North Street – Page 2 – Natural adventures

6229. Upfest 2024 (44)

Sophie Long, Upfest 2024, North Street, Bristol, May 2024

Sophie Long is an incredible wildlife artist, who blends accuracy of the subject creature with a soft artistic impression to create utterly outstanding murals and artworks that are uniquely hers. This Upfest piece, in a little annex (Ebeneezer Pocket Park) on North Street is a perfect example of what I am trying to describe.

Sophie has a penchant for painting bees, and manages to represent their character without anthropomorphising, which is a real skill. This is a special wall that has played host to numerous wonderful pieces over the years, and this one comfortably stands among them. A perfect Upfest piece from Sophie.

6228. Upfest 2024 (43)

Ant Carver, Upfest 2024, North Street, Bristol, July 2024

I am always touched when I say hello to artists, and they recognise me from brief snatches of conversations at previous festivals. This is the third year i a row that I have stopped to chat with Ant Carver, and in common with most artists I meet, he is a genuinely lovely bloke who will always make time to talk for a bit. At this year’s festival, he was running a little behind schedule, so I didn’t occupy his time too much.

Ant Carver, Upfest 2024, North Street, Bristol, May 2024

Ant Carver has done a terrific job with an awkward spot, which is quite hard to see from street level, unless you stand some distance away. The flat roof, and restricted access to it, meant that, apart from inquisitive souls like me, Ant Carver was pretty much left alone to get on with his split piece.

I was wondering what was going on with this interesting juxtaposition and found this explanation on the artist’s Instagram feed: “Lately I’ve been looking at the way we consume news and media and the conflict between intense and light imagery”. Ant Carver has demonstrated this perfectly in this piece, with the treat of the snarling dog, and the stoic partial portrait. Great work from Ant Carver.

6226. Upfest 2024 (41)

Hazard, Upfest 2024, North Street, Bristol, May 2024

Just like many other communities, the Bristol artist community is in a constant state of flux, with many new artists moving to the city as others move out. One of the most significant recent departures has been that of Hazard, who I believe has moved to the North of England, possibly to Leeds. This is a huge loss for Bristol, but her connections with the city mean that she will return from time to time, I am sure, like she did to paint this beauty for Upfest 2024.

The portrait piece with its patchwork of coloured shapes slightly underplays her brilliance – perhaps it is the slightly awkward spot, or the dark tones she has used, but it doesn’t leap out at you like many of her pieces do. It is a piece that you need to stop and look at and admire, but all too often people simply stroll by, focussed on their phone screens. I definitely miss Hazard’s regular interventions, but that makes each of her appearances now even more precious.

6211. North Street

Awkward, North Street, Bristol, July 2024

I shan’t go into a drawn out conversation about my reluctance to post promotional street art, because I did all that about a week ago, and would be in danger of becoming (more) boring. I choose to concentrate on the left-hand side of this piece by Awkward, painted on the side of a graffiti shop and gallery ‘Veeez’, which does a great job with supporting the culture in and around Bristol. Veeez is also an artist who has features a number of times in Natural Adventures.

The Awkward character is exactly what you’d expect from the artist. A kind of skeletal face painted in an irregular style, with enormous eyes and a speech bubble with the work AWK-WARD written in it. There is plenty of movement generated by the little wavy yellow lines around the outline. Another one for the gallery.

6195. Upfest 2024 (40)

Tozer signs, Upfest 2024, North Street, Bristol, May 2024

Anyone who spends time on Bedminster’s North Street will have consciously or unconsciously seen signs in the area by Bristol-based sign writer, Tozer signs.this is a beautifully designed and executed street sign welcoming visitors to North Street.

There is a huge amount of skill and experience that has gone into producing this large sign that more than equals even the best graffiti writing in the city… the only real difference is the discipline and accuracy that a sign writer must work to in order to have any credibility at all. Tozer signs delivers in bucket-loads with this piece. The block letters spelling out NORTH STREET, have great uniformity and depth, and show off the talent of a brilliant craftswoman. Regrettably this piece was dogger not long after the Upfest festival ended. There are way too many idiots in our midst, but I guess anyone who created art on the streets knows the risks and likely limitations on longevity. Beautiful work from Tozer signs.

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!

	scooj on 7224. East Street
	scooj on Pyramidal Orchid
	scooj on 7222. Cumberland Basin
	scooj on 7226. Willway Street – U…
	scooj on Thursday Doors – 18 June…

	scooj on 7224. East Street
	scooj on Pyramidal Orchid
	scooj on 7222. Cumberland Basin
	scooj on 7226. Willway Street – U…
	scooj on Thursday Doors – 18 June…

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