While the quality of this extraordinary portrait piece by Rosalita (who has changed her Instagram from Rosalita to Rozalita) is unquestionable, the woman’s face disturbs me a little. The exaggerated features have a clown-like quality, and clowns are scary at the best of times.
Rosalita, Greenbank, Bristol, August 2021
Rosalita has associations with a travelling lifestyle and the circus or performance arts seems to have a profound impact on her paintings, most of which encompass a carnival theme. There are so many good things about the artwork in this piece, but it is the impact it has on me as a viewer that I value the most. I find it completely compelling.
Many of you might not have heard of Polruan but might well have heard of its well-heeled partner, Fowey. These two small towns sit on either side of the Fowey Estuary on the south coast of Cornwall. Of the pair, Polruan appears to be more of a working harbour, with some docks and dock buildings at the bottom of a town built on a very steep hill. The more affluent Fowey is a favourite for celebrities and second-homers, and is very picturesque.
On the day I took these pictures, my son and I had been fishing from the Polruan Block House point. The block house was one of a pair, the other being on the other side of the estuary in Fowey. These block houses were built to defend the entrance to the estuary, with small calibre cannon and longbow archers stationed in each fort. Unfortunately, the French breeched the defences in 1457 (that’s a long time ago) so they were upgraded with a boom barrier, a thick chain suspended between the two forts. The chain could be raised with winches off the bottom of the seabed to prevent the entry upriver by unwelcome ships.
This chain was confiscated in 1478 by Edward IV, who had been offended by the behaviour of two Fowey locals, Treffry and Michelstow, and given to Dartmouth Castle where a similar defensive arrangement existed. So that was that.
The ruined fort has two entrances, but no longer any doors. The rest of the doors are from the narrow lanes in the upper part of the town. Enjoy the doors:
Polruan Block House door, Polruan, Cornwall, August 2021 Polruan Block House ruin and door, Polruan, Cornwall, August 2021 Polruan Block House window view, Polruan, Cornwall, August 2021 September Cottage door, Polruan, Cornwall, August 2021 Porthole door, Polruan, Cornwall, August 2021 Blue split door, Polruan, Cornwall, August 2021 Beautiful door and crab door knocker, Polruan, Cornwall, August 2021
Well that’s it for another week. I hope to share some more Cornish doors next week.
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.
It is a very good thing indeed that Flava136 has decided to visit Bristol several times recently, and long may it last – perhaps he should move here, that would be nice. His work is some of the cleanest you could hope to see, and by that I mean that everything, from the Emulsion backdrop to all the elements in his work are left with clean lines. There are no border lines tidying up little blemishes. Everything is perfectly painted, and this takes a lot of skill and patience.
Flava136, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2021
The customary monster, with big teeth, is joined by a green smiley and decorated with all sorts of shapes, lines and colour schemes. The truth being tyold, I don’t think I can get enough of his pieces, each one being turned out immaculately. I don’t think I have seen a scrappy piece from the artist, ever. Superb piece, and more to come.
I think I am right in saying that Paul Monsters is the only artist at Upfest’s 75 walls in 75 days event to have painted more than one wall, although I still haven’t posted his first collaboration yet. This is his second collaboration, and this time he has combined delightfully with The Hass.
The Hass and Paul Monsters, Ashton Road, Bristol, August 2021, Upfest 21
The collaboration is painted on two sides of a building on Ashton Road, not far away from the Ashton Gate football stadium. The portrait, which looks a little bit like a self-portrait, is by The Hass, but the way it blends into the geometric patterns of Paul Monsters is what makes this a proper collaboration in my eyes.
The Hass and Paul Monsters, Ashton Road, Bristol, August 2021, Upfest 21
The Hass is a super-talented artist who writes under another name for his graffiti pieces. The portrait has such amazing depth, with perfect use of different tones and shading to bring out the features and highlight all the wrinkles and contours of the face. A masterful piece of wall art.
The Hass and Paul Monsters, Ashton Road, Bristol, August 2021, Upfest 21
It is quite unusual to see this colour combination used in the geometric work of Paul Monsters. More often he works with yellows, greens, browns, oranges and purples, but here he has gone for a rather more subtle colour palette which works really well on this particular space.
The Hass and Paul Monsters, Ashton Road, Bristol, August 2021, Upfest 21
I am not too sure about the significance of the owl, but The Hass has absolutely smashed it. The owl appears to be wearing a little red cap, shared by the self-portrait, and I wonder if The Hass is the owl. Who knows? I’ll have to ask him next time I see him.
All in all, another outstanding wall in this summer series. We citizens of Bristol are a lucky bunch really.
The Hass and Paul Monsters, Ashton Road, Bristol, August 2021, Upfest 21
Words cannot really describe how wonderful this enormous mural makes me feel. Hazard, or Harriet Wood to give you her proper name, has produced a landmark piece that launches her onto the world-class stage. It is not only the scale of the piece, but its stature that is so special. Somehow Hazard has found a new level and it is all very exciting.
Hazard, Wilder Street, Bristol, August 2021
Wilder Street in St Paul’s has been at the heart of the Bristol street/graffiti art scene for many years, although recently, the amount of gentrification of the area has slowed things somewhat. This piece bucks that trend and makes a positive statement for beautiful public art in the area.
Hazard, Wilder Street, Bristol, August 2021
The piece was supported by The Arts Council through its Developing your Creative Practice (DYPC) fund, and thank goodness for initiatives like this one that bring so much joy to so many people while supporting the work of our most creative people.
Hazard, Wilder Street, Bristol, August 2021
Hazard, in going big, has not compromised on her ability to compose a piece fit for a particular space, and this colourful portrait, almost cubist in its presentation, has been worked perfectly into the fabric of the 20m high facade. With the magnificent colours bleeding off to the right, Hazard has created a shadow portrait just to the right of the main portrait adding emphasis and interest.
Hazard, Wilder Street, Bristol, August 2021
There have been so many extraordinary murals painted in Bristol this year, and the bar has been set very high. I feel however that Hazard, with this piece, has surpassed any other I have seen. I genuinely hope that this piece will launch Hazard onto the international stage that she clearly deserves. My favourite of the year so far.
It feels like I took this photograph an age ago, and in fact it was painted at the back end of July and photographed in early August. Where has this year gone? My life seems to have been travelling at light speed this year… probably a feature of getting older and trying to squeeze more into less time.
This wonderful piece by MoS was painted during Eman’s birthday paint jam at which so many good pieces were painted. It was an inspirational day.
MoS, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2021
I believe that MoS typically paints hands or portraits, so this ‘weird’ (his own words) piece is rather unusual even for the artist. I’m not entirely sure what it all means, but it is certainly very striking and the light tan glow around the piece gives it an interesting aura. Nice work from yet another new artist to Natural Adventures.
Natural adventures 