6886. Camden High Street, London

Dave Bain, Camden High Street, London, April 2025
Dave Bain, Camden High Street, London, April 2025

It is always gratifying to find pieces by artists I am familiar with when I am on my travels, especially if they are from the West Country, so to come across this large mural in Camden Town by Dave Bain was rather special. Camden High Street and the area around it is curious in that it hosts the full range of art from high-end murals to tagging and everything in between.

Dave Bain, Camden High Street, London, April 2025
Dave Bain, Camden High Street, London, April 2025

This mural is full of colour and is a wonderful representation of the vibrancy of the area, with a punk character, musician and generally cool people having a good time. I think the days when Camden Town was a special place have long since gone, and it is now a honey pot for tourists with all the customary trappings, and references to its cool history. Maybe I am being a little harsh, but it is not how I remember it as a kid. Starbucks I am sure are rightly proud of this fine Mural.

6846. Hackins Hey, Liverpool

Nomad Clan, Hackins Hey, Liverpool, March 2025
Nomad Clan, Hackins Hey, Liverpool, March 2025

Our trip to Liverpool was a short one, two days and one night, but just long enough for me to snap a few street art pieces. I got lucky with this magnificent large mural by Nomad Clan, because it was on the route between our hotel and the station. We were running late for the train, and my wife was less than impressed with me stopping to photograph this beauty – I did catch up…

Nomad Clan, Hackins Hey, Liverpool, March 2025
Nomad Clan, Hackins Hey, Liverpool, March 2025

Nomad Clan are not strangers to Natural Adventures, and the duo have painted a few times at Upfest in Bristol, always going large with beautifully creative works. There is a strong nature theme in this piece, with a bee (anatomically a little dubious) and an amazing cormorant catching a fish. There is a lot of detail in the whole piece, tattoos and a patterned dress for the main character, and loads of hidden extras throughout. This is an impressive mural from Nomad Clan.

6833. St James street, Liverpool

Liam Bononi, St James Street, Liverpool, March 2025
Liam Bononi, St James Street, Liverpool, March 2025  

There were several memorable highlights to our recent weekend away in Liverpool, and nestled just under my wife’s completion of the half-marathon, and walking around the docks and the Liver building, was this utterly outstanding portrait mural by Liam Bononi.

Liam Bononi, St James Street, Liverpool, March 2025
Liam Bononi, St James Street, Liverpool, March 2025

The portrait piece, of a contorted agonised male face, is particularly impactful on account of both its size and its positioning on an entire elevation of a large, isolated Victorian building. There is so much detail in the face and hands, a signature of Liam Bononi’s work, and there is a fair amount of emotional wrestling going on here.

Liam Bononi, St James Street, Liverpool, March 2025
Liam Bononi, St James Street, Liverpool, March 2025

Without doubt, I am a big fan of Liam Bononi’s work, and the quality of his portraits. What a fabulous surprise to find one as magnificent as this on the back streets of Liverpool.

6832. New Bird Street, Liverpool

Molly Mural, New Bird Street, Liverpool, March 2025
Molly Mural, New Bird Street, Liverpool, March 2025

As you will know from yesterday’s post, I recently spent a weekend in Liverpool, and the old ‘graff radar’, which I thought I had turned off, swung into active duty. Not being familiar with the street/graffiti artists in Liverpool, it was comforting to come across this rather nice mural by Molly Mural, who has painted many times in Bristol, where she is based.

Molly Mural, New Bird Street, Liverpool, March 2025
Molly Mural, New Bird Street, Liverpool, March 2025

I’m not sure how long the mural has been there, but I guess a while, as some of the paint was chipping. The piece appears to be full of symbolism and stories and is centred around the numbers 1 and 3. The abstract piece is characteristically colourful, and after doing a little Interweb search, it turns out it was inspired by Taylor Swift’s ‘second era’ and her lucky number 13. You live and learn.

6759. Mina Road (14)

Aspire, Mina Road, Bristol, February 2025
Aspire, Mina Road, Bristol, February 2025

I am having way too much fun skiing to write comprehensive posts this week, and am completely worn out when I do have a moment. So this is a quickie.

Aspire, Mina Road, Bristol, February 2025
Aspire, Mina Road, Bristol, February 2025

I have known about this stunning Octopus piece by Aspire for a while, but simply haven’t found myself an a situation where I could park up and photograph it. A little late to the party, but I made it in the end. Aspire used to keep us very happy in Bristol when he lived here with his regular bird pictures, but he does come back from time to time, and obviously still has contacts in the city. I guess that this was a commission for the restaurant below. Superb artwork.

6667. Greville Smyth Park (4)

Andrew Burns Colwill, Greville Smyth Park, Bristol, January 2024
Andrew Burns Colwill, Greville Smyth Park, Bristol, January 2024

I found this piece, by Andrew Burns Colwill, in my archives and I can’t for the life of me understand why I haven’t posted it before. His work is so good that every time I photograph it, I try to post it on Natural Adventures. Something went wrong with the system here, but at least I am putting things straight now.

Andrew Burns Colwill, Greville Smyth Park, Bristol, January 2024
Andrew Burns Colwill, Greville Smyth Park, Bristol, January 2024

I have a feeling that the incredible mural may have been painted as an Upfest piece back in 2022, but I only photographed t in January 2024, so not only am I slow in posting it, I was also very slow in finding in in the first place. As with all of Andrew Burns Colwill’s pieces there is a strong story happening here, and my interpretation is that mankind is running out of time on this beautiful Earth. There is a deep sadness in the piece which is extremely powerful. As ever Andrew Burns Colwill reminds us of our fragile relationship with the place we call home.

6651. Braggs Lane

Billy, Braggs Lane, Bristol, December 2024
Billy, Braggs Lane, Bristol, December 2024

It is my birthday today. It is a busy day of packing, sightseeing and travelling. We are due to return to Bristol at around midnight, when our little break will sadly be over. Some great experiences and memories will remain with us and sustain us through the rest of the winter, I hope. I found this piece by Billy a little too late I fear, it would have been nice to have seen it without the tags.

Billy, Braggs Lane, Bristol, December 2024
Billy, Braggs Lane, Bristol, December 2024

Billy’s no nonsense simplicity and story-telling illustrative pieces are a real strength, and this piece shines through the tags with class. My guess, and it is a guess, is that this is a mural about peace in Palestine. The bird might be a dove, the semi-circular shapes might be watermelons, a motif of Palestine. Of course, it could be something else entirely. Whatever it is, there is a story in the illustration. Nice work from Billy.

6609. Gloucester Road

Hazard, Gloucester Road, Bristol, September 2024
Hazard, Gloucester Road, Bristol, September 2024

I found and photographed this piece a little while ago, and perhaps should have waited and got some better pictures, once the site in front of it was cleared. The huge mural was an unsigned mystery, and so I have held back on posting it. Once again, I have Paul H to thank for his detective work in finding out that it is by Hazard. Well, well, well, who’d have thought it?

Hazard, Gloucester Road, Bristol, September 2024
Hazard, Gloucester Road, Bristol, September 2024

Hazard has a particular style that is quite easy to pick out, but this commission on the side of the Anchor pub on Gloucester Road is nothing like her usual style, and I don’t think I would have ever guessed it was by her, especially as she left Bristol about two years ago.

Hazard, Gloucester Road, Bristol, September 2024
Hazard, Gloucester Road, Bristol, September 2024

There is so much to like about this mural, which tells the Bristol story, with balloons and the Clifton Suspension Bridge, some colourful Georgian houses, a swan, a gull and of course an anchor. It really is a magnificent mural, but I simply don’t understand why she didn’t sign it… curious. Driving south along the Gloucester Road, this piece has quickly become something of a landmark.

6603. Dove Street South

Fowsachi, Dove Street South, Bristol, November 2024
Fowsachi, Dove Street South, Bristol, November 2024

UPDATE: Thanks to Mike Matthews for informing me that the artist is in fact Fowsachi.

As regular readers will know by now, I don’t really like posting pieces by unknown artists, but it does happen from time to time, in particular in relation to large one-off murals, like this one. I expect that this piece is signed, but it is difficult to get close, because it is painted in the middle of a housing block, and it would feel a little awkward to go snooping around.

Fowsachi, Dove Street South, Bristol, November 2024
Fowsachi, Dove Street South, Bristol, November 2024

I don’t recognise the style of this artist, which makes me think that it is either painted by a visitor, or by an artist who rarely paints in Bristol… of course I could be quite wrong on both counts. The bright and colourful piece is certainly uplifting in quite a bleak block, and features bold elements including a figure, and what looks like a parrot. All part of the Bristol street art scene, and a welcome addition to the area.

6601. Upfest 2024 (60)

Jack Lack, Upfest 24, Greville Street, Bristol, May 2024
Jack Lack, Upfest 24, Greville Street, Bristol, May 2024

Jack Lack is an artist from Stuttgart, Germany, who is a muralist who uses cans and rollers in his work, influenced by the graffiti scene. When I first saw this impressive and moving piece, I assumed the animal was a fox, but it was nagging me that the proportions of the snout, and markings were all wrong. It turns out that it is a red panda, and this is what the artist wrote about the piece:

Sometimes things are easier to comprehend if they are fluffy, so here is an endangered red panda dealing with a pointy nest. Hopefully soon we can steer the world to an increase in safe homes for everyone.

Jack Lack, Upfest 24, Greville Street, Bristol, May 2024
Jack Lack, Upfest 24, Greville Street, Bristol, May 2024

So it would seem that the red panda nestled in amongst some arrows is a metaphor for safe homes for everyone, and I guess that means domestically and those suffering in war zones or other disaster areas around the world. It is a powerful piece, but more than that it is superbly painted, and a stand out piece from the 2024 Upfest festival.