I first came across Whysayit (YSAE) a few years ago when he regularly collaborated with Kleiner Shames. Although I have never met him, I have enjoyed his irregular anti-graffiti style over the years, and this one under the M32 is a banger.
Whysayit, Frome side, Bristol October 2022
The organic writing is simple, spelling out ‘YSAE’ in two tones of pink. Light pink for the letters and dark pink for the drop shadow. Combine these with a black border and white highlights, and you have straightforward, quality writing which lifts nicely off the wall. Sometimes less is more.
I have been saying it for a while, and perhaps it is wish fulfilment, that there will be a general election before Christmas. For this to happen, there will need to be a collapse in the government, because they will not be holding a vote of no confidence. As I see it, I don’t think we are too far away from crippling coordinated strike action, short of a general strike, along with marches demanding an election.
I feel that the Conservative party, in their desperation to keep their seats, have completely misjudged the mood of the nation.
All but the most ardent Brexiteers have come to the realisation that Brexit was a con, and we have yet to see any tangible benefits and so far only disbenefits (for example, being over a barrel with international trade negotiations and withdrawal of free movement (causing havoc for farmers and hospitality)).
There is still rage that Johnson and his cosy mates partied during lock down, and those who lost loved ones without being able to say goodbye will never forget.
I wonder how many of the 60 Tory MPs who resigned their posts, will again resign if Johnson were to be elected. Any who do not are hypocrites.
I don’t believe that the financial markets will be able to trust this Government. It is still the same people and their reputation for financial management, and the concept of ‘trickle down’ economics, is down the toilet, the damage is done.
What an absolute beauty from Mote. Tucked away in a little corner of Cumberland Basin is this magnificent example of one of Mote’s monsters, and quite possibly one of his best to date.
Mote, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, October 2022
I really like Mote’s attention to detail and clean work. All of his fills are always solid and his fine lines clean. These monsters are on the opposite end of the spectrum to throw ups. Mote spends time on painting his characters with real diligence and accuracy. It is worth noting that some of the decorative dots around the bottom of the background incorporate the previous piece that Mote painted over. The finished pieces are imaginative and always bring a smile to my face. I love this piece.
As with so many regular writers in Bristol, Corupt continues to delight us with his STICK or CORUPT writing, and this one on the M32 is a stunner. With deep 3D drop shadows that assist with lifting the piece, the letters are presented in two halves of different colour schemes.
Corupt, M32 roundabout, Bristol, October 2022
Although the division of the two halves isn’t a straight line, the top and bottom have quite different colours, but similar patterns and details. This is a bold statement piece and carries with it the gravitas of a very talented graffiti writer.
It is always special to see pieces by Smak. He is an artist pretty much at the top of his game and completely in command of his outstanding work. You know that you are looking at something really classy from the effortless way is comes across from the wall to your eyes.
Smak, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, October 2022
Smak is rather keen on these colours, but actually looking back on the extensive gallery of his work, he actually pretty much uses every colour under the sun. Beautiful letters, beautifully painted, oozing class.
Kool Hand and Daz Cat, Brunel Way, Bristol, October 2022
It was when I found and photographed this lovely little collaboration between Kool Hand and Daz Cat, that I noticed a lot of water cascading down some steps directly behind me – it turns out there had been a massive water main burst and the underpasses under Brunel Way were being flooded. You can see the scale of the flooding in this short clip on my Twitter feed. By the time I got back to my parked car it was 6 inches underwater. Had I parked where I normally do (there were no spaces), the car would have been under about 2 feet of water, so I thanked my lucky stars.
Kool Hand and Daz Cat, Brunel Way, Bristol, October 2022
The collaboration, was I suspect from the writing, a late afternoon or evening session, ‘the graveyard shift’. To the left is a baseball capped orangutan from Kool Hand, which is pretty much his trademark mega tag. To the right is a squirrel by Daz Cat, and I have to say that I am really enjoying his experimentation with so many different animals at the moment. This is a fine collaboration
Interesting to note that in the Daily Star’s contest about who would last longer between a lettuce or Liz Truss, the lettuce won. A meme that will haunt her forever.
Another very short one this week, I am way too distracted by the disintegration of democracy in the UK, driven by far-right ‘think tanks’. It seems so very sad that a selfish few have ruined so much for the rest of us and utterly trashed our international reputation and status. Enough about that – I could go on for pages!
Once again, I return to Porto for this week’s selection. All of these doors or doorways, belong to São Bento station which is famed for its elaborate azulejo tile work in the main vestibule. I don’t have time to offer a history of the station, but am simply sharing some snaps of this incredible 19th century space. I hope you enjoy:
The vestibule, São Bento station, Porto, Portugal, June 2022
Doors in the vestibule, São Bento station, Porto, Portugal, June 2022
Doors in the vestibule, São Bento station, Porto, Portugal, June 2022
Doors in the vestibule, São Bento station, Porto, Portugal, June 2022
Tile mural in the vestibule, São Bento station, Porto, Portugal, June 2022
Tile mural in the vestibule, São Bento station, Porto, Portugal, June 2022
That’s it for this week, I’m afraid.
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.
Over the weekend, I had an hour or two to kill while the dog was at the groomers, and took the opportunity to drop down under the M32 to a spot along the River Frome, where I can’t take the dog, because it could be a little dangerous
The Mole, Frome side, Bristol, October 2022
My reward included this wonderful little column piece from Inca the Mole. It is always a great pleasure to find the Mole’s pieces, and this one was quite hidden away. The mole is decorated with little peace symbols and some simple stars add a little interest to the background. A simple idea nicely executed.
There are two outstanding Calligraffiti writers in Bristol at the moment, an they are Stivs and Todoaciem. The latter has been rather quiet of late, so it was great to see this new piece by him on the M32 Cycle path.
Todoaciem, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, October 2022
As is customary, Todoaciem spells out in the beautifully crafted and regular letters the word CIEM. The script is outstanding and the colour transitions in the fill very nicely done. We are blessed to have such high quality calligraffiti here in Bristol.
Natural adventures 