4138. Nelson Street (14)

Happy Christmas folks, a very special day for us, just the nuclear family, no visits, no visiting, just us. Over the last two years we have become used to each others’ company and generally get on surprisingly well, so being together today for our festivities is stress free. I am in between preparing the turkey and sorting vegetables and have a slot to do this quick post.

Tom Miller and Kin Dose (Kin Official), Nelson Street, Bristol, December 2021
Tom Miller and Kin Dose (Kin Official), Nelson Street, Bristol, December 2021

Two of Bristol’s finest artists, Tom Miller and Kin Dose (now referred to as Kin Official) have combined to produce this remarkable Christmas collaboration on Nelson Street.

Tom Miller, Nelson Street, Bristol, December 2021
Tom Miller, Nelson Street, Bristol, December 2021

On the left is a very special mural from Tom Miller, as imaginative as usual and brimming over with winter themes. I think that the figure is handling Christmas parcels, emblazoned with hearts. There is so much movement and colour as you might expect with Tom Miller. A wonderful piece.

Kin Dose (Kin Official), Nelson Street, Bristol, December 2021
Kin Dose (Kin Official), Nelson Street, Bristol, December 2021

Next to Tom’s piece is an incredible Grinch mural by Kin Dose, who really is one of my favourite artists in Bristol. His attention to detail and photo realism techniques are awesome. In this piece, I love the coronavirus Christmas decoration, so in keeping with the Grinch character.

A perfect Christmas collaboration. Once again may I wish you all a very happy day.

4137. Dean Lane skate park (448)

In recent months, there have been a lot of these ghoul character pieces appearing all over the place, and I feel that now is a good time to introduce them to Natural Adventures. The design, that has a Celtic knot look about it, is by Full Time Ghoul (FTG).

Full Time Ghoul, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2021
Full Time Ghoul, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2021

The main concentration of FTG’s pieces are along the cycle path bordering the River Avon, and I look forward to sharing some of these with you in the New Year. Is this the ghost of Christmas past, present or yet to come I wonder? Or perhaps just a little bit of knotty ghoul fun.

Happy Christmas folks. I hope I will have a moment to post tomorrow, but Don’t hold your breath.

4136. M32 Cycle path (152)

It’s Christmas Eve, hooray! I am going to give us all a bit of a break and keep my commentary of this sensational collaboration by Sepr and 3Dom brief. Characters accompanied by writing in this long panel. Great stuff.

Sepr, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, November 2021
Sepr, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, November 2021
Sepr and 3Dom, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, November 2021
Sepr and 3Dom, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, November 2021
3Dom, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, November 2021
3Dom, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, November 2021

4135. Picture House Court

Alex Lucas has had a very good and productive year. Her beautiful murals, most of them commissions, have been appearing with joyous regularity through the year. This is one of her latest pieces, just off North Street in Bedminster, and is the centrepiece of a Christmas mural trail produced in partnership with Upfest, Aardman Studio and Netflix, promoting Aardman’s new animation Robin Robin.

Alex Lucas, Picture House Court, Bristol, December 2021
Alex Lucas, Picture House Court, Bristol, December 2021

I will have to walk the length of North Street at some point, perhaps over the Christmas break, to photograph all the other little characters along the trail. This is a very Bristol thing going on and something all citizens here can be proud of. A coming together of a Bristol-based film studio, a Bristol artist and a Bristol street art events business… a fine combination.

Alex Lucas, Picture House Court, Bristol, December 2021
Alex Lucas, Picture House Court, Bristol, December 2021

I have said it before, but there are a few artists in the Bristol whose illustrations, designs and murals have become synonymous with the city and I would name Alex Lucas as one of these, and the other two would be Cheo and Andy Council. These three adding colour and recognition to the place.

4134. Dean Lane skate park (447)

You can never rule out anything in the world of street/graffiti art, and to do so would be to suck the surprise and joy out of it all. I would never have predicted a Flava136/Mudra collaboration, and yet down in the Deaner we have a near-perfect mash-up from these two superb artists.

Flava136 and Mudra, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2021
Flava136 and Mudra, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2021

This is a great example of a blended collaboration where it is difficult to be certain who painted what. There are of course the obvious bits that have all the hallmarks of the individual artists, but the bits in-between… A trained eye can tell them apart, but to most people you’d look at this piece and consider it to be by one artist.

Basically the central monster and smiley face are by Flava136, and the left and right hand elements (which spell out MUDRA (some creative imagination required)) are by Mudra. The whole thing is an absolute gem and I hopt that they will get together again sometime in the future.

4133. M32 Spot (127)

Christmas is supposed to be a quiet time at work, but it isn’t. I have been as busy as ever, and early starts rather disrupts my blog post writing routine. This post has had to wait until I have packed away my laptop, but I hope it is worth the waiting for.

Streetofsoul and Dinero DIY, M32 Spot, Bristol, December 2021
Streetofsoul and Dinero DIY, M32 Spot, Bristol, December 2021

The original and creative piece will be a delight for anyone who still enjoys vinyl and is a representation (a very good one at that) of a 45 rpm 7 inch single ‘Do I Love You (Indeed I Do) by Frank Wilson. The artists who created the piece are Streetofsoul and Dinero DIY, and I believe they have already dopped another single elsewhere in the city.

Streetofsoul and Dinero DIY, M32 Spot, Bristol, December 2021
Streetofsoul and Dinero DIY, M32 Spot, Bristol, December 2021

The piece is so realistic, it absolutely looks like a giant vinyl record had been left on the ground. I haven’t seen anything like this before, and I think it is brilliant, introducing a whole new concept and idea to street art. Watch this space for more  like this one.

4132. Leonard Lane (30)

I love my little walks down Leonard Lane, it feels rather secret, old and magical (if you can ignore the smell of piss) and there is always something new to notice. This little character, created and installed by Mutatee has been in the Lane for a while and looks a little worse for wear, but I thought I’d include it in any case because it is all part and parcel of the Bristol street art scene.

Mutatee, Leonard Lane, Bristol, December 2021
Mutatee, Leonard Lane, Bristol, December 2021

It is well worth following Mutatee’s Instagram account @mutatee_ to see how she makes all her characters, it is a fascinating process. The character is from the film Labyrinth, starring David Bowie and a whole host of puppets. I believe the worm is called William. In this cast by Mutatee, the tufts of hair have been broken off, perhaps by someone trying to ‘steal’ the piece. A pity really, because it is little installations like this that add interest and intrigue to the city.

4131. St Werburghs tunnel (270)

Mest is an artist whose writing is improving all the time, not only in quality but also in creativity. Sticking to his standard letter shapes, he gets his variety through his fill designs and colours. I have so many more of his pieces that are not yet published, but posting pieces on Natural Adventures is a very competitive marketplace at the moment. I will get round to publishing more in due course.

Mest, St Werburghs, Bristol, December 2021
Mest, St Werburghs, Bristol, December 2021

The colour contrasts between the orange background and cool blue letter fills works wonderfully, a real hot and cold battle going on in front of our eyes. Mest has also been playing a little by picking out some of the brick work with pink lines. A sprinkling of little yellow dots rounds the piece off nicely. A fine piece from Mest which gets me ever closer to publishing a gallery of his work… watch this space over the next month or two.

4130. Dean Lane skate park (447)

Aah! The familiar shape and style of a Slim Pickings TES plastered big and bold on the Sally Army wall at Dean Lane skate park. Like several other artists in the city, Slim Pickings’ (Tes) work is a driving creative pulse, a regular heartbeat, that creates the foundations of a thriving street art culture in Bristol. Ever present and confident.

Slim Pickings, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2021
Slim Pickings, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2021

This pink on yellow belter was painted over the rather nice portrait by Tao.create, illustrating how ephemeral the work of artists can be, especially in spots like this one. Lovely bubble-gum colours and drips, this is a great piece by Slim Pickings. Most unlike the artist, his pink fill is a little thin in places, and I can only think he was short of paint, because he is well known for his full and solid fills. Nice one.

4129. St Werburghs tunnel (269)

Logoe continues to hit Bristol walls hard, this time with his friend Silent Hobo, to create this lovely collaboration on the entrance to the tunnel in St Werburghs. Their content and styles are so very different, but there is a chemistry there that brings the whole thing together seamlessly.

Logoe and Silent Hobo, St Werburghs, Bristol, December 2021
Logoe and Silent Hobo, St Werburghs, Bristol, December 2021

The writing by Logoe is distinctive with its thin script-like letters and gorgeous fills, decorated with spots and stars along the length. The youth, so brilliantly portrayed by Silent Hobo, is wearing a blue hoodie and sporting big hair and glasses. I am not at all certain what the axe is all about though. So good to see these two combining again.