Month: April 2019

2153. Dean Lane skate park (206)

Now that the sun has at last arrived and the weather is beginning to warm up a little it seems that plenty of artists are coming out of hibernation, which on the one hand is a great thing, but on the other means that turnover is going to increase, and keeping up with new pieces in Bristol is going to be an impossible task.

Slim Pickings, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2019
Slim Pickings, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2019

This pair, Slim Pickings and Biers (who seems to have changed his handle to Jimothy Kool Aid) from No Frills have certainly awoken and this is the first of at least two recent collaborations I have seen. Slim Pickings in particular seems to have gone a little crazy, and I am going to have a job posting all his recent pieces. Love the colours in this one.

Biers, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2019
Biers, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2019

Biers has created this writing (I’m not sure what is spells out) and added in a character, which I believe to be Jeremy Beadle who amongst other things used to present the TV clips show You’ve been Framed. Such is his attention to detail, Biers has even incorporated the slightly small hand that Beadle had. I’m still loving the shapes of Biers’ letters.

Warm weather haircut

 

Number two on top

grading to a one elsewhere

and lose the fluff please.

 

by Scooj

 

  • These days there isn’t an awful lot to cut and most of the hard work is getting rid of the hair on/in my ears, my eyebrows etc – getting old is the pits.

2152. St Werburghs tunnel (73)

Another fine combo from Laic217 and Cort in St Werburghs tunnel. I feel like I haven’t seen too much from Laic217 in recent months, although actually he is still reasonably productive and I see maybe a couple of new pieces each month.

Laic217, St Werburghs, Bristol, April 2019
Laic217, St Werburghs, Bristol, April 2019

The Character piece has several themes that we have seen from Laic217 before. A skull, a brick wall, this time in the form of glasses and a brilliantly crafted hoodie jacket complete with zip.

Laic217, St Werburghs, Bristol, April 2019
Laic217, St Werburghs, Bristol, April 2019

More than other pieces that Laic217 has produced, this one feels surreal, probably because the brick wall obscures the eyes, or more correctly the eye sockets, so the character is dissociated from its surroundings… warning, beginning to sound a little pretentious.

Cort, St Werburghs, Bristol, April 2019
Cort, St Werburghs, Bristol, April 2019

It would seem that Cort recently has been rather fond of extending the length of his name, and in this case to CORTONE. I wonder if by lengthening it he gives himself more scope to play around. I like what he has done here, and I particularly like the random white surround with trios of black dots in it. All in all a nice collaboration from these two friends.

2151. M32 roundabout J3 (138)

There was a recent paint jam down at the M32 with fur artists participating. The only one that I recognised was Smak, so I guess the others were visitors to Bristol, or don’t paint all that often. This piece by Smak was the pick of the bunch, although the others were pretty good too, and I’ll post them in due course.

Smak, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2019
Smak, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2019

The colours of this piece stand out so brilliantly against the white background and I consider this to be a truly masterful piece of writing. I am pretty hacked off that I cut off the ends of the piece in both photographs but the pavement here is pretty narrow and it is difficult to get the full span of a piece in shot. I am even more annoyed that I went back there last night and forgot to retake the pictures. Sensational work though.

2150. Rivington Street, London (7)

I have a terrible feeling that I might have walked past this marvellous piece by Stik several times over the last year or two. It doesn’t look especially new, but I have just never noticed it before… there is always reward in looking up.

Stik, Rivington Street, London, April 2019
Stik, Rivington Street, London, April 2019

I have said it before about his pieces, but it is incredible how much emotion he manages to convey with these simplest of characters that have no features other than dots for eyes. It is also interesting how your mind completes the picture where the windows break up the artwork. Rivington Street is a great place to see street art, and if you should happen to go, don’t forget to look up.

 

 

Sounds of spring

 

Pigeon coo cooing

heard in the front room fireplace

chimney stack calling.

 

by Scooj

2149. Brick Lane (3)

I knew about this beautiful Dan Kitchener piece, because I’d seen it a couple of times on Instagram, so it was ‘front of mind’ when I eventually made it to Brick Lane. The piece, on a perfect wall was towards the southern end of Brick Lane, and although it has been there since mid-March was in remarkably good nick.

Dan Kitchener, Brick Lane, London, April 2019
Dan Kitchener, Brick Lane, London, April 2019

It is impossible not to admire Dan Kitchener’s work and his geisha pictures really are sublime. The piece is awash with colour and the hair decorations are so beautifully crafted, the street lights behind creating movement. Probably a ‘quick one’ from Dan Kitchener, but a real gem nonetheless.

2148. Shoreditch, London (30)

I took a walk with my sister, who lives in London, a week ago and on her suggestion we headed over towards Brick Lane. On the way there we passed this wonderful stencil by Unify, which definitely met with her approval. There is something rather special about doorway art… perhaps it is the combination of two of my loves – street art and doors.

Unify, Shoreditch, London, April 2019
Unify, Shoreditch, London, April 2019

In my view, there is something a little sad about this chimpanzee who has sprayed ‘I Love You’ on the door, as if completely misunderstood and marginalised and yet still articulating love. We humans have done just about our worst when it comes to the fragile ecosystems where our great primates live but they bear us no grudges… that would be a human quality.

I love Unify’s work, but find that it is often tinged with a little sadness.

2147. Nomadic community garden, London (1)

This is a really unusual piece by Aspire in a rather unusual setting. The nomadic community garden just off Brick Lane is an example of extreme Bohemian living. A collection of allotment huts, some of which are mini cafes, and a few small plots surrounded by graffiti and street art. It is a completely bonkers public space that has to be seen to be understood.

Aspire, Nomadic Community Garden, Brick Lane, London, April 2019
Aspire, Nomadic Community Garden, Brick Lane, London, April 2019

I would normally associate birds and other wildlife with Aspire, so this rather ghoulish portrayal of Mother Teresa came as a bit of a surprise package. It is definitely by Aspire as it is signed with his characteristic signature in the colours used for the piece. My sister didn’t like this, and I tried to explain to her that it was not typical of his work. Personally I like to see artists switch it up from time to time. A fine piece.

Thursday doors

Doors 68. Fournier Street (Part 1)

Well I think I hit door gold last week when taking a trip to London. My sister, who lives in Stoke Newington, and I had decided to spend the day together to remember our father on the first anniversary of his death.

My sister suggested we take a walk in the Brick Lane area – I think she thought I’d enjoy showing her the street art in the area, and indeed she was right. Some of the pieces we saw are posted elsewhere on Natural Adventures.

Heading back to a bust stop near Spitalfields Market, we turned right off Brick Lane and into Fournier Street. My jaw nearly hit the floor. I explained the whole ‘Thursday Doors’ to my long-suffering sister and proceeded to snap away. Fournier street is one of those amazing East End streets that has pretty much kept its character, and rather than being knocked down in some kind of ill-thought-out gentrification project it has survived and thrived in private ownership by people who took a punt back in the 1950s/60s that these houses were worth looking after. Gilbert and George are an example of that, and if you Google them in Fournier Street, you can see articles about their house (Number 8 I think).

Enough guff… here is the first installment of Fournier Street doors:

Double double door, Brick Lane Muslim Funeral Services, Fournier Street, London April 2019
Double double door, Brick Lane Muslim Funeral Services, Fournier Street, London April 2019
Blue door and fine portico, Fournier Street, London, April 2019
Blue door and fine portico, Fournier Street, London, April 2019
Nice doors and great Victorian tiles, Fournier Street, London, April 2019
Nice doors and great Victorian tiles, Fournier Street, London, April 2019
Door and swanky portico with lamp, Fournier Street, London, April 2019
Door and swanky portico with lamp, Fournier Street, London, April 2019
Door, slightly wonky, Fournier Street, London, April 2019
Door, slightly wonky, Fournier Street, London, April 2019
Door, eight panels and beautiful surround, Fournier Street, London, April 2019
Door, eight panels and beautiful surround, Fournier Street, London, April 2019
Door, is this one wonky too? Fournier Street, London, April 2019
Door, is this one wonky too? Fournier Street, London, April 2019
Door with splendid portico, Fournier Street, London, April 2019
Door with splendid portico, Fournier Street, London, April 2019

More Fournier door delight to come in Part 2 soon.

For more doors and indeed the inspiration behind Thursday Doors go and take a look at Norm 2.0 blog where there are links to yet more doors.