Naive – Natural adventures

7205. Lucky Lane (10)

Amy McHugh, Lucky Lane, Bristol, September 2025

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’.

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.

J. Dior

A gallery of naïve art pieces from a while ago that decorated Bristol streets by J. Dior (Diore).

All photographs by Scooj

J. Dior, The Bearpit, Bristol, July 2017

6471. Lower Approach Road (13)

Merny, Lower Approach Road, Bristol, October 2024

This wonderful piece by Merny has been outside Bristol Temple Meads station for ages, but I only recently managed to photograph it. The problem with the station area is that I tend to save the pieces there for when I am going to be travelling by rail, but of course I never leave enough time to photograph them.

Painted in 2022, the tender piece depicts a man leaning over another who is in a sleeping bag, saying the words “I’ll wake you up when it is over John”. I am not sure what the piece is about but I amguessung that it is a commentary on the state of rough sleeping in our country. The naive style that Merny uses some makes the message even more poignant. A thought-provoking piece.

6312. Muriel Alleyway (10)

Billy, Muriel Alleyway, Bristol, August 2024

Bristol’s smallest street art festival in Muriel Alleyway was a joyous occasion where some twenty or so artists gathered together to decorate a row of garage doors and garden back doors, bathed in glorious sunshine. This was Billy’s contribution to the event, and completely in keeping with the positive energy generated during the day.

I think that Billy had to paint some of this over an extended period, because she and Merny were swapping parenting duties while attempting to complete their respective works. This is pure Billy, with here naïve style front and centre in the form of a portrait of a girl. Painted in bright and happy colours, this is a great example of her uplifting work.

6237. Purdown (73)

Ha ha! ‘It’s all gone woke’, so says this marvellous character by Merny. The phrase is one used by anybody who doesn’t like or disagrees with those elements of policy/regulation/rules/behaviour that they take issue with on account of it not complying with their own values. The peak example of the phrase was probably the quote from former Home Secretary Suella Braverman, who used the term ‘Guardian-reading, tofu-eating wokerati’ to describe Just Stop Oil protesters in 2022. I wonder how she would describe the pigs who are currently protesting against immigrants in the UK. Spot the tumbleweed.

This is a lovely Merny piece, so ‘of its time’, simple and powerful, like so much of his work. The piece was painted around the time of his excellent exhibition, which I understand from speaking to him since, went better than expected, and he managed to sell quite a few original pieces, which is great to hear. I would have loved to have bought one or two of his originals, but alas they were marginally outside my price range. See some of them below:

Merny Exhibition, 17 Midland Road, Bristol, July 2024

6023. Leonard Lane (45)

Alex Arnell, Leonard Lane, Bristol, May 2024

The work of Alex Arnell, in my mind, verges on the grotesque… not his artwork, I hasten to add, but his subject material. Although he operates out of Brick Lane in London, he appears to have visited Bristol on a couple of occasions, and has left behind a gallery of characters in Leonard Lane.

Alex Arnell’s style is utterly unique and could be interpreted as scribbles that ‘anyone could do’. That may or may not be true, but the point here is that he does it, and he does it really well. I like deliberately naive artwork because there is an authenticity about it, and although a cultivated look, it is also honest and unpretentious – although there might be those that consider it grossly pretentious. The skeleton is rather scary, not because it is a skeleton, but because there is threat and alarm in his expression. Crazy stuff, but most welcome.

4935. Picton Lane (15)

Conrico, Picton Lane, Bristol, December 2022

I love a good mural every now and again, and I was pleasantly surprised by this lovely piece by Conrico hidden away in Picton Lane. I haven’t visited the lane in quite a while, so am not sure when this was painted, but I hadn’t been aware of it on social media at all.

Taking up the whole side wall of a building, the tranquil; piece depicts a railway passing through a small settlement and disappearing into the purple mountains in the distance. The artwork has a naïve style with a little bit of flexibility on perspectives and so on.

Overall, the mural is a ray of sunshine, breathing life into a wall that would otherwise be rather dull. Conrico has been busy with commissions this year, which can only be a good thing for him and for us.

4739. Spot (145)

Creamylines, M32 Spot, Bristol, September 2022

By the time you read this I will be wetting a line on the south coast of Cornwall not far from Fowey, and this post is short because I need to get up, have breakfast and prepare my fishing gear that hasn’t seen any action for a long while.

Creamylines hit this spot hard about three weeks ago, and this is the second of his pieces from that session. Painted in the naive style, this piece is another landscape piece filled with hills and people and topped off with a classic sun and sun-rays painted the way we used to paint them in School. You might also spot a couple of concealed faces too. Great work and so different to what we are used to seeing.

4361. Greenbank (36)

This wonderful piece from Merny made me laugh a lot and offered another insight into the artist’s observational skills and ability to recreate otherwise ordinary conversations or objects and turn them into something visually special. I always enjoy his work, and the naive style lends itself to remarkable storytelling.

The heroine of the piece declares ‘I utterly can’t help it if I’m beautiful hun!’ And tells us so much about this rather vain and laughable, but somehow endearing character. What I like about the piece is that we all probably know somebody like this, and it is this resonance that works so well, like a good situational comedian. The woman is talking to herself in a mirror, which makes the piece even more hilarious. Great work from Merny.

3841. Greenbank (13)

Although it isn’t something that should be too much remarked upon or even overthought, there is a really large contingent of female street artists in Bristol, which probably goes against the stereotype of being the province of young male delinquents (a stereotype that is so misinformed I might add). One of the regular ladies wot paint is Billy, whose colourful murals never disappoint.

This one on the long wall at Greenbank is particularly beautiful and calming. The message is simple and positive, ‘a nice flower in the park’ and the bold shapes and design a pleasant antidote to wildstyle writing or photorealism. This naive style of street art is equally valid and often very powerful in its simplicity and voice. Lovely work from Billy, once again.

	paulh121 on 7352. Cumberland Basin
	Sheree on 7352. Cumberland Basin
	paulh121 on 7350. Hillgrove Street (9…
	Bill Bisgood on Thursday doors – 11 Dece…
	scooj on Thursday doors – 11 Dece…

	paulh121 on 7352. Cumberland Basin
	Sheree on 7352. Cumberland Basin
	paulh121 on 7350. Hillgrove Street (9…
	Bill Bisgood on Thursday doors – 11 Dece…
	scooj on Thursday doors – 11 Dece…

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