6442. River Avon (65)

Todoaciem, River Avon, Bristol September 2024
Todoaciem, River Avon, Bristol September 2024

After a short spell away from Bristol, I think in his native Spain, it would appear that Todoaciem has returned recently and started dropping pieces in his favoured haunts. Alongside Stivs and Wxttsart, Todoaciem is a wonderfully accomplished calligraffiti artist, whose work is as tight as a nut.

Todoaciem, River Avon, Bristol September 2024
Todoaciem, River Avon, Bristol September 2024

I would like to say that this is a particularly elaborate example of his writing, but looking back at his work, I would simply say that it is typical and no more elaborate than most of his work. The letters are beautifully filled with a blended gradation of reds. The white border is augmented with a fine 3D drop shadow drifting to the left of the letters. There is enough of a background to mark out the whole piece from the graffiti writing beneath. Great to see Todoaciem back in Bristol.

6441. Dean Lane skate park (768)

ESKA, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2024
ESKA, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2024

Ooh, it was a genuine pleasure to meet ESKA and his partner while he was painting this absolute beauty. I have not come across the artist before, but that is not all that surprising, because he travels around the country on a barge, which is currently docked in Bristol Floating Harbour – I understand that his boat is easy to seek out, because it has his artwork festooned on the outside.

ESKA, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2024
ESKA, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2024

While ESKA was painting I struck up a conversation with his partner who told me that there is a lot of symbolism in his pieces and that everything has a meaning – unpicking this might be quite difficult, so I will probably stick with talking about the aesthetic quality of the piece.

ESKA, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2024
ESKA, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2024

Unfortunately I never got a photograph of the full completed wall, because by the time I returned, somebody had painted over the left-hand edge of the piece, but you can see from the WIP shot what it might have looked like. The colour palette is gorgeous, and I love the way ESKA has incorporated his letters into the magical scene. This piece is a real feast for the eyes. More to come from this itinerant artist.

6440. Church Road

Dave Bain and David J. McMillan, Church Road, Bristol, September 2024
Dave Bain and David J. McMillan, Church Road, Bristol, September 2024

I find myself in a bit of a rush this morning, because I have a dental appointment before work. I’m slightly anxious about what is going to happen with my tooth, having lost quite a large section of it a week or so ago. I guess I have to yield to the professional and just get on with it.

I drove past this mural a few weeks ago, coming back from the dog sitter who lives in a part of town I don’t go to all that often. I don’t know how long it has been there, but I can’t recall ever having seen it before.

Dave Bain and David J. McMillan, Church Road, Bristol, September 2024
Dave Bain and David J. McMillan, Church Road, Bristol, September 2024

The large mural on Church Road is by Dave Bain and David J McMillan, and not being overly familiar with the work of either artist, I am not too sure who is responsible for which parts of the mural. The piece speaks of recreation and connecting with nature, which is always a welcome theme in my view. I love the execution of the mural, but I fear that the colours look a little washed out, but that might be an artifact of the rather overcast weather when I took the photographs. It is always great to find new pieces, especially significant murals like this one. Nice work from Dave and David.

6439. St Werburghs tunnel (450)

Omie, St Werburghs, Bristol, September 2024
Omie, St Werburghs, Bristol, September 2024

In a post only a couple of days ago I mentioned how no two Omie pieces are the same, and this one in the tunnel rather supports my assertion. In this one, Omie presents some irregular letters in a stunning three-layered red fill, decorated in the top half with some ephemeral blue dots.

Omie, St Werburghs, Bristol, September 2024
Omie, St Werburghs, Bristol, September 2024

It is the 3D drop shadow that really grabs the eye in this piece though. The shadow is nice and deep, and veers off to the left of the letters in a blue tint with black stripes. If I were being picky I might note that not all of the black stripes are parallel, but fortunately it doesn’t spoil the overall effect, and most people probably wouldn’t even notice. I must say that I am very much enjoying Omie’s work, and am never quite sure what could be coming next, which is fun.

6438. Dean Lane skate park (767)

Awkward, Dean Lane, Bristol September 2024
Awkward, Dean Lane, Bristol September 2024

It would appear that Awkward is going through a bit of a purple patch, having made only occasional appearances for several years, he is now painting regularly in the Deaner. This one was part of a wider collaboration, or at least it was painted at the same time as some other pieces on the wall.

Awkward, Dean Lane, Bristol September 2024
Awkward, Dean Lane, Bristol September 2024

In Awkward, perhaps more than with other artists, we see a strong crossover between his art and music – perhaps Benjimagnetic could give him a run for for his money – and indeed Awkward promotes Sentinel793 (Benjimagnetic) in this piece. The two cartoon characters appear to be rather ghoulish, with empty eye-sockets that are connected by wisps of smoke. Nice work from Awkward, although it might not be to everyone’s taste.

6437. St Werburghs tunnel (449)

Hypo, St Werburghs, Bristol, September 2024
Hypo, St Werburghs, Bristol, September 2024

Hypo has been on fire for a couple of years now, re-emerging during Covid, and keeping up a regular rhythm of fine graffiti writing that just seems to be getting better and better. His letters lend themselves to bilateral symmetry like those of Werm, but there the similarity of graffiti writing between the two artists ends.

Hypo, St Werburghs, Bristol, September 2024
Hypo, St Werburghs, Bristol, September 2024

The colours in this piece are its crowning glory. Set on a neutral cream background, the wildstyle letters ‘HYPO’ are festooned with a beautifully blended selection of rainbow colours that manage to remain reasonably subtle, and whilst a colourful piece it avoids being gaudy. Very fine work from a lovely graffiti writer.

6436. Brunel Way (298)

Omie, Brunel Way, Bristol, September 2024
Omie, Brunel Way, Bristol, September 2024

I know very little about Omie, but in terms of artwork, I very much like what I see. Omie is a writer who varies their work to the extent that no two pieces are even remotely alike, and there isn’t an identifiable Omie ‘house’ style, indeed it is only the letters that provide a common thread to the portfolio.

Omie, Brunel Way, Bristol, September 2024
Omie, Brunel Way, Bristol, September 2024

I am very much looking forward to ‘harvesting’ enough photographs to be able to share a gallery of Omie’s eclectic collection. Black and yellow make good bedfellows, being Mother Natures warning colours, and Omie has combined the colours well in these letters and augmented them with some red spots, another of nature’s danger colours. The comment ‘rain sucks’ suggests a wet day, and this particular wall can start to run really badly in the wet. Nice work from Omie.

6435. Dean Lane skate park (766)

Zake and Werm, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2024
Zake and Werm, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2024

I wrote in a post recently that Zake appears to be at his happiest when he is collaborating with others, and here he is teaming up with Werm to create this integrated collaborative piece in the Deaner. Worm’s symmetrical writing has been somewhat disrupted by a mouthwatering (literally) cartoon portrait piece by Zake.

Zake and Werm, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2024
Zake and Werm, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2024

The colours are all a bit muted because I took the photograph in the late afternoon, and the wall was in the shade. Sometimes collaborations like this don’t work too well, because the elements don’t integrate very well, but in this instance I think the pair have done really well here and the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. Nice work.

6434. Greenbank (136)

Roma, Greenbank, Bristol, September 2024
Roma, Greenbank, Bristol, September 2024

One of the functions of Natural Adventures is to document contemporary street art and graffiti writing in Bristol, where I might differ from others who do what I do, is that I like to show the full spectrum of artists, and not only cherry-pick the high-end stuff. This way, readers get to see everything that goes on in the city, warts and all, rather than seeing it through rose-tinted spectacles. New and emerging artists play an important role in the street art culture of the city. Some will give up, while others will keep at it and improve and some will become celebrated artists in timer, and it is good to be able to trace their work back – Natural Adventures is a place where that can happen.

Roma, Greenbank, Bristol, September 2024
Roma, Greenbank, Bristol, September 2024

This piece is by Roma, whose work has been appearing from place to place all around Bristol. I am always a fan of red/green combinations, and Roma has thrown in some purples into the fills for good measure. ROMA are fine letters to work with, pleasing on the eye and easy to remember. While there is a rather nice drop shadow, it is interesting to note that there are no borders in this piece, which is unusual with writers. Personally, I quite like borderless pieces (my own personal prejudice, because I find them impossible to paint). The white highlights give the piece a little lift. Expect to see more from Roma

6433. Purdown (80)

Daz Cat, Purdown, Bristol, September 2024
Daz Cat, Purdown, Bristol, September 2024

This is my 80th post from Purdown, but if I am honest, it feel like an awful lot more. Daz Cat seems to like it up here and the square format of the concrete blocks seems to suit his designs. It is always far more difficult for writers to fill a square space than for character artists.

Daz Cat, Purdown, Bristol, September 2024
Daz Cat, Purdown, Bristol, September 2024

Daz Cat has painted a cat (naturally) curled up in the square. The blue cat is wearing a fabulous orange striped shirt and shorts combination, and looks really rather cute. The cat is smiling and there is a good feeling all round about this piece. I will never tire of Daz Cats’ cats.