Grimes has been smashing it all summer with his colourful and energetic pieces, and this one on the long hoarding at Greenbank simply adds another to his expanding portfolio. Sadly, we’re now entering the last days of the Raj with this particular spot, as the development of the site is nearing completion. It will be a sad day when the hoarding comes down, but illustrative of the temporary nature of street/graffiti art.
Grimes, Greenbank, Bristol, August 2024
The letters in ‘fruits of the forest’ colours spell out GRIME, and as ever have an incredible sense of movement about them. There is something rather lyrical about Grimes’ writing, if that makes any sense at all, like visual poetry. Another great piece from Grimes, and surely about time for a gallery?
Doors 276 – Doors of Nottingham (Part I), UK, March 2024
I missed last week’s Thursday doors, there was simply too much going on, and I ran out of time. I am feeling similarly ragged this morning, so this is going to be a quick one. Many of my Thursday doors collections happen to be tied in with work meetings around the country, when I have to do an ‘over-nighter’. On the day of the meeting I tend to get up early from my hotel, wander around the town or city for an hour or so before joining my colleagues, and it is during this stroll that I get to take photographs. This week I bring you the first of three selections from Nottingham captured in March this year, I hope you enjoy them.
Gray & Bull opticians door, Nottingham, March 2024Notts Bank Chambers doors, Nottingham, March 2024Neighbours with rather different doors, Nottingham, March 2024Yellow door behind a gate, Nottingham, March 2024Carlton Buildings (flats 1-9) door, Nottingham, March 2024Black door and barber’s pole, Nottingham, March 2024Stunning Gothic architecture and green doors, Nottingham, March 2024
I would love to expand on some of these doors, and buildings, but am a little pressed for time.
I hope to be a little more organised next time, until then… cheerio.
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.
Saor and Kosc, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2024
Oof! what a belter of a collaboration. Sometimes fortune smiles upon you, and on the day I found this outstanding piece, the artists, Saor and Kosc had literally just finished and were packing up their stuff and saying their goodbyes. Just looking at this collaboration, you can see that it oozes class.
Saor, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2024
Saor, to my mind, is the perfect antidote to losing Epok, an artist who no longer paints in Bristol (alas), because his style is similar, crafting pieces of such precision and disguising his letters, SAOR, perfectly. The colour palette is beautifully thought out and parts of this piece remind me of the work of the great Miro conflated with the Cubist movement. Wonderful stuff.
Kosc, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2024
Kosc opted for a skull on this occasion, and told me that he finds it easier to paint skulls than fully-fleshed portraits, because the viewer is less familiar with the anatomy of a skull than of a face, which allows for more wiggle room regarding accuracy. Funnily I found that slightly counterintuitive, but maybe that is my naturalist background. Anyhow it is a great piece and such a contrast with Saor’s piece. Chalk and cheese.
Abbie Laura Smith, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2024
Hurrah! this is the second paste up in a new batch from Abbie Laura Smith dotted around the Cumberland Basin area. I would say that this one is by quite some considerable margin the largest that I have seen yet from Abbie Laura Smith.
Abbie Laura Smith, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2024
The piece is different also in that it is a fuller portrait piece from the waist upwards, rather than the customary head portraits that ALS usually creates. The torso is covered in writing, which I haven’t had time to reconstruct fully, but I can see the phrase “Nope, you are lucky enough to tell the tale that those before you…” running down the arm. The piece as a whole feels more ambitious than previous works, and I sense that ALS is pushing a few boundaries, which is so good to see. More coming soon.
In spite of it being one of my favourite spots, I still haven’t marked up the half-century of posts from Leonard Lane, but not far off now. Risky is a writer who I have been aware of for a few years and although I haven’t yet posted any of his pieces, I have been meaning to forever.
Risky, Leonard Lane, Bristol, June 2024
This by far the most impressive piece from Risky that I have seen so far, and I have to say that I really love it, and it is a perfect piece of graffiti writing for the location. Each of the letters RISKY are afforded a completely unique colour/pattern regime, and the whole thing comes across as an energetic and happy piece. Perhaps it is not the tidiest piece ever, but I don’t think that matters at all. Look out for more from Risky, now that I have started the ball rolling.
I am taking a bit of a risk with posting this piece, because I am not 100% certain that it is by who I think it is. My guess would be that the artist is Nice One, as it certainly has the same style as other signed portraits about the place. The piece has been lurking in my archive since June, because I wasn’t too sure who to attribute it to.
Nice One, Montpelier Park, Bristol, June 2024
I like the portrait very much, and would guess that the artist (if it is Nice One) might have had some art schooling of some kind… since, although it is rather stylised, the proportions are nicely worked. The piece was modestly ticked away in the far corner of the wall in one of the quieter graffiti spots in Bristol. Nice one is building a more than respectable portfolio and I would expect and hope to see a whole lot more coming from the artist over the next few weeks and months.
Ryder and Inkie, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2024
I am rather tired this morning. I got back late last night from Copenhagen, after a wonderful long weekend there with my 89 year old mother. We packed a lot in to the three full days, and I am still processing much of the trip. I have managed to keep my posts going on Natural Adventures through this period, but might need to slow down a little as I ease myself back into work after two weeks off.
This wonderful collaboration between Ryder and Inkie was actually painted way back in May and for some inexplicable reason never got posted at the time… it happens.
Ryder, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2024
To the left, and slightly impacted by the shadow cast across the top, is some superb writing by Ryder, which is accompanied by Evil Edna, the television character from the cartoon series Willo the Wisp. There are some great fill colours, oozing confidence, without overcomplicating things. Great to see Ryder managing to paint a little.
Inkie, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2024
Inkie is arguably the best know Bristol artist still regularly painting in the city, and this is a sumptuous example of his stylised lettering. The piece is pretty much perfect in every way and like Ryder’s piece is confident and uncomplicated. Both are writers at the top of their games, with nothing to prove, and it comes across in their work.
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.
Natural adventures 