A little tricky to photograph, but wonderful to behold is this beauty by Hazard which was painted in 2022 for Weston Wallz. The atmospheric portrait piece was painted last year, but I think it was probably after my visit, so this was the first time I got to see it.
Hazard, Weston Wallz, Weston-super-Mare, May 2023
Hazard has adopted her duplicate portrait theme, with a second ‘ghost’ face hidden in the hair, and she has cleverly incorporated the sea and waves into the piece, in keeping with the maritime location. The rich tones used in the piece are very easy on the eye, and there is a serenity and calmness to it. Weston Walz brings so much to the town… imagine how bland and indeed rather depressing this wall would have looked before Hazard painted it. It is no wonder that the citizens of Weston-super-Mare are so proud of their murals.
In the last, very sunny weekend of May, Paul H and I took a trip to Weston-super-Mare to have a look at some of the murals from Weston Wallz (a festival organised by Upfest) painted this year and in previous years. It is apparent everywhere in this Victorian seaside town that there is an immense sense of civic pride in the murals, and there is no doubt that they are seen by the local authority and others as part of the rejuvenation of the town and a visitor attraction. The power of street art.
Aspire, Weston wallz, Weston-super-Mare, May 2023
The first piece we saw as we walked from the station towards the sea front was this magnificent, large mural by Aspire, on Station Road. Aspire is no stranger to Natural Adventures, and his bird pieces are always a fine addition to any street art festival. This beautiful great tit piece, painted in 2022 follows a theme that Aspire has been working on for a couple of years, which is to position nature and human impact side by side creating a slightly uncomfortable juxtaposition. Beautiful artwork with the trademark ‘pixelated’ patches, makes this a wonderful introduction to Weston Wallz for anyone arriving on the train.
Last weekend, Paul H and I took a trip to Weston-super-Mare to photograph some of the street art there, not least the impressive recent additions from the last three years thanks to Upfest’s involvement with the Weston Wallz initiative. We hadn’t even left the station when I spotted a surfeit of doors on a Network Rail maintenance wagon – this was going to be a good day.
Plenty of doors on this Network Rail rail grinder, Weston-super-Mare, May 2023
Being a seaside town, many of the doors are in fairly poor condition, from all that salt spray in the winter months, so, plenty of characterful doors, but not many ancient ones. The doors were a bit of a bonus on what was actually a street/graffiti art mission, but Paul was very patient with me as I snapped up a few interesting doors. I hope you enjoy them:
Blue doors of a certain period, Weston-super-Mare, May 2023Green doors of a certain period in need of some TLC, Weston-super-Mare, May 2023Dirty plain door and a little bit of graffiti, Weston-super-Mare, May 2023Steel doors, Weston-super-Mare, May 2023
More to come from this trip in due course. My I wish you a happy end of week.
If you have made it this far, you probably like doors, and you really ought to take a look at the No Facilities blog by Dan Anton who has taken over the hosting of Thursday Doors from Norm 2.0 blog. Links to more doorscursions can be found in the comments section of Dan Anton’s Thursday Doors post.
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.
JPS, Alexandra Parade, Weston-super-Mare, September 2021
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.
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.
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.
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.
Dan Kitchener, Regent Street, Weston-super-Mare, September 2021
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.
Dan Kitchener, Regent Street, Weston-super-Mare, September 2021
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.
Dan Kitchener, Regent Street, Weston-super-Mare, September 2021
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.
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.
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.
Irony, Alexandra Parade, Weston-super-Mare, September 2021
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.
Irony, Alexandra Parade, Weston-super-Mare, September 2021
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.
Natural adventures 