Tag: Fantasy

7091. Cumberland Basin

Tera, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2025
Tera, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2025

It is crystal clear that Tera doesn’t do things by halves. New to the form of street art, he has picked it up at an alarming rate and is churning out large fantasy character pieces, making significant improvements with his technique every time he paints a wall.  

Tera, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2025
Tera, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2025

Tera is a tattooist by profession, which comes across in his elaborate designs, but I am amazed at how he has managed to upscale his work from a few square inches to several square feet in size. The fantasy warrior, with three swords, seems well-prepared for any eventuality. The detail in the hands is superb, although the design of the mask and headdress is lost a little (I am being uber-picky). Basically, Tera keeps smashing it, and I suspect he’ll continue to do so for the foreseeable future.

6813. Cumberland Basin

Conrico, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2025
Conrico, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2025

Conrico has a lightness of touch and an ability to tell stories through his pieces that is almost unique in Bristol. If I were to pick another artist who has similar qualities, it would be Daz Cat. This is a wonderful piece was painted as part of a paint jam I think to mark the birthday of Benry – I don’t know who Benry is, but there was some great art produced in celebration.

Conrico, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2025
Conrico, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2025

The piece features a girl riding a white tiger (or some mythical feline beast), and why not, and the orange atmosphere around the characters indicates something magical is going on. There is movement, excitement and fantasy in this piece which is beautifully painted by Conrico. Great stuff.

6515. St Werburghs tunnel (457)

Dun Sum, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2024
Dun Sum, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2024

I was fortunate enough to watch on for a little while as Dun Sum was painting this imaginary beetle-like insect, in the tunnel, and I am not sure that I would have twigged that it was Dun Sum had Hypo not been there to inform me.

Dun Sum, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2024
Dun Sum, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2024

Dun Sum’s fantasy creatures are the hallmark of his outstanding artwork, most of which is displayed in L Dub, but occasionally we get to enjoy his work in central Bristol. This clever piece might well go unnoticed by many, as it is an augmentation of a Stivs piece that has been here in the tunnel for several months. It is so good to see this kind of creative work from Dun Sum.

Stivs, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2024
Stivs, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2024

5598. Cumberland Basin

Lost_in_illustration, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2023
Lost_in_illustration, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2023

I believe that this piece was painted during a Bristol Mural Collective paint jam, and like so many pieces that are painted on these occasions is totally worthy of inclusion in Natural Adventures. It is always great to see artists who are more used to studio work painting walls, although I know that Genevieve Clapp (Lost_in_illustration) has painted walls in Bristol before. There is a freshness and originality that adds to the vast spectrum of subjects and styles we see in Bristol.

Lost_in_illustration, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2023
Lost_in_illustration, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2023

This mysterious piece with a kind of atmospheric/cosmic background features a hooded woman, painted in contrasting shades of blue, clutching a glowing sphere in true fantasy fashion. It is a lovely and rather different kind of piece, which sits comfortably alongside any other works on this wall. I hope to see more from Genevieve Clapp before too long.

5559. Mina Road (12)

Stivs and Vane, Mina Road, Bristol, August 2023
Stivs and Vane, Mina Road, Bristol, August 2023

I was fortunate enough to be driving by when Stivs and Vane were pretty much finishing off this piece, but couldn’t take any pictures at that time, because Vane had parked his van in front of it while they were clearing away all their gear. I didn’t go back immediately, knowing that it was a commission piece that would be respected by taggers.

Stivs and Vane, Mina Road, Bristol, August 2023
Stivs and Vane, Mina Road, Bristol, August 2023

The fantasy woodland piece is a true collaboration, where it is not possible to disentangle which artist painted which bits of the extraordinary work. The piece is quite unusual in Bristol, as we don’t get to see many of this kind of collaborative mural. Each of the artists has included some letters, with Stivs writing DSC on the left and Vane writing TAF on the right.

Stivs and Vane, Mina Road, Bristol, August 2023
Stivs and Vane, Mina Road, Bristol, August 2023

The almost Disneyesque style of the piece, it reminds me a little of Sleeping Beauty, is compelling to look at and beautifully executed. So absorbing is the piece that it is difficult to see that there is a garage door right in the middle. A garage door that once played host to an outstanding piece by Silent Hobo. This is something you might usually associate with Upfest and a premium wall in Bedminster, but here it is in Mina Road, thanks to an enlightened resident. Bravo gentlemen!

Silent Hobo, Mina Road, Bristol, October 2020
Silent Hobo, Mina Road, Bristol, October 2020

4016. Dean Lane skate park (434)

Life is full of nice surprises, and this was certainly one of them. Every once in a while, Xenz pays a visit to Bristol and leaves behind some exquisite artwork. I found this one on my ’rounds’ a week or two back and was extra pleased because I hadn’t seen in on social media, and it must have been pretty new.

Xenz, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2021
Xenz, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2021

Xenz specialises in creating fantasy pieces that portray those ‘sunlit uplands’ we hear so much about from our useless government. This piece of clever writing, spelling XENZ features classical buildings, statues and gardens perched on walls and hillsides, set in a pink, otherworldly landscape/cloudscape. Inspirational excellence from Xenz.

2647. Frogmore Street (10)

Despite this being one of the closest walls to my work, it has taken me an inordinate amount of time for me to get round to photographing and posting it. Tucked away in Frogmore Street, just below a Banksy, this is a fabulous mural from RichT.

RichT, Frogmore Street, Bristol, December 2019
RichT, Frogmore Street, Bristol, December 2019

I didn’t see it at first, but towards the right of the piece is a Spider-Man hanging upside down in this fantasy environment. Sensational colours and weird and wonderful shapes combine to create a little masterpiece on the side of this night club. Nice work from RichT.

2512. Cheltenham 2018 (6)

I have been aware of Mr Wigz for a long time, ever since I saw a collaboration he painted with SPZero76 in Gloucester Road back in 2016, but I have seen little of his work since. Finding this enormous piece in Cheltenham, which was painted for the 2018 Paint Festival, was both a surprise and pleasure.

Mr Wigz, Paint Festival 2018, Cheltenham, September 2019
Mr Wigz, Paint Festival 2018, Cheltenham, September 2019

I was fortunate enough to spot him at this year’s festival and chatted with him for a little while as he was finishing off his piece (to follow). This fantasy piece though is quite magnificent and uses the wall to great effect creating a window into another world, or reflection of our own (in better times). There is a depth to the piece and plenty to look at and think about. There is something about the subject matter that reminds me a little of the work of Xenz. It is a fine piece indeed and how lucky we are that the Cheltenham Paint Festival organisers are trying to keep the walls from previous festivals intact.

1464. Upfest 2017 (163)

Where do I begin with this piece, a collaboration from Will Barras and Xenz? Not that we knew it at the time, but this is the swan song for this premium wall on the Masonic pub. The second hand car business has sold up and developers will be moving in soon.

Will Barras and Xenz, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Will Barras and Xenz, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

I spoke to Will Barras Before he started this piece, and he felt rather intimated by the size of the wall, by the previous piece (Pichiavo) and by collaborating on something this large. However, he faced his demons and got on with the job.

Will Barras and Xenz, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Will Barras and Xenz, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

My first impression was not favourable – I didn’t like it. I felt the wall was way too big and there was so much going on it was difficult to engage with it. It has taken me several months to change my views, but change they have – I have become a fan.

Will Barras and Xenz, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Will Barras and Xenz, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

I’m not sure why I think this, but I think it is called ‘she’s a waterfall’ – a song by The Stone Roses – anyhow I might be wrong about that. The two artists with similar styles, but different subject matter preferences (Xenz – fantasy worlds and birds, Will Barras – bikes and abstract stuff), have combined to create a huge picture story which contains beauty, hope, fantasy and of course a bike. A fitting farewell to this stunning wall.

Luis Seven Martins (L7M), North Street, Bristol, May 2016
Luis Seven Martins (L7M), North Street, Bristol, May 2016

PichiAvo, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
PichiAvo, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

 

1354. Upfest 2017 (140)

The boards erected in South Street Park played host to some of the very best work at Upfest 2017, and this piece by Krimsone and Scott Nagy was right up there with the very best. This amazing collaboration shows street art storytelling at its very best.

Krimsone and Scott Nagy, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Krimsone and Scott Nagy, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

The magical story unfolding here is of a young child in bed, and a bedroom that is transforming into a dream-like fantasy world, and his bed is in fact a little boat. The whole image has the look of an illustration from a children’s book.

Krimsone and Scott Nagy, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Krimsone and Scott Nagy, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

Both artists are from Australia, and if it weren’t for Upfest, how on earth would I ever get to see their amazing work? Such is the draw of the festival that artists from all over the world make the journey to Bedminster. I sometimes wonder if Bristolians know how lucky they are.

This is such a skillfully painted piece, such a shame that it was only temporary.