way, Bristol, August 2024
The game of hide and seek, hunting down wheatpastes from Abbie Laura Smith, continues with this moody piece on one of the skate ramps under Brunel Way. I really love this one, that offers more than her customary face portrait pieces. In this piece, the attitude and pose of the subject add so much more to the story, proving that body language makes up a large proportion of our signal communications. The drips add so much more to the ink work, creating interest. Still one or two more from this recent batch to come.
This is the first of a series of outstanding pieces from a collaborative paint jam prompted by World Wall Stylers with the theme of the film ‘Who Framed Roger Rabbit?’. Although this piece by Ceus isn’t immediately theme related, it is when seen in the context of the whole wall (watch this space).
Ceus, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August
I haven’t seen very much from Ceus lately, so coming across this was a very pleasant surprise. Ceus has a gift for creating visually very attractive writing and has excelled himself with this piece. The green colour scheme (themed) looks really great on the black buffed wall, and Ceus has worked it well into his letters with some great colour transitions. Lovely work.
Kool Hand and Werm, St Werburghs, Bristol, August 2024
I have so much catching up to do, particularly in respect of Kool Hand, who has been trotting out pieces throughout the year, but doesn’t make it into Natural Adventures nearly as much as he should. This is a lovely collaboration between Kool Hand and Werm painted in the tunnel not so long ago.
Kool Hand, St Werburghs, Bristol, August 2024
The dog character painted by Kool Hand, I would guess is a female character on the account of the lipstick, long nails and hoop earring, although I guess it could be a cross-dressing or drag dog. He/she/they is spraying the adjacent piece by Werm, a common device in street art.
Werm, St Werburghs, Bristol, August 2024
Werm is continuing with his newest design incarnation, which presents the letters WERM in long interlocked lettering that uses bilateral symmetry as a clever presentation of his letters, similar to the symmetry common in Hypo’s work. I think it works very well and disguises the letters perfectly. There is a deep stripy 3D drop shadow that helps the piece to pop a little. Nice work from the Bristol duo.
Bloem, Muriel Alleyway, Bristol, August 2024Bloem, Muriel Alleyway, Bristol, August 2024Esme Lower and BloemBloem, St Werburghs, Bristol, August 2024Bloem, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2024Bloem, Frome Side, Bristol, June 2024Bloem, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2024Bloem, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2024Sub and Bloem, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2024Bloem, Greenbank, Bristol, February 2024Bloem, M32 Spot, Bristol, January 2024Bloem, M32 roundabout, Bristol, December 2023Bloem, M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 2023Hiccup (Bloem), Purdown, Bristol, September 2023Hiccup (Bloem), Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2023Hiccup (Bloem), M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2023Hiccup, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2023Hiccup, St Werburghs, Bristol, August 2023Hiccup, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2023
Natural adventures 