I was lucky enough to meet Mr Tanner a couple of weeks back under the Brunel Way flyover, and following our chat I was mindful that there was a piece of his lurking in my archive, and so prompted by the encounter, I decided to dig it out and post it. Here it is.
Mr Tanner, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2024
Mr Tanner writes TOPIA, and each of his pieces seems to be quite unique, with originality appearing to be his USP. This is a rather organic looking, but tight piece of graffiti writing painted back in May this year. Although he lives in London, Mr Tanner appears to be a reasonably regular visitor to Bristol. I dearly hope that the piece he was painting when I met him will still be there on my return from Copenhagen.
I photographed this piece a little while back, in May this year actually, and was lucky enough to meet Pura Decadencia while she was painting. There is something very fulfilling about meeting artists while they are at work, and gaining little insights into their world and inspirations.
Pura Decadencia, Brunel Way, Bristol, May 2024
Although this is a classic piece of writing complete with vampire mouth and teeth, I believe it to be the tightest piece I have seen from her yet, with beautifully sharp borders and lines and strong, tidy fills and patterns. I absolutely love it, and can’t understand for the life of me why it has taken me so long to post it.
Alas, today is my last day in Copenhagen, and I have to say I have been having a truly wonderful time in a city that feels very content with itself, without being conceited. I would willingly come back again, and the trip from Bristol is incredibly quick and easy. There is only one downside, and that is Copenhagen is a very expensive city, so it is just as well my visit was confined to a long weekend.
Another city visit I made in May this year was to Leicester (I went again in July), and was fortunate enough to snap up a few pieces from a Bring the Paint festival a couple of years ago, at the start of the week when one or two of them were painted over for the 2024 festival. These are four very different pieces collected together to save valuable time and space on Natural Adventures.
Aches, Leicester, May 2024
This is an incredible piece by Aches, an artist who visited Bristol for Upfest in 2022. I haven’t yet posted that piece… must try harder.
Homboog, Leicester, May 2024
I know nothing about the artist Homboog, but I can definitely say that I love this stunning character/writing combination piece.
Philth, Leicester, May 2024
Unfortunately this outstanding Philth piece is painted in a busy yard, and there was no way I was going to be able to get round those palettes, so you’ll just have to imagine how good the whole thing must have looked when it was first painted.
Voyder and Aches, Leicester, May 2024
Damn the car! This is a magnificent collaboration from Aches and Voyder. The latter was an artist who used to paint a lot in Bristol before being seduced by London, our loss was their gain. He was the last artist I was expecting to find in Leicester, but that is what makes hunting for street art so much fun. More from Leicester soon.
I have a feeling that the very first Solar piece I became aware of was in this spot a few years ago, and this recent piece shows how the artist has improved enormously in a really rather short space of time. This one was painted alongside PLB stablemate Whysayit.
Solar, New Stadium Road, Bristol, August 2024
something went a little wrong with my processing of the photographs, but the first one is a much truer representation of the colours of the piece in the underpass. The letters spell out SUNSHINE in gorgeous shades of orange, and has a very deep 3D drop shadow, characteristic of Solar’s work. This is a bold and cheerful piece, perfect for the summer vibes.
It is becoming a most welcome and wonderful thing, finding new pieces by Grimes, and this recent wildstyle writing on the M32 roundabout is an absolute belter. His bright and vibrant style is becoming established as a regular sight in the Bristol scene.
Grimes, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2024
In this piece Grimes has written his letters and filled them with kind of fruits of the forest colours, bordered with yellow, and featuring an electric blue plasma spark running through the whole piece. There is a rather curious and slightly off-topic background of blue spheres, which, if I am honest, I am not sure add anything extra to the piece. More to come from this rising star.
Well, well, well, you don’t go to a spot for a while, and what happens when you do finally pay a visit? Of course, you find something new. This wall on the rear of the Bell Pub in Stokes Croft, used to host a rather fine piece by Sepr, but the whole thing has been replaced by this b boy scene painted by Krome, an artist I know nothing about.
Krome, Dalton Square, Bristol, August 2024
A quick internet search tells me that Krome is a tattooist and graffiti artist from Bristol, however, he is not one I have come across before. Although there is a lot of ‘white space’ (blue) in the piece, the key elements of a graffiti artist, a sound system, a break-dancer, some writing and a DJ at his deck, do enough to keep the piece interesting. It will be fascinating to see whether we see more from Krome, or whether this large piece was a one-off. Time will tell I guess.
Wit can be a difficult thing to achieve with street art, but #DFTE combines placement with sentiment perfectly in this small ‘extra’ piece painted recently in Cumberland Basin, overlooking the world famous Clifton Suspension Bridge.
#DFTE, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2024
I have seen #DFTE use this phrase before, but I think that this simply has to be the perfect placement, and one which will be seen and I’m sure appreciated. I can’t think for the life of me what the sign originally said, but it can’t have been a fraction as interesting as this. Great fun from #DFTE.
Trafficity has become the complete master of his own creation. His form of letters, spelling ZIOM barely deviates from one piece to the next, only the colours getting a refresh, and even those are becoming more similar from one piece to the next.
Trafficity, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2024
This one was slightly hidden behind the hedge along the swimming pool wall at Dean Lane and contains some of his favoured colours. The likeness to all of his work can be seen by taking a look at a gallery of his pieces, although one significant difference is that this one has four horizontal colour bands, where most of his other pieces have three. Another fine addition to his portfolio.
This is another Bristol mural collective piece painted at Bristol’s smallest street art festival at the end of July. The artist Yoliws, is no stranger to the pages of Natural Adventures, and all of her pieces have an uplifting and fun quality to them.
Yoliws, Muriel Alleyway, Bristol, August 2024
This light-hearted mural features some green flowers with characters frolicking among them. Everybody appears to be having fun, and there is a playful innocence about the whole scene. The piece is enjoyable and wholesome, perfect for the spot, alongside so many other wonderful murals.
I am currently enjoying a few days in Copenhagen with my mother, to celebrate, belatedly, my 60th birthday. This means that the next few posts are a little hurried, and not very in depth, distractions being what they are.
Fade and Pekoe, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2024
This is a gorgeous and beautifully integrated collaboration from Fade and Pekoe. There is a synergy in this that works incredibly well with both artists adding to the others’ work, where the total is greater than the sum of the parts. The letters are magnificently painted by Fade, and the ‘A’ replaced with a trademark portrait from Pekoe. There is so much to love about this striking piece, especially the rich colour palette.
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