Weston-super-Mare – Natural adventures

4079. Alexandra Parade (2), Weston-super-Mare

I have never made any secret of the fact that I love the work of JPS and that he is without question in my top five favourite street artists, although I don’t know who the other four would be. For this reason, it is always a pleasure to visit Weston-super-Mare, his original hometown, where so many of his stencil pieces adorn the town’s walls.

JPS, Alexandra Parade, Weston-super-Mare, September 2021

This is quite an old piece, but one that I have always admired. I took this picture on my recent visit, but I think I have a pictures from some time ago that just never got published on this blog. Shame on me, although my heightened sense of self-doubt wonders whether this might be a repeat of a stencil he painted elsewhere.

This innocent-looking piece is a potent reminder of the fragility of planet Earth, but one that also transports us back to both our own childhoods but also to an era of innocence that is now long since gone. These retro scenes are always beautifully presented and executed and demonstrate why JPS is held in such high regard.

4055. Richmond Street (4), Weston-super-Mare

Farrah is an artist who I have only been aware of only for a short time, after her stunning Upfest piece from earlier in the year. Since then, I have noticed a lot more of her work about the place, possibly because I am now following her on Instagram and have been looking out a bit more.

Farrah, Richmond Street, Weston-super-Mare, September 2021

This outstanding mural in Weston-super-mare was part of the Westonwallz initiative, ably assisted by Upfest, and is called Oxygen. Definitely a topical piece given the COP26 talks at the moment. Farrah’s works are inspired by the natural works an have a calm and inspiring quality about them. This particular piece seems a little incongruous sited above a pizza and kebab joint, but perhaps it brings with it a touch of class, which is never a bad thing. A stunner, for sure.

4003. Walliscote Road (1), Weston-super-Mare

I will never quite understand why some artists never have as high a profile on Natural Adventures as they deserve, this is even more puzzling when those artists are as talented and creative as I bee W. I have several of his pieces in my archive simply waiting to be posted, but they are trapped. I wasn’t going to let that happen with this wonderful stencil piece in Weston-super-Mare

I bee W, Walliscote Road, Weston-super-Mare, September 2021

The stencil is unusual, because it features a nude figure which is very unusual in UK street art. Maybe we were prudish or something, but nude art is rarely seen. The complex, multi-layered stencil is typical of the excellent work we see from I bee W, and has a sense of optimism and freedom about it. I will be unearthing more work from this fabulous stencil artist.

3997. Regent Street, Weston-super-Mare

The artist needs no introduction, but for those of you not so familiar with some of the bigger names in street art, this is an incredible geisha piece by Dan Kitchener or Dank as he is sometimes known.

Dan Kitchener, Regent Street, Weston-super-Mare, September 2021

Everything about this piece is close to perfection. The location and wall, the proportions and of course the artwork. The parked car at the bottom left is the only blemish, and even that has little impact on the magnificence of the mural.

It seems that Dan Kitchener never stops. Every time I surf Instagram, he seems to have yet another new mural or canvass piece on the go, most of which are strongly themed with these Japanese street scenes, and for me have a touch of ‘Bladerunner’ about them.

To combine the geisha with the street scene is a clever shift, bringing together two elements that he loves to paint into one piece. The top half features a white-faced portrait of a geisha fully decked out with her amazing hair decorations and headdress.

Underneath the beautiful lady is a street scene, with neon signs and wet weather, of course, that Dan Kitchener captures so well and presents us with something full of bustle and atmosphere.

A brilliant piece and fabulous gift to the people of Weston-super-Mare.

3929. Carlton Street (2), Weston-super-Mare

Weston-super-Mare and JPS go together like a hand in glove, everywhere you look and every back street has a little bit of JPS artwork, it is almost like an open air museum. Although the artist now lives on the continent, in Germany I think, he comes back often enough to paint occasional new stencils in the town, and with the low frequency of my visits, I get to see a whole load of work new to me. Including this Spiderman beauty.

JPS, Carlton Street, Weston-super-Mare, September 2021

JPS always injects humour into his work, and although this phrase is a little bit cheesy, it is also rather prophetic, and indeed the piece has ended up on the web as evidenced here and in countless other digital platforms. Beautifully situated and painted, this is yet another great example to the work of this fabulous artist.

3971. Alexandra Parade, Weston-super-Mare

Wouldn’t it be great if Irony painted more often in the west of England… oh, hang on a minute he seems to be turning up everywhere at the moment, something surely to be celebrated. Maybe we could tempt him to move to Bristol and treat us with his work more often, that would be good.

Irony, Alexandra Parade, Weston-super-Mare, September 2021

This magnificent cockerel piece above Sultan’s Kebab House is as brilliant as it is unexpected. What? Who? Why? The piece bursts out of the ordinariness of its surroundings on a bright yellow background and demands attention. What a fabulous addition to this seaside town, known for its street art culture generated mainly by JPS and augmented by Banksy’s ‘Dismaland’ exhibition from a few years ago.

The piece is part of an event orchestrated by Upfest for the town, more information taken from the Upfest website is as follows:

Europe’s biggest street art festival is coming to Weston this summer.

Upfest will join forces with Weston Town Council, local artists and organisations including Culture Weston to create a series of murals on buildings across the seaside town this month.

Up-and-coming local artists from Weston, as well as artists from further afield, will be taking part in the project.

They will paint 10 different murals over 10 days, mainly focused in and around the town centre.

The initiative has been funded with a £20,000 grant from the town council.

There will not be a set theme, with artists being asked to come up with their own designs.

The murals will form part of a permanent trail around the town, and it is hoped this will help to bring people into Weston. A shortlist of artists for the project is now being drawn up.

Of course, 10 walls in 10 days is going to be a bit of a challenge for me to record, living a little bit away and only visiting occasionally, but I will try my best.

I think that this piece, more than any other, perfectly demonstrates how a piece of urban art, free for all to enjoy, can lift the spirits of a place, create a sense of pride and identity and drive inward investment. A perfect win win situation.

Irony is a genius.

3969. Victoria Square, Weston-super-Mare

This is a stunning stencil by an artist to whom I owe my interest in street art, alongside Kid Crayon, Face 1st and Mr Draws; it is of course the unmistakable (apart from those that confuse him with Banksy) JPS, who grew up in Weston-super-Mare but now lives on the continent.

JPS, Victoria Square, Weston-super-Mare, September 2021

On the side wall of a café, looking out to sea, is this young girl complete with a camera, snapping up the views of the Pier and Severn Estuary. Her patterned dress is particularly nicely done in this sharp multi-layer stencil.

On my walk around the town I met an old lady who lives two doors down from where JPS grew up, and she said what a lovely boy he was and was obviously very proud of his art and talent, she seemed very knowledgeable about the new pieces in town and was utterly engaged with the street art scene, so good to see. JPS has played no small part in influencing these positive attitudes. Lots more from JPS to come.

Thursday doors – 29 October 2020

Doors 126 – I can’t believe it’s Thursday doors

Please, please, please don’t tell me it is Thursday already. I have had a pretty busy week of it so far and completely forgot about Thursday Doors, in fact I completely forgot about Thursday.

I am going to have to quickly cobble something together during my lunch break. When I say ‘going to have to’ I wouldn’t like you to think that this is something I don’t enjoy doing or that is an onerous task that I am being forced to carry out. Not at all. I love doing it, I am just fighting against time, all the time. I am rather looking forward to semi-retirement (some years off) or complete retirement (a little further).

More archive street art/graffiti doors for you to enjoy:

DBK door, St Paul's, Bristol, July 2019 — DBK door, St Paul’s, Bristol, July 2019

Site Safety door, St Paul's, Bristol, July 2019 — Site Safety door, St Paul’s, Bristol, July 2019

Nude door, St Paul's, Bristol, July 2019 — Nude door, St Paul’s, Bristol, July 2019

JPS, Frogmore Street, Bristol, August 2019

Irony, Greville Road, Bristol, July 2019

Copyright, Leonard Lane, Bristol, July 2019

JPS, Alma Street, Weston-super-Mare, August 2019

JPS, Back alley, Weston-super-Mare, August 2019

That’s your lot for this Thursday

Have a great weekend and keep safe in this crazy world.

If you have made it this far, you probably like doors and you really ought to take a look at the Norm 2.0 blog – the originator of Thursday Doors where there are links to yet more doors in the comments section at the end.

by Scooj

2924. Carlton Street (1), Weston-super-Mare

It was a version of this stunning stencil in Frogmore Street in Bristol, together with Kid Crayon’s wheatpastes that drew me into the extraordinary world of street art about five years ago. It is called ‘The Big Deal’ and represents the drug dealing that JPS witnessed in his home town of Weston-super-Mare.

JPS, Carlton Street, Weston-super-Mare, August 2019

Knowing what the piece represents adds a layer of sophistication to the two young and ‘innocent’ characters that appear to have appeared from the 1960s (we all dressed like this in those days) although the box over the shoulder of one of the children might be a wartime gas mask. I cannot explain just how much I love this piece, which is on Carlton Street in Weston-super-Mare, not only because of its quality of a piece, but also of how it engaged directly with me and drew me in. My favourite.

JPS, Frogmore Street, Bristol, July 2015

2922. Richmond Street (3), Weston-super-Mare

Last August I took a day trip to Weston-super-Mare, just me and the dog, while my wife and daughter were holidaying in Greece and my son was doing his own thing. I had contrived to go to WSM so that I couls photograph the street art. The dog didn’t know that and was just grateful to have a whole day out sniffing and running. Most f the pieces in WSM are by JPS and this ‘young girl throwing a strop’ is one of the best in my view.

JPS, Richmond Street, Weston-super-Mare, August 2019

The story about this piece from JPS is that the young girl is having a strop because she has spilled her paint before she was able to paint the wall. There is so much to like about the composition, for example incorporating the drain pipe, let alone the quality of the stencil itself. Such a wonderful piiece. I can thoroughly recommend a trip to WSM for the street art alone.

	hitandrun1964 on 4617. Cumberland Basin
	scooj on 4618. Cumberland Basin
	scooj on Ironic
	scooj on Thursday doors – 4 Augus…
	scooj on Ironic

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