Tag: Bristol Womxn Mural Collective

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.

4651. Jamaica Street (26)

Tanith Gould, Jamaica Street, Bristol, August 2022

Tanith Gould, Jamaica Street, Bristol, August 2022This piece by Tanith Gould, from the Bristol Womxn Mural Collective (now seemingly the Bristol Mural Collective), is direct and straight to the point. It is one of several pieces on the Jamaica Street gallery highlighting reproductive rights.

Tanith Gould, Jamaica Street, Bristol, August 2022
Tanith Gould, Jamaica Street, Bristol, August 2022

The political piece is nicely done, and is a sentiment I happen to agree with.  The message is assertive, but not aggressive. The use of scissors in a piece like this could be construed as threatening, but somehow feels more illustrative. I am a fan of political statements in street art, and this one from Tanith Gould ticks my boxes.

4586. Leonard Lane (36)

This wonderfully colourful piece, by Oma, was painted as part of a Bristol Womxn Mural Collective paint jam back in May 2022, and Leonard Lane really is a perfect venue for these kind of gatherings.

Oma, Leonard Lane, Bristol, May 2022
Oma, Leonard Lane, Bristol, May 2022

I have only seen a couple of pieces by Oma, who usually paints alongside her partner Zake, and has done so in this instance, you can see his ‘moon face’ behind her piece. Oma has developed and improved her style, and each time she paints she manages to come up with a whole new idea. The portrait is a little unsettling if you look closely. The subject has her arm down her throat and is pointing to her yellow intestine, but by way of explanation, the script text next to the piece says ‘feel your emotions’. I would truly love to see more of Oma’s work – fingers crossed.

4484. Upfest 2022 (10)

Shortly after painting this vibrant piece for Upfest, Rtiiika had a leaving paint jam on Cattle Market Road with her Bristol Womxn Mural Collective friends. I am not too sure where she is leaving to or how long for, but I am certain she will be back.

Rtiiika, Upfest22, Bristol, May 2022
Rtiiika, Upfest22, Bristol, May 2022

This is a beautifully designed piece with Rtiiika’s classic stylised figures all jumbled up together. A mash up of shoes, hats, legs, boobs and willies, some in outline and some in solid fill make this a dynamic and fun piece. Even though Rtiiika has left Bristol, I have several more of her pieces in my archive which I hope to find time to post. One of my favourite Rtiiika pieces.

4471. Leonard Lane (33)

I was fortunate enough to meet several members of the Bristol Womxn Mural Collective yesterday at Upfest and what an extreme pleasure it was too. I have seen the results of their various paint jams dotted around the city, and it was so good at last to meet some of them.

This piece, by Tanith Gould, is from one of their recent paint jams in Leonard Lane, one of my favourite spots in Bristol.

Tanith Gould, Leonard Lane, Bristol, May 2022
Tanith Gould, Leonard Lane, Bristol, May 2022

Tanith Gould has a wonderful illustrative style in which she presents figures almost as studies. This is a beautifully thought out and designed quartered piece with two figures accompanied by legs appearing through holes. Certainly imaginative, but something you could easily imagine as a greetings card or small poster, something that hard-core street artists rarely achieve.

I am shocked to find that this is only the second post on Natural Adventures featuring Tanith Gould. I’ll have to do something about that.

4454. Leonard Lane (32)

Erviti has done it again by landing a beautiful piece of artwork on the streets of Bristol. This stunner was painted as part of a Bristol Womxn Mural Collective paint jam in the old alleyway of Leonard Lane.

Erviti, Leonard Lane, Bristol, May 2022
Erviti, Leonard Lane, Bristol, May 2022

The portrait of a woman wearing a hooded cloak is so unusual, and a real breath of fresh air on the streets of Bristol. The collective as a whole add another dimension to the street art scene, with studio artists going feral with their creative designs and different techniques. The end result adds to the huge diversity of art on the city’s streets. Erviti is leading the way with this welcome addition.

4442. Cumberland Basin

Here is a piece for the iced biscuit lovers among you. It was painted by Nina Raines in what appears to have been a mini paint jam by the Bristol Womxn Mural Collective a couple of weeks ago. I’m glad I managed to get a picture of this piece, as some of the others had already been tagged, and all of them were painted over shortly afterwards. It’s a dog-eat-dog world out there.

Nina Raines, Cumberland Bain, Bristol, May 2022
Nina Raines, Cumberland Bain, Bristol, May 2022

I have enjoyed watching Nina Rains’ artwork over the years, because she seems to be able to turn her hand to pretty much anything, and her styles adapt to the work she is creating. If she didn’t sign her pieces, it could be difficult to identify her work. Not only is this beautifully designed and painted, but it fits the shape and texture of the wall perfectly. More great work from Nina.

4310. The Paintworks (1)

At last (thank you Paul) I have located The Paintworks wall, one which has been used a couple of times for the Bristol Womxn Mural Collective. This magnificent beetle painted by Nina Raines which dates back to September 2021 was a piece from a BWMC paint jam.

Nina Raines, The Paintworks, Bristol, March 2022
Nina Raines, The Paintworks, Bristol, March 2022

Nina Raines is a fabulous artist, who doesn’t paint with a particular style or subject, but is incredibly adaptive. I would struggle to identify her work if it was unsigned. The beetle is so beautiful and Nina Raines has managed to capture the iridescence of the carapace perfectly. Look out for more pieces from this wall.