This is another striking piece from Katie Fishlock which I had meant to post back in March, but it simply didn’t happen. Fortunately my regular trawls through my archives allow me to unearth special pieces like this one.
Fishlock, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2024
Fishlock’s punchy pieces tend to be quite modest in size, but usually make up for it in both attitude and message. These big red lips contain the words ‘self-sabotage is misguided self-love’, which I think I get. Katie Fishlock’s art punches above its weight because of its arresting combination of design and message, and I am a fan.
You might be able to tell that I have been doing a little digging through my archive, which I do from time to time, to pull out some pieces that deserve to be posted, but were squeezed out because of the sheer volume of new work appearing on the streets of Bristol every day. This beauty from Misery is a good example of what I mean.
Misery, Greenbank, Bristol, February 2024
I am more used to seeing tags from Misery, and because of that, this is the first piece I have featured on Natural Adventures, not because I don’t like tags, but because they have to compete with all the other street and graffiti art. This piece looks like an aggregation of tags on a simple white background, along with the word misery repeated, and it appears that there is a bit of a story board going on, but I am not too sure what it is telling us. I hope that this will free me up to start posting aggregations of his tags at some point, We’ll have to wait and see. A nice debut on this blog.
I have been aware of 3GV’s work for a little while now, but this is the first piece I have posted on Natural Adventures, which I photographed back in January this year. It has taken me a little while to post because I wasn’t too sure who the artist was, and whether this was a one-off or not. I have since seen several more pieces which I will try to feature in future posts.
3GV, M32 roundabout, Bristol, January 2024
3GV has an interesting combination style, which incorporates characters and his letters 3GV. While his work is quite undeveloped and raw, he has something about him, and with plenty of practice, I fully expect to see his work in some of the more prominent spots before long. The Fred Flintstone character is recognisable, and the rest of his artwork comes together to create something quite eye-catching. Practice on his technique and finishing #will lift his work from ‘good effort’ to outstanding – let’s see where this goes.
At the moment, North Street is awash with new pieces that have been painted for Upfest, Europe’s largest street art festival, which continues until the end of this week. This piece, however, by Yoliws above the Café ‘Nook’ has been here for a little while and should not be confused with an Upfest piece.
Yoliws, North Street, Bristol, January 2024
Yoliws is a regular participant in the Bristol Mural Collective paint jams, but this is the first time I have seen a full-scale commission from her. The piece really sets a tone of relaxed café culture, and her white scribbly characters set on a black background tell a calm and comfortable story of what occurs within. Her highly designed style really lends itself to this kind of shopfront commission, and I am sure that there will be more to come. Great fun, well executed.
There was a time, not so long ago, when Mr Crawls could be identified easily because all of his pieces featured quirky birds. That is most definitely not the case now, and his association with Mote appears to have encouraged him to branch out into painting all sorts of weird and quirky monster characters.
Mr Crawls, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2024
This quick one on the swimming pool building wall, behind the hedge, is a case in point. The green monster, looking a little bit like a hard-hat, is blessed with enormous eyes and an array of razor-sharp teeth. The eyes have no pupils, giving it a bit of edge. Pupils in eyes always soften a character and conversely their absence creates a hollow, even sinister appearance. This is a nice solo piece from the imaginative Mr Crawls
Mr Penfold, St Augustine’s Parade, Bristol, May 2024
At my work, there is quite a strong push to bring people back into the office, after an extended period of being enforced, then encouraged, then allowed to work from home. It seems that the Government direction (driven by Rishi Sunak’s conviction that we aren’t buying enough sandwiches in Pret a Manger, leading to the collapse of urban economies) is to get folk back into those empty buildings. My personal view is mixed. It seems mad that loads of office buildings are empty, but it also feels that we work in a new era, where for many office jobs, we are set up to work from home. I expect that this is a debate that will run and run, and then be overtaken by AI replacing our jobs in any case.
Mr Penfold, St Augustine’s Parade, Bristol, May 2024
I mention all of this because I am now starting to return to the office, which gives me a chance to explore and seek out street/graffiti art on my walks to and from work, which are not on my more usual ’rounds’. I saw, for the first time walking to work recently, this commission piece by Mr Penfold in St Augustine’s Parade. It is a wonderful piece of corporate design, but so distinctively Mr Penfold, who has managed to blend his design work with his street art passion – great work if you can get it.
Desi and Mr Two Gram, Peel Street Green, Bristol, May 2024
Peel Street Green is a really great spot for showcasing your work, and Desi and Mr Two Gram have absolutely smashed it with this colourful and cheerful themed collaborative wall. I particularly like the inclusion of characters, which is something neither of these artists does all that often, but they should, because these are brilliant.
Desi, Peel Street Green, Bristol, May 2024
Desi has returned to writing DESI, after a spell of writing VEIL, and appears to write with such confidence and flair these days. Her work has really come on in leaps and bounds, and her finishing has improved no end. The character, with pink overtones, in keeping with the writing, looks, stylistically, like a character from the Dexter’s Laboratory cartoon series. A great combo piece.
Mr Two Gram, Peel Street Green, Bristol, May 2024
Mr Two Gram and I had a long conversation a little while ago, under the M32, during which I asked him whether he ever painted characters, and he replied that it was something he was considering… well I am glad that he did, because this combination of writing and cartoon character is superb. Mr Two Gram’s letters are so distinctive and always neatly turned out, and the colour scheme works well here too. As with Desi’s piece, the hair and eyes match the writing, ensuring the character is relevant to the piece. Great work and a wonderful collaborative extravaganza.
I have said it many times, and it continues to be my firm belief, that visiting artists add an extra sparkle to the vast spectrum of street/graffiti art that we see in the city, and they are always welcome. Mr Tanner appears to have taken a bit of a shine to the city of Bristol recently and long may it last, as his pieces are original and quirky, and each one utterly different from the last.
Mr Tanner, Brunel Way, Bristol, May 2024
This is a fabulous organic piece of graffiti writing from Mr Tanner, which spells out ‘TOPIA’, don’t ask me why, but it is the letters that he writes. The design is original and flows very nicely, with fill transitions that work really well and are reversed in the ‘O’. I reckon that buffing the wall might have helped the piece to stand out a little more from the Pura Decadencia piece underneath it, as the two colour palettes are competing a little. Nonetheless, this is a wonderful piece from Mr Tanner.
This curious portrait piece from Zake is part of a PWA collaboration, but because of parked cars in Hepburn Road (formerly known as crack alley), I was unable to capture the whole collaboration. That kind of thing happens sometimes.
Zake, Hepburn Road, Bristol, May 2024
As I have said in previous posts, Zake seems to be pushing his boundaries all the time with his portraits, and although they all retain his clever use of light and shade to create depth, the characters and their expressions are constantly evolving. This rather dapper and shady fellow looks perfect for this dark narrow alleyway.
M. Oldhues, Ashton Road, Upfest 24, Bristol, May 2024
I think that this year, Steve and Emma, the organisers of Upfest, have definitely focused their efforts on securing more permanent walls in Bedminster for even more high-end artists from around the world to come to Bristol and leave their mark. There is an immediate and positive impact of the buildings and their surroundings when a new ‘marquee’ piece goes up.
M. Oldhues, Ashton Road, Upfest 24, Bristol, May 2024
This is an absolute beauty from Megan Oldhues, who is based in Toronto, Canada, and who describes her work as traditional realism, which I think it is the perfect description for this outstanding piece. I have been writing about street art and graffiti for almost ten years now, and I can honestly say that this still life piece ranks right up there with my all-time favourites. Not only is the piece magnificent in every way, but the transformative effect it has had on this unexceptional terraced building is quite extraordinary.
M. Oldhues, Ashton Road, Upfest 24, Bristol, May 2024
Somehow when looking at this mural, the brain completely shuts out the windows, which before the building was painted, were the only features to see, breaking up the monotony of the wall. Although I usually immerse myself in ‘everyday’ graffiti writing and street art, it is awe inspiring to see impressive murals like this one from time to time. Megan Oldhues is welcome in Bristol any time.
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