Portrait – Page 20 – Natural adventures

5378. M32 roundabout J3 (495)

Tasha Bee, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2023

Oh! how I have missed Tasha Bee’s work in recent years! She has had a long lay-off while concentrating on her Pot Heads pottery business. At last she has found a moment to paint one of her extraordinary portraits and there is no question that she hasn’t lost her touch in the slightest, carrying on exactly where she left off.

I hope that this isn’t a one-off and represents a return to Bristol’s walls, because she has been sorely missed. The subject of the portrait has a serene expression, a trademark of Tasha Bee’s work, and has flowers in her hair. Perfectly executed and modestly hidden away behind a bush, this piece is a thing of beauty. Bravo!

5354. M32 roundabout J3 (490)

Mind 49, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2023

This is an absolute classic from Mind 49, who has done a lot of maturing lately, and has absolutely nailed it with this piece on the roundabout straddling the M32. Mind 49 has produced something really special here with the letters MIND forming a backdrop to a really unusual portrait.

I don’t know who the portrait is of, but it looks like a Middle Eastern character popping a cigarette into his mouth. The photorealistic portrait is full of richness and interest, and totally not what you might expect to see in this spot.

Unfortunately, when I last saw the piece, some muppet had dogged the face of the gentleman, which is simply so difficult to understand. Let’s hope it doesn’t put off Mind 49 from returning to Bristol.

5342. Cumberland Basin

Mind 49, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, June 2023

Formerly painting under the name Mind Control, Mind 49 (his current moniker) appears to have matured and mellowed a little. His raw talent used to focus on passionate causes, such as animal rights, however recently, he has brought some other themes and elements into his portfolio which is seeing him grow as an artist.

This portrait piece on the long wall at Cumberland Basin features a singer, with baseball cap and brilliantly painted glasses. As if to prove that he is not a one-trick pony, Mind 49 has sprayed a little bubble throw up to the left of the piece with the number ’49’. Since painting this great piece, Mind 49 has returned to Bristol with another superb work – to come.

5317. Upfest 2022 (75)

Giulio Rosk, Upfest 22, Bristol, Upfest 2022

As with any street art festival, there will always be a ‘wow factor’ and one of the artists who brought this to Upfest was Giulio Rosk with this magnificent writing and portrait combination piece just off North Street.

What is great about festivals is that there is a good chance that you will get to meet and chat with thee artists, when they have a little downtime. I managed to grab a few minutes with the artist and his agent/friend, and discovered that as soon as Giulio Rosk finished this piece they were jetting off to Italy for another festival, so we were lucky to have them here in Bristol.

The piece is a clever one where the subject – I think it is a self-portrait – is penning the name ROSK as if on a pane of glass. The photorealistic artwork is exceptional and the whole thing, one of the highlights of Upfest. Unlike the temporary boards, this piece is still there for all to see, and is likely to remain until Upfest 2024 next year.

5315. Upfest 2022 (73)

Jack Lack is an artist who is based in Stuttgart, and was one of the international artists who made the trip over to Bristol to paint at Upfest 22. This portrait piece is a beauty and requires a little bit of time to pause and take it all in.

The blurred background is a great technique that helps to bring focus to certain aspects of the piece, which also gives the viewer a bit of a challenge in ‘filling in the gaps’ that are not crystal clear. The bird on the subject’s shoulder looks like a bee eater of some kind to me, and once again the blurring, in a curious way, draws attention to the bird. Does the baseball cap belong to the bird, or is it blowing about in the distance?

This is a fine piece from Jack Lack, who I don’t recall seeing at Upfest before. I would be more than happy to see him return some time in the future though.

5297. St John’s Lane (2)

Shade One, St John's Lane, Bristol, June 2023 — Shade One, St John’s Lane, Bristol, June 2023

This is the second piece I am posting from an outstanding collaborative ‘wall’ on a new hoarding in St John’s Lane. This breathtaking portrait piece is by Shade One and is significant in so much as it demonstrates so clearly how over the last couple of years he has developed his style from high-end cartoon portraits to a photorealistic style.

The sunglasses woman is painted in greyscale, which works really well when set against the colourful cosmic, cloudy background. When working in greyscale, particular attention has to be paid to light and shade, and Shade One has done this well, particularly in the folds of the fabric of the woman’s top. This is one of several outstanding pieces painted during a high-class paint jam a short while ago.

5271. St Agnes

I am inherently lazy, or at least that is a self-perception reinforced by years of my mother and teachers telling me so when I was in my teens. A self-fulfilling prophecy? Maybe. I took this picture about a week ago, but am not too happy with it because of the dappled shadow cast across it. I am posting it now, however, because it is a great piece from David Puck, and I am not sure that I can be bothered to return to get a clean shot of it. There is also the factor that I rarely walk around this spot, and have other places that I prioritise.

I haven’t posted many pieces by David Puck, but he (they) is a Bristol artist (I think) who has painted wheatpastes in the city and some murals too. While they don’t paint a lot on the streets, their portraits are always rather attractive and engaging, and this one is a beauty. I have a feeling it might have been here for quite a while as it references Astrozeneca, which is sooo last year. A fine piece indeed.

5266. Weston-super-Mare

Hazard, Weston Wallz, Weston-super-Mare, May 2023

A little tricky to photograph, but wonderful to behold is this beauty by Hazard which was painted in 2022 for Weston Wallz. The atmospheric portrait piece was painted last year, but I think it was probably after my visit, so this was the first time I got to see it.

Hazard has adopted her duplicate portrait theme, with a second ‘ghost’ face hidden in the hair, and she has cleverly incorporated the sea and waves into the piece, in keeping with the maritime location. The rich tones used in the piece are very easy on the eye, and there is a serenity and calmness to it. Weston Walz brings so much to the town… imagine how bland and indeed rather depressing this wall would have looked before Hazard painted it. It is no wonder that the citizens of Weston-super-Mare are so proud of their murals.

Lobe

A gallery of stylised portrait pieces by Lobe, an artist who used to live in Bristol where she painted regularly between 2019 and 2020.

Instagram: @lobe_ita

Lobe, Armada Place, Bristol, February 2020

Lobe, St Werburghs, Bristol, December 2019

Lobe, M32 cycle path, Bristol, November 2019

Lobe, M32 roundabout, Bristol, October 2019

Lobe, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, October 2019

Lobe, M32 roundabout, Bristol, September 2019

Lobe, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2019

5256. Upfest 2022 (66)

Such has been the productivity on the streets over the last year combined with my attempts to post as much as I can, I have completely neglected my Upfest 22 posts, which really isn’t very impressive. I will try to squeeze in as many as I can whenever I can, because there was so much quality art to see from what was a very successful couple of days at the end of May 2022.

I had to have several goes at photographing this magnificent piece by Anthroe, but it is the damn cars that make it so challenging. The piece itself is a fabulously colourful portrait of a woman holding a bouquet of flowers, with what looks like a petrol pump (surely not) in her left hand. The whole piece is set on an abstract patterned background. This is one of my favourite pieces of the festival by an artist I don’t know at all, but I believe that he lives and paints in Los Angeles, so it is great to see this piece here in Bristol.

	paulh121 on 7458. Greenbank (181)
	paulh121 on 7456. River Avon (109)
	Sheree on 7458. Greenbank (181)
	Sheree on 7459. Dean Lane skate park…
	Laura Newhampshire on 7458. Greenbank (181)

	paulh121 on 7458. Greenbank (181)
	paulh121 on 7456. River Avon (109)
	Sheree on 7458. Greenbank (181)
	Sheree on 7459. Dean Lane skate park…
	Laura Newhampshire on 7458. Greenbank (181)

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