Month: June 2023

5293. Louisa Street (2)

Veil, Louisa Street, Bristol, May 2023
Veil, Louisa Street, Bristol, May 2023

When I accidentally discovered the hoardings around Louisa Street recently, it was a great surprise, and I guess I was a little annoyed that I hadn’t found it sooner. I don’t think that the hoardings can have been there for too long, or at least if they have, they have only recently been painted. I say this because as far as I can see there hasn’t been too much overpainting, and there is a lot of the blue board still visible.

Veil, Louisa Street, Bristol, May 2023
Veil, Louisa Street, Bristol, May 2023

Desi has produced this wonderful VEIL piece in pinks and blues and is showing great progress particularly in the complexity and design of her fills. The 3D drop shadow and border are nice and tight, and overall this piece demonstrates the strides she is making. I am looking forward to a summer of Veils and Desis.

5292. Weston-super-Mare

Andrew Burns Colwill, Weston-super-Mare, May 2023
Andrew Burns Colwill, Weston-super-Mare, May 2023

I recently shared a gallery of  outstanding artwork from the brilliant Andrew Burns Colwill on my personal Facebook page (I rarely use it these days), and it had a very positive response, which is not surprising really, such is his talent. I came across this piece, which was painted for last year’s Weston Wallz (I think), on a recent visit to Weston-super-Mare, with my friend Paul H.

Andrew Burns Colwill, Weston-super-Mare, May 2023
Andrew Burns Colwill, Weston-super-Mare, May 2023

Andrew Burns Colwill doesn’t shy away from making bold political statements, and much of his recent work has been about the potential impacts of climate change. In this piece he lampoons Parliament, and with some justification, and presents politicians and apes, the central Orangutan being draped in a Union Jack. Political commentary goes hand in hand with a lot of street art, but rarely so beautifully painted. I am reminded that I haven’t yet posted his Upfest piece from last year… so much to do. This was a very pleasant discovery.

Thursday doors – 15 June 2023

Camping and glamping site gate, Boiling Wells Lane, Bristol, February 2019
Camping and glamping site gate, Boiling Wells Lane, Bristol, February 2019

Doors 225 – Some gates of Bristol

A really quick one today. I had time earlier in the week to prepare some images from my archive, and I plumped for a selection of gates. All of these gates are from Bristol, none of them particularly special, but desperate times and all that…

The first gate boasts that is it the entrance to Bristol’s only camping and glamping site – I fear that they might have over-sold it a little. I hope you enjoy today’s selection:

Farm gate, Boiling Wells Lane, Bristol, February 2019
Farm gate, Boiling Wells Lane, Bristol, February 2019
Back gate, Bristol
Back gate, Bristol
Front gate, Bedminster, Bristol, March 2020
Front gate, Bedminster, Bristol, March 2020
Gate and door, Cheltenham Road, Bristol, May 2023
Gate and door, Cheltenham Road, Bristol, May 2023
Mind the drop. back garden gate, Devon Road, Bristol, January 2023
Mind the drop. back garden gate, Devon Road, Bristol, January 2023
Back garden gate, Devon Road, Bristol, January 2023
Back garden gate, Devon Road, Bristol, January 2023

Well that concludes proceedings for another week, I hope to have something a little more inspirational next time. May I wish you a pleasant end of week and 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

Door logo, Thursday doors

Tree

.

Beneath cooling leaves

we have time to chew the fat

tell me your stories

.

by Scooj

5291. Weston-super-Mare

Andy Council, Weston-super-Mare, May 2023
Andy Council, Weston-super-Mare, May 2023

I remember being rather annoyed with myself that I hadn’t found this wonderful piece by Andy Council painted for Weston Wallz, when I visited last year, but patience is a virtue, we are told, and finding it this year felt like an extra special prize.

Andy Council, Weston-super-Mare, May 2023
Andy Council, Weston-super-Mare, May 2023

The seagull scene is painted in Andy Council’s distinctive component style, where the whole image is made up of component parts, that on their own don’t much look like anything we recognise, but when stitched together present a remarkable form. The gull is eating chips (quelle surprise) and on the other side a trademark ammonite is holding an ice cream in its tentacles. Superb seaside fare from Andy Council.

5290. Dean Land skate park (608)

Mudra and Saor, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2023
Mudra and Saor, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2023

We see a lot of collaborations in Bristol, but most tend to be collaborative walls in which some elements of colour or design are shared by the artists. Occasionally, artists paint a piece that is what I would call a true collaboration, where the single piece is a fusion of their work. This piece by Mudra and Saor, or is it Saor and Mudra, is a perfect example of a fusion collaboration.

Mudra and Saor, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2023
Mudra and Saor, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2023

The overall writing spells out SAOR, and at first glance I thought it was a Saor piece, but look a little closer, and you see the Mudra elements emerge, for example the @ symbol, the pixelated arrow and mask. The whole piece is sh sharp and tidy, and Saor has incorporated some fascinating textures, like the granite effect and night sky with a full moon. A superb piece of work from the NTS friends.

5289. St John’s Lane (1)

Laic217, St John's Lane, Bristol, June 2023
Laic217, St John’s Lane, Bristol, June 2023

I fell in love with this piece the moment I saw it. Of course, I am an admirer of Laic217’s work, and this piece brings together so many of his themes and his talent into one place. No skeleton this time, but a flesh and blood human character holding a spray can.

Laic217, St John's Lane, Bristol, June 2023
Laic217, St John’s Lane, Bristol, June 2023

I will focus on two or three elements of this outstanding piece; The flesh tones and shading on the face and hand are exceptional, demonstrating that he is not a skeleton one-trick pony. The chain around the character’s neck is really well done and there is a sense of weight, and that it doesn’t hang perfectly shows that Laic217 is thinking one step ahead. It is the shirt, though, that really thrills me. From time to time, Laic217 dresses his characters in patterned shirts, and somehow he manages to paint in the creases and folds, with disruption tom the pattern, in this case pink smiley faces. I have seen him use this technique before to great effect, and I think it is one of the things he does that sets him apart from others. This is a truly exceptional piece on a rather nice new hoarding.

Laic217, L Dub, Bristol, September 2021
Laic217, L Dub, Bristol, September 2021

Laic217, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2019
Laic217, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2019

Laic217, Wilder Street, Bristol, May 2019
Laic217, Wilder Street, Bristol, May 2019

Cruella

.

With her Wallace grin

charmless home secretary

plays to gallery.

.

by Scooj

  • I have never been a fan of Suella Braverman and her far right inflammatory racist rhetoric, but I caught a clip of a debate in the house yesterday in which she offered an insincere and inappropriately pitched ‘tribute’ to Caroline Lucas, the Green MP for Brighton and Hove, who will be standing down at the next election.

Suella Braverman seems to have a rather inflated impression of her own capabilities and wit, and came out with this toxic ‘tongue-in-cheek’ drivel, and was all the while appealing to her fellow Tories, smirking and grinning. Caroline Lucas has class, capability, competence and compassion that Braverman could never, ever achieve.

Braverman appears to be interested only in power, driven by hatred (an element of self-loathing I suspect too)

Lucas appears to be interested in justice (social, economic and environmental) and fairness, driven by compassion.

The two are polar opposites.

5288. M32 Spot (167)

Zake, M32 Spot, Bristol, May 2023
Zake, M32 Spot, Bristol, May 2023

I have a feeling that Zake might be slowing down a little, having had an incredible start to the year with an increase in both quality and quantity of his original character pieces. This incredible piece is painted on one of the columns (if not, a different face of the same column) where I first encountered Zake’s work back in July 2018, so it feels like a bit of a full circle, and my goodness, how he has developed over that time.

Zake, M32 Spot, Bristol, May 2023
Zake, M32 Spot, Bristol, May 2023

The long face (an inevitability on columns) has a double set of eyes, which are thankfully closed, and is spewing fiery water from the mouth. The colour selection works beautifully, and as ever Zake’s work is so full of depth, afforded by clever use of light and shade. This is a really striking piece, noticeable from quite some distance.

Zake, M32 Spot, Bristol, July 2018
Zake, M32 Spot, Bristol, July 2018

5287. M32 Spot (166)

3rdeye, M32 Spot, Bristol, May 2023
3rdeye, M32 Spot, Bristol, May 2023

I don’t quite understand why, but I have posted very few pieces by 3rdeye on this blog, perhaps because he only paints occasionally, but I’m sure I have more in my archives somewhere. 3rdeye pieces are a rare thing, especially outside of festivals, so it was a considerable surprise and delight when I stumbled across this piece a little while back.

3rdeye, M32 Spot, Bristol, May 2023
3rdeye, M32 Spot, Bristol, May 2023

Painted on a utility box and wall at the top end of the M32 Spot, underneath the motorway, 3rdeye has split the piece into two parts. On the utility box is one of his imaginary characters, perched on top of an eye with a thought cloud saying “sexual chocolate”. I have no idea what this means and won’t be asking.

3rdeye, M32 Spot, Bristol, May 2023
3rdeye, M32 Spot, Bristol, May 2023

On the adjacent wall, there are several cleverly concealed characters, painted in 3rdeye’s distinctive style, together with some letters, but I can’t quite make out what they are… it looks like E A E, but that doesn’t seem right. The piece is nicely signed at the top and demonstrates the strength in depth of talent in Bristol.