Urban – Page 187 – Natural adventures

5853. Brunel Way (257)

Creamylines, Brunel Way, Bristol, February 2024

From the first time I saw his work, I have always liked the originality shown by Creamylines, and finding this piece on one of the columns under Brunel Way recently was a special surprise. There is a basic formula to many of Creamylines’ pieces that includes a sun with rays sitting over a landscape scene divided up by black lines.

I am always reminded of stained-glass windows when I see these pieces, for obvious reasons, and there is a calm, tranquil quality to the work – you can almost hear the cries of seagulls in the air. Another aspect of this piece is the suggested faces that emerge through the piece, adding another layer of interest. A great column piece from Creamylines.

5852. Cumberland Basin

Kid Crayon, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, February 2024

Kid Crayon holds a special place in the evolution of Natural Adventures, as it was his paste ups that drew me into the exciting and mysterious world of street art in Bristol, with posts such as this first one, my 11th post, or this one of the boy eating cheese. I developed a love for wheatpastes because of Kid Crayon, who eventually turned his attention to painting with spray cans.

Kid Crayon is nowhere near as prolific as he used to be, but this is probably a good sign, because it means that his work as an illustrator and animator is keeping his busy and bringing in an income. In this bright and colourful piece Kid Crayon has written his name in letters with a variety of fills, and the eye is drawn to the character in place of the letter ‘O’. A fun and most excellent piece reminding us all what a fabulously creative artist he is.

5851. Dean Lane

Zake is something of a phenomenon. His output rate and the quality of his work are quite exceptional, and he is always coming up with original ideas based around his central character style. Even though I big him up frequently on Natural Adventures, I think his modesty lends itself to him being a bit of an unsung hero. Well, I am singing!

This face is perhaps a little smoother than some of his recent intricate works, but still presents his mastery of light and shade to create depth. It is sometimes difficult with his work to remember that it is painted on a flat wall, such is the 3D effect he creates. They just keep on coming, with no sign of letting up. Great work from the PWA man.

5850. Brunel Way (256)

Mr Underbite, Brunel Way, Bristol, February 2024

It is always great fun to come across the hapless Mr Underbite, looking as confused and ever so slightly miserable as usual. This is not the first time Mr Underbiter has appeared on this particular wall, which seems so very well suited to the proportions of the face.

The letters MUB refer to the artist and the character’s name. I suspect that this was a quick one, as the underlying piece (by Ryder, from recollection) is still partially visible, and it is a simple two-tone affair. I very much hope that we het to see plenty more of this fine character work as things warm up in 2024.

Just in case you miss the piece, a nearby slap (sticker) reminds us that Mr Underbite comes in many sizes and forms on our streets.

5849. M32 roundabout J3 (555)

Saor, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2024

Saor, formerly known as Flava136, is an artist at the top of his game and one who paints in a similar style to Epok. He consistently pushes the boundaries of design, precision and interesting content. Saor often paints with his NTS crew mates, Mudra and Kosc, and this piece was part of a recent collaboration on the north wall of the M32 roundabout.

There is a lot to like about this outstanding piece of writing. The letters spell out Saor in Black Grey and white, with some subtle but impactful tints of green. There is a sense of geometry creating a framework from which some more organic shapes and forms are trying to emerge. Perhaps a tension between precision and softness that grabs the attention. The can control that Saor has is second to none and this is a magnificent piece of graffiti writing. We are blessed.

5848. M32 Spot (182)

There are some artists who, for one reason or another make a significant impact on me. Others will drift by, because their work, if I am being honest, simply doesn’t have any ‘wow’ factor, or show any signs that it is likely to. I guess that is being a little harsh, but some artists won’t and don’t appear to have the desire to improve, others might have loads of headroom and gradually piece by piece get better, developing their style and content. I guess that one thing they all have in common is the enjoyment they get out of slapping some paint on a wall.

Noise is an artist who grabbed my attention from the very first piece I saw, with his large chunky letters making a loud visual noise. In this piece the nicely constructed letters are beautifully filled with a series of horizontal blue shades with clever stripe transitions and some superb icicle drips on the letter tops. This is a really nice piece, and adds to an ever growing portfolio… time for a gallery soon I think.

5847. M32 Cycle path (252)

Pura Decadencia, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, February 2024

Every once in a while, Pura Decadencia drops a piece as if just to remind us that she is still out there. It is a pity that she doesn’t paint on the streets more often, because her quirky writing and vampire teeth add breadth to the spectrum of styles, nationalities and content of Bristol’s street/graffiti art culture.

I think that this might be the tightest piece I have seen from Pura Decadencia, with nice bubble letters a strong yellow border/drop shadow and some lovely fills, with great transitions between the colours. Of course, not Pura Decadencia piece is complete without a set of vampire teeth drawing blood. I hope we don’t have to wait too long before her next piece.

5846. Sparke Evans Park (87)

Jody, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, February 2024

A short while ago, Desi and Evey celebrated their birthdays with a paint jam in Sparke Evans Park, the theme of which related to Pokemon, which is not one of my strong points, having struggled for years with my son’s obsession with the cards when he was at primary school. While I understood the concepts and watched the TV show a few times, I was always concerned that my son knew more about Pokemon characters than he knew about British wildlife in his own garden. Things have changed considerably since then, for the better (IMO).

This is an absolutely stunning piece by Jodi, featuring a Pokemon character called Eevee – you can see what he did there. Jodi is one of Bristol’s very best street artists, who seems to keep a healthy balance between his street work and his studio work. In this piece he has captured the cartoon quality, faithful to the Pokemon brand, and presented Eevee on a rocky ledge with some atmospheric clouds in the background. Another wonderful piece from the incredibly versatile Jody.

5843. Greenbank (106)

Sub and Bloem, Greenbank, Bristol, February 2024

I mentioned in a previous post what a pleasure it had been to meet Sub and Bloem painting together under the M32 a few weeks back. The pleasure continued on finding this pair of pieces on the long hoarding at Greenbank. While the two artists collaborate, in so much as they paint together, their work is separate and distinct.

Sub writes his bold oversized letters, with deep drop-shadows, and I guess that a challenge for him is to fill a space with only three letters. There aren’t too many writers who only use three letters, I suppose that Slim Pickings, who writes TES would be one. The fill is augmented with his trademark wisp of smoke running over it, and he incorporates some interesting drip work along the top.

Bloem, Greenbank, Bristol, February 2024

Alongside Sub is this quirky piece by Bloem. It would seem that she ha a bit of a thing for old ‘brick’ style mobile phones, and hands with pointy nails. What I like is that she varies these motifs from piece to piece, keeping both the theme running and keeping things interesting. Bloem is one of those artists whose work I always love finding, like Pekoe, Face 1st, Kid Crayon, Fiva, to name a few. This is a fine couple of pieces and I look forward to many more from the pair to come.

5842. Ridgeway Road

Djembello, Ridgeway Road, Bristol, February 2024

There are a lot of roadworks and diversions in Bristol at the moment, I guess it is that Quarter 4 underspend being used up before the end of the accounting year. The impact of this is that my usual routes to the spots I like to visit have been disrupted, and I found this unusual piece by Djembello on a new route to get to Greenbank.

This wonderful octopus piece is a bit of a one-off, and I am guessing, a commission by the owners of the wall. Djembello is a Bristol artist, perhaps best known for his car-tyre sculptures, such as the cockerel near St Werburghs City Farm, and looking at his Instagram, it would appear he painted this around April 2021. I haven’t seen any other murals by Djembello, and this one seems to incorporate elements of sculptural design in it, not unlike the work of Feoflip, an artist who visited Bristol for Upfest a few years ago. This is a striking piece in a road with no other street art or tagging, and perhaps all the more outstanding for it.

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