5465. Queen’s Road (4)

Aspire, Queen's Road, Bristol, August 2023
Aspire, Queen’s Road, Bristol, August 2023

Aspire is no stranger to the pages of Natural Adventures, indeed, when he was still living in Bristol his outstanding bird paintings were a regular feature on the blog. Sadly, for us, he left for London, and now is just an occasional visitor to the city and to street art festivals in and around the Bristol area.

Aspire, Queen's Road, Bristol, August 2023
Aspire, Queen’s Road, Bristol, August 2023

It is so good that Apire was invited to take part in the Bristol 650 years celebration paint jam in partnership with Upfest and Bristol BID, and he has done a great job with this magnificent bird piece. The four-panelled mural shows that Aspire is equally good with brushes as he is with spray cans and he has captured the renaissance theme well with the addition of a piece of red material draped from a plant. The Kingfisher and Peregrine are, as you might expect, perfect and both incorporate the pixelation Aspire adopts in his work.

Aspire, Queen's Road, Bristol, August 2023
Aspire, Queen’s Road, Bristol, August 2023

The kingfisher is absolutely stunning and is a bird that many artists paint, probably on account of its beautiful blue and gold plumage. Unless Aspire pays Bristol a visit to see friends etc, I can’t imagine we’ll see him again until next year’s Upfest.

5446. Queen’s Road (2)

Jody, Queen's Road, Bristol, August 2023
Jody, Queen’s Road, Bristol, August 2023

It is very special to see a Jody piece that has been painted on the street without spray cans, but rather with brushes… it doesn’t happen often, but what a magnificent result. This gorgeous portrait piece has been painted as part of the 650-year celebrations of Bristol and an event curated by Upfest in partnership with Bristol BID.

Jody, Queen's Road, Bristol, August 2023
Jody, Queen’s Road, Bristol, August 2023

Jody has gone full on renaissance style with this portrait, and in doing so was following the brief. In his own way, he has created something very special, although slightly incongruous being next door to the dreadful Weatherspoons pub. The lady’s hair and hair decoration are eclipsed only by the outstanding detail of her face.

Jody, Queen's Road, Bristol, August 2023
Jody, Queen’s Road, Bristol, August 2023

This piece is an antidote to all the horrors of our very own crisis in Britain and demonstrates that there are good and beautiful things in our lives. An ancient beauty for our modern times.

5443. Queen’s Road (1)

Rose Popay, Queen's Road, Bristol, August 2023
Rose Popay, Queen’s Road, Bristol, August 2023

Although there has been no formal Upfest festival this year, the team at Upfest have been very busy organising Westonwallz in Weston-super-mare and a small ‘takeover’ of closed retail outlets on the Bristol Triangle in partnership with Bristol BID (Business Improvement District) to celebrate 650 years since King Edward III granted important rights and privileges to Bristol by royal charter in 1373.

Several empty shopfronts were painted between 20 and 23 July as part of the paint jam, and this one was painted by Rose Popay, an artist originally from Baath. The overall theme for the paintings was to paint in a Renaissance style to reflect the 650 years, not a spray can in sight!

Rose Popay, Queen's Road, Bristol, August 2023
Rose Popay, Queen’s Road, Bristol, August 2023

Rose Popay has painted three panels in her contribution to the event, the first providing a little bit of information on a scroll, and the other two presenting iconic images of Bristol, a balloon and the Clifton suspension bridge. Liberally decorated with flowers and big blue skies with clouds, the piece is a breath of fresh air in this bustling part of the city.