5647. Nottingham

Steve (STE), Nottingham, November 2023
Steve (STE), Nottingham, November 2023

On walking to the station to return to Bristol from a meeting in Nottingham, I had a few spare minutes to explore the area near the station, and I am pleased that I did, although I stressed about cutting it a bit fine with my train departure time. The light was also diminishing… I am not a big fan of these short day length. I found a few pieces, including this beautiful robin by Steve (STE).

Steve (STE), Nottingham, November 2023
Steve (STE), Nottingham, November 2023

I know nothing of the artist, but on seeing this stunner, will certainly be looking out for him in future. I tend to get so wrapped up in the Bristol street/graffiti art scene, that I forget there is a massive amount of talent beyond the West Country. The beautifully captured robin, in full song, is an absolute triumph, it is rare to see a bird looking so natural in street art work. The words Sierra, Tango, Echo form a backdrop to the bird, and make up Steve’s Instagram handle, I am not sure what they mean, but could they be followed with Victor, Echo? A stunner for sure.

Phour

A gallery of fabulous graffiti writing from Bristol’s Phour.

All photographs by Scooj

Phour, M32 roundabout, Bristol, October 2023
Phour, M32 roundabout, Bristol, October 2023
Phour, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2023
Phour, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2023
Phour, Peel Street Green, Bristol, June 2023
Phour, Peel Street Green, Bristol, June 2023
Phour, New Stadium Road, Bristol, June 2022
Phour, New Stadium Road, Bristol, June 2022
Phour, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2022
Phour, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2022
Mena and Phour, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, April 2022
Mena and Phour, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, April 2022
Phour, M32 cycle path, Bristol, August 2021
Phour, M32 cycle path, Bristol, August 2021
Phour, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2021
Phour, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2021
Phour, St Werburghs, Bristol, January 2021
Phour, St Werburghs, Bristol, January 2021
Phour, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2020
Phour, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2020
Phour, Hepburn Road, Bristol, September 2020
Phour, Hepburn Road, Bristol, September 2020
Phour, Dean Lane, Bristol September 2020
Phour, Dean Lane, Bristol September 2020
Phour, M32 cycle path, Bristol, June 2020
Phour, M32 cycle path, Bristol, June 2020
Phour, St Werburghs, Bristol, July 2020
Phour, St Werburghs, Bristol, July 2020

Attitude

.

Must do what we can

nature and climate crises

can do what we must

.

by Scooj

5646. Nottingham

Kid30, Nottingham, November 2023
Kid30, Nottingham, November 2023

A short while ago, I had a team meeting in Nottingham and decided that It would be wise to travel up the evening before, because it is a bit of a schlep from Bristol and I would have been late for the start of the meeting if I travelled up on the day. I have only been to Nottingham twice before, and remember little of both trips. On the day of the meeting, I got up early and took an aimless walk to see if I could find any street/graffiti art and some doors for Thursday doors. It was a very productive walk on both counts.

Kid30, Nottingham, November 2023
Kid30, Nottingham, November 2023

I found this outstanding shutter piece by Kid30 near Sneinton Market (I think) and although I haven’t seen much of his work, I am familiar with him thanks to a couple of visits he made to Upfest in Bristol. Kid30 specialises in deconstructing cartoon characters, and then stitching them back together again in a random assembly. In this fabulous piece I can find Top Cat, Krusty the clown, Bender from Futurama, Pluto and the Pink Panther. Not a bad collection in one piece really. Look out for more from this lightening visit to Nottingham.

5645. The Carriageworks (46)

3Dom, The Carriageworks, Bristol, November 2023
3Dom, The Carriageworks, Bristol, November 2023

One of the things I love about street and graffiti art is that much of it captures the mood of the times we live in and reflects local or world events back to us, often with a political message or commentary. Wars receive a great deal of attention, for example the Russian invasion of Ukraine led to a spate of passionate and moving street art (Gallery to come on this one). Now we are seeing a proliferation of pieces representing the horrors unfolding in Palestine and Gaza.

3Dom, The Carriageworks, Bristol, November 2023
3Dom, The Carriageworks, Bristol, November 2023

3Dom, has painted a rather grim piece that represents the inequity and imbalance that is at play in the war on Hamas by Israel. The piece suggests that the USA and UK are complicit in the Israeli bombing of Gaza, and cleverly conveys the confined nature of the Gaza strip. What is happening in Gaza is beyond comprehension and reaffirms my view that nationalism, whipped up by dictators and fanatics (drunk with power), is an evil thing. Well done 3Dom for visually articulating the horror of this war so well.

5644. M32 roundabout J3 (524)

Minto, M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 2023
Minto, M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 2023

I have a feeling that we might be seeing a lot more from Minto as I believe that he has moved west from London, so his occasional pieces might be more regular going forward. This piece was painted during a small paint jam which included Rusk, who seems to be having a bit of a purple patch, and Hypo too.

Minto, M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 2023
Minto, M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 2023

Minto has a very distinct style, and while no two pieces are even close to being the same, his style shines through. The letters MINTO lend themselves very well to graffiti writing, with each of the first four letters having straight lines (in upper case), creating an angular opportunity. The character is inspired by Gozzilah and there is a little shout out below. I have no idea what Gozzilah is all about – is it fashion? Is it a music thing? Sometimes when writing this blog I feel rather left behind by contemporary culture. I think that it is something to do with a cyber fashion culture… who knew?

5643. Hepburn Road (21)

Face 1st and Soap, Hepburn Road, Bristol, November 2023
Face 1st and Soap, Hepburn Road, Bristol, November 2023

A week or so ago I was drawn into Hepburn Road, because I could see two graffiti artists at work at the far end of the lane. It turns out that it was Biers and Bags painting together, which was a welcome surprise because, although I have met Biers many times, I have never yet met Bags, an artist horribly underrepresented in Natural Adventures. As I walked back up the street, I spotted this rather nice throwback piece by Face 1st and Soap.

Face 1st and Soap, Hepburn Road, Bristol, November 2023
Face 1st and Soap, Hepburn Road, Bristol, November 2023

I call this a throwback piece because it looks like the sort of collaboration that these two used to churn out regularly a few years back. Face 1st’s faces are simple, although decorated with a few splatters of green goo and Soap has reverted to his recognisable mega-tag of two mouths, that also have the overall appearance of a skull. Some lovely retro stuff in this somewhat overlooked spot.

5642. M32 roundabout J3 (523)

Logoe, M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 2023
Logoe, M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 2023

This is one of several pieces painted by Logoe a few weeks back during one of his blitz weekend visits. I got lucky and managed to catch up with him while he was painting this one, and we chatted for a while. Logoe is truly one of the gentlemen of Bristol graffiti writing, and although not a resident of the city, you would hardly know it.

Logoe, M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 2023
Logoe, M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 2023

This is a rather special piece with his writing superimposed on a hillside horizon, cutting the piece into two segments with two colours, black and pink, that contrast differently with the letters. The writing is in a straight-line joined up script style, spelling out the artist’s name. Of course there are a few oval dots thrown in for good measure. Nice work from Logoe.

Glastonbury tickets on sale

.

Camping on the site

sucking life and hope away

try again next year

.

by Scooj

5641. River Avon (54)

Raid, River Avon, Bristol, October 2023
Raid, River Avon, Bristol, October 2023

I find it hard to believe that I have only posted 54 pieces from the walls that run alongside the River Avon, but that is perhaps a measure of the task I have set myself. I would guess that I photograph between 20 and 40 new pieces every week, but have the capacity to post a maximum of 21, more commonly 14. As you can see, there is a large deficit, which is actually considerably larger than that, because there will be many pieces that I don’t find at all. Notwithstanding this challenge, I shall continue to push that bolder up the hill, because I enjoy it.

Raid, River Avon, Bristol, October 2023
Raid, River Avon, Bristol, October 2023

Raid has been a little quieter than when I first became aware of his work, but is still turning out some lovely pieces from time to time. This piece stands out with its big bold letters and super colour scheme. It is interesting how some colour combinations really stand out, such as orange and green as in this piece, pink and light blue (the colours of the 2023 season) and black and red. Everything about this piece has been done well. Great letter shapes, lovely fills which are interesting but not over-busy and a well worked drop shadow and neat border. All in all, this is a very tidy piece from Raid.