Something magical
when a dog looks at the stars
in complete darkness
does he share my sense of awe,
feel our insignificance?
by Scooj
Month: November 2018
1873. Upfest 2018 (92)
I have featured the work of Sofly a couple of times on Natural Adventures before and each time hoped that she would return to Bristol which thankfully she did at Upfest 2018. Sofly (Sophy Robson) was an official artist at the festival but nonetheless decided to paint on an unofficial wall, something I admire and something that keeps the festival ‘real’.
Tis is simply a really nice piece of writing, beautifully proportioned, and the colours are wonderful, especially the way the pink gets lighter towards the right hand side of the piece. I tried to have a quick chat with Sophy, but I think she was keen to finish up and move on, so the conversation was brief.
1872. Upfest 2018 (91)
Whoops! a slightly wonkey picture of a beautiful shutter piece by Vanesa Longchamp on North Street. This was one of two Upfest pieces by the artist that I had not come across before the festival. Looking at digital social media, you can see how popular her work is and it is easy to understand why.
I love it when artists do more than one piece at the festival, especially when one of them is likely to have some permanence. Like her other piece, this is a beauty which oozes class. While the lines and concept are straightforward, the execution and USP are stamped all over it. We wwere lucky to see two of her works this year.
1871. St Werburghs tunnel (53)
It is often the way with photographing street art that you can go for long periods without seeing anything from an artist, and then all of a sudden a rush of pieces all come along at once. This has as much to do with the habits of the viewer (me) as it does with the painter.
This is a fine piece in the middle of the tunnel at St Werburghs by Rusk from RAW (Read and Weep). Unfortunately the colours are dulled by the orange lighting in the tunnel, but you can see the metallic sheen on the writing, cleverly enhanced with the white accent dots. In case you haven’t worked it out, the letters spell RUSK. Two things I like here…the first is the piece hanging above by Corupt and the second is the Read and Weep label on the right hand side. Rusk rarely disappoints.
1870. M32 Spot (34)
Sadly I didn’t get to this lovely piece by Tasha Bee quickly enough before it had been tagged. Hers was not the only piece on this column that had been tagged, but that doesn’t make it any less annoying. I really do wonder what goes on in some people’s heads that they think it is ok to spoil deliberately other people’s work. I guess I’ll never really fully understand.
Here we have two of her serene characters, one atop the other, almost as if they are in a moment of meditation. A decent column piece from this prolific artist.
Thursday doors
Doors 53
Well, I have taken a couple of weeks off from Thursday doors for two key reasons. 1) I had run out of door pictures and 2) is irrelevant because of 1).
Last Sunday I found myself in London with some time to kill, so I took off down to Shoreditch to hunt down some street art. Over the course of 4 hours or so, I took just shy of 500 pictures and walked 15 miles. While I was there I managed to find a few doors, and I am sharing the first of them here. There is, rather predictably, a strong street/graffiti art connection.
These doors are in a street heavily patronised by wheatpasters – it is worth taking a moment to look at the artworks as there is a real spectrum from poor to excellent.
There is hardly a square inch of un-pasted door/wall and looking at it is almost like looking at an archeological dig, with different eras exposed. To many this is just a mess, to me it is individual expression in a space where freedom is tolerated/permitted.
by Scooj
More amazing doors at: Thursday Doors – Norm 2.0
Recycling quartet
A clatter of cans
bottles clink, plastic crackles
and the food waste hums.
by Scooj
1869. M32 roundabout J3 (107)
Sometimes words aren’t really enough to describe how good a piece of graffiti writing is, and this is a case in point. This is Deamze’s contribution to the recent paint jam by ASK and friends on the M32 roundabout, and it really leaves me speechless.
There is so much to like about this piece over and above the technical execution, for example the exquisite colour selections that match the other works on this wall, but not only that, the way Deamze uses the colours, especially the greens, lifts the piece from the wall. The leafy design within his letters is also really beautiful. In all this is a masterful piece.
1868. Star and Garter (2)
A new wall (for me) and a new artist (for me) is a rare and pleasurable thing in documenting the spectrum of opportunity and talent in Bristol’s street/graffiti art community. This unusual and interesting piece (there is a story unfolding here) is, I think, by Rosalita of PWA (Pirate Wall Art). The reason I believe this, is because Rosalita was tagged in an Instagram post by Soap (also PWA) who had been painting the wall on the same day and which I posted a few days ago.
I love the Russian doll idea and the two halves exposing a heart. The doll’s lips are stitched together suggesting some frustration perhaps. Like I said before, there is a story here…perhaps one of heartbreak. For sure though it is an unusual piece.
Heavy shower
A stair-rod downpour
gutters momentarily
fast flowing torrents.
by Scooj
Natural adventures 