Portrait – Page 14 – Natural adventures

6105. Upfest 2024 (21)

Audrey Kawasaki, Raleigh Road, Upfest 24, Bristol, May 2024

Upfest really is an extraordinary opportunity to see street art form all corners of the globe, and with it a huge variety of cultural styles, to add to the broad ‘school of Bristol’ street art and graffiti. This is a wonderful piece from Audrey Kawasaki, a Japanese-American artist who lives and works in Los Angeles.

There is a strong mix of eastern and western cultures coming together in this beautiful piece, where the tiger represents the east and the girl the west, perhaps. Audrey Kawasaki (who has a fabulous website) appears to use this styling in a lot of her work and also I detect some Art Nouveau influences in her work that makes it super-interesting.

Audrey Kawasaki’s composition in this mural is outstanding with the two central characters surrounded by crows and feathers and framed in a red ‘cloudy’ border. There is definitely a story in this piece, and it compels the viewer to want more. Clever and beautiful work from the visitor this year’s Upfest.

6104. Greenbank (122)

I haven’t yet seen Mind 49’s piece for Upfest yet, but his preparation has been on an ever-upwards trajectory. With each new piece that he paints, he seems to grow, not only in confidence but in comfort with and command of his style. This piece on the hoardings at Greenbank is a great example of his soft photorealism work.

In nearly all of Mind 49’s pieces the eyes of his subject are obscured often with sunglasses, and I wonder if that is a signature kind of thing or whether he struggles with painting eyes. I guess I’ll have to meet him to find out. Mind 49 has a fantastic tone with his artwork, which often looks like it might be painted with brushes rather than spray cans – the mark of a great artist. Now, I must hunt down his Upfest piece, from what I have seen on social media, it looks quite remarkable.

6099. Brunel Way (273)

Abbie Laura Smith, Brunel Way, Bristol, May 2024

In recent weeks, Abbie Laura Smith and I exchanged a few messages, discussing some posts about her paste ups that I had written. During the course of the conversation, I asked whether she would be pasting up any more, as I hadn’t seen any new ones for a while. She said yes… imminently, and true to her word she released a bunch more. This is the first in her recent series that I came across.

The art of wheatpaste work is a two part process, the first part is the creation itself, usually carried out at home or in a studio, and the second part is to find the right spot to paste it up. Abbie Laura Smith manages to do both very well. This piece features a couple of portraits constructed in part by script writing, perhaps quotes or thoughts, I haven’t yet tried to untangle the words. The portraits are set on a leaf, which looks like a Swiss cheese plant leaf to me, a common motif used by artists. There is a lot of emotion in this piece, and maybe one day I’ll get to know the backstory.

6098. Leicester

These pieces bring together the familiar with the unfamiliar. Finding Inkie pieces in other towns and cities is always hugely rewarding, and gives me a sense of Bristol pride. To find two pieces in a city that I have never visited in my life before was definitely a bonus. I’m not too sure when these pieces were painted, and not to sure whether they survived the ‘Bring the Paint’ festival which was starting (coincidentally) on the morning I was out taking these photographs.

The two pieces showcase Inkie’s portfolio really well, containing his stylised Art Nouveau portraits and in the second piece combined with a classic piece of Inkie writing. Always good to see, and Inkie wasn’t the only Bristol artist to have painted in the city where I spotted artwork by Mr Penfold, Lewse, Skank and others… making me feel very much at home. I might have to pay another visit sometime.

6097. Vestry Street, Leicester

Smug, Vestry Street, Leicester, May 2024

This is another outstanding Smug piece that I photographed during a short visit to Leicester last month. It is difficult to convey the sheer scale of the piece, because it is relatively thin, but as you can see it is seven stories tall, and somehow manages to complement the building perfectly. I believe it has been here for quite a while, since at least 2019, but I might be wrong.

The stunning piece features a woman, perfectly slotted into this narrow space, with a bullfinch in flight by her head. The photorealistic representation is quite extraordinary, in particular the folds of the woman’s clothing and her scarf. This and the other Smug piece are worth the trip to Leicester alone. Utterly outstanding and overwhelming.

6094. Frome Side (35)

Hurrah, for Bloem. Her drive and creativity are something to admire, and as she progresses her confidence seems to grow. I had been aware of this portrait piece under the M32 for a while and hoping that it would still be there by the time I got round to visiting the spot, which I can only do without the dog.

The stylised portrait piece sees Bloem significantly extending her boundaries, and while there are many things to improve on, this one reminds me of some of the early work of Hazard, Pekoe and Rhozi (Rozalita), which is encouraging to say the least. The portrait is unusual and rather compelling, and is bookended with a rather nice design on the left and her name on the right. As I have said many times before, I really like her work, and feel excited each time I come across a new one.

6082. Greenbank (121)

It is a genuine privilege to have a stand out The Hass piece here on the Greenbank hoardings, which feels like it was a warm-up piece for his outstanding Upfest combination wall. This is street art of the highest calibre painted in a graffiti spot, and as such stands out a mile. Anyone passing by, and the cycle path gets a lot of footfall, would surely have to stop and admire such a thing of beauty.

The piece falls into two distinct halves which merge in the middle. The left-hand side features a delightful floral design, so delicate and pretty and to the right The Hass has painted a representation of a stone sculpture head, which is reminiscent of the great pieces by PichiAvo.

As a whole, this combination is a true masterpiece, and we are lucky in Bristol to have artists who turn out extraordinary work like this on a reasonably regular basis. This was one of the best surprises I have had on my ’rounds’ for quite a while.

6080. Cumberland Basin

Mind 49, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2024

There is an artist in Bristol whose steady progress over the last year or two has elevated him to a high status, and deservedly so. Mind 49 has been painting from an early age, and his development has been a joy to witness, and now he is turning out outstanding pieces on a regular basis. He seems to have found his style and his work reflects a greater confidence.

This is one of a few recent pieces that showcase Mind 49’s portrait style, in which he practically always obscures part or most of the face either by its orientation or the use of clothing or accessories, like these sunglasses. Because of this his portraits feel more grounded, and less posed than some portrait pieces that we see. Brilliant zip by the way. This one is so much better in ‘the flesh’ because my photographs are a little washed out, which can happen on this wall in the afternoon/early evening light. Keep watching this space for a whole lot more from Mind 49.

6074. Upfest 2024 (11)

Liam Bononi, Lime Road, Upfest 24, Bristol, May 2024

Liam Bononi is right up there with some of the best street artists in the country and beyond, and it is a great privilege that he has returned to Bristol and Upfest with this outstanding portrait piece in Lime Road. I got a little lucky with these pictures, because there is usually a car parked in the bay, partially obscuring this wall.

The portrait piece is different from work I have seen before by the artist, in that usually he distorts the image in some way through ‘cracks’ or obscured features and so on, but here he appears to have gone with a straightforward portrait. His photorealistic work is outstanding and manages to convey more than simply an accurate portrayal by capturing both emotion and movement in the subject.

There is one nod to obscurity in this piece in the form of the golden violin bow, which is lacking in any detail. I am not too sure what to read into this deliberate mechanism, and may have to do a little research. One of the highlights of Upfest this year.

6058. Upfest 2024 (7)

The Hass, North Street Green, Upfest 24, Bristol, May 2024

The Hass is an exceptional street artist whose talents never cease to amaze me, and he has knocked it out of the park with this extraordinary piece for Upfest this year. The long wall is at the back of the brick building on North Street Green, and I believe that this is the first year it has been ‘commandeered’ for the festival.

I think I got lucky with the gorgeous weather on the day I photographed this piece, because the colours of the grass and sky are reflected in the artwork. The whole piece is a mash-up of stunning portraits and a peacock and peacock feathers.

The Hass has made a clever play with the eye patterns on the feathers and the eyes in the portraits, quite deliberately I’m sure. Not only does the piece blend perfectly with some abstract shapes and patterns, but there is also some incredible detail throughout the work. It is unbelievable that the whole thing is painted using spray cans. Outstanding work.

	M. on 7554. L Dub (81)
	hitandrun1964 on My Dog Sighs
	Suzette Benjamin on 7551. Greenbank (184)
	M. on 7550. M32 Roundabout J2 (…
	scooj on 7550. M32 Roundabout J2 (…

	M. on 7554. L Dub (81)
	hitandrun1964 on My Dog Sighs
	Suzette Benjamin on 7551. Greenbank (184)
	M. on 7550. M32 Roundabout J2 (…
	scooj on 7550. M32 Roundabout J2 (…

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: