Tag: Street art

4372. Moon Street (91)

I think that I could quite easily fill up all my posts with work from about four or five artists in Bristol who seem to be unstoppable in their quest to brighten our streets and practice their art. One of those artists is Face 1st, who has been a constant drumbeat through the development and progress of Natural Adventures. Always there, always painting.

Face 1st, Moon Street, Bristol, April 2022
Face 1st, Moon Street, Bristol, April 2022

This piece is in my favourite street, for sentimental reasons really, in Bristol, Moon Street. Definitely a quick one from Fac 1st, as so many of his pieces are, but even though it probably only took an hour or so to paint, there is a lot to like about it. The change of pink to orange as you read left to right, and the blending of the colours, works really well. Of course, no Face 1st piece is complete without a girl’s face somewhere, and in this one, she is lurking in the letter C.

4371. BB Gallery (1)

A serendipitous meeting with Paul H at Greenbank on my last visit there afforded him the opportunity to show me a spot I hadn’t been aware of before, and something a little different from the usual kind of graffiti/street art spots in Bristol. Greenbank is on the Bristol to Bath cycle path, and a short walk in the direction of Bath takes you to the Bristol to Bath gallery.

Conrico, BB Gallery, Bristol, April 2022
Conrico, BB Gallery, Bristol, April 2022

The gallery is a wall and fence, about twenty metres in length, which is festooned with pieces of art on paper, boards, canvass or in frames, all attached to the fence – a truly public gallery that anyone can contribute to. This particular section has been painted by Conrico, and would appear to have been quite a challenge to paint, given the different textures and materials. The scene is a very typically Conrico piece, with plenty of atmosphere and a style that looks more like paint brush strokes rather than spray can work. Some nice writing accompanies the portrait.

4370. M32 roundabout J3 (404)

Slakarts isn’t painting quite as much as I would like to see, but in this piece on the roundabout he has turned out an absolute beauty. It is almost like he has applied the Picasso cubist treatment on his stylised face, and the result is something rather special.

Slakarts, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2022
Slakarts, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2022

I am not the biggest fan of chrome, as I think it tends to dominate a piece – great for throw ups and bubble writing, but difficult to pull off with tidier pieces. Slakarts has more than pulled this off, he has smashed it with the interactions between chrome blues and white and the overall effect is stunning. Beautifully conceived and executed, this is a magnificent specimen from Slakarts.

4369. Greenbank (38)

‘Milk’ seems to be such an unusual word to choose for a writer, but I guess there is plenty of scope for playing with letters, and it is certainly memorable; I would be interested to know why Wxttsart chose it. Whatever the reason, he has made it his own and Bristol is becoming a bit of a Milk city.

Wxttsart, Greenbank, Bristol, March 2022
Wxttsart, Greenbank, Bristol, March 2022

Wxttsart creates these script letters that feel quite organic in both the wobbliness of the letters and the fills, in contrast to some writers where it is all about straight lines or solid fills or angles etc, this somehow feels much more free and expressive. Some lovely blue drips to finish the piece off. Nice work from this LRS crew member.

4368. M32 roundabout J2 (1)

You know when an artist is in high-productivity mode, when the frequency of meetings is high. In the past week or so, I have met Klashwhensober twice, and both times stopped for a nice chat. I had shared links to posts on Natural Adventures, and bless him, he had read them, which was most kind, so we chatted a little about that. This piece is one of several that I photographed a couple of weeks back, investigating all the tunnels under the M32 roundabout, junction 2.

Klashwhensober, M32 roundabout (J2), Bristol, March 2022
Klashwhensober, M32 roundabout (J2), Bristol, March 2022

I am not a big fan of tunnel pieces, because the lighting is always very tricky, and it is difficult to capture a whole piece in the frame due to the narrowness of the tunnel. The colours used in this ‘FLASH’ piece are most striking, and there is a creative and interesting cow-spot pattern fill. I mentioned to Klashwhensober that I might have to start posting several pieces of his at a time, because there are just too many to do single posts each time – there would be precious little else on the blog.

4367. Purdown AA Battery (43)

I believe that this is the third Morag piece I have posted on Natural Adventures, and I must say that I really love what he does. The simplest of thick black lines in an apparently continuous loop painted on a single colour background to create a perfectly stylised face.

Morag, Purdown, Bristol, March 2022
Morag, Purdown, Bristol, March 2022

There is definitely something in the simplicity that brings out the design really well, and actually, the simplicity is a little more sophisticated than it might at first appear. This picture was taken on a very bright day, and unfortunately I have cast a shadow over the piece. Hey ho.

4366. M32 Cycle path (173)

It is great that Turoe manages to paint reasonably regularly in spite of some health challenges, and when he does paint he still has the ability to surprise. This rather retro piece is a bit of a beauty down on the cycle path, and I suspect it will be there for some time.

Turoe, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, April 2022
Turoe, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, April 2022

The block letters overlap one another and are on the lean, but each one is perfectly finished with crisp, clean lines and borders. You can date the piece from around the time of the Oscar ceremony thanks to the reference to Will Smith. I love the way that street art does this, chronicling contemporary events before being irreversibly wiped from the ‘canvass’ through being buffed, bombed, tagged or replaced.

4365. Brunel Way (151)

Oh hurrah! It is that fabulous Mr Underbite, decorating our walls again. I love this character and long to see many more variations of this cartoon face in Bristol. He reminds me of a comic character called Plug from the Bash Street Kids in Beano, who had a terrible overbite.

Mr Underbite, Brunel Way, Bristol, March 2022
Mr Underbite, Brunel Way, Bristol, March 2022

The flowers are a lovely touch and make this grumpy character somehow feel a little less grumpy. This is a nicely painted face character face piece and one of a growing number of such pieces by various artists in the city at the moment. This is a highly memorable piece.

4364. Greenbank (37)

Here we have yet another fabulous piece by Rozalita on the Bristol to Bath cycle track, and one that not only looks great, but tells a very important story. Rozalita passionately opposes the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill (PCSC), as should we all, as elements of the Bill will give the police disproportionate powers with regard to peaceful protests and the rights of travelling people. Another ‘Conservative’ withdrawal of liberties, driven by those who live in comfort and care little for others.

Rozalita, Greenbank, Bristol, March 2022
Rozalita, Greenbank, Bristol, March 2022

The piece itself tells a story of a travelling lifestyle that is lovingly portrayed, and I suspect that Rozalita has drawn on personal experience, which comes across in this tender piece.

Rozalita, Greenbank, Bristol, March 2022
Rozalita, Greenbank, Bristol, March 2022

Rozalita is truly spreading her wings with her artwork and her progress and development is a pleasure to witness. Kill the Bill!

4363. M32 Spot (137)

You can expect a whole lot more of these wonderful monster pieces from Mote, because I have a lot in my archive, and he paints regularly enough to keep me busy. This is a great example of his work, and also typifies his preference for columns. Although the monster might seem a little naive, it is actually beautifully painted and Mote takes his time to keep his lines sharp and his fills really solid.

Mote, M32 Spot, Bristol, March 2022
Mote, M32 Spot, Bristol, March 2022

I take great inspiration from artists like Mote, Enn Kay and Maybe Paints who are all pretty new to painting the streets and have come on really quickly, presenting some outstanding work. If I get a moment, I hope to do my first public piece this summer, following their brave example, very possibly on one of the columns under the M32.