Month: February 2021

3483. Brunel Way bridge (91)

I mentioned recently that the turnover on certain walls in Bristol is accelerating and that there is a bit of a squeeze on available wall space largely due to gentrification. As a result, wonderful pieces like this one, part of a larger collaboration, by 3Dom and Feek just don’t last as long as they deserve to. I was lucky to have photographed this when I did, because it got over painted within a few days.

3Dom and Feek, Brunel Way, Bristol, February 2021
3Dom and Feek, Brunel Way, Bristol, February 2021

The split face, part monster part smiley, bearing a devilish halo is by 3Dom and is a seriously classy piece. The artwork is fantastic and the incredible details expertly painted. I particularly like the sparkling tooth.

Feek, Brunel Way, Bristol, February 2021
Feek, Brunel Way, Bristol, February 2021

On the monster’s outstretched hand is a Humpty Dumpty character with an axe and wearing a Mad Hatter’s tea party hat and with what I presume is an Alice character eating cake. Could the whole thing be a Lewis Carroll-inspired crazy surreal Alice and Jabberwocky scene? No matter what it is, the artwork and skill displayed by both artists is a real treat to behold.

Choices

.

Takeaway menus

Selecting films on demand

lockdown inertia

.

by Scooj

3482. Purdown HAA Battery (15)

I am aware that this humorous sunflower piece by Zake has been around for quite a while, but it has been quite a while since I last visited Purdown and this was my first chance to photograph it.

Zake, Purdown Battery, Bristol February 2021
Zake, Purdown Battery, Bristol February 2021

Stretching across adjacent walls in a corner these two happy sunflowers are whistling away with a carefree mood about them that seems to be so absent in this time of prolonged lockdown. It will pass and these sunflowers are a reminder of a brighter time ahead when we can return to being human and embracing our friends and family. Thank you Zake for keeping my spirits up.

3481. M32 Cycle path (109)

Over the last six months we have been fortunate enough in Bristol to witness some absolutely world-class street art and graffiti writing and it is something of a privilege to see, but the highlight of that period for me has been the emergence of a new generation of artists, at the start of their journey, full of the vigour and hope. Some will dabble and then fall by the wayside, others will hit the scene hard and progress and develop over time into firm regulars, others will develop into established and top drawer artists. I am enjoying that emergence of talent, it all starts somewhere, and Big Hev is one of those that makes what I do so worthwhile.

Big Hev, M32 cycle path, Bristol, January 2021
Big Hev, M32 cycle path, Bristol, January 2021

Although her work is quite naive, there is a definite style that is hers and hers alone. The portraits are brightly coloured and the lips full and eyes large. Big Hev already has a good understanding of shading and the contours of the face are blended really nicely with layers of three colours of blue bringing out the features. This is going to be a hugely enjoyable journey as we watch it unfold.

4.30am

.

Mantlepiece mayhem

clumsy cat-astrophy trip

woken with a start

.

by Scooj

Thursday doors – 11 February 2021

Doors 137 – yet more random doors from Bristol

It has been a very cold week, but at least it has been dry, and unlike the east of the country that has had considerable snowfall, it has not materialised here in Bristol. However it isn’t the weather that makes Thursday doors such a challenge at the moment, but the ongoing coronavirus lockdown, which for many doorsters means photographing local doors or raiding archives, or doing a bit of both.

This week, like last week, is a simple stroll around some doors not too far from where I live, and while they may not be all that interesting, at least they are not recycled from a previous post… although it might not be too long before that starts to happen. Enjoy…

A rather fetching door and surround, Bristol, January 2021
A rather fetching door and surround, Bristol, January 2021

Tatty door, nice frame, Montpelier, Bristol, January 2021
Tatty door, nice frame, Montpelier, Bristol, January 2021

Tatty door, nice frame, Montpelier, Bristol, January 2021
Tatty door, nice frame, Montpelier, Bristol, January 2021

Blue door with a clock painted on it . Six past nine. Bristol, January 2021
Blue door with a clock painted on it . Six past nine. Bristol, January 2021

MOTs here, a small garage and open door, Redland, Bristol, December 2020
MOTs here, a small garage and open door, Redland, Bristol, December 2020

Blue door, sideways entrance, Redland, Bristol, December 2020
Blue door, sideways entrance, Redland, Bristol, December 2020

Alas, that is all I can manage this week. Soon things will get better and I will be able to extend my range of doors a little.

If you have made it this far, you probably like doors, and you really ought to take a look at the No Facilities blog by Dan Anton who has taken over the hosting of Thursday Doors  from Norm 2.0 blog. Links to more doorscursions can be found in the comments section of Dan Anton’s Thursday Doors post.

by Scooj

3480. Purdown HAA Battery (14)

An oasis of colour in a desert of thick wet mud, and thank goodness for it, because the dog and I got filthy… if there hadn’t been any decent pieces on the battery walls I think I’d have been well miffed. But decent pieces there were and this one was a truly wonderful surprise from Hanski, who has recently hit the Bristol scene running.

Hanski, Purdown Battery, Bristol, February 2021
Hanski, Purdown Battery, Bristol, February 2021

With two Universities in Bristol, we have quite a large number of art students in the City, and some of them like to Chuck paint at walls… Hanski is one of them. Hanski’s work is like Cubism meets the 1980s, with tons of bright and bold colours and disaggregated features reassembled to create a new face. I am so much looking forward to a whole lot more from Hanski.

3479. Brunel Way bridge (90)

There are times when you have to just sit down and absorb a piece, to enjoy it to the maximum, and marvel at its splendour. This amazing piece by Sled One is one of those, and I don’t think that anything I write will actually add anything to the majesty of this work.

Sled One, Brunel Way, Bristol, February 2021
Sled One, Brunel Way, Bristol, February 2021

The regal character, part of a wider collaboration set on a pink background, is as unsettling as it is crazy. A lizard-like queen with a full set of pearls (is it Queen Victoria?) is holding a sceptre which looks like it has a fly on the end.

Sled One, Brunel Way, Bristol, February 2021
Sled One, Brunel Way, Bristol, February 2021

The surreal piece might be political commentary, or it might not, with Sled One it is customary to not really know what is going on. Accepting that there is a great story there somewhere is probably enough and we all have to let our imaginations run wild. I love this a lot.

Replacement therapy

.

Small compensation

a large box of chocolates

for a holiday

.

by Scooj

3478. M32 Cycle path (108)

As gentrification marches on apace, there is a bit of a squeeze on the number of walls that artists can paint, and in North Bristol this is has been exacerbated by the loss of The Bearpit, which has become an inert, dead urban space that people pass through. Utilitarian and functional, but perceived to be safe, and the homeless people have been moved on to be homeless somewhere else. I have a feeling that the discredited Rudi Giuliani, who was praised at the time, moved the ‘bums’ out of Manhattan, without actually addressing the issue of homelessness. Perception is everything for politicians. Smoke and mirrors.

The point I was clumsily trying to make is that the M32 Cycle path is unlikely to be developed any time soon and has become more popular than ever for street artists and graffiti writers, whit a much higher turnover than a few years ago.

Benjimagnetic, M32 cycle pth, Bristol, February 2021
Benjimagnetic, M32 cycle pth, Bristol, February 2021

This is a very nice piece by Benjimagnetic, which has replaced a rather ordinary throw up that had trashed the Halloween piece from Smak last year. Benjimagnetic has been turning out pieces with alarming regularity lately and I am struggling to keep up with posting them, but at least I can now read them (I think) because mostly they say BEN. Always good to find a new Benjimagnetic piece.