Month: February 2020

Thursday doors – 6 February 2020

Doors 95 – Charley Box

I was wandering around Montpelier (Bristol) recently hunting down a specific piece of street art that I wanted to photograph (it’s actually on the right hand end wall of this building). My eye was drawn to this rather lovely door and then to the plaque above it. The cell behind the door is known as Charley’s box.

Charley Box plaque, Montpelier, Bristol, February 2020
Charley Box plaque, Montpelier, Bristol, February 2020

Before 1836 there was no police force in Bristol, so until some kind of law and order was formally established Montpelier employed its own nightwatchman called Charley (I’m not sure I believe this). Charley had the powers of arrest and would grab unruly citizens and chuck them into this cell overnight until a sobering trip to the magistrates the following morning. I believe the building is now privately owned but the original door appears to still be there, which is lucky for this post.

Charley Box door, Montpelier, Bristol, February 2020
Charley Box door, Montpelier, Bristol, February 2020

So only the one door this week – I have been rather busy I’m afraid.

If you like doors, you ought to take a look at the Norm 2.0 blog – the originator of Thursday Doors where there are links to yet more doors in the comments section at the end.

by Scooj

2736. Dean Lane skate park (278)

Forgive the rain spot on the feature image, it was a very wet day when I took these pictures, and no matter how hard I tried to protect the lens from the rain, I just didn’t meet with much success. Sometimes though you simply have to venture out in all kinds of weather to capture incredible pieces like this one by Decay for fear that they could be tagged or painted over at any time, especially in Dean Lane.

Decay, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2020
Decay, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2020

I am loving the new direction that Decay is taking with his writing this year, with the inclusion of an additional set of letters behind his familiar ‘DECAY’. In this piece on the famous curved wall, he has written the letters HTM, which I believe is a crew name, possibly his partnership with Rezwonk, which stands for Hold the Mustard (thank you Paul). I look forward to January when it comes to Decay, because he seems to reinvent himself, not too much, and then kicks off for the rest of the year with the new idea. This particular idea has a lot of mileage in it and I can’t wait to see more.

 

 

 

 

2735. L Dub (12)

L Dub is a really great spot to refine your skills. It is out of the way and undisturbed, so there is no sense of being rushed. The walls there are for all artists, there doesn’t seem to be too much built-in hierarchy. DFC is a street art photographer/hunter who has been turning his skills to spraying walls, and he has been really busy over the last six months or so.

DFC, L Dub, Bristol, January 2020
DFC, L Dub, Bristol, January 2020

I am more used to seeing his DFC ‘bear’ type character so I was pleased to see this spray can with wings, which is another of his favourites. It is clear to see from his work that the more you practice, the better you get. It is what every artist has told me and I guess should come as no surprise. Plenty more in my archive to share from this emerging artist.

2734.Dean Lane skate park (277)

It is such an obvious thing to say, but I can’t stop myself… this is a two for the price of one wall from Slim Pickings (TES). It is not often that you get to see two pieces by the same artist side-by-side, especially painted around the same time. What is nice about these it that you can compare the subtle differences between the two designs, both of which are beautifully clean by the way.

Slim Pickings, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2020
Slim Pickings, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2020

I don’t know the derivation of his TES pieces, but I suspect they began as a tag and have evolved over time into these elaborate and aesthetically pleasing works. The one on the left has some excellent colour choices with a wavy separation and some nice drips on the T. Woz Yer = was here, possibly one of the oldest mottos used in graffiti.

Slim Pickings, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2020
Slim Pickings, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2020

On the right is a slightly older form of his TES with little accent marks to the bottom left and right of the letter sequence. There is a single solid fill, but in this one the whole thing is finished off with a red boundary line. Spotting the difference between the two is rather fun, perhaps he should do this more often.

2733. L Dub (11)

L Dub, (Lawrence Weston) is a spot I visit infrequently, but one that always rewards the effort. It is my premium dog walking spot, because it takes ten minutes of walking through a curious wasteland to get there and is close to Kings Weston where the dog and I spend many happy hours, particularly in the excellent cafe (doggie ice creams!)

Smak, L Dub, Bristol, January 2020
Smak, L Dub, Bristol, January 2020

On my most recent trip I was greeted by this magnificent piece of writing by Smak. He really is a brilliant writer and all round street artist and seems to be at the top of his game at the moment. The best way to try to understand just how good this piece is, take a good look at it and consider the colour transitions, the sharpness of the letters, the overall design, the shadows, the outline in blue and the decorative fills. All of these elements are brought together in a vibrant crisp clean piece… stuck out in the middle of nowhere where footfall is minimal. The joy of an artist in form.

Nursery trip

.

Twenty wee toddlers

on a trip to Severn Beach

enchanting moment

.

Redland station comes alive

monotony suspended

.

by Scooj

2732. Armada Place (17)

There seems to be no stopping Sled One at the moment, he is knocking out some outstanding pieces on such a regular basis in Bristol and beyond. This ‘booze hound’ is a beautifully surreal little character, being a fusion of dog parts and a bottle that looks like a poison vessel.

Sled One, Armada Place, Bristol, January 2020
Sled One, Armada Place, Bristol, January 2020

I don’t know how he does it, especially using spray cans, but his pieces include so much detail and seem to tell such remarkable stories. This little fella could easily be a character illustration from a children’s book. Everything about the piece oozes class and a self-confidence. Mind-boggling really. More recent pieces in the can being lined up for future posts. The coolest.

Sled One, Armada Place, Bristol, January 2020
Sled One, Armada Place, Bristol, January 2020

2731. L Dub (10)

It might be a little bit of an over-statement, but judging from the amount of work by Dun Ssum in this particular spot he could arguably be crowned king of L Dub. Not only is there a lot of his work there, but it is all really creative and imaginative.

Dun Sum, L Dub, Bristol, January 2020
Dun Sum, L Dub, Bristol, January 2020

In this piece we see a beautifully painted magpie collecting gadgets that look like the old Sony Walkman (remember those) but might be something different altogether. Dun Sum usually tries to conceal his name into his pieces and in this case he has woven it into the lower part of the bird’s nest. A fine piece on a large wall at L Dub.

Life-long naturalist

 

There is some comfort

in knowing that what I do

benefits nature

 

by Scooj

Self-awareness

 

Thought I had it nailed

turns out I’m on a journey

management training

 

by Scooj