Tag: Character

4761. Dean Lane skate park (533)

Werm, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2022
Werm, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2022

It is incredible to think how far and fast Werm has come from when I first met him back in 2020, when he was writing under the name Eman. He has definitely switched from character pieces to focussing on his writing, so it was great to see this piece where he has combined both.

Werm, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2022
Werm, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2022

The character is, I think, an alien from the Simpsons – I know I have seen it before… I have just Googled it, and I am correct, and it is called Kang or Kodos. The letters, spelling out Werm, are intricate and beautifully filled with superb horizontal fill transitions. This is Werm raising his game once again. Great stuff.

4731. Purdown (47)

Mote, Purdown, Bristol, September 2022
Mote, Purdown, Bristol, September 2022

What I really like about Mote’s approach to street art is that he is a very tidy artist. He likes to have a buffed wall to paint on, so that there are no distractions, and he keeps everything clean and tidy. Nice solid fills and crisp sharp lines. I am guessing he is a bit of a perfectionist.

Mote, Purdown, Bristol, September 2022
Mote, Purdown, Bristol, September 2022

This charming monster piece up at Purdown is a wonderful doodle character, with some nice colour fills and details. The eyes and eyelids work well, and the shadow cast onto the wall lifts the piece out. Altogether this is a rather good piece, one of many.

4726. Cheltenham 2022 (11)

Korp, Cheltenham Paint Festival, Cheltenham, July 2022
Korp, Cheltenham Paint Festival, Cheltenham, July 2022

You might recall that I posted a piece by Korp only a few days ago of his Upfest piece. Here he is again with another fine ‘worm’ character portrait, this time from the Cheltenham Paint Festival.

Korp, Cheltenham Paint Festival, Cheltenham, July 2022
Korp, Cheltenham Paint Festival, Cheltenham, July 2022

The character in greyscale with some pink elements is rather cute, if that is the right word, peering from the boarding out at viewers, feathers either side of its face. What Korp does really effectively is create shadows with different shades of paint, to create depth in the face, all of which is done with sharp lines and great solid fills. This is another fine festival piece from Korp.

4724. Elton Street (11)

Slakarts, Elton Street, Bristol, September 2022
Slakarts, Elton Street, Bristol, September 2022

It was a genuine pleasure to see this lovely piece from Slakarts, because I haven’t seen much of his work lately. I am hoping that his absence from the streets is an indication that his work is going well. Balancing work and pleasure can be a challenge, but you’ve got to keep those shekels coming in.

Slakarts, Elton Street, Bristol, September 2022
Slakarts, Elton Street, Bristol, September 2022

Adopting the same colour scheme as the other pieces in this collection of Elton Street pieces, Slakarts has painted a rather special mural, with a lot more content than his customary stylised portrait. There is a semi-rural landscape, some high rise flats and flowers, accompanying the character. On-point and very clean, this is a wonderful piece from Slakarts.

4718. Upfest 2022 (49)

Elf, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Elf, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

A noticeable difference between Upfest and the everyday street art scene in Bristol is the ratio of character pieces to graffiti writing. At Upfest I would guess that there are three character pieces to each graffiti writing piece, whereas on the street, it is much more like a 1:3, 4 or 5 ratio the other way round. This is just a brief explanation of why there are so many character pieces from Upfest on Natural Adventures.

Elf, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Elf, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

This is a rather touching piece by Elf, featuring a creature cuddling a little baby. I don’t know much at all about the artist, but her full moniker is Elfkunst, which translated from the German means Elf art, so I guess she is German speaking (German or Swiss).

The work is eye-catching and beautifully presented. All the lines are neat and tidy. The little details and patterns bring the whole thing to life. Cute, cuddly creatures, with a touch of mystery and edge.

4716. Upfest 2022 (47)

J. Sharples, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
J. Sharples, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

I thoroughly enjoyed this year’s Upfest, which was made even better by my daughter accompanying me on one of the days. It is the first time that any family member has shown any real enthusiasm for my passion and I felt very supported. Fortunately there was a really good mix of works in progress and completed pieces for my daughter to enjoy.

J. Sharples, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
J. Sharples, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

This gorilla piece from Jay Sharples is a classic piece of character street art. The background is in complete harmony with the portraits which are perfectly clean and crisp. It is always a pleasure to see his work when he visits Bristol for Upfest.

4715. Upfest 2022 (46)

Korp, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Korp, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

It will take me all year to post everything I want to post from Upfest, so you will have to be patient. I have to intersperse the Upfest pieces with the contemporary work that appears on the streets of Bristol every day. This is a wonderful piece from Koop, an artist I have seen a fair bit on the Festival circuit.

Korp, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Korp, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

Korp creates these rather endearing creature characters – I think that they are worms – and this is quite the best one I have seen to date. There is something about the colours in this one that work so well. The feathers are beautifully worked and the whole piece is very neat and tidy with crisp, sharp lines. Look out for more from Korp, coming soon.

4675. M32 roundabout J3 (428)

Morph, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2022
Morph, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2022

Correction: I have since found out, from Zed in the Clouds, that this character was actually painted by his friend Morph. The writing by Zed was actually to the left of the character. We all make mistakes.

I am utterly baffled that this is only the second piece by Zed in the Clouds that I have published on Natural Adventures, which is in no way representative of the number of pictures I have taken of his work, nor the quality of it. I can’t think why he has been squeezed out, and I will definitely have to do something about the situation.

Morph, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2022
Morph, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2022

This is a nice clean cartoon character piece featuring a young man in a relaxed meditation pose, wearing what looks like a helmet with a pink visor. I like the simplicity of the piece, but also the attention to detail, such as the creases on his t-shirt accompanied by subtle darker shading. Watch this space for more from Zed in the Clouds.

4671. Brunel Way (170)

Tack Jucker, Brunel Way, Bristol, August 2022
Tack Jucker, Brunel Way, Bristol, August 2022

He’s been at it again, and at this rate, Tack Jucker is painting his way into a Natural Adventures gallery. Pretty much half of all the pieces I have seen by Tack Jucker feature apes of some kind, usually with a fairly aggressive facial eexpression, and this new one under Brunel Way falls into that category.

Tack Jucker, Brunel Way, Bristol, August 2022
Tack Jucker, Brunel Way, Bristol, August 2022

The little dots for pupils make this ape appear rather more unhinged than some of the other ones, and I am not sure whether the artist painted them or they are a tagged addition. There is plenty of movement, augmented by the green wisps and threat emanating from the bared teeth of the ape. Overall, this is another fine example of Tack Jucker’s work, which I am really enjoying.

4664. Dean Lane

Pelmo, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2022
Pelmo, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2022

Pelmo has been experimenting for a little while with some fascinating studies of characters in orange and red doing unusual things. This fine piece, perfectly located in Dean Lane, is another climbing piece, this time with both climbers more obviously positioned and related to one another than the one in New Stadium Road.

Pelmo, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2022
Pelmo, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2022

This charming work shows two characters, one belaying the other as he carefully climbs a ‘chimney’ between a wall and telegraph pole.  There is a lot of thought and love shown by Pelmo in his pieces, and I always feel that he has a strong relationship and affection for his characters. This is a brilliant small piece that brings a smile to my face each time I see it.