Portrait – Page 6 – Natural adventures

6920. Stokes Croft

Wilko, Stokes Croft, Bristol, April 2025

It isn’t all that long ago that I wrote about how Bristol, although it has a super-vibrant street art scene, is less well represented on the wheatpaste side of things. Of course, when you say something like that, life has a way of proving you wrong, and I have since found a whole bunch of wheatpastes, many of them by Wilko in the Stokes Croft area.

I haven’t come across Wilko before, but I have a feeling he might be from Birmingham. He certainly made the most of his visit to Bristol, and I will try to post more of his wonderful illustrations in due course. This orange and black piece has a feel of African-influenced art and cubism (which of course are related) about it. Great to see.

6906. Moon Street (107)

Cartoonneros, Moon Street, Bristol, April 2025

Since developers moved into the area around Moon Street, I don’t visit all that often, and driving around there is a bit of a nightmare, so I generally only visit when I am on foot. I had a lovely surprise on my last visit, finding this stencil piece by Cartoonneros.

I don’t know if the piece is new or old, but the artist does seem to visit Bristol sporadically – maybe he has friends here. Furthermore, I don’t know who the character portrayed in the stencil is, but it has all the hallmarks of a Cartoonneros piece. The black lines of the stencil are sprayed over a patchwork of orange and yellow paint, creating the unique look that the artist has perfected. A reward for keeping my eyes open.

6900. M32 Cycle path (288)

Mind 49, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, April 2025

For me, this post represents a lesson in always taking pictures of pieces when you can, even when the light conditions are bad, or there are obstacles in the way, because the next time you return to get pictures, the piece might have gone, as was the case with this beauty by Mind 49.

The shadow cast across the top half of this incredible portrait piece, doesn’t ruin it as much as I thought it would. The quality of the composition and the artwork shine through. Mind 49 skilfully works in a cartoon graffiti face on the daisy hat, combining two very different styles into the one piece. This is a truly outstanding piece that deserved to be seen for longer.

6894. Stokes Croft

Kid Krishna, Stokes Croft, Bristol, April 2025

There is no doubt about it, Kid Krishna has been smashing it recently, and indeed for quite a while now, and his recent spell has seen him turn out some outstanding work, including this intriguing piece in Stokes Croft. It is great to see Kid Krishna and others returning to this area (thanks to some new hoardings), which ten years ago was at the centre of the Bristol graffiti/street art scene.

This portrait/writing combination is quite extraordinary, and takes Kid Krishna’s work to another level. There is a sharpness and realistic feel to the piece that expands on his more abstract work more commonly seen. What this piece also demonstrates is his capacity to create some really high-end artwork. The portrait of a tattooed woman on the left, gazing heavenwards, is exceptional and shows off Kid Krishna’s ability to paint fie detail, depth and texture. To the right, the writing has a transparent quality and looks to be fragmenting or melting – the whole piece plays with us in this juxtaposition of character and letters. Brilliant!

6888. Dean Lane skate park (826)

Every day, pretty much, I see graffiti and street art and every once in a while I see something by an artist I know and I think to myself ‘this is special, this is really classy’. This clever piece of combined writing and a portrait by Conrico left me feeling that this was special, definitely a ‘keeper’.

Conrico has painted his name, but instead of a solid or patterned fill, there is a portrait of a girl behind, as if you are peering through the letters to see her. The piece is expertly executed, but at the same time incredibly modest. No fanfare, no showing off, just a really great fusion piece.

Conrico has been turning out some great pieces recently, and this one expands and continues the series. As ever, I look forward to more.

6887. Stucley Place Camden Town, London

Drake, Stucley Place, Camden Town, London, April 2025

Wandering around without a set route is quite the best way to find street art in my experience. Following a map or guide only takes you to specific places, and it is by turning down a back street, or catching a glimpse of something in your peripheral vision and going to investigate it that makes exploring places so much fun. I see too many people navigating their way around the place with their head down looking a little screen and Google Maps or some other way finder and missing all the incredible people, architecture, events or nature that surrounds us. That’s enough sanctimonious nonsense. I found this superb Drake piece while wandering about aimlessly with my head and eyes up.

This is an outstanding greyscale portrait piece by Drake, an artist whose work I have seen in Bristol, but that I don’t know much about him. The piece has a commercial element to it in so much as it is promoting Nemesis, a tattoo parlour – perhaps a friend of Drake’s. Certainly a superb piece.

6885. Harmood Street, Camden Town, London

Irony, Harmood Street, Camden Town, London, April 2025

The highlight of my recent trip to Camden Town, was finding several pieces by Irony, including this one, that I had never seen ‘in the flesh’ before. He really is one of my favourite artists, and all of his work is of the highest quality. What I particularly like is that he seems to be equally comfortable painting high-end festival walls or spots like this one – he isn’t precious at all, and is a very modest gentleman.

There is a hell of a lot going on in this wonderful detailed portrait piece, and symbolism that I don’t think I will get to the bottom of, although it is possible that he is ‘patching up’ the piece in a clever way. While writing this post, I have found out that this is a repair job on a piece that was originally painted in 2018, and so the plasters and the eye patch are probably literally covering up blemishes in the original.

Irony (from a photograph by the artist in 2018 and posted on Instagram), Harmood Road, Camden Town, London — Irony (from a photograph by the artist in 2018 and posted on Instagram), Harmood Street, Camden Town, London

The facelift is quite stunning, and as you can see from this photograph taken by the artist of the original piece, the portrait has taken on a quite different persona. It is an amazing recognition of his talent and respect from others, that his work is still there seven years on in the first place.

As ever, outstanding work. You can see more of his pieces in this short gallery.

6875. Jamaica Street, Liverpool

Liam Bononi, Jamaica Street, Liverpool, March 2025

There are many parallels between Bristol and Liverpool, in part due to the established trading routes with America and the West Indies. Unfortunately, both cities prospered through the trade in slaves, alcohol and tobacco, along with a huge amount of other less controversial goods. Place and street names tend to reflect the development of a city, and it is no surprise that both Bristol and Liverpool have a Jamaica Street, and that both are in areas that have seen a lot of change.

In Liverpool, the area around Jamaica street is a hotspot for street art, and I was lucky enough to find some superb pieces during my recent visit there, including this old piece by Liam Bononi.

Liam Bononi has become one of the great high-end artists in Europe and is a favourite for premium walls and festivals, and this piece, I think, was painted sometime last year. Much of his work contains contorted, agonised or corrupted portraits, perhaps reflecting an inner struggle. This beautiful portrait piece appears to be cracked and disfigured as if it were a broken mirror, and as a result is a little unsettling. Although based in the North of England, Liam Bononi does manage to travel around the country a little, which is great news.

6873. Dean Lane skate park (823)

In the Dean Lane skate park there are a lot of ramps and slopes that provide a perfect canvass for street artists. There are two drawbacks: the first is that they are a challenge to paint and the second is that they get scuffed up pretty quickly by the skating, scootering and biking activity.

I think I got to this cheeky Zake portrait piece reasonably soon after it was painted, because it is in quite good condition. This is a classic Zake portrait, with lots of expression, and plenty of contours and depth. A fine small piece from the cartoon character specialist.

6865. Chalk Farm Road, Camden Town, London

Apparan, Chalk Farm Road, Camden Town, London, April 2025

One of the most noticeable things about photographing street art in London is that there seem to be a great deal more paste ups and wheatpaste artists than in Bristol. Perhaps this is a function of a huge amount more wall space to choose from, as well as a cultural thing.

This wonderful wheatpaste piece, by Apparan (no stranger to Natural Adventures), features a beautiful portrait of a woman and a snail. The piece is called ‘way home’ and was pasted up in December 2023 during a bit of a wheatpaste jam as far as I can make out. It has worn very well indeed.

	Sheree on Thursday Doors – 21 May…
	Suzette Benjamin on Thursday Doors – 21 May…
	scooj on 7658. Tobacco Factory –…
	scooj on Champions
	scooj on Champions

	Sheree on Thursday Doors – 21 May…
	Suzette Benjamin on Thursday Doors – 21 May…
	scooj on 7658. Tobacco Factory –…
	scooj on Champions
	scooj on Champions

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