5009. Greenbank (70)

Gosia Wadada, Greenbank, Bristol, February 2023
Gosia Wadada, Greenbank, Bristol, February 2023

This bright piece from Gosia Wadada both delights and frustrates me. Firstly, it is great to see that this artist made the most of her time in Bristol, painting both here and in Cumberland Basin, however, her choice of panel to paint on, was not great, because she painted over a one third of a very fresh and magnificent portrait piece by Rozalita.

I was once told by an artist that it is a bit disrespectful to partially obscure somebody else’s work, you should either leave it or go over the whole thing, and sometimes you can tag the artist in your new replacement as an acknowledgement. But as I am frequently told, there are no rules and it is a jungle out there. In fairness, I’m not sure that Gosia Wadada would have known that the Rozlita piece was only a few days old.

Gosia Wadada, Greenbank, Bristol, February 2023
Gosia Wadada, Greenbank, Bristol, February 2023

Gosia Wadada has visited Bristol before (thank you, Paul H, for your Instagram post) and I will dig the piece out and post it some time soon. In this ‘swapsies’ piece, Gosia Wadada has painted two of her trademark mouths, but switched the colour combinations, to create opposites, although you might spot the small inconsistency in her approach. The mouths work well on the carefully constructed red backdrop, and overall this is a refreshing and fun piece. I would love to see more of her work in Bristol.

4904. M32 roundabout J3 (440)

Zake, M32 roundabout, Bristol, December 2022
Zake, M32 roundabout, Bristol, December 2022

I love it when artists get busy, and Zake has been super-busy of late. It is incredible how versatile he has become over the last few years, sticking to his roots of stylised portrait work, but expanding his repertoire of characters immeasurably.

Zake, M32 roundabout, Bristol, December 2022
Zake, M32 roundabout, Bristol, December 2022

This piece was painted as part of a trio alongside Daz Cat and Kool Hand in the St Agnes subway under the M32 roundabout. The rather weird character is all teeth and no hair, and judging from the blood vessel on his neck appears to be a little vexed about something. A really nice piece from Zake, who is pushing the boundaries with increasing frequency.

4446. Stokes Croft

Perhaps one of the most famous and ubiquitous artists of recent decades is Sweet Toof. Some of his iconic pieces in Bristol remain, but they are dwindling in number, so imagine my utter surprise when I saw this new (and very fresh) piece by Sweet Toof in Stokes Croft recently. To have known he had been in the area only a day before when he painted it is quite something. Even though I didn’t get to meet him I felt a little star-struck. I have seen pieces by Sweet Toof in London and New York as well as here in Bristol, and they just seem to fit in as part of the street art culture and history.

Sweet Toof, Stokes Croft, Bristol, May 2022
Sweet Toof, Stokes Croft, Bristol, May 2022

I sincerely hope this small piece remains intact and untagged, and is given the respect it deserves. I suspect that many of the people who sit enjoying a meal in the outdoor seating area of the eatery, probably have no idea of the significance of this small piece, although many of them might remember his most memorable skull from just up the road which alas has now gone. What luck to have found this so soon after being painted.

Rowdy and Sweet Toof, The Carriageworks, Bristol, December 2016
Rowdy and Sweet Toof, The Carriageworks, Bristol, December 2016

3644. Chatterton Square (1)

You don’t often see new Rowdy pieces these days, so when you do it is usually something of a treasure, and this fabulous piece, part of a collaborative wall with Acer One and Andy Council, is up there with the best of them.

Rowdy, Chatterton Square, Bristol, April 2021
Rowdy, Chatterton Square, Bristol, April 2021

Rowdy’s fairly agricultural style of art is so incredibly distinctive and deeply embedded into the DNA of the Bristol street art scene. He is perhaps best known for his crocodiles, but he has produced many characters over the years and this one is a corker. There is something very laid back about his style, unfussy and modest, that makes is interesting and rather loveable. So good to find this wonderful work.

3451. Dean Lane skate park (384)

There may be a perception that it is unusual for women to be involved in street art and graffiti art, however, if it is a perception, it is one that I can blow apart right now certainly as far as the Bristol scene goes. This piece on the curved wall is by relative newcomer Pura Decadencia and is a welcome addition to this wall that has been a little stagnant over recent weeks.

Pura Decadencia, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2021
Pura Decadencia, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2021

I am so glad to have seen this and found out a little bit more about the artist from it, because I have a couple of pieces in my archive that I can now post and attribute to her. The piece itself is a nice bit of writing spelling out PURA on a blue bubble background and some vampire teeth getting stuck into the ‘R’. I think that Pura Decadencia is rather fond of vampire teeth if her Instagram stream is anything to go by. Welcome Pura to Natural Adventures.

3091. Dean Lane skate park (335)

We don’t get to see early enough work from Flava136 in Bristol although the artist tends to keep himself pretty busy in Cheltenham where he lives, so when you come across a piece it is always a nice surprise.

Flava136, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2020
Flava136, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2020

Flava136 always creates these pieces which are incredibly clean, and by that I mean the lines are sharp and the fills nice and solid. In style I would say there is some similarity with Nevergiveup’s rabbits. I love these toothy monsters and think that Flava136 is a classy artist.

2728. L Dub (9)

What a lovely prize to find at L Dub recently, in fact this wonderful work by Flava136 was one of several outstanding new pieces by various artists in this ‘out of the way’ spot. Flava136 is an artist I am very familiar with, but whose work I just haven’t seen enough of, so finding this was a real bonus.

Flava136, L Dub, Bristol, January 2020
Flava136, L Dub, Bristol, January 2020

His monster characters are very distinctive, I think it must be those peg teeth, and always so beautifully presented. Such clean lines and fills, fantastic work, and I love the clever way the ‘bubbles’ superimpose colours onto the design beneath. Super work from a talented artist. I just need to see more of his stuff, but I guess I’d have to move to Cheltenham for that to happen.

2368. M32 Spot (45)

Zake pretty much owns these columns under the M32, and what is amazing is that so many of them are still there after more than a year – a tribute to his work perhaps. In this piece, one head is being consumed by another which looks devilish/vampire-like.

Zake, M32 spot, Bristol, July 2019
Zake, M32 spot, Bristol, July 2019

I do like Zake’s work very much, especially the faces created out of three or four tones of paint, however this one misses the mark ever so slightly for me, there is something not quite right about the teeth in the top head that I find distracting. I think I am being a little picky because this is a good piece, but just not one of his best. Looking forward to more from Zake.

2280. New Stadium Road (14)

It is always great getting an early glimpse of a new artist in town, and this angry mouse is one of a few recent pieces by Saik One, whose work I have not seen or written about before.

Saik One, New Stadium Road, Bristol, April 2019
Saik One, New Stadium Road, Bristol, April 2019

At first I thought it might have been a return to Bristol for Angry Face (whose work I haven’t seen for a while now) on account of the sharp teeth, but this has a personality all of its own. I found another of Saik One’s pieces early this morning, so plenty more to come from Saik One soon, and perhaps I can do a little digging to find out more about the artist.

2238. Dean Lane skate park (214)

Strictly speaking this is not actually Dean Lane skate park, but is actually a Dental surgery on the corner where North Street and Dean Lane meet, it is however, adjacent to the skate park. Over the last year or two this whole wall has become progressively grubby as taggers started a job that then moved on to rather useless throw ups. Something had to be done.

Ali Hamish Campbel and Nina Raines, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2019
Ali Hamish Campbel and Nina Raines, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2019

I was down at the Deaner a couple of weeks ago and was lucky enough to run into Nina Raines and Ali Hamish Campbell who were just finishing off this fun commission for the dental surgery. Unfortunately I don’t have any pictures of what it looked like before, but this is a dramatic improvement, and just demonstrates how uplifting great street art can be.

Ali Hamish Campbel and Nina Raines, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2019
Ali Hamish Campbel and Nina Raines, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2019

Nina told me that she designed the piece (she is a scenic artist) and the pair of them collaborated to paint it, Nina drawing on Ali’s experience of using spray paint. Overall this is a really nice commission, and hats off to the dental practice for making it happen. A win-win situation.