This wall under Brunel Way was taken over a couple of weeks back by the Bristol Women’s Collective in a fabulous paint jam which resulted in several small and very interesting pieces. This one is by Billy, and really ticks a lot of boxes for me (in other words I like it).
Billy, Brunel Way, Bristol, October 2021
The abstract design, inspired by a swirly rug in Old Market, obviously, is simply painted and presented, but combined with the words tells a wonderful story and encourages the mind to wander into the market and imagine. An unmistakably Billy piece, and fabulous at that.
I always like finding new artists and recently, a few columns under the M32 have become a bit of a playground for Typo, so expect to see a few posts in coming days from this artist.
Typo, M32 Spot, Bristol, October 2021
Typo’s work is certainly rather different and is largely abstract in form, often accompanied by quite a lot of political or philosophical text. This colourful piece however has no words, other than the artist’s name cleverly incorporated into the overall design. Watch this space for a whole load more.
Although access to this wall can be a little limited, it is possible to photograph it reasonably well – I haven’t yet been to the spot when the gate was open into the yard, so my pictures are offset, taken over/through the fence. It is a new wall for Upfest, and they really must be congratulated on sourcing so many new walls for this year’s extended event.
Farrah, Greville Road, Bristol, September 2021, Upfest 21
The mural, entitled, ‘World on Fire’ is by Farrah and my first impressions are very much that the work resembles the style and colours that Vincent van Gogh might have used, although this is purely an abstract piece. It is beautiful, and the eye is pulled around the piece, drawn into the battling and swirling patterns and colours.
Farrah, Greville Road, Bristol, September 2021, Upfest 21
This is the largest piece I have seen by Farrah, and the first to have made it on to Natural Adventures, but definitely not the last. I don’t know too much about the artist, but her informative Facebook page is worth a quick look, and her Instagram profile offers this insight:
Paintings inspired by the natural world and delicate ecosystems of our beautiful planet, from fragile coral reefs 💦 to the lush green rainforests 🍃.
I got distracted last week looking for an old piece by Irony that I had never posted and came across this old archway piece from Mr Penfold in King Street. This spot ‘belongs’ to Mr Penfold, and every year or two he has a go at repainting it.
Mr Penfold, King Street, Bristol, July 2018
This incarnation is rather less abstract than most of his work, and you can make out a jug or vase and some ears of corn. If I am honest, I’m not sure if this is one of his best pieces, but it is nice to be able to add it to the collection of his other King Street work.
This was perhaps one of the lower-key pieces to be painted for the Upfest 75×75 event, tucked away in the car park of the Tobacco Factory. I don’t think I have come across Kappa V Kappa Art before, but it appears that they are a Bristol-based outfit who describe themselves as chaotic, colourful art. I am not sure of the identity of the artist(s) so have used the ‘they’ pronoun to overcome embarrassment.
Kappa v Kappa Art, the Tobacco Factory, Bristol, July 2021, Upfest 21
The piece itself, while certainly colourful, I wouldn’t describe as being chaotic, on the contrary, I think that there is a clear form to this delightful abstract piece, bursting with energy. Really rather nice, and I will be looking out for more work from Kappa v Kappa.
Another artist whose work I very much admire and who is no stranger to Upfest is Envol, and he returned to Bristol to paint one of his distinctive pieces just off North Street. I was lucky enough to meet him while he was painting this and he stopped for a while for a great chat. It turns out that he is good friends with Fanakapan, another very talented London artist and one who has also painted at Upfest in the past.
Envol, North Street, Bristol, June 2021, Upfest 21
While I managed to photograph the piece as a work in progress, by the time I came back to photograph the final finished piece it had been vandalised, along with several other Upfest murals, by some misguided (and probably ill) idiot. Thankfully the piece was fully restored and is as good as new.
Envol, North Street, Bristol, August 2021, Upfest 21
Envol creates these sharp and clean pieces incorporating parts of the body with abstract shapes and patterns, and sometimes disrupting them with white space. They are quite surreal, and at times remind me a little of Giorgio de Chirico fused with Matisse’s cut outs. Beautiful to look at and thought-provoking. This piece is another fabulous contribution to Upfest’s 75×75 event.
I have known about this lovely piece by Rtiiika for a while, but until a recent extended walk didn’t quite know where it was. Finding it was a rather pleasant surprise and a bit of a bonus. It is great to see that Rtiiika seems to be doing more and more street art work and the larger format really lends itself to her designs.
Rtiiika, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, June 2021
In this piece, on the side of a storage unit, there are two figures created in her very stylistic design. Her figures are painted with long lines and tend to be very leggy, often with the top halves missing or hinted at. On a black background, the pink, white and green colours stand out clearly. Minimalist? Abstract? I’m not sure what the right words are, but this piece is is. I particularly like the plants in green that add another dimension and without which the piece probably wouldn’t work.
This piece from Rtiiika has been around for a while now, but I have only just managed to get round to posting it. I very much like Rtiiika’s work and am setting off this morning to find another recent one in Brislington.
Rtiiika, Lower Approach Road, Bristol, April 2021
Rtiiika’s highly designed style is very distinctive and features line drawn characters that are fairly abstract in form. These characters are over a checkered wall in various contrasting colours. The inner squares carry the word ‘TOoOT!’ Which is probably a reference to the tooting of trains from Temple Meads station. Something a little different for us to enjoy.
It looks like Flava136 may have spent a few days in Bristol a week or two back and during that visit he left us two very nice pieces indeed, this being the first one. Flava136 has worked hard on perfecting his monster style and his execution seems to improve with each new piece I see.
Flava136, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2021
Although this piece didn’t last too long, it certainly made a lasting impression. When I took this picture, Varo was painting next to it. He offered to move his trolley, but I said that trolleys were all part of the picture and he needn’t bother. It almost looks like Flava136’s monster is about to devour the trolley. I love the way that Flava136’s work is becoming this mash-up of abstract and character art. Great colours too. This is a lovely fresh piece.
I don’t know if I am imagining things, but since this whole pandemic malarkey began it seems like there have been more collaborative walls than one would normally expect, and I wonder if it is a way for artists to legitimately socialise, whilst keeping a distance, with people they care about. Maybe it is just a perception, but I feel there has been a collaborative explosion.
Benjimagnetic, M32 cycle path, Bristol, April 2021
This wonderful piece from the magnificent Benjimagnetic was painted alongside Hemper, Turoe and Veks and demonstrates a slight change of direction he has been on lately in which he has moved away from his busy and frenetic style, but managed to retain the abstract nature of his letters. This piece most likely spells out BEN, but it is nicely disguised. A very nice piece indeed with some fabulous colour transitions.
Natural adventures 