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Cathedral city
homelessness, depravation
a first impression
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by Scooj
Month: April 2024
Fledgling
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Bitter-sweet feeling
the girl flies out to Thailand
months away from home
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by Scooj
5955. Cumberland Basin
Two things to notice immediately about this wonderful collaboration from Marckinetic and Kid Krishna. The first is the diabolical weather – it feels like it has been raining all winter, and is something of a miracle that artists have been painting in quite the frequency that they have and the second is the bright yellow background drawing attention to the pieces.
On the left, Marckinetic has painted one of his FFS pieces in his unusual writing style using elongated straight-lined squares and rectangles to form his letters. The letter fill has a clever marbelled effect, and the very deep black drop shadow is filled with an inky night sky with yellow stars and suns. Lovely and original work from Marckinetic
To the right is a rather more densely packed array of shapes and forms making out the letters CRIE. There is loads of colour and activity in the letters, which at times is almost overwhelming, and this is sometimes what you get with his work. Other times he will paint something so simple, he has it all in his armoury. There are lots of FFS tags all over the piece and a little “Four Five Six” to help us along with one of the acronyms for FFS.
5954. Dean Lane skate park (707)
Here we have yet another classy piece from Biers, who is enjoying an extended period of inspiration and productivity, he really is turning out some banging graffiti writing/character combinations, and challenging my knowledge of popular cartoon culture from the last few decades (which is, I’m afraid rather rudimentary).
The colours and drippy fills in the WD40 are fantastic, and all very tidily finished. The ‘0’ I am guessing is an Easter egg, and the character emerging from it is Jesus, so I have to assume that the piece was painted over, or close to, the Easter weekend. Such is his purple patch these days, that I have several of his pieces that are becoming ‘trapped’ in my archive, which I really ought to do something about.
5953. Dean Lane skate park (706)
This is an unusual collaboration from the PWA crew notable by the absence of either Face 1st or Soap, the driving forces behind the crew for some years. Not that the absence diminishes in any way this curious collection of character pieces from Laic217, Zake and Chill.
On the left is something of a trippy throwback from Laic217, with one of his face distortion pieces that are both admirable and disturbing in equal measure. A welcome return of the bucket hat badged with a smiley face sits on top of a stretched out portrait, made up of three faces. I suspect this party animal is enjoying some hallucinations in this captured moment. Weird and wonderful stuff from Laic217.
The middle section of the collaboration is occupied by another slightly weird character piece from Zake this time. A buxom silver-haired lady is pictured in front of a rural house, with a porch and smoking chimney. I have no idea what the story is here, but I think that Zake is enjoying pushing boundaries.
Rounding off the collaboration is a charming portrait of what looks like a Mid-West farmer from the early 20th century with a pitchfork in hand and some chickens. The piece is absolutely brilliant, and all the more admirable for being painted in its entirety in greyscale. I have tried to look for a theme that binds the three pieces but cannot find one. Perhaps the theme is having fun painting together.
5952. M32 roundabout J3 (564)
There is a lot of truth and honesty about Klashwhensober’s work. Sometimes his work can be a little scruffy and rushed, and sometimes it can be glorious, clean tidy and creative. This piece falls into the latter category, and s a general observation, his trajectory is upward and he is producing quite a lot of classy pieces at the moment.
The black letters on a blue background, spelling SOBER, are nicely done and complemented with a fine blue drop-shadow and tidy accents and starbursts. The inclusion of a character in the middle of the piece definitely improves the overall look and balances out the piece well. Great work from a still-productive Klashwhensober.
Resumption
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It just couldn’t last
a warm weekend taste of spring
yields to wind and rain
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by Scooj
5951. Purdown (69)
In recent months, a travelling artist has visited Bristol on a few occasions and left his very distinctive mark. The artist in question is Scrapyardspec, and his original face mega-tags are perfect for small spots such as columns and these square concrete walls up at the Purdown gun emplacement.
There were three of his pieces up there the last time I visited, each similar in form but painted in different base colours. There characterful faces can be found all over the city as Scrapyardspec moves from spot to spot, filling gaps and finding small walls to decorate. I believe he calls London home, and paints in a few favoured spots there.
His Instagram feed is worth a quick look as he posts short videos of how he goes about his work. I expect to see more from Scrapyardspec this year, as he seems rather fond of the opportunities Bristol offers.
5950. Richmond Road (7)
At the bottom of Richmond Road you will find this outstanding mural by Sikoh, you will also find a row of permanently parked cars in front of it, making it impossible to get a clean photograph of the piece in all its splendour. These pictures are the best I can get or am ever likely to get.
The piece, which I am guessing was a commission, or at least painted for friends or acquaintances of the artist, has a very strong Bristol theme running through it, starting with a hot air balloon, the Clifton Suspension Bridge and a Bristol fox, each icons of the city.
The middle section is occupied with an enormous octopus, although I am not aware of any connections this has with Bristol and assume that it is a central character in telling the story in a compelling way. The SS Great Britain and the Matthew are wrapped in the giant sea beast’s tentacles.
The last panel features Cabot’s Tower on Brandon Hill and Concord, wrapping up a fabulous canter through the history of a city known for its discovery, engineering and adventurous spirit. The only thing missing is a riot or two, but that would probably spoil the positive vibe. An outstanding historical mural by a brilliant artist.
Hosta pots
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Rainwater dusted
slim hosta leaves unwrapping
warm spring days are here
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by Scooj
Natural adventures 