Although rather small, this is a rather good piece by Dopes. The choice of hoarding is challenging, being at the top of a DIY skate ramp, and on short boards that have been slapped together. On the upside, anyone who paints this spot is likely to have their work on display for a considerable period.
Dopes, M32 Spot, Bristol, September 2023
Dopes has been out and about a fair bit recently and the quality of his work is always high. Out of necessity, the letters bleed off the top of the hoarding, but in spite of that are nicely proportioned. Great colours and white rather than dark borders and 3D drop shadow. Easy on the eye stuff from Dopes.
I had seen this piece at the entrance to St Werburghs tunnel for a while, and there was something about it that stood out, but I couldn’t pin it down. I didn’t post it because I didn’t know who it was by. A serendipitous catch up with Logoe recently at the other end of the tunnel provided me with some insight about the piece. Logoe was raving about it and said it was by Drax, a highly-regarded old-school writer, and one of the original graffiti writers, from London I think.
Drax, St Werburghs, Bristol, September 2023
Armed with that background, I revisited the piece after our conversation, and the ‘something special’ about the piece is its class. It is fairly modest and unsigned, so definitely a piece for those in the know. The beautifully finished letters spell DRAX, and the more you look at the fills and borders, you can see that it is by a highly experienced and skilled artist. My only slight concern (and this is a me thing) is the colour scheme – regular readers will know that I am not a big fan of brown, and I am not too sure about the brown/blue combo. Great to have the mystery solved.
Dog Bless the Band, Greenbank, Bristol, September 2023
If the writing is curiously-shaped, monolithic and coloured in earthy muted hues, then it is highly likely to be by Dog Bless the Band. If it also spells MOTEL, then it is definitely by him. This modest piece fits all the criteria perfectly.
Dog Bless the Band, Greenbank, Bristol, September 2023
So earthy is this piece, that it appears to have emerged from the soil beneath it, perfectly matching the undergrowth that seamlessly rolls along the ground and up the hoarding. This is deliberate and skilfully done. I like the comment “I’m 37% nettle stings”, an occupational hazard, painting this stretch of hoarding. In my view, this is a really classy piece painted in a style, touching on anti-style while just about remaining within certain conventions. Love it.
Bean has more than made his mark in Bristol, and his characters have livened things up a great deal. He is on a roll and there doesn’t seem to be any stopping him. This colourful piece under Brunel Way, featuring two characters and some writing, shows how the young artist is quickly growing in confidence and improving his technical skills.
Bean, Brunel Way, Bristol, September 2023
The characters that Bean paints have a very distinct look in a cartoon style that relies on using two tones of each colour in each section of the piece, light and dark, to create some depth. There isn’t much blending of colour or use of highlights, that some artists use to create depth. Bean’s writing is free in form, and very nicely filled. This is an artist who seems to be in a hurry and is turning out imaginative pieces at an alarming rate.
I haven’t posted much work from Donz on Natural Adventures, mainly because I haven’t seen an awful lot of his work. What I have seen, I rather like. Donz tends to paint with DJ Perks, and mostly, but not exclusively, at L Dub.
Donz, L Dub, Bristol, August 2023
Donz has selected some beautifully rich colours for this piece, and worked them into his fills most skilfully. His letters are well-designed, and the whole piece has come together very nicely. I fear that Donz is a bit of an unsung hero on the Bristol writing scene, probably because he is not all that visible, which is a pity.
I think I have COVID. I am not well at all and not really in the mood for writing blog posts, but I have a rhythm, and don’t like to interrupt it. It is amazing just how much COVID has disrupted our lives, not only with the illness and suffering it brought with it, but the battles between sectors of society around anti-vax and conspiracy theories about big pharma etc. The pandemic appears only to have divided us, or at least influencers and politicians have jumped onto the back of ‘wedge’ issues with glee to suit their own agendas. Surely the focus should be on mourning the dead, caring for the sick and creating a better more functional society.
It almost feels like a dream, when lockdowns were in place, and we all wore face masks, what a crazy period in our history. One of the upsides to the pandemic and lockdown is that some street artists, made good use of their out of work time to paint and paint, and one of those was Hemper. Since things have returned to normal, Hemper’s productivity has dropped and we only see occasional pieces from him these days.
Hemper, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2023
This is one of those rare pieces and what an absolute banger it is too. The joyfully colourful letters spell out Hems, but are very well disguised. Hemper has painted a beauty with extraordinary blended fills, some of which bleed beyond the borders of the letters. The whole thing feels very organic, almost alive. Simply put, this is an outstanding piece of wildstyle writing from one of the very best in Bristol.
It is genuinely getting very difficult to keep up with Dibz and Fade, who appear to be smashing it week after week, with their collaborative walls, and this one, which I don’t think lasted very long, is a real beauty.
Dibz and Fade, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2023
Dibz to the left and Fade to the right have written their names set on a shared blue background with some ‘thermal’ blobs surrounding the letters and breaking off. Everything about this piece is sharp, neat and tidy, and showcases their work perfectly. As well as painting together, it seems that the two get on really well, and bring out the best in one another’s artwork.
The Last One, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2023
There are times when great pieces appear, and I have absolutely no idea who painted them. In most cases this will be because the artist is a visitor, and their signature undecipherable. When this happens I become reliant on social media channels to try and find out more. This was a piece too good not to include in Natural Adventures, but I had to be patient before I happened upon an Instagram post that provided the artist’s name. It is by The Last One from the ZFG crew – time for me to do some more homework.
The Last One, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2023
To me, this is a really classy writing/character combo, and stood out when I first saw it. I note that The Last One has since returned and I will be posting another piece by the artist in due course. I would like to think that the writing spells ZFG, but I am not too sure. What is clear is that the writing is accomplished and clean, and easy on the eye. It is perhaps the rendition of Bugs Bunny that really wins the day though – presenting a rather fretful-looking bunny, superbly painted. Welcome to Bristol.
Kid Krishna, Lower Ashley Road, Bristol, June 2023
There was a period during the spring/early summer, when I could scarcely take a trip out without meeting Kid Krishna. Our biological clocks were in sync and it was great to be able to chew the fat on a regular basis. Then his activity fell off a cliff, on the streets at least, and I imagine that he was spending more time on his studio art creations. This piece is one that languished in my archive, probably because of the poor quality of photograph.
Kid Krishna, Lower Ashley Road, Bristol, June 2023
When the sun is behind a wall or hoarding, it is almost impossible to stop the flaring, and to maintain the integrity of the colours and contrast of the artwork, so this is a poor reflection of the piece by Kid Krishna. The letters probably spell out CRIE, but there are other elements woven into the letters. Although there is always a basic structure to Kid Krishna’s pieces, there is also a lot of freedom in the decorations and extra bits. In this case FFS, a crew tag, reads as Fireman From Space.
Yield is an artist who has been around for a little while, but whose work in rapidly improving and becoming more dominant. I believe Yield is part of the Sunday Lovers crew, so I would assume he (taking a gamble on gender) is probably Spanish. I haven’t posted much of Yield’s work to date, but the time has come to rectify that.
Yield, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2023
The playful piece in Dean Lane, which was painted alongside From Bacerlona, is full of colour and has a really up-beat feel to it. I don’t think that Yield has a particular ‘house font’ and each piece I have seen tends to be quite different from the last. What I have seen recently fills me with excitement about what Yield might be creating in the coming months.
UPDATE: Yield is not part of the Sunday Lovers, it would appear that any work alongside theirs in coincidental.
