I love my little trips through my archives every now and again, and the recent weather has dictated that fewer new pieces are being painted and this has given me the tiniest bit of space to dig up some gems. This is one from Lobe from April this year before I knew who the artist was.
Lobe, St Werburghs, Bristol, April 2019
Regular readers will know that I am going through a bit of a Lobe ‘period’ in Natural Adventures, and am very much enjoying her work. Adopting her usual style of a stylised portrait filled with bold solid colours, this is typical of her work. There is a lot more to come from Lobe, I am sure of it and I am looking forward to watching her work develop.
One of the most welcome sights on any wall in Bristol has to be the beautiful form and colours of a Tasha Bee stylised face. Distinctive and full of serene character, her work, to me at least, feels like it is very ‘Bristol’ if that makes any sense at all, even though I think, like me, Tasha Bee is not a native Bristolian.
Tasha Bee, St Werburghs, Bristol, September 2019
It would be easy just to focus on the face of this piece at the entrance to St Werburghs tunnel, but that would ignore the fine hair ornament with joyful colours radiating out from a central circle. Unfortunately the piece had been tagged by the time I got to see it… I just don’t understand the point of tagging something as beautiful as this, is it some kind of assertion of dominance from people who are natural undear-achievers? It is difficult to know.
I have not seen much of Korp’s work but everything I have seen from this artist I very much like. His highly distinctive style is instantly recognisable and quite unlike anything else out there. I don’t know what he calls his characters, but they usually look a bit like worms to me, although this one painted at this year’s Cheltenham Paint Festival s a little different.
Korp, Paint Festival 2019, Cheltenham, September 2019
The piece is painted on a backdrop of hand paste ups with the words ‘The Hand Mischief’ written on them. Over the top of this paper wall Korp has painted a demonic looking character with ears and red eyes I wouldn’t normally associate with his pieces. Is this simply what it is, or is it a piece full of symbolism and meaning? I am not sure, but it is a classy piece either way.
This is an absolutely terrific piece from a Bristol fave, Hazard, and she has really stuck to the brief by painting a piece that links to literature and in this case the Maya Angelou autobiography ‘I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings’. I have not read this book, but clearly it is a favourite of the artist, and she has created a beautiful atmosphere of reading with this long wall mural.
Hazard, Paint Festival 2019, Cheltenham, September 2019
What I like about this piece is that it has a real sense of calm about it, from the soft decorative bookends to the gentle light touching the reader’s face, a reader who it utterly absorbed by what she is reading. The piece is in stark contrast to its surroundings but cleverly draws you in so that all you can see is the reader.
Hazard, Paint Festival 2019, Cheltenham, September 2019
I was fortunate enough to meet Hazard for the first time when she was setting up to paint the wall, and I was pleased to discover that she knew about Natural Adventures and had read some of my posts about her work.
I always feel a little embarrassed about striking up a conversation with street artists, because what I do is a little bit niche and consuming and I am prone to being a little bit star-struck on a first meeting. This is an utterly irrational position, because in my experience street and graffiti artists are some of the most down-to-earth and decent people that I know.
So you get nothing from an artist forever and then two posts in the space of three days, and so it is with this character piece by Flava136. I don’t really know why I haven’t seen much of his work before, but I seem to be finding plenty of it now.
Flava136, Paint Festival 2019, Cheltenham, September 2019
This is one of a couple of pieces by Flava136 at the Cheltenham Paint Festival, but this one lasted rather longer than his other one in the Honeybourne Line tunnel which was wrecked, along with several others the night it was completed. Every time I see his work I am reminded of Stitch from the film Lilo and Stitch, I’m sorry I can’t help it…my bad.
I have been aware of Mr Wigz for a long time, ever since I saw a collaboration he painted with SPZero76 in Gloucester Road back in 2016, but I have seen little of his work since. Finding this enormous piece in Cheltenham, which was painted for the 2018 Paint Festival, was both a surprise and pleasure.
Mr Wigz, Paint Festival 2018, Cheltenham, September 2019
I was fortunate enough to spot him at this year’s festival and chatted with him for a little while as he was finishing off his piece (to follow). This fantasy piece though is quite magnificent and uses the wall to great effect creating a window into another world, or reflection of our own (in better times). There is a depth to the piece and plenty to look at and think about. There is something about the subject matter that reminds me a little of the work of Xenz. It is a fine piece indeed and how lucky we are that the Cheltenham Paint Festival organisers are trying to keep the walls from previous festivals intact.
An absolutely gorgeous collaboration from Kash and Flava136 on the large wall at Dean Lane skate park. Although I have not posted anything by either artist on Natural Adventures before, I have been an admirer of the work of Flava136 for a while.
Kash, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2019
Kash is an artist I have not come across before or at least I have I have done so unknowingly (have to check those archives again). I have taken a look at Kash’s Instagram account, which is private, but the avatar image is taken from this piece, so its obviously something the artist is proud of. The writing is in a 3D style and resembles slightly a mash up of Dibz and Lokey in my mind at least.
Flava136, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2019
The brilliant character in a spaceship is the work of Flava136, and although this is the first time I have posted his work here it is most certainly not the last. There is something really easy on the eye about his tone and colours, but it is his character that brings the piece alive.
I have always liked Ugar’s work which he consistently turns out to a high standard. I remember that I first saw his work in The Bearpit (RIP) as part of a collaboration with Kid Crayon in which he painted a dog, I think. Nearly everything else I have seen from him since has been graffiti writing. I’d love to see him do some character pieces again.
Ugar, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2019
This is a nicely thought out piece that is largely contained in an orange backdrop, but is itself quite plain. Somehow the whole thing comes together well though. One of the things I like abut Ugar is that his letters are rarely uniform and so his writing often takes on quite an organic appearance. Can’t believe I have only met him once.
Right in the heart of the Stokes Croft area, on the crossing of Jamaica Street and Hillgrove Street is this amazing new bright and shiny abstract piece by Emma Jayne Holloway and e5 Creatives. Using techniques and angular shapes in the style of artists like Annatomix or Paul Monsters.
e5 Creatives and Emma Jayne Holloway, Hillgrove Street, Bristol, September 2019
The whole thing, I think, but don’t know, was designed by Emma Jayne Holloway and has this extraordinary effect which makes it look like it is standing out from the wall. It is not only the geometric shapes that make this piece so special, but also the butterfly and heart on the gold-painted utility box which make the piece complete. It is great to see new names and extra great to see a business, in this case e5 Creatives, getting involved in brightening up our streets.
In the last six months or so, I don’t recall seeing very much work by Ryder. It might be that I just haven’t been at the right place at the right time, it sometimes goes like that.
Ryder, Stokes Croft, Bristol, September 2019
This shutter piece is in Stokes Croft and although I have passed it many times, I haven’t had the presence of mind to photograph it until recently. I think it has probably seen better days, but represents beautifully the graffiti scene in this little stretch of road. One of the upsides to painting a shutter (and there can’t be many) is that horizontal lines are easy to paint and the colour shifts in this piece are neatly done by following the lines on the shutter. Ryder rarely disappoints.
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