The paint jam on the new hoardings on St John’s Lane turned out some very special pieces, including this gorgeous writing from Rusk. Before posting it, I really ought to have gone back and photographed it without the mottled light on it, but I am both lazy and impatient, so have decided to post it warts and all.
Rusk, St John’s Lane, Bristol, June 2023
Rusk has been turning out this very special ribbon-style writing for little while now, and I have to say that I definitely like it. It is almost like a transition between flat wild style and anamorphic style, having plenty of three dimensional depth to the letters sitting on a flat background. Great colours, great letters spelling RISKY beautifully presented and finished.
Daz Cat, Werm and Kool Hand, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, June 2023
I am very pressed for time this morning, so this is a bit of a quick one. There were actually four pieces in this collaborative wall, but these three were more familiar to me and formed part of a set, with the fourth having a slightly different feel to it. The three artists, well known to regular readers are Daz Cat, Werm and Kool Hand.
Daz Cat, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, June 2023
To the left of the three is a rather cool rabbit character, or long-eared cat, sitting cross-legged and striking something approaching a yoga pose. What you don’t get from this picture is the scale of the piece which is probably 9ft tall, I know this because I painted something immediately to the left, which was dwarfed by it.
Werm, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, June 2023
In the middle is another stunner from Werm, who is getting his style sorted with his small letters and expanding decorative extensions. He has consistently been one of the most productive artists on the streets for quite some time , and rarely disappoints.
Kool Hand, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, June 2023
On the right, Kool Hand has painted one of his customary character/writing combinations in his soft curvy style. The toothy dog is leaning on the letters, and both elements are nicely highlighted with white dots which offer depth to the piece. Altogether a nicely colour coordinated triptych from the trio.
This was my third attempt at photographing this fine collaboration from Lee Roy and Waste, under Brunel Way, because of the rather irritating light and shadow that is cast on sunny days from the left. I got there in the end. I was lucky enough to be there when the artists were painting the piece and I got to meet Lee Roy for the first time, and what a genuinely lovely person he is – we chatted plenty.
Lee Roy, Brunel Way, Bristol, June 2023
The collaborative wall is clever in that each side is a reversed-out colour version of the other, and how different they look, using the same powerful pink and black colour scheme. Lee Roy talked to me about his rather free style and said that he used to write really tight letters, in a more traditional graffiti manner, but that he found it increasingly unenjoyable, striving for perfection and instead has adopted a more liberated style, tending towards anti-style. He certainly seems to be happy with his current work, and has been churning out pieces at a terrific rate so far this year.
Waste, Brunel Way, Bristol, June 2023
I don’t know much about Waste, other than that he is a friend of Lee Roy’s from out of town. I forget where… Cardiff? Swindon? I should have made a note. I like this piece a lot, and note that Waste has made things easy for himself, using the ‘tram-lines’ in the wall to keep his letters regular. All in all a very nice collaborative wall, which fortunately remained undogged long enough for me to get some decent photographs.
One of the first street artists/graffiti writers I met, way back, was Jee See, while he was painting a column under the M32 motorway. He was really happy to talk about his work and was very welcoming, giving me the confidence to keep going with my blog.
Jee See, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2023
This ‘seismic’ piece on the famous curved wall in Dean Lane makes me laugh, because it illustrates the importance of bringing a ladder or finding something to stand on when painting tall walls. Jee See’s familiar block letters with 3D drop shadows diverging halfway through the piece have been a steady feature of the street art scene for some years, although he doesn’t appear to paint all that often these days. The piece presents well, with white letters on a black background – nice and simple.
Corupt is another of the Bristol stalwarts, whose work is consistently on-point and pleasing to the eye. This vibrant yellow piece spelling out STICK (one of two monikers the artist uses) is painted on one of the smaller ramps in the Dean Lane skate park.
Corupt, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2023
What I particularly like about this piece is that when I photographed it, it was still quite fresh. Skate park ramp artwork usually deteriorates reasonably quickly for obvious reasons, and it is unusual to find pieces in good condition. There is nothing flashy or pretentious about this piece, and yet it still packs a punch and makes an impression.
There is no doubt about it, Mote is in a very rich vein of form, not only with productivity, but also with his series of bird monsters, which appear to have inspired him greatly, and which I must say are rather appealing. I also like the way that Mote has grown the range of formats, from thin columns to squares to landscape orientation.
Mote, Brunel Way, Bristol, June 2023
Mote has drawn on nature itself, recognising the delineation between a bird’s face and the rest of its plumage, more apparent in some species than in others, for example parrots and vultures. There is some interesting fill work in the two halves of green, reversing the drip colours, and some of the drips falling out of the monster’s face and on to the floor. I have loads more to post from Mote, just from June, let alone pieces that are loitering in my archive.
I have said many times before on Natural Adventures that it is always a great pleasure to welcome new artists, and over the last year or so there have been an incredible number of new entrants onto the scene. One of the latest to showcase her work is Hiccup, a Bristol artist, nail artist and creator of hand-crafted jewellery.
Hiccup, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2023
This is a nicely worked piece of a hand holding an old brick cell phone – I had one like it for many years. The letters ACAB (All Cops are Bast**ds) appear in the display – a common motif for street artists. Nails feature prominently, which perhaps comes as no surprise. A nice piece, with plenty more to come, I hope.
Micklegate bar (gate) and city wall, York, June 2023
Doors 226 – Doors of York City (1)
I was lucky enough to attend a conference in Harrogate last week, but decided to stay the night before in the nearby City of York, with some of my colleagues. I could tell from the moment of stepping off the train that this was going to be one hell of a doorscursion. To do it justice, I really needed to spend a couple of days in the place, but unfortunately only had an evening, basically the walk from the station to the hotel, and the walk from the hotel to a restaurant. My long-suffering colleagues had to keep waiting while I yelled from behind, ‘just one more door’. I realised that it takes a special kind of person to be interested in doors, and that most people are not.
This first set of doors are from outside the city walls, which are most impressive, as is the whole city, in fact York is a place I must visit again, but as a tourist rather than a delegate. Heree are some doors for you:
Three doors, York, June 2023
Pillar box red door with black surround, York, June 2023
Recessed blue door with steps, York, June 2023
Recessed turquoise door with steps and tiles, York, June 2023
Micklegate bar (gate), York, June 2023
Ghost door, York, June 2023
I couldn’t resist the ghost door at the end, mainly to show to my son, who is an apprentice stonemason and is interested in all kinds of stone work.
Well, that’s it for this week, and I hope to bring you some more York doors next time. Have a fabulous rest of week and weekend. Adios.
If you have made it this far, you probably like doors, and you really ought to take a look at the No Facilities blog by Dan Anton who has taken over the hosting of Thursday Doors from Norm 2.0 blog. Links to more doorscursions can be found in the comments section of Dan Anton’s Thursday Doors post.
Cheo has definitely woken up from a reasonably long quiet period, and it would appear that his friend and painting collaborator Dibz has ha something to do with it, at a guess. The two have combined to create this wonderful picture-frame piece featuring a Vaughn Bode lizard by Cheo and tight writing from Dibz.
Cheo and Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2023
The influence of Vaughn Bode on the graffiti art scene has been quite extraordinary, and continues to be as vibrant now as when the artist himself was alive. Che’s lizard is perfectly drafted with a lot more perspective and depth than some renditions I have seen. The bee, of course, is lovely too. Dibz has gone for some rather more basic writing than we are used to seeing, but it is just so perfectly executed, flawless I would say. This is a very good collaborative wall from two of Bristol’s finest artists.
Natural adventures 