This is the third piece by Butch that I have posted, and although I can’t put my finger on exactly why, I really like what I see. There is a consistency to the letters from piece to piece, which means that the main focus is always likely to be on the fills and background.
Butch, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2024
This work by Butch, is on the cusp between casual throw up and a polished tight piece, which is an interesting space to inhabit, and I see that there is potential to create some high class finishing, but perhaps not the desire to go full-on high-end. The letters are composed of solid ‘plates’ of light blue and dusky yellow, riveted together, a device used by some artists, and a very effective one too. This is great work from the PLB graffiti writer.
Painted as part of the World Wall Stylers ‘Who Framed Roger Rabbit’ paint jam, this is an absolute beauty by Sait Bare, and possibly the best piece I have seen from the artist yet. Although there is no character, Sait Bare has adhered to the colour scheme, and thrown himself into the collaborative effort.
Sait Bare, Cumberland Bain, Bristol, August 2024
The colours are expertly blended with beguiling patterning running through the letters which spell out SAIT. There is a smoky, ephemeral feel to the whole piece, all very atmospheric. There is a bit of a juxtaposition between the wispy fills and the solid 3D drop shadow, but I think it comes together nicely.
Rowdy, Andy Council and Acer One, Purdown, Bristol, August 2024Rowdy, Purdown, Bristol, August 2024Rowdy, Purdown, Bristol, August 2024Rowdy, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2024Rowdy, Cheltenham Road, Bristol, February 2023Rowdy, Brunel Way, Bristol, January 2022Rowdy, Redpoint Climbing Centre, Bristol, July 2021, Upfest21Rowdy, Redpoint Climbing Centre, Bristol, July 2021, Upfest21Rowdy, St Werburghs, Bristol, July 2021Rowdy, Chatterton Square, Bristol, April 2021Rowdy, Stapleton Road, Bristol, May 2020Rowdy, Stoney Lane, Bristol, March 2020Inkie and Rowdy, Wilder Street, Bristol, July 2019Rowdy, M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 2018Rowdy, St Werburghs farm, Bristol, July 2018Rowdy, Bedminster, Bristol, July 2017Rowdy, The Bearpit, Bristol, January 2017Rowdy, The Bearpit, Bristol, January 2017Rowdy and Sweet Toof, The Carriageworks, Bristol, December 2016Rowdy, Devon Road, Bristol, May 2016Rowdy, Devon Road, Bristol, May 2016Mau Mau and Rowdy, Picton Lane, Bristol, November 2015Rowdy, Picton Lane, Bristol, November 2015Rowdy, Picton Lane, Bristol, November 2015Rowdy, lilo, Picton Lane, Bristol, November 2015Rowdy, lilo, Picton Lane, Bristol, November 2015
Unknown artist, M32 roundabout, Bristol, September 2024
I photographed this piece before I knew that Mena had had an accident and that she couldn’t have possibly painted this piece. I initially thought it was hers, but had doubts, because it isn’t really in her style. This leaves me with a bit of a problem, in that I don’t know who to attribute this shout-out piece to, hence the label of ‘unknown artist’.
Unknown artist, M32 roundabout, Bristol, September 2024
There are some clues in the piece as to who painted it… there are lots of graffiti arrows, used a lot by artists such as Hypo. There are also some nice subtle stars in the fill patterning, which many artists use. This one will remain a mystery until somebody tells me who painted it, but the sentiment is, I’m sure, much appreciated by Mena and her family/friends.
An explosive and colourful piece by Nips on the long wall at Greenbank was a very welcome sight, especially as the turnover at this spot seems to have slowed down a litle, so finding anything new there is always rewarding.
Nips, Greenbank, Bristol, September 2024
Once again it is the fills that delight and Nips seems to specialise in beautiful designs and colour palettes for her letters. As ever, the letter form tends to remain reasonably regular from piece to piece, although the dot over the ‘i’ allows scope for variation, and here she has placed a simple heart icon in the pink circle. I am not 100% convinced by the green and blue border, the green in particular gets a little bit overwhelmed by the purple fills. Nice stuff from Nips.
Regular readers may recall that I am not a fan of posting work that is in effect advertising, but it seems that it is becoming all too common, whether promoting music or art. I guess I am more forgiving if an artist is promoting their own work, or helping out with mates, but it it still doesn’t sit very comfortably with me. It is a fine line between advertising for mates and corporate advertising. I suppose if money doesn’t change hands then it is ok. Somehow, though, the promotional aspect seems to disrupt the freedom of the artist, because there is a different driver or purpose, and this is reflected in their style and content.
Kid Crayon, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2024
Kid Crayon manages to gain leniency from me because I love his work, and in this piece he promotes n exhibition ‘Art on wax’ that happened way back in July. I expect the delay in posting the piece was down to my prevarication. It is well painted but in my view insincere. There you have it.
Silent Hobo, Little Bishop Street, Bristol, July 2024
One of the earliest pieces I posted on Natural Adventures was the previous incarnation on this wall also painted by Silent Hobo. It was a piece that lovingly depicted Bristol youth, something that Silent Hobo is renowned for.
Silent Hobo, Little Bishop Street, Bristol, July 2024
On renewing this piece, Silent Hobo has once again presented us with a positive and optimistic vision of Bristol, with music and DJ’ing being front and centre. I rather like the girl in the background hugging an enormous frog… who’d have guessed? Welcome to St Pauls!
Silent Hobo, Little Bishop Street, Bristol, November 2015
Dibz, Jody, Urge, The Art of Sok and Fade, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2024
This is another stunning production piece, led and bookended by Dibz and Fade, incorporating work from Jody, Urge and The Art of Sok. The themed colours of orange and light blues works exceptionally well in this spot that can have a tendency to be a bit gloomy.
Dibz, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2024
Starting with Dibz on the left (and rather annoyingly, capturing that shaft of light which makes an appearance in the afternoons), the collaboration gets off to a great start, with as sharp and tidy wildstyle graffiti writing as you would expect from Dibz.
Jody, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2024
With five artists in the line-up, and three of them writers, the character pieces appear in the second and fourth slots. This astonishing Godzilla piece is by Jody, who has been on fire since joining up with Dibz and Fade over the last year or so (although, to be fair, he is always on fire, but perhaps more so recently).
Urge, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2024
Next up is a piece by Urge, who I know nothing about, but whose writing looks completely at home with the Bristol artists. I guess that Urge was visiting, or passing by, and got invited to join in. I love it that Bristol artists are so welcoming of others from around the country.
The Art of Sok, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2024
The fourth slot is taken up by the Art of Sok, whose distinctive style of cartoon characters, while so utterly different from the other four pieces, somehow manages to complement them very well. His characters are always beautifully presented in as close to a perfect state as they could be.
Fade, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2024
Things are rounded off by Fade, who along with Dibz ‘owns’ this manor. His beautiful letters, immaculately filled with two shades of blue and bordered with an orange 3D drop shadow, reflect the writing that comes before it. This is a very classy production piece from these five artists. Bravo!
It is quite unusual to find a Hire piece outside the Dean Lane skate park area, but here he is joining in the fun with the World Wall Stylers ‘Who Framed Roger Rabbit’ paint jam, and although his piece isn’t as overtly on-topic as most of the pieces, it is nonetheless a part of the whole wall.
Hire, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2024
The wonderfully crafted letters spell out HIRE, but I was sorely tempted to fib and say they spelled RABBIT. A feature I haven’t noticed about his work before is the long shadows that have been cast from the tips of his letters, which seem to lift the piece a little. This is a nice reversion to his more spiky style that sets him apart from other writers.
The mini street art festival in Muriel Alleyway at the end of July brought together artists from the Bristol Mural Collective and one or two others to decorate this back lane and its walls, garage doors and shutters. Bethcub (Beth Kirby) is a Bristol-based artist who discusses issues of the female body and the female experience through drawing, painting, murals and 3D mediums.
Bethcub, Muriel Alleyway, Bristol, July 2024
I have featured her work at least once before on Natural Adventures, but it is pretty safe to say that she doesn’t paint street pieces all that often. You can see from the picture above that Bethcub has used a sketch of her piece and upscaled it hugely.
Bethcub, Muriel Alleyway, Bristol, August 2024
This is a really interesting piece, because there is a lot of ‘white space’ which is so unusual to see in street murals, where often every square inch of wall is decorated. What this does is focus the attention on the subject of the piece. The observant among you might notice that she has painted over a piece originally by Rtiiika. Lovely to see work from different artists coming out to play.
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