Toadstool – Page 2 – Natural adventures

6595. Brunel Way (306)

Neoliberalizard, Brunel Way, Bristol, December 2024

Anyone who wanders around Bristol with their eyes open is likely to have seen toadstool pieces by Neoliberalizard, consciously or otherwise. I got lucky and actually encountered him while he was up a ladder, painting this piece, above the height of the recent Council buffing exercise, ha ha.

Although it is a relatively simple design, likely full of symbolism, Neoliberalizard has done a good job with this piece, and dozens of others that can be spotted around the city. Having met him, I think possibly I may have met him a few years ago, I hope to be posting more of his subversive fungi in the future.

6572. Greenbank (141)

Le Imposter Design, Greenbank, Bristol, June 2024

Street art takes many forms, and encompasses so much more than graffiti writing and spray-painted portraits, characters or scenes. It is a broad church that encompasses murals using spray paint or other painting materials, paste-ups and installations large and small. Hardcore followers like to stick with spray paint work, but I like to find and write about all forms of street artwork, and this wonderful toadstool piece by Le Imposter Design is a perfect example of a modest hand-painted tiny mural.

I have posted all the Le Imposter Design pieces that I have found (three so far), because I feel they help to represent this vast spectrum of street art in Bristol. Most of her work features plants or fungus, and this is a particularly nice example, with a purple-capped toadstool and some rather pretty ground plants and flowers. She has added some little stars, to add a little bit of context and atmosphere. The piece is small and low down on the hoarding. Blink and you would miss it. More to come from Le Imposter Design.

6552. Sparke Evans Park (105)

Figzzz, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, November 2024

The long wall at Sparke Evans Park always seems to have numerous really decent pieces, no matter when you go to visit. It is a little bit out of the way and rarely gets bombed with throw ups or tags. This piece by Figzzz was a vibrant and most memorable piece from my last visit to the park.

I have never encountered the artist’s work before and wonder if I am ever likely to again, but it has left an impression on me. The mushroomy theme has been superbly executed, with the pink fruiting bodies growing out of the letters spelling FIGZ in fat script writing. There are some nice decorations in the fill and a diagonal line running through the piece, creating more interest. Welcome to Bristol Figzzz.

6384. Montpelier Park

Le Imposter Design, Montpelier Park, Bristol, September 2024

As somebody who spends quite a lot of my spare time hunting down street/graffiti art, I find I get a great amount of pleasure when I find things that are slightly out of the ordinary, and this piece, the second I have posted by Le Imposter Design, is definitely out of the ordinary.

Her small designs tend to be quite low down – I wonder if she sits while she is painting, because otherwise this would be back-breaking work. Here we have a little window into a world of toadstools painted with brushes and plenty of fine detail. I suspect I might have another of her fungus pieces in my archive, but it is un-signed. I really hope that Le Imposter Design continues with these little gems, because they offer something quite unique on the Bristol scene.

Fairy ring

Curiosity

circular radiation

with fruiting bodies

by Scooj

5407. M32 Cycle path (222)

Dog Bless the Band, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, July 2023

Dog Bless the Band is a curious street artist I have yet to meet. I say curious because his pieces are unlike pretty much anything else in the city right now. Curious also because of his name and because of the letters he writes – MOTEL, I mean what is it all about?

The large monolithic letters have a very earthy feel about them which is exaggerated in this piece by the muted colours, especially the green dusting, which gives the appearance of algae or moss on rocks. I’m not sure if that is the effect he was aiming for, but it is how it comes across to me. To the right there is a toadstool.

I wasn’t entirely sure whether the toadstool was painted by Dog Bless the Band or by a friend alongside, but have decided it is his own work, perhaps a study, because of the same colour selection and proximity. There are no other signatures or marks that would suggest another artist, simply the surprise of seeing the toadstool. Perhaps this signifies him straying into accompanying his letters with other work.

5388. Dean Lane skate park (625)

Klashwhensober, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2023

There has been a noticeable uptick in the quality of Klashwhensober’s work recently, and it feels like he has reached a new level. He is certainly broadening his horizons with letter styles and the introduction of ever-more sophisticated characters accompanying his letters.

In this recent piece from Dean Lane, Klashwhensober has gone for a simpler, smoother letter style which is very tidily finished. The fills of turquoise and orange blend well and are an eye-catching combination. The three little toadstools with faces on the right are a curious addition to the piece. Great work from Klashwhensober.

5312. Cumberland Basin

Andy Council, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, June 2023

I have a feeling that this piece was painted some time ago by Andy Council, but I have only just recently had the opportunity to photograph it. If I am honest, I consider it to be a slightly odd piece, and although it has all the hallmarks of an Andy Council style, the subject matter is lost on me a little.

The ball of what appears to be connected air conditioning units is interspersed with toadstools. Something odd is going on and I don’t know what it is. I can’t find out much about it on Instagram, but Andy Council painted something similar on a Belfast utility box, so it must mean something to him. Something a little different.

4496. Cattle Market Road (11)

The Bristol Womxn Mural Collective are a wonderful group of femxle (to use their convention) artists who come together several times a year to get out of their studios and try their hand at painting on the street. The outcome is invariable something rather special and different from the more conventional work we are used to seeing.

Nina Raines, Cattle Market Road, Bristol, May 2022

This is a superb study of a toadstool by Nina Raines, whose works are so incredibly diverse and don’t conform to a style, on account of her ‘proper’ profession as a theatrical scenic artist. This piece definitely works for me, with its different layers and textures. Great work… more to come from this paint jam.

2830. Alfred Street (2)

Not all that long ago I was saying on Natural Adventures that I don’t post enough pieces by T-Rex, so here is a gorgeous winnged dinosaur from her on the recently discovered (by me) Alfred Street wall. There piece is linked with the Aspire piece to the right by incorporating toadstools, and an alien theme.

T-Rex, Alfred Street, Bristol, March 2020

T-Rex has absolutely nailed these cartoon-style characters and they appear all over Bristol, often on caravans and vans that people live in dotted about the place. At any one time you are never too far away from one of these dinosaurs. This is an uplifting and happy piece, and I guess we could all do with a bit of happiness in our lives at the moment.

Yesterday, the UK went into lockdown which means that artists shouldn’t be spraying on the streets and I won’t be out taking photographs. This will give me an opportunity to go back through my archives and share with you pieces that deserve to be liberated. Watch this space for pieces going back as far as 2015.

	scooj on Revel Puck Circus
	M. on Revel Puck Circus
	paulh121 on 7352. Cumberland Basin
	Sheree on 7352. Cumberland Basin
	paulh121 on 7350. Hillgrove Street (9…

	scooj on Revel Puck Circus
	M. on Revel Puck Circus
	paulh121 on 7352. Cumberland Basin
	Sheree on 7352. Cumberland Basin
	paulh121 on 7350. Hillgrove Street (9…

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