Tag: Writer

5416. Dean Lane skate park (627)

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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.

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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.

5410. Purdown (60)

Lupa, Purdown, Bristol, May 2023
Lupa, Purdown, Bristol, May 2023

I feel that, having met Lupa for the second time recently at the Cheltenham Paint Festival, I should really start digging out some of her pieces from my archives, especially as we had a great chat and I felt most honoured that she not only remembered me, but also remembered my name, and thanked me for the recent post I wrote about her piece in Peel Street Green.

Lupa, Purdown, Bristol, May 2023
Lupa, Purdown, Bristol, May 2023

This is a lovely and enduring piece up at Purdown, which I photographed in May, but I think had been there already for a while and was still there when I walked the dog around the site last week. There is a charm and simplicity about Lupa’s work that makes it enjoyable to see, and she manages to give off good vibes – maybe it is the design of the letter ‘U’ with its smiley face, or the large block letters, or the vibrant colours – probably a combination of all these things. I look forward to seeing more of her work, and will continue to mine out old pieces from the archive.

5409. M32 roundabout J3 (501)

Dopes, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2023
Dopes, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2023

Dopes is another artist whose presence in Bristol has been fairly intermittent for some time, so it was great to see this wonderful piece on the roundabout a couple of weeks ago. When one sees a piece like this, it demonstrates just how powerful and important it can be to buff a wall first to bring out the best in the work.

Dopes, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2023
Dopes, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2023

This piece is dazzling and has a great energy about it, with the yellow light bursting out from behind the purple and pink filled letters. I’m not so sure about the golden pattern on the background, which looks rather flat compared to the vibrancy of the rest. This is a really classy piece from Dopes, I only hope we don’t have to wait so long for the next one.

5408. Sparke Evans Park (77)

Pl8o Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, July 2023
Pl8o Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, July 2023

For much of the year, Pl8o has been fairly quiet, but in recent weeks he seems to have rediscovered his enthusiasm and energy for painting walls – perhaps he has a little more time on his hands. This piece in Sparke Evans Park is one of several new pieces appearing around Bristol at the moment.

Pl8o Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, July 2023
Pl8o Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, July 2023

There is a lot of creativity in this piece, and the character is cleverly interlinked with the letters. The character is a beautifully painted carton cyclist, full of movement indicated by the shirt flaring at the back and the three white movement lines. The rear wheel of the bicycle is incorporated into the ‘o’ of Pl8o. A nice birthday piece for Alos.

5407. M32 Cycle path (222)

Dog Bless the Band, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, July 2023
Dog Bless the Band, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, July 2023

Dog Bless the Band is a curious street artist I have yet to meet. I say curious because his pieces are unlike pretty much anything else in the city right now. Curious also because of his name and because of the letters he writes – MOTEL, I mean what is it all about?

Dog Bless the Band, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, July 2023
Dog Bless the Band, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, July 2023

The large monolithic letters have a very earthy feel about them which is exaggerated in this piece by the muted colours, especially the green dusting, which gives the appearance of algae or moss on rocks. I’m not sure if that is the effect he was aiming for, but it is how it comes across to me. To the right there is a toadstool.

Dog Bless the Band, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, July 2023
Dog Bless the Band, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, July 2023

I wasn’t entirely sure whether the toadstool was painted by Dog Bless the Band or by a friend alongside, but have decided it is his own work, perhaps a study, because of the same colour selection and proximity. There are no other signatures or marks that would suggest another artist, simply the surprise of seeing the toadstool. Perhaps this signifies him straying into accompanying his letters with other work.

5406. St Werburghs tunnel (377)

Raid, St Werburghs, Bristol, July 2023
Raid, St Werburghs, Bristol, July 2023

Observing Raid’s progress is a genuine pleasure. Each time I see his work I see some improvement, and a boldness or confidence that is growing. I also like it that he is adapting his style from piece to piece, settling for a while and then moving on.

Raid, St Werburghs, Bristol, July 2023
Raid, St Werburghs, Bristol, July 2023

This is a nice one in the tunnel from a few weeks back, and uses that tried and tested colour combination of pink and light blue. The letters are beautifully presented, and the fills very nicely done indeed, with a swathe of stars running horizontally through the letters and pink ‘ribbons’ at the top and bottom. A decent drop shadow and blue backdrop round the piece off perfectly.

5405. Brunel Way (220)

Fade and Dibz, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2023
Fade and Dibz, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2023

Only a few days ago I spoke about how many whole-wall epic collaborations there have been this year, and this huge wall is all the more impressive given that the whole thing was painted by only two artists, Fade and Dibz.

Fade and Dibz, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2023
Fade and Dibz, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2023

Fade appears to be something of a force of nature with both the quality and quantity of pieces he has been painting recently, and he appears to be equally comfortable with writing and characters. I have to confess that I am not 100 percent certain who painted each element of the wall, but I’ll have a go. I think the fox and the MOFO writing in white are by Fade.

Fade and Dibz, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2023
Fade and Dibz, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2023

The vampire style character I have a feeling might have been painted by Dibz… it certainly has the crispness and quality that I would associate with his work, although equally, Fade might have crafted it.

Fade, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2023
Fade, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2023

The next section of writing would appear to be by Fade, but having said that it might be by Dibz, doing that thing where he writes another artist’s name. The cartoon duck is fabulous, but I can’t place him.

Dibz, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2023
Dibz, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2023

The next section of writing is definitely by Dibz… there are very few artists who could replicate  his superb wildstyle graffiti writing.

Fade, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2023
Fade, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2023

Rounding off the whole collaboration is a little scene with a cartoon dog and mid-west style farm house painted to perfection. The whole collaboration is utterly awesome and frankly it is difficult to process how they managed to pull it off so well. Bravo!

5404. Sparke Evans Park (76)

Wispa, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, July 2023
Wispa, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, July 2023

Although I have never met Wispa, I have recently had a conversation with her via Instagram messenger, and it is comforting to know that she is supportive of me sharing photographs of her work and writing posts like this one. It is just a matter of time before I am able to put a face to a name, and I only missed her by a whisker in Cheltenham. Speaking of whiskers, this is a wonderful piece featuring Tom the cat in Sparke Evans Park.

Wispa, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, July 2023
Wispa, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, July 2023

Once again Wispa delights with this outstanding piece of writing, and fills to die for. I don’t quite know how she does it, but she has great judgement in getting the right composition and proportions in her fills, supported by great colour selections. The letters spelling WISPA are nicely done and lifted with a white 3D drop shadow.

Wispa, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, July 2023
Wispa, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, July 2023

Wispa usually accompanies her work with a character and in this one we are treated to a fun Tom cat from the cartoon Tom and Jerry. It is always a great pleasure to find pieces by Wispa, and I hope she continues to visit Bristol as often as she is able to.

5403. Peel Street Green (19)

Trafficity, Peel Street Green, Bristol, July 2023
Trafficity, Peel Street Green, Bristol, July 2023

Trafficity is an artist I have huge respect for. His unique pieces are incredibly consistent in style as well as quality. The word he writes is ZIOM and is a slang term for homie, bro, friend etc. The term I guess is appropriate and relevant in an urban culture setting.

Trafficity, Peel Street Green, Bristol, July 2023
Trafficity, Peel Street Green, Bristol, July 2023

Trafficity’s letters are interesting, in that they are quite blocky and they interlock rather neatly. I think that there is probably more going on than meets the eye, and I have often wondered it there is some sub-lettering going on. For example across the top I can quite clearly see the word ‘MUMM’. Of course, this might be entirely coincidental and unintended, but I think the only way of finding out is asking the artist, should I ever bump into him again. Not too far away from having enough pieces for a Trafficity gallery.

5401. Cumberland Basin

Phour, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2023
Phour, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2023

I reckon that for every piece by Phour that I include in Natural Adventures, there are probably two or three that remain in my archives. This is unfortunate, because I like his work very much, there is something about the letter form that works very well for me. The strong ‘P’ is a great way to start the word.

Phour, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2023
Phour, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2023

In this piece, Phour has gone for chrome letters with a black 3D drop shadow and yellow border, simple and effective. To add a bit of interest and lift the letters a little, Phour has added a marble effect and some cracks that mimic a stone surface. The fill bleeds from letter to letter, creating a large slab of writing. A lovely piece well finished.