Mr Klue and Hana, St Werburghs, Bristol, January 2022
It looks like Mr Klue has a new painting partner, which is great to see. This small collaboration appeared in the tunnel a couple of weeks ago and has colour coordinated pieces by Mr Klue and Hana (an artist I have not encountered before).
Mr Klue and Hana, St Werburghs, Bristol, January 2022
To the left is a characteristic wispy KLUE (I think), ephemeral as ever and looking like it might evaporate at any moment, and to the right, pulling the colours across, is a beautiful floral design piece by Hana. It would seem that ‘Floral’ is ‘in’ at the moment, and I am fully in favour of it. I know that these two have paired up again since this piece was painted, but I can’t recall where – I’ll need to investigate.
I met Peggy for the first time yesterday in Dean Lane, but it was the most fleeting of meetings. Peggy was finishing off a piece on a sloping wall and wasn’t really in a position to stop and chat, so I left her to it, and will I’m sure, have another opportunity to say hello.
Peggy, St Werburghs, Bristol, January 2023
This is a gorgeous piece at the farm end of the tunnel, which I don’t think lasted very long, which is a great pity. Clearly Peggy has a great eye for design and proportion, and manages to create a piece that fits a space very well. I expect she gets lots of practice from the henna work she does. As with other pieces she has created, there is an eye in the floral design. Quite what the eye signifies, I don’t know, but I will ask, if I ever get the chance. A fine piece from Peggy.
Having only recently ‘discovered’ the beautiful floral art of Peggy, it turns out that I have been photographing some of her work for a while, but didn’t know who she was, so hadn’t posted any of it. I took this photograph back in July, and am pleased to share it now, because it represents yet another type of art on the vast spectrum on offer in Bristol.
Peggy, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2022
Peggy creates some outstanding designs for her body painting work, and then upscales some of these for walls. Beautifully painted, these designs provide a unique and refreshing addition to any spot that she paints.
Peggy, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2022
To the right of the piece, Peggy has pasted three of her designs on the wall, and I remember thinking at the time, maybe we have a new wheatpaster in town. Sadly, I haven’t seen any more since then, but I live in hope. Lovely work from Peggy.
I am rather hoping that Peggy will become a regular on the pages of Natural Adventures, because I really like her floral designs and her use of space in the spots she paints, bringing a touch of class and joy along with her.
Peggy, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2022
Peggy has used the space on the side of this skate ramp really cleverly, and produced a stunning array of leaves and flowers with decorative swirls. There is something a little similar in her style to Alex Lucas, certainly in the subject matter. I’m really looking forward to seeing much more from this rising star.
Anyone who regularly visits Bristol’s graffiti spots, can’t have failed to notice these lovely decorative floral pieces making an appearance in recent weeks. If the highly designed and beautifully presented piece resembles a transfer, that is no real surprise, as the artist, Peggy (@misspeggybrown) creates wonderful henna work… just check out her Instagram feed.
Peggy, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2022
Set on a black background, the blue stems and pink flowers are expertly painted, beautifully proportioned with crisp fills and edges. I don’t know how long Peggy has been spraying walls for, but this is a highly accomplished effort and a joy to look at. Expect more of her work to be appearing soon on Natural Adventures.
This piece is not bad for a tattoo artist, not bad at all, in fact it is blooming marvellous, and Etza has absolutely smashed it with this enormous floral piece, painted alongside his collaboration pal Chill. The piece is something really quite different and most arresting.
Etza, Greenbank, Bristol, April 2022
Etza has created a clean and sharp flower in rich red, yellow and black colours that has all the hallmarks of a sumptuous wallpaper design. There is a strong field of floral artist in the UK, including our own Alex Lucas, and Philth, who I think works out of London. This piece would sit proudly alongside those others, and proudly so. Finding this was a surprise and a pleasure.
I cannot fully express how much I am enjoying Rozalita’s renaissance, and find myself simply marvelling at her work. This piece fits the formula of a few of her recent pieces with a two tone portrait framed within a floral display. One of her favoured spots is this long wall on the Bristol to Bath cycle path, and several of her pieces can be seen here in one visit.
Rozalita, Greenbank, Bristol, March 2022
The colour tones of this piece are perfectly complementary, and help to bring out the features in the greyscale face. I’m not too sure what the blue cap is all about, but it separates the face from the background very nicely. The flowers are very nicely painted, I particularly like the one on the left, which looks a little bit like a protea. The improvements in Rozalita’s work is tangible from piece to piece, and I have a tinge of excitement each time I come across a new one.
Jamaica Street is one of the more vibrant and interesting streets in Bristol; it is a spur running off Stokes Croft at Turbo Island and is well known for its addiction clinic, and the People’s Republic of Stokes Croft. There is a row of houses that over the years have been heavily tagged, adding to the rather grubby feel of the place, but recently Hazard has been commissioned to paint the front of these houses, in an effort to breathe new life into and respect for the area. Her subtle pieces are just the ticket, and thoroughly uplifting. They are, however, also almost impossible to photograph. I managed to capture one recently and am sharing it with you now.
Hazard, Jamaica Street, Bristol, March 2022
In addition to her remarkable portrait pieces, Hazard has a supreme talent for painting flowers, and she has worked wonders with these roses and other leaves/flowers on this building. This work reminds me of the kind of decorative painting you see on buildings on the continent, but is much less common here in the UK. Superb work that is utterly uplifting in a place that benefits so much from kindness, love and decency.
I am now getting a little nervous in case this isn’t by Hazard, because I can’t find any verification on the interweb. I am sure I shall be corrected if it isn’t by her.
One of the great things about living in Bristol is that it has enormous credibility with street/graffiti artists from all over the country and indeed the world, and so visits from some of the greats are not uncommon. Even so, it was rather a surprise to come across this exceptional piece of floral writing from Curtis Hylton on the long wall at Cumberland Basin a couple of weeks back.
Curtis Hylton, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, September 2021
I haven’t seen writing like this before, and it is a real privilege to see it right here in Bristol. Spelling out SAME (Curtis writes under the name Samer), the floral patterns and colours blend seamlessly painted on a cosmic cloudy backdrop. Utterly breathtaking work from this super-talented artist.
For a large wall, this one gets fairly frequent facelifts, usually, but not always, linked to Upfest. This time for 75 walls in 75 days, it is the turn of Philth and N4T4, and they have created something rather special.
Philth and N4T4, Clift House Road, Bristol, August 2021, Upfest 21
The two artists are no strangers to collaborating with one another, and indeed my first introduction to their talents was at an Upfest festival a few years back. In this mural, their work integrates really well, assisted by the colour palette both artists are using.
N4T4, Clift House Road, Bristol, August 2021, Upfest 21
The portrait is by N4T4 and is typical of his work, where the face is composed of a whole load of tiny detailed patterns, in this case floral patterns. It is so clever the way he does this. Not so clever is the terrible photograph. I’ll have to go and take another one.
Philth and N4T4, Clift House Road, Bristol, August 2021, Upfest 21
The extraordinary floral backdrop is by Philth and is surely inspired by William Morris wallpaper designs. Rich and sumptuous, the poppy heads, sunflowers, foxgloves and daisies make for a stunning piece, and it is amazing how powerful the whole effect is, being created with so few colours.
Philth, Clift House Road, Bristol, August 2021, Upfest 21
For good measure, topping the mural there is a butterfly which I think is by N4T4. The wing spots give this away as being a peacock butterfly, which again is superbly created using a limited colour palette. This is a joyful and uplifting collaboration that greets motorists on one of the busier roads in Bedminster and thoroughly deserving of its place on this premium wall.
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