North Street – Page 3 – Natural adventures

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.

5715. North Street

Cheo, North Street, Bristol, December 2023

One of the most pleasurable things about going on my rounds to photograph street/graffiti art in Bristol is that I am frequently surprised by pieces that I didn’t know about and that stand out from the crowd. Frankly, pretty much anything that Cheo paints stands out, and due to a significant drop-off in his street activity in recent years, their rarity makes them even more exciting.

Painted on 1 December, this piece almost feels like the opening window of an advent calendar (which has just given me a brilliant idea to pitch with Upfest). The rather likeable mischievous character is peering through a wall, and an arrow points off to the right. This might have been some kind of promotional commission, but I prefer to think of it as a joyful artwork. Only three more sleeps until Christmas.

5022. North Street

Cheba, North Street, Bristol, February 2023

Cheba’s influence on the city of Bristol cannot be underestimated. His unusual cosmic murals can be found dotted about the place, although most famously on the walls of the Full Moon and Attic Bar in North Street, just south of Stokes Croft.

I spotted this piece last weekend while taking a young Japanese friend on a tour of some of the best spots for graffiti and street art in Bristol (a day to savour). Although Cheba’s work might look a bit random at first, there is some form and design in this piece with a diagonal row of stars and circles going bottom left to top right. There really is nobody else in Bristol who creates cosmic scenes as good as Cheba’s.

4958. North Street

Sled One, North Street, Bristol, January 2023

It should come as no surprise to anyone reading Natural Adventures, that I do love a piece of political and social commentary, and Sled One, normally known for his wild and fantastical creations, has absolutely nailed it with this piece coming out in support of striking nurses and NHS staff.

The piece is fairly sober in its criticism of the Government and its posturing, and probably all the better for it. Sometimes super-aggression comes across as unhelpful, but I can’t imagine any passers-by failing to feel supportive towards nurses on seeing this piece.

I am straining every sinew not to go into a major rant about how disgusted I am with the abusive behaviour of this government towards public services and the public sector. I truly hate them for it and for the state they have left this country in.

The cartoon styling of Rishi Sunak probably does him a few favours, because it doesn’t quite convey his conceit, arrogance and false smiles that are a part of his real persona. Dreadful man.

I have a feeling that the doorway with ‘food bank – closed’ on it will more than likely make it into Thursday doors in a year or so, but you saw it here first. All in all, this is a beautifully painted protest piece (but don’t tell anyone, or the Government might try to ban political murals), that will definitely chime with the Bedminster community.

4621. Upfest 2022 (36)

Two Inkie posts in a row… It happens you know from time to time, sometimes by design and other times quite by accident. This was an accident, but nothing to stress about, there are no rules on Natural Adventures, and if there were I wouldn’t stick to them anyway.

I watched Inkie as he was painting this stunner, and was reminded of the incredible pace he works at. I watched him paint the lower left hand quadrant for a couple of minutes, walked the dog up the road for five minutes, came back and he had virtually finished the segment, awesome to witness.

Somehow Upfest wouldn’t feel like Upfest without a landmark Inkie piece, and the area plays host to several of his pieces still, from years gone by. Inkie – Bristol – ASK (After Schook Klub) – Vikki. Says it all. A true beauty.

4528. North Street

I have said it many times, but it is worth repeating, that one of the additional benefits of Upfest is that artists often leave a little bit extra, over and above their ‘official’ pieces. This shutter piece is a ‘quick one’ by Irony that he painted before leaving Bristol. How privileged we are.

This piece is so good, and leaves us guessing so much about the woman in the portrait. We are teased by Irony, and it is what we can’t see that is as important as what we can see. I have spoken repeatedly on Natural Adventures about the talent of Irony, and this piece reinforces his status as a world class street artist. A magnificent portrait piece.

	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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