.
Hills and tiled facades
greet the weary travellers
eager for morning
.
by Scooj
Month: May 2022
4476. M32 Spot (141)
Anyone expecting to see Upfest pictures from last weekend are going to have to be a little patient. It will take me a while to select the right pictures to share and I have about a 10-day pipeline of images already uploaded. Perhaps there will be something in a fortnight or so. Later this week I will have some more Upfest walls for you so at least I am not being entirely negligent.
I am a little distracted today as I leave for Portugal this afternoon on a mini-break with my daughter, who really deserves it. She has had a very tough couple of years and I hope this trip will raise her spirits. Speaking of the Iberian peninsula, here are a couple of pieces by Spanish artist Zake (see what I did there?).
Zake has been smashing it all year and is paining as frequently as I can remember, and these pieces are from his ‘safe space’ M32 Spot, where I first encountered his work a few years back. The pillar piece is where he had a presence for a long time, and a quick glance at his gallery will give you a sense of how much he likes this spot.
Both pieces display Zake’s mastery of light and shade in bringing out features in his cartoon faces. He has a gift for using colour and shadings to create depth to his pieces. Zake painted a fun piece for Upfest which I will post soon, all being well.
Right, that’s your lot today, I have some packing to do. I understand there is quite a lot of street art in Porto… what a coincidence!
4475. Frome Side (14)
Because I don’t drop down into Frome Side all that often, access is difficult with the dog, most of the pieces are new (to me), and I get to photograph a lot of work. On my most recent trip, I was pleased to find two pieces by Morag, an artist whose work I really rather like.
With each new piece I find by Morag, there seems to be an elevated level of sophistication. More detail, more of an expression in the face, accessories like the hat seen in these pieces. It is a journey I am thoroughly enjoying and I look forward to seeing more around Bristol.
Both pieces share the characteristic style, but have quite different expressions, and the colour palettes are different too. Morag has joined a merry band of artists that like to do faces, including Slakarts, Zake and Asre – good company indeed.
Hell
.
Old insulation
thickened with dust and debris
filthy furnace loft
.
by Scooj
4474. City Road (13)
A little while back I was contacted by Paul H, who told me to get myself down to City Road, where there was a RAW paint jam going on. I happened to be passing that way, returning home from another spot, and was very pleased that I did, as there was a bit of a street party atmosphere going on.
Food, music and a host of street artists. There was nothing not to like. The colour scheme adopted by all the artists had a kind of summer holiday theme, with lots of pink sunset stuff going on. This piece by Jaksta was one of the highlights, especially as I haven’t seen any of his work for quite a long time. Some of you might recognise the subject of the piece as Snoopdogg, and I find it amazing that Jaksta can create these slightly grotesque carton portraits with spray cans. A rare talent that he executes so well.
4473. High Street
I am feeling a little ‘hungover’ this morning having drenched myself in a festival of street art and graffiti at Upfest over the last two days. I have almost reached saturation point, so forgive me if this post does not quite live up to any expectation.
I have mentioned before that I consider Hazard to have elevated herself into the world-class category, and I don’t think it will be too long before she will be headlining at street art festivals all over the world. This enormous piece in the centre of Bristol, near Castle Park, demonstrates clearly her talent and class. The piece has been here for a little while- I was rather late to the party, and unfortunately the margins of the piece have been tagged, which is a little annoying. The early bird gets the worm.
The concept is a good one, with a portrait made up of composite features in differently shaded boxes. It is a very clever and effective idea that represents many people in one portrait. I am so pleased that Hazard is getting to paint these large walls, because it is the least she deserves. Hazard also happens to be one of the most delightful artists in Bristol, always happy to have a chat, even if she isn’t quite sure exactly who she is talking to…
Reacquaint
.
Meeting, re-meeting
some friends and acquaintances
after two long years
.
by Scooj
4472. Dean Lane skate park (495)
You might have noticed that in recent weeks I have started to write three posts a day when I can, and have been posting collaborations and sometimes multiple pieces by the same artist. This is due to the very real situation that there is simply too much art being produced in Bristol at the moment, that I can’t get even close to keeping up with it all. This is a good problem to have, rather like a football manager with team selection dilemmas, but it also means that so much great art may sit in the archives, possibly forever.
Although this post features three artists, the paintwork suggests that one is a stand-alone piece and thee others two were painted as a collaboration. The stand-alone piece is by FTG (Full Time Ghoul) on the left, is one of many of these fantastic ‘knot’ heads that are scattered all over Bristol and horribly under-represented in Natural Adventures. I may sort out a collection of his work from multiple sites. On the right is the left-hand side of a collaborative paint by 3F fino, the other side being by Werm.
3F fino is an incredibly productive member of the LRS crew, many of whom, to be fair, seem to paint their socks off. I don’t know how they all afford the paint. In this piece, 3F fino continues the theme of a character with a head scarf, with some nice folds in the material.
To the right-hand side is some graffiti writing from Werm (formerly Eman for those who remember). Werm has been concentrating on his writing over the last few months and has been working on two or three concepts that he practices again and again, striving for perfection. If I am honest, I miss his characters, and hope he makes time to treat us to one or two before too long.
4471. Leonard Lane (33)
I was fortunate enough to meet several members of the Bristol Womxn Mural Collective yesterday at Upfest and what an extreme pleasure it was too. I have seen the results of their various paint jams dotted around the city, and it was so good at last to meet some of them.
This piece, by Tanith Gould, is from one of their recent paint jams in Leonard Lane, one of my favourite spots in Bristol.
Tanith Gould has a wonderful illustrative style in which she presents figures almost as studies. This is a beautifully thought out and designed quartered piece with two figures accompanied by legs appearing through holes. Certainly imaginative, but something you could easily imagine as a greetings card or small poster, something that hard-core street artists rarely achieve.
I am shocked to find that this is only the second post on Natural Adventures featuring Tanith Gould. I’ll have to do something about that.
4470. St Werburghs tunnel (294)
It is going to have to be a bit of a quick one this morning, because this weekend is Upfest, and I have to get myself off to the second day to see the completion of the board pieces in Greville Smyth Park. What a festival. The weather yesterday was gorgeous, and it was amazing to catch up with so many artists. I have enough material to keep this blog going for at least six months, which is going to be something of a challenge.
This Mad Hatter piece from Mr Klue is in his favourite spot, and what is really gratifying about it is that it looks like he has painted over a rather ordinary throw up that had been painted over his previous piece in this spot. What comes around goes around.
It is so good to see that Mr Klue is back on the streets painting his ethereal abstract work, and seems to have found his rhythm again after a long period away from painting walls. This particular character is one the Mr Klue paints often, and includes a ticket in the hat, this time with the number 23 in it, the significance of which I don’t know. All is well with Mr Klue.
Natural adventures 