Rozalita returns! This is exceptional news. After a long lay-off, in part down to travelling, during which time I wondered whether she might abandon her street art altogether, she has returned in style, with several pieces in short succession. This is how to announce your return. In another name change (from Rosalita to Rozalita (Rhozi) to Rozilitaa) she has hit the ground running with a bolder presence, and a sense of confidence that hasn’t always been obvious from her work.
Rozalita, Greenbank, Bristol, March 2024
This portrait piece, I believe of Frida Kahlo, is bursting with passion, where the determination and status of the subject, looking skywards, is beautifully presented. The white border accentuates the pose and creates an aura that is augmented by the burst of energy of flowers and decoration in the background. Without the border, the piece could be at risk of being busy, but its presence is masterful. This is brilliant in my view, and what a way to make a comeback. I bloody love this piece!
Jest Soubriquet, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2024
I am not sure whether this wonderful portrait piece by Jest Soubriquet was painted as part of Ryder’s RAW paint jam, or was simply painted at the same time (update – it was painted as part of the paint jam). Either way, it brightened up my day, because it is always a bit of a thrill to see new or visiting artists enjoying their passion in Bristol.
Jest Soubriquet, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2024
By the look of it Jest dropped a couple of pieces in Bristol while visiting, but I have struggled to find out where he is based. The portrait piece in the tunnel is beautifully painted and unusual in its incorporation of striking colours, which, whilst disruptive, somehow manage to carve out the features and depth in the face. Very clever stuff. It would be nice to think that Jest will return to Bristol and decorate a few more walls for us.
One of the most fulfilling things about wandering around the known street art spots in Bristol is finding pieces that are beyond my expectations. I mean that I can go to spots and either be searching for something specific that I have seen on social media or be pretty sure what kind of artwork I am likely to find and by whom. So when an outlier like this one by Amy Magee comes along, I get extra excited.
Amy Magee, Picton Lane, Bristol, February 2024
Although Amy Magee comes from Bristol, I am not familiar with her work and I don’t recall seeing anything by her before, and I suspect that she doesn’t often paint walls. This beautiful portrait piece was painted alongside a piece by Kosc, and I am guessing they were painted at the same time, with Kosc sharing one of his favourite spots with Amy Magee.
Amy Magee, Picton Lane, Bristol, February 2024
The portrait is stunning and is greatly enhanced by the colourful surrounding wisps of cloud and the atmosphere generated. The beautifully proportioned subject has a wistful expression, and incredible eye makeup. It would appear that colour is very important in Amy Magee’s work, which comes across in this piece. I hope that this adventure into painting a mural on the streets isn’t a one-off, and would encourage her to do it again – perhaps at this year’s Upfest.
Laic217 seems to have a plethora of ways to surprise me. Often his pieces appear unannounced, and so discovering them definitely feels special, but what surprised me with this piece is that it immediately took me back to some of the very earliest pieces of his that I started photographing a few years back.
Laic217, Greenbank, Bristol, February 2024
The character, for once, not a skull, is wearing a bucket hat with a satanic protection mask strapped to it. To the right of the portrait is a letter ‘L’ for Laic which has been hollowed out and blocked with a deep 3D drop shadow.
Laic217, Greenbank, Bristol, February 2024
The face, with its harsh features, could only be by Laic217. I don’t know what it is about his style, but it is quite unique. Looking at the close up, it almost looks like it has been painted on a canvas with brushes, and maybe that is what gives Laic217 his uniqueness. This is yet another awesome piece from one of Bristol’s very best street artists.
It is not often that you find a Fade/Pekoe collaboration, but I have been photographing street art and graffiti writing for long enough to know that you should always expect the unexpected. I wonder whether this was a planned thing or whether they found themselves at the same place at the same time and decided to paint together. I guess I’ll only ever know if I ask them.
Pekoe, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2024
Pekoe has smashed it again with this wonderful portrait piece, and there is something about the presentation of her work these days that makes me think she is in a good place emotionally and that it is surfacing in her paintings. The subject has wonderful full lips, dark eyes, hoop earrings and an absence of tears. The decorative shapes help to break the piece up a little and add to it significantly.
Fade, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2024
You simply can’t hold Fade back at the moment – not that you’d want to – and his enthusiasm for painting walls is not only expressed in the quantity of the pieces he paints, but also in the incredibly sharp quality of his work. The letters here are very crisp, the transitions of the fills are exceptional and the 3D drop shadow nicely uniform. Fade comes across as a bit of a perfectionist, which is probably why he enjoys painting with Dibz so much. This is a very nice collaborative wall.
When randomly walking the streets of a town or city I am unfamiliar with, I am reminded of the iconic line from the film Forrest Gump “Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re going to get”, and that is pretty much how my recent stroll in Manchester unfolded.
C215, Northern Quarter, Manchester, February 2024
I turned a corner and found this incredible stencil portrait piece by C215 staring out at me. He is an artist who has made a couple of appearances on this blog before, but I don’t think that he has ever painted anything in Bristol, surely it is time to change that (Upfest?). The stencils that C215 uses range from very small up to this kind of size, and he achieves this scaling without compromising his style at all. A memorable piece from my recent trip.
Liam Bononi, Northern Quarter, Manchester, February 2024
Natural Adventures is a blog with three or four strands, the most dominant of which is the street/graffiti art of Bristol. I am finding it increasingly difficult to feature art from other cities and countries, that I would like to share, but without compromising Bristol posts. I have been pondering this conundrum for a little while and decided that my posts from other places will more likely be galleries, which makes sense because I don’t know very much about the artists in other places, This way I get to share a whole load more pieces. Having said that there are some pieces that simply deserve their own post, and this awesome portrait piece by Liam Bononi is one of those.
Liam Bononi, Northern Quarter, Manchester, February 2024
One of my Favourite ever Upfest pieces is by Liam Bononi, and I have posted a different piece from a previous visit to Manchester where the artist is based. His incredible photorealistic portraits are disrupted by fractures and cracks, creating distortions, which I would guess are metaphors for disrupted and fractured minds behind the faces. The artwork is meticulous and beautifully presented. This piece was tucked away in a street with low foot fall, and you’d certainly have to go out of your way to find it. I only found it, because I was conducting a forensic tour of the streets of the Northern Quarter in Manchester. Another piece in my favourites folder (which incidentally doesn’t actually exist anywhere other than in my mind).
Hoardings are irresistible to street artists, graffiti writers and taggers alike. They provide a safe and clean canvas, temporary in nature, for spray paint creativity, and Mind 49 has grabbed the opportunity to decorate this hoarding in Church Road with both hands. Mind 49 is making a big impact on the street art scene in Bristol, and his portrait pieces in particular are turning heads all over the city. I am guessing from the frequency of his new work that he must have moved to the city, or in the neighbouring area.
Mind Control, Church Road, Bristol, February 2024
The portrait is really striking, and his style is fascinating. It is not photorealistic, but is representative. His can control though has a paint brush quality that is softer than the harsh crispness of photorealism. This is a really great piece, and he appears to improve each time he hits a wall. I am looking forward to seeing where he takes us in 2024.
Zake is something of a phenomenon. His output rate and the quality of his work are quite exceptional, and he is always coming up with original ideas based around his central character style. Even though I big him up frequently on Natural Adventures, I think his modesty lends itself to him being a bit of an unsung hero. Well, I am singing!
Zake, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2024
This face is perhaps a little smoother than some of his recent intricate works, but still presents his mastery of light and shade to create depth. It is sometimes difficult with his work to remember that it is painted on a flat wall, such is the 3D effect he creates. They just keep on coming, with no sign of letting up. Great work from the PWA man.
Dale Grimshaw, Northern Quarter, Manchester, February 2024
While wandering around the Northern Quarter in Manchester, I came across a heavily boarded building site, inside which I could glimpse the top of a Dale Grimshaw mural. There was a small letter-box hole in the hoarding and I managed to take a snapshot of the piece together with some construction workers. I also took a picture over the top of the hoarding, without really being able to see what I was doing. I wasn’t unpleased with the results.
Dale Grimshaw, Northern Quarter, Manchester, February 2024
Dale Grimshaw is no stranger to the pages of Natural Adventures, and his huge portraits featuring people of different regions and cultures are instantly recognisable. Here is a nice little bit of insight from the artist about the piece, written on his Facebook thread last November:
Storytime – So, this piece has been in central Manchester for quite a good, few years now. It was painted as part of the Cities Of Hope festival. It’s seen so many things – the environment around it has changed dramatically, from a potholed carpark to a new, trendy block of flats. The wall has been tagged & blasted with rain & sun over the seasons. It stood alone, staring out at the empty streets, during the years of lockdown. The wall it’s painted on is even crumbling & damp beneath it – yet it shines on! True warrior. Technically it’s not my best piece – (it was a bit rushed) but it seems to have captured something with the good folk of Manchester.
Memories of painting – the alarm on the scissor lift was beeping for the entire time, day in, day out, (I swear I could fckin hear it in my sleep ) I got to know a few of the local addicts that occupied that spot. One day a pretty wirey guy ran at the scissor lift & climbed up it like Spiderman – I was about 5 meters up & he hung onto the platform edge with his finger tips, staring at an £800 camera within reach, like Gollum & the ring! After that incident, I decided to load all the spray paint in to a shopping trolley at night & take it up to my hotel room in the lift. I’ve always been sophisticated like that.
All great stuff, a brilliant portrait from a very good artist.
Natural adventures 