Ware or MickeyRaw is not an artist that I see too often on our walls, but he is part of the RAW crew and joins the team for paint jams every once in a while. His work is consistently of a really high standard, and it is a pity he doesn’t get out more often.
Ware, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2021
This piece, spelling out WARE is absolutely stunning. The central green letters with fabulous fill patterning are further embellished with red blue and orange arrow decorations. The whole thing is very intricate and tight and clearly the work of a very talented graffiti writer.
Footloose, Lewse or Esooltoof (Footloose – geddit?) to use her Instagram handle, is so utterly underrepresented on Natural Adventures, something I must remedy at the earliest opportunity. I have a whole ton of her work in my archives from months and years gone by, but just haven’t posted anything until now.
Footloose, M32 cycle path, Bristol, April 2021
This is a lovely example of her style, which is usually a uniform set of letters spelling LEWSE with an associated character, often drawn from popular cartoons. The lettering is painted in the colours of a Fruit Salad chew (sweets that you could buy 8 of for a penny when I was a boy), with really nice transitions between the yellows and pinks.
Footloose, M32 cycle path, Bristol, April 2021
The character, Disney’s goofy, is expertly painted and clearly demonstrates Footloose’s talents as an artist. Let’s view this post as a beginning and not an end, where I can showcase more of her work past and future.
This is another of the columns under the railway bridge that crosses over Stapleton Road that has recently had a makeover and is by local artist Rob Wheeler. I don’t know too much about the artist other than that he is part of Graft Workshop, an outfit of street artists who take commissions in Bristol, and whose work I have featured on Natural Adventures some time ago.
Rob Wheeler, Stapleton Road, Bristol, April 2021
This beautifully designed and executed piece has the symmetry and look of an elaborate wallpaper design and adds a touch of class to this column that previously had been a magnet for tags. I hope that this stunning artwork is respected because it is already much loved by the local community.
A classic piece of Face 1stery going on here on the M32 roundabout. In times of turbulence and disruption there are rocks, sturdy landmarks, that remind us that actually everything is ok. Face 1st is one of those rocks. His pieces are painted regularly and when I see them I feel comforted and grounded.
Face 1st, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2021
This is a lovely example of his work with the customarily cheerful girl whose hair is composed of the letters FACE. This time there is a pink goo highlighting the letters, looking a little bit like bubblegum, which in my experience is best kept well away from hair.
I remember once back in the 1970s I was in a smoke-filled cinema in Muswell Hill (incredible to think that smoking at the cinema was the norm). Half way through the film a discarded piece of bubblegum that had been lobbed from the circle seats landed and lodged in my 1970s hair. Disgusting. My mum had to cut it out with scissors when I got home. I felt violated and humiliated. If I ever catch the perpetrator I’ll…
I drove past this about a week ago and pulled in to photograph it. The Merny (Morny) piece had slipped under the radar a bit, and I’m not too sure how long it had been there. No matter though as I am always delighted to see something new from him.
Morny, Stokes Croft, Bristol, April 2021
This one, along with many of his pieces, is a political piece that is critical of our current administration. Simply put ‘what a sad state of affairs’ more than adequately presents the utter mess out country is in, not just in its appalling initial response to Covid-19 but also in its disregard for moral decision-making and corruption at the highest levels of government. The Conservative way seems to be that as long as it makes money it makes sense, no appreciation of the consequences.
The ordinary man, maybe a cyclist or runner, is sitting to contemplate this mess. A wonderful human piece from one of my favourite Bristol artists.
I had to do a bit of a trawl through my Thursday doors folder to dig these forgotten doors out, and am rather pleased that I did, because I have overlooked them for far too long. Hoping to get some fresh doors soon, but until then we will have to make do with this rather random selection of photographs from Bristol taken in 2018 and 2019.
Wingman barbers door with doorfie, Christmas Steps, Bristol, June 2019
Bristol South Baths, Entrance doors, Bristol, May 2019
This is where my son trained to become a lifeguard.
Haberfield House gate, Hotwells, Bristol, March 2019
Those steps could do with a sweep.
Beautifully carved triple door, the Centre, Bristol, March 2019
Heavy iron door, Bedminster, Bristol July 2018
Animated post box door, Bristol, May 2018
With a fair wind and a bit of time I hope to go on a few doorscursions soon, but at least I am working through my back-catalogue which has needed a bit of tidying up.
Have a great weekend, wherever you are.
If you have made it this far, you probably like doors, and you really ought to take a look at the No Facilities blog by Dan Anton who has taken over the hosting of Thursday Doors from Norm 2.0 blog. Links to more doorscursions can be found in the comments section of Dan Anton’s Thursday Doors post.
Phour is one of those artists who regularly burns his letters onto any surfaces that he fancies. Some of his pieces are quick and dirty throw-ups and some, like this one, are more polished and accomplished.
Phour, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2021
Spray painting over existing graffiti without buffing the wall first means that your piece needs something special to stand out from the crowd. Phour has achieved this with flying colours (literally) in this absolute belter.
Since I took this photograph, which really isn’t too long ago, this wall had been painted over at least twice and it is fast becoming one of the highest turnover walls in Bristol. I’ll be heading down that way today to see what’s new.
Subtle, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, April 2021
This is another in a very strong series of pieces from Subtle. At last he seems to have exhausted his supply of pink paints and instead gives us this stunning beast in red. The writing is really sharp and greatly enhanced with the yellow highlights and black spots. This is a very bold and striking piece that demonstrates clearly the great skills of Subtle.
DNT has been one of those artists who has pretty much gone to ground over the last year and I have seen very little of his work. It was a lovely surprise then to find this delightful and somewhat out-of-character piece from him on the side of an eatery that has had a bit of a makeover.
DNT, Nine Tree Hill, Bristol, April 2021
The El Jeffe José Cubans sandwich shop is so perfect for its Stokes Croft location and it is wonderful that they have turned to a local artist to decorate its side wall, which is at permanent risk of being tagged. A great piece like this from a local artist might see it given some respect.
DNT has painted some lovely flowers on a yellow cloud background, which is far removed from his robotic-monster pieces that we are more accustomed to. This is perfect for this spot and outlet and adds some colour and brightness to this little corner of Stokes Croft.
I knew all about this wonderful new collaboration from Rosalita’s Instagram feed, and because I recently (and at last) found the Greenbank wall, I rushed down to take some photographs. It was well worth the trip.
Rosalita, Greenbank, Bristol, April 2021
The collaboration is from Rosalita and Antikki and they certainly decided to go big with this one. There is so much to love here. Rosalita’s clown face behind layers of theatrical make up that disguise the emotional disposition of the subject, as is so often the case with Rosalita’s work there is something sad or uncertain about the portrait. The hair, oh my goodness the hair. Antikki has done an extraordinary job of weaving her dancing figures into the hair, which if you don’t look properly you might miss. The whole portrait is set on a starry and atmospheric background. This is a masterclass in collaborative working where the two styles and cleverly fused into the one piece.
Rosalita, Greenbank, Bristol, April 2021
Like many other people, I am so enjoying Rosalita’s strong presence on our streets, which has blossomed over the last six months or so and it is great to see Antikki joining her. I would love to see more collaborations from these two.
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