Tag: Urban

6856. Peel Street Green (39)

Astrea, Peel Street Green, Bristol, April 2025

Because I have been following and writing about Bristol street art for ten years, I have been able to watch so many artists start their adventures and develop their skills over time, and it gives me immense pleasure to witness this. One such artist is Astra, hi first come into my vision last year, when she painted a garage shutter during a mini paint festival in Muriel alleyway.

Astrea, Peel Street Green, Bristol, April 2025

This combination piece contains a dominant female character with a gun pointing out and the letters ASTRA in a bubble graffiti style. This is an interesting development phase and it is great to see her growing in confidence. I look forward to seeing more of her work this year.

6855. Sparke Evans Park (129)

Stivs, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, March 2025
Stivs, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, March 2025

Stivs has been painting some extraordinary portrait pieces recently, demonstrating that his talents extend far beyond his outstanding calligraffiti for which he is best known. This is a gritty and authentic portrait of his friend and fellow artist Badger Feral.

Stivs, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, March 2025
Stivs, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, March 2025

The piece is representative and beautifully painted, without the need to be photorealistic, which is the temptation for many portrait artists. I am full of admiration for the range and quality of work that Stivs achieves, and am always pleasantly surprised when I find new pieces by him. Long-live Dog Supremacy Crew (DSC).

6854. Cumberland basin

Weas, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2025
Weas, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2025

This year, I have become increasingly aware of pieces by Weas (@weaselmilk_) dotted about in most spots I visit. He tends to paint some rather wobbly characters, on columns or in tight spaces, but this piece of writing and characters demonstrates his wider capabilities.

Weas, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2025
Weas, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2025

The psychedelic swirl running through the letters WEAS has an interesting effect and draws the eye in… so much so that when I first saw the piece, I didn’t even notice the three characters subtlely sitting on top of the word. I think that there is a close association between the ‘alien’ characters and weed, with the one on the left enjoying a smoke. Expect a whole lot more from Weas.

6853. M32 roundabout J2 (10)

Face 1st, M32 roundabout J2, Bristol, March 2025
Face 1st, M32 roundabout J2, Bristol, March 2025

Since moving out of Bristol, Face 1st has lived up to his reassurance that he would be back reasonably regularly to carry on painting walls. I have noticed, however, that he has selected spots that are a little bit off the beaten track. This piece is on the junction 2 roundabout of the M32, where turnover is a little slower than other spots.

Face 1st, M32 roundabout J2, Bristol, March 2025
Face 1st, M32 roundabout J2, Bristol, March 2025

Face 1st has been concentrating a little on his letter styles of late, playing with new fonts and presentations. He has also taken to painting with gold paint (perhaps he put in a big order of the stuff). These lower-case letters, in pink, have nice fills and shout-outs to his PWA crew Soap, Zake and Chill. Face 1st is a firm favourite on Natural Adventures.

6851. BB Gallery (7)

Mote and Mr Crawls, BB Gallery, Bristol, March 2025
Mote and Mr Crawls, BB Gallery, Bristol, March 2025

I rarely venture along the Bristol to Bath cycle path to the BB Gallery, because turnover tends to be very slow there, but I was pleased to find this collaboration from Mote and Mr Crawls on my last visit there.

Mote and Mr Crawls, BB Gallery, Bristol, March 2025
Mote and Mr Crawls, BB Gallery, Bristol, March 2025

It would seem that the collaborative pair are spending some time focussing on their own pieces at the moment, and that the joint pieces have dropped off over the winter. On the left is a fine monster character with all the trademark doodles and markings we would expect from Mote. To the right, Mr Crawls has painted one of his monster characters wearing a hat, the style of which first appeared on the streets about a year ago now. Nice work from the pair.

6850. M32 Cycle path (286)

3Dom, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, March 2025
3Dom, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, March 2025

It is always a great pleasure to be able to share a new 3Dom piece, as he is without doubt one of Bristol’s most gifted street artists. I also like the way that his pieces appear without any fanfare and are painted on ‘ordinary’ walls as well as some of the high-end walls.

3Dom, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, March 2025
3Dom, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, March 2025

This is a wonderful piece, not entirely a million miles away in concept from his recent piece in the St George skate park. The skull is made up of a bunch of ‘floating’ components, which come together and present as a coherent skull. Take any element in isolation and it could be anything. In the dome of the skull, there is some classic 3Dom patterning and the inclusion of an atomic illustration, which appears in a lot of his work. This is a wonderful, high quality piece.

6849. Greenway Bush Lane (9)

Haka, Greenway Bush Lane, Bristol, March 2025
Haka, Greenway Bush Lane, Bristol, March 2025

This is simply brilliant. There really isn’t much more I can say about it. Haka has painted a superb rendition of Dr Seuss’ ‘Cat in the Hat’, driving a crazy vehicle with four ‘arms’ holding up each of the letters H A K A.

Haka, Greenway Bush Lane, Bristol, March 2025
Haka, Greenway Bush Lane, Bristol, March 2025

Haka has been incredibly faithful to the original artwork by Dr Seuss and captures everything that is so compelling about our childhood, it is a piece full of nostalgia for me and for many others I would expect. Haka’s series of children’s book characters continues to delight and upscale these wonderful images for all to enjoy. Bravo!

6848. Star and Garter (9)

Short, Star and Garter, Bristol, April 2025
Short, Star and Garter, Bristol, April 2025

There are a clutch of graffiti writers who have only recently come on to my radar. I cannot work out if they are new to Bristol or whether I have just had a blind spot, when it comes to their work. Artists such as Squire, Mage and in this instance Short.

Short, Star and Garter, Bristol, April 2025
Short, Star and Garter, Bristol, April 2025

Of course, by their nature, these graffiti writers are quite secretive, and it is difficult to find out much about them. Short has painted some nice joined up letters in lilac, with a classic striped 3D drop shadow and black border. There is nothing fancy, and the fill is relatively plain, but there is something compelling about the letter shapes. Expect more here from Short soon.

6847. Peel Street Green (38)

Cort, Peel Street Green, Bristol, April 2024
Cort, Peel Street Green, Bristol, April 2024

Cort doesn’t paint as often these days as he has done in the past, however, what he does paint tends to be pretty good. This stunning piece from the quiet artist is quick to grab the eye, with some simple shapes and colours, reaffirming the maxim that sometimes ‘less is more’.

Cort, Peel Street Green, Bristol, April 2024
Cort, Peel Street Green, Bristol, April 2024

The orange C is quite distinct from the chrome ORT, and given different treatment, creating a juxtaposition within the writing. The splash of light blue behind the letters is a clever design intervention to break up the monotony of the darker blue background. This is a nicely conceived and executed piece by Cort.

6846. Hackins Hey, Liverpool

Nomad Clan, Hackins Hey, Liverpool, March 2025
Nomad Clan, Hackins Hey, Liverpool, March 2025

Our trip to Liverpool was a short one, two days and one night, but just long enough for me to snap a few street art pieces. I got lucky with this magnificent large mural by Nomad Clan, because it was on the route between our hotel and the station. We were running late for the train, and my wife was less than impressed with me stopping to photograph this beauty – I did catch up…

Nomad Clan, Hackins Hey, Liverpool, March 2025
Nomad Clan, Hackins Hey, Liverpool, March 2025

Nomad Clan are not strangers to Natural Adventures, and the duo have painted a few times at Upfest in Bristol, always going large with beautifully creative works. There is a strong nature theme in this piece, with a bee (anatomically a little dubious) and an amazing cormorant catching a fish. There is a lot of detail in the whole piece, tattoos and a patterned dress for the main character, and loads of hidden extras throughout. This is an impressive mural from Nomad Clan.