Exploring new parts of Bristol always has its rewards, and I found this piece by Andy Council completely by accident when I went on a pilgrimage to see the My Dog Sighs and Curtis Hylton collaboration up on Windmill Hill.
Andy Council, Porlock Road, Bristol, April 2019
It seems that Andy Council’s pieces are dotted all over Bristol, and after five years of writing posts like this one, I still have several more to find. The reason that his work is so dispersed is that he does a lot of private commissions and so he is not confined to the few ‘legal’ spots in Bristol to show off his fabulous work.
Andy Council, Porlock Road, Bristol, April 2019
This splendid peacock is a great example of Andy Council at his very best in which the whole creation is made up of buildings typical of the area in Bristol. The blue colour scheme suits this piece and the wall superbly. A great find, and good to know that there are still these hidden gems all over the place.
I love this recent piece by Haka adjacent to the M32 roundabout where the River Frome flows from a culvert that carries it under the motorway. It is a very witty pun piece which I guess might be called ‘Where’s Whaley’ after the children’s puzzle books.
Haka, River Frome, Bristol, June 2019
I guess that it was painted when the river was low before the sustained period of rain we have had recently. Another feature of Haka’s work is that he usually accompanies it with a tribute to a graffiti writer friend of his, CKOne, who passed away in a motorcycle accident in December 2011. It is touching that he continues to honour his friend in this way.
As a teenager I was fairly obsessed with 2-Tone Records, in particular The Specials, so much so that a plaster cast I had on my broken leg as a sixteen-year-old was decorated from top to bottom in black and white squares. So imagine my unbridled delight at finding this 2-Tonetastick collaboration between Rezwonk and Decay douwn at the M32 roundabout.
Rezwonk, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2019
I wonder if this piece was inspired in any way by the recent release of a new album from the Specials. On the left Rezwonk has written his name split into six sections in reversed black and white boxes. Some additional accent decorations in red just add a little extra interest.
Decay, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2019
On the right Decay has written his name in a continuation of the reversed black and white boxes and he too has incorporated some red in the form of his little ‘e’ character Chuck. The dancing rude boy, the filling in the sandwich, could be by either of them, but I’m putting my money on Decay. A joyful collaboration.
Regulars will know that I don’t much like to post street art on Natural Adventures when I don’t know who the artist is, but just occasionally I do it because the artwork is too good to ignore and maybe I’ll get to find out who it is as a result of writing about it.
Unknown (Rezwonk?), Moon Street, Bristol, June 2019
This wonderful and certainly rather original piece appeared in Moon Street about three weeks ago on a gateway that has been favboured in the past by Rezwonk, which is why I have tentatively attributed it to him. However, although he is capable of something like this, it is not commensurate with most of the writing work he has been doing recently.
Whoever the artist is, it is a striking painting and brings a touch of class to the street, which is well known for its tagging and high turnover. I love the anatomical diagram, and particularly the numbering. Something like this would certainly liven up a waiting room in a doctor’s surgery or hospital.
Wahey! Another sensational Soap piece, and it seems like there is absolutely no stopping him at the moment… he’s on a roll. This is a crazy and eclectic piece that draws on a whole bunch of styles, patterns and colours to spell out SOAP.
Soap, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2019
I just get the feeling every time I see his work that there is a lot of joy going on at the moment and it really comes across in his work. With some artists you can spot angst or pain or sadness or perfectionism and so on, but Soap’s work simply screams out happiness.
Great to see Soap and Tasha Bee teaming up to paint this collaboration in Dean Lane skate park. What is interesting about this piece is that both artists are doing something a little different from what we normally see.
Soap, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2019
I’m not too sure why, but Soap has been doing a few chickens recently. I think it might be a bit of a legacy from a mini paint jam he took part in at St Werburghs City Farm. I think I have some pictures somewhere. I rather like the way that he has done a speech bubble with his tag in it. A fun piece.
Tasha Bee, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2019
Tasha Bee has been doing a bit of writing recently to accompany her beautiful styalized portraits and her choice of letters is LUNA. I think that she rather likes the symbolism of the moon and skies, of nature and love. Luna is a really great word and will lend itself to all sorts of writing variations. I totally adore her colour selections here and I have been using similar colours in my ‘teach yourself spray painting’ activities. Note to self, ‘get hold of some of that gold’. Very nice collaboration.
Haka has been incredibly prolific this year, something that has been a little under-represented in Natural Adventures and that I intend to address starting here and now. This fun piece is in Mina Road and features Macaulay Culkin from the Home Alone series of films.
Haka, Mina Road, Bristol, May 2019
Haka has a style that is all his own. He creates what I would call representative art, rather than the other end of the spectrum which is photorealism. His lines are not sharp and clean like some of the writers in Bristol, but there is a warmth and comfort there. He often paints political or humorous pieces, like this one entitled ‘Chrome Alone’.
Haka, Mina Road, Bristol, May 2019
Haka is well established on the Bristol street art scene painting both characters and graffiti writing. I have several other pieces by him in my archive and will try to dig them out.
Doors 75 – A walk along the River Avon cycle path.
Last Sunday was Father’s Day, and I took the opportunity to be a little self-indulgent and go off on a street art hunt to parts of Bristol city I haven’t been to before. I think that wandering around aimlessly, whether in an urban or rural setting is one of my favourite things. No plan, no map, no directions, just looking around and exploring keeping my eyes open and spotting things that might interest me.
This type of exploring is best done alone, because it involves a lot of side tracks and doubling back which could prove tiresome for any companions.
I decided to drop down onto a cycle path which runs alongside the River Avon (literally river river… Avon is derived from a word abon which means river or Afon in Welsh). The cycle path is sandwiched between the river and the backs of buildings on an industrial estate. On the opposite bank is the Paintworks, which is a reconstructed industrial estate full of rather fancy industrial/business units. The cycle path side is definitely the less salubrious of the banks.
I found a fair amount of graffiti, most of it just tagging, and an awful lot of industrial unit fire escape doors, none of which looked like they had been used in years. I share those doors with you now. I don’t expect a lot of love for these doors, but they are doors, I saw them and feel it is only fair to post them.
Rather bright yellow door, River Avon cycle path, Bristol, June 2019Warehouse rear door, River Avon cycle path, Bristol, June 2019Charmingly decorated fire exit door to a warehouse, River Avon cycle path, Bristol, June 2019Door painted by Sirens, River Avon cycle path, Bristol, June 2019Overgrown fire exit door, River Avon cycle path, Bristol, June 2019
there was a bit of a contrast with the opposite bank, which had rather a wide margin of brackish plants spreading down onto the mud (the tide was out), and hosted a fair amount of wildlife including these Canada geese.
On the other side of the River Canada Geese graze in the thick estuarine mud, River Avon cycle path, Bristol, June 2019
So that is another week of doors gone by, maybe soon I’ll find some rather more attractive doors to post, but don’t bank on it.
If you’d like to see more doors take a good look at the Norm 2.0 blog – the originator of Thursday Doors where there are links to yet more doors in the comments section at the end.
Natural adventures 