Portrait – Page 25 – Natural adventures

4876. Moon Street (100)

Zake, Moon Street, Bristol, December 2022

How has it taken me so long to post one hundred pieces from my beloved Moon Street? I guess, in recent years, painting here has reduced as the gentrification of the area has taken a grip, and so it is not so much of a graffiti destination, with artists preferring St Werburghs, Bedminster, St Paul’s or the River Avon. However, we do stopill get some beauties down there, including this very Zake, Zake character piece.

The rather disturbing face, exaggerated by its asymmetry, is arresting to say the very least. A slight reversion to his early form of portrait, his strengths come to the fore, especially his use of shading and highlights to create depth of features on the face. A worthy piece for my one hundredth Moon Street post.

4862. St Werburghs tunnel (324)

Tao.create, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2022

St Werburghs tunnel is a funny spot. Sometimes you can go for long periods when not much changes, and then you go through a rush of activity, and need to be on top of it pretty much every day.

This glorious piece by Tao.create was painted with the LRS crew, only a short while after the Bnie paint jam on the opposite wall. I haven’t seen much from Tao for a long while, so this was most welcome. There is talent and a style here that we definitely need to see more of on Bristol’s streets. The portrait is captivating, and beautifully shaded in purple tones. More practice will add confidence with regard to proportions and scale of the features. Welcome back… more please.

4860. River Avon (36)

Zake, River Avon, Bristol, November 2022

I should know by now, not to bother with going down to Sparke Evans Park and the River Avon on sunny days. The results are always patchy at best. But there is another school of thought that says always photograph what you can when you see it, because it might not be there the next time you visit. I don’t know if this lovely portrait piece by Zake falls into that category, as I haven’t been back to take a look.

Zake has been enjoying himself recently with these rather more cartoon style pieces that still contain his mastery of light and shade, but have introduced a little bit more in terms of character and emotion. This is a fabulous piece painted alongside PWA crew mates.

4845. Coach and Horses

Qwynto, Coach and Horses, Bristol, November 2022

Visiting artists are always welcome in Bristol, as they bring fresh perspectives and often glorious artwork to the city. On his visit to Bristol in September this year, Qwynto left us with at least two, and I think a third piece. This one is on the far right-hand side of the Coach and Horses wall.

I believe Qwynto is based in London, but I have struggled to find out much more about the artist. There are some similarities with Kid Crayon’s style of portraits, perhaps more to do with the colourful approach. This is a fine portrait, which has managed to remain intact for a couple of months, which is pretty good going really.

4842. Brunel Way (183)

Mote, Brunel Way, Bristol, November 2022

I would guess that I only manage to photograph about one in three of Mote’s pieces, which might give you an indication of how prolific he has been over the last few months. This piece under Brunel Way is a bit of a departure from his regular fare.

The stylised face is not a monster, but a human portrait, although it has all the characteristics of Mote’s work. Strong lines, solid fills and fine details created with black lines. The danger of painting the familiar, as opposed to wacky monsters, is that the piece will immediately be compared to a human face, there is a benchmark that we all have and recognise, and it is easier to criticise. Stylised works like this one work well, because they are self-knowing that they are representative of a face, but not an actual face. Great experimentation from Mote.

4841. St Werburghs

Stinkfish, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2022

Every now and then you get lucky, being in the right place at the right time. This is particularly true of finding street art on vehicles, and I was fortunate enough to see this Stinkfish piece on the side of a van parked up outside St Werburghs City Farm around a week ago.

Some readers might remember that Stinkfuish visited Bristol in October 2021 to tidy up a couple of his long-standing pieces in the City, and while he was here he left a few other little ‘surprises’ about the place. I imagine he painted this small portrait piece at around the same time, as it is still in great condition.

If you look carefully, you can just see a black line on the left where paint spilled over from the stencil used to create the black and yellow elements of the portrait. The decorative aspect I think light have been painted on with a brush, although it might be a stencil too, I am not sure. Finding pieces like this is so rewarding, and gives me the same tingle of excitement I get when I find a large shark tooth fossil on Bracklesham Bay beach, on my occasional trips to West Sussex.

4818. St Werburghs tunnel (318)

Pekoe, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2022

There are a handful of artists whose work fills me with a little tingle of excitement each time I came across their work, and Pekoe is right up there with the best of them. Her portraits feel like part of the furniture of the Bristol scene, and represent what is so good about the range and diversity of the city’s street art.

This piece was another RBF contribution to Bnie’s birthday celebrations a week or so back. A three-quarter view portrait with a blue face and ginger hair… what’s not to like about this colourful piece? The downturned mouth makes the woman look a little grumpy perhaps, but there is a friendly sparkle in the eyes. Pekoe has added in some clever shading, both on the face and in the hair, to give the whole portrait depth and texture. This is another fine piece from the wonderful Pekoe.

4811. New Stadium Road (42)

Lazo, New Stadium Road, Bristol, November 2022

This piece, by Lazo, is one of the most arresting portraits I have seen in quite a while. It was painted during a Paint jam between some artists I know and some I have never heard of, including Lazo.

There is some good shading work in tones of blue, green and yellow which provide plenty of depth to the face. Although this is not the best portrait piece I have seen, and there are some things that don’t quite work for me, I think it is very good and there is something about it that compels me to look at it. Perhaps it is the expressionless face, or the hanging hair, or the colours. Whatever it is, it fascinates me. I hope to see more from Lazo.

4809. Coach and Horses

Hazard, Coach and Horses, Bristol, November 2022

It is too easy in life to take things for granted, and sometimes we need something to remind us that special places, people and events are happening all around us all the time, if only we woke up and appreciated them. I had such an awakening yesterday, when photographing this Halloween paint jam from the RBF crew on the wall of the Coach and Horses. This spot is easy to drive past, but very difficult to stop and park near, but thankfully I found some obliging double yellow lines that I occupied for five minutes.

Hazard is a phenomenon. Her work goes from strength to strength and this recent Halloween portrait is absolutely exceptional. The detail, the shading which provides depth, and the expression are flawless. I love this piece and Hazard’s work, and I do not take it for granted, rather I see it as a privilege that I get to see her work on a regular basis. Brilliant.

4799. Cheltenham Road, Boston Tea Party

Kid Krishna, Cheltenham Road, Bristol, October 2022

When you spend your spare time searching out and writing about street/graffiti art, you develop an amazing peripheral vision for noticing something different, something new, in the places that you visit most often. I was walking to the office last week (a rare occurrence these days), and from the corner of my eye I saw this bright flash of colour behind a hedge on the wall of The Boston Tea Party, where an Alex Lucas piece once proudly stood. The colour belongs to this outstanding piece by Kid Krishna, which I assume is rather new.

For me at least, this piece was an extra surprise because it is by Kid Krishna, and to date I have only seen his writing, and wasn’t aware that he painted art pieces as well. This is an unusual, but compelling portrait piece in bright colours and almost in a cubist style. Great to see that Kid Krishna has several strings to his bow, and a great addition to his portfolio.

	Wes Vinglun (aka) Ni… on Champions
	beth on Champions
	paulh121 on 7658. Tobacco Factory –…
	paulh121 on Champions
	Bill Bisgood on Champions

	Wes Vinglun (aka) Ni… on Champions
	beth on Champions
	paulh121 on 7658. Tobacco Factory –…
	paulh121 on Champions
	Bill Bisgood on Champions

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