A normal week wouldn’t be a normal week without posting something by Bean, and so here is this week’s offering. This one is something a little different from Bean, and he certainly gets tons of credit for constantly dreaming up new characters, no two pieces being alike.
Bean, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, October 2023
It is high time this wall was refreshed, and Bean has done it in style with this weird butterfly graffiti writer wearing a basketball shirt (naturally!?) and spraying pink dollops on either side of the piece. Creative and imaginative, I still think that his work would really benefit from a little bit of prep work with a buffed wall to help his pieces stand out even more.
This is another wonderful piece by Zubieta, and I really like what I have seen of her work so far. I know that I have at least one unpublished piece in my archives, which I will need to dig out, because we don’t get to see her stuff on the streets nearly as often as I’d like.
Zubieta, Elton Street, Bristol, April 2023
Painted as part of the recent paint jam in the Elton Street gallery, Zubieta is telling a story about how ‘love stings’, featuring a woman and a stinging insect masquerading as a butterfly full of love. Perhaps this is a tale of failed relationships of deceitful partners – who knows? The colours follow the paint jam theme, and the piece is beautifully executed. Tidy work from a great artist.
It is obvious from many of my posts on Natural Adventures, that I like butterflies, and this outstanding piece from SoFreeSo is an absolute beauty. The Swiss artist specialises in dreamy portraits and butterflies, and her pieces really come to life through the eyes of her subjects.
SoFreeSo, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
There is a lot to like about this piece, the overall composition and colours work very well, especially on sunny days, and those drips are to die for. Interestingly, the incorporation of eyes onto the wings of butterflies is an idea created by mother nature (or evolution if you prefer), where many species of butterfly have developed ‘eye spots’ on their wings to mimic a larger, more scary animal and deter would-be predators.
For a large wall, this one gets fairly frequent facelifts, usually, but not always, linked to Upfest. This time for 75 walls in 75 days, it is the turn of Philth and N4T4, and they have created something rather special.
Philth and N4T4, Clift House Road, Bristol, August 2021, Upfest 21
The two artists are no strangers to collaborating with one another, and indeed my first introduction to their talents was at an Upfest festival a few years back. In this mural, their work integrates really well, assisted by the colour palette both artists are using.
N4T4, Clift House Road, Bristol, August 2021, Upfest 21
The portrait is by N4T4 and is typical of his work, where the face is composed of a whole load of tiny detailed patterns, in this case floral patterns. It is so clever the way he does this. Not so clever is the terrible photograph. I’ll have to go and take another one.
Philth and N4T4, Clift House Road, Bristol, August 2021, Upfest 21
The extraordinary floral backdrop is by Philth and is surely inspired by William Morris wallpaper designs. Rich and sumptuous, the poppy heads, sunflowers, foxgloves and daisies make for a stunning piece, and it is amazing how powerful the whole effect is, being created with so few colours.
Philth, Clift House Road, Bristol, August 2021, Upfest 21
For good measure, topping the mural there is a butterfly which I think is by N4T4. The wing spots give this away as being a peacock butterfly, which again is superbly created using a limited colour palette. This is a joyful and uplifting collaboration that greets motorists on one of the busier roads in Bedminster and thoroughly deserving of its place on this premium wall.
Natural adventures 