Tag: Street art

4176. M32 roundabout (376)

An artist who has certainly found his feet and confidence in Bristol is tattooist Chill. Over the last few weeks Chill has been hitting walls hard with some outstanding black and white cartoon characters set on red or orange backgrounds. His work is very distinctive and beautifully finished.

Chill, M32 roundbout, Bristol, January 2022
Chill, M32 roundbout, Bristol, January 2022

I only wish my photographic skills were as slick as Chill’s finishing skills. My camera has been playing up for a while, and I think I am going to have to replace it. It has been a trusty partner and accompanied me on every walk for the last three or four years, but is gets a real bashing and is covered in spray paint from my own efforts in the garden. Getting in my excuses first. I only got one picture of this piece, all the others were blurred, which is so annoying.

Chill is a very classy addition to the Bristol street art collective. Brace yourself for a few more from this fabulous artist.

4175. Peel Street Green (3)

There are about eight panels of graffiti writing at Peel Street Green, and I have to confess that there are several by artists that I don’t recognise, which only goes to show that there is a great deal For me still to learn. No mistaking this lovely piece of writing, which is by Smak.

Smak, Peel Street Green, Bristol, January 2022
Smak, Peel Street Green, Bristol, January 2022

The colour palette works really well, and Smak does have a really good eye for his colour combinations. Spelling SMAK, there is a whole lot of movement in the piece, which is dynamic and full of interest. Swapping the base blue and orange from letter to letter is cleverly done, resulting in a complex piece that is easy on the eye. The work of a craftsman.

4174. Cumberland Basin

Painted as part of a recent paint jam from the RBF crew (Resting Bitch Face) is this magnificent portrait piece by Pekoe, who seems to be the beating heart of the crew. The whole wall is a cheerful and bright delight and I’ll be posting other pieces in due course.

Pekoe, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, January 2022
Pekoe, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, January 2022

The colour scheme is really fresh and up-beat, creating a positive vibe. As always with a Pekoe piece, the facial expression and big hair feature strongly. I’m not too sure about the hunched shoulders and short neck, but otherwise another beauty from Pekoe.

4173. M32 Spot (129)

Think big, and think ceiling and you might then be thinking Risco, if you follow street art in Bristol that is, otherwise you might be thinking Michelangelo. There the similarity ends. This is only the third Risco piece to appear on Natural Adventures, which is a bit disappointing really, because I have pictures of several others… time to raid the archives.

Risco, M32 roundabout, Bristol, December 2022
Risco, M32 roundabout, Bristol, December 2022

This piece is not the easiest to photograph due to being on the ceiling and also the light quality is challenging with light from outside bleeding into the pictures. The subject is a fabulous skeleton of a mythical creature, a fish or a dragon or something. The two tone work is exceptional given it is painted high up on the ceiling. I’m not sure how Risco painted these pieces, but it must be with long poles and rollers, with the detail added from a ladder?

Risco, M32 roundabout, Bristol, December 2022
Risco, M32 roundabout, Bristol, December 2022

I am constantly struck by the incredible creativity and energy of street art in Bristol, and pieces like this simply add to my sense of awe and admiration.

4172. M32 roundabout J3 (375)

I told you a few posts ago that Biers has been hitting the streets pretty hard recently, and here is another of his WD40 pieces from the M32 roundabout. If I am honest, I’d say that Biers seems to be a man in a bit of a hurry. He virtually stopped painting since the first lock down, and has only recently started up again but would appear to be making up for lost time. While he has massively increased the quantity of his work he has perhaps let his quality go a touch, but I am sure that will come back when he settles into a new rhythm.

Biers, M32 roundabout, Bristol, January 2022
Biers, M32 roundabout, Bristol, January 2022

The piece is a classic letters/character combo. Sometimes Biers’ characters are based on personalities or known cartoon characters, but I can’t identify this one at all. He reminds me a little of the ‘calm down Scousers’ parodied by Harry Enfield. Lots more to come from Biers…

4171. Stokes Croft

This magnificent piece, by Stinkfish, is arguably the most iconic piece of street art in Bristol. This is the second appearance of this mural in Natural Adventures, but a totally legitimate one. The original was painted by Stinkfish some years ago, and at the back end of last year the artist was brought back to the city to refresh this and another of his fine works in Mina Road, St Werburghs.

Stinkfish, Stokes Croft, Bristol, December 2021
Stinkfish, Stokes Croft, Bristol, December 2021

The result of this refresh is absolutely stunning, bringing the old piece back to life and restoring a sense of pride in this extraordinary wall. Some may feel that restoring a piece goes a bit against the grain of the lifecycle of street art, but I am not amongst them. In this piece not only has Stinkfish refreshed the black and yellow elements, but he has embellished the piece with his trademark patterns that add so much more to the whole.

Stinkfish, Stokes Croft, Bristol, September 2015
Stinkfish, Stokes Croft, Bristol, September 2015

For comparison I include a picture of the piece from my original post, and even then the piece wasn’t particularly new. It is wonderful to see new life breathed into the old girl.

4170. Dean Lane skate park (452)

Back to one of our regulars today, Mr Draws, who is having to compete much harder to make it into Natural Adventures than he did a couple of years back, simply because of the quantity and quality of street art and graffiti that is appearing in Bristol at the moment. It is a strong field.

Mr Draws, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2021
Mr Draws, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2021

Notwithstanding this, Mr Draws has been ticking along very nicely and producing pieces with reasonable regularity. Recently he has been painting larger pieces on larger walls drawing out his letters. Always full of ideas and thinking of different ways to present his letters, Mr Draws is a central pillar of the Bristol scene.

Mest

A gallery of great graffiti writing from Bristol’s Mest.

all photographs by Scooj

Mest, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, September 2022
Mest, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, September 2022
Mest, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2022
Mest, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2022
Mest, River Avon, Bristol, April 2022
Mest, River Avon, Bristol, April 2022
Mest, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, December 2021
Mest, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, December 2021
Mest, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, November 2021
Mest, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, November 2021
Mest, Mina Road, Bristol, December 2021
Mest, Mina Road, Bristol, December 2021
Mest, St Werburghs, Bristol, December 2021
Mest, St Werburghs, Bristol, December 2021
Mest, M32 roundabout, Bristol, October 2021
Mest, M32 roundabout, Bristol, October 2021
Mest, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, July 2021
Mest, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, July 2021
Mest, New Stadium Road, Bristol, June 2021
Mest, New Stadium Road, Bristol, June 2021
Mest, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2021
Mest, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2021
Mest, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2020
Mest, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2020
Mest, M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 2020
Mest, M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 2020
Mest, M32 cycle path, Bristol, November 2020
Mest, M32 cycle path, Bristol, November 2020
Mest, M32 roundabout, Brisol, August 2020
Mest, M32 roundabout, Brisol, August 2020

4169. Sparke Evans Park (26)

Not many Christmas pieces, and then (on January 9) two come along at once. This Christmas cheer was brought to you from Sparke Evans Park in the form of this graffiti writing from Biers. I call Biers ‘Biers’ because they were the letters he used when I first started seeing his work. Since then, he has moved through ‘OhYeah’ to his current preferred set of letters ‘WD40’. I still call him Biers though.

Biers, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, December 2021
Biers, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, December 2021

The letters can be difficult to pick out, but once you know what they are, you can start to pick them out. As well as the Christmas theme, Biers has also contextualised the piece with a lateral flow Coronavirus test, showing a positive result. It is funny to think that a little over two years ago none of us had ever heard of such a thing, and now it dominates our every waking moment. I guess the ‘Merry Shitmas’ message is linked to the Covid-19 situation. A nicely done piece. Expect to see a whole lot more from Biers as he has been hitting walls with gusto in recent weeks.

4168. Dean Lane skate park (451)

Ok, ok, so Christmas was a little time ago now, but I am still so far behind with my posts that this delightful Christmas message from Pekoe in Dean Lane is coming to you a little later than I would have liked. The sentiment is still well-meant though and beautifully delivered.

Pekoe, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2021
Pekoe, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2021

I didn’t see nearly as many Christmas pieces this year as I would have expected, so this was a sight for sore eyes. The portrait almost has a comic book look to it, especially with the speech bubble, and the dark colours used for the features add to that school of art. Something almost ‘Lictensteiny’ about it. The three TLAs (Three Letter Acronyms) at the end of the Christmas message relate to three of the places Pekoe loves to paint. This piece was the cherry on the top of a very nice Christmas break.