I don’t know how it has happened, but I have got terribly behind with my posts today – something of a rarity. Possibly going for a run first thing upset my rhythm and routine. I’ve not been doing much running lately due to a knee injury, but am trying to ease myself back into it.
Mudra, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2021
To the point and to the wonderful old piece by Mudra, reminiscent of his very first pieces in Bristol. An old man with white moustache, red cheeks and glasses (maybe), superb work on a bare brick wall, and nicely signed-off with his @ signature. Good to be able to post some of his older work.
Another debut on Natural Adventures – crumbs, there have been so many of those this year, it is no wonder that I am having difficulty with keeping up. This is a rather charming piece by The Mole, who come to Bristol for Eman’s birthday paint jam at the end of July.
The Mole, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2021
Naturally enough, The Mole likes to paint moles, and this one is sporting a rather fetching collection of pink peace symbols. The signature says Inca, and to give the artist his full name it is ‘Inca the Mole’. I like these kinds of megatag pieces, where an artist settles on a theme and then replicates it with variations. Lovely to see, and definitely not the last I will be posting from this west of England artist.
I have a lot of attachment to this wonderful piece by Jelly, her second at this spot this year, because of the conversations we shared before she visited Bristol. There is something comforting and confidence-building when an artist makes contact with me to talk about meeting up during a painting visit. I must say that I was touched that Jelly made contact before her recent trip, and I only wish that I had been able to catch up with her while she was painting this piece, but unfortunately I had a full-on work day and wasn’t able to escape.
Jelly, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2021
Jelly has painted another of her beautiful portrait pieces, complete with her trademark exaggerated eyelashes on this high-turnover wall in Cumberland Basin. The piece, presumably entitled ‘open your eye’, is a portrait of a woman with a third eye, a common theme in street art, and suggests using perception beyond ordinary sight.
Jelly, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2021
The shading on the face and hand with red tints helps to provide a deep perspective, and the eyes and nose are particularly beautifully painted. I love the Henna tattoo on the back of the hand and fingers, and the jewellery too is a lovely detail that lifts the piece way above the ordinary.
Jelly, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2021
Another nice touch are the little white streaks of light on the woman’s hair that allude to the strands of hair so effectively. This is a lovely piece from a lovely artist who is thoughtful and inclusive. I do so hope that next time she is in Bristol I will be able to accompany her, at least for a little while, as she creates another of her fabulous portraits.
It feels like I took this photograph an age ago, and in fact it was painted at the back end of July and photographed in early August. Where has this year gone? My life seems to have been travelling at light speed this year… probably a feature of getting older and trying to squeeze more into less time.
This wonderful piece by MoS was painted during Eman’s birthday paint jam at which so many good pieces were painted. It was an inspirational day.
MoS, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2021
I believe that MoS typically paints hands or portraits, so this ‘weird’ (his own words) piece is rather unusual even for the artist. I’m not entirely sure what it all means, but it is certainly very striking and the light tan glow around the piece gives it an interesting aura. Nice work from yet another new artist to Natural Adventures.
One of the genuine delights of having an interest in street and graffiti art is watching newcomers develop. And so meeting Oma while she was painting this fabulous Bristol fox, one of only a handful of street pieces she has painted, was an immense pleasure. The fox was painted as part of the birthday paint jam for Eman at the back end of July.
Oma, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2021
The work in progress shot is particularly interesting in that you can see that Oma has drawn several outlines before settling on one and building the piece from there. I love the colour combinations she uses, they are quite unusual and make her work stand out.
Oma, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2021
Foxes appear so much in Bristol street art, and I am minded to do a gallery of them… perhaps when I have some time. I love this piece a lot, and although there is much to learn (I speak as one who has even more to learn), she has incorporated some wonderful elements and technique (shading, colour combinations, textures) into the subject. I am so looking forward to seeing more from Oma. I have one or two pieces in archive that I will try to dig out.
This extraordinary piece from Nightwayss is really pushing boundaries for the artist and is notable for its absence of monkeys. I believe that the piece might be based on a self portrait, and there seems to be some agonising soul-searching going on here.
Nightwayss, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2021
The piece was painted as part of Eman’s birthday paint jam, so I had a chance to catch up with Nightwayss. Unfortunately his effervescence slightly freaked out my long-suffering dog, who is dragged around Bristol’s graffiti spots, and who decided to bark a lot every time Nightwayss tried to stroke him, rendering conversation a little tricky.
Nightwayss, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2021
There is no doubt that Nightwayss is a very skilled artist, and he has pulled off this concept very well, with the face and skull beautifully finished. An unusual and compelling piece.
I have enjoyed the work of Mr Draws over the years and enjoy his company too so it was mighty fine to see him joining in with Eman’s birthday paint jam down in Cumberland Basin at the end of July.
Mr Draws, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2021
Mr Draws has taken a slight departure from his customary ‘DRAWS’ letters to create this rather nice ‘My happy place’ piece. The letter style and fill are very ‘Mr Draws’ if that makes sense, particularly the pink camouflage patterned fills. A happy piece for a happy day.
As a long-time admirer of Flava136’s work, it was a real treat to meet the artist for the first time during a paint jam on the long wall at Cumberland Basin. As is so often the case when meeting these folk, he was an awful lot younger than I had expected, but isn’t that what old people say about everyone?
Flava136, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2021
Watching Flava136 bring this piece together was an education, and his skill and technique shone through in his ability to keep such clean lines throughout. The design and colour selections of this one are quite exceptional, and I think this might be my favourite of his yet.
Flava136, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2021
Featuring a kind of mash-up of a monster and some abstract artwork, Flava136’s work is always instantly recognisable and definitely a crowd-pleaser. Although he doesn’t live in Bristol, he manages to visit reasonably regularly which can only be a good thing. Excellent piece.
More often than not, I try to avoid posting pictures with shadows on them, because they can obscure the artwork or distract the eye. In this instance though I think the shadows add to the overall drama of the piece by 3F fino.
3F Fino, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2021
The piece, from a little while back, shares a theme that 3F fino has painted before of a portrait of a masked figure. Set in an urban landscape at sunset (or sunrise, it is always difficult to know which) the piece is incorporated into the brickwork of the wall, something I always like. A nice eye-catching piece.
Watching Zake apply the light and dark shading to this fabulous piece during Eman’s birthday paint jam was a real pleasure. He has become something of a specialist at refining the effects of light and dark on his faces with the light source in this case coming from the left hand side. This clever shading exaggerates the features and created more of a 3D effect.
Zake, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2021
Although his English isn’t great, it was nice to be able to talk with him for a while about his technique. Like all the artists around him on the day, he really seems to enjoy what he does. My only regret from the day is that when I returned the next day to take photographs of the finished pieces, three of them, including Eman’s, had been painted over.
