Month: September 2018

1752. Newfoundland Road

I found this by complete accident. I was driving around town and decided to make a quick trip over to the M32 roundabout to see if there was anything new to photograph there, but on the way I passed this building and caught sight of the bright colours in my peripheral vision. Thank heavens for peripheral vision…eh?

Zase, Newfoundland Road, Bristol, September 2018
Zase, Newfoundland Road, Bristol, September 2018

The piece, on a newly redeveloped site is by Zase and has really made a statement for this otherwise utterly unremarkable building. I often wonder to myself whether great murals add to the value of a property or detract from it. I know my own personal view, but would love to know the view of buyers and sellers of property.

Zase, Newfoundland Road, Bristol, September 2018
Zase, Newfoundland Road, Bristol, September 2018

I’m not sure what the brief was for this mural, but he has incorporated portraits of ordinary people, perhaps reflecting the diversity of the surrounding area. As always he has incorporated his 3D ZASE, which is something of a hallmark on his murals.

Zase, Newfoundland Road, Bristol, September 2018
Zase, Newfoundland Road, Bristol, September 2018

If you can be bothered, it is well worth going onto Google maps and streetview to see what a fantastic improvement has been made to this building by the refurb and the mural togather. This is almost like gentrification but maintaining the spirit of the community, and I am all for it (provided the resulting apartments/offices are truly affordable).

1750. The Bearpit (161)

I have had this piece in my archives for a little while now, and what is amazing is that the piece is still intact in one of the tunnels of The Bearpit, or at least it was last week, and has remained undogged since early August. The piece is by Tommy Fiendish – occasional visitor to Bristol.

Tommy Fiendish, The Bearpit, Bristol, August 2018
Tommy Fiendish, The Bearpit, Bristol, August 2018

Tommy Fiendish has made a little video of a version of this piece, entitled ‘will I take him out now your grace?’ which, if you are a fan of Terry Gilliam should tick your box. I do like his work which tends to have a subversive of humorous streak and is perhaps a little more visually challenging than much of the stuff you see around the place. All good.

1749. Dean Lane skate park (170)

I arrived at this piece a little too late to see it in its original condition. It had been a collaboration between Mr Draws (in the middle) bookended by Tasha Bee. However, before I managed to get to see it, Oner had made a little contribution of his own.

Tasha Bee, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2018
Tasha Bee, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2018

I have to admit that I rather like Oner’s burners. There is a certain honesty about them, unpretentious but nicely turned out and often just a little bit edgy. Tasha Bee has rapidly made it into my group of favourite Bristol artists with her stylised characters and pretty flower motifs.

Tasha Bee, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2018
Tasha Bee, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2018

She is very prolific, and even today on a long walk with the dog I found a couple more of her pieces. There is something rather spiritual about her characters, it might be something to do with the simplicity of the lines or the closed eyes or the little peace and love signs, I’m not sure, but they ooze serenity. It is a pity I didn’t see the Mr Draws bit in the middle, but I can imagine it.

1748. M32 Spot (27)

I have been prompted to publish these wonderful cartoon faces by Zake from my archive because I am aware that he has done some more recently. I was hoping that I could find out a little bit more about the artist in the meantime, but all my searches have been fruitless.

Zake, M32 Spot, Bristol, May 2018
Zake, M32 Spot, Bristol, May 2018

Zake’s faces are wonderfully expressive and in terms of their size and format seem to work very well within the rather tight constraints of the columns under the M32.

Zake, M32 Spot, Bristol, May 2018
Zake, M32 Spot, Bristol, May 2018

Another characteristic of Zake’s work is the selection of brown colours for the faces, which seems to provide a good contrasting base for the features. I love this man with the pens in his shirt pocket. These are great small pieces, and it would be good to see where Zake takes this work.

Zake, M32 Spot, Bristol, May 2018
Zake, M32 Spot, Bristol, May 2018

1747. Dean Lane skate park (169)

Ok, so I have been doing a little bit of a trawl through my archives to let a few overlooked pieces see the light of day. This one by Hire I managed to photograph moments before it was buffed over, I forget who by (I think it was Dibz), but you can see the paint can at the ready in the bottom left of the picture.

Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2018
Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2018

Hire is one of several Polish artists in Bristol, adding an international feel to the work we see here. His writing tends to be very cryptic and his lettering angular and sharp, looking like shards of metal. Normally his writing spells out his name, but I’m not so sure that it does in this piece. It is quite a ‘dark’ piece, which is often the case with his work, even his bunnies are touched with menace or melancholy.

1746. Moon Street (54)

Absolutely no prizes for guessing the artist…besides which his signature is strikingly obvious in this piece. Laic217 favours this wall, and I must have six or seven of his works from here over the past three years or so. Incidentally, Moon Street is one of my favourite haunts too, but there seems to be less and less turnover here than there used to be.

Laic217, Moon Street, Bristol, September 2018
Laic217, Moon Street, Bristol, September 2018

In this piece, we have many of the things you can expect from Laic217 Including the bucket hat and brick wall motif. But what I particularly like about this character is his eyes which are actually spray can caps – a great idea. You have got to like the rather manic ‘Joker’ mouth too, which adds a touch of menace to the piece.

Laic217, Moon Street, Bristol, September 2018
Laic217, Moon Street, Bristol, September 2018

Laic217’s pieces are often highly colourful and this one is no exception to that. The turquoise background acting as a perfect foil to the red brick shirt and purple face. I’ve always been a fan and likely will always continue to be one.

1745. Brunel Way Bridge (9)

It has been a long while since I last posted a piece by the extraordinarily talented Sled One, so it was great to come across this piece in the Cumberland Basin a week or so back. The wall itself is always tricky to photograph because there is a lot of glare that streams across it – this may be an artifact of the time of day I usually visit this wall.

Sled One, Brunel Way Bridge, Bristol, September 2018
Sled One, Brunel Way Bridge, Bristol, September 2018

I will not pretend that I have anything other than utmost admiration for the work of Sled One – his fantastical creations are the stuff of cartoons and surrealism combined. Add to that potent mix a technical gift and you have some of the best artwork being produced in Bristol at this moment in time.

Sled One, Brunel Way Bridge, Bristol, September 2018
Sled One, Brunel Way Bridge, Bristol, September 2018

Earlier in the year I met Sled One a couple of times, and it turns out he lives on my road (although I think he travels around a lot too, originally coming from York (I think)). On his Instagram account he labels this piece as a self-portrait. I guess he is fond of Nike shoes! He says it started as an ASK (the crew he belongs to) piece, but that it ended up elsewhere. I can’t read ASK concealed anywhere in the illustration. Fabulous work.

 

1744. M32 roundabout J3 (96)

This piece has been around for a little while on the M32 roundabout, tucked in between a couple of bushes. I don’t know the artist – presumably Skot, and my efforts to try and track him/her down have led me to several Skots, the most likely being Skot One who I think is from London.

Skot One, M32 Roundabout, Bristol, September 2018
Skot One, M32 Roundabout, Bristol, September 2018

I rather like this piece, both the writing which is beautifully executed and the character. It is a long time since I last saw Andy Capp, but it seems the cartoon strip is still running. A nice touch and nostalgic reference.

Thursday doors

Doors 47 – Fowey

My sister and family have recently bought a farmhouse in Cornwall not too far south of Bodmin. This is excellent news for me, as there is a ready-made bolt-hole for short breaks with the family and dog. In fact I posted some Fowey doors a short while back on such a visit with my daughter in August. Even better than that is that it can serve as a new base for my annual fishing trips with my fishing partner of thirty years.

At the start of September, he and I went away for a few days and our primary task was to check out the coastline from St Austell to Plymouth. Now I am very familiar with Cornwall and spent pretty much every school holiday in Flushing, opposite Falmouth, staying with my grandparents, but this South East coastline of Cornwall has largely remained off my radar.

On our last day we decided to pop into Fowey for some breakfast before fishing on the other side of the estuary in Polruan. As it happened, we abandoned that idea and instead fished the most beautiful bay imaginable called Lantic Bay, a few miles East of Polruan.

Enough context setting – in short, I found myself back in Fowey, so here are some more doors from this recent fishing trip.

Basement door and thick walls, Fowey, Cornwall, September 2018
Basement door and thick walls, Fowey, Cornwall, September 2018
Basement door and thick walls, Fowey, Cornwall, September 2018
Basement door and thick walls, Fowey, Cornwall, September 2018
Boat builder's yard door, Fowey, Cornwall, September 2018
Boat builder’s yard door, Fowey, Cornwall, September 2018
Cottage door, Fowey, Cornwall, September 2018
Cottage door, Fowey, Cornwall, September 2018
Quay House door, Fowey, Cornwall, September 2018
Quay House door, Fowey, Cornwall, September 2018
Door, Fowey, Cornwall, September 2018
Door, Fowey, Cornwall, September 2018
Dangerous secret door, Fowey, Cornwall, September 2018
Dangerous secret door, Fowey, Cornwall, September 2018
Lantic Bay, a hidden jewel, Cornwall September 2018
Lantic Bay, a hidden jewel, Cornwall September 2018

And that’s it for this week.

by Scooj

More doors at: Thursday Doors – Norm 2.0