While the quality of this extraordinary portrait piece by Rosalita (who has changed her Instagram from Rosalita to Rozalita) is unquestionable, the woman’s face disturbs me a little. The exaggerated features have a clown-like quality, and clowns are scary at the best of times.
Rosalita, Greenbank, Bristol, August 2021
Rosalita has associations with a travelling lifestyle and the circus or performance arts seems to have a profound impact on her paintings, most of which encompass a carnival theme. There are so many good things about the artwork in this piece, but it is the impact it has on me as a viewer that I value the most. I find it completely compelling.
Words cannot really describe how wonderful this enormous mural makes me feel. Hazard, or Harriet Wood to give you her proper name, has produced a landmark piece that launches her onto the world-class stage. It is not only the scale of the piece, but its stature that is so special. Somehow Hazard has found a new level and it is all very exciting.
Hazard, Wilder Street, Bristol, August 2021
Wilder Street in St Paul’s has been at the heart of the Bristol street/graffiti art scene for many years, although recently, the amount of gentrification of the area has slowed things somewhat. This piece bucks that trend and makes a positive statement for beautiful public art in the area.
Hazard, Wilder Street, Bristol, August 2021
The piece was supported by The Arts Council through its Developing your Creative Practice (DYPC) fund, and thank goodness for initiatives like this one that bring so much joy to so many people while supporting the work of our most creative people.
Hazard, Wilder Street, Bristol, August 2021
Hazard, in going big, has not compromised on her ability to compose a piece fit for a particular space, and this colourful portrait, almost cubist in its presentation, has been worked perfectly into the fabric of the 20m high facade. With the magnificent colours bleeding off to the right, Hazard has created a shadow portrait just to the right of the main portrait adding emphasis and interest.
Hazard, Wilder Street, Bristol, August 2021
There have been so many extraordinary murals painted in Bristol this year, and the bar has been set very high. I feel however that Hazard, with this piece, has surpassed any other I have seen. I genuinely hope that this piece will launch Hazard onto the international stage that she clearly deserves. My favourite of the year so far.
It feels like I took this photograph an age ago, and in fact it was painted at the back end of July and photographed in early August. Where has this year gone? My life seems to have been travelling at light speed this year… probably a feature of getting older and trying to squeeze more into less time.
This wonderful piece by MoS was painted during Eman’s birthday paint jam at which so many good pieces were painted. It was an inspirational day.
MoS, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2021
I believe that MoS typically paints hands or portraits, so this ‘weird’ (his own words) piece is rather unusual even for the artist. I’m not entirely sure what it all means, but it is certainly very striking and the light tan glow around the piece gives it an interesting aura. Nice work from yet another new artist to Natural Adventures.
This is an absolutely wonderful piece from Oma, and her first appearance on Natural Adventures. Oma’s style is something so refreshing and different in Bristol and definitely feels like the work of a studio artist transitioning onto the street – I don’t know if that is the case or not, but that is how it comes across to me.
Oma, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2021
This portrait depicts an elderly man (an unusual subject in street art) using a magnifying glass to look at something. You can see the shading influences of Zake in this piece, which is no surprise as Oma usually paints alongside him and I believe he is coaching her along the way. The colours and bold and stand out, but it is the overall subject and style that I find fascinating. I am so looking forward to seeing a whole ton more work from Oma.
This little concrete corner underneath Brunel Way is becoming a bit of a Pekoe gallery, with several of her quick column portraits on display at the moment. In fact I am posting this most recent piece before I have posted the one you can see behind it, due to my current backlog (many hundreds of unpublished photographs).
Pekoe, Brunel Way, Bristol, August 2021
I like these quick portraits that Pekoe paints, because although they are a little rough around the edges, they still have the charm and emotion of her larger portrait pieces. The colours Pekoe has chosen for this one work nicely together and certainly add a little interest to this rather dull and grey place. Hurrah for Pekoe who just keeps going.
I spend a fair bit of my spare time immersed in the world of street art and graffiti art and even when I am on holiday, the antennae are out and working overtime. On a recent family holiday to Cornwall, we had opted for an Indian takeaway one evening, rather than cook (in holiday mode). Before I picked up the food, I thought I’d do a quick Google Maps search of the streets in Liskeard to get my bearings. As luck would have it, the building opposite the takeaway had several rather nice pieces painted on it (not a common sight anywhere in Cornwall), all of them by an artist called Stuart H Taylor.
Stuart H Taylor, Castle Hill, Liskeard, Cornwall, August 21
This stunning piece was one of the murals, with more to come soon, and rather blew my socks off. I think that his work is brush painted rather than using spray cans, but Stuart H Taylor has created a very clever stencil effect using shades and tones that make this really stand out. The reflected scene in the sunglasses is not a new idea, but has been very well executed and one is left pondering what is going on. What a bonus to find this piece and more on holiday, feeding my habit.
It feels like a very long time ago since I last saw a new Copyright mural but my goodness, it has been well worth the wait. Copyright has produced this outstanding and colourful piece for Upfest’s 75 walls in 75 days, and I am grateful to both artist and organisers for making this happen.
Copyright, Greville Road, Bristol, August 2021, Upfest 21
This wall has had some notable occupants in the past, but I think that this one might eclipse them all. The piece would appear to be a reference to rebuilding a broken nation maybe, and doing it brick by brick. Of course it might be something else altogether.
The female portrait, in black and white, is wearing a most incredible headdress bursting with colours and designs and even a Felix with a crown. There is a lot of symbolism here and I am not sure what it all means, but the ensemble is quite an eye full with flowers, butterflies, a jewel and even a couple of ‘toilet door’ figures to the left. If all of this was not enough, Copyright has set the piece on a nicely decorated and eye-catching background. The whole mural is stunning… it would be great to see more of this more often from Copyright.
More often than not, I try to avoid posting pictures with shadows on them, because they can obscure the artwork or distract the eye. In this instance though I think the shadows add to the overall drama of the piece by 3F fino.
3F Fino, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2021
The piece, from a little while back, shares a theme that 3F fino has painted before of a portrait of a masked figure. Set in an urban landscape at sunset (or sunrise, it is always difficult to know which) the piece is incorporated into the brickwork of the wall, something I always like. A nice eye-catching piece.
This is the second recent piece from Tasha Bee that appeared at the other end of St Werburghs tunnel to her collaboration with Antikki. It is such a pleasure to see her painting again. Although she is really busy with her Pot Heads business, I hope that she finds time to splash a little paint at walls more often.
Tasha Bee, St Werburghs, Bristol, July 2021
This is classic Tasha Bee. A stylised portrait with eyes shut, this time wearing a rather colourful and fetching cap. The criss-cross patterning on the cap I think is a technique she picked up from Soap a while back. Let’s hope this is not a one-off return to painting.
Compared to some of the flamboyant pieces painted at this year’s Upfest 75 walls in 75 days event, this one from Caryn Koh is delicately understated, and the wall set back from the main drag of North Street. The low-key nature of the mural should not, however, detract from its quality and the story it tells.
Caryn Koh, Exeter Road, Bristol, July 2021, Upfest 21
Dr Caryn Koh, to give her full title, has painted this mural of two of her cousins and the story of the artwork in her own words is as follows:
The mural situated at Exeter Road, Bristol, is about the relationship between siblings; how we unknowingly grow apart and have our separate paths on life’s journey but there is that unbreakable bond that binds us together.
The piece is an absolute beauty and comes across more as a fine art piece than a street mural. Really impressive.
Caryn Koh, Exeter Road, Bristol, July 2021, Upfest 21
Caryn Koh is from Malaysia, although I don’t know whether she came over to Bristol specially for Upfest or whether she is in the UK in any case. Either way, it is fabulous to see her work on this scale in our city. Another outstanding piece from Upfest 2021.
Natural adventures 