Tag: Writer

5640. Cumberland Basin

Sait Bare, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, October 2023
Sait Bare, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, October 2023

Another debut on Natural Adventures – there seem to have been dozens of these this year – this time from Sait Bare, and it is quite some introduction. There is an awful lot going on in this busy piece of heavily disguised writing, but have a closer look, and you can start to unpick the piece.

Sait Bare, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, October 2023
Sait Bare, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, October 2023

The letters spell SAIT, although they are disrupted by two contrasting horizontally placed colour palettes. One scheme is made up of purples blues and reds and the other with chrome and blues with DayGlo green cosmic borders that looks like it has crashed down from above. The overall effect is stunning, if not a little confused. Possibly not one for those not well acquainted with graffiti writing. I’ll be looking out for more from Sait Bare.

5639. Sparke Evans Park (85)

Smak, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, October 2023
Smak, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, October 2023

This was the piece by Smak that I had intended to post yesterday, but my system (a bit like a production line) got all into a muddle. This is a really classy piece with some hints of 1930s design in some of the letters, given a contemporary twist.

Smak, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, October 2023
Smak, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, October 2023

The piece was painted alongside a mammoth Halloween paint jam from two all-female crews, RBF and FKB (Full Killer Burners). Note to self – post the FKB pieces in a single post. Smak’s work is simply so classy, both in his overall design and in his extraordinary talent and skill. The colours used in this piece are rich and sumptuous, giving a commanding and confident aura to the piece. Brilliant work from Smak.

5637. Cumberland Basin

Haka, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, October 2023
Haka, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, October 2023

I have managed to confuse myself with my pipeline of pieces in preparation for posting. This was meant to be a graffiti writing piece by Smak at Sparke Evans Park, but something has gone wrong with my system, so it is in fact this wonderful writing /character piece by Haka in Cumberland Basin.

Haka, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, October 2023
Haka, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, October 2023

In this piece, we see Haka returning to Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler for inspiration with this brilliantly recreated witch from their book ‘Room on the Broom’. The writing demonstrates an interesting feature of paint quality. The red fills, there are two have different strengths. The upper red is strong and requires only one coat. The lower red is thinner and unless several coats are applied, the patterns already on the wall will come through. This happens a lot with yellow colours too. There is usually a little guide on the spray can that tells you the strength of the paint. This would explain why some paint cans run out much quicker than others. One solution is to buff the wall first, but Haka rarely does that. Really nice work from Haka.

5636. M32 roundabout J3 (522)

Phour, M32 roundabout, Bristol, October 2023
Phour, M32 roundabout, Bristol, October 2023

Aah, the comforting and aesthetically pleasing letter form of Phour graces the pages of Natural Adventures once again. There are some arrangements of letters that just seem to work, and lend themselves to being written at scale on walls. Phour, Pl8o, Mest and Tes, are all good examples of this.

Phour, M32 roundabout, Bristol, October 2023
Phour, M32 roundabout, Bristol, October 2023

Although rather underrepresented on this blog, Phour is one of my favourite throwie writers, although his work spans the spectrum from quick and dirty pieces through to rather more considered and tight works like this one. Phour has painted strong black letters with a white drop shadow, a subtle horizontal line of bubbles and a red contrasting bubble backdrop. Overall a really nicely presented piece.

5635. Dean Lane skate park (658)

Dibz, Awkward and Fade, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2023
Dibz, Awkward and Fade, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2023

This is a rather interesting collaboration in Dean Lane, in which Fade and Dibz have done their thing, but have been joined by Awkward, whose big-eyed character faces are in stark contrast to Dibz and Fade’s sharp graffiti writing.

Dibz, Awkward and Fade, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2023
Dibz, Awkward and Fade, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2023

Dibz has written DIBZ and has a downwards and left facing drop shadow. Fade has written FADE and his writing has a drop shadow that goes up and to the right, which creates some imbalance in the piece (to my mind). Add to that the crazy character by Awkward and you have a collaboration made up of three great individual pieces, but the golden thread or flow is a little absent. Having made that observation, I still very much like the three core elements on this wall.

5634. M32 Spot (175)

Bnie and Wispa, M32 Spot, Bristol, October 2023
Bnie and Wispa, M32 Spot, Bristol, October 2023

Every time I post pieces that have been painted on this wall (one of my favourites in Bristol), I am reminded that I have published a gallery of pieces from the wall over time (part of the ‘One Wall – Many Faces‘ series). I have just updated the gallery to include this lovely collaboration from Bnie and Wispa.

Bnie, M32 Spot, Bristol, October 2023
Bnie, M32 Spot, Bristol, October 2023

Both pieces have incorporated a wild and wonderful almost psychedelic fill patterning and colours and on the left, Bnie’s letter shapes also lend themselves very well to that trippy feel. This piece from Bnie is absolutely stunning and so tight, all the lines and borders are perfect and the fills magnificent.

Wispa, M32 Spot, Bristol, October 2023
Wispa, M32 Spot, Bristol, October 2023

To the right, Wispa gifts us another of her brilliantly conceived and busy pieces. As well as reflecting the colours in Bnie’s piece, Wispa has also introduced some of her own colours and touches, which doesn’t surprise me. I think, from observing her work, that Wispa has a very individual approach to her work and style, and even when collaborating, will stand out with some individualism. This is wonderful work from these two busy artists.

5632. Cumberland Basin

T-Rex, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, October 2023
T-Rex, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, October 2023

It is always a huge and genuine pleasure to see work by T-Rex, and to know that she manages to find time to paint occasionally, which is probably very good for her own contentment, and definitely makes me and other admirers of her work happy.

T-Rex, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, October 2023
T-Rex, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, October 2023

This piece which appeared about a month after her last one in this spot follows the same format of the letters TREX and the end of the ‘X’ incorporating a dinosaur character. The piece as a whole is very nicely finished, and the colours and fills full of vibrancy and energy. Fun, joy and humour come across very strongly in this piece, and are characteristic of much of T-Rex’s wonderful work.

5630. Brunel Way (244)

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

I am in a conference all day today, so I wrote this one last night, not that it makes any difference to anything at all. As reported several times before on Natural Adventures, Dibz and Fade have been unstoppable this year, painting some incredible pieces week in, week out. This beauty was on the long wall under Brunel Way.

Fade, Brunel Way, Bristol, October 2023
Fade, Brunel Way, Bristol, October 2023

As with many of their recent collaborations, it can be difficult to know where the individual work ends and the combined work begins, but broadly speaking the writing on the left is by Fade, and under his tight writing he has the words ‘From up above’.

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

The central character looks like something out of a Marvel or DC comic, but I am not sure that I can spend hours trying to find out who, although a quick Google search has led me to the door of Dark Phoenix from X-Men. Beautifully painted… these guys really are good. The banner spells out Tru Headz Kru (THK), which I assume is the two collaborating artists.

Dibz, Brunel Way, Bristol, October 2023
Dibz, Brunel Way, Bristol, October 2023

To the right, Dibz gives us another of his flawless pieces of graffiti writing, looking stunning in shades of green with a purple drop shadow. I can see several possible words in the letters, but most likely is DIBZ, although I can also see DARK, which would cross-reference nicely with the character. Still more to post from these two!

5629. Peel Street Green (20)

Haka, Peel Street Green, Bristol, October 2023
Haka, Peel Street Green, Bristol, October 2023

I remember, looking back, that a few years back I used to think of Haka as something of an ‘edgy’ graffiti writer and artist as there were sometimes quite hard-hitting narratives alongside his work, but I think I was wrong at the time, and in recent years his work has been gentle and humorous and a joy to witness.

Haka, Peel Street Green, Bristol, October 2023
Haka, Peel Street Green, Bristol, October 2023

This new piece in Peel Street Green is a reflection of his work over the last 20 years and features a wonderful Snoopy character sitting on a rocket alongside some cheery bright and colourful letters. His work is upbeat and fun and these days works especially well for younger viewers, as many of his references are children’s cartoon or picture book characters. I hope this one stays as long as his Garfield piece in the same location.

5628. Cumberland Basin

Lokey, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, October 2023
Lokey, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, October 2023

There are some artists who pause for a long time between pieces, and it reaches the stage where they become out of sight… out of mind. I had quite forgotten about Lokey and his outstanding anamorphic writing, so it was an extra special surprise to find this piece. The day was a good one with the thoroughly enjoyable company of Paul H who was able to get out for a few snaps.

Lokey, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, October 2023
Lokey, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, October 2023

Purple and orange always make great bedfellows in street art, and Lokey has woven the colours in the most incredible way to create the 3D depth that appears to lift the letters several inches off the wall. Such clever and skilled work. I would love to see more of Lokey’s work, but I suspect his pieces will continue to be a bit of a rarity.