A gallery of fabulous graffiti writing from Bristol’s Pl8o
All photographs by Scooj
Pl8o
Tag: Urban
4143. Elton Street (1)
Persistence is the name of the game when out looking for street/graffiti art. The digital age that we live in means that I will often see pieces on Instagram long before I ever get to discover them for myself, and sometimes they are difficult to find. The reason I label all of my posts by location rather than by artist is so that if people are surfing the Interweb or Googling for Bristol street art, they will be able to find the piece or the spot easily, from the title or the metatags.
I found this amazing wall in Elton Street on the side of The Lost Horizon Arts Centre and Bar building, by extending a dog walking (street art hunting) walk by a few hundred meters, and was very well rewarded for doing so.
There are about five or six panels that have been painted with a pink and blue theme, and this first one is by the ever-fabulous Pekoe. It is a lovely piece, incorporating all of her trademark elements, and working the colour scheme brilliantly. It is great to see a head and shoulders piece from her rather than just the portrait, but the space and access to a ladder or platform probably lent itself to the fuller format. A great piece and satisfying find.
4142. Mina Road (8)
Once I start posting about an artist, it seems that I find more of their work on both the streets and in my archives, and this is definitely the case with Krops. I don’t know why it took me so long to post any of his work, probably because there is simply so much choice in Bristol that it becomes difficult to post everything.
Anyhow, this is a classic piece of Krops work, that has probably been around for quite a while, incorporating a character in the middle of his KROPS letters. The star of the show is the Pink Panther character, and Krops has carried the pink theme through to his letters, the whole piece set off nicely on a light blue background.
4141. Upper York Street (27)
Tom Miller has been very busy recently with a few commissions, and of course his lovely collaboration piece with Kin Dose on Nelson Street, that I published yesterday (Christmas Day). This new mural on the wall of the Basement Beer brewery tap room in Upper York Street is an absolute beauty and full of depth and symbolism.
I was lucky enough to catch up with Tom Miller (thank you, Paul, for the tip-off) while he was putting the finishing touches on the piece, and stopped for a wee chat. Tom Miller is one of the gentlest, kindest and most lovely artists I meet doing the rounds, and he is so generous with his time, always willing to talk and discuss his work. During our conversation, I asked him about the painting, and he gave me a few little insights.
The steps that appear on the piece are a direct reference to the steps in the doorway sign ‘basement beer’, which kind of makes sense, but might not be obvious when just glancing at the piece.
There is always so much going on in Tom Miller’s pieces, and he has really delved into the spirit of the venue with some clever mash-ups of people and drinks, creating some rather surreal and colourful characters.
This is an artwork that deserves to be seen and admired, and we are so lucky in Bristol that we get to see so much free art like this. Tom’s canvasses are something special too. Always bright, colourful and frenetic, they display a stream of consciousness captured on canvass or a wall and frozen in that moment. Fabulous work.
4140. Cumberland Basin
Underneath the flyover complex in Cumberland Basin, in a spot favoured by the artist, is this magnificent recent piece by Acer. The stylised work depicts the Clifton Suspension Bridge that would be visible from this spot were it not for all the concrete.
Acer has many strings to his bow, and this geometric piece has a stained-glass window appearance. It is beautifully designed and very calming in a less than calming environment. Superb work in a spot that he has painted before.
4139. Cumberland Basin
This is a little Christmas piece from Soge, who has quite a quiet year in 2021, and is a welcome sight. There haven’t been as many Christmas themed pieces this year as I might have expected, but I haven’t been out too much last week so hope to stumble across a few more.
This is actually part of a collaboration with Hire, and the pair have painted quite a few times together in the past. Nicely designed and finished, this is a welcome return from Soge. Happy Christmas.
4138. Nelson Street (14)
Happy Christmas folks, a very special day for us, just the nuclear family, no visits, no visiting, just us. Over the last two years we have become used to each others’ company and generally get on surprisingly well, so being together today for our festivities is stress free. I am in between preparing the turkey and sorting vegetables and have a slot to do this quick post.
Two of Bristol’s finest artists, Tom Miller and Kin Dose (now referred to as Kin Official) have combined to produce this remarkable Christmas collaboration on Nelson Street.
On the left is a very special mural from Tom Miller, as imaginative as usual and brimming over with winter themes. I think that the figure is handling Christmas parcels, emblazoned with hearts. There is so much movement and colour as you might expect with Tom Miller. A wonderful piece.
Next to Tom’s piece is an incredible Grinch mural by Kin Dose, who really is one of my favourite artists in Bristol. His attention to detail and photo realism techniques are awesome. In this piece, I love the coronavirus Christmas decoration, so in keeping with the Grinch character.
A perfect Christmas collaboration. Once again may I wish you all a very happy day.
4137. Dean Lane skate park (448)
In recent months, there have been a lot of these ghoul character pieces appearing all over the place, and I feel that now is a good time to introduce them to Natural Adventures. The design, that has a Celtic knot look about it, is by Full Time Ghoul (FTG).
The main concentration of FTG’s pieces are along the cycle path bordering the River Avon, and I look forward to sharing some of these with you in the New Year. Is this the ghost of Christmas past, present or yet to come I wonder? Or perhaps just a little bit of knotty ghoul fun.
Happy Christmas folks. I hope I will have a moment to post tomorrow, but Don’t hold your breath.
4136. M32 Cycle path (152)
It’s Christmas Eve, hooray! I am going to give us all a bit of a break and keep my commentary of this sensational collaboration by Sepr and 3Dom brief. Characters accompanied by writing in this long panel. Great stuff.
4135. Picture House Court
Alex Lucas has had a very good and productive year. Her beautiful murals, most of them commissions, have been appearing with joyous regularity through the year. This is one of her latest pieces, just off North Street in Bedminster, and is the centrepiece of a Christmas mural trail produced in partnership with Upfest, Aardman Studio and Netflix, promoting Aardman’s new animation Robin Robin.
I will have to walk the length of North Street at some point, perhaps over the Christmas break, to photograph all the other little characters along the trail. This is a very Bristol thing going on and something all citizens here can be proud of. A coming together of a Bristol-based film studio, a Bristol artist and a Bristol street art events business… a fine combination.
I have said it before, but there are a few artists in the Bristol whose illustrations, designs and murals have become synonymous with the city and I would name Alex Lucas as one of these, and the other two would be Cheo and Andy Council. These three adding colour and recognition to the place.
Natural adventures 