6358. St Werburghs tunnel (443)

Annika Pixie, Jee See and Pekoe, St Werburghs, Bristol, August 2024
Annika Pixie, Jee See and Pekoe, St Werburghs, Bristol, August 2024

As well as being a year when so many new artists have started painting in Bristol it has also been a period of collaboration. Whilst collaborations have always been a thing, I think that I have seen an increase in the number of them and a mixing up of collaborators, with new friendships and partnerships being formed or old ones renewed. This is an eclectic collaboration of styles from Annika Pixie, Jee See and Pekoe.

Annika Pixie, St Werburghs, Bristol, August 2024
Annika Pixie, St Werburghs, Bristol, August 2024

To the left, the ephemeral portrait style of Annika Pixie is a welcome return to the streets of Bristol, along with a piece in Brunel Way (to come). I am not sure where she has been for the last few years, but it is a pleasure to see her unique pieces appearing once again. Mysterious as ever, the portrait is quite beautiful and haunting, painted with a lightness of touch that is Annika Pixie’s trademark.

Jee See, St Werburghs, Bristol, August 2024
Jee See, St Werburghs, Bristol, August 2024

In the middle Jee See presents us with his customary SEISMIC writing and accompanies it with a little demonic figure and the name Mr Nobody next to it. I’ll be honest and say that I don’t really know what is going on in this piece, but I have always liked his work and know to expect the unexpected.

Pekoe, St Werburghs, Bristol, August 2024
Pekoe, St Werburghs, Bristol, August 2024

To the right a rather more familiar portrait piece from Pekoe rounds off the collaboration. The wonderful portrait, complete with amazing bunches (is that what they are called? – I am no expert in hairstyles) is accompanied by the magnificent words Pekoe has used before “Hot girls hate fascists”. It is noticeable that her work appears to be more joyful than it has been in the past, and I wonder whether this reflects the artist’s disposition in any way.

A wild, weird and wonderful collaboration.

3052. Brunel Way bridge (45)

Annika Pixie has a style all of her own, not only in her artwork but in her free-spirited way of living her life. Her Instagram posts are an interesting insight into her extraordinary world. Her artwork always feels so fragile and ephemeral, but behind the these ghostly faces lie many untold secrets.

Annika Pixie, Brunel Way, Bristol, June 2020
Annika Pixie, Brunel Way, Bristol, June 2020

This column piece was painted during a paint jam organised by Skor85. Unfortunately I didn’t get to speak with Annika because she was just leaving as I was arriving, and by the time I had taken a few pictures she had gone. The piece itself is in my view a little haunting and feels a bit tinged with sadness.

Annika Pixie, Brunel Way, Bristol, June 2020
Annika Pixie, Brunel Way, Bristol, June 2020

Columns are quite difficult to paint and even more difficult to photograph, and I don’t think these pictures do the piece justice. Great to see something new from Annika Pixie, it has been a while.

2397. Brunel Way Bridge (17)

Although I can’t be sure, I think this ephemeral portrait might be the work of Annika Pixie… it certainly has many of the ingredients that are common to her work, the lightness of touch and delicate nature of the subject, but I have not seen her paint many walls like this one.

Annika Pixie, Brunel Way bridge, Bristol, August 2019
Annika Pixie, Brunel Way bridge, Bristol, August 2019

As I write this, my curiosity got the better of me and I had a look at Annika’s Instagram feed, and sure enough there is a little video of this piece, filmed in only the way she can do such things. I love her touch, which is full of subtlety and magic and in such stark contrast to the macho work one is used to seeing. Nice one Annika.

1909. Upfest 2018 (105)

Regular readers of Natural Adventures may recall posts about the ephemeral work of Annika Pixie who is a Bristol artist and regular at Upfest. Annika is a vibrant and colourful member of the local art community, who appears to spend her winters in Thailand teaching before returning to her adopted city.

Annika Pixie, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Annika Pixie, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

This portrait carries all the hallmarks of an Annika Pixie piece. The face is partly obscured by a thin veil as if peering through a net curtain and there is a sadness in the girl’s expression. on her chest are some little ballet dancer stencils…I wonder what the story is here. It is always great to see Annika’s work although I was disappointed to have missed talking to her this year.

1586. Raleigh Road, Tobacco Factory (12)

At the far end of the Tobacco Factory staff car park is this modest and ephemeral piece by Annika Pixie. It was painted during an annual weekend paint jam organised by Stephen Quick.

Annika Pixie, Raleigh Road, Bristol, June 2018
Annika Pixie, Raleigh Road, Bristol, June 2018

This wispish and haunting portrait is very much in the style that is associated with Annika. There are two things I particularly like about thuis piece…the veil-like see through curtain that sits between the subject and the viewer, and the nicely arranged stencils that surround the whole piece.

1467. Upfest 2017 (166)

Annika Pixie has a lightness of touch that brings a spot of magic to her pieces. She is a fine artist and lovely warm person. For half the year she spends her time teaching in Thailand, and her Instagram feed is a constant stream of beaches and sunsets.

Annika Pixie, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Annika Pixie, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

This piece for Upfest must have been completed early on the Saturday, because I never got to see her at work, which was a real pity – maybe this year.

798. Upfest 2016 (129)

I met Annika Wilkinson, who paints under the name of Annika Pixie, for the first time a couple of weeks ago at a local festival in Bedminster. She is a lovely, chatty and talented artist who is from Sweden (although I have to confess I thought her accent Scottish) but is now based in Bristol.

Annika Pixie, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Annika Pixie, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

She tends to paint portraits that have a mysticism or dreaminess about them, which I rather like. I have found several of her pieces around Bristol, so it was lovely to finally meet her. Great news is that she will be back at this year’s festival,. which is easy for her, as she lives very locally.