UK – Page 235 – Natural adventures

5868. Dean Lane skate park (693)

It is rare to find a Fade piece these days that is not immediately associated with a piece by Dibz and at times his work can be eclipsed by the overall collaborations they create, so it is great to see a fabulous standalone piece of graffiti writing from Fade, and this is a beauty.

Painted in greyscale on a black background, the impact of the letters has to be really strong, and it is. Spelling out FADE in letters that pop out from the wall, especially along the bottom edge. A nice touch is the little black ‘ink’ trail all around the outside of the piece. All in all, a fabulous and rather special piece of graffiti writing.

5867. St Werburghs tunnel (409)

Kid Krishna, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2024

A little earlier in the year, Kid Krishna announced his return to the streets after a bit of a quiet period. Since January, he has been super-active and smashing it on walls all over the city, so much so that I am having to consider bunching a few of them together into a single post.

One of the things that Kid Krishna brings to his pieces is an incredible sense of colour, sometimes subtle and other times overt, but always carefully matched and incorporated. I have been puzzling over the character, and feel like I should know who it is, more than that, he was on some posters which I spotted in Nottingham, or something very similar. It will remain a mystery. This is a lovely fresh piece from Kid Krishna in the tunnel.

5866. M32 roundabout J3 (558)

Stivs, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2024

It was great to catch up with Stivs while he was painting this piece, and it gave me the opportunity to tell him how much I admired his incredible technical skills with creating these amazing calligraffiti letters. Stivs has made a deliberate choice to move back to writing words he used to write before writing Stivs, namely the word KRAP and variants of it. In this case he has written KRAPSTER.

The letters are not only beautifully crafted and proportioned, but they also incorporate four shades of yellow, one for each elevation, which together create the appearance of gold letters and a three-dimensional effect. The letters are set on a contrasting matrix of pink lines and squiggles, which rounds off the whole production nicely. Great piece by Stivs.

5865. Church Road

Mind 49, Church Road, Bristol, February 2024

Hoardings are irresistible to street artists, graffiti writers and taggers alike. They provide a safe and clean canvas, temporary in nature, for spray paint creativity, and Mind 49 has grabbed the opportunity to decorate this hoarding in Church Road with both hands. Mind 49 is making a big impact on the street art scene in Bristol, and his portrait pieces in particular are turning heads all over the city. I am guessing from the frequency of his new work that he must have moved to the city, or in the neighbouring area.

Mind Control, Church Road, Bristol, February 2024

The portrait is really striking, and his style is fascinating. It is not photorealistic, but is representative. His can control though has a paint brush quality that is softer than the harsh crispness of photorealism. This is a really great piece, and he appears to improve each time he hits a wall. I am looking forward to seeing where he takes us in 2024.

5864. Sparke Evans Park (88)

Pekoe, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, February 2024

It is really good to see how Pekoe’s writing is improving at a terrific rate. I will admit that I was a little sceptical when she started turning her attention to letters, and wasn’t sure that she would be able to pull it off, and I was also worried that it might compromise her wonderful portraits. I needn’t have worried, her writing is great and she is still painting her portrait pieces.

This piece, part of a birthday paint jam for Evey and Desi, picks up on the day’s theme which was Pokémon, and a ball features in her letters. Pekoe has included a character from the series/game/cards which I believe is Phantump, and she has included a graffiti crown for good measure. This is a lovely colourful piece which really gets into the spirit of the paint jam.

5863. Dean Lane skate park (692)

Biers, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2024

I am enjoying the regularity with which Biers is turning out his pieces at the moment, with at least one or two each month. The broad format is the same, with his WD40 letters, and a character poking through the ‘0’.

The character has baffled me a little, and my Google search has yielded nothing, so he will have to remain a mystery. Perhaps the skull next to the character would offer an extra clue, but it is not enough for me. The letters are really clean and tidy, a feature of Biers’ recent work, and the colour palette is lovely, although slightly lost on the pinky background. Perhaps something with a little more contrast might have worked better, but what do I know?

5862. Brunel Way (259)

Zed in the Clouds, Brunel Way, Bristol, February 2024

These large block letters are something a little different from Zed in the Clouds, an artist who is regrettably underrepresented in Natural Adventures. I have many photographs of his work in my archives, but not a lot have been posted, which is a situation I will try to remedy (it might have to wait until my retirement).

Painted alongside his friend Wxttsart (Milk) and in a similar colour scheme, Zed in the Clouds has shaped some monolithic letters, which, with the orange and red border, have a volcanic feel to them. He has added the words ‘sexy typographic creationz’ above the piece, which makes me think he is rather pleased with this piece of writing, and so he should be. It is certainly something a bit different from the artist.

5861. Greenbank (107)

Knife, Greenbank, Bristol, February 2024

I have a very busy week ahead, so apologise in advance for any disruption to my usual rhythm. I start with a trip to Nottingham today and tomorrow and am in London on Thursday, delivering workshops, which is both time-intensive and exhausting. Managing expectations.

A graffiti writer, who has emerged over the last year or so is Knife, I don’t yet know they are or if they use social media, so for the time being I shall use their writing moniker.

I have seen Knife’s work in quite a few of the spots I visit, and felt it was about time I posted a piece. I think that Knife paints solo, at least I haven’t yet noticed any patterns of painting with anyone else, which makes me think that the artist is fairly new to Bristol. This is a really nicely executed piece, clean and tidy letters with a straightforward three colour fill, nothing too fancy or pretentious. Even though the wall hasn’t been buffed, the graffiti writing is eye-catching, and this is a solid debut piece (on Natural Adventures) from Knife. Expect more to follow.

5860. M32 roundabout J3 (557)

Kosc, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2024

Oh my! This is Kosc at his very best, and even by his high standards, he has excelled himself. It is obvious that Kosc works very hard to develop his skills and looks to improve from piece to piece, stretching his repertoire and pushing boundaries. When you strive and work hard, you get your returns and this feels like a landmark piece to me.

From the background I would guess that this is an oriental scene and portrait, featuring a beautiful woman with flowers in her hair. The greyscale portrait has a softness of touch about it, accentuated by the solid chunky letters either side. I am not too sure why the ‘C’ melts away, but there must be a reason behind it.

To me, what absolutely makes the piece perfect, is the stunning landscape setting featuring mountains and trees and old buildings, painted in subtle shades of blue. Whether it is deliberate or not, the spilt paint on the ground draws the piece out towards the viewer and adds to the overall impression. Brilliant work from an artist at the top of his game.

5859. Brunel Way (258)

Taboo, Brunel Way, Bristol, February 2024

Taboo is an artist who tends to keep himself to himself, and on the only occasion I have met him, he didn’t much want to chat, so I left him to it. He often paints alone, although he occasionally collaborates with his friends in the PLB crew. He doesn’t post on social media, so finding his pieces is always a genuine surprise, especially as I really like his work.

This is a really nice piece of anti-style graffiti writing, spelling out TABOO, with beautifully irregular and anarchic letters which are clean and crisp. I fear that he may have come out with a lack of red paint for the background, which is a little scruffy in places, but fine in the gaps in the letters, which is what counts. It is great to see that Taboo is out and about after a pretty quiet winter period.

	paulh121 on 7228. Greville Road – Up…
	scooj on 7226. Willway Street – U…
	scooj on 7228. Greville Road – Up…
	scooj on Pyramidal Orchid
	scooj on 7228. Greville Road – Up…

	paulh121 on 7228. Greville Road – Up…
	scooj on 7226. Willway Street – U…
	scooj on 7228. Greville Road – Up…
	scooj on Pyramidal Orchid
	scooj on 7228. Greville Road – Up…

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