Conrico has been very present on the streets of Bristol lately, which is great news for people like me who appreciate the incredible, ever-changing gallery of free art in the city. His unique ‘painted’ style is unlike anything else around, and has a comforting, organic feel to it.
Conrico, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2023
This piece was painted as part of the birthday celebration paint jam for Werm, and shows a girl sitting on some giant petals (or she is a very small person). The piece has a mysterious ethereal quality to it and conveys a sense of calm. Very nice stuff indeed from Conrico.
This piece from Conrico is the second in a long wall paint jam collaboration with a dystopian future theme. The first piece was a ‘Terminator-style’ crocodile but Kool Hand. Conrico, who has a wonderful natural style, has painted a female figure handling a futuristic gun and standing in front of a four-wheel drive vehicle with its headlights on.
Conrico, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2023
There is tons of atmosphere in this piece, and in common with other Conrico pieces, there is a great story going on here. The dark buildings in the background and rubble to the left of the piece, speak of a war zone, in the narrative of many films in this genre. I can’t help thinking that there is a little bit of Sarah Connor (The Terminator) in the character, which intentional or not is a good thing. A nice touch is a shout out to Dibz and Fade whose epic piece was painted over during this paint jam.
Kool Hand, Conrico, Werm, Korbe and Daz Cat, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2023
I have been making a little bit more space in Natural Adventures to accommodate the prolific writings of Werm, I am also rather enjoying his recent stylistic direction of travel in which he writes rather small WERM letters at the centre of the piece with embellishment extending out in all directions.
Werm, Greenbank, Bristol, June 2023
This is a nice piece painted in darker tones and in keeping with the background decoration supplied courtesy of Conrico. The starry sky is picked up with the accent stars on the letters, and the whole thing feels calm and portrays night time so well. Another great piece in something of a purple patch from Werm.
Kool Hand, Conrico and Daz Cat M32 Cycle path, Bristol, April 2023
I’m not sure that I will ever work out this wall properly. Sometimes pieces will stay on it for months and turnover will be practically zero, other times it can change twice within a week, and I believe that this recent charming triptych by Kool Hand, Conrico and Daz Cat has already been painted over.
Kool Hand, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, April 2023
The left-hand panel is a wonderful leopard character from Kool Hand, wearing a floppy bucket hat. The fingers appear to be magically zapping the letters KH, and the blue/purple feline is set on a fantasy woodland backdrop, painted by Conrico I would guess.
Conrico, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, April 2023
In the middle is a rather shady looking character shrouded in a cloak and holding a spray can, probably preparing to do a spot of illegal spraying by the look of it. This is a really nicely worked piece by Cobnrico, with some great attention to detail in the creases and folds in the cloak and hat. A classy character.
Daz Cat, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, April 2023
On the right-hand panel, Daz Cat has departed from his customary cat characters to give us this woodland sprite holding a couple of frogs, one of which is holding a toadstool. I’m not too sure what the smoking head is all about, but this section, in fact the whole thing, definitely has a bit of a dreamy fantasy feel about it. An unusual and entertaining collaboration from three fine graffiti artists.
Conrico paints an awful lot of commissions on shutters and shop fronts, and this is a recent one opposite the M32 Spot in Easton. I don’t know how he gets his commissions, but he is either very persuasive or his ‘brand’ is recognised in the area and he gets work through word of mouth. Probably a blend of the two.
Conrico, Boswell Street, Bristol, April 2023
I don’t think that this is Conrico at his best, and that sometimes working to a brief can be a bit limiting, but it is nonetheless an interesting foodie triptych. Painted on the shutters of Desi Eats, an establishment I haven’t visited, is a selection of fast food, burgers and chips, alongside an oversize stylised knife and fork.
Conrico, Boswell Street, Bristol, April 2023
The second shutter has more fast food and a little delivery van, a bit like a tuk tuk. I am guessing that Desi Eats also deliver. I am not too sure about the ‘health and wealth’ claim on the outside, but maybe there is a more healthy selection of food available. A fun and rather different piece from Conrico.
Conrico, St George skate park, Bristol, January 2023
Conrico is an artist who sees to keep himself very busy either with commissions or his street art. Either way, there always seems to be something new by him to go out and find. This is a lovely piece on the back of a skate ramp in St George skate park, where the turnover of artwork tends to be rather slow.
Conrico, St George skate park, Bristol, January 2023
In this piece Conrico has written his name in chrome on an oriental scene, a recurring theme for Conrico. The house on the left has beautiful architecture from, I would guess, China. A night time sky with a full moon leads across to a fox appearing from a wisp of smoke. As with most of Conrico’s work, there is a story here – I guess it is up the viewer to fill in the gaps. Lovely work, photographed on a very cold icy day.
I love a good mural every now and again, and I was pleasantly surprised by this lovely piece by Conrico hidden away in Picton Lane. I haven’t visited the lane in quite a while, so am not sure when this was painted, but I hadn’t been aware of it on social media at all.
Conrico, Picton Lane, Bristol, December 2022
Taking up the whole side wall of a building, the tranquil; piece depicts a railway passing through a small settlement and disappearing into the purple mountains in the distance. The artwork has a naïve style with a little bit of flexibility on perspectives and so on.
Conrico, Picton Lane, Bristol, December 2022
Overall, the mural is a ray of sunshine, breathing life into a wall that would otherwise be rather dull. Conrico has been busy with commissions this year, which can only be a good thing for him and for us.
My first street art post on Natural Adventures was by an unknown artist on Park Street, and was a rather unusual political installation involving a coffin. How things have moved on since then. This piece by Conrico was photographed at night, so the colours might be a little deceptive.
Conrico, Park Street, Bristol, December 2022
The wonderful piece has been painted on the shutters of one of the multitude of café’s on Park Street and is a lovely portrait piece of a woman enjoying a hot beverage (to use British Rail language). Painted in the typical paintbrush style that is Conrico’s signature, he has created an engaging and welcoming piece, one of many commissions he has painted around the city.
The Bristol to Bath cycle path gallery is one of those quirky things that Bristol is so good at. Creativity and generosity of spirit with a smattering of rebellion and a local community have attached original artwork to a short stretch of wall for all to enjoy. There are also one or two bare patches of wall which have been painted by local street artists, including this recent piece from Conrico.
Conrico, BB Gallery, Bristol, December 2022
The only problem with this spot is the speed at which the bicycles and scooters whiz past – I have to be extra careful photographing and keeping the dog safe. Conrico has painted a fabulous scene with a tiger dancing with/chasing a cat in a woodland scene. He includes his name in nicely crafted orange letters. His style remains utterly unique in Bristol, with a paintbrush feel to it. Nice one from Conrico.
The next few posts willl be necessarily quite short, as I am about to take off for my annual fishing trip to Cornwall, and although it is a short break from work, we manage to fill our days, leaving not a lot of time for me to write. At this moment I am packing, ironing, looking for a reel I have lost, having breakfast, walking the dog, dropping my daughter off at school before leaping into the car for the three hour journey.
Conrico, Greenbank, Bristol, September 2022
This piece by Conrico is a belter. Everything about it is brilliant; the composition, the weirdness and the execution left me spellbound when I saw it. There are some pieces you see and you forget, there are others that remain in the memory for a long time or forever and this is one of those pieces. Fabulous work from Conrico.
Natural adventures 