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The Grinch is in town
no trick or treat sickly sweets
pumpkin-free household
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by Scooj
Month: October 2023
5602. Dean Lane skate park (654)
You might wonder why I have included this piece for a Halloween post. Well, regular readers will know that Laic217 specialises in painting skeletons and portraits of people with melting or distorted faces, and that to produce another one in that vein for Halloween would be a bit of a busman’s holiday. Instead, he has created a personal horror of a normal portrait of a young woman wearing a black puffer jacket. Woooooo, scary.
I was lucky enough to meet with Laic217 when visiting Dean Lane last weekend with Paul H, moments after he had finished painting this brilliant piece, and while he was doing an additional quick one, much more in line with what we’d expect. I had to ask him if the portrait was his – it was unsigned and not so obviously a Laic217 piece, although the shiny fabric was a bit of a tell-tale sign. Laic217 confirmed it was one of his, and explained the joke. Brilliant and funny, although I’m not sure that we can expect too many more of these ‘tame’ pieces from Laic217 – a bit of a one off I suspect.
5601. Sparke Evans Park (80)
Happy Halloween 2023. This year has been a bit of a bumper year for Halloween pieces, and what is especially good is that many were painted a week or two ago, which means that they have made it into Natural Adventures in time for the special day itself. This wonderful triptych from Evey, Pekoe and Unity, is part of a much larger Resting Bitch Face (RBF) collaboration in Sparke Evans Park.
The special house colours for this Halloween paint jam were suitably orange with touches of bright green, which was adopted for the whole wall. To the left, Evey continues her purple patch with this magnificent piece of writing cleverly popping out from the wall with great shaded edges to the letters. The horizontal fills are very nicely done, with an addition of a few creepy spiders for good measure. Another cracker from Evey.
In the middle is a stunning portrait piece from Pekoe, who always seems to pull the rabbit out of the hat for her Halloween pieces. The portrait reminds me of images of Queen Cleopatra – perhaps it is the hair and the half moon head garment. I suspect that the portrait is of someone specific related to Halloween, but I would have to ask Pekoe to find out. The piece is beautifully finished and right out of the top drawer and one of Pekoe’s best in my opinion.
To the right, and rounding off this first Halloween post, is a superb anamorphic piece of graffiti writing by Unity in which the letters appear to stand out from the wall in a soft cuboid arrangement. The piece plays wonderful tricks on the eyes, and it is almost impossible to interpret it as a flat wall. All three of the pieces are adorned with spider webs, to provide that extra spooky sensation. Three outstanding pieces from three great artists.
5600. Leonard Lane (40)
A final quick delve into the archives, before I wish you a happy/scary Halloween. Every couple of weeks or so, I like to take a quick look back in my archives to see if there are any gems that I may have, for whatever reason, failed to post. Going back to last October, I found this delightful piece, as always, from Billy in Leonard Lane.
Billy’s artwork in a naïve style is always a shot in the arm, and a reminder that there is a lot of good in the world. This message in this colourful mural is clear – PEACE. Painted at a time when the war in Ukraine was dominating the headlines, it is now the appalling conflict in Gaza that is front of mind, and the peace message resonates even more strongly. Protest is pretty much all we can do, and murals like this one help to get our voices heard. Great work from Billy.
5599. L Dub (49)
Because he tends to paint most of his work in L Dub, Donz is a little bit underrepresented on Natural Adventures, which is a pity really, because he has a distinctive style and slightly different take on things. He is far from unconventional in his work, but he does things his own way, if that makes any sense at all.
The letters spell DONZ, although the ‘O’ is much reduced and resembles an eye, giving the writing a bit of character, a little bit like Decay’s Chuck (check out this Decay gallery to see what I mean).The colours in the letters are bright and rather striking, and whilst not naturally complementary, seem to be incredibly effective in this piece. I will try to photograph and post more Donz pieces if I can.
5598. Cumberland Basin
I believe that this piece was painted during a Bristol Mural Collective paint jam, and like so many pieces that are painted on these occasions is totally worthy of inclusion in Natural Adventures. It is always great to see artists who are more used to studio work painting walls, although I know that Genevieve Clapp (Lost_in_illustration) has painted walls in Bristol before. There is a freshness and originality that adds to the vast spectrum of subjects and styles we see in Bristol.
This mysterious piece with a kind of atmospheric/cosmic background features a hooded woman, painted in contrasting shades of blue, clutching a glowing sphere in true fantasy fashion. It is a lovely and rather different kind of piece, which sits comfortably alongside any other works on this wall. I hope to see more from Genevieve Clapp before too long.
5597. Brunel Way (242)
Daz Cat painted this wonderful piece during a paint jam some while ago, which was themed along the lines of a dystopian future. I ought really to have written up the whole collaboration in one post, but felt that each element was worthy of its own write-up.
I am not quite sure what the creature in the piece is meant to be, but I think that is in part the point. A goat? A cat? Whatever it is, it is well armed with some kind of futuristic ray gun. The background scene is suitably gloomy, and the ground appears to be composed of toes, eyes and teeth. All a bit weird. Something a little different from Daz Cat.
5596. Cheltenham 2023 (15)
A favourite artist of the paint festival circuit is N4T4, who has been a feature of Upfest and Cheltenham posts on Natural Adventures for a few years now. His portrait pieces are always beguiling and beautifully crafted – I have only good things to say about his work.
This was actually N4T4’s second piece at this year’s festival, the other one, which I have ready posted was a stunning goldfinch. In this piece you can just about make out the patterns on the woman’s face, that add texture and complexity to the portrait. The patterns from the face overspill into the surrounding orange and red decorations. Lots of swirls and blended colours give away this piece as a work by N4T4. A fabulous festival piece.
5595. Cheltenham 2023 (14)
One of the very earliest street art pieces I posted on Natural Adventures was by Unify, painted on the side of the Highbury Vaults in Kingsdown. Both Unify and I have come a long way since then. This wonderful monkey in a spacesuit stencil piece is perfectly presented on the side of a ramp in the Cheltenham skate park.
The freehand background is very dramatic and sets the scene perfectly for the intricate stencil work. I love the reflection of the earth in the space helmet. I don’t know why, but I have seen a lot of space monkey street art over the years and it appears to be a really popular theme (note to self – potential for a themed gallery). This is a classy piece from Unify, whose work can be found all over London where I think the artist lives.
Tenderness
,
A dimly lit room
young mother rocks her baby
gentle lullaby
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by Scooj
Natural adventures 