Tag: Fox

4954. Hurlingham Road

Spike Clark, Hurlingham Road, Bristol, June 2022
Spike Clark, Hurlingham Road, Bristol, June 2022

I know exactly why I never posted this outstanding mural by Spike Clark in Hurlingham Road, it is because I was waiting for a clean photograph without cars parked in front of it. Well, I have given up. I think the cars are super-glued to the road, so I will have to post the pictures I have.

Spike Clark, Hurlingham Road, Bristol, June 2022
Spike Clark, Hurlingham Road, Bristol, June 2022

I had thought that Spike Clark was from out of town, and had written a paragraph about not needing to hire artists from elsewhere because there was such a pool of talent in the city, but it turns out that Spike Clarke works out of Bristol, so I have rewritten that paragraph. Spike Clark has produced this mesmerising ‘the quick brown fox’, which has become a significant landmark in this part of Bristol.

Spike Clark, Hurlingham Road, Bristol, June 2022
Spike Clark, Hurlingham Road, Bristol, June 2022

The honeycomb decoration is absolutely stunning and provides the perfect backdrop to the leaping foxes, each cell beautifully filled and colour coordinated. Liberal use of shadow black, or some other similar paint, provides the depth for each cell, creating a fabulous 3D effect.

Spike Clark, Hurlingham Road, Bristol, June 2022
Spike Clark, Hurlingham Road, Bristol, June 2022

The whole piece feels a bit like a time-lapse capture of the fox as it leaps along the wall. Foxes are always associated with Bristol, long before urban foxes were a national ‘thing’, Bristol had a strong and healthy population of foxes, and at one point played host to the most dense population of foxes ever recorded in the UK (on my allotment, in fact).

Spike Clark, Hurlingham Road, Bristol, June 2022
Spike Clark, Hurlingham Road, Bristol, June 2022

Maybe one day I will manage to capture this beauty in one face on photograph, but I am not holding my breath.

4747. M32 Spot (147)

Daz Cat, M32 Spot, Bristol, October 2022
Daz Cat, M32 Spot, Bristol, October 2022

It would seem that after a rather dormant spell over the summer, Daz Cat is becoming a little more active again, and his pieces are definitely moving more in the direction of narratives than straightforward portraits of cats and dogs.

Daz Cat, M32 Spot, Bristol, October 2022
Daz Cat, M32 Spot, Bristol, October 2022

In this column piece, under the M32, a cat, with a fox curled up on its head is holding a little dog and is standing next to a chicken with a frog on its head. Don’t ask what the story here is, I wouldn’t know where to begin. I prefer to enjoy the spectacle and the elements that make it up. Another fabulous us piece from Daz Cat.

That time of year

.

Disproportionate

noise of lovemaking foxes

upsetting the dog

.

by Scooj

4114. Dean Lane skate park (445)

It is thrilling to see so many female artists hitting the streets through paint jams organised by the Bristol Womxn Mural Collective, and last month’s session in Dean Lane skate park were particularly productive, including this gorgeous fox mural by Urban Fay (Natasha Fay Watson).

Urban Fay, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2021
Urban Fay, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2021

I’m not too sure I have posted anything by Urban Fay before, so this fox, a creature so closely associated with Bristol, is a perfect start. The decaying animal reminds us of the circle of life, and there is a lovely bit of narrative from the artist on this:

What wondrous blessings each morning’s sunrise brings us. The cycle goes on.

3911. Cumberland Basin

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
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
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.

3873. Upfest 2021 75×75 (40)

This is such a wonderful piece on one of the most tricky walls to photograph in Bedminster (and there are a great many of them), but SkyHigh has worked with it rather than against it, and told me all about it when I met him while painting it.

SkyHigh, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2021, Upfest 21
SkyHigh, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2021, Upfest 21

The wall is in front of a little green which has been planted with trees, so photographing the full wall can only be achieved from the sides or through the trees. Taking this into account, SkyHigh has introduced a woodland scene as a backdrop and added a beautiful Bristol fox.

SkyHigh, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2021, Upfest 21
SkyHigh, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2021, Upfest 21

The block letters spell out SKYHIGH and are painted in a vibrant blue colour that contrasts brilliantly with the woodland greens and browns.

SkyHigh, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2021, Upfest 21
SkyHigh, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2021, Upfest 21

The whole scene might be a little more visible in the winter when the young trees have shed their leaves. I don’t think it really matters though because of the way the artist has approached the piece and incorporated the trees as part of the overall effect.

SkyHigh, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2021, Upfest 21
SkyHigh, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2021, Upfest 21

SkyHigh is a highly skilled artist and demonstrates this with the stunning fox portrait to the right hand side of the piece, one of the best street art foxes I have seen. SkyHigh is always, always welcome in Bristol.

3864. Upfest 2021 75×75 (37)

I first encountered Mind Control’s work at Upfest 2017, and since then, the young artist has been improving steadily. Much of his work is themed around animal rights and this piece aligns to what is obviously a strong motivation for the artist. His perseverance and hard work has been rewarded with this Tobacco Factory spot for Upfest’s 75 walls in 75 days event.

Mind Control, Tobacco Factory, Bristol, July 2021, Upfest 21
Mind Control, Tobacco Factory, Bristol, July 2021, Upfest 21

The piece itself feels a little bit threatening and menacing with a masked and hooded hunt saboteur set in front of a stark background with barbed wire strung across it. Two foxes feature in the piece, presumably freed or protected by the character. This is a piece full of passion and not a little anger and it comes across in the colours, style and subject matter. Rather different from the more mainstream fare we have been used to seeing from Upfest this year.

3773. River Avon (16)

I cannot tell you (except I am) how much I am enjoying these kawaii pieces by Maesyhook that have been appearing all over the city over the last few months. The style and characters are quite unlike anything else we see in Bristol, and her work is a breath of fresh air.

Maesyhook, River Avon, Bristol, June 2021
Maesyhook, River Avon, Bristol, June 2021

This piece is on the cycle path which runs alongside the River Avon opposite the paintworks. The cheeky little fox character has a little speech bubble with a kawaii poo emoji, which in itself is all rather cute. Cute is the kawaii way, although with Maesyhook it has some edge through painting her work on walls, rather than on computer screens. I love this piece and her work.

3702. Dean Lane skate park (417)

I fully expect that these foxes by Nebeldac will become a reasonably regular feature of Natural Adventures, although some of the ‘rougher’ ones might get swept up into a compilation.

Nebeldac, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2021
Nebeldac, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2021

This chrome fox appeared in Dean Lane a couple of weeks back and is really rather cool, making the most of a rare day of sunshine in what has been a very wet and miserable Ma. Nice to see the foxes appearing all over the place.

3681. Cumberland Basin

Over the last six months or so, these foxes have been appearing pretty much all over the city, but with a concentration down by the river on both sides. Some of these foxes are a bit quick and dirty, but others, like this one, have been painted beautifully by yet another artist new to Natural Adventures, Nebeldac.

Nebeldac, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, April 2021
Nebeldac, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, April 2021

This was painted of a large paint jam on the long wall at Cumberland Basin, most of which I still haven’t posted (a wealth of riches). The fox is a creature synonymous with Bristol which is famed for its urban fox population. I mentioned it once before, but when I first moved to this fine city, I was lucky enough to get an allotment and at that time the population density of foxes there was the highest recorded anywhere in the country. Sadly the introduction of wheely bins and an outbreak of mange all but decimated the population. We now have a healthy population of healthy foxes.

Expect to see more of these foxes from Nebeldac, I have dozens in my archive.