1988

.

These lacquered chopsticks

a gift from Mr Cheba

an act of kindness

.

by Scooj

  • the backstory… I found some chopsticks in a drawer that were given to me by a crew member of the Koei Maru 30, a Japanese fishing boat that I worked on in the Falkland Islands – it was his way of making friends and welcoming me. Finding them transported me back to 1988.

3981. M32 roundabout J3 (349)

I guess it’s high time for another cute Kawaii piece from Maesyhook, so here it is for all to enjoy. Maesyhook has certainly brought something very different to the walls of Bristol and paints frequently enough to become a bit of a favourite of mine.

Maesyhook, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2021
Maesyhook, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2021

This piece sandwiched between two writers is painted in Maesyhook’s customary pink tones, and even the skull, lovingly held by the little bunny character, looks cute. Her work is a real antidote to the constant negative headlines and continuing Government narrative that seems to be more and more removed from ordinary people by the day, and provides a little glimmer of fun and enjoyment. Keep it up Maesyhook.

Thursday doors – 7 October 2021

Doors 163 – Truro, Cornwall, part 2.

Really pressed for time this week, so just a few more doors from our trip to Cornwall back in August when the weather was not dissimilar to the weather today. What has happened to our climate? (Answers on a postcard).

Onwards with those doors:

Seen better days grand door, Truro, Cornwall, August 2021
Seen better days grand door, Truro, Cornwall, August 2021

Door with nice portico and modern railings, Truro, Cornwall, August 2021
Door with nice portico and modern railings, Truro, Cornwall, August 2021

Shades of green doors, Truro, Cornwall, August 2021
Shades of green doors, Truro, Cornwall, August 2021

Perfect door within a door door, Truro, Cornwall, August 2021
Perfect door within a door door, Truro, Cornwall, August 2021

I told you it was a quick one this week. Have a wonderful week until next time.

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

3980. Upfest 2021 75×75 (68)

You may recall that earlier on this year, at the start of the Upfest 75 walls in 75 days event, several beautiful new pieces were vandalised in one night. This piece from Jody was one of the pieces. I have been holding out for a long time hoping that Jody would come back and repair the damage, but so far no dice. So my impatience has got the better of me and I am sharing the piece on Natural Adventures in its vandalised state.

Jody, Raleigh Road, Bristol, August 2021, Upfest 21
Jody, Raleigh Road, Bristol, August 2021, Upfest 21

I took the feature picture only a day or two after it had been completed by Jody. Pictures of the clean piece are a bit of a rarity, and consequently haven’t been shared much on social media. Jody is a well known Bristol artist who is an old friend of Upfest, creating some amazing walls over the years. This Samurai is a real beauty and an eye-catching piece, but I can’t help getting angry every time I see it because of the writing and the smear on the nose. Some would say that it’s a jungle out there. I would say that there are some idiots out there.

Jody, Raleigh Road, Bristol, July 2021, Upfest 21
Jody, Raleigh Road, Bristol, July 2021, Upfest 21

Even with the damage to it, this piece is utterly outstanding – and I’m keeping my fingers crossed that Jody will repair it one day.

UPDATE – A day or two after I posted this piece it was repaired, so I returned and took some pictures of what the piece should have looked like:

Jody, Raleigh Road, Bristol, October 2021, Upfest 21
Jody, Raleigh Road, Bristol, October 2021, Upfest 21

3929. Carlton Street (2), Weston-super-Mare

Weston-super-Mare and JPS go together like a hand in glove, everywhere you look and every back street has a little bit of JPS artwork, it is almost like an open air museum. Although the artist now lives on the continent, in Germany I think, he comes back often enough to paint occasional new stencils in the town, and with the low frequency of my visits, I get to see a whole load of work new to me. Including this Spiderman beauty.

JPS, Carlton Street, Weston-super-Mare, September 2021
JPS, Carlton Street, Weston-super-Mare, September 2021

JPS always injects humour into his work, and although this phrase is a little bit cheesy, it is also rather prophetic, and indeed the piece has ended up on the web as evidenced here and in countless other digital platforms. Beautifully situated and painted, this is yet another great example to the work of this fabulous artist.

3978. St Werburghs tunnel (260)

Here is one from the archive which I dedicate to Paul H, because he helped me to find it by supplying a date (late September 2019). It is by Chill, who made his debut on Natural Adventures about a week ago. It was following comments on that post that Paul pointed me in the direction of this piece, which I am pleased to share with you now. I love it the way things work out like this.

Chill, St Werburghs, Bristol, September 2019
Chill, St Werburghs, Bristol, September 2019

I believe Chill is a tattoo artist who occasionally paints walls, and you can see from the black and white colours and general design the tattooist’s hand. It is a bright and vibrant piece and confirms my view that Chill ought to hit Bristol’s walls more often.

3977. St Werburghs tunnel (259)

What a fabulous treat this piece was. I haven’t seen anything from Nugmoose for a while, and certainly never in the tunnel at St Werburghs. Obviously encouraged by collaboration partner Slakarts, no stranger to this spot, the pair have produced this wonderful dual piece.

Nugmoose and Slakarts, St Werburghs, Bristol, September 2021
Nugmoose and Slakarts, St Werburghs, Bristol, September 2021

On the left is a curious (as always) alien maggot kind of creature with some alien hieroglyphs sitting on a cloud. The whole thing is a little weird, but Nugmoose does weird really well. To the right is Slakart’s contribution which is also a little odd, but tells a rather nice story. It looks to me as if an alien space ship is dropping rain down on the character, who is holding hands(tentacle) with the alien. Imaginative fun from this creative pairing.

Gold dust

.

Sunlit particles

dance in oblique autumn light

Brownian motion

.

by Scooj

3976. Dean Lane skate park (431)

Although I have photographed many pieces by Dopes over the years, I can’t recall ever posting any of them, which is a pity really, because he is a very skilled graffiti writer who has collaborated with other artists (largely from RAW) whose pieces have made it into Natural Adventures. Time to make amends.

Dopes, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2021
Dopes, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2021

While I was photographing this piece, Dopes was actually watching on, unbeknown to me, and eventually he self-disclosed that he was the artist and we struck up a conversation. He was fretting a bit over the colours and some of the detail and was wondering whether to come back and make some small adjustments. I love it that some writers are such perfectionists, for example Rusk is another, that they agonise over a piece even after they have finished it. The lettering in this chrome piece is nicely accompanied by the blue borders and gaps, and the pink dashes just set the piece off really well. More to come from Dopes, and a few forays into my archive are likely.

3975. Brunel Way (123)

It is such a pleasure to welcome back Roo to Bristol, after her summer visit for Upfest’s 75 walls in 75 days. This superb lion was painted, I assume, at the same time as SkyHigh, her partner, painted a piece a few yards away (to come). This is not the first time Roo has painted at this spot, and one of her previous pieces remained for a very long time, demonstrating the respect graffiti artists have for her work.

Roo, Brunel Way, Bristol, September 2021
Roo, Brunel Way, Bristol, September 2021

The cartoon lion is simply (I want to use the word adorable, but it is a rather patronising word and I don’t want to be patronising) gorgeous (still the wrong word) and gives off a sense of mischief and fun. Roo crafts these amazing animal characters with great skill using big bold designs and colours while not over-complicating things and keeping it simple. Roo and SkyHigh have visited Bristol a fair bit this year, I reckon they should just move and make things better for all of us.