Every once in a while, this spot gets some TLC which it surely deserves especially as much of the stuff that appears here is not great or gets tagged within an instant. This is one half of a collaborative session from Sepr (to follow) and Epok.
The piece was sprayed as an end of year celebration to see out 2018 (good riddance) and welcome in 2019. A sensational colour selection and all the hallmarks of a classic Epok piece – I love it to pieces.
Regular readers might recognise this as the work of the wonderful talent that is Kleiner Shames. His colour palette and the shapes of his letters are very distinctive, and if that is not enough to go on, the letters FOIS should give it away.
Such sights are a bit of a rarity in Bristol these days since the artist trundled off to london to find his fortune, but I guess he still hankers after the old city of Bristol and makes these occasional trips and marks them with fine pieces like this one. I find his letters very calming and gentle and aesthetically pleasing. Nothing jars. Always a genuine pleasure to find one of these.
Aaah, familiar stuff from Mr Draws and one that had been inadvertently omitted earlier in the year, which is surprising really, because it is so very good.
There is always something very cheery about his work that works for me. In this piece, the filler is absolutely beautiful, the two colour palettes above and below the yellow line are brilliantly complementary and the bubble effect imperious. I really love the simple idea and lovely execution of this one. Can’t believe it has taken almost a year to post it!
Over the Christmas break I decided to spend a bit of time trawling through my archives of 2018, to see if I might have missed some pieces that deserve a post. This piece by Khoi had been overlooked, probably because I am not familiar with the artist, and rarely see his/her work.
I am guessing that Khoi is an occasional visitor to Bristol, because the artist’s pieces are few and far between, or maybe they are just an occasional writer. This piece was created in January last year and was part of a paint jam with Sled One and Corupt. There is something unusual and rather compelling about the piece, and while perhaps not to everyone’s taste it does have a charm to it.
I have held back for a long time from posting any work by Spoilt (I am guessing that is the artist’s name) because I know nothing about them nor the work he/she produces. All I have seen is a few pieces of writing about the place with the word SPOILT.
On going back through my archives, the odd piece keeps popping up and maybe the time is right to start posting a few. I have noticed that Spoilt has painted with members of RAW, but I don’t think that Spoilt is a member of the crew – maybe just a friend. Technically this is a good piece which is why I am posting it. One of a growing number of Bristol graffiti writers.
Bonzai is yet another artist I am unfamiliar with, but what a pleasure it was to discover him for the first time. This was one of two recent pieces, as described by the brilliant London Calling blog.
The effect of molten chrome is simply outstanding, and yet if you look at the piece carefully is reasonably simply constructed with colours that trick your eyes. I absolutely love this kind of work and will definitely be on the look out for more from this artist on future London trips.
Smak is an artist who just keeps on giving. This is yet another perfect example of wildstyle writing at its best. Using the same colour palette chosen by Ments, he spells out SMAK in grey and embellished it with reds, pinks and blues.
Smak, unlike Ments, always keeps his pieces perfectly proportioned and they are easy on the eye. He has also included a little mouse making a rather rude gesture to the right. The gesture is aimed at the central piece of this triptych by Sled One, which will make since when you see it in a couple of days.
This ‘wonder wall’ in Wilder Street is curated by Where the Wall, a Bristol street art tour business and as such it is rarely if ever tagged. It is almost like a showcase wall which guarantees high-quality artwork. The only downside is that the turnover here is glacially slow, maybe every six months or so.
This piece by Ments is one part of a three-piece collaborative wall which includes Sled One and Smak (to follow). Ments has appeared in Natural Adventures many times, but he seems recently to have had an epiphany and he is really branching out from his trademark ‘organic’ work. The writing spells out MENTS and is beautifully worked. The thing with Ments is that he often deviated from any kind of symmetry in his work and does not confine himself to exacting letter shapes or heights etc, which sometimes makes his work look a little out of proportion. I suspect this is deliberate. Lovely piece.
You can’t hold him back. Mr Draws was planning to go and live in Germany at the end of the summer, but for whatever reason his plans fell through. His loss is surely Bristol’s gain as he continues to brighten up the place with his burners.
This one has a rather wintry feel about it, the colours and icy drips definitely feel a bit frosty. I love the way that Mr Draws just keeps on going – no matter what life throws at him, he just seems to pick himself up and carry on. It has been a while since I last chatted with him, which is a pity, because he is a really lovely bloke.
With so many artists flooding in to Bristol for Upfest, it is always great to see that there is a good representation of local artists, who keep things real. It can be overwhelming seeing so much street art, and at times awe inspiring, but it is as well to remember the roots of a festival like this whose foundations were built on the work of graffiti writers and street artists who produce work day in and day out on our city streets.
This is a great piece of writing from Ryder of RAW (Read and Weep) which is technically brilliant as well as rather beautiful. Each of the letters seems to be bursting with character, and the colours and shading are absolutely masterfully worked. Anyone who wants to get more into burners, should take a long hard look at this one and enjoy the technique that has been applied to create it.
Natural adventures 