5129. Dean Lane skate park (594)

What Katy Made Next, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2023
What Katy Made Next, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2023

I have an interesting and rather close relationship with squid. The reason this blog exists, and why it is called Natural Adventures, is that It was a way of digitising a journal I kept when I worked in the Falkland Islands in 1987, much of the time being spent on a Japanese squid fishing boat called the Koei Maru 30. You can read the journal here (up to where I have reached so far).

What Katy Made Next, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2023
What Katy Made Next, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2023

This is a wonderful squid piece painted by What Katy Made Next at the Bristol Mural Collective paint Jam at the start of March. It is a fine piece that captures the colours and vibrancy of the cephalopod set on an Earth-like background. The very first piece I painted in my garden was also a squid with the letters SCOOJ concealed (rather cleverly, I thought). It is high time I did some more spraying of my own.

Scooj, Squid, Bristol, May 2019
Scooj, Squid, Bristol, May 2019

 

5113. Dean Lane skate park (581)

Amy Lee Jones, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2023
Amy Lee Jones, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2023

This is another piece from the Bristol Mural Collective paint jam on 8 March to celebrate International Women’s Day – and what better way to celebrate than to paint a few walls.

Amy Lee Jones, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2023
Amy Lee Jones, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2023

This piece, on the right, is by Amy Lee Jones, an artist whose website states that she is from Leiden in the Netherlands, although I am guessing she is living or staying in Bristol at the moment. Primarily a studio artist who is focussing on abstract realism portraits, this piece is inspired by @reedamberx, and is quite different to her studio work.

To the left is a very powerful portrait piece, which I think is also by Amy Lee Jones, but can’t be completely certain. The style looks the same. These paint jams are always a great opportunity to be introduced to a whole raft of Bristol artists that might otherwise be overlooked.

5104. Dean Lane skate park (578)

Cock Dicks, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2023
Cock Dicks, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2023

The Bristol Mural Collective, formerly known as the Bristol womxn Mural Collective, is a street painting group organised by women for women, predominantly made up of studio artists who like to hit the streets once in a while. Every time they organise a paint jam, I find myself discovering new artists and a different approach to street art. The most recent paint jam was organised to celebrate world women’s day on March 8, 2023.

Cock Dicks, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2023
Cock Dicks, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2023

This small mural by Cock Dicks (an interesting name) didn’t last very long before it was painted over. It certainly sparked my interest though. The brush painted piece is full of symbolism. Stairways appear a lot in street art, and seem to indicate a spiritual journey to celestial bodies. The pink and blue smoke clouds are obscuring the sun, looking rather less than impressed, and beneath the clouds a crescent moon lights up the night sky. What can it all mean? More to come from this special paint jam.

4750. Jamaica Street (57)

Erviti, Jamaica Street, Bristol, August 2022
Erviti, Jamaica Street, Bristol, August 2022

I understand that Erviti, who has brought so much fine art to the streets of Bristol, is leaving/has left the great city, which is a real shame. Her impact, alongside the Bristol Mural Collective, has been noticeable and welcome, and her memorable cat under Brunel Way remains intact.

Erviti, Jamaica Street, Bristol, August 2022
Erviti, Jamaica Street, Bristol, August 2022

This piece was painted on the People’s Republic of Stokes Croft (PRSC) open air gallery in Jamaica Street, and was one of several pieces supporting the ‘My Body – My Rights’ campaign, shortly after the abortion ban in the USA. The piece was painted using Graphenstone paint that absorbs CO2 and is, I believe, a self-portrait. Lots to like here.