Tag: Bicycle

6043. Upfest 2024 (2)

Sled One, Greville Smyth Park, Upfest 24, Bristol, May 2024
Sled One, Greville Smyth Park, Upfest 24, Bristol, May 2024

Although this is the second weekend of Upfest, there are only a few completed pieces dotted around the place, although I expect that by the end of the festival period, there will be an overwhelming array of pieces for me to photograph. This piece is by another Bristol artist, Sled One who is one of the leading writers and most creative artists in the city. This piece is a bit of a change from his usual style, but demonstrates just how incredibly talented and versatile he is.

Sled One, Greville Smyth Park, Upfest 24, Bristol, May 2024
Sled One, Greville Smyth Park, Upfest 24, Bristol, May 2024

The crazy character piece is painted on the walls of the bowling club in Greville Smyth Park, and looks absolutely fantastic. The cartoon-style piece depicts a man on a bicycle smelling the flowers. It is beautifully designed and frames in a loose pink border and as well as the central character, there is a lot going on throughout the piece to let the eye settle on. As ever, an outstanding piece from Sled One. You can see more of his work in this gallery.

5408. Sparke Evans Park (77)

Pl8o Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, July 2023
Pl8o Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, July 2023

For much of the year, Pl8o has been fairly quiet, but in recent weeks he seems to have rediscovered his enthusiasm and energy for painting walls – perhaps he has a little more time on his hands. This piece in Sparke Evans Park is one of several new pieces appearing around Bristol at the moment.

Pl8o Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, July 2023
Pl8o Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, July 2023

There is a lot of creativity in this piece, and the character is cleverly interlinked with the letters. The character is a beautifully painted carton cyclist, full of movement indicated by the shirt flaring at the back and the three white movement lines. The rear wheel of the bicycle is incorporated into the ‘o’ of Pl8o. A nice birthday piece for Alos.

Ebb

Bicycle, River Avon, Bristol, June 2023
Bicycle, River Avon, Bristol, June 2023

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On an ebbing tide

discarded or stolen things

revealed for a while

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by Scooj

5180. Sparke Evans Park (69)

Sled One, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, April 2023
Sled One, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, April 2023

The Burberry check paint jam in Sparke Evans Park consisted mostly of graffiti writing, but Sled One did what only Sled One can do and created this extraordinary surreal character piece with his own unique take on the theme.

Sled One, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, April 2023
Sled One, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, April 2023

It is difficult to say too much about the artwork, because I would too quickly run out of superlatives. I can however have a go at describing what is going on in the scene. A bumblebee is riding a bicycle – so far so good – He has two feet peddling and four arms, two of which are on the handlebars of the bicycle, a further hand is holding a phone, and the last hand is delicately letting out some gas from a NOX balloon (Nitrous Oxide, laughing gas – a high of choice for teenagers). The bumblebee is, of course, wearing a Burberry hat and scarf. Simply outstanding work from Sled One.

4839.Brunel Way (181)

Haka and Cats and That, Brunel Way, Bristol, November 2022
Haka and Cats and That, Brunel Way, Bristol, November 2022

I felt that this collaborative piece by Haka and Cats and That merited its own post rather than potentially being overshadowed by the adjacent Bob the Builder piece by Haka. In this collaboration, the bicycle is by Haka, and the cats, unsurprisingly, by Cats and That.

Haka and Cats and That, Brunel Way, Bristol, November 2022
Haka and Cats and That, Brunel Way, Bristol, November 2022

The collaboration is a charming and endearing scene with a couple of cats lounging on the bicycle. The cats are simply painted, without bells and whistles, but this subtle approach is really effective, and anyway who doesn’t love cat street art? Cats and That has burst onto the Bristol scene in recent months and is already making a mark all over town. The column cats next to this wall are an example of this.

Cats and That, Brunel Way, Bristol, November 2022
Cats and That, Brunel Way, Bristol, November 2022

Cats and That, Brunel Way, Bristol, November 2022
Cats and That, Brunel Way, Bristol, November 2022

Finally, I would just like to say that writing this blog is a genuine pleasure. Sometimes it can be a bit of a slog, especially when the trials of work and home life catch up with me. At times it might seem a little esoteric, but I stick by the guiding principle that I started writing street art posts to help others understand, appreciate and love the street/graffiti art scene in Bristol.

This comment from a visitor, Artemis BJJ, to Natural Adventures was left on my ‘About’ section, and it absolutely made my day and reinforced my resolve to continue doing what I do, because even if it makes one person happy, I have done my job.

“What an awesome blog! Randomly bumped across it while googling “j3 roundabout bristol”. A considerably more engaging and aesthetically interesting result than I was expecting. Keep up the great work! 😁🖖”

3761. Upfest 2021 75×75 (5)

Five down, and only another 70 to go. Upfest have absolutely nailed the festival in this most extraordinary of years by spreading the painting over a long period and thus avoiding the huge crowds that normally attend the long-weekend event. This piece by Hannah Edwards is on North Street, not too far away from the Upfest shop.

Hannah Edwards, North Street, Bristol, June 2021, Upfest 21
Hannah Edwards, North Street, Bristol, June 2021, Upfest 21

Hannah Edwards is an illustrator/window painter/mural artist/signwriter from Bristol, but I am not familiar with her work, so it is great to see this piece. The style is reminiscent of those GWR posters from the thirties and has a wonderful sense of motion. Unusual and fun, and yet another new artist for Natural Adventures.

Spielberg effect

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Over the rooftops

the eighties reimagined

now ET, go home

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by Scooj

2079. Jessop Underpass (2)

There is one artist in Bristol whose work is guaranteed to bring a splash of colour and an interesting perspective and that is Tom Miller. This piece has appeared recently opposite the Riverside Garden Centre and is a bit of a stunner.

Tom Miller, Jessop Underpass, Bristol, March 2019
Tom Miller, Jessop Underpass, Bristol, March 2019

There is a bicycle theme on the left hand side which is full of movement and which appears to metamorphosise into a fairly typical abstract explosion of colour and form the further to the right of the piece you look.

Tom Miller, Jessop Underpass, Bristol, March 2019
Tom Miller, Jessop Underpass, Bristol, March 2019

The transition is worked so skilfully and perhaps exaggerated by splitting the piece up into three sections (I had to do this because the fence where it is painted is so long.

Tom Miller, Jessop Underpass, Bristol, March 2019
Tom Miller, Jessop Underpass, Bristol, March 2019

Ever since I first saw my first Tom Miller piece I have marvelled at his extraordinary talent and how he has brought his unique brand of surreal fine art into the street. In my view an artistic genius.

1445. West Street (2)

I have only seen Pelmo’s work a couple of times, but I know that I really love his work. The soft tone and style of his cartoon characters carries with it a light-hearted humour, and his pieces tell complex stories. His work reminds me a little of Gary Larson’s Far Side cartoons, but there is a little more tenderness to Pelmo’s work.

Pelmo, West Street, Bristol, April 2018
Pelmo, West Street, Bristol, April 2018

I think that this wall was part of Upfest 2016, but I never made it here before as it is really quite a long way from the Upfest main area. This is a highly accomplished piece and in it is a deftness and confidence in the scene that Pelmo has created. It is so easy on the eye, it almost feels that it is just part of the street scenery. It is easy to drift into the world he has created.

Pelmo, West Street, Bristol, April 2018
Pelmo, West Street, Bristol, April 2018

I love his attention to detail, things like the hand rail that the character on the right is holding and the shadows cast by the bicycle and the street bins. Of course for the cat lovers there is a splendid moggie sprawled out on the wall. I also rather like the way that the rubble sacks in front of the piece almost feel like they are incorporated into the whole experience. I love this and really look forward to seeing his work at Upfest 2018.

1428. Stokes Croft

Right next door to the huge Alex Lucas mural in Stokes Croft is this interesting recent shutter piece by Object… . This is a commission piece from TLD cycles and helps us to understand the boundaries between commissions and free street art.

Object..., Stokes Croft, Bristol, April 2018
Object…, Stokes Croft, Bristol, April 2018

Object… is no stranger to this blog, and much of his work is highly political and outspoken. He is also an artist who needs to make money, just like the rest of us, and producing work like this is how he does it. What I really like about this piece is that is is a really nice rendition of a bicycle gear block which carries the strong signature stule of the artist. The shop could easily have commissioned some sterile corporate artwork, but instead chose a local artist. The shopfront as a result really fits in with the area.