.
An ornamental
beautiful but poisonous
non-indigenous
.
by Scooj
Month: July 2022
4567. St Werburghs tunnel (302)
This is the second piece of ‘alien’ writing that I am aware of by Nugmoose, both of which have been painted in the tunnel. Normally, we associate the artist with painting extraordinary and imaginative alien characters, but it is great to see him transpose his skill into writing.
The interesting part about any writing from Nugmoose is that it is written in alien letters, so we can never know what it might say. It is quite a skill to be able to create imaginary letters and then use them to make graffiti writing, because there are no recognisable reference points. I’m not sure if it makes things easier or more difficult, because nobody is going to know if you have made a mistake. Gorgeous glowing bright green with a ‘plasma’ streak dancing around the piece.
4566. Dean Lane skate park (509)
You don’t get to see pieces by SPZero76, outside of festivals or commissions, as often as a few years ago, so stumbling across one was both a rare and joyful occasion. This recent piece was part of a collaborative wall, marking the first anniversary of the death of producer and rapper MF Doom.
SPZero76’s take on this anniversary was to paint a cartoon-style version of Marvel villain Dr Octopus asking ‘what’s a Doom?’. This is a hilarious piece and perfectly painted, sharp and clean, and just the kind of thing we are so privileged to see in Bristol. It would be great to see more of these casual pieces about the place from SPZero76.
And then there were five
.
Cruella knocked out
one less racist in the pack
I hope they all lose
.
by Scooj
4565. Dean Lane skate park (508)
Visiting artists are always welcome in Bristol, and how nice it is to see a calligraffiti artist to add to the talents of Stivs and Todoaciem. There is something appealing about writing beautiful letters in beautiful fonts, with accuracy and attention to detail, and Elroy has done a particularly fine job here.
The letters are nicely proportioned, although I wonder if the ‘r’ and ‘o’ could be a little closer to each other. The addition of a twisted rope and a framed pink background add a crispness to the whole piece. I would love to see more from this sign-writer murallist.
4564. St Werburghs tunnel (301)
Two artists that you could probably set your watch by are Face 1st and Mr Draws – both produce pieces with reassuring regularity, providing some stability and reference points in this topsy-turvy world.
This piece is quite typical of Mr Draws’ work, although it feels a little bit laterally compressed, he usually likes to spread his letters out a little more. If this was by a different artist, I might describe it as a ‘dregs’ piece, meaning that it was an opportunity to finish up almost empty cans. However, Mr Draws loves to use lots of colour in his pieces, so this might simply be a joyful burst of colour.
Thursday doors – 14 July 2022
Doors 189 – Porto doors (Part 4)
It is a bit of a busy day today, so I am having to rush this post a little. Porto is an extraordinary city and has an eclectic mix of old and new architecture and well-preserved and derelict buildings all in close proximity, adding to the visual interest of the place. You never quite know what surprises there are going to be around the corner. This week, I have themed the doors loosely around retail – I hope you enjoy them.
May I wish you a happy rest of week, and to those of you in the UK, I hope you don’t fry over the weekend.
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
Summer
.
No complaints today
summer is as summer’s meant
and buzzing insects
.
by Scooj
4563. St Werburghs tunnel (300)
This is a fine collaborative wall from Mr Klue, and The Cat Came Back (who has possibly one of the best street art names in Bristol, although it is a competitive field). Mr Klue has been painting these walls more regularly of late, but it is a long while since I last saw much from The Cat Came Back.
To the left, and well within Mr Klue’s ‘safety zone’ is another fine abstract piece from the artist, in which it is possible to decipher the letters KLUE, if you look carefully. The whispy elements, and organic shapes are so unique to Mr Klue, and unlike anything else we see in Bristol.
To the right, is a beautifully executed and proportioned set of letters, I think spelling out MEAT, with a cat face for the ‘A’. The fill patterns, on alternate letters are well done, and the white accent lines are very effective in lifting the letters out of the wall, a trick used by writers to create a 3D effect. Great to see these two painting together.
4562. M32 cycle path (179)
Felix Braun or FLX as he is known is one of the godfather’s of street art in Bristol and author of the wonderful ‘Children of the Can’ books. His street work these days tends to be commission-based or the occasional appearance at a festival. He has been rather busy in Bristol lately, which is obviously good news.
This piece on the M32 cycle path is highly unusual because it appears to be a sanctioned commission (who else gets to paint behind temporary railings?) on a wall that normally plays host to high turnover graffiti and tagging. I don’t know how Felix Braun has swung this, not do I know how long it will remain untagged, but for the meanwhile it is a case of sitting back and admiring this huge piece.
The overall message is ‘Love Bristol’ or ‘Bristol loves you’ which is preaching to a converted audience. The piece itself is a showcase for FLX’s themes of silhouetted people, and of overlapping letters in different colours, creating third colours where the overlap occurs.
In the heart section, the word love appears in several different languages and scripts, most of which I cannot read, but I am pretty sure they all say love. This is a positive message and one that we are in desperate need of in the UK right now.
Let’s hope that the positive messaging translates into positive outcomes, starting with a total change in government… that would be nice.
Natural adventures 