Tag: Leonard Lane

4504. Leonard Lane (34)

When artists come to Bristol for Upfest, they occasionally leave behind some ‘extras’, and this is exactly what My Dog Sighs did in a couple of spots around Bristol with these wheatpastes. In Bristol, wheatpastes have never been all that popular, which is a pity, so to see these superb paste ups from such a significant artist is a real joy.

My Dog Sighs, Leonard Lane, Bristol, May 2022
My Dog Sighs, Leonard Lane, Bristol, May 2022

The first paste up features MDS’ Everyman character painted on a newspaper background, with the profound statement ‘our secrets sleep in winter coats’. Although this looks like an original artwork, it is in fact a print, which in no way devalues it(except in monetary terms), as many wheatpastes are prints that are replicated in multiple venues.

My Dog Sighs, Leonard Lane, Bristol, May 2022
My Dog Sighs, Leonard Lane, Bristol, May 2022

The other two prints feature rather more subtle characters, more akin to the artwork he has been developing from his crushed can pieces. At one time MDS might have been in danger of becoming a one trick pony, however he has spread his wings and diversified so much in recent years which is great to see.

My Dog Sighs, Leonard Lane, Bristol, May 2022
My Dog Sighs, Leonard Lane, Bristol, May 2022

I think these three were in Leonard Lane, but I can’t be one hundred percent sure as I took photographs of his wheatpastes in several different places. The final piece has one of his pigeon-people that MDS has been painting for two or three years. Fabulous stuff. You will always find me partial to a bit of paste up work.

4471. Leonard Lane (33)

I was fortunate enough to meet several members of the Bristol Womxn Mural Collective yesterday at Upfest and what an extreme pleasure it was too. I have seen the results of their various paint jams dotted around the city, and it was so good at last to meet some of them.

This piece, by Tanith Gould, is from one of their recent paint jams in Leonard Lane, one of my favourite spots in Bristol.

Tanith Gould, Leonard Lane, Bristol, May 2022
Tanith Gould, Leonard Lane, Bristol, May 2022

Tanith Gould has a wonderful illustrative style in which she presents figures almost as studies. This is a beautifully thought out and designed quartered piece with two figures accompanied by legs appearing through holes. Certainly imaginative, but something you could easily imagine as a greetings card or small poster, something that hard-core street artists rarely achieve.

I am shocked to find that this is only the second post on Natural Adventures featuring Tanith Gould. I’ll have to do something about that.

4454. Leonard Lane (32)

Erviti has done it again by landing a beautiful piece of artwork on the streets of Bristol. This stunner was painted as part of a Bristol Womxn Mural Collective paint jam in the old alleyway of Leonard Lane.

Erviti, Leonard Lane, Bristol, May 2022
Erviti, Leonard Lane, Bristol, May 2022

The portrait of a woman wearing a hooded cloak is so unusual, and a real breath of fresh air on the streets of Bristol. The collective as a whole add another dimension to the street art scene, with studio artists going feral with their creative designs and different techniques. The end result adds to the huge diversity of art on the city’s streets. Erviti is leading the way with this welcome addition.

4305. Leonard Lane (31)

Oh, I do like to be beside the seaside. Leonard Lane could hardly contrast more with a seaside scene, which helps this gorgeous mural stand out by Billy. Billy Colours, to give her her full name, together with Mr Penfold and Rtiiika, decorated the wall opposite the Centrespace Gallery at which they were exhibiting alongside Zoe Power, Merny and Beth Kirby in mid-February. Regrettably, I never made it to their show, which I am gutted about, but I have a busy life and things like that often fall outside the ‘to do’ list.

Billy, Leonard Lane, Bristol, March 2022
Billy, Leonard Lane, Bristol, March 2022

The naive style and simple captions tell such vibrant stories in a direct and honest way. It might sound patronising to say that her pieces are charming, and I definitely don’t want to be patronising, so to say they have a spellbinding charm about them might be a better way to say it. Lady in a hat as a caption works very well for me, and this piece left me feeling happy.

4132. Leonard Lane (30)

I love my little walks down Leonard Lane, it feels rather secret, old and magical (if you can ignore the smell of piss) and there is always something new to notice. This little character, created and installed by Mutatee has been in the Lane for a while and looks a little worse for wear, but I thought I’d include it in any case because it is all part and parcel of the Bristol street art scene.

Mutatee, Leonard Lane, Bristol, December 2021
Mutatee, Leonard Lane, Bristol, December 2021

It is well worth following Mutatee’s Instagram account @mutatee_ to see how she makes all her characters, it is a fascinating process. The character is from the film Labyrinth, starring David Bowie and a whole host of puppets. I believe the worm is called William. In this cast by Mutatee, the tufts of hair have been broken off, perhaps by someone trying to ‘steal’ the piece. A pity really, because it is little installations like this that add interest and intrigue to the city.

3710. Leonard Lane (29)

Leonard Lane has had a small renaissance lately thanks in no small part to 3F Fino who seems to have been enjoying himself and experimenting with ideas in the murky, narrow, stinky Lane.

3F Fino, Leonard Lane, Bristol, May 2021
3F Fino, Leonard Lane, Bristol, May 2021

This is an unusual and impactful piece from 3F Fino, and I’m not sure I would have been able to attribute it to him if it were not signed. There is something faintly Van Goughian about the artwork which looks like a series of brush strokes rather than the work of a spray can. Original and interesting work.

3700. Leonard Lane (28)

It is interesting to see how some artists find a spot and then work it really hard. Perhaps they enjoy the textures and surfaces or maybe it is being out of the public gaze, whatever the reason it happens quite a lot and 3F Fino seems to have been enjoying himself quite a bit in Leonard Lane recently. This is good news, because the turnover in this dark alley tends to be quite slow. Lots of new stuff to admire there at the moment.

3F Fino, Leonard Lane, Bristol, May 2021
3F Fino, Leonard Lane, Bristol, May 2021

3F Fino has been having a bit of fun with painting characters coming out of windows. I love this kind of contextual work that uses the surroundings and incorporates them into the painting. The piece itself is bright and creative and has the rounded edges that Are a common feature of his character work. Great fun piece.

3255. Leonard Lane (27)

Varo has really hit on something that totally chimes with me – painting the same basic mega-tag of a bull in a variety of forms in different places. A simple idea that lends itself to the conditions of the spot chosen to paint and the amount of time available. To take this approach one step higher would be to paint them in the style of different artists, for example David Hockney, Matisse or Dali. That could be a lot of fun.

Varo, Leonard Lane, Bristol, September 2020
Varo, Leonard Lane, Bristol, September 2020

This particular bull, tucked away in a doorway in Leonard Lane is the full beast, including a tail rather than just the head, which we are more used to seeing. This is quite a raw piece, but is of interest because one knows that the artist is capable of doing much tighter work when the environment permits. A decent throw up.

2918. Leonard Lane (26)

Just in case anyone is suffering from withdrawal symptoms from a regular dose of Nevergiveup’s (#followmyrabbits) rabbits, I thought I’d throw in one of dozens still unpublished on Natural Adventures.

Nevergiveup, Leonard Lane, Bristol, July 2019
Nevergiveup, Leonard Lane, Bristol, July 2019

This beauty was sprayed on one of the doors at the eastern end of Leonard Lane, and I think I must have photographed it fairly soon after it had been painted because it is very crisp and clean without any tags. This one is notable for the use of lots of colours, maybe he was using up dregs. Lovely rabbit this one, and a great location.

2750. Leonard Lane (24)

Do you know what? I think this piece is in Leonard Lane, or at least I think I thought it was, but now I am not so sure. No matter, it is somewhere in Bristol. It is of course by the very original #DFTE whose philosophical musings are scattered around the city.

#DFTE, Leonard Lane, Bristol, Jnuary 2020
#DFTE, Leonard Lane, Bristol, Jnuary 2020

In this wheatpaste, #DFTE seems to have abandones his framed picture approach in favour of a slightly less labour intensive regular paste up. So here he says:

Never underestimate the healing power of listening to your favourite music on full blast while jumping around the house like an idiot.

This is a sentiment I can absolutely identify with as my rather ashamed kids might testify. Nice paste up and nice words frrom #DFTE.