Rosalita has really taken the bull by the horns with this piece. Painted at the end of the tunnel after the St Werburghs tunnel on brickwork that previously had only been tagged, or painted by TOYs. With this piece not only has she created a fine piece of art, but she has legitimised this wall as a serious opportunity for other street/graffiti artists.
Rosalita, Boiling Wells Lane, Bristol, June 2021
The carnival/show theme is a thread that runs through Rosalita’s work and is evident once again here with the face of a clown or jester. Many if not most of Rosalita’s characters are tinged with sadness or tragedy… there is something about the look, the hiding behind makeup. What is amazing about this piece, is not simply the portrait, but the fabulous decoration work around it. Another jewel from Rosalita.
What a delightful surprise it was to come across this unheralded piece from Haka on the M32 roundabout. Haka is one of those artists who very much does his own thing in his own way, and pretty much every piece is a tribute to his friend CK One, which is really touching.
Haka, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2021
This particular vibrant and wild portrait is, according to Haka’s own Instagram feed, a self-portrait. Having never met the artist, I can’t vouch for its accuracy, but I haven’t seen anyone looking like this in the Bristol area before. Great fun piece.
Leonard Lane has had a small renaissance lately thanks in no small part to 3F Fino who seems to have been enjoying himself and experimenting with ideas in the murky, narrow, stinky Lane.
3F Fino, Leonard Lane, Bristol, May 2021
This is an unusual and impactful piece from 3F Fino, and I’m not sure I would have been able to attribute it to him if it were not signed. There is something faintly Van Goughian about the artwork which looks like a series of brush strokes rather than the work of a spray can. Original and interesting work.
As I said in a recent post, barely a week goes by without posting a new piece by Pekoe, and as if to prove my point here is another one. This column piece is difficult to photograph and do it justice because of the way it is wrapped around the circular column.
Pekoe, Brunel Way, Bristol, May 2021
This yellow-faced beauty carries all the hallmarks of a Pekoe portrait, with big hair decorated with stars and shapes, rosy cheeks with dotted outlines and tears. No need for the artist to sign the piece at all. Always great to find another Pekoe portrait.
Some days just turn out really well, and last Thursday I met Jelly for the first time at the viewpoint, Cumberland Basin… an already good day became a whole lot better. I was on leave last week, so my dog walks became rather longer than usual and much more relaxed. The upshot was that I was able to visit more spots and stay longer at each. Cumberland Basin was my last stop for the afternoon and when I turned up, there were two artists at work, Jelly and Fierfear (to follow) and to help with introductions, Paul H happened to be there too, sunning himself on the viewpoint bench. Paul had been helping Jelly with a spot to paint.
Jelly, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2021
My first impression with Jelly’s work was that it had a hint of a Pekoe/Hazard blend about it, but perhaps that had more to do with the portrait approach rather than the actual style. I thought I might have seen Jelly’s work in London (her home town) before, but since she’s only been spray-painting for two and a half years (!!!), it is highly unlikely. Perhaps I have seen her work on Instagram.
The portrait is a stunner, a beautiful face with big blue hair with green highlights. Jelly’s signature long eyelashes add a touch of class and the flashes on the hoop earrings are beautifully done. The tag line ‘Because I’m wurf it’ I think is a nod to a Bristolian accent, although I might have been tempted to change ‘I’m’ to ‘oim’.
Jelly, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2021
Of course, it wasn’t only the artwork that made this a red-letter day, but also meeting Jelly, who was very happy to stop for a chat and talk about her work. It is always great to welcome fellow Londoners to Bristol, and I hope that she enjoyed her day out enough to come and visit us again before too long, although I ought to add that it isn’t always such pleasant weather here.
The phrases ‘it’s the early bird that catches the worm‘ or ‘you snooze, you lose‘ both come to mind in respect of this wonderful new piece from Pekoe. I had seen the piece posted on Instagram and said to myself that I would head on down to Dean Lane the next day to photograph it. How was I to know that a whole ton of scaffolding would appear overnight to obscure the portrait? D’oh!
Pekoe, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2021
I think I have just about managed to get away with a reasonable capture of this fine ‘third eye’ piece from Pekoe. There are definitely some new techniques coming to the fore in her work at the moment, most notably the dotted outline cheeks, chin and nose. Once again the use of bold colours guarantees that this piece stands out from the crowd.
A week wouldn’t really feel like a complete week without posting a piece from Pekoe, so here, to complete the circle is a small recent column piece under Brunel Way from the RBF warrior.
Pekoe, Brunel Way, Bristol, May 2021
Although Pekoe isn’t turning out pieces at quite the rate she was a few weeks back, she continues to remind us she is there. This is a rather nice quick one, portrait style, well suited to columns. Blue face, salmon hair, what’s not to like?
Striking and definitely photogenic is this lovely recent portrait piece from Zake, who has been rather quiet of late. It is kind of comforting when artists who have been lying low, for whatever reason, come back and hit a wall with such gusto.
Zake, St Werburghs, Bristol, May 2021
Zake is an artist who pretty much specialises in portraits and gives them loads of depth with his trademark shading around the features. This face feels like it should belong to a comic book, perhaps it is a representation from one. He has labelled the piece with DLH 21. DLH in my book is Dean Lane Hardcore, but I am not too sure what it means in this context. A decent and long-awaited return.
Somehow I forgot to post this wonderful little gem by Pekoe from a little while back. I think that I thought I might have posted it already, such has been the productivity of Pekoe in recent months, it has been hard to keep up, and I am just about to head out to Dean Lane straight after writing this to photograph another new one.
Pekoe, St Werburghs, Bristol, March 2021
Smaller than many of her pieces, this one is nonetheless a bit of a gem. With the customary big hair being crafted into a bun (that’s what we used to call them when I was young) and a strong solid green face with pink lips, this piece screams out ‘Pekoe’… in a nice way. Great work.
Ordinarily this artist would need no introduction, but that is especially the case right now, as hardly a week passes without Pekoe appearing on the pages of Natural Adventures. This wonderful portrait in purples and greens was part of a large paint jam in Cumberland Basin, and the themed colours ran from piece to piece.
Pekoe, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, April 2021
This is a wonderful piece from Pekoe and incorporates a new feature that she is incorporating, namely the dotted circle on the cheek with the tear in it. I have only recently noticed this embellishment, and think I rather like it. It’ll be interesting to see whether it becomes a mainstream part of her work. This is a fabulous portrait as always, and she even has a Kid Crayon party hat.
Natural adventures 