On his visits to Bristol, Alex Arnell has definitely made Leonard Lane his home. All the nooks and crannies in this dark, narrow lane lend themselves perfectly to his nightmarish characters.
At first glance, this naive style of art might be considered by some to be the sort of thing that anyone could do. This viewpoint would be a mistake though, as Alex Arnell has developed a very distinct style that he replicates through his studio and street work, and as a classically trained artist this style is anything but child’s play. This particular piece, like so much of his work, combines humour with horror, colour with darkness. It is both challenging and arresting.
The following biography is an extract from his website:
As much as I don’t like talking about my art, I feel there maybe some confusion about the breadth and chaotic nature of my practice, so here I feel it necessary to attempt to explain.
Increasingly since moving to London in 2009, influenced by the abundance of street art all around me, I have found myself making art in outdoor spaces. Alongside this, I have also continued my studio practice – usually painting and often with galleries/ indoor spaces in mind-but the boundaries blur. Audience response is also crucial to my development. I want to make art that the public will engage with/find interesting. On the street/ in outside spaces, where there are people around, there might become a performance aspect to my art making, or it might become interactive.
For a few years now, I have worked part-time in a primary school making art with children, so this has had a huge influence on my work.
As for the diversity and varied choice of subjects/handling, I want to make art that is not contrived or elitist, so I try to trust and follow my instincts with regard to ideas/media choice. Once I am involved in making, the work usually becomes process lead and my mood at the time will dictate how the artwork is resolved.
My art is usually signed ‘Alex Arnell’ or tagged ‘Sell Out’. ‘Sell Out’ is simply a tag for my outdoor work, when sometimes I might give away work for free, blu tack it to a wall or make it in a medium that can rub off (like chalk). The words ‘Sell Out’ have become synonymous with the world of Graffiti/street art (an insult thrown at artists who have used the streets as a platform to make money from their art) seemed somehow humorously appropriate.
Natural adventures 