Rowdy doesn’t paint all that often, so it is always a huge pleasure to see his work when he does. This shop is literally around the corner from where I live, and has recently had a facelift, painted by Rowdy. It had already had the Rowdy treatment before, but this is a serious upgrade.
Rowdy, Cheltenham Road, Bristol, February 2023
Of course, we have Rowdy’s famous crocodile design, not just one, but a float of them (correct collective noun – a bask, if they are on land). It is the reclining cat, however, on the top panel that steals the show for me, a cat that has appeared sveral times elsewhere in Bristol, which makes me think that I ought to publish a Rowdy gallery sometime soon.
Tanith Gould, Cheltenham Road, Bristol, December 2022
I have been meaning to post this outstanding and captivating shopfront commission by Tanith Gould in Cheltenham Road since I first saw it a few months back. Finally, over the Christmas break, I managed to get out on foot and grab some nice pictures from the opposite side of the street.
Tanith Gould, Cheltenham Road, Bristol, December 2022
It is great to see what Tanith Gould can do at scale, and she has absolutely nailed it with this octopus piece over two levels of the building. The words “for where your treasure is, there your heart shall be also” sounds like a quote from Pirates of the Carribbean (especially with the octopus prompt), but is actually a biblical quote (Matthew 6:21)
Tanith Gould, Cheltenham Road, Bristol, December 2022
The piece is beautifully finished, and has enough detail and mischief to keep you looking at it, and it seems to work perfectly on this old city shopfront. I would love to see more commissions from Tanith Gould, who thus far, has been painting on the streets with the Bristol Mural Collective at their occasional paint jams.
Kid Krishna, Cheltenham Road, Bristol, December 2022
It would seem that Kid Krishna ‘owns’ the walls either side of Boston Tea Party on Cheltenham Road, as there are pieces by the artist either side of the entrance, and both of them are character pieces, rather than the stylised writing we are more familiar with. This piece is to the left of the entrance, and is a bit of a stunner.
Kid Krishna, Cheltenham Road, Bristol, December 2022
Of course, there is more than just a passing nod to Vaughn Bode’s Cheech Wizard character in this piece, with the addition of some curious camera or lens in the middle. This is a beautifully crafted piece and one of my favourites from last year.
I am really confused about one thing, though. One time I drove past this piece when it was being painted, I saw a woman painting it, or at least I thought I did. I might have been mistaken, and my eyes aren’t getting any younger, but if I am right, then Kid Krishna might be female. Either Paul H can put me straight, or I will just have to find Kid Krishna at work.
Kid Krishna, Cheltenham Road, Bristol, October 2022
When you spend your spare time searching out and writing about street/graffiti art, you develop an amazing peripheral vision for noticing something different, something new, in the places that you visit most often. I was walking to the office last week (a rare occurrence these days), and from the corner of my eye I saw this bright flash of colour behind a hedge on the wall of The Boston Tea Party, where an Alex Lucas piece once proudly stood. The colour belongs to this outstanding piece by Kid Krishna, which I assume is rather new.
Kid Krishna, Cheltenham Road, Bristol, October 2022
For me at least, this piece was an extra surprise because it is by Kid Krishna, and to date I have only seen his writing, and wasn’t aware that he painted art pieces as well. This is an unusual, but compelling portrait piece in bright colours and almost in a cubist style. Great to see that Kid Krishna has several strings to his bow, and a great addition to his portfolio.
This is the perfect way to end 2020 with a spanking new and rather beautiful mural on the Cheltenham road just before the Arches heading north. The mural is by Alex Lucas and covers the entire wall of what was Flour and Ash but is now a new vegan Mezze bar called Koo Cha
Alex Lucas, Cheltenham Road, Bristol, December 2020
I had been anticipating the unveiling of this piece for some time as I live nearby and had seen Alex painting it on a large scaffold erected in front of the building. It certainly didn’t disappoint, in fact I think it might be one of my favourite pieces by the illustrator/muralist.
Alex Lucas, Cheltenham Road, Bristol, December 2020
The cheetahs are absolutely stunning and stand out well on the blue background and the flowers are a beautiful touch that ‘glue’ the whole thing together. We are so lucky in Bristol to have Alex Lucas whose work lights up the city and brings such happiness to its citizens. Bravo Alex, bravo!
It has been an extraordinary year for street art and graffiti in Bristol and around the country. A succession of lockdowns and an extended period of social distancing behaviours haven’t done anything to stem the tide of wonderful artwork and I have had difficulty keeping up with it all. I think this year has been the most productive since I started Natural Adventures almost six years ago. The quality of work has increased too and there has been an influx of artists from the UK and beyond.
Some artists have gone to ground for periods this year, reflecting what had been a troubling time, and work patterns have gone haywire too which will have affected some people’s ability to choose when they can make time for street art. In spite of it all, it has been an outstanding year on Bristol’s streets. Here’s to more in 2021.
This is the second stunning piece that has recently been commissioned (I guess) on the hoardings outside the site where the library used to be. You can read more about my thoughts on this here. The shark here is absolutely amazing and Sophie’s trademark drips are to die for. I honestly think this is one of the best street pieces I have seen in a little while.
Sophie Long, Cheltenham Road, Bristol, November 2017
Sophie Long has captured the form and slow movement of the shark perfectly and the reflected light ripples across the dorsal surface. Of course, as someone with a marine biology training, I am particularly taken with this piece. Sophie Long is a local artist whose work I have seen before, but not posted yet. Her website gives you a good insight into some of her work.
Now this is a beautiful recent piece by Jody, and make no mistake I rate this extremely highly. I am however slightly conflicted by its placement. As part of Government public spending cuts, Local Authorities have had to make some difficult choices. Closing under-used libraries has been one way of reducing costs, and generating income from sale of the land. This hoarding has been erected around the building site that was formerly the library.
I am not particularly conflicted about any of that though, my issue is that the construction firm have gone out of their way (it seems) to avoid attracting graffiti to the hoardings (in an area where hoardings quickly become ‘decorated’). As part of this, they have commissioned two great street artists to complete panels, of which this is one. I suppose what bothers me is that it is that the message this sends out is that these boards are ok for some artists, but not for others. Who decides? On what grounds? How do the artists feel about this? It all feels a little uncomfortable.
Jody, Cheltenham Road, Bristol, November 2017
Putting all of that aside though, I think that this is absolutely stunning, and I consider this piece by Jody to be as good as any other I have seen of his. He does beautiful women’s faces to perfection, and I like the way the hair morphs into a smokey cloud.
Jody, Cheltenham Road, Bristol, November 2017
What a treat for me to be able to walk past this every day on my way to work. It will be interesting to see how the graffiti community treat this. Jody is held in high regard, but there are some taggers out there who have no respect and they may take exception to this hoarding being for the select few and not the many.
It has been a little while since I last posted anything by Alex Lucas. This wonderful piece has decorated the Little Shop for a few years now and sits right on the cusp of Cheltenham Road and Stokes Croft – both street names appear in the featured image.
Alex Lucas, Cheltenham Road, Bristol, December 2015
In this commissioned mural Lucas does what she does so very well. Rabbits. Wonderful line drawings of rabbits interspersed with what appear to be pineapples. This junction with Ashley Road is really at the heart of Bohemian Bristol and there is barely a building without some kind of street art decorating it. I have the pleasure of walking this way to work every day (in the Summer at least) and never tire of this Lucas work.
Alex Lucas, Cheltenham Road, Bristol, December 2015
The left hand side of the building is part of the 123 Space – a gallery which is linked to the People’s Republic of Stokes Croft (PRSC) next door. The 123 Space is a place for the local art community to create, connect, dream and build together. The Facebook page is here.
These hoardings rarely have decent works sprayed on them because they get painted off almost immediately…it may be that the owners of the site don’t want the hoardings to become a practice wall. The result is that the hoardings are heavily tagged instead. In among the useless tagging, there was this gem however – an anonymous tribute to DJ Derek. As is is a stencil, I would expect to see it popping up around the place. Simple and touching.
Anonymous stencil, DJ Derek, Cheltenham Road, Bristol, April 2016
DJ Derek’s funeral took place last week, and there has been no more news about the circumstances of his death. I do not believe they were in any way suspicious.
The Boston Tea Party cafe marks out the northern border of the Stokes Croft area for street art. It is also a great place to start a tour of all the wonders in the area. This is a lovely commission by Alex Lucas adorning the front right hand side of the building. I presume it is a March hare, given its boxing gloves.
Alex Lucas, Cheltenham Road, Bristol, September 2015
Unfortunately the piece and many others nearby have been obscured by red spray, really calling into question the whole debate about art, street art, commissions, illegal, graffiti, tagging, vandalism and so on. It will be very difficult to clear this piece up – maybe she’ll get a commission to replace it (please).
Alex Lucas, Cheltenham Road, Bristol, September 2015
Natural adventures 