The calm sea glistens
tranquility recovered
treasure the moment.
by Scooj
Month: July 2016
331. Armada Place (5)
Well I said that Aspire had done a fish, and here it is in all its splendour. I like his work, all of it, and as a marine biologist I have to say I particularly like this one. I must confess I am not too sure what kind of fish it is, but I am not too bothered. It is a fish.
I would like to see more fish from Aspire, but perhaps not if it is at the expense of his birds which are truly spectacular – I still have a backlog of his birds to write about!
I noticed in the Upfest map that he will be at the festival this year. I will try to catch up with him if I can. Audubon in New York awaits.
Flash mob
Dancers disguised, spring
into action and dazzle
bemused spectators.
by Scooj
330. Dean Lane Skate Park (14)
I saw this on Angus’ Instagram feed recently…knew where it was and felt I just had to go and photograph it. This is his ‘Purple Rain’ tribute piece, and a rather beautiful one too. Simple and somewhat experimental I would suggest. I say that because there is another similar work nearby using the same ‘dimple effect’ technique.
When I saw this on Instagram I totally liked it. Now that I have seen it for myself in the flesh, I really totally like it. I am really enjoying Angus’ work at the moment, and given that he seems to be rather prolific, I think I’ll be seeing quite a lot more over the coming weeks and months.
For Prince.
329. Blackstock Road, London (1)
As regular readers will know by now, I have recently taken on a new job for six months which involves being in my native London two days a week. This week, instead of staying in a lonely sad hotel, I stayed with my lovely sister and family in Stoke Newington. Ever the opportunist, I realised that this would afford me an opportunity to snap some London street art. Hurrah! This is between Finsbury Park station and my sister’s house.
This is a spectacular mural by a Sao Paulo-based artist ‘Muretz’ (Mauro Golin), which was painted when on a flying visit back in March this year. There is more about this and one other work on the excellent London Calling blog. I cannot hope to cover London works in the incredible way that London Calling does, so I won’t try to duplicate.
I think that one can predict Brazilian artists will feature skeletons in some of their work, as death is celebrated in a way quite different to the somber conventional ways in the ‘West’. I love this. It is witty and simple. A bit like Stik meets Banksy…or something. I love the way the character appears to be sitting on the steps of the house.
This is a lovely work, and I feel thrilled at coming across it. On a slightly off-topic note, I wonder if the Green Grocer is always open…the sign would suggest it is.
Festival weather
Harbour festival
threatened by leaden skies
a Summer dulled.
by Scooj
328. North Street Green (3)
The last time I posted about this spot, it was decorated with a collaboration between E.Lee and Copyright. Shortly after I blogged about the piece, it had been replaced by this Soker piece.
I rather like this simple burner by Soker. It is colourful, beautifully crafted and in some way humorous…I can’t quite put my finger on why though. Maybe it is the light fixture in the middle. I don’t know. I know that I like it though. I expect it has been over-painted by now though.
327. Raleigh Road, Tobacco Factory (4)
Well this has happened pretty much by accident, two posts by the same artist in a row, and featured only for the first time yesterday.
This is a lovely tribute piece to two of our great British loved ones who passed away in January 2016. Stephen Quick has combined elements from the working lives of David Bowie and Alan Rickman to create this ‘Severus Sane’ image. Alan Rickman (Severus Snape from the Harry Potter films) and Bowie’s Aladdin Sane Ziggy Stardust are conflated into one fabulous image.
It is a touching piece and beautifully executed. It sits in the same car park alongside Hannah Adamaszek’s wonderful piece. Writing this makes me feel quite sad still at the loss of two hugely influential talents. It is a good thing to see them remembered in this way.
326. Raleigh Road, Tobacco Factory (3)
This is another piece that was created as part of Upfest 2015. It sits in the covered car park area immediately behind the Tobacco Factory and is by Bristol-trained artist Stephen Quick. On his website, he describes his work as follows:
“My art mainly represents contemporary culture via pop art; I embrace our materialistic nature, which often defines who we are”
I don’t think he does a lot of street art, which may make this piece rather unusual. At first I wondered if it was a studio piece that was placed here, but I think the spray paint has overlapped onto the fence behind and that it was probably painted in situ. In my view, however it was executed, it is a great work – lovely drips.
325. Moon Street (14)
A little while ago, I took the short loop into Moon Street – I do this about once a week – from Stokes Croft, just to see if there was anything new. It seems that turnover there has slowed a bit in recent weeks so I was pleased to find this collaboration. It is something quite different in light backwashed colours. It almost feels as if the pieces are incomplete…I have returned since, and thy are unchanged.
The right hand side of the two is clearly by Fois – the extra touch of the cowboy hat rounds this writing off perfectly.
The writing on the left hand side though is a mystery. I don’t know who it is by, and given that Fois seems not to use digital social media (at least publicly), it is hard to establish the artist. It is one I will have to return to if I find out anything more.
UPDATE: Thank you Duncan. The second piece is signed Ysae, and is similar to other writing by the same Artist in the Bristol/Swindon area. Unfortunately at this time I know no more than that.
Although nowhere near the site of Upfest, I fully expect most of the Stokes Croft and Bearpit areas to get complete make-overs during the festival weekend.
Natural adventures 