5297. St John’s Lane (2)

Shade One, St John's Lane, Bristol, June 2023
Shade One, St John’s Lane, Bristol, June 2023

This is the second piece I am posting from an outstanding collaborative ‘wall’ on a new hoarding in St John’s Lane. This breathtaking portrait piece is by Shade One and is significant in so much as it demonstrates so clearly how over the last couple of years he has developed his style from high-end cartoon portraits to a photorealistic style.

Shade One, St John's Lane, Bristol, June 2023
Shade One, St John’s Lane, Bristol, June 2023

The sunglasses woman is painted in greyscale, which works really well when set against the colourful cosmic, cloudy background. When working in greyscale, particular attention has to be paid to light and shade, and Shade One has done this well, particularly in the folds of the fabric of the woman’s top. This is one of several outstanding pieces painted during a high-class paint jam a short while ago.

5296. Cumberland Basin

Kid Krishna, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, June 2023
Kid Krishna, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, June 2023

Just when I think I have seen it all from Kid Krishna, he comes up with this delicious piece in Cumberland Basin. Normally his letters, albeit cryptic, spell out CRIE, but I am not sure whether that is the case here – it might be a KRIE variant. Although the writing is a bit busy, it is calmer and cleaner than some of his more recent pieces.

Kid Krishna, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, June 2023
Kid Krishna, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, June 2023

Thee star of this piece, in my view, is the Mickey Mouse character standing to the left. It isn’t enough for Kid Krishna to paint a conventional flat Mickey Mouse, no, he has painted a deliberately blurred three-dimensional character wearing a cap and with half a skull across Mickey’s face. There is something weird going on with the shorts, with what looks like holes and a fiery furnace behind. Brilliant stuff from the artist who simply doesn’t stop.

5295. Purdown (57)

Full Time Ghoul, Purdown, Bristol, May 2023
Full Time Ghoul, Purdown, Bristol, May 2023

It is happening a little too frequently on Natural Adventures, but Full Time Ghoul (FTG) is another artist who is definitely underrepresented on these pages, and I might have to do a sweep of my archives and post a whole group of pieces in one go.

Full Time Ghoul, Purdown, Bristol, May 2023
Full Time Ghoul, Purdown, Bristol, May 2023

Full Time Ghoul pretty much always paints his mega-tag, either in single or multiple forms. Here we have three ghouls joined together in a pattern resembling an everlasting knot. Recently, FTG has been using these pink and red colours for his work, and I imagine he might have bought a bulk order of paint and is gradually working his way through it.

Full Time Ghoul, Purdown, Bristol, May 2023
Full Time Ghoul, Purdown, Bristol, May 2023

There was another smaller and older piece from FTG up at Purdown, so I thought I’d include it with this post to demonstrate that his distinctive pieces are easy to recognise. Watch this space for more from Full Time Ghoul.

5294. Brunel Way (208)

Lee Roy, Brunel Way, Bristol, May 2023
Lee Roy, Brunel Way, Bristol, May 2023

For a little while now, Lee Roy has been smashing it out of the park with his unique style of writing that is a kind of crossover between traditional graffiti writing with a touch of anti-style thrown in. I was fortunate enough to meet the artist for the first time on the other side of the wall to this piece (and might I add, what a lovely man he is), and he told me that he used to have a much more conventional and precise style, but that he enjoys the freedom he has with his current, rather organic style.

Lee Roy, Brunel Way, Bristol, May 2023
Lee Roy, Brunel Way, Bristol, May 2023

The distinctive letters wouldn’t be out of place for a Halloween piece, with lots of drips and some red blood drips too. Each letter is nicely decorated in this two-tone colour scheme, and highlighted with three thin lines to the right of each letter to give the letters a little bit of Depth. One in a string of great pieces from Lee Roy.

5293. Louisa Street (2)

Veil, Louisa Street, Bristol, May 2023
Veil, Louisa Street, Bristol, May 2023

When I accidentally discovered the hoardings around Louisa Street recently, it was a great surprise, and I guess I was a little annoyed that I hadn’t found it sooner. I don’t think that the hoardings can have been there for too long, or at least if they have, they have only recently been painted. I say this because as far as I can see there hasn’t been too much overpainting, and there is a lot of the blue board still visible.

Veil, Louisa Street, Bristol, May 2023
Veil, Louisa Street, Bristol, May 2023

Desi has produced this wonderful VEIL piece in pinks and blues and is showing great progress particularly in the complexity and design of her fills. The 3D drop shadow and border are nice and tight, and overall this piece demonstrates the strides she is making. I am looking forward to a summer of Veils and Desis.

5292. Weston-super-Mare

Andrew Burns Colwill, Weston-super-Mare, May 2023
Andrew Burns Colwill, Weston-super-Mare, May 2023

I recently shared a gallery of  outstanding artwork from the brilliant Andrew Burns Colwill on my personal Facebook page (I rarely use it these days), and it had a very positive response, which is not surprising really, such is his talent. I came across this piece, which was painted for last year’s Weston Wallz (I think), on a recent visit to Weston-super-Mare, with my friend Paul H.

Andrew Burns Colwill, Weston-super-Mare, May 2023
Andrew Burns Colwill, Weston-super-Mare, May 2023

Andrew Burns Colwill doesn’t shy away from making bold political statements, and much of his recent work has been about the potential impacts of climate change. In this piece he lampoons Parliament, and with some justification, and presents politicians and apes, the central Orangutan being draped in a Union Jack. Political commentary goes hand in hand with a lot of street art, but rarely so beautifully painted. I am reminded that I haven’t yet posted his Upfest piece from last year… so much to do. This was a very pleasant discovery.

Thursday doors – 15 June 2023

Camping and glamping site gate, Boiling Wells Lane, Bristol, February 2019
Camping and glamping site gate, Boiling Wells Lane, Bristol, February 2019

Doors 225 – Some gates of Bristol

A really quick one today. I had time earlier in the week to prepare some images from my archive, and I plumped for a selection of gates. All of these gates are from Bristol, none of them particularly special, but desperate times and all that…

The first gate boasts that is it the entrance to Bristol’s only camping and glamping site – I fear that they might have over-sold it a little. I hope you enjoy today’s selection:

Farm gate, Boiling Wells Lane, Bristol, February 2019
Farm gate, Boiling Wells Lane, Bristol, February 2019
Back gate, Bristol
Back gate, Bristol
Front gate, Bedminster, Bristol, March 2020
Front gate, Bedminster, Bristol, March 2020
Gate and door, Cheltenham Road, Bristol, May 2023
Gate and door, Cheltenham Road, Bristol, May 2023
Mind the drop. back garden gate, Devon Road, Bristol, January 2023
Mind the drop. back garden gate, Devon Road, Bristol, January 2023
Back garden gate, Devon Road, Bristol, January 2023
Back garden gate, Devon Road, Bristol, January 2023

Well that concludes proceedings for another week, I hope to have something a little more inspirational next time. May I wish you a pleasant end of week and weekend.

If you have made it this far, you probably like doors, and you really ought to take a look at the No Facilities blog by Dan Anton who has taken over the hosting of Thursday Doors from Norm 2.0 blog. Links to more doorscursions can be found in the comments section of Dan Anton’s Thursday Doors post.

by Scooj

Door logo, Thursday doors

Tree

.

Beneath cooling leaves

we have time to chew the fat

tell me your stories

.

by Scooj

5291. Weston-super-Mare

Andy Council, Weston-super-Mare, May 2023
Andy Council, Weston-super-Mare, May 2023

I remember being rather annoyed with myself that I hadn’t found this wonderful piece by Andy Council painted for Weston Wallz, when I visited last year, but patience is a virtue, we are told, and finding it this year felt like an extra special prize.

Andy Council, Weston-super-Mare, May 2023
Andy Council, Weston-super-Mare, May 2023

The seagull scene is painted in Andy Council’s distinctive component style, where the whole image is made up of component parts, that on their own don’t much look like anything we recognise, but when stitched together present a remarkable form. The gull is eating chips (quelle surprise) and on the other side a trademark ammonite is holding an ice cream in its tentacles. Superb seaside fare from Andy Council.

5290. Dean Land skate park (608)

Mudra and Saor, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2023
Mudra and Saor, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2023

We see a lot of collaborations in Bristol, but most tend to be collaborative walls in which some elements of colour or design are shared by the artists. Occasionally, artists paint a piece that is what I would call a true collaboration, where the single piece is a fusion of their work. This piece by Mudra and Saor, or is it Saor and Mudra, is a perfect example of a fusion collaboration.

Mudra and Saor, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2023
Mudra and Saor, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2023

The overall writing spells out SAOR, and at first glance I thought it was a Saor piece, but look a little closer, and you see the Mudra elements emerge, for example the @ symbol, the pixelated arrow and mask. The whole piece is sh sharp and tidy, and Saor has incorporated some fascinating textures, like the granite effect and night sky with a full moon. A superb piece of work from the NTS friends.