Street art – Page 381 – Natural adventures

3892. Upfest 2021 75×75 (46)

How utterly perfect to welcome Aspire back to Bristol for Upfest’s 75 walls in 75 days, and what an amazing huge mural he has gifted the fine people of Bedminster. I have to admit that this piece came as a bit of a surprise as he seemed to have painted it quite quickly between visits, or maybe I just didn’t stop to look the right way at the right time.

Aspire, Fairfield Road, Bristol, August 2021, Upfest 21

I thought I was going to get a bit frustrated with the parking situation, but the gentleman in the black van was very obliging and moved out of the way for me to take a picture, and just to prove it, here he is giving me the thumbs up. If you don’t ask, you don’t get. The upshot was I managed to get a full and uninterrupted photograph of the wall.

The mural itself is awesome, and takes Aspire into the next level. I am not sure how many large murals he has done since moving to London from Bristol, but this is definitely the biggest I have seen.

The focus of the piece is a stunning Kingfisher, with a cherry on the top, and a little bit of pixelation, for which Aspire is famed. However, Aspire has combined the bird with a classical study of a bowl of fruit and the combination makes for a very special and intoxicating mural. This is glorious stuff and reminds us of what we have been missing in Bristol (as if we didn’t already know) since Aspire left. Bravo!

3891. Cumberland Basin

This extraordinary piece from Nightwayss is really pushing boundaries for the artist and is notable for its absence of monkeys. I believe that the piece might be based on a self portrait, and there seems to be some agonising soul-searching going on here.

Nightwayss, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2021

The piece was painted as part of Eman’s birthday paint jam, so I had a chance to catch up with Nightwayss. Unfortunately his effervescence slightly freaked out my long-suffering dog, who is dragged around Bristol’s graffiti spots, and who decided to bark a lot every time Nightwayss tried to stroke him, rendering conversation a little tricky.

Nightwayss, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2021

There is no doubt that Nightwayss is a very skilled artist, and he has pulled off this concept very well, with the face and skull beautifully finished. An unusual and compelling piece.

3890. M32 Cycle path (137)

In the midst of all the excitement of the Upfest 75 walls in 75 days summer event, it is easy to forget about the beating heart of the Bristol graffiti art scene. Writers like Phour put in the hard graft day in, day out, honing their skills, making adjustments and having fun. Without these people, Bristol would simply be a high-end clinical showcase of wall art, and I could name one or two towns and cities in the UK that are just that, where there is no sub-culture to speak of.

Phour, M32 cycle path, Bristol, August 2021

Phour’s letters are distinctive and regular, spelling out the name. In this piece there is a fine horizontal transition running across the letters with some decorative bubbles. The green bubble background and bright green border help to give the letters a bit of a lift. A nice piece from Phour.

3889. Upfest 2021 75×75 (45)

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.

3888. Cumberland Basin

I have enjoyed the work of Mr Draws over the years and enjoy his company too so it was mighty fine to see him joining in with Eman’s birthday paint jam down in Cumberland Basin at the end of July.

Mr Draws, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2021

Mr Draws has taken a slight departure from his customary ‘DRAWS’ letters to create this rather nice ‘My happy place’ piece. The letter style and fill are very ‘Mr Draws’ if that makes sense, particularly the pink camouflage patterned fills. A happy piece for a happy day.

3887. St Werburghs Tunnel (255)

This is another piece of old-school writing from graffiti artist Sake. I don’t know how it has happened, but Sake has only really come onto my radar in the last couple of months, having met him in St Werburghs tunnel. I have a feeling that I might have photographed a number of his pieces in the past, but just haven’t published any of them. I will need to do a thorough search of my archives, but time is a real constraint for me at the moment.

Sake, St Werburghs, Bristol, August 2021

In this piece, Sake spells out his name with classic lettering filled with stars and bars and a lovely 3D shadow in blue. Having spoken to the artist a couple of times, it would appear that he is a bit of a purist and doesn’t have a lot of time for ‘toys’ (new or unskilled writers). I think that he harbours great affection for the early days of graffiti writing when things were more edgy and spray paints more difficult too use. He does well to recreate these old-school pieces.

3886. Upfest 2021 75×75 (44)

What an absolute delight to find this beautiful mural by Bex Glover which has been painted as part of Upfest’s 75 walls in 75 days initiative. Set on the side of a North Street shop, Bex Glover brings her unique design style and colour combinations that spreads the wonder of British nature to our streets.

Bex Glover, North Street, Bristol, August 2021, Upfest 21

This mural celebrates the hedgehog, a native mammal that has been in steep decline for some years now, just another casualty of our human carelessness and disregard for our environment. These three little characters are beautifully painted and appear to be following a yellow trail – perhaps it is their yellow brick road at the end of the rainbow.

I am a huge admirer of Bex Glover’s work which always stands out from the crowd and her connection with nature certainly chimes with me. Lovely stuff.

3885. St Werburghs tunnel (255)

Throughout the whole of the last year, Benjimagnetic has been consistently turning out superb BEN pieces, and this is one of the more recent one of them. I love the way that he has been developing his style and that recently he has simplified the look of his work without compromising his technical ability.

Benjimagnetic, St Werburghs, Bristol, July 2021

This piece from the tunnel is notable for its extraordinary fills, particularly in the blue segments. This graffiti writing is clean and sharp, and the white border that lifts the letters is superbly consistent – the work of an experienced hand. It must surely be time for a Benjimagnetic gallery?

3884. M32 Cycle path (136)

When I saw this piece for the first time, I was instantly drawn to it – there was something about the form and colours and of course the penguin. It had been painted alongside work from LRS artists Eman and 3F fino, but I didn’t know who the artist was. I got lucky a week or two later when I met the artist, Apex_aloy, during a paint jam at Cumberland Basin and was able to put a name to the piece.

Apex_aloy, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, July 2021

I believe Apex_aloy comes from a town near Bristol and visits from time to time, which is something I’ll have to look out for. I had difficulty making out the letters initially, but they spell out STIKA, and have been worked nicely to complement the colours of the penguin. The piece was painted freehand and has turned out rather well. A few more minutes working on the backwash would have taken it up a level… small details. Looking forward to seeing more from Apex_aloy.

SPZero76

A gallery of extraordinary cartoon-style pieces from the magnificent SPZero76

Crews – Lost Souls and EAT

All photographs by Scooj

	hitandrun1964 on What is she?
	Bean on 7616. Dean Lane skate park…
	Sheree on Sait Bare
	Suzette Benjamin on Thursday Doors – 30 Apri…
	Sheree on Thursday Doors – 30 Apri…

	hitandrun1964 on What is she?
	Bean on 7616. Dean Lane skate park…
	Sheree on Sait Bare
	Suzette Benjamin on Thursday Doors – 30 Apri…
	Sheree on Thursday Doors – 30 Apri…

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: