5920. River Avon (59)

This piece really made me laugh, taking the brilliant partnership between Mr Crawls and Mote into new territory in this rendition of a couple of fish monsters. Their work is always fun and usually tinged with a touch of humour that brings a smile to your face.

Mr Crawls, River Avon, Bristol, February 2024
Mr Crawls, River Avon, Bristol, February 2024

This is one of those collaborative pieces from the pair, where their influence on one another makes it quite difficult to know who painted which character. There are some tell-tale signs that give each of the artists away, and the yellow anglerfish is by Mr Crawls, and an absolute beauty.

Mote, River Avon, Bristol, February 2024
Mote, River Avon, Bristol, February 2024

The fish monster is by Mote, and consistent with so many of his characters in his vast portfolio. The fill patterning, and little hashtag symbol on the edge of the monster’s mouth give him away. This is a wonderful collaboration from the pair, which took me quite a while to hunt down. Well worth being persistent in my search.

5919. Elton Street (29)

Beth Kirby, Elton Street, Bristol, February 2024
Beth Kirby, Elton Street, Bristol, February 2024

Only a few days ago I was saying what a rarity it is to see nudes depicted in street art in Bristol, so it is something of a special piece indeed that manages to survive the noise. This is a stunning piece by Beth Kirby on the side of the Lost Horizons Arts Centre.

Beth Kirby, Elton Street, Bristol, February 2024
Beth Kirby, Elton Street, Bristol, February 2024

The piece is painted ladder height above the pavement, and so tagging or censorship of the piece would take a determined individual indeed. I am not sure what materials have been used to paint the piece, but it has a sketchbook line drawing feel to it. Beautiful stuff, and a wonderful tribute piece. You can read more about Beth Kirby on her wonderful website.

5918. St Werburghs tunnel (415)

Stivs, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2024
Stivs, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2024

The turnout for Ryder’s paint jam in the tunnel at the end of February was impressive, so much so, that I am way behind with posting many of the pieces, and some will inevitably get left behind in my archive. I felt it important to post this beauty from Stivs though, as it is a really great piece of calligraffiti writing.

Stivs, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2024
Stivs, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2024

This piece reverts to Stivs’ former letters which spell ‘KRAP’ or some variant of it. What is nice about this piece is that he has matched the colours with the Inkie piece from the same paint jam, which I posted a little while back. Set on a starry background, this is yet another classy piece from Stivs.

5917. M32 roundabout J3 (561)

Sub and Bloem, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2024
Sub and Bloem, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2024

It took me a little while to work out, but should have been obvious from the start that Sub and Bloem usually paint together, and this collaborative space on the roundabout was adjacent to another that they were painting as I photographed this one. It is great to see two young artists out there pushing boundaries and practicing their skills.

Sub and Bloem, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2024
Sub and Bloem, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2024

To the left, Sub has painted another of his distinctive pieces with very large letters, lifted with a thick drop shadow and accompanied by some wispy smoke, in the Mr Klue style. On the right, Bloem has painted a hand, as she likes to do, holding a pair of her trademark cherry devils (with smiley faces). Although the two pieces are discrete, they share a cloudy background, and there is a suggestion that the hand emanates from Sub’s ‘B’. Always good to find their work.

5916. Cumberland Basin

Mind 49, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2024
Mind 49, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2024

It seems that as soon as I post a piece by Mind 49, I get to photograph another one, such is the rate at which he is painting at the moment. His portrait pieces always have a sense of mystery about them, with the faces often being partially obscured. He leaves much to the imagination, which is clever stuff really, and which reminds me a little of Caro Pepe’s approach to her art.

Mind 49, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2024
Mind 49, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2024

This is a writing/portrait combination which is really striking in its orange and red colouring. I am not sure that the portrait is of anyone specific, and in his Instagram feed Mind 49 says that this was ‘experimenting’. Well it seems to have been a successful experiment from what I can see. More to come soon.

5915. Sparke Evans Park (90)

Tao Create and Rozalita, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, March 2024
Tao Create and Rozalita, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, March 2024

There are some pieces that stick in the mind, sometimes for a long while, and sometimes forever. This is one of those. This striking collaboration between Tao Create and Rozalita has embedded in memory, and it will be one of those iconic pieces that I will be able to recall and tell people about for as long as my mind is good.

Tao Create, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, March 2024
Tao Create, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, March 2024

On the left, Tao Create has painted a gorgeous portrait piece, and in doing so has shown us just how far she has come over the last two or three years. I can only think that she has been to art school, because the transformation is extraordinary. The near-photorealistic portrait is utterly captivating and the contours of the face are perfectly handled with skill using shading in browns and yellows. I cannot express how much I love this portrait, not how surprised I was to see that it was by Tao Create.

Rozalita, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, March 2024
Rozalita, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, March 2024

On the right is the third recent piece by Rozalita depicting Frida Kahlo, and it is another cracker, this time in various shades of yellow. There is a strength that comes from the portrait, perhaps reflecting the strength of Kahlo herself. The flower design is, I think, also by Rozalita, who has undergone a renaissance lately. Oh joy. My favourite piece of the year.

5914. River Avon (58)

Mr Underbite and Herman Creates, River Avon, Bristol, March 2024
Mr Underbite and Herman Creates, River Avon, Bristol, March 2024

This is a rather nice tribute piece to the late Lazo, who will be much missed in Bristol, by Mr Underbite (MUB) and Herman Creates. Both halves of the collaborative wall hang together really well, and definitely stand out on the pathway alongside the River.

Mr Underbite, River Avon, Bristol, March 2024
Mr Underbite, River Avon, Bristol, March 2024

On the left is a beautiful rendition of Mr Underbite in blue against an orange background. The joy of this piece is its simplicity. Nothing fancy, nothing pretentious, just Mr Underbite doing what Mr Underbite does, and does very well.

Herman Creates, River Avon, Bristol, March 2024
Herman Creates, River Avon, Bristol, March 2024

To the right is a debut piece from Herman Creates on Natural Adventures, and she has painted some more-than-decent block letters with rather nicely done fills. Herman Creates doesn’t do an awful lot of street pieces, but I do have one or two examples of her work in my archive which I will try to unearth, if ever I get a chance. A lovely tribute. And below some work by Lazo:

Lazo, New Stadium Road, Bristol, November 2022
Lazo, New Stadium Road, Bristol, November 2022
Lazo, M32 Spot, Bristol, February 2023
Lazo, M32 Spot, Bristol, February 2023

5913. Cumberland Basin

Andy Council and Acer One, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2024
Andy Council and Acer One, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2024

Andy Council and Acer One are having a productive 2024, which is so good to see, and this is one of several collaborations that they have painted recently. This one is a bit of a play on words, altering the well known cliché ‘one love’ to ‘one dove’ and illustrating it accordingly.

Andy Council, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2024
Andy Council, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2024

The dove (rock pigeon), rather hidden behind a bush, is beautifully painted by Andy Council, and has beautifully captured the colouring of the bird, and represented the iridescence of the collar with greens, reds, oranges and yellows. The typical style that Andy Council uses includes the ‘stitching together’ of component parts with threaded lines. Great pink feet.

Acer One, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2024
Acer One, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2024

The writing is by Acer One, and deliberately or otherwise reflects the raining above the piece, with the vertical lines dominating. The stylised letters are beautifully picked out with the use of a dark shadow dropped behind them, giving them a bit of a lift. This is another wonderful collaboration and continuation of this purple patch the artists seem to be enjoying.

Thursday doors – 28 March 2024 – Street art doors

Doors 258 – Street art doors of Bristol

It has been a while since I last posted street art and graffiti doors, such has been the growing stock of door images in my files from my travels around the country and abroad. I felt a little pause to combine passions was well overdue, so this week are some doors that have been posted previously on Natural Adventures, but not gathered together for a Thursday doors post. I hope you enjoy this selection, which were previously posted in December 2022, January and February 2023.

Conrico, Park Street, Bristol, December 2022
Conrico, Park Street, Bristol, December 2022
Taboo, Nelson Street, Bristol, December 2022
Taboo, Nelson Street, Bristol, December 2022
Sled One, North Street, Bristol, January 2023
Sled One, North Street, Bristol, January 2023
Sled One, North Street, Bristol, January 2023
Sled One, North Street, Bristol, January 2023
Tanith Gould, Cheltenham Road, Bristol, December 2022
Tanith Gould, Cheltenham Road, Bristol, December 2022
Cartoonneros, Moon Street, Bristol, February 2023
Cartoonneros, Moon Street, Bristol, February 2023
Cheba, North Street, Bristol, February 2023
Cheba, North Street, Bristol, February 2023
Rowdy, Cheltenham Road, Bristol, February 2023
Rowdy, Cheltenham Road, Bristol, February 2023

So that’s it for this week. Next time I think I might move on to some doors from Nottingham and a trip I made there last year. Until then, may I wish you a very happy Easter weekend.

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.

by Scooj

Thursday Doors 2024 logo

5912. Brunel Way (265)

Abbie Laura Smith, Brunel Way, Bristol, March 2024
Abbie Laura Smith, Brunel Way, Bristol, March 2024

It is such a pleasure to have a wheatpaster in Bristol, and one who pastes her pieces just often enough to make discovering each one an exciting event. This is a small one by Abbie Laura Smith on the bridge (Ashton Avenue Bridge) that crosses the River Avon, joining the south bank with Spike Island.

Abbie Laura Smith, Brunel Way, Bristol, March 2024
Abbie Laura Smith, Brunel Way, Bristol, March 2024

The black and white portrait is beautifully drawn and conceals a whole ton of writing in the hair, which I am guessing is a poem or lyrics to a song. I can make out some phrases, but not the whole thing. I have a feeling that the piece might be called “When you can’t sleep…”, as that is the label Abbie Laura Smith gave the piece on her Instagram, although that might be a reference to when she created the portrait. All good stuff and I am looking forward to finding more.