Amber Bardell, Lucky Lane, Bristol, September 2025
This is why I love the Bristol Mural Collective so much. This piece is unlike anything you are likely to see on the streets very often. It could belong on a sketchbook page and never be seen, but here it is in the middle of a quiet lane displayed as a piece of public art.
Amber Bardell, Lucky Lane, Bristol, September 2025
I haven’t seen any work by Amber Bardell before, and I’m not sure whether she has painted murals before, but this is a charming illustration mural of a bird pecking up four-leaf clovers, in keeping with the luck theme of the paint jam. There is a child-like quality and simplicity to the piece, which is nicely painted. A great contribution in Lucky Lane.
Amy McHugh first came onto my radar at the last Bristol Mural Collective paint jam on the Greenbank hoardings with a peace for Palestine mural. This time she has gone bigger with a nature theme and some comforting words for ‘Rob’.
Amy McHugh, Lucky Lane, Bristol, September 2025
The words are written in a lovely illustrative font, and I guess were painted with a brush. They say: ‘I’m sorry it’s so tough – it’s ok not to feel ok – one thing for sure is change – I’m sending love today – for Rob and all who struggle’. Kind words accompanied by kind birds and animals. The naive style is enchanting and would work well as illustrations in a picture book.
While I was away on holiday, the Bristol Mural Collective held a paint jam in Lucky Lane. I had been told by Nina Raines, the organiser, that it was happening, and was really sorry to miss it. Because I wasn’t there, I don’t know whether this wonderful piece by Pelmo was already there or was painted on the day.
Pelmo, Lucky Lane, Bristol, September 2025
Pelmo has painted in Lucky Lane a couple of times before, so I am guessing he lives nearby. This is a fabulous composition of a man, with a paunch, sitting on a bench in a rather surreal landscape, including a couple of sunflowers in pots with music 🎵 tumbling from them. A bright, witty and rather peaceful mural by Pelmo.
Whenever I run a street art doors post, it tends to signal that I am busy or under pressure and haven’t had time to sort out a ‘regular’ post. I have just returned from holiday and simply haven’t been able to prepare for the continuation of Marrakesh Doors that I was expecting to post today.
The reason it is quicker to post about street art doors is that all the pictures have previously appeared on Natural Adventures in my street art/graffiti posts, and are ready to go, which means the only bit I have to sort out is this writing bit.
These pictures were mostly taken in May last year, many of them painted during the Upfest 24 paint festival (the largest street art festival in Europe). I hope you enjoy them.
M. Oldhues, Ashton Road, Upfest 24, Bristol, May 2024Abraham.O, North Street, Upfest 24, Bristol, May 2024Zoe Power, Wilder Street, Bristol, May 2024Yoliws, North Street, Bristol, January 2024Jagung, Upfest 24, West Street, Bristol, May 2024Emotional Waterfall Art, Upfest 24, Exeter Road, Bristol, May 2024Bex Glover, Upfest 24, Stackpool Road, Bristol, May 2024Sepr, Upfest 24, The Nursery, Bristol, May 2024Shane O’Malley, Upfest 24, Bedminster Down Road, Bristol, May 2024Stewy, Grevile Smyth Park, Bristol, May 2024
I sincerely hope that normal service will return next time as I continue with some more wonderful doors from Marrakesh. Have a great end of week and weekend.
If you have made it this far, you probably like doors, and you really ought to take a look at the No Facilities blog by Dan Anton who has taken over the hosting of Thursday Doors from Norm 2.0 blog. Links to more doorscursions can be found in the comments section of Dan Anton’s weekly Thursday Doors post.
Another powerful combination of imagery and words from the Bristol Mural Collective paint jam that was themed on Palestine. This particular piece by Amy McHugh is visually impactful using the image of a dove of peace carrying a flower, and shedding a tear.
Amy McHugh, Greenbank, Bristol, August 2025
The colours, as with most of these paint jam pieces, pick up on the colours of the Palestinian flag, which are all represented. The words “None of us are free until we’re all free – Palestine” are interesting, especially their approximation to the Jewish poet Emma Lazarus who wrote in 1883, “Until we are all free, we are none of us free.” It is a sentiment I believe many of us can agree with, but I fear we might be in for a long wait.
This is a strong message of support for Palestine and the people of Gaza and the West Bank by Amy McHugh.
In recent years, Jimmer Wilmott has turned his focus away from his zany surreal pieces and towards his equally zany alphabetti spaghetti work, which are really cleverly painted, but (speaking as someone who is phobic of tinned spaghetti in tomato sauce) slightly yucky.
Jimmer Wilmott, Knowle West, Bristol, July 2025
I imagine that this piece is a private commission, because it is in somebody’s backyard, and I had to stand on tiptoes with my phone fully stretched above my head to take the photographs. I’m not sure that I’d want this in my garden, but each to his own. The letters picked out in this piece spell FAMILY, and in a way, that is rather touching. Jimmer rarely produces subtle pieces, and this is a country mile away from subtle.
On one of my recent and rather infrequent walks to work, I came across this piece by Lucy Danielle and I think curated by Global Street art. I have inly seen her work once before (I think) and that was in Leicester last year, as part of the ‘Bring the Paint’ festival.
Lucy Danielle, Lower Park Row, Bristol, June 2025
In this large mural, Lucy Danielle has combined some abstract illustration with a portrait that is split in the middle, with one half being photorealistic and the other a comic-like illustration. I can’t tell if the graffiti on the GWR train is part of the artwork, or has been artfully added by a tagger subsequently. The whole thing is a bright and colourful addition, in this tucked away street.
The Hass, Lower Maudlin Street, Bristol, June 2025
Since the Covid lockdowns, I have worked from home pretty much all the time, apart from occasional visits around the country. Every once in a while I do go to the office and in doing so, walk different routes, in the hope that I will encounter some pieces of street art I’ve not spotted before. I got lucky the last time I made the trip a couple of weeks ago, with this outstanding mural by The Hass.
The Hass, Lower Maudlin Street, Bristol, June 2025
I have a feeling that the mural, which is painted on a hospital building, must be in celebration of 75 years of the National Health Service. The impressive commission is quite different from some of The Hass’ more creative work, and demonstrates that he has a talent not only for his art work but also for sticking to a brief. A wonderful piece that I had been blissfully unaware of. Perhaps I ought to walk into work more often.
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
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.
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 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.
Natural adventures 