North Street – Page 2 – Natural adventures

6191. Upfest 2024 (36)

Inkie, Upfest 2024, Gathorne Road, Bristol, May 2024

Inkie is probably Bristol’s best known street artist, alongside Banksy (of course) and Nick Walker, and unlike the others, he still regularly paints in Bristol. It is pretty much a given that Inkie will be invited to Upfest to paint a significant wall, and for at least the second time he has painted the side of Parson’s Bakery on North Street.

‘Use your loaf” is the slogan Inkie has chosen for this classic piece with his very special writing and stylised portrait of a girl with long flowing hair. I don’t know if the colloquialism is one known outside the UK, but in this instance ‘loaf’ means brain or head… a bit like the phrase ‘use your noodle’… same thing. A clever slogan for a bakery. Wonderful stuff from Inkie.

Inkie, Gathorne Road, Bristol, July 2019

Inkie, Gathorne Road, Bristol, June 2016

6129. Upfest 2024 (26)

Paul Monsters, Upfest 24, North Street, Bristol, May 2024

I have a feeling that this was one of the first walls to be completed for this year’s Upfest, and there is likely a very good reason for this. Paul Monsters, whose colourful geometric murals are well known in Bristol, also works with Upfest, so I imagine he needed to complete his piece early so that he could help with his festival responsibilities.

The wonderful mural is painted on the side of the Bristol Beer Factory, and Paul Monsters has carefully incorporated the pint glass logo into his design. The use of various tones of colours to create depth in these geometric pieces is a trademark of Paul Monsters’ work and although at first glance his work might look simple and straightforward, it is in fact complex and sophisticated. This post reminds me that it is high time I produced a gallery of his outstanding work.

6108. Upfest 2024 (24)

Angie Jerez, North Street, Upfest 24, Bristol, May 2024

With the sheer number and quality of large murals at this year’s Upfest, it was easy to become complacent, and I nearly missed this wonderful piece, by Angie Jerez, above Kask, which when you stroll on the ‘wrong’ side of the road in North Street, is quite easy to do, which I why I always walk up one side and back the other side.

This mural, featuring two birds and plant seed heads, way above the clouds has been beautifully designed around the stacked windows above the wine bar. The limited number of colours draws attention to the fine detail of the design itself, and the stylised birds are glorious. I don’t know anything about Angie Jerez other than what appears in her Upfest Biography, and that she is originally from Bogotá in Colombia, but now lives in Atlanta. What a brilliant thing that she came to Bristol to paint at Upfest.

6093. Upfest 2024 (20)

Anna Higgie, North Street, Upfest 24, Bristol, May 2024

There are some pieces that don’t require lengthy explanations or commentary because their beauty speaks for themselves and this gorgeous mural by Anna Higgie painted for Upfest 2024 is one of those.

Anna Higgie is an illustrator, originally from Australia, but now based in Bristol and who works out of a studio in Stokes Croft. I have posted a couple of her pieces on Natural Adventures before, but I think her street work is occasional and that she focuses on her illustrations. This bright and striking floral piece is so good, and if I am honest, deserves a rather nicer wall than this one, but perhaps the beauty of the piece is enhanced by the slightly grubby surroundings. This piece could hang happily in a gallery or home (with a wall big enough)… for example my home! As ever at Upfest it is always gratifying to see a good mix of local, national and international artists represented.

6089. Upfest 2024 (16)

Jacqui Butterworth, North Street Standard, Bristol, Upfest 24, May 2024

This is a particularly popular wall, although sometimes a little tricky to photograph. It is outside the North Street Standard and for this year’s Upfest has been stunningly painted by Jacqui Butterworth. After admiring the photorealism of the piece, the first question or thought has to be that there is a rather special story going on here, with plenty of symbolism. Interpretation is another matter though.

The mural starts with some steps leading up to a grand piano upon which a black and a white swan have made themselves at home. Two cygnets are in attendance and the one beneath the piano is lying down with some roses scattered on the floor.

The ‘harp’ inside the piano is reflected on the shiny underside of the piano lid, although I note that the black swan isn’t, implying that it is a figment of the viewer’s imagination. There are so many details to enjoy, such as the toppled wine glass above the keyboard, the shiny glint on the lid prop and the patterns on the castors. This is a beauty indeed, and conjures up the music of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake. Bravo Jacqui!

6078. Upfest 2024 (15)

Fyonafinn, North Street, Upfest 24, Bristol, May 2024

One of the interesting aspects of this year’s Upfest has been the large number of typographic writers/sign writers that have been invited, which is really quite unusual for a street art festival. Because of the format changes, and virtually no temporary hoardings being available, the other major change has been a massive reduction in the number of graffiti writers, so there is a very different ambience to the festival this time round.

This is a wonderful piece of stylised writing from Fyona Finn, a Bristol-based artist who has painted a few walls in the city in the past, but most of whose work is design. She describes herself as a lettering activist, which I think defines her style really well.

There are two elements to this piece, the design of the letters, and the message. The letters are carefully arranged, and created using masking tape to generate the straight lines, and the fills drift from one letter to another in a considered way. The message “Take care of each other” is a warm and compassionate sentiment delivered at a time when compassion from an outgoing Tory government is at an all time low. This is a nice piece from Fyona Finn, and I hope to see more of her work on Bristol walls.

6057. Upfest 2024 (6)

Faye Rai, North Street, Upfest 24, Bristol, May 2024

There has been a concerted focus at this year’s Upfest to create permanent or long-life pieces on existing and new walls, at the expense of the rather more ephemeral boards and festival atmosphere of previous events. I suspect that the festival element is more expensive and difficult to organise, and has been dropped this year, which is a pity. However, we are left with a plethora of outstanding pieces across South Bristol to enjoy, such as this beauty from Faye Rai.

I believe that Faye Rai is reasonably local, being based in Gloucester, and is an artist with a background in illustration. She has not been painting on the streets for very long, but appears to have made the transition very successfully, if this piece is anything to go by. She favours natural history in her work, and this portrayal of a purple heron is outstanding.

Now that she has a taste for street art, it would be wonderful to see more of her work about the place, and I am left wondering whether she might be painting at the Cheltenham paint festival later on this year. I have just checked her Instagram feed and note that she was at Cheltenham last year, and I have some pictures of her work, which alas I haven’t yet uploaded on to Natural Adventures, such is my backlog. These are surely the halcyon days of street art.

6052. North Street

Yoliws, North Street, Bristol, January 2024

At the moment, North Street is awash with new pieces that have been painted for Upfest, Europe’s largest street art festival, which continues until the end of this week. This piece, however, by Yoliws above the Café ‘Nook’ has been here for a little while and should not be confused with an Upfest piece.

Yoliws is a regular participant in the Bristol Mural Collective paint jams, but this is the first time I have seen a full-scale commission from her. The piece really sets a tone of relaxed café culture, and her white scribbly characters set on a black background tell a calm and comfortable story of what occurs within. Her highly designed style really lends itself to this kind of shopfront commission, and I am sure that there will be more to come. Great fun, well executed.

5818. North Street

Peanutsdeli, North Street, Bristol, January 2023

This wall is adjacent to a shop called Veeez, a name that might be familiar to regular readers of Natural Adventures, because of its close association with street art in Bristol and Weston-super-Mare. Every now and again the wall is handed over to a street artist who may be holding an exhibition of art in the shop, and I think that is the case with this brilliant piece by Peanutsdeli.

The artist’s style is without doubt influenced by manga comics – my first introduction to which was the fabulous TV cartoon series Marine Boy in the 1960s. This bright and colourful piece acted as a prelude to the magnificent clothes and prints that were inside the shop. I am a huge admirer of Peanutsdeli’s work and am overjoyed every time he paints in Bristol.

5815. North Street

Cheo, North Street, Bristol, January 2023

Sometimes you just can’t see the wood for the trees. I don’t understand how I missed this wonderful piece by Cheo, both on social media and in situ. I am guessing that it is a Halloween piece, or at least it looks that way (Fact check: it was painted around mid-October for Halloween), and got lucky, because it was painted over a few days after I took these pictures. Even though I think I have my eyes open, I still manage to miss things.

There is some real depth to this piece, which looks more like a painting than a piece of street art. I think it was painted at ground level and then placed in this elevated spot outside The North Street Standard with the help of Upfest. All the ingredients for a Halloween piece are there, a cat, a pumpkin, a cauldron, some wispy ghosts, a witch and a skull and bones, all given the special Cheo treatment. A lovely piece.

	Cethru Cellophane (a… on 7474. Canons Wharf
	Sheree on 7474. Canons Wharf
	hitandrun1964 on 7472. Surbiton Station, L…
	scooj on 7472. Surbiton Station, L…
	scooj on 7470. M32 roundabout J3 (…

	Cethru Cellophane (a… on 7474. Canons Wharf
	Sheree on 7474. Canons Wharf
	hitandrun1964 on 7472. Surbiton Station, L…
	scooj on 7472. Surbiton Station, L…
	scooj on 7470. M32 roundabout J3 (…

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: