One of the more productive writers in Bristol over the past year has been Noise, whether painting alone or collaborating. Noise has settled into the Bristol scene seamlessly and feels like part of the furniture, even though I only really became aware of his work in the summer of 2023.
Noise, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2024
Noise generally paints quite large, expansive letters, and this time he has had to squeeze his letters into a fairly compressed spot and has managed pretty well. The fills in the letters are worth a closer look, with the lower fills looking like greeny-blue clouds and the upper fills cold and frosty icicles. Definitely time for a Noise gallery.
Ooh, it looks like we have another writer on the streets in Bristol, possibly two, and the subject of this post is Fudge. I think I may have spotted her getting ready to paint this piece (slightly controversially covering up Haka’s wonderful Pooh Bear piece, but I think she is new in town, so that is ok), with a friend (Mare?), but as they didn’t have any paints out of their bags, I didn’t approach them, because that might have seemed a bit weird (one of the challenges of being a white male of a certain age, I’m afraid).
Fudge, M32 roundabout, Bristol, September 2024
I have to say that this combination piece ticks a lot of my boxes. Full of fun and joy a large-eyed character appears to be blowing a bubble gum FUDGE, or at least pursing her lips are pursed in the direction of the letters. The character is well drawn and the letters, fills and borders indicate a certain amount of experience. I am very much looking forward to seeing more from Fudge, and have at least one other piece ready to post.
I can’t explain why, but there is something that I really like about Nips’ graffiti writing. She first came onto my radar less than a year ago, but in that time her colourful and characterful work has really grown on me. She is an artist I have not yet met, but look forward to doing so some time and asking her about her work.
Nips, St Werburghs, Bristol, August 2024
While Nips tends to keep her letter style fairly consistent, it is the fills where the magic happens, and in this piece she has created a stunning kaleidoscope of colour and patterns. A simple bit of background patterning and a drop shadow help the piece to stand out, along with some white highlighting in the letters. This is a notable piece from a creative writer.
Desi and Mr Two Gram, River Avon, Bristol, August 2024
Recently I have become more organised and started writing my blog posts the day before, giving myself a buffer if things get a bit tight before I start work. So far this revised approach seems to be working really well. What it means is that I wrote this post yesterday and that any references to weather or the news might well be a little out of kilter. However, I am pleased to report that it looks like we will be having a bit of a dry spell in Bristol for the next week or so, and Donald Trump continues to be weird.
Desi, River Avon, Bristol, August 2024
I don’t think that I post nearly enough pieces by Mr Two Gram, and Desi seems to have had a slightly slower summer, so it is great to be posting this collaboration from them. Desi presents her letters in a uniform style, filling them with a patchwork of greens, blended in a ‘paintbrush’ style. A generous smattering of pink hearts finishes the piece nicely.
Mr Two Gram, River Avon, Bristol, August 2024
Mr Two Gram has painted a fair bit over the summer, but inexplicably I haven’t posted much of his work. I might need to do a trawl at some point and present a mini-gallery of his work. His letters are consistent in form and here spell 2GRAM and his fills composed of blues, purples and magenta. The piece is tight and the collaboration modest, tucked away on a wall with little footfall. Great work from the pair.
Benjimagnetic is a Bristol artist who tends to paint regularly but not frequently, if that makes any sense. So there is a constant drum beat of his work appearing often enough that he doesn’t fall off the radar.
Benjimagnetic, St Werburghs, Bristol, August 2024
This is a nice piece at the entrance to the tunnel, which is so characteristic of his unique style. The letters spell out BEN and are notable more for what isn’t there than what is. Benjimagnetic tends to avoid using solid or decorative fills for his letters, so what you are left with is the architecture of writing which creates these magnificent pieces full of lines and structures. This is a lovely tight piece from the artist.
You might have seen several references in the past to World Wall Stylers, and wondered what it is all about. Essentially, it is a global street art collaboration event, organised through Instagram, setting a theme which artists can adopt, paint and photograph, tagging @worldwallstylers in their own Instagram feeds. It is a way of showing off your style to a large urban art community and observing other artist’s impressions on the same theme. This month is chapter 16 of World Wall Stylers and the theme is the film ‘Who Framed Roger Rabbit’.
Fade and Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2024
Fade and Dibz have collaborated in this Roger Rabbit piece in what I would call a fusion collaboration where both artists will have contributed to all parts of the piece, in spite of the letters spelling out FADE. The character in this piece was called Smart Guy, one of five weasel characters belonging to the Toon Patrol. Brilliant work from the pair and a prompt to dig out the movie and re-watch it sometime.
This is the second piece by Butch that I have found and posted and I am very much hoping to find and share a whole bunch more. I like this kind of writing a lot, I am not sure why. The letters cascade down from left to right, increasing in size as you traverse along. The fills are interesting and unconventionally but effectively applied.
Butch, Greenbank, Bristol, August 2024
PLB (Placebo) are an interesting crew of artists, managing to keep below the radar, enjoying their anonymous status, unlike many other artists and crews in Bristol. Butch has used the ‘rivet’ look which makes the letters look like metal plates bolted together. The whole thing would look better with a bit of background or a buffed wall, but I have a feeling that is not Butch’s style.
Annika Pixie, Jee See and Pekoe, St Werburghs, Bristol, August 2024
As well as being a year when so many new artists have started painting in Bristol it has also been a period of collaboration. Whilst collaborations have always been a thing, I think that I have seen an increase in the number of them and a mixing up of collaborators, with new friendships and partnerships being formed or old ones renewed. This is an eclectic collaboration of styles from Annika Pixie, Jee See and Pekoe.
Annika Pixie, St Werburghs, Bristol, August 2024
To the left, the ephemeral portrait style of Annika Pixie is a welcome return to the streets of Bristol, along with a piece in Brunel Way (to come). I am not sure where she has been for the last few years, but it is a pleasure to see her unique pieces appearing once again. Mysterious as ever, the portrait is quite beautiful and haunting, painted with a lightness of touch that is Annika Pixie’s trademark.
Jee See, St Werburghs, Bristol, August 2024
In the middle Jee See presents us with his customary SEISMIC writing and accompanies it with a little demonic figure and the name Mr Nobody next to it. I’ll be honest and say that I don’t really know what is going on in this piece, but I have always liked his work and know to expect the unexpected.
Pekoe, St Werburghs, Bristol, August 2024
To the right a rather more familiar portrait piece from Pekoe rounds off the collaboration. The wonderful portrait, complete with amazing bunches (is that what they are called? – I am no expert in hairstyles) is accompanied by the magnificent words Pekoe has used before “Hot girls hate fascists”. It is noticeable that her work appears to be more joyful than it has been in the past, and I wonder whether this reflects the artist’s disposition in any way.
Lokey (Lokea) and Ember, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2024
It is so good to see Lokey painting a little more often these days, and I wonder if the frequency of his painting is related in any way to his daughter joining him and ‘collaborating’ with him – pester power can be a very compelling force. This is one of several recent collaborations that Lokey has painted alongside Ember.
Lokey (Lokea) and Ember, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2024
Lokey has taken to writing LOKEA, which I suppose is simply switching things up a little, which writers like to do from time to time. His distinctive anamorphic writing style lifts wonderfully well from the wall. His daughter, Ember, has painted a cat, her character of choice, and I have to say it is rather good. I don’t know how old she is, but I can see that there is great potential. It looks like naïve, childish art because that is exactly what it is. Fantastic!
Slim Pickings (Tes) and Biers, M32 Spot, Bristol, August 2024
It feels good to give these two a bit of attention, especially Slim Pickings (Tes), because although they are out there painting fairly regularly, I don’t tend to feature them on Natural Adventures as much as I should. I am pleased to see this collaboration between Tes and Biers because it is on one of my favourite spots in Bristol.
Slim Pickings (Tes) and Biers, M32 Spot, Bristol, August 2024
This is a particularly fine example of Slim Picking’s work, with the letters TES beautifully filled in two shades of orange with bubbles. Cleverly the drop shadow and the white spot highlights really make this one pop, fantastic stuff. Biers has incorporated little flashes of orange (upside down crosses) which work really well with his green shades WD40. A fine collaboration from two great graffiti writers.
Natural adventures 