Another fine piece that has been in The Natural Adventures ‘departure lounge’ for an eternity is this lovely bird by Aspire, reminding us of what we have missed since he moved to London a few years back.
Aspire, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2016
Painted as part of a paint jam, you will notice a Kid Crayon character just to the right… what heady days those were. Pieces would stay intact for much longer back then. These days if you snooze you lose. I have had trouble identifying the blue and white bird, which troubles me as I consider myself quite good at identifying wildlife. It is beautifully painted with Aspire’s signature pixelated boxes. It was a sad day indeed, when he left Bristol.
Curtis Hylton is a superstar, and this mural confirms his status as a worldie and no mistake. He has been to Bristol a few times in recent years, both for Upfest events and for painting with his mates, he has also painted at the Cheltenham Paint Festival where a couple of his works are still on show.
Curtis Hylton, Chessel Street, Bristol, August 2021, Upfest 21
This piece, tucked away in one of the residential streets in Bedminster, is simply stunning. The owners of this property have been blessed with a magnificent piece of artwork to call their own and share with their local community.
Curtis Hylton, Chessel Street, Bristol, August 2021, Upfest 21
The mural features a little boy in a yellow raincoat feeding a collection of yellow birds that are partially composed of flowers – a theme that lies at the heart of Curtis Hylton pieces. This combination of petals and feathers is so effective and creates a wonderful connection with nature.
Curtis Hylton, Chessel Street, Bristol, August 2021, Upfest 21
Next to the front door is a cheeky little robin painted in slightly more russet tones, but well-matched with the rest of the piece. This photograph will undoubtedly be making an appearance in Thursday Doors sometime in the future – a fairly ordinary door enhanced by its surroundings.
Curtis Hylton, Chessel Street, Bristol, August 2021, Upfest 21
To the right of the piece is a beautiful finch with its wings spread out wide and its chest revealing a couple of roses and a magnolia flower. Amazing. This is a ‘must-visit’ mural from Upfest’s 75 walls in 75 years event, and I hope that it remains well beyond the usual one-year life cycle for these things.
Curtis Hylton, Chessel Street, Bristol, August 2021, Upfest 21
All of this activity and the little boy watches on.
I think that one of the spin-off benefits of the Upfest 2021 75×75 event has been that I have spent a whole lot more time in Bedminster this summer than I normally would, and in doing so have come across a few gems, like this one by Andy Council, that I might not have ordinarily seen.
Andy Council, Chessel Street, Bristol, July 2021
This piece, which I assume is a commission, features a robin red-breast made up of multiple components stitched together with pink cord. This stitching theme is one that Andy Council has been working on a lot over the past couple of years and seems to have superseded his architectural blocks for which he is most famous. The sketch of this piece on his Instagram feed has a slightly better proportioned neck on the Robin, but I am perhaps being a bit picky. A wonderful little piece.
Natural adventures 