Dibz, Dean Lane skate park, Bristol, February 2024
Something a little different from Dibz on the curved wall in Dean Lane skate park, illustrating the point that Dibz is anything but a one-trick-pony (some trick at that). The writing feels a little bit retro, and the incorporation of a series of black and white pixels adds to that effect.
Dibz, Dean Lane skate park, Bristol, February 2024
Interestingly, the pixel squares are a little uneven and most unlike Dibz’ precision work – I wonder if there is a tiny chink in his perfect armour… The piece includes the word Metal Headz, which I assume means something to Dibz, but sadly nothing to me. Some fun and variety from the maestro.
Mr Crawls and Mote, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, January 2024
The series of Mr Crawls and Mote collaborations simply goes from strength to strength, and as far as I am concerned, they can just keep on coming. This is a recent one from the M32 Cycle path not too far from the M32 Spot.
Mr Crawls and Mote, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, January 2024
Painted on a chrome-buffed wall, the two birds sit snugly side by side, the different styles complementing each other perfectly. The bird on the left is by Mr Crawls and features the hollow and haunting eyes. On the right, another Mote monster bird comes up trumps. Although they have used different colours, they both adopt minimal colour palettes, so the whole thing isn’t over fussy or complicated. Such a great and productive.
Throughout the winter, Laic217 has been in a good rhythm of painting, and I think that it has a lot to do with teaming up with the PWA. Although this wonderful piece isn’t part of a collaborative wall, it was painted at the same time as an adjacent PWA collaboration.
Laic217, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2024
This skull piece draws on so many of Laic217s trademarks, such as the brick wall, which hasn’t made an appearance for a little while, and the wonderful folds in the fabric of the clothes the skeleton is wearing. I don’t think I will ever tire of his work, or lose that spark of excitement I get every time I find one of his pieces.
Although he only paints occasionally, Serm always leaves a good impression. This is a nice large piece of graffiti writing on the long wall at Peel Street Green. One of the interesting features of this wall is that it is broken down into about eight equal sized sections, each one just the right size (actually on the slightly large size) for an individual to showcase their work. Each ‘frame’ is rarely dogged, and some pieces can remain here for quite a while.
Serm, Peel Street Green, Bristol, February 2024
Serm writes with large chunky letters and a deep 3D drop shadow, in this case in lilac/purple shades that contrast with the green/yellows in the letter fills. There is a certain amount of panache about his work, and it is a genuine pity that he doesn’t manage to get out and paint more often.
This wall is adjacent to a shop called Veeez, a name that might be familiar to regular readers of Natural Adventures, because of its close association with street art in Bristol and Weston-super-Mare. Every now and again the wall is handed over to a street artist who may be holding an exhibition of art in the shop, and I think that is the case with this brilliant piece by Peanutsdeli.
Peanutsdeli, North Street, Bristol, January 2023
The artist’s style is without doubt influenced by manga comics – my first introduction to which was the fabulous TV cartoon series Marine Boy in the 1960s. This bright and colourful piece acted as a prelude to the magnificent clothes and prints that were inside the shop. I am a huge admirer of Peanutsdeli’s work and am overjoyed every time he paints in Bristol.
I am so pleased that Donz is starting to get more of a presence on Natural Adventures, an unfortunate underrepresentation which is an artefact of the fact that I don’t visit L Dub all that often, and Donz rarely paints anywhere else in Bristol.
Donz, L Dub, Bristol, January 2024
This is a fun piece in a typically wacky style from Donz made all the more fun by the inclusion of a character face replacing the ‘O’ in his letters. It is a fact of life in street art writing, that the letter ‘O’ more than any other can be fiddled around with and replaced, for example Biers and his WD40 and Boogie with his double ‘O’s. There is some nice lettering here that bleeds away at the top.
Either Donz needs to come into the centre more often, or I need to get out to L Dub, but until one or both of those things happen, Donz will most likely only make occasional appearances in these pages.
I am very short of time today, with lots to do, having spent the whole of yesterday in London at a wonderful wedding of a cousin of mine. Still feeling a little worse for wear, and tired, as we were on the last train out of London, and then had to endure music and a party in our next door neighbour’s flat which continued until 4am. A little bit of Mr Klue magic is the perfect antidote to this.
Mr Klue, St Werburghs, Bristol, January 2024
Mr Klue has been a little quiet over the winter, but seems to be cranking things up a little. This piece is in one of his favoured spots, and is probably one of his clearest renditions of the letters KLUE in his ephemeral abstract style. A perfect piece for a Sunday morning.
Sometimes you just can’t see the wood for the trees. I don’t understand how I missed this wonderful piece by Cheo, both on social media and in situ. I am guessing that it is a Halloween piece, or at least it looks that way (Fact check: it was painted around mid-October for Halloween), and got lucky, because it was painted over a few days after I took these pictures. Even though I think I have my eyes open, I still manage to miss things.
Cheo, North Street, Bristol, January 2023
There is some real depth to this piece, which looks more like a painting than a piece of street art. I think it was painted at ground level and then placed in this elevated spot outside The North Street Standard with the help of Upfest. All the ingredients for a Halloween piece are there, a cat, a pumpkin, a cauldron, some wispy ghosts, a witch and a skull and bones, all given the special Cheo treatment. A lovely piece.
It feels like Raid has been really upping his game lately, both in frequency of painting and in the quality of his work. When I first saw this piece, I said “oh yes!” under my breath, knowing that I was looking at a really classy piece of writing that has come about through hard graft and honing of skills. Watching Raid’s development is a joy and a pleasure.
Raid, New Stadium Road, Bristol, January 2024
It is impossible to ignore the brilliant fill pattern, which although quite simple in concept is beautifully executed and really effective… it has the ‘wow’ factor. The letters RAID are in a rotationally symmetrical form, a form that Raid has used several times before. An outstanding piece of graffiti writing.
Sepr and Boaster, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2024
Aah! what joy finding this outstanding piece by Sepr and Boaster the day before going away for a week on holiday. Finding this piece, in part, helped me to overcome any withdrawal symptoms or FOMO while I was skiing in the French Alps. If I had missed the piece, I would have been a little regretful. but thankfully that didn’t happen.
Sepr, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2024
It is possible to see when artists are having fun and obviously bouncing with shared ideas and inspiration. A pair of toucans drinking Carlsberg Special Brew… who’d have thought it? The toucan on the left was painted by Sepr with all his trademark stylised cartoon painting skills on show. I cannot explain how much I like this piece, and have missed his work, which seems to be occasional these days. The toucan is holding a plastic bag containing four beer cans and he is holding another in his other hand. The piece is accompanied with the words “Two can Jackie Chan the toucan with a bag o’cans!” pretty much describes the piece. Jackie Chan is offering a can to his friend to the right.
Boaster, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2024
I recently posted a piece by Boaster which I photographed in Nottingham, so it is really satisfying to see another one so soon and this time in my home town of Bristol. Boaster’s toucan is drinking a bottle of Brahma beer (a brand I am not familiar with) and uttering the words “sim voce”, which I think means ‘yeah’ sort of thing in Portuguese. Am I to infer that the toucan is Brazilian? it would make sense. The two toucans are different in style, one very sharp, the other a little fluffier, but they work perfectly together. This is easily the best collaboration of the year so far, in my opinion.
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