There is such a vast spectrum of types, methods and styles of street and graffiti art in Bristol, and there is room for everyone, which makes it one of the most exciting venues in the world for urban art. All artists are welcome and nobody is overlooked. Enn Kay (NAK) burst onto the scene from nowhere about two to three years ago and has been improving along the way with each piece.
Enn Kay, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2023
This is a lovely character/letters piece featuring Squidward from SpongeBob SquarePants, beautifully recreated by Enn Kay, alongside the letters NAK. The whole thing is beautifully clean and tight – a top quality artwork from an artist on the up.
It was an enormous pleasure to meet Bean for the first time recently in this exact spot. He was painting a third piece alongside this and another one. The young artist hasn’t been in Bristol very long, but his character pieces have already made an impression, and he is fast building a reputation. It is funny that some artists don’t seem to know too much about the other artists around them, but it would seem that Bean is aware and admires the work of many artists in the city, and much of our conversation focussed on the art scene here.
Bean, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2023
This piece depicts, in a fabulous cartoon style, a young man complete with spray can in hand, setting about spraying some graffiti. There is something almost old-school about this piece that makes it the work of more than just a character piece, there is a sense of heritage blended with the contemporary. The piece is great fun and really nicely finished. If he carries on like this, Bean has a fantastic street art future ahead of him.
It would seem that Slakarts has been busy with real life lately, and his pieces are few and far between and tend to be ‘quick ones’ in contrast to the more sophisticated and designed pieces he was painting throughout 2021, 2022 and at the start of this year.
Slakarts, M32 Spot, Bristol, July 2023
In this piece, Slakarts returns to his base character, cunningly fitted onto the column, with a slight stretch. Great fills and superb cutting-in of the black outlines throughout the piece. The selfish part of me wants to see more Slakarts pieces on the street for me to enjoy, but I am also happy that he might be busy with work/family or other distractions keeping him off the streets.
John D’oh has been a little quiet in Bristol lately, so it was great to find this new piece in one of his favourite spots underneath the M32 motorway. One thing that John D’oh is never short on is humour, and this Judy Garland Wizard of Oz stencil reinforces that point.
John D’oh, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, July 2023
The writing says (from the scarecrow) “Dorothy I can smell weed, urine and spray paint. I think we must be in Bristol”. Of course that made me smile, but for any potential visitors out there, this is a rather tongue-in-cheek, myopic view of our fabulous city. I rather hope to see more from John D’oh, as his artwork adds variety to the everyday fare of street art and graffiti in Bristol.
Finding this piece in the tunnel was one of the happiest street art moments of my year so far. Fiva (Fiver) has been absent from the Bristol street art scene for a long time (last seen in 2020), and I feared that he might have moved away or given up on painting altogether, so seeing this filled me with pure joy, as I am particularly fond of his work.
Fiva, St Werburghs, Bristol, July 2023
In classic Fiva style, he has painted a huge piece with large block letters that have plenty of depth and stand out from the brilliant pink buffed wall. As is customary, Fiva has painted a character looking on from the left in wonderful cartoon style. The whole thing is so refreshing after the long absence. Welcome back Fiva, I hope that this isn’t a flash in the pan.
This wall, although part of the Dean Lane ‘furniture’ was only bricked up and made into one solid wall earlier this year, so in its current form it is a fairly new wall which was first painted by Haka (if my memory serves me correctly). It has now become a popular wall for large pieces of graffiti writing, and this is the turn of Mr Draws.
Mr Draws, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2023
Mr Draws has been and will always be one of the foundations of Natural Adventures, along with other artists like Face 1st, whose work is consistent, regular and enduring – the heartbeats of Bristol street art. In this tidy piece, the letters are beautifully painted, each one merging into the next, and the fills, with horizontal layers work nicely through the letters. The little white accent lines create a 3D effect, which along with the black drop shadow lift the writing off the wall. Set on a blue patterned background, the piece is another fine contribution from Mr Draws.
Kosc, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2023Mudra, Kosc and Saor, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2023Kosc, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2023Kosc, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2023Kosc, Norrisville Road, Bristol, May 2023Kosc, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2023Kosc, M32 roundabout, Bristol, January 2023Kosc, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, February 2023Kosc, St Werburghs, Bristol, January 2023Kosc, M32 roundabout, Bristol, December 2022Kosc, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2022Kosc, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2022Kosc, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, October 2022Kosc, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2022Kosc, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2022Kosc, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2022Kosc, Picton Lane, Bristol, April 2022Kosc, Picton Lane, Bristol, April 2022Kosc, Picton Lane, Bristol, April 2022Kosc, Picton Lane, Bristol, April 2022Kosc, Picton Lane, Bristol, April 2022Kosc, Brigstocke Road, Bristol, March 2022Kosc, Brigstocke Road, Bristol, March 2022Mudra and Kosc, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2022Kosc, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2022Kosc, Stokes Croft, Bristol, October 2021Kosc, Picton Lane, Bristol, August 2021Kosc, Picton Lane, Bristol, August 2021Kosc, Picton Lane, Bristol, August 2021Kosc, Picton Mews, Bristol, August 2021Kosc, Gloucester Road, Bristol, July 2021Kosc, Smak and Sled One, Picton Lane, Bristol, January 2021Kosc, Picton Lane, Bristol, January 2021Kosc, John Street, Bristol, September 2020Kosc, Moon Street, Bristol, February 2020Kosc, Moon Street, Bristol, June 2019
Cort is another ever-present writer in Bristol who, year in year out, turns out his peculiar brand of writing on a regular basis, always there in the background, never any fuss. I have met Cort on several occasions, and he is way too modest about his work, and reluctant to say very much too, which is fine, not all people feel the need to chat.
This piece in Dean Lane, is so typical of Cort’s work, with his unusual letter font, combining curvy shaped letters with straight angular ones. His colours are also quite peculiar to the artist, and the stand-out element is probably the red patterning on the grey level of the fill. It is the simplicity, nothing too busy, and the unique style that I enjoy most about this pice. Cort is probably one of the most under-represented artists on Natural Adventures, and I ought to post more of his pieces than I do.
Codo, Cheltenham Paint Festival 23, Cheltenham, July 2023
When I first started to write about graffiti and street art back in 2015, I had my own unconscious biases and preconceptions about the artists, and I must confess that I was a little afraid, believing that the edgy nature of the world I was entering was somehow representative of the people creating the art. How utterly wrong I was, and what a fool I was. I have met many, many artists and I can think of only one or two that were having a ‘bad hair day’, all the rest, without exception, have been wonderful people with interesting stories to tell, generous with their time and conversation.
Codo, Cheltenham Paint Festival 23, Cheltenham, July 2023
So, with this backdrop of incredible and talented people in mind, I met one of the very kindest and engaging people to date at the Cheltenham Paint Festival in one of the Honeybourne Line tunnels. I am talking about Codo (@codoartni). I caught up with Codo while he was finishing off his intricate/simple doodle piece, and he stopped, not only to chat with me, but went on to advise me on several aspects of can control, and gifted me some spray cans and a whole ton of banana caps. He made these gestures without any desire for gratitude, but filled with enthusiasm to help a wannabe artist. He made my day.
Codo, Cheltenham Paint Festival 23. Cheltenham, July 2023
I have not seen Codo’s work before, so it was great to see him at work on this piece. Originally he had sprayed a pink and blue background with doodles, but decided to overwrite it with black lined doodles and the resulting effect is rather good. In amongst the patterns and faces are shout-outs to other artists he was painting with and other cryptic messages. The central character, dominates the work and is a simple thick-lined version of the smaller doodles all around. This is Codo’s identity, his look and feel that underpins his work. Great stuff. I very much hope to meet him again, perhaps if he could get himself invited over to Upfest next year or something like that, that would be cool.
Sophie Tuttle, Cheltenham Paint Festival 23. Cheltenham, July 2023
There were an awful lot of beautiful birds painted at the Cheltenham Paint Festival this year, whether by coincidence or design I simply don’t know, but it feels like the nature theme is running strongly through street art these days, perhaps as a subliminal or conscious response to the global biodiversity crisis we face.
Sophie Tuttle, Cheltenham Paint Festival 23. Cheltenham, July 2023
This enormous piece by Sophie Tuttle on the side of a building on Devonshire Street features two owls, one in good health, the other a skeleton, joined together by a red thread that each is holding in its beak. There is symbolism here I’m sure, and perhaps it is the delicate line we walk between life and death.
Sophie Tuttle, Cheltenham Paint Festival 23. Cheltenham, July 2023
Both of the owls are perfectly painted, and each has a halo behind with a floral design in subtle blues. Perfectly proportioned and anatomically correct these owns are as much a study of form as they are paintings of birds.
Sophie Tuttle, Cheltenham Paint Festival 23. Cheltenham, July 2023
I don’t believe I have come across Sophie Tuttle before, but that is hardly surprising since she is Boston- based. Her commitment to free and accessible art is a great thing indeed, and what a privilege to see her amazing artwork at the Cheltenham Paint Festival. Perhaps we could entice her to visit Bristol some time.
Natural adventures 