Another interesting piece from Big Hev who seems to be having a great time experimenting with spraying walls about the city. Her work is still quite naive, but there is a definite style emerging and with practice I’m sure she will emerge as yet another fine Bristol wall artist.
Big Hev, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2021
In a move away from her portraits, this piece ‘you can’t hide our smiles’ features a seahorse in an orange circle, surrounded with love hearts. Her work is bold and colourful and there is a lot of energy there. Her skills and technique with the spray paint will develop over time, but so far watching her progress is hugely enjoyable.
There are dozens of these mega-tags all over Bristol and it took me quite a long time before I realised that they were by Sage. This one at the Purdown battery has an outstanding view of North Bristol behind it… such a great location.
Sage, Purdown, Bristol, March 2021
Most of these mega-tags are monochrome quick ones, but it seems that Sage has taken a wee bit more time with this one, giving his capped character little bit of extra decoration. Often, the location can be as important as the art, and I think this is a good example of that.
Slakarts, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2025Slakarts, Lawrence Hill, Bristol, April 2024Slakarts, Purdown, Bristol, March 2024Slakarts, M32 roundabout, Bristol February 2024Slakarts, Greenbank, Bristol, February 2024Slakarts, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, February 2024Slakarts, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, November 2023Slakarts, M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 2023Slakarts, St Werburghs, Bristol, August 2023Slakarts, M32 Spot, Bristol, July 2023Slakarts, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2023Slakarts, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, February 2023Slakarts, Purdown, Bristol, January 2023Slakarts, Elton Street, Bristol, September 2022Slakarts, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2022Slakarts, Mina Road, Bristol, February 2022Slakarts, Peel Street Green, Bristol, February 2022Slakarts,M32 roundabout, Bristol, January 2022Slakarts, M32 roundabout, Bristol, December 2021Slakarts, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, December 2021Slakarts, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, November 2021Slakarts, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, September 2021Slakarts, M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 2021Nugmoose and Slakarts, St Werburghs, Bristol, September 2021Slakarts, Frome side, Bristol, June 2021Slakarts, St Werburghs Tunnel, Bristol, June 2021Sage and Slakarts, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2021Slakarts, St Werburghs, Bristol, March 2021Slakarts, Purdown, Bristol, March 2021Slakarts, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2021Slakarts, Lawrence Hill, Bristol, February 2021Slakarts, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, December 2020Slakarts, M32 roundabout, Bristol, December 2020Slakarts, St Werburghs, Bristol, December 2020Slakarts, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2020Slakarts, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, October 2020Slakarts, Cumberland Basin, Bristtol, October 2020Slakarts, St Werburghs, Bristol, September 2020Slakarts, Purdown HAA Battery, Bristol, January 2020Slakarts, Hepburn Road, Bristol, January 2020Slakarts, River Avon, Bristol, January 2020Slakarts, M32 cycle path, Bristol, December 2019Rezwonk and Slakarts, Albert Park Place, Bristol, November 2019Rezwonk and Slakarts, Albert Park Place, Bristol, November 2019Slakarts, St Werburghs, Bristol, December 2019Slakarts, M32 Spot, Bristol, January 2019Slakarts, M32 cycle path, Bristol, November 2019Slakarts, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2018Slakarts, St George, Bristol, September 2019Slakarts, M32 Spot, Bristol, August 2019
Both of these artists have had a very busy year in terms of throwing paint at walls. Benjimagnetic and Hemper are not artists I would normally pair up, but they have painted together in the past and continue to do so from time to time. Benjimagnetic’s style is much more consistent, whereas with Hemper, each piece is incredibly individual.
Benjimagnetic, St Werburghs, Bristol, March 2021
On the left is a fascinating piece from Benjimagnetic spelling BEN, which is much less frenetic and busy than his usual offerings. The yellow outline, where you can make out his letters, is sitting over a blockwork pattern, and the whole efect is compelling. Two little speech bubbles state: ‘Stand in the balance’ and ‘Hold your head up’
Hemper, St Werburghs, Bristol, March 2021
To the right Hemper has created a sensational piece of writing spelling out HEMS in beautifully curvy letters which are filled to perfection with various colourful shades and bubbles. The whole thing is set on a very atmospheric green background with a few subtle shout-outs. ‘Free assembly is a right… …not a privilege’ is a sentiment very close to many Bristolian hearts at the moment. Kill the bill.
Soker is an incredibly versatile writer, managing to conjure up no end of extraordinary styles for his usual SOKER letters, but this piece is, in my view, an extra special one produced during a recent birthday celebration paint for Sled One.
Soker, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2021
The colourful letters are framed within a beautiful flowery border that oozes pure class. It doesn’t take much more than the slightest glance to see that this is a masterful piece with an outstanding overall design, beautifully crafted fills and superb finishing. A supreme piece of graffiti writing.
Another new artists for Natural Adventures in 2021 is Zed in the Clouds. Zed has been busy in recent months painting his small character pieces in most of the popular Bristol graff spots, and this one is on the long hoarding alongside the development at Greenbank.
Zed in the Clouds, Greenbank, Bristol, March 2021
Zed in the Clouds (a great name by the way) creates these expertly finished little cap-wearing characters that tend to blend well with all that is around them. Take a close look though, and you will see that this isn’t simple character tagging, there is a lot of skill and care that has gone into the fills and his lines are crisp and even. Lots more to come from this relative newcomer in Bristol.
I haven’t posted many pieces by Evey, mainly because I haven’t actually seen all that many. She tends to paint with other Resting Bitch Face (RBF) crew members, including Pekoe and Bnie, which was the case on this wall.
Evey, M32 roudabout, Bristol, March 2021
What I particularly like about Evey’s work is its simplicity and femininity (without being girly, if that makes sense). Her letters are nice and organic, but it is her fills, which are so often full of happiness, that show off her creativity. Although her work is still developing, there is something about it that I find incredibly attractive.
Slakarts has been ever so busy in recent months and I have enjoyed meeting him a couple of times lately. I think it says so much about my age that street artists, like doctors and teachers, seem to be so very young. In my mind’s eye I expect them to be so much older and am always surprised when I meet them. DFC1848 is a rare exception to this perception.
Slakarts, St Werburghs, Bristol, March 2021
In this piece in the tunnel, Slakarts has reverted to his front face projection rather than three-quarter profile that he has been painting a lot lately. This character has crazy hair, maybe he is waiting for the barber’s to reopen, and rather dodgy teeth. Not the most attractive, but nicely done.
Bright sun is my enemy (only in the context of photographing street art, you understand), it adds the kind of interest to a piece that I could well do without, in this case the ‘interest’ is a blooming huge shadow cast across this magnificent corner piece by Sepr.
Sepr, St Paul’s, Bristol, March 2021
Sepr always has been and continues to be on fire with his distinctive cartoon style of character-based pieces and this one is a masterpiece. The central character is a Pied Piper playing on a flute, surrounded by an entranced troop of rats (mice?).
Sepr, St Paul’s, Bristol, March 2021
The rats appear to be dancing to the tune of the piper, seemingly under his/her spell while a bird nonchalantly looks on eating some popcorn. How on earth does Sepr come up with narratives like this? He is a master storyteller, and we are blessed in Bristol that he decorates our walls so beautifully and frequently.
Doors 144 – Archive street/graffiti art doors from last year
Already we are well in to April, over a year on from the first England lockdown, and apart from local doors, I haven’t been on a proper doorscursion in all that time. I am ultra busy this week, so these archive street art doors will have to do. Soon I will get out to find some new doors – I can’t wait.
In the meantime here are some street art doors originally published on Natural Adventures in August last year:
Little doors on a garden wall in Redland, Bristol, August 2020Silent Hobo, Hammersmith Road, Bristol, August 2020Kin Dose, North Street, Bristol, July 2020Kleiner Shames, Moon Street, Bristol, August 2020Taboo, Moon Street, Bristol, August 2020Silent Hobo, Belmont Street, Bristol, July 20203Dom, Upper Sandhurst Road, Bristol, August 2020
Aah! those glorious sunny days. I have a plan for my next Thursday doors, but it will depend on whether or not I have time to get out and take some pictures.
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.