Urban – Page 191 – Natural adventures

5812. M32 roundabout J3 (549)

Werm, M32 roundabout, Bristol, January 2024

Having not seen Werm for an eternity, it was really nice to bump into him while he was painting this piece. What made the encounter stranger still was that we had been communicating the day before about a RichT piece that I had posted. Sometimes it is difficult not to believe in coincidence, although I know there is a whole ton of evidence to dismiss it.

Werm is trying out something a little different in this piece, and has definitely edged away from his ultra-complex wildstyle pieces of the last year or two. The notable thing about this piece is the gently pastel colours softly transitioning across all of the letters in a seemingly random sequence. The strong 3D shadow, green border and trimmings and the black buffed wall help the piece to stand out nicely. A good start to the New Year from Werm.

5811. Greville Smyth Park (1)

Acer One and Andy Council, Greville Smyth Park, Bristol, January 2024

The bunch of small buildings in the southeast corner of Greville Smyth Park have served as a canvas for the last few Upfest festivals, and this wall has recently been ‘dressed’ with this outstanding collaboration from Acer One and Andy Council. From the colours, you might pick up that this piece recognises and supports the plight of the Palestinian people, and Acer One offers a full explanation of the piece in his Instagram feed.

The letters SPEAK BIRD are beautifully presented by Acer One with his characteristic black shadow. The birds, which look like bee eaters to me, are by Andy Council. The one on the right is rather disturbingly composed of bombs and missiles. Both elements of the piece are beautifully painted and the words poignant once you know the back-story to the piece. I wish it would all just end.

5810. New Stadium Road (53)

Mr Riks, New Stadium Road, Bristol, January 2024

There are a multitude of reasons why street/graffiti artists go through productive and non-productive phases, sometimes to do with friends, family and relationships, sometimes location/geography, sometimes employment, sometimes mental/physical health issues and sometimes simply falling in or out of love with it. I am pleased to report that Mr Riks seems to have found a rhythm and has been out and about a fair bit recently.

This is a spot, where Mr Riks has painted before, alongside his friend Silent Hobo. This time it is a solo piece, and a very nice one at that. Some great colours in the distinctive bubble script writing, with a couple of cheeky characters peering on. A great piece from an accomplished writer.

5809. Dean Lane skate park (686)

I am so incredibly short of time today, suffering from having to plough through a mountain of work that has accumulated during the week that I was away. I sometimes wonder if it is worth going on holiday at all, because the feel-good factor wears off so quickly. This is a stunner from Fade.

It is quite difficult to understand just how Fade manages to turn out so many high quality pieces, each and every one completely original and perfectly turned out – he has certainly found his niche. This piece looks like a fiery furnace of coke or coal blasting out heat to create the hot letters. Great design, superb fills… excellent piece from Fade.

5808. St Werburghs tunnel (404)

Kid Krishna, St Werburghs, Bristol, January 2024

Whenever I see the number 404, my heart sinks, thinking of some kind of computer error code. Fortunately no such disappointment with this fine piece from Kid Krishna at the end of the tunnel, it what is proving to be a fruitful and exciting comeback after a few lay months.

I have to take it on trust that the letters spell out CRIE, because, although it is what he usually writes, the letters are very well disguised and obscured. I love the way the greyscale piece draws in a puddle of colour towards the middle, a little reminiscent of those blotting paper colour separations we did at school in science lessons.. Great to have Kid Krishna firing on all cylinders again.

5807. St Mark’s Avenue (9)

Sako and Zake, St Mark’s Avenue, Bristol, January 2024

Photographing this piece in a narrow alley in Easton was never going to be easy. I had to remove (and replace) three heavy wheelie bins, just to get sight of the collaboration by Sako and Zake. There are other bits and bobs obscuring the piece, but I am an archivist, not a blooming street cleaner.

Sako and Zake, St Mark’s Avenue, Bristol, January 2024

I really enjoy Sako’s work, which has more than a hint of mystery and intrigue. Using his favoured blue and purple tints, he has created a gangway leading into a tunnel, with a giant hand emerging from the water and a tiny figure standing on a finger. Wistfully looking on is a profile portrait piece by Zake, which is quite unlike his more usual larger-than-life exaggerated cartoon portraits. A beautiful face and beautiful hair.

This is a fine collaboration from the pair of artists, and has left me wondering what it is all about. The sooner I get to meet Sako, the better.

5806. Greenbank (105)

Mr Crawls, Greenbank, Bristol, January 2024

Mr Crawls continues on his quest to delight Bristolians with his birds and monster birds all over the city. This smaller piece is on one of two that were presumably painted around the same time on the long hoarding at Greenbank.

The gull-like cartoon character looks rather charming with his sleepy eyes. I am guessing this was a quick one, as the white fill is a little on the thin side. The thick pink border does just enough to separate the bird from the busy background, without the need for buffing the wall. If Mr Crawls continues with his high volume of pieces, I might have to start grouping them into posts.

5805. Dean Lane skate park (685)

Lee Roy, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2024

On one of my favourite walls is this slightly different piece by Lee Roy, spelling out VLAD. I am not sure if this is a one-off, or a new direction of travel, but I am guessing the former. This is a funny old wall really, sometimes a piece can last a month or two, and other times there may be half a dozen in a period of a few days. This one and its predecessor didn’t last long.

Lee Roy has worked this piece very nicely, set on a dramatic red background with yellow drops, his gold/grey/white fill is full of symbols and patterns that are commonly used in his and others’ work. Verging on anti-style, this is a great piece by Lee Roy.

5804. Cumberland Basin

Marckinetic, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, January 2024

Marckinetic usually paints alongside his friend Kid Krishna, and so when the latter goes quiet, so does Marckinetic. Now that Kid Krishna has started firing on all cylinders again, Marckinetic has been out on at least two occasions recently.

This piece, painted in January, shows us just how original the artist’s style is. I believe that there is writing here, just not the way we are used to seeing it (there is a possibility the letters say MARC – CORRECTION – they spell out FFS (thank you Paul H)). The deep white shadows have a little bit of Acer One about them, but the ‘cosmic’ fills are all Marckinetic, and something of speciality. This is an unusual and very welcome piece in the vast spectrum of Bristol street/graffiti art.

5803. Greenbank (104)

Bnie, Pekoe and Evey, Greenbank, Bristol, January 2024

It is always a great pleasure to see any combination of RBF artists collaborating, and this is an early year beauty from Bnie, Pekoe and Evey. Unfortunately the photographs are a bit rubbish on account of tree shadows cast on the wall by a low winter sun. Fortunately, the girls declare that ‘2024 is going to be sexy AF’.

Bnie starts the triptych, writing her letters with a certain amount of expression, and looking wonderfully free. The clever drop shadow appears to surround the letters as well as giving them depth. Bnie has used a three shade fill which is topped off with some darker bubbly shapes. A very nice piece of writing indeed.

There is something very different from Pekoe in the middle of the collaboration, which features a smartly dressed woman with a fancy green and yellow scarf wrapped around her neck. It is quite unusual for Pekoe to paint full (or even half) body characters, and it will be interesting to see if this is something she continues with this year.

Rounding off on the right is some tidy bubble writing from Evey, with a rather saucy ‘V’. Her fills are very nicely worked and the flow of colours through the letters are most enjoyable. I am not too sure about the drop shadow, which doesn’t quite hit the mark for me. Certainly a great start to the year though. I am looking forward to a whole lot more from RBF in 2024.

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