It always feels a little unusual finding a T-Rex piece in Dean Lane probably because she doesn’t paint here as often as in North Bristol, so coming across this rather nicely done piece of writing was a pleasant surprise.
T-Rex, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2019
This piece oozes with confidence and competence. The letters are beautifully done, the character dinosaur with its cheeky grin, the leopard spot and giraffesque fills in the letters and the 3D blue shadowing are all masterfully created with what appears to be total ease. She really is a fabulous writer and we are lucky to have her brightening up the streets of Bristol.
How fabulous to see a Decay piece in his old stomping ground of Cheltenham and what a stunner it is too. This writing, that we are all so familiar with has been given the ‘hades’ treatment, looking like the fiery colours of the Earth’s core. Actually it is a bit of a protest piece and has a message: ‘Flames rage while the Amazon burns’
Decay, Paint festival 2019, Chemtenham, September 2019
I visited the festival twice, once on the Friday and again on the Saturday, but although I missed Decay painting this, I did catch up with him for a short while, and as ever it was a real pleasure. Like so many of his peers, he is so modest about his work which really has hit a new level this year.
I don’t really have the right words to say about this piece by Deeds at the Cheltenham Paint Festival this year. It is simply quite brilliant. A study of cherries in a silver bowl. This is where fine art and street art meet…no blurred lines, this street art is fine art.
Deeds, Paint festival 2019, Cheltenham, September 2019
I have no idea how this piece was created, but I do know that Deeds works a lot with stencils, and pushing the boundaries with them, however I just can’t see how this might be from stencils. Instead of pondering too long, I’ll simply enjoy the piece for what it is rather than how it came to be.
Deeds, Paint festival 2019, Cheltenham, September 2019
It really is a classical still life piece and has more than a hint of Jeff Legg about it. I love it and celebrate it. Deeds has definitely raised the bar with this piece.
The whole Cheltenham experience was new to me, but I had heard of the Honeybourne Line before I went to visit the town for the Paint Festival earlier this month. This disused railway line is now a beautiful footpath leading from the station into the town centre. The tunnels under a footbridge often play host to street/graffiti art, and the walls are buffed each year for the Festival. I will be posting more pieces from this spot in due course, but this first one is by Thisone.
Thisone, Paint festival 2019, Cheltenham, September 2019
I have seen (and posted) some of his work from London, but this is the first time I have seen his work away from the capital. His archetypal work is in shades of black and white with an animal or bird as a central character, usually dressed with some jewellery. This curious piece meets all of these criteria, but the beast is an unusual one, looking like a cross between a bird of prey and a rat. I was lucky enough to meet the artist, and will talk more about our encounter when I post his other Festival piece in due course.
In Millennium Square, a cultural centre of Bristol, a new piece by Jody has been commissioned and the piece is riding high on the crest of the wave of enhanced public awareness of environmental issues.
Jody, Millennium Square, Bristol, September 2019
I’m not too sure where the commission has come from, but the subject matters owes an awful lot to the iconic film Jaws (one of course). Instead of an unwitting swimmer, the sea is full of floating plastic and the ‘prey’ a plastic bottle of water. The sad truth behind this sensational and clever piece with a strong message is that it does tell a story of our heavily polluted seas. It is a homage (probably the wrong choice of word) to the Anthropocene epoch. Such a piece of public art could not have even existed a hundred and fifty years ago. What have we done? Nice piece by Jody.
Another rather decent piece by Nightwayss at the St George skate park. I got to this one early in the morning and looking at how unskuffed it is I would think it was probably painted the night before.
Nightwayss, St George, Bristol, September 2019
Something a little different from Nightwayss, with an interesting background and hollow writing. Of course no piece by this artist is complete without a monkey and this one is rather handsome, beautifully reversed out where his body comes into contact with the letters. Keep ’em coming.
I don’t think these two have stopped all summer, one collaboration after another keeping the walls at Dean Lane skate park lively. The No Frills duo are Slim Pickings on the left and Biers on the right.
Slim Pickings, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2019
Slim Pickings usually paints the letters TES in pretty much exactly the same format every time he hits a wall, but this one is ever so slightly on a slant, like a little touch of italics has been incorporated. Also, I don’t think that the line through the E and S is Slim Pickings’ work, it just feels a little incongruous. Tidy work as usual.
Biers, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2019
On the right, Biers, who I call Biers because he used to write Biers, has written OYeah, which is what he writes these days, so I suppose I should call him OYeah, but I’m not going to because I call him Biers. No character this time, but it matters not, his writing is so full of character and movement that it is like a character in itself. These two work so well together. I wonder if they share the cost of the paint…
What a wonderful piece. This is Face 1st at his traditional best. It was pieces like this that first attracted me to the work of this Bristol artist, and although he has diversified his subjects a little this year, this one is right back to his core work and rather comforting for it.
Face 1st, M32 roundabout, Bristol, September 2019
The piece is clean and fresh, it has a crispness about it. The colours in the hair, spelling out FACE, are nicely selected and contrast strongly with the yellow surround. So good to see a piece like this in one of his favourite haunts.
On a ramp at St George skate park is this rather tasty clean and tidy piece by Fiva. I have only been visiting this skate park for about three months and it has yielded so many lovely pieces. The turnover here is quite high, because all the surfaces get pretty scuffed pretty quickly – luckily I got to this one when it was stil pretty fresh.
Fiva, St George skate park, Bristol, September 2019
I am racking up quite a decent collection of pieces by Fiva and this one is a little different from many, with a slightly more forgiving font and softer cloudy background although the whole thing is set on a rather austere blue brick wall background. I like Fiva’s work a lot and always get a bit of a kick out of finding new pieces by him.
Readers of Natural Adventures will know that I am a monumental fan of the work of Laic217, and here is the latest collaboration with his often painting partner Cort in Dean Lane. I have to say though that this is not their best piece in my opinion. There is something not quite right about it. The two elements of the collaboration do not complement each other and I think these would be better as stand-alone pieces. Don’t get me wrong, this is still great work only not quite up to the usual high standard.
Cort, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2019
The central Cort writing is book-ended by two rather dark characters by Laic217. Although we are used to seeing Cort write CORT, he has also taken to writing PADY this year – I’m not sure what has prompted this variation, but writers often do this probably just to swicth it up a bit.
Laic217, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2019
On the left side is a post-apocalyptic character with a skeletal face and mask. The mask could be interpreted as a gas mask or spraying mask and the two seem to intertwine. It all feels a bit chilling and like something out of a Terminator movie.
Laic217, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2019
On the right of Cort’s writing is another character in the same dark and depressing regalia wearing a full overhead gas mask. These two Laic217 characters speak of doom and convey a dystopian future in a chilling and convincing way. I would have liked to have seen these characters separated from Cort’s writing, which is at odds with them.
Natural adventures 